Astrology Backwards

 This is strictly in the realm of fiction, let me state up front. Since I don't have a name for this technique, I am calling it backwards astrology- rather, Astrology Backwards.

It involves looking back at your life, and telling you what you did, and when. For instance, it will tell me I won a race in the 100 metres in school, in the year 1967. And got a chocolate as a prize. Of course, it will also tell me when I acted like a prize idiot in life, and did not get a reward. So there is a downside.

You might argue that if people kept a diary, they wouldn't need this. Or, with Facebook reminding you what you posted N years ago, you think this technique is worthless. But what about the Kodak moments that got away? For instance, your first awkward speech that you did not record in your memory, your first awkward attempt at dating,...you get what I am getting at, I suppose. Backwards astrology will give you all of that, and more.

Not just people, it will give you the foolish things countries did and when. There seems to be a memory loss in that direction, barring Shashi Tharoor's calculations in the case of British looting India. So it will serve us well to remember these things..particularly when it deals with OTHER countries being foolish. 

So you see, your arguments don't hold water. What, you want to call it History? No, I would argue my name for it is much more compatible with what you get.

Inauguration of the 9th Batch at IMT

Convocation speeches and inauguration speeches fill me with dread, usually. That's because they tend to sound the same. It's like trying to make a romantic love story on celluloid. How many different ways can you do it? But today was a pleasant surprise. Both the invited speakers did very well, I thought, to keep things interesting, and the audience (of around 350) interested. Their style had one common factor-the use of stories, mixed with the usual advice to incoming students, about various things in life at a B school and beyond.

One was a marketing and content/creative specialist (producing Kaun Banega Crorepati among other things), another a senior HR professional, and both were great examples of how to speak to a large audience- even though captive, it's tough to hold an audience these days. To their credit, the audience responded well, with rapt attention and apt enjoyment of the delivery.

Our lunchtime conversation was equally interesting, ranging from CSR (Corp Social Responsibility) practices of corporates to astrology and several other things. Industry interaction is a great way to meet people from various companies doing very different things, and you learn a lot from them. Here is to more of it at IMT.