Relaunching the Seminar on Thought Leadership

There was this course that I ran in IMT Nagpur a few years ago. We had around 40 students in it, and I had generated a list of thought leaders (authors, playwrights, inventors, explorers) or ideas that have impacted the world or society in a big way. The students in groups had to research the topic given and tell the class through a presentation how the given person or idea changed the world. There would be  a critique of the presentation from me and a couple of students from the audience, and a Q and A.

I still remember the course vividly, and hope that students do too. I am collaborating with my colleague Shweta Kushal at IIM Indore to relaunch the course here for our 5-year integrated program students. We both hope that we will learn a lot about history, inventions, art, etc. that changed society and our lives, along with our students. Two of my former students, Padmapriya and Jogeswari had also come in to guest lecture in the earlier edition of the course, and added diverse perspectives-one worked with an NGO, and the other was a director of a Golf tours company- Golftripz..

Inventions

I keep changing my mind about inventions that changed my life. Here's the current list.

ATM- It was the ATM's birthday yesterday. I take my hat off for the guy who made the act of going to a bank redundant.

Diapers- a great help when parenting. Maybe adult version in future too.

Bean Bag- It gives you the perfect angle- always.

Desk calendar- Would be lost without one.

The aeroplane- Boeing, boeing, bong..beats horse carriages.

The computer. Made communicating easier-don't know about the computing.

Google- Except your lost key or glasses, you can find anything with it.

Not so thrilled about passwords, mobile phone, TV (after what we have done to it- not the inventor's fault)

New Ways to Die

Who says the last inventor was Thomas Edison? We as a species have always been inventors. It's in our blood- or at least in a couple of us, like Zuckerberg. But I am not talking of dating inventions that went out of control here. I am talking of new ways to die.

In the good old days (just a turn of phrase, can't guarantee they were ACTUALLY good), we could only get a good old heart attack (by whatever name called), or drown in  a river.

Gradually, we invented car crashes (after cars were invented, of course), air crashes (likewise), and a sundry collection of such methods. Some went so far as to crash a Space Shuttle too, but that was rare.

Now, since  9/11, we have turned our attention to the dying process, and have turned innovative. Some top favourites are-

A selfie on the edge of a cliff- talk about LIVING on the edge!

The doctor leaving his scissors in your tummy. A scissarian section?

Driving while you text. What, you say it's too graphic? Text can't be, it's two different things..

Suicide (that's an old one) because of a breakup over FB Messenger (that's the twist).

Honour killing (old one) for even more trivial things (new reasons)- just watch any Hindi movie that is trying to unite two souls in love, and you'll have the annoyed parent pick up a gun and threaten to (or actually) kill his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or all of the afore-mentioned. Sons are excluded, because they are needed to kill the next generation.

Trying to buy a first day ticket for a Rajnikanth film. Kabali, da..

The Worst Inventions

As promised, here are my top ten.

The tie. One which you 'get in the neck'. Comes in the way of necking, too. :)

The mobile phone- this takes the cake in making us inefficient and the service companies rich. Remember we survived before it came along?

TV channels 24x7- I concede there are some good shows on it, but by and large, they make little sense.

Bureaucracy- at its heart, a heartless creature.

Paneer- kills creativity in cooking. Look at the typical menu of a restaurant offering "North-Indian" food.

Treadmill- why not just walk? Or run?

Three-wheeler. It's neither here nor there. Two, or four is alright.

International Days of anything. Irritating, and unnecessary.

The Budget Day for a country. Hype rather than substance, except the 1991 one that liberalised our industry from the stranglehold it used to be in. Policy can be modified any day, not just on Feb 28th.

Rules- many are thoughtless, and either can't or won't be followed.

Passports and passport size photos- how did Huen Tsang come to India/ Who took his pic? I can't recognise my own pic of this kind!

Great Inventions

These are on my list of my ten great inventions-

1. Chair-improved our lives and elevated us from the floor.
2. Spoon-gave us ways of using jars and stirring things up.
3. Radio-everything else pales before this. An infinite source of information, entertainment and joy. Accessible to the common man. Even Modi uses this to connect with people.
4. Pen and paper- how else would we have distinguished ourselves from animals? Books are an endless source of joy.
5. Aspirin- it cures something (headache) with certainty-with most other medicines, you are not really sure.
6. Homeopathy- again, accssible medicine, and despite what experts tell you, easy to learn and administer yourself. Cures at least a few known uncomfortable conditions.
7. Sarcasm- without it, life would be dry and humourless. By using this, we also make friends-and lose some. Keeps the wheel of life on an even keel.
8. Marriage-after laughter, this gets my vote as the next best thing. The twain cannot meet, usually, unfortunately. 
9. Blogging- you are already being subjected to this, so I shall not speak further on the subject-until my next.
10. Communism- a better fantasy is yet to be invented. 

 Some day, I will also list out the worst inventions.

World's Greatest Inventions- General

This is my list of the world's greatest general inventions.

1. The battery- even if electricity connections fail us, the battery can keep us going. Like the heart, which keeps pumping blood for a few decades. Battery life enhancement will win a million admirers to the guy who does it.

2. Cures for common ills- like the flu. Not sure if there is one, though.

3. Books. My life certainly would have been worse off, for the lack of these. Thank you, whoever thought of it.

4. The train. Magical moments are tied to train journeys undertaken, particularly in childhood. The steam-engined ones were the best, like classic wine. The sounds they make is still music to the ears. Even the song 'Gaadi bula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai' gives me the goosebumps.

5. The Single Malts- I am not much of a beer drinker, but single malts are worth celebrating their inventor. Germans will disagree!

6. Parents- you wouldn't survive for too long, if they weren't around to give you unconditional care!

7. Spouses (and marriage)- life would be incredibly dull without them (and it).

8. Children- bundles of joy, for around 364 days, and then, the joy is all theirs. Anyways, what would parents do without them? How long can you fight with each other, after all?

9. Bosses- source of humour for hours on end, with their antics. Scott Adams needs to thank them, more than all others. Mario Miranda too, bless his soul (he died last week).

10. Friends- last but not the least, they are forever. Diamonds don't even come close!

World's Greatest Inventions- Food

There are many foods that qualify to be included in this list. Let me attempt to put down a few.

Avakai- a mango pickle that is delicious and hot! An Andhra speciality.

Rasagolla- needs no description.

Appam- A Kerala version of the dosa, with a puff.

Ice cream. A perennial favourite of all ages.

Chocolate- another favourite over centuries. Can also be combined with ice cream for a double delight.

Prawn/Fish curry in coconut milk. Delicious stuff.

Chicken Chettinad.

Puran poli, a sweet roti which is a staple in Maharashtrian festivals.

Gilawati kabab, also called Tunde kabab. Originated in Lucknow with a melt-in-your-mouth softness.

Hyderabadi Biryani, exemplified by the stuff you get at Paradise (the restaurant).

Noodles- China would not exist without this.

Burger- Americans, and McDonald's would not exist without this.

Tandoori roti- the process of making it is itself fascinating.

Aloo tikki- simple yet great tasting.

Bhel- you can get creative with the ingredients here!

Pan- Banaraswala or any other, its taste and feel is unique.