Case Contributors From IIM Indore

 Many IIM Indore students were contributors to the cases in my Marketing Research 4th edition- a partial list-

Anirudh Matam, Anam Nuhi, Anshika Verma, Giridhar Ravikumar Ambati, Minalee Goyal, Nitin Dammu, Maitri Nabiyal, Nikhil Gharat, Sania Bertila Lokho, Suvinava Basak, Sounak Kasyapi, Sri Pujita Rongala, Parama Banerjee, Parul Rawat, Akanksha Potdar, Rohan Bansode, Amogh Jawa, Shriya Bansal, Tanya Jakhar, Yamohiadeen, Abhinav Mareppa, Apoorva M, Kritika Gupta, Mekala Saketh, Abhilasha Jas, Adesh Saikia, Aishani Verma, Ruminder Kaur, Saylee Ghag, Rewa Malhotra, Rahul Kumar Singh, Mohit Malviya, Shweta Eliza, Sindhuja Gantayet, Sonakshi Garg, Atirek Rajpal, 2 Aparnas (Sandhu, Sekhar), 2 Apoorvas (VK, and Shree), Krishna Bandaru, Sumit Vats, Shivam Puri, Har Amrit Pal Singh, Nittu Thomas, Tejaswini Tilak, Devmitra Biswas, Parameswaran Guha, Shaleen Prakash, Shailendra Sahay, Ravi Jhakodia, Poonam Pawar, Ipsita Saurabhi, Kada Nikhilesh, Disha Singh, Debadatta Pati, Avinash Kerketta, Devi Prasad, Chirag Mehta, Aditya Battu, P. Hrishikesh Nambudiripad

Fashion Statements

 Repositioning of the fashion labels from around the world. Inspired by Bollywood, these could be their desi 'fashion statements' - some are in Hindi, naturally.

Louis Vuitton- Ui amma ui amma..

Versace- Kanchi re kanchi re, preet meri sachi

Armani- Hum aapke armaan poore karte hain

Coco Chanel- Not Loco, Coco

Calvin Klein - Bold, not Kleindestine!

Donna Karan (DKNY) - Tere kaaran, tere kaaran..

Yves Saint Laurent - An Yevening in Paris

Jimmy Choo - Mujhe chhoo, mujhe chhoo.

Cases Students Wrote for My Books

 My text books on Marketing Research and Services Marketing (Published by McGraw-Hill India) derive their uniqueness from cases contributed by students, and contextual examples. Some of these contributors and contributions. These are mostly from KIAMS and IIMK. Later edition of M.R. had IIM Indore students' case studies too. Many were fictional, but realistic.

Why Exams are Ballyhooed

 ..and why they shouldn't be, is the full title of this piece.

The major reason is that they don't give the full picture. It's a small part of what a student or applicant is. The other problem with exams are that they often become a game rather than a real test of knowledge, application or skill. The written exam as it is done in the education system is, more often than not, a test of how well you play the exam game-hence the undue importance of coaching classes. They can cook up the menu to order, and train you to crack any exam on earth, provided there's a pattern to the exam.

The purpose of an examination may not just be to test your regurgitation skills, but maybe also to test how you can think about a problem, or even state what is the problem. Too much emphasis on solving a given problem begs the question- is it the right problem, in the first place? A good example may be chasing GDP growth without looking at the Human Development Index, in national terms. You may achieve one at the cost of the other, so teaching tradeoffs or thinking about these in an exam may be important.

Life is multidimensional, and exams should also reflect that..a score alone cannot define a person, who may have talents that are not measured by it. Sometimes a narrow skill is required which an exam may test for a particular job, but in most cases, we need a broad set of thinking skills that can be applied in multiple ways. That, most exams fail to test. Maybe it's time to relook at it, pandemic or no pandemic...

Gujarat and Rajasthan

 I have been mostly to Ahmedabad, usually as a guest of an educational institute- IIMA, Nirma, and MICA being my hosts in the trips I remember, and a University in Anand once. Therefore, I don't have too many recollections, except the people I met who were uniformly hospitable, unlike the land, which is mostly dry and dusty, and somewhat similar to the Dubai landscape I have seen, minus the huge towers.

My memories are mostly about people, therefore- Varsha and Anita at MICA, Manjari and Ankita, Ishan Joshi, Keyur Bhalavat (some of them entrepreneurs like true-blue Gujjus usually are). Some pics including a couple from neighbouring Rajasthan.

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Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, a desert destination, worth visiting-above and below.

Manjari Mundanad and Punyashlok Dwibedy above, and Ankita/Ishan Joshi, Keyur and others, below.

The MICA team with Varsha, Anita Basalingappa and others. I was there for a Ph.D. viva of a student of Anita's.

Hyderabadi Translations of Hindi Film Songs

 How would a Hyderabadi lyricist have approached the following?

Kuch to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna? Chhodo bekar ki baton mein kahin beet na jaye raina?

My guess- Kuchh to bolinge logaan, apan kaiku sunna? Bekar ke baataan hai, raataan kaiku kharaab karna?

Kehna hai, kehna hai, aaj tumse yeh pehli baar tum hi to layi ho jeevan mein mere pyar pyar pyar

and its equivalent- Kabse ki bolna bolke sochrun tha, tumich laye meri zindagi mein pyar bolke.

-Main na bhoolunga, in rasmon ko in kasmon ko in rishte naaton ko..

Maybe this-Kabbi nahin bhooltun, ye rasma, yeh kasma, ye rishte, kuch bhi nahi bhooltun.

Aloo ki bhaji, baingan ka bharta bolo ji bolo kya khaoge

probably, Kya khate bolo, baingan ke baataan mat karo, bolrun main.

Youtube and TV 5 Monde

 I have found something I can watch finally, both on Youtube and TV. I had never thought I would ever be hooked to either. But TV 5 Monde, a French channel that I discovered last year during the first lockdown impressed me with its content. Movies, or crime investigation type serials, with subtitles. I have continued watching this many evenings, and the standard of the channel is good, and there are no ads- a great bonus.

Also, on Youtube, found a superb series made by A and E America, called Nero Wolfe. The series is based on a favourite character written by Rex Stout, an American. Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe are like Watson and Holmes, but very different from those two. Wolfe never steps out of his house, and asks Archie to do the running around. There is usually a dramatic end to each story, with all the dramatis personae assembled in Wolfe's house-cum-office for the murderer to be unmasked, to the accompaniment of the police in the form of Inspector Cramer, a character by himself.

These come in handy when no outside entertainment is possible. Plus points of the pandemic? Not exactly, but they help. How long can you keep watching the same stats about death, infections and shortages, after all?

Countries I am Aware of

 I became aware of England due to the language that they left behind. Vilayat meant England. There were a few Anglo-Indian families too, when I was growing up. Not sure if there are too many left. But in college days, USA was definitely the dream destination for many. I applied for an M.S. too, but managed to go there later for a Ph.D.- not in engineering, but Management. During stopovers in Europe, visited Greece, Italy, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany (West at the time), and Holland. France more intimately, thanks to Anne, a friend from Brittany we met at Clemson. 

Many years later, I have met people from Sri Lanka (have a good friend Samudrika there), Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, S. Korea, New Zealand, Dubai, Sharjah, Australia, England, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China ( I have a couple of friends there), and so on. 

I am yet to visit Down Under (Covid stole my thunder), and a few countries like China, and South America and Africa. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I had friends from Iran, Nigeria and Portugal in my Ph.D. program, and also from Turkey, and a colleague from Venezuela at Greenwood where I taught.

That is not a bad score! Yes, I know there are around 190 countries, but I am just one person..

Until Death Do Us Part?

 Not necessarily. There's another D word that can do the parting, by playing its part in the parting.

This is a tongue-in-cheek look- cheeky, if you prefer- at some high profile splits.

Melinda- Bill, you didn't pay the bills on time...again!

Bill- My WORD, you do get on my nerves at times.. I never claimed that I EXCEL-led at mundane stuff like this. I am a programmer by training, not a bill-payer.

Melinda- I suggest you go jump out of that WINDOW there. I don't need you if you can't make yourself useful around the house. 

Bill- Ok, fine, I was anyway sick of being tied in..I want to be an EXPLORER again.. see ya!

Jeff Bezos to MacKenzie (before the split)- You are an Amazon.. I mean, amazing!

MacKenzie- I object to that slip of the tongue. You meant I have put on weight, didn't you?

Jeff- No, darling, how could I?

MacKenzie- Ok, how about I lighten your wallet just a little bit? Won't that be amazing? You'll hear from my lawyer soon... express delivery!

Karnataka, Part 2- Harihar

 Well, I never again lived 500 metres from an 18-hole Golf course, after Harihar- the Kirloskars built it there. The students were some of the most beautiful people, as you will see in the pics that follow, and the staff and faculty colleagues are still in touch. What more can one ask for from a workplace? Take a look. 

A group pic when I was about to leave in 2001. 

Sudhir, Panneerselvam who's now at Tumkur SIT, Sandeep, Niranjan Swain, me, K.S. Bhat and Vijayakumar - many are in touch.

I didn't even teach her, but Anushka Mishra and I formed a Mutual Admiration Society..so did Savitha of Batch 1 and me (below)

Mutual admiration is actually great, so here are more candidates- some are forming still- Nishka the Ghostwriter, with two more (above), and a group in early days of PGDM, below. Vikash, Viral, Harsh, Chandni, Damini, Shruti, Amrita, Ruchira, Priyadarshi,...

Recent meetups with these guys were just as lovely- Dheeraj (above) in Chennai, and Nidhi in Indore, her hometown and my workplace then.

Shweta (above) went to great lengths to catch up, and that resulted in Sunil and Sharmistha Singh catching up soon after. (below)

They say (actually Dheeraj does, and I agree) that KIAMS girls get more beautiful as the years go by. Some proof below- Vidya TC and Swapna in Singapore. I told them about this theory, and they smiled even more...

West Bengal and Kolkata

 I have visited Darjeeling, Siliguri and Shantiniketan too, but most visits have centred around Kolkata (Calcutta). IIMC used to host us for some meetings when I was in IIML and IIMK, and I went to Kolkata for a few admission interviews when I worked for KIAMS, Harihar.

Recently, I visited for some alumni meets of IMT Nagpur and Ghaziabad, and also to meet a friend a couple of years ago. A family visit also happened in the early 90s from Hyderabad. I always enjoyed the food and the ambience of the city, and the Clubs there too. I have been to around 3 or four of them, thanks to friends. Alpana, a friend from an MDP at IIM Indore, Sudeshna and Roopsha who are past students, I am yet to meet. But I have met Siddharth Agarwal of KIAMS, Aditi Sood and Pushpak from KIAMS there, and also Naveen Das and other colleagues when we visited NSHM. The Gariahat market used to be a haunt when we visited earlier. Some pics from visits-

Gariahat above, and Science Museum, with Ajanta Sircar, below

Tollygunge with dash.

Streets..

Tram ride, boat ride..

Benefits of Masking

 I am sure you are fed up with the mask business-wearing them all the time you are out, unless you happen to be in Biden-land.

But there are several plus points ( I am not calling them positives, for obvious reasons)-

1. You don't have to see faces that you don't like.

2. You can't understand what anyone is saying. earlier, this was limited to your teachers, but now almost everyone is included. (If indoor masking was made compulsory, husbands would be at peace, and kids too, from their wives' and mothers' orders respectively.) 

3. You can ignore what bosses told you at work, claiming you mis-heard them. 

4. Emails may become the way forward, due to masked Zoom meetings of your Teams.

5. Last but not the least, You give terrorists a complex, by taking away their U.S.P. 

Kerala

 I had visited a lot of Kerala in 1983, all the way from Cannanore (now Kannur) in the north, to Quilon (Kollam) in the South, for my internship, doing some market research- my headquarters was Kochi (Cochin at the time). But I actually went to live there in 2003, and worked at IIM Kozhikode (Calicut, where Vasco Da Gama had landed before me, in 1498 or so- he came by sea).

During those two years, I spent some time exploring the nearby places, and the beach in town. I don't remember a lot of the names, but remember going to a lake in Wayanad someplace, a dam and a beach not far from Calicut. There was also a bungalow called Casa Marina by the sea which we sometimes rented/went to, for a day-long party. There was also a restaurant called Paragon that was a favourite, especially for its seafood. Another was Sea Queen, on the beach, for its location.

I also played a cricket match in the local club, with my friend Ravi, and did pretty OK with my batting. He had the small Daewoo car that went out of production later. Also a Bullet bike, and collected gems. Uday Damodaran, my classmate, was also with me on the faculty during those two years. 

IIMK's campus was very picturesque, and I visited a couple of times on invitation. Some pics- 

At the campus on a visit recently, looking out of my room.

Dheeraj, a Malayali ex-student from KIAMS (left), whom we met in Chennai a couple of years ago.

IIMK campus- pretty, ain't it?

Above and below- Munnar, where we went Golfing in a foursome- Vijayakumar taking the tee shot, and Dhanapal, me and Ravi Gadgil looking on.

Exam Obsession

 We as a country (I mean India) have an exam obsession. But I suggest going a step beyond, and doing some research on what kind of exams are good and what are counter-productive, or even unnecessary (!)

A simple aptitude test is probably OK, to check if a person has basic skills like language or logic for a particular field of study, but almost everything else can be learnt on the job if the candidate has the right aptitude, and attitude.

Within courses of study, application should matter a lot more than it does now. Industry needs to get involved more, in engineering, commerce, and management at least, in offering internships, live projects and practical training that is flexible, and results in learning of that kind. Teachers can do their bit by designing evaluation techniques that encourage these learnings- class projects, discussions, debates and presentations, rather than 2 hour exams that test rote learning, at all levels. If a simple test of aptitude can generate a merit list, Board exams can be eliminated, and replaced with other forms of continuous evaluation. The pandemic has forced a rethink on many centralised exam systems that may have outlived their utility. 

A major rethink is needed, on the whole subject of what role exams should play, at every stage. 

Andhra Pradesh- Telangana Et Al.

 To me, it's still one state, and not two. I was born at Kothagudem, Khammam district. Railway station was called Bhadrachalam Road. Singareni Collieries, a Centre-state joint venture coal-mining company, was the reason we were there. I learnt Telugu, and still speak a little, when I find a few who also do, like Siri Adi, my ex-student. Or Jayanti Ranjan, who was a colleague and friend from IMT G.

Anyway, we had a British-built bungalow with a sprawling front and back garden, for a house, the first few years on the planet. I climbed trees, watered plants, and picked mangoes by the bucket in a storm. Learnt photography by observing my parents use a German folding camera, and later, in school, learnt how to develop black and white pics in a lab. 

After 1982, did not see much of the state, though we stayed till 1989. I was away getting an MBA, and later working, or getting a Ph.D. abroad. But my memories of those days -22 years- is still strong, and many of my childhood buddies from those years are in touch, at least on facebook. Met a few over the years too, last in Pune last November. Also had a record player, and lots of records. Developed my taste for Hindi film music by listening, and watching films- my parents were buffs, and we drove to cinema halls in town whenever a new film released. Jewel Thief was one of those, I remember.

The Early Khans of 70s Bollywood

 I remember Feroz and Sanjay Khan from my early days at the movies, much before Shah Rukh and others came along. Aamir was playing a kid in Yaadon ki Baraat then. 

Sanjay Khan was definitely the handsome one, and starred in quite a few unremarkable movies. Dus Lakh, Babul Ki Galiyaan, Mela, Dhadkan and Dhund were some of these, and I mostly remember nothing of these. But he was tolerable as an actor.

Feroz was the stylish one, and in later years, he made his own films and starred in them. They had him playing larger than life roles, like Dharmatma or Qurbani. I haven't seen Jaanbaaz, but I can guess how it would have been, based on past films of his. Qurbani became famous for introducing Nazia Hasan to Indian films. The Disco Deewane girl sang Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye, to baat ban jaaye (under Biddu's music I think), and became a rage. Laila main laila by Kanchan was also a big hit.

Last I remember seeing Feroz was in Welcome, a crime caper.

Of course, there was Amjad Khan and his wonderful debut in Sholay in 1975.

Madhya Pradesh

 Next to Karnataka, I may have stayed the longest in this state, if I discount Andhra Pradesh where I was born and brought up. Except for a visit to Jabalpur and Indore when in my teens, I did not know much about M.P. But it grew on me. I made a lot of friends who I found were very nice.. students, academic associates, faculty and staff who I had a chance to work with, all thanks to IIM Indore, my employer. I also discovered that many of my students from elsewhere belonged to M.P., and my respect for the state grew. Another reason

-my favourite singer, Kishore Kumar, grew up in Khandwa, not far from Indore.

Among faculty, Harsh Halve from IMT Nagpur was also in Indore (Jaipuria) for part of my stay, and Aditya Billore and Ashish were both my colleagues and in my area. Aditya and I also co-taught a course for the EPGP. IIM Indore has a beautiful campus, and some beautiful people living on it. Of course, they came from all over India, but I made many friends among FPM students, and PGPs (Mumbai too), PGP MX, and even IPMs, though I never formally taught them. Also, my fourth edition of Marketing Research got published there, and so did a book (edited) titled Digital Marketing Cases From India, with Romi Sainy as co-editor.