Exiting the City of Joy

 Much depends on how you view your stay in a place. Every place can provide you with joy (or sorrow) depending on what you do to get along with that place, and the people in that place.

Though I was a visitor to Kolkata regularly for admissions since around 1996 (I was with Kirloskar Institute then), I had not lived here. A friend, Ajanta Sircar, worked here (she's a prof. at VIT Vellore now), and during one of our visits, she took me around to visit places here, including Olypub. Oxford Bookstore too. I have visited both since I started working here last year, and a couple of other places like Tollygunge Club, thanks to Dash, who is a member. 

I did not manage to play Golf so far, but might do so before I move out. Did go to a restaurant at the Ecopark Golf Course called Club de Golf though, to meet a visiting alum, Navneeta. Also met Amit Gope, a student from XIMB long ago, who is a Golfer himself. 

And re-met Ananya Ghosh and Sayantani Saha. Ananya I had met at XLRI once before, and I helped her a bit with her Ph.D. analysis here. Sayantani is an IMT Nagpur alumna, and works with ICICI Lombard ever since she graduated in 2012. 

Made a few  friends in the JIS University too, among colleagues at both campuses - New Town and Agarpara. Tried some food specialities from here. and liked most. A couple of old friends also visited, one a prof. from my XIMB days- Banikanta Mishra, and another, a Ph.D. student from Indore-turned prof. at OP Jindal, Akansh Khandelwal.

Also met Suhasini Barman, my third favourite after SD and RD Burman. This one runs a marketing and communications firm named after her, located in the Park Street area. Also guest lectures in B schools. We met on Linkedin, I think, and met a few times after that.

I also represented JIS University at a few events in Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata over the last few months.

As I said, it depends on you too, whether you take the joy or the sorrow from a place..

What You Do and How You Do It

 We are always talking about what we do-and ask questions around it, one way or another, to those we keep meeting. But whatever you may be doing, it's more important whether you like it, and if you are able to contribute meaningfully, and whether it gives you satisfaction at the end of the day, week or month.

I think Hoe you do something is as important as what you do. Are you bringing in new ways of thinking? Are you helping a colleague do better than he/she would have? Are you spreading cheer around? A movie called Bawarchi directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee comes to mind. A dystopian household with a lot of problems hires a cook- a bawarchi- who brings sunshine into the house. He helps each one in the house to achieve what they only dreamt of till then. More importantly, he teaches everyone to love and respect one another! In another film of his, Anand, the hero knows he's dying from a rare cancer. But while those around him are grieving, he spreads joy among them till his last breath, because he wants to enjoy whatever is left of his life- looking at the positives.

It is possible, in most cases, to be able to do more than the minimum, whether it's a job or your own enterprise, or something else. The joy of doing it- anything at all- is infectious, and can help you and others to enjoy it to the fullest. Many jobs are dull and repetitive, but you can inject some fun into them if you try.

Try it.

Keepsake Photos

 Photographs are a great way to remember people, occasions, planned events, chance meetings, and places too. Many of us have a Taj Mahal pic from our visit to the beautiful monument. I have one from the Eiffel Tower, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa too.

My grandmother's pic at the steering wheel of a car (she didn't drive) is one of her best in my collection. Another is from when many of my aunts had visited us with their kids - my Mom had six sisters and a brother. 

Another category is with students, alumni or colleagues from various workplaces. Some I meet repeatedly and some I met maybe only once. But a photo reminds me of the fun time we had. There is one with Vivek Gupta - a colleague at IIM Lucknow, which was during a hailstorm we had on campus. I went home, got my camera and we took some memorable pics. One with Avinash Mulky too, during this short time.

Many of the vintage pics from IIM Bangalore-an architectural wonder that I was lucky to be in- are now priceless. A couple with the Clemson Tiger- he was a mascot of Clemson University, or one during a break in the Football game -very colourful, are similarly priceless. 

Pics with family - particularly when our daughters were small-are gems in our collection. Digitisation has made it easy to preserve these, but I have a huge collection from pre-digital days, including a flight in a Cessna over Clemson! 

Cups

 They say a cup is half full, or half empty depending on how you look at it. I always thought mine was full of joy. Here's a celebration of cups large and small, always full of life! 

Small Joys

I do most of my planning-Ok, make that ALL my planning-using a desk calendar. It's very easy to write what you want on the dates you want, and chances of errors are almost nil. You can overwrite too, if there's a change in plans. And you can photocopy a month's plans if you want to make them portable.

The reason I am going gaga over this is the fruitless (long) search for one last year in Indore. Finally, I found one in Chennai while visiting for a conference. I was really over the moon! This time, I took precautions, and I found one in Pune. For 2018. So you don't have to gift me one.

The other thing I have never understood is why institutions (including mine) distribute calendars after Jan 1st. Aren't we supposed to plan ahead? And also, why don't they give you a desk calendar in addition to a wall calendar? Ok, you will tell me to go digital in my planning..I'm not listening, so have your way.

Cups and Saucers

The cup of joy.

The World Cup.

Not your cup of tea.

I cupped my hands around the bowl/his neck.

         Why not saucered? as in

My saucer of joy.

The World Saucer.

Not your saucer of coffee.

I saucered my palm while showing off the tattoo/mehendi, or whatever.

Why this step-brotherly treatment to the humble saucer?
The cup of secrets holds the answer, I am sure.

Joy of Workplaces- My ranking

Inspired by all the rankings going around, I decided to reflect (I do that sometimes, even though it may not seem so) on the places I have worked in and the joys they gave me. This is not a ranking, actually, just a recounting. The title about ranking was only to get attention. :)

Vignana Jyoti- Joys of being part of a startup, nice small group of students, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and biryani for lunch almost every day at Hyderabad. My pic at VJIM, with my spacesuit top.

Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies- this was an idyllic workplace. The students were lovely, the staff the friendliest (we partied regularly), the colony was excellent, and we had a Golf course (18-hole) in it, 500 metres from our home. Still remember most students I taught here in the first four batches. The MDPs (training programs) we did here were also high quality.

IIM Lucknow- though the weather was terrible, it taught me how to teach well, and re-introduced me to research. Colleagues were very helpful, but student numbers were too large for anyone to get close.

IIM Kozhikode- Great views from my office, the prettiest campus, and some good students. Numbers were still 120 then! Also went out to some nice places from there, a sea-side villa called Casa Marina being a venue for parties. Also visited Madikeri (Coorg) for the first time. Wrote my Services Marketing book while there. Did some Faculty Development Programs too.

PESIT, Bangalore: A band of gung-ho colleagues and some bright students stuck in a university system, but willing to break out, are what made my first stint as a director memorable. We took off, doing everything an autonomous school did, and then some. Started a nice journal, PES Business Review (still doing well), conducted an international conference at Goa, and trained faculty in publishing and case-writing.

IFIM- This autonomous B school stint was brief, but interesting. We re-oriented admissions by going to small towns across India, started a PhD program where two of my students have finished their PhDs, and had an offsite brainstorming with faculty at Yercaud, a hill-station.

IMT Nagpur- Some of the best memories are from here, which we brought into its own. Conducted our own Convocations in Nagpur, re-enthused alumni through a concerted effort, and conducted a unique Case conference in Goa for 4 years. Research was rewarded, MDPs leapfrogged, and one of the best faculty teams of that size was also built up. Students were also very enthusiastic, and I taught a Seminar on Thought Leadership for the first time. Built a little golf course on campus, and taught students the basics. Offsite meetings at Pench, Pachmarhi and Bhedaghat were wonderful experiences. I also 'marketed' (without a commission) the karaoke concept to some colleagues!

IMT Ghaziabad- I stayed a short while, but collaborated with faculty colleagues on research and case-writing, and recruited a record number of faculty. Revived the alumni connect with older batches too- this place counts several well-known names like Prasoon Joshi among its alums.

IIM Indore- now a three-year old here, am liking the campus, and have taught IMC (Advertising) and Digital Marketing, in addition to my staple, marketing research. We also have a couple of different programs - an industry FPM, a regular doctoral program, and an off-campus one in Mumbai.Wrote a few original cases and research papers, some with students. Enjoyed some creative activities like the plays staged by students, directed by a colleague. We could do with more social activity, but I am happy interacting with online friends and family. Travelled far and wide for conferences, including Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia and maybe this year, to the Dominican Republic.

Overcoming Fear

Overcoming Fear

Everyone is scared. You are not the only one.

The millionaire is scared of losing his millions. The job-holder of losing his job. The businessman of making losses.

The salesman, of not meeting his targets. The H.R. guy of recruiting the wrong people. The production manager, of his machines failing. The speaker, of not connecting with his audience. The fisherman of not catching fish.

The husband of his wife. The wife, of her in-laws. Both, of their kids’ demands, or their behavior, or their future.

So how do you overcome fear?

There are, in my view, three primary ways to do it.

1. Distract Yourself. Watch movies, browse the net, read books, or gossip.
2. Get analytical, analyse each fear and work out a specific antidote for each.
3. Decide not to fear anything. Tough, but effective.

I owe some gratitude to all the people I have read from, for the above, but the interpretation is my own.