AN Era at....
IMPORTANT NOTICE : VIEWS, IDEAS AND EXPRESSIONS posted in this blog are entirely those of the author. No, repeat NO, cognisance against anyone else may please be taken for any discrepancy that may be found in this blog.......being AJ.
Circa 2012 - I had, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined a scenario that stood before me.....going back to a civil Business School, after all those years of professional wandering; going to learn management when all my life, I have been following my heart and intuition more than anything else. Never in my life, both professional and personal, have I ever cared for graphs, funny looking noodles (they call it calculus) and even theories! And here I was, in the middle of June 2012, packing off to this establishment called ERA Business School (EBS) in Dwarka, New Delhi.....
Circa 2012 - I had, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined a scenario that stood before me.....going back to a civil Business School, after all those years of professional wandering; going to learn management when all my life, I have been following my heart and intuition more than anything else. Never in my life, both professional and personal, have I ever cared for graphs, funny looking noodles (they call it calculus) and even theories! And here I was, in the middle of June 2012, packing off to this establishment called ERA Business School (EBS) in Dwarka, New Delhi.....
I would be here for next two years, trying to find my way around, if not through, the maze of formulae, functions, theories, graphs and calculations and of course, the compulsion to sit (I say it again, 'SIT'; doing well being a remote possibility) in the upcoming MAT! I am here to do some domain specialisation after two odd decades of walking about the bushes (and beating the latter in the process). I have an option to do specialisation in Finance......! Well, after all those years of signing and (later on) countersigning numerous accounts, without ever understanding a thing {I am a trusting fellow, you see! I have always trusted my subordinates while signing on the dotted lines (Of course, after having successfully failed in my sincere attempts to learn accounting very early in my career)}, it is gonna be interesting, I am sure!
The Prelims - My first interaction with a faculty member, Dr VS, was pretty nice; comforting enough to push me over the edge. She was patient enough to answer all my queries that ranged from apprehensions about calculations to fee structure to scholarships to attendance to choices for specialisation to whatever!! It was a mix of her mature handling, an impressive infrastructure (centrally air-conditioned complex wherein pots in the loos flush automatically), ever-growing reputation of the school and, of course, convenience that eventually helped me take the leap into unknown (though not blindly now)! With the fee paid and documentation done, there was no turning around! I think that is the best language that I understand. Now, it will be PERFORM (ie survive) or PERISH (ie survive, again)!
Having spent sleeping hours under canopies of trees in different parts of the country and having eaten grass for food on a few occasions (not to mention guys who crawl around in such an environ; snakes and frogs, for example), spending some 06 Lakhs on oneself (finally!) did not appear to be a bad deal at all! (Movies like 3Idiots and ZNMD help you take such decisions with grace). And when I was offered a scholarship of 75K in recognition of the twin facts- first that I had done pretty well in my academics (some two and a half decades ago) and second that I was a government servant (kind gesture)- I grabbed it with both my hands!
At this juncture, let me also share another of my expertise in general awareness, rather lack of it. You see, when we were in college (and that was 25 years back), there was nothing called a PGDM or MBA (at least I do not remember such terms, except, of course, IIMs; ....... and since I could not wait to get out of my college to join army, the focus, in any case, had been somewhere else). As the life moved on and such qualifications became common, one did hear about these terms but I always had the perception that while MBA would be Masters, PGDM would be a poorer cousin in form of a diploma. Neither was I aware of the distance that lay between my perception and the fact nor was I conscious about the fact that PGDM, by virtue of its dynamism, is a far better course to do. So, it was more because of destiny than design that I landed up at EBS (short for Era Business School) for pursuing a PGDM course.
At this juncture, let me also share another of my expertise in general awareness, rather lack of it. You see, when we were in college (and that was 25 years back), there was nothing called a PGDM or MBA (at least I do not remember such terms, except, of course, IIMs; ....... and since I could not wait to get out of my college to join army, the focus, in any case, had been somewhere else). As the life moved on and such qualifications became common, one did hear about these terms but I always had the perception that while MBA would be Masters, PGDM would be a poorer cousin in form of a diploma. Neither was I aware of the distance that lay between my perception and the fact nor was I conscious about the fact that PGDM, by virtue of its dynamism, is a far better course to do. So, it was more because of destiny than design that I landed up at EBS (short for Era Business School) for pursuing a PGDM course.
At this juncture, let me also share another of my expertise in general awareness, rather lack of it. You see, when we were in college (and that was 25 years back), there was nothing called a PGDM or MBA (at least I do not remember such terms, except, of course, IIMs; ....... and since I could not wait to get out of my college to join army, the focus, in any case, had been somewhere else). As the life moved on and such qualifications became common, one did hear about these terms but I always had the perception that while MBA would be Masters, PGDM would be a poorer cousin in form of a diploma. Neither was I aware of the distance that lay between my perception and the fact nor was I conscious about the fact that PGDM, by virtue of its dynamism, is a far better course to do. So, it was more because of destiny than design that I landed up at EBS (short for Era Business School) for pursuing a PGDM course.
At this juncture, let me also share another of my expertise in general awareness, rather lack of it. You see, when we were in college (and that was 25 years back), there was nothing called a PGDM or MBA (at least I do not remember such terms, except, of course, IIMs; ....... and since I could not wait to get out of my college to join army, the focus, in any case, had been somewhere else). As the life moved on and such qualifications became common, one did hear about these terms but I always had the perception that while MBA would be Masters, PGDM would be a poorer cousin in form of a diploma. Neither was I aware of the distance that lay between my perception and the fact nor was I conscious about the fact that PGDM, by virtue of its dynamism, is a far better course to do. So, it was more because of destiny than design that I landed up at EBS (short for Era Business School) for pursuing a PGDM course.
THE FOUNDATION LEG
(Youngster looks on as I try and navigate through Calculus and Matrix)
When The Foundations Shook - People who lead teams and run huge establishments like Era (its name flows from the mother company of the same name and where the acronym is looked upon as Exploit Resources Absolutely), definitely possess some vision. So, at some point in time, management took a decision to put us all through a Foundation Leg before the commencement of the actual course. Aim was to bring (as far as possible and HOPEFULLY....we all have heard of Horse and Water proverb...haven't we?) students from different academic backgrounds up to a minimum level of understanding so that 'take off' could become easy and smooth once the time for the actual leap came. By actual leap, I mean the commencement of the assessed trimesters or the proper PGDM Course that would follow after a few weeks. Till then, it will be learning without barriers and even though there would be tests, the results will not count towards the overall course grades. Not a bad idea, I must say. So, one fine morning, I found myself suddenly getting younger by two decades and creating CONFUSION at EBS. The first few victims of such an unnatural event (an oldie going back to the school) were as under:-
* Security Guard who looked pretty lost; did not know whether to salute the new faculty member or to frisk a new student. My car, to some extent and grey on the top floor to a greater extent, added to the confusion!
* Colleagues - I was aware of the room number since a phone call from the school had informed about the venue, the previous evening. So, as I entered the room, a handful of new students first got alarmed by my appearance and then got confused as I started to climb the aisle between the desks that rest on an inclined plane (Do they call it 'Z- Axis'? Whatever it may be called in technical terms, the layout of the class instantly transported me back to my days in senior secondary school and college where we had such class layouts). Having seen the amusement-cum-confusion on guard's face a few moments earlier, I was prompt enough to say hello to them and tell them that I was gonna be one of them. I am also a believer of gossip and grapevine when suitable subject (in this case, yours faithfully) is available. So, I knew that others will automatically get informed without any further delay.
* Cafeteria Guy - Well, poor fellow served my first lunch in a crockery that is reserved for the faculty. And before that, I did get dip tea in a cup and saucer too! Now that he is more aware, probably the first impression thing is still working on him because even today, he puts a papadum (पापड़) in my plate. Now, this is a privilege not available to lesser mortals like us under normal circumstances. BTW, EBS has a very healthy system wherein faculty, staff, support staff, students and visitors share the space in the cafe.
* Faculty - I had met most of the faculty members either during selection process or during intervening days. So, there was no issue or confusion (Touch Wood!) but initially, the ego boosting word, SIR, was liberally used by both sides. Thanks to Heavens (if they really exist) that now only I have the privilege of calling them Sir/Ma'm.
Coming back to the Day 1, we were introduced to the faculty and given a rough idea about things that may be expected during the course. A lot of stress was laid on attendance thing and its implications, rather implications of remaining absent. I am OK with such an arrangement because unless there is something really pressing, I have no intention of missing a day at school! More interesting things followed the initial monologue-cum-scary session. The ice-breaking was good and in addition to many other good things that happened that day during the ice-breaking effort, one of the bubbly students of our batch was able to earn a nick name for herself from the faculty. Her energy and activities had probably inspired some faculty member to refer to her as a 'Bomb' to other faculty members during the lunch session that followed the icey thing! Aim of the Foundation Leg, at least as stated, has already been shared on top. But as the course progressed and we got lost among Mean-Median-Mode, Deviations (both Standard and otherwise), Book entries, pronunciations, presentations and Pivot Tables, we found the very foundations shaking for the first time. Oldies like us had a mixed feeling - Deja vu combined with LTML (Long Term Memory Loss) while students from other streams struggled with what appeared Greek to many. But the silver lining of this part was the OBL (Out Bound (training) Leg) where we were taken to Shivpuri near Rishikesh. I, unfortunately, had to let it go because of some emergency back home but feedback suggests that it went off well.....'awesome' as the Generation## describes it.
(Self explanatory)
(Trust......it matters)
(when boundaries got blurred)
(Creating new circles and networks)
Another good thing was the fact that by the end of the Foundation Leg, class had become full strength (100+) and certain degree of confusion had been eliminated. Now, the bad part....we were divided into two sections (non-permanent, though).
Faculty, by and large, came out to be understanding and sympathetic. One factor that was common among all of them was the level of confidence that reflected competence. Humans, however, will remain humans. Some were arrogant (y?) and had an attitude that would eventually overshadow their competence! There were some light or hilarious but very educative interactions while threats were thrown at us during some other sessions. At least one of them did never bother to come back with the answer to doubts that could not be answered in the class. Life has taught us to deal with all kinds and so while I am OK, I am not sure about the youngsters. But since they are the faculty and we have no control over them, we would lump it or shake off the dust before it settles on our heads!
Faculty, by and large, came out to be understanding and sympathetic. One factor that was common among all of them was the level of confidence that reflected competence. Humans, however, will remain humans. Some were arrogant (y?) and had an attitude that would eventually overshadow their competence! There were some light or hilarious but very educative interactions while threats were thrown at us during some other sessions. At least one of them did never bother to come back with the answer to doubts that could not be answered in the class. Life has taught us to deal with all kinds and so while I am OK, I am not sure about the youngsters. But since they are the faculty and we have no control over them, we would lump it or shake off the dust before it settles on our heads!
Tests added to the jolt as we struggled with the answers. One did feel uneasy a bit when one realised the intent to create additional difficulty in at least one paper. But by and large, though with difficulty, one managed to 'survive'. We were never shown the results but I suppose that was how it was designed to be. And except one exception, we did not feel any of the faculty members really trying to be sadist or unreasonable. All is well that ends well!
Summing Up the Foundation Leg- It was good and certainly very helpful, as we were to realise a bit later. In fact, had the course started straightway, people with LTML would have been stressed quite a bit. By now, we have seen and understood the EBS way of life. It may be too early but I would take a shot on SWOT at this juncture.....OK, kill it; only Strengths and Weaknesses (as I look at things........come on guys, grant this oldie his due!). Here we go.....
1. The Environment..... Pretty good, if I were to sum it up. The institute lives up to its name when comes to infrastructure and facilities at the campus. The first impression, as you enter the school, is positive and it remains so throughout the stay. Faculty and staff are friendly, and even though they are forced to act tough with students at times, they remain good human beings at the end of the day. In fact, a few with the attitude, as I had found them initially, are turning out to be pretty OK guys, may be with a bit of their own! But that is perfectly alright and does not appear to be harming anyone, at least not as of now. Parking, however, is an issue. My Grizzly (car) took a bump in its stride one day but any other car could have been hurt badly. Slush and bushes.......!! How about some covered space where we can park our hard-earned chariots!
2. TECHNOLOGY......
- EBS Blackboard is a great tool. It is informative, helps us connect with alumni and faculty, is well laid out and is pretty OK. However, the system is not really as interactive as it could have been. The 'reply' link on mail fails every time and there is no provision of 'att' an attachment even if you could send in a mail. Also, the link to visit 'Alumni' section gets activated only after it is approved and I have been waiting since long. Overall, good but can be better.
- Website.....is informative but unresponsive. That is strange actually! With such a great tool in place, one wonders as to why there is never a timely reply to queries posted online!
- Wi-fi..... Amazing speed and amazing experience. Students, however, belong to a rare breed and thus, there are times when our own behaviour and conduct creates difficulties. A few techos have all the tools to steal bandwidth while downloading 'chalchitras' (movies, as one of the more humorous faculties calls it) while others do not hesitate visiting social sites even when classes are on. So, management does switch it off at times but it is a blessing! -
- Online Assignments..... All our modules are loaded on EBS Blackboard and that is actually a great thing to do. However, when it comes to assignments, we are supposed to submit things written in hand (except one particular brave faculty member who has been really revolutionary and has shown courage to accept things online). Now, the funda, as explained by someone, is that if students were allowed to submit things online or in soft copy form, they will simply do 'cut' and 'paste' from internet sites and take short cuts and many will not even read the contents even once. I have , however, have a different take (may be it is courtesy my own two years long experience as a faculty) on this issue. It is a professional course..... students who exhibit such traits and try and sham it out, need to be penalised. Now, if a student opens the internet site and starts copying the material in own hand, he/she may still not be absorb anything in the process. But if the same student, however, does copy+paste thing and submits it online/ in soft copy, all that the concerned faculty member needs to do is to copy+paste a portion of the text into a search engine and press 'enter'. Source, along with all other connected issues will be highlighted in no time. Penalising/counselling, in such cases, becomes pretty easy.
(Handwritten or in soft form : the debate will continue!)
3. Schedule.... The overall schedule looks OK but then there are times when time appears to be getting under-utilised. Vacant periods in-between two classes is probably the worst thing that can happen. But it is just a beginning and I hope that things will change for better. The weekend (Saturday and Sunday are off as of now) is the best thing and it suits family guys like us who have folks to look after. While this luxury may go in the second year, we are supposed to be enjoying it in the first year that starts very soon now.
4. Guest Lectures...... Some are very good but some are simply the opposite. While I am sure there is some professional angle (and fee?) involved, a bad lecture is not only a sheer wastage of time but also paints a pretty dull picture of the corporate world. We have suffered; I hope management does not let the next course undergo a similar agony. But the good ones were really good. One speaker from US of A did shake us up. Last person to accept anything against my organisation or my country, even I agree with most of the issues raised by him. There is no harm in looking inwards and doing a merciless dissection of own-self once in a while. The gentleman simply led us on that path of self-realisation.
5. Seniors...... We are privileged to be in a school that has a strict NO RAGGING policy. And icing on the cake is the behaviour of our seniors. While oldies like me would have remained beyond them, others could have felt the pinch had our seniors not been so mature and supportive. For all practical purposes, I consider and treat myself at par with my batch mates, and thus, I feel nice to be under such a lot. Barring a couple of them (out of 40 odd), rest all are as good or as bad as us and not difficult at all. The so called 'couple of them', however, make a specimen out of themselves when they come to make announcements and try and behave like our faculty that they, fortunately or unfortunately, are not! Well, there are many things small and big but it is too early to comment upon. All eyes are now set on TEACHERS' DAY and FRESHERS' DAY. Both these functions fall in the month of September. BTW, our course proper started with an auspicious ceremony of HAWAN on 13 Aug 12..... that was some real good gesture...
(Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah)
(Youngster looks on as I try and navigate through Calculus and Matrix)
* Security Guard who looked pretty lost; did not know whether to salute the new faculty member or to frisk a new student. My car, to some extent and grey on the top floor to a greater extent, added to the confusion!
* Colleagues - I was aware of the room number since a phone call from the school had informed about the venue, the previous evening. So, as I entered the room, a handful of new students first got alarmed by my appearance and then got confused as I started to climb the aisle between the desks that rest on an inclined plane (Do they call it 'Z- Axis'? Whatever it may be called in technical terms, the layout of the class instantly transported me back to my days in senior secondary school and college where we had such class layouts). Having seen the amusement-cum-confusion on guard's face a few moments earlier, I was prompt enough to say hello to them and tell them that I was gonna be one of them. I am also a believer of gossip and grapevine when suitable subject (in this case, yours faithfully) is available. So, I knew that others will automatically get informed without any further delay.
* Cafeteria Guy - Well, poor fellow served my first lunch in a crockery that is reserved for the faculty. And before that, I did get dip tea in a cup and saucer too! Now that he is more aware, probably the first impression thing is still working on him because even today, he puts a papadum (पापड़) in my plate. Now, this is a privilege not available to lesser mortals like us under normal circumstances. BTW, EBS has a very healthy system wherein faculty, staff, support staff, students and visitors share the space in the cafe.
* Faculty - I had met most of the faculty members either during selection process or during intervening days. So, there was no issue or confusion (Touch Wood!) but initially, the ego boosting word, SIR, was liberally used by both sides. Thanks to Heavens (if they really exist) that now only I have the privilege of calling them Sir/Ma'm.
Coming back to the Day 1, we were introduced to the faculty and given a rough idea about things that may be expected during the course. A lot of stress was laid on attendance thing and its implications, rather implications of remaining absent. I am OK with such an arrangement because unless there is something really pressing, I have no intention of missing a day at school! More interesting things followed the initial monologue-cum-scary session. The ice-breaking was good and in addition to many other good things that happened that day during the ice-breaking effort, one of the bubbly students of our batch was able to earn a nick name for herself from the faculty. Her energy and activities had probably inspired some faculty member to refer to her as a 'Bomb' to other faculty members during the lunch session that followed the icey thing! Aim of the Foundation Leg, at least as stated, has already been shared on top. But as the course progressed and we got lost among Mean-Median-Mode, Deviations (both Standard and otherwise), Book entries, pronunciations, presentations and Pivot Tables, we found the very foundations shaking for the first time. Oldies like us had a mixed feeling - Deja vu combined with LTML (Long Term Memory Loss) while students from other streams struggled with what appeared Greek to many. But the silver lining of this part was the OBL (Out Bound (training) Leg) where we were taken to Shivpuri near Rishikesh. I, unfortunately, had to let it go because of some emergency back home but feedback suggests that it went off well.....'awesome' as the Generation## describes it.
(Self explanatory)
(Trust......it matters)
(when boundaries got blurred)
(Creating new circles and networks)
Another good thing was the fact that by the end of the Foundation Leg, class had become full strength (100+) and certain degree of confusion had been eliminated. Now, the bad part....we were divided into two sections (non-permanent, though).
Faculty, by and large, came out to be understanding and sympathetic. One factor that was common among all of them was the level of confidence that reflected competence. Humans, however, will remain humans. Some were arrogant (y?) and had an attitude that would eventually overshadow their competence! There were some light or hilarious but very educative interactions while threats were thrown at us during some other sessions. At least one of them did never bother to come back with the answer to doubts that could not be answered in the class. Life has taught us to deal with all kinds and so while I am OK, I am not sure about the youngsters. But since they are the faculty and we have no control over them, we would lump it or shake off the dust before it settles on our heads!
Faculty, by and large, came out to be understanding and sympathetic. One factor that was common among all of them was the level of confidence that reflected competence. Humans, however, will remain humans. Some were arrogant (y?) and had an attitude that would eventually overshadow their competence! There were some light or hilarious but very educative interactions while threats were thrown at us during some other sessions. At least one of them did never bother to come back with the answer to doubts that could not be answered in the class. Life has taught us to deal with all kinds and so while I am OK, I am not sure about the youngsters. But since they are the faculty and we have no control over them, we would lump it or shake off the dust before it settles on our heads!
Tests added to the jolt as we struggled with the answers. One did feel uneasy a bit when one realised the intent to create additional difficulty in at least one paper. But by and large, though with difficulty, one managed to 'survive'. We were never shown the results but I suppose that was how it was designed to be. And except one exception, we did not feel any of the faculty members really trying to be sadist or unreasonable. All is well that ends well!
Summing Up the Foundation Leg- It was good and certainly very helpful, as we were to realise a bit later. In fact, had the course started straightway, people with LTML would have been stressed quite a bit. By now, we have seen and understood the EBS way of life. It may be too early but I would take a shot on SWOT at this juncture.....OK, kill it; only Strengths and Weaknesses (as I look at things........come on guys, grant this oldie his due!). Here we go.....
1. The Environment..... Pretty good, if I were to sum it up. The institute lives up to its name when comes to infrastructure and facilities at the campus. The first impression, as you enter the school, is positive and it remains so throughout the stay. Faculty and staff are friendly, and even though they are forced to act tough with students at times, they remain good human beings at the end of the day. In fact, a few with the attitude, as I had found them initially, are turning out to be pretty OK guys, may be with a bit of their own! But that is perfectly alright and does not appear to be harming anyone, at least not as of now. Parking, however, is an issue. My Grizzly (car) took a bump in its stride one day but any other car could have been hurt badly. Slush and bushes.......!! How about some covered space where we can park our hard-earned chariots!
2. TECHNOLOGY......
- EBS Blackboard is a great tool. It is informative, helps us connect with alumni and faculty, is well laid out and is pretty OK. However, the system is not really as interactive as it could have been. The 'reply' link on mail fails every time and there is no provision of 'att' an attachment even if you could send in a mail. Also, the link to visit 'Alumni' section gets activated only after it is approved and I have been waiting since long. Overall, good but can be better.
- Website.....is informative but unresponsive. That is strange actually! With such a great tool in place, one wonders as to why there is never a timely reply to queries posted online!
- Wi-fi..... Amazing speed and amazing experience. Students, however, belong to a rare breed and thus, there are times when our own behaviour and conduct creates difficulties. A few techos have all the tools to steal bandwidth while downloading 'chalchitras' (movies, as one of the more humorous faculties calls it) while others do not hesitate visiting social sites even when classes are on. So, management does switch it off at times but it is a blessing! -
- Online Assignments..... All our modules are loaded on EBS Blackboard and that is actually a great thing to do. However, when it comes to assignments, we are supposed to submit things written in hand (except one particular brave faculty member who has been really revolutionary and has shown courage to accept things online). Now, the funda, as explained by someone, is that if students were allowed to submit things online or in soft copy form, they will simply do 'cut' and 'paste' from internet sites and take short cuts and many will not even read the contents even once. I have , however, have a different take (may be it is courtesy my own two years long experience as a faculty) on this issue. It is a professional course..... students who exhibit such traits and try and sham it out, need to be penalised. Now, if a student opens the internet site and starts copying the material in own hand, he/she may still not be absorb anything in the process. But if the same student, however, does copy+paste thing and submits it online/ in soft copy, all that the concerned faculty member needs to do is to copy+paste a portion of the text into a search engine and press 'enter'. Source, along with all other connected issues will be highlighted in no time. Penalising/counselling, in such cases, becomes pretty easy.
(Handwritten or in soft form : the debate will continue!)
3. Schedule.... The overall schedule looks OK but then there are times when time appears to be getting under-utilised. Vacant periods in-between two classes is probably the worst thing that can happen. But it is just a beginning and I hope that things will change for better. The weekend (Saturday and Sunday are off as of now) is the best thing and it suits family guys like us who have folks to look after. While this luxury may go in the second year, we are supposed to be enjoying it in the first year that starts very soon now.
4. Guest Lectures...... Some are very good but some are simply the opposite. While I am sure there is some professional angle (and fee?) involved, a bad lecture is not only a sheer wastage of time but also paints a pretty dull picture of the corporate world. We have suffered; I hope management does not let the next course undergo a similar agony. But the good ones were really good. One speaker from US of A did shake us up. Last person to accept anything against my organisation or my country, even I agree with most of the issues raised by him. There is no harm in looking inwards and doing a merciless dissection of own-self once in a while. The gentleman simply led us on that path of self-realisation.
5. Seniors...... We are privileged to be in a school that has a strict NO RAGGING policy. And icing on the cake is the behaviour of our seniors. While oldies like me would have remained beyond them, others could have felt the pinch had our seniors not been so mature and supportive. For all practical purposes, I consider and treat myself at par with my batch mates, and thus, I feel nice to be under such a lot. Barring a couple of them (out of 40 odd), rest all are as good or as bad as us and not difficult at all. The so called 'couple of them', however, make a specimen out of themselves when they come to make announcements and try and behave like our faculty that they, fortunately or unfortunately, are not! Well, there are many things small and big but it is too early to comment upon. All eyes are now set on TEACHERS' DAY and FRESHERS' DAY. Both these functions fall in the month of September. BTW, our course proper started with an auspicious ceremony of HAWAN on 13 Aug 12..... that was some real good gesture...
(Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah)
THE FIRST TRIMISTER
We are three from same background.....though our seniority is different, myself being the junior of the lot and Mats, the oldest and PP in between. The tension is now building up about MAT (exam and not Mats sir). People have been telling us that it would be a cakewalk but all such statements remain relative and one is not really sure about own placement in the relations being referred to. I had purchased a book while moving in here but it is still lying packed. I have, only a couple of days back, removed the protective cling roll, more to reduce the guilt than to study but this is how it is. Actually, I have got very busy suddenly. The reason that prevented me from going to Shivpuri, is still keeping me very busy. Though I am not complaining nor I am feeling the load, the poor soul who is undergoing the suffering, must be really frustrated. Our eldest son, Googlie, is not well and is suffering from renal failure. Anyways, studies have taken off at a shocking speed and new faculty members have joined in. The recipient, however, remains unchanged and it feels that the only way to store so much of information would be to turn into a godown!
SEPTEMBER 2012.............
MAT..... Deepika had helped with deposit of forms and other issues and finally the first Sunday of Sep 2012 arrived. I travelled all the way to Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar (near Azadpur) by Metro (mercifully) for the same. Saving grace was the fact that there were few colleagues from EBS. So, it was a small re-union before the exam and another one after the session was over. Time flew off like anything while I struggled with my maths in the exam. A bio-sciences graduate who is suffering from LTML, feels victimised at such times and I was no different. The only bright spark in the day was the hearty meal of yummy chana-bhathuras outside the centre. It was fun having the great company for the food. One hurdle, however, appears to be over now. I have not done wonders but I will not be among last 40%, I am confident. I still remember the promise made to Dr VS. Looks like I am across the line (hopefully!).
Teachers' Day (06 Sep 12)....well, that was some real fun. Hats off to our faculty and senior management personnel for all the positivism and support. We literally made them dance to our tunes and believe me, we were pleasantly surprised- more by their attitude (positive) than by their talent (pretty good, though). Some of us, initially from senior batch and later also from our batch, did make a fool of ourselves as the function progressed but overall, things remained under control and we had a ball. The last two minutes, however, were slightly rough when an organiser had to literally shout his way to call it a day. That, in a hindsight I feel, could have been avoided with a bit of forethought. Many a time my mind wanders back to my own organisation where briefing is given a great importance. In fact, had it been made clear to us that that is how the function would be conducted and terminated in the cafe with a cake-cutting ceremony, no
(Bravo.....our faculty)
one would have even thought of over-staying a bit. Unfortunately, faculty kept on waiting for us to join them and we kept on dancing without actually knowing anything about the cake part!! Needless to say, by the time we reached the cafe, cake had been long over......completely gobbled up and digested too!
Freshers' Party (09 Sep 12)...... The much awaited event, having been postponed from first Saturday of September (because of MAT on Sunday) was finally held on second Saturday. I had to take Googlie to hospital and so,could only join late..... late enough to miss most of the talent show part but just in time for the final round of the talent hunt-cum-Mr n Ms Inizio Festa. Richa Dev, who is now part of our close circle, walked away with the crown and so did our singer friend, Marshall Tyagi. The DJ was a hit again and having sweated a while on the floor, I had to branch off since I had to take Googlie back to hospital for fluid therapy. We must thank our seniors for all the effort though there was ONE shocker of an award that looked pretty stage-managed. But then, in this world of fallible people, such small incidents are a common occurrence.
(Miss Freshers was our representative on stage)
Googlie left us at 1710 on 10 Sep 12 after giving us nothing but happiness for 15 years. Between 13 Sep 1997 and 10 Sep 2012, he enriched our lives with his positive vibes and unending love. If we could pick up a few of his qualities, we would make great people. His physical being is not with us but he remains in our hearts and our lives........Go warrior Go; wait for us to join you so that we play together once again!
(Googlie.... 13 Sep 1997 to 10 Sep 2012)
Academics...... Quiz tests, including surprise ones, have been held in this month and before the sheets on the calendars are rolled over, we are already into our mid-term tests. Two presentations are already over while we have also managed to submit three assignments (including one online, mercifully!). The next week, the first one of October, looks more scary already!
- Communication, rather, lack of it, came to fore once again on 27th. A team of faculty members visited our classrooms to 'pull up' the students since most of us have been bunking the guest lectures that run late till 1830h or so. For girls and also for boys who have to travel two hours one way, that translates into a situation wherein it is too late in a city that has been labelled as Rape Capital of Asia. Anyways, there were some harsh words spoken and volumes and pitch raised for proper effect. Sitting among the students, I had a mixed feeling though. There seemed to be no effect initially as students held their laughter and let go their funny whispers in between but then the good sense prevailed and one member of the faculty explained the professional reasons behind such lectures, the compulsions of time and impact of absenteeism on placement. The last 60 seconds of his discourse were more than enough to drive home the point. Now, I find my colleagues much more enlightened.......! Had it been done earlier, things would have been much different. All those anxious moments when faculty members had to run around to gather students and lock up gates in the process, could have been avoided...briefing, as I said earlier, does wonders!
- Sony Vaios were given to us as a part of the study tools. Great machine but it is i3 and I already have a i5. So, passed it to folks back home. But alas, Office software is......better left at that!
-Anyways, as we wind up September, the issue of time management remains. Periods are still vacant and worse is the fact that there are many frequent changes in the schedule, including that of our exams. Looks really funny when a faculty walks in unannounced and then tries to check up with PG office whether some mutual agreement with some other faculty had been conveyed to the students or not! Institute, I believe, is busy with conduct of CAT exam but then we are not wrong when we expect priority. We, after all, make EBS what it is today and what it would be years later.
- Wow thing to happen this month was results of MAT. To my horror, I have scored 99.57 percentile.......(I am sure most of my ancestors would have fainted had they been alive; I have, therefore, not shared the news with my parents yet). In very practical terms, it means 80K more of scholarship but on the psychological plane, I have been able to keep my word, thankfully!
(oh Teri!!)
- Beyond Academics..... During an informal interaction with the Director, on Fresher's Party day, I had proposed to organise a motorcycle expedition to Ladakh. Era students will carry the flag of Era Group to the highest motorable road in the world next year. For a group that is a leader in infrastructure industry, this would be a fitting tribute to all members of Era Group in general and EBS in particular. A motivated bunch has already shown its willingness and I am sure we would make it next summers. I need to write and send a proposal and I am at it!
UNFORTUNATELY, September goes away but not in good taste. We had a test on Saturday (29 Sep 12) and that was OK as an aberration. But the time table for the next week shows two tests on next Saturday....... and you know the worst part? One of the two tests was to be held this week itself but was postponed because of ongoing CAT engagements.... Are we the priority? Does not look like!
BUT LETS CLOSE THE MONTH ON A POSITIVE NOTE.....Two months have gone past and it is time to say cheers to some great moments wherein we found and made new friends; strangers then, are best of the buddies now.....have a look:-
(Yeh na ho toh....... kya fir bolo zindagi hai!!)
(The Hooligans)
(Beauties and the beasts)
(Feeling Young.....can not help it!)
(Guess the feelings of the photographer!!)
We have been sharing joys and fun together; celebrating the success and blessings together and feeling worried when one of us just decided to switch off!!
.jpg)
(It takes all types to make a bunch.... a lovely bunch on that)
(Cheering for a buddy's Health n Happiness)
(Standing erect only because of mutual support)
(Taking in the stride; getting into the groove)
(Celebrating the success!)
(...and making them conscious of their formals)
(.....Catching them unawares.....)
(...polishing off one another's grub and without any remorse)
(Just a bit of leg pulling and they line up to show solidarity (even though 'IT' shows)
( The coolest ones)
........AND FINALLY......
(And see, what have they done to me?? ......they have made me young yet again....thnx Dosto)
(Pics courtesy Richa Dev, Saurabh, Rakesshor, Bharti Virmani, Bhumil Rastogi, Ankit Yadav and self)
THE FIRST TRIMISTER
We are three from same background.....though our seniority is different, myself being the junior of the lot and Mats, the oldest and PP in between. The tension is now building up about MAT (exam and not Mats sir). People have been telling us that it would be a cakewalk but all such statements remain relative and one is not really sure about own placement in the relations being referred to. I had purchased a book while moving in here but it is still lying packed. I have, only a couple of days back, removed the protective cling roll, more to reduce the guilt than to study but this is how it is. Actually, I have got very busy suddenly. The reason that prevented me from going to Shivpuri, is still keeping me very busy. Though I am not complaining nor I am feeling the load, the poor soul who is undergoing the suffering, must be really frustrated. Our eldest son, Googlie, is not well and is suffering from renal failure. Anyways, studies have taken off at a shocking speed and new faculty members have joined in. The recipient, however, remains unchanged and it feels that the only way to store so much of information would be to turn into a godown!
SEPTEMBER 2012.............
MAT..... Deepika had helped with deposit of forms and other issues and finally the first Sunday of Sep 2012 arrived. I travelled all the way to Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar (near Azadpur) by Metro (mercifully) for the same. Saving grace was the fact that there were few colleagues from EBS. So, it was a small re-union before the exam and another one after the session was over. Time flew off like anything while I struggled with my maths in the exam. A bio-sciences graduate who is suffering from LTML, feels victimised at such times and I was no different. The only bright spark in the day was the hearty meal of yummy chana-bhathuras outside the centre. It was fun having the great company for the food. One hurdle, however, appears to be over now. I have not done wonders but I will not be among last 40%, I am confident. I still remember the promise made to Dr VS. Looks like I am across the line (hopefully!).
Teachers' Day (06 Sep 12)....well, that was some real fun. Hats off to our faculty and senior management personnel for all the positivism and support. We literally made them dance to our tunes and believe me, we were pleasantly surprised- more by their attitude (positive) than by their talent (pretty good, though). Some of us, initially from senior batch and later also from our batch, did make a fool of ourselves as the function progressed but overall, things remained under control and we had a ball. The last two minutes, however, were slightly rough when an organiser had to literally shout his way to call it a day. That, in a hindsight I feel, could have been avoided with a bit of forethought. Many a time my mind wanders back to my own organisation where briefing is given a great importance. In fact, had it been made clear to us that that is how the function would be conducted and terminated in the cafe with a cake-cutting ceremony, no
(Bravo.....our faculty)
one would have even thought of over-staying a bit. Unfortunately, faculty kept on waiting for us to join them and we kept on dancing without actually knowing anything about the cake part!! Needless to say, by the time we reached the cafe, cake had been long over......completely gobbled up and digested too!
Freshers' Party (09 Sep 12)...... The much awaited event, having been postponed from first Saturday of September (because of MAT on Sunday) was finally held on second Saturday. I had to take Googlie to hospital and so,could only join late..... late enough to miss most of the talent show part but just in time for the final round of the talent hunt-cum-Mr n Ms Inizio Festa. Richa Dev, who is now part of our close circle, walked away with the crown and so did our singer friend, Marshall Tyagi. The DJ was a hit again and having sweated a while on the floor, I had to branch off since I had to take Googlie back to hospital for fluid therapy. We must thank our seniors for all the effort though there was ONE shocker of an award that looked pretty stage-managed. But then, in this world of fallible people, such small incidents are a common occurrence.
(Miss Freshers was our representative on stage)
Googlie left us at 1710 on 10 Sep 12 after giving us nothing but happiness for 15 years. Between 13 Sep 1997 and 10 Sep 2012, he enriched our lives with his positive vibes and unending love. If we could pick up a few of his qualities, we would make great people. His physical being is not with us but he remains in our hearts and our lives........Go warrior Go; wait for us to join you so that we play together once again!
(Googlie.... 13 Sep 1997 to 10 Sep 2012)
Academics...... Quiz tests, including surprise ones, have been held in this month and before the sheets on the calendars are rolled over, we are already into our mid-term tests. Two presentations are already over while we have also managed to submit three assignments (including one online, mercifully!). The next week, the first one of October, looks more scary already!
- Communication, rather, lack of it, came to fore once again on 27th. A team of faculty members visited our classrooms to 'pull up' the students since most of us have been bunking the guest lectures that run late till 1830h or so. For girls and also for boys who have to travel two hours one way, that translates into a situation wherein it is too late in a city that has been labelled as Rape Capital of Asia. Anyways, there were some harsh words spoken and volumes and pitch raised for proper effect. Sitting among the students, I had a mixed feeling though. There seemed to be no effect initially as students held their laughter and let go their funny whispers in between but then the good sense prevailed and one member of the faculty explained the professional reasons behind such lectures, the compulsions of time and impact of absenteeism on placement. The last 60 seconds of his discourse were more than enough to drive home the point. Now, I find my colleagues much more enlightened.......! Had it been done earlier, things would have been much different. All those anxious moments when faculty members had to run around to gather students and lock up gates in the process, could have been avoided...briefing, as I said earlier, does wonders!
- Sony Vaios were given to us as a part of the study tools. Great machine but it is i3 and I already have a i5. So, passed it to folks back home. But alas, Office software is......better left at that!
-Anyways, as we wind up September, the issue of time management remains. Periods are still vacant and worse is the fact that there are many frequent changes in the schedule, including that of our exams. Looks really funny when a faculty walks in unannounced and then tries to check up with PG office whether some mutual agreement with some other faculty had been conveyed to the students or not! Institute, I believe, is busy with conduct of CAT exam but then we are not wrong when we expect priority. We, after all, make EBS what it is today and what it would be years later.
-Anyways, as we wind up September, the issue of time management remains. Periods are still vacant and worse is the fact that there are many frequent changes in the schedule, including that of our exams. Looks really funny when a faculty walks in unannounced and then tries to check up with PG office whether some mutual agreement with some other faculty had been conveyed to the students or not! Institute, I believe, is busy with conduct of CAT exam but then we are not wrong when we expect priority. We, after all, make EBS what it is today and what it would be years later.
- Wow thing to happen this month was results of MAT. To my horror, I have scored 99.57 percentile.......(I am sure most of my ancestors would have fainted had they been alive; I have, therefore, not shared the news with my parents yet). In very practical terms, it means 80K more of scholarship but on the psychological plane, I have been able to keep my word, thankfully!
(oh Teri!!)
- Beyond Academics..... During an informal interaction with the Director, on Fresher's Party day, I had proposed to organise a motorcycle expedition to Ladakh. Era students will carry the flag of Era Group to the highest motorable road in the world next year. For a group that is a leader in infrastructure industry, this would be a fitting tribute to all members of Era Group in general and EBS in particular. A motivated bunch has already shown its willingness and I am sure we would make it next summers. I need to write and send a proposal and I am at it!
UNFORTUNATELY, September goes away but not in good taste. We had a test on Saturday (29 Sep 12) and that was OK as an aberration. But the time table for the next week shows two tests on next Saturday....... and you know the worst part? One of the two tests was to be held this week itself but was postponed because of ongoing CAT engagements.... Are we the priority? Does not look like!
BUT LETS CLOSE THE MONTH ON A POSITIVE NOTE.....Two months have gone past and it is time to say cheers to some great moments wherein we found and made new friends; strangers then, are best of the buddies now.....have a look:-
(Yeh na ho toh....... kya fir bolo zindagi hai!!)
(The Hooligans)
(Beauties and the beasts)
(Feeling Young.....can not help it!)
(Guess the feelings of the photographer!!)
We have been sharing joys and fun together; celebrating the success and blessings together and feeling worried when one of us just decided to switch off!!
.jpg)
(It takes all types to make a bunch.... a lovely bunch on that)
(Cheering for a buddy's Health n Happiness)
(Standing erect only because of mutual support)
(Celebrating the success!)
(...and making them conscious of their formals)
(.....Catching them unawares.....)
(...polishing off one another's grub and without any remorse)
(Just a bit of leg pulling and they line up to show solidarity (even though 'IT' shows)
( The coolest ones)
........AND FINALLY......
(And see, what have they done to me?? ......they have made me young yet again....thnx Dosto)
........AND FINALLY......
(And see, what have they done to me?? ......they have made me young yet again....thnx Dosto)
(Pics courtesy Richa Dev, Saurabh, Rakesshor, Bharti Virmani, Bhumil Rastogi, Ankit Yadav and self)
