When in Doubt, Empty Your Magazine!

"There's glory for you!", said Humpty Dumpty

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' ". "But 'glory' doesn't mean a 'nice knock-down argument,' "

Alice objected.

"When I use a word, " Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more

nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words

mean so many different things."

"The question is," said HumptyDumpty, "which is to be master-that's all. "

                                                                        Lewis Carroll,                 Through the Looking Glass

    During a Gupshup recently, a learned gentleman remarked about my signature line in the e-mail that I frequently use! The signature, a part of which reads,"When in Doubt........" appeared to be conveying too much of a meaning to someone. Related to this issue is another issue that concerns right to protest peacefully. The amazing conclusion, out of such a relation between two dissimilar issues, is actually pretty interesting. The deduction is a simple fact that if you look at certain important issues in isolation (whether my signatures or the protest), you will end with wrong conclusions! There is no point looking at or trying to treat the symptoms that such incidents, when viewed in isolation, tend to appear to many observers. Just to support my argument, I would simply add that when I add my signatures (as shown above), does any one know what 'doubt' I am referring to? Can anyone with some shallow knowledge (acquired through hearsay, TV viewing, magazines and books) really fathom the context in which this saying has been worded? Can anyone really understand the essence behind the quote without first understanding what goes on in the mind of a person who has a rifle in his hands and a potentially fatal threat in front? I would actually not waste my energy and your time in explaining the philosophy behind the quote..... it is meant for certain category of people and they need no explanations. For others, they must just chill it! But this pic below symbolically highlights the difference between the thinking of a Smart Alec who is a Corporate Manager and a Dumb Ass like me...... two thought processes can never converge!!

           Same logic applies to an incident of the protest. Look at the protest per-se, you focus is bound to remain misplaced. Look at the whole issue holistically and you  would know what went wrong and where! 

                 Coming back to my signature line - I do not intend explaining it further but I would share an application of the same. Just read through the lines below and you would know how a magazine gets finished before you realise even though in the following case, someone else had certain doubt(s):-

          

        Argument           Counter/Fact           Result

1.    Someone (read me) had      Classes were scheduled till      दिशचिउन = 

plans to leave early; so the      1330h; I left only after lunch!    1st one fired!

protest was so staged (allegation         The investigator needs more training!

made in my absence); investigated!

2.     I did not have guts to face the               The bang said it all as I entered;    

gentleman in front of others!                    What transpired thereafter needs     

(allegation in my absence)                       no further elaboration!                        2nd  one gone!                                                                                                                

3.   Someone who could not appear         Ha, ha, ha...... what was in mind while

in the final (external) exams, did            making such claims! Impossible             3rd  one gone!

manage to pass just on the basis          today, impossible way back in late

of internal assessment; missed            1980s.... we have been through similar

some medal in the process!                  education system. ha, ha, ha!

4.   Google and FB are working             Were not working; we all knew it!

while certain sites have been blo-        It is another story that 'proxy' servers        4th gone!

cked by blowing up 1.5 Lac                  penetrated such an expensive wall.

5.    It was a MUTINY                               No comments! It is neither anarchy!        5th gone!

6.    Students did not volunteer for          No one ever came to discuss unlike  

a certain committee                               many others; No one knew who was        6th one fired!

                                                                 the person responsible for discussion

7.    Our Softwares are so genuine        Why does it ask for validation every   

                                                                 time we open a document; why lappies   7th one gone!

                                                                 given w/o proper softwares!

8.   There is no distinction between       Why then certain people eat snacks  

students and management!                   and attend calls during lectures,               8th  gone

                                                                  claiming it as a privilege?

9.  Mandarin is the way ahead!             Why time had been wasted in seeking   

                                                                students' choice and the whole process    9th  gone

                                                                delayed by two full trimesters? Why no

                                                                briefing done to advise us?

10.  Blog shows EBS in poor light      Charity begins at home! If my butt is

                                                              not at ease (because of a broken chair)     10th gone

                                                              or when my eyes are strained (projector

                                                              issues) how on earth would I write sweet

                                                              words! In any case, I am not the PRO.

11.  Faculty was insulted                      Who? when? how? No one spoke a 

                                                              word! How was insult  carried out?            11th gone                                                        

12.  WE did not know                          PGP Co-ord knew it for two months;

                                                              PGP Asstt knew it for two months and        12th gone

                                                              so did the mechanic (all proved)

13.    Do you feel sorry for the             No one except two! Exceptions would 

act of boycott?                                  always be there! We were 40+ that day          13th gone

14.    Selecting the least voted       It was our privilege! Competency must be

persons as CRs                              respected!                                                           14th gone!

15.     Could one more chance       When two months pass without an iota of

be given to the system?                response, we lose count of chances already    15th gone

                                                         given!

16.     It was a strategic mana-        Gentlemen do not conduct themselves this

gement trick!                                 way and even though I have a better term to       16th gone

                                                       explain the trait, I would rather not use it.

17.  'My EBS' in ur signatures    So what? Is it a copyright protected term?

leads to the blog! We  will not       No one meddles with my right to express!        17th gone

let that continue!                            Lemme see who stops me!

18. Time for CPA was 0900h     No, the timing given in the timetable was

and students walked in at            1015 hrs and not 0900h....phew!                         18th gone

1000h.

19.  Accusation for keeping        If you knew it, why did not you over-rule

the group intact through the        the faculty?                                                              19th fired

1,2 and 3rd trimester

20. Certain privileges had          The issue of commitment made to some

been allowed to certain            HQ have no relevance in today's discussion         20th gone

people based on commi-

tments made to HQ

21.  Fund flows from mother      ha, ha, ha.... EBS is a revenue generator;

ship!                                             we pay in time.... isn't it the other way round!     21st gone

22. Blame it on Rio! Summon     How does it matter? Educate them and give

X, Y and Z (all absent); fire A     them another chance!                                           22nd gone

(in absentia).

23.  Certain people are inciting    Voting done; motion defeated even when

others to do wrong things! (In      Mr Certain was not present!                                23rd  fired

the absence of Mr Certain!)

24.  School timings are between    Is there a confusion between obligations

0830-1730h; how can students      of staff being paid and the students (the

leave before 1730h?                       actual pay masters) who stay only as long   24th  fired

                                                           as timetable dictates them to stay!

25.  Markers were supposed to      No, CRs have to run around, looking for

be carried by faculty! It was so       the markers and dusters!                              25th gone

two years back!                               You see, you do not even know the change

                                                          in the system that has happened by itself!

26.  You could have managed        Do we take over the administrative duties

the cable by cannibalisation!         and forget about studying? Will your staff     26th gone

                                                          take instructions from us?

27.  I came to know of the mutiny    If it takes 3.5 hours for a news of an event 

at 1530h.                                           as serious as (misleadingly) 'Mutiny' to       27th gone

                                                           travel from 4th floor to 1st floor, nothing

                                                           else needs to be said!

28.   A family does not wash its       In my family, if I ever had a problem, my

dirty linen in public!                         father will sell his watch to make me feel      28th gone

                                                          comfortable and not sleep over my issues!

                                                          Which family are we talking about?

29.  Why should we change           If you do not change, we can not be sure

our attitude? Will you repeat         about what will happen and what will not       29th fired

the act in future?                             happen!

30. I can not get involved in           Well said; this explains the picture given on 

everything that happens here!      top (now being said).... in another organi-

                                                         sation,we are taught to accept                       30th .....all gone

                                                         responsibility and be counted!

.........  Oh hell, the stuff is over! You see, it does not take much to empty once there is a doubt (irrespective of the alignment and orientation of any such doubt).

        As life resumed today and we resumed our studies, one thing keeps coming back to me! What was the aim/motive of that Gupshup! The focus appeared to be on one person (a vote was taken against him while he was away even though the vote failed, he was declared a man without guts (in absentia again), someone, I am told, did mention about some apology that was expected (ha, ha..... !), whose blog was debated upon, whose impersonal judgment was questioned, whose friends were targeted, so much so that his digital signatures were analysed! A fit case of harassment and contempt of the particular notification but lets leave that out for a while. 

     The Issue is where the hell was the focus? Why was problem not focused at and instead a person was targeted with such elaborate home work already done? The end result justifies these doubts! Like it happens in all such forums, after giving vent to the frustrations and perceptions, both sides did inch towards an amicable solution with future in mind. And suddenly, some one's sixth sense worked as one person suddenly decided to change tracks (serial No 29 above) and took the gupshup to a dead end! Some foot stamping, some pulling of colleagues later, we were back to basics. Such an unfortunate end to three hours long gupshup is the only reason for this blog to be written. There were rumours floating around in the campus today and I have simply listed the agenda points so that we know what exactly happened on that Monday morning!

    Thankfully, life has started to limp back to the normalcy. In a professional life, that is bound to happen but where is the mutual respect and affection? Gone with the wind, I suppose! Today, I am reminded of an incident  when had I not emptied my stuff, I would have been hanging as a photo on one of the walls of my home! So, when my instincts  tell me to empty the holding, I bloody well do it!  

दिशचिउन !

Freedom of Expression

       

Article 19 in The Constitution of India, 1949       (Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc) gives us all the right:-

(a) to freedom of speech and expression;

(b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;

(c) to form associations or unions;... among others!

        Nothing can be more astonishing to someone, who has been writing for years, than an instruction or a veiled threat against such a right to free expression. It only brings out the sleeping tiger that lay peacefully somewhere deep inside the person being threatened. I would be happy if no one fingers that sleeping wild animal by insisting on some 'Free and False' publicity. If I were to oblige, I will find myself standing in a crowd made up of those sell-able and cheap media channels that make claims that are as far from reality as is moon from the sun. Just to cite an example, I was told about a channel announcing (totally falsely) that 'Top 10 Business Schools of the Country' participated in a recently concluded fest of a business school located at Dwarka. Come on guys, learn to differentiate between self-selling and self-respecting guys. Thank Heavens that I was actually not present during the said event and, thus, I am not writing about what I  heard about the whole episode once I returned from the break. I would rather write about what I see and believe in; threats and attempted intimidation notwithstanding (not that I really care!)

     Brings me to another issue about English that truly remains a foreign language! It was pretty amusing to see someone using the word, "Mutiny" as freely and carelessly as if some potato or cabbage were being referred to. Once I realised that the person actually did not know the true meaning, I laughed it out....wah re English! Tera bhi jawab nahin! High time so called sophisticated gentry of our country learns the correct usage of words rather than trying to twist facts by wrong and lop-sided usage of the language.

         My signatures! Well, pretty funny thing about my signatures on my e-mail! Please wait for details.... I have not stopped laughing since!

Ni Hao!

             With 'B' being pronounced as 'प' and 'P' as  'फ'  and 'F' as 'फ़' (and not to mention 'D' that is pronounced as 'त')..... confusion is nothing but natural. Today was the weekly class of Chinese (Mandarin) language. For a change,  attendance was on a lower side but chaos continued to prevail. That is probably a considered way of taking out anguish. Let me also confess here that it is more of frustration than the hatred or dislike for the language that is making students conduct themselves in such an extra-ordinary manner. Having been part of the pack for more than half a year, I am pretty sure about the fact that this behaviour in this particular class is simply unusual. The instructor, fortunately or unfortunately, looks pretty hard and that is how he has been able to manage us over last two sessions. At some point of time in near future, things have to swing in a certain way so as to get back to normalcy or else there would be deterioration in the overall discipline.

        Coming back to the life at EBS.... it has been pretty long since I came back here while life, as usual, has been moving on. So, lets have a glimpse of our life at EBS...

(Movies, social sites and the lectures...... what a synergy!)

(Our new Adda; the third one since beginning of the course)

Fresh snax for a healthy mind that could concentrate on studies....... all simultaneously

Khoob Jamegi jab mil baithenge kuch yaar!

The three most TALKATIVE gals of Section A....... faculty's selection followed by segregation

Belonging to one single desk, is this a student's table or a BETTING Centre?

The Casanova with a Tilak to protect him from Temptations!

Hud Hud Dabbang Dabbang!

Some snacking, some refreshments..... life goes on

The HideOut!

The Birthday Boy!

Average cost to her parents is ₹ 3000/- per day..........and this is the output!

A Video that had been placed here, has been removed ONLY because of our deep regards for Prof (Dr) Jaipal S Dahiya - someone we love as much as we revere! 

            Life goes on......!!

Results....Finally!

             FINALLY, the cat got out today as our IInd Trimester results came in. Despite all my attempts to take it easy, the results remained unchanged for me but the encouraging news is that many more guys crossed the line of 3.0 (Max being TGPA of 4.0). So, it was a nice way to commence the weekend. I congratulate each one of my friends at EBS for the results. And of course, this is also the time to thank all faculty members who not only took the horses (or were they Bulls?) to waterholes but literally made us take a sip or two, if not a gulp or two!

                   CHEERS!

Papa is always right

                 "No, not there!"....."Do not do that".......  "I told you so"......"You will study maths and not history!".... "You would know better that PAPPA knows the best"........ Well, if you are an Indian by birth and have also grown through a typical Indian way of upbringing, such lines would be etched somewhere in your hard-drive. Memories may be hazed, data retrieval may be slow and painful and yet all that you need to do is to look around and there you would find some parent (myself included) either scolding or asserting or lumping issues on a helpless child. And why only a child when he/she is biologically a kid.....here, in our culture, kids remain kids as long as their parent(s) is/are alive; his/her own kids being immaterial. So, for all of us at 2012'14, today's developments must have felt like an extension of "Papa is always right" culture but it was not so to be......! OK, Ok, oK.... coming to the point! Today, our much awaited (and equally delayed) foreign language capsule started. "Mandarin", as per some 'papa' at EBS, is the most useful and something as important as breathing and, thus, has to be learnt. Now, as mentioned a little while ago, WE would have probably accepted the lame argument (the whole reasoning too skewed to be shared here), but for the fact that such a decision had been preceded by almost  six months of 'thought-cum-decision making process'. We had been asked both formally and informally; we were made to give inputs in writing and a whole lot of majority had voted for French/German to be taught. It was precisely for this reason that we found the whole idea of Mandarin (and the sudden awakening) pretty funny and sad at the same time. Indian or otherwise, no grown up person likes a situation wherein some one else, good/bad intentions apart, tries and lumps one's ideas on someone else's head!

                         And the results were so apparent. Barring a fistful of those who had voted for Mandarin during the whole 'thought-cum-decision making process', none of us wanted to sit in the class after lunch and the noise only grew when the faculty concerned did not arrive for 10 minutes (why the hell we people do not get used to such delays at EBS..... what, after all, are 10 minutes between friends!) And once the gentleman walked in and committed a cardinal mistake by highlighting his 'link' with EBS, things only grew worse. I have not ever sat through such a chaotic session in any educational facility in my life (may be that is why I am not a parliamentarian). I am not sure what impression that person would have carried back home from the session but it was a sad situation after a sad decision.

                      And when it comes to sad situations, हम नहीं सुधरेंगे attitude was always there to complicate the things. As usual, someone just decided to amend the timetable ..... yet again! (I am yet to understand why do we create such a big fuss about such small issues? Have not we joined EBS to study? ..... may be गुरुकुल concept would have been better and we should have taken  संन्यास from worldly issues before stepping inside the EBS complex for next two years, leaving behind everything else!) So, suddenly two sections were left wondering when the students were made to squeeze into one classroom and timetable was simply thrown out of the window! Now, what do we call it? Sad or Funny? I am not sure about the texture but yes, it is simply unfortunate!

                          I got to witness something really funny yesterday (yes, funny!). There was some 'sudden' guest lecture (Now, please do not tell me that being a Wednesday, it should have been expected! It was not mentioned in the timetable..... period!). So, as the ritual is, the gates were sealed at 1330h sharp. Well, that is understood, courtesy our behaviour on such occasions. But the funny part was the fact that while exit out had been rightfully sealed, the security guard went a step ahead and barred the entry of the students who had ventured out! Now, that is something beyond comprehension. And to top it all, one faculty member did go in, leaving behind one such student in a state of absolute awe!

                          The sad state of 'projection system and screen duo' continues unabated! So many promises made, so many representations heard sympathetically and yet nothing has moved...... I am missing Mr Newton today! Only a great person could have described a phenomenon (like INERTIA in 17th century) that was to haunt us in 21st. Now that Mr Newton is gone for good about 380 years, he must be smiling at all this..... who would not!

                          Anyway guys, you too keep smiling!

                                  Ni Hao!!

फिर दर्द उठा दिल में …. !!

फिर दर्द उठा दिल  में और  आँख' भी  नम है ;

यह तेरी इनायत है या दुनिया का कर्म है…. !!

         Wondering as to what has made me refer back to these lines? Well, it is courtesy an old disease that had been eating us earlier on but had subsided remarkably later..... the chronic problem of LAST MINUTE CHANGES! And as the re-lapse of the disease happened today, I was among one of the first victims..........earned my first absence of the trimester for no freaking fault of mine. I am sure that others who were dealt a similar deal, will be in a similar boat too. Come on, what is the sanctity of a time table if it gets changed all of a sudden? Forget preparations for the class, it shows all of 'US' in a bad light. The only option, as it appears now, is to become dumb and follow someone else's whims and fancies.....some big management lesson this! I hope the disease goes away soon and we do not have to suffer endlessly.

          An eye-sight threatening tool...... a matter of changing one small cable (or its coupling) and we are well into a situation wherein if nothing else, our eye- sights are going to change soon. Nothing can be more frustrating than the compulsion to stare hard at a dim projection on a shabby projection screen. All our efforts to have the same screen removed/changed during previous trimesters having failed, we have now been gifted with a sick projection that will help some eye-specialists to earn some extra bucks! Just have a look....

(Not a camera trick of image processing thing, this is the quality of our projection system (unchanged despite numerous complaints/reports) and the artwork on the screen is a force-multiplier too)

                 ERP is generally off or dysfunctional but that does not stop us from going hi-tech....! Coverage or no coverage, internet or no net, we must look hi-tec

(All of this belongs to occupants of one desk that accommodates Three students)

        Life, despite interruptions and awful irritants, keeps moving on. And who said only girls are 'conscious'?

(Our bouncer gets ready.....wondering for what!)

(This blog is in public domain now)

Hello Sir....!

             "Hello Sir, this is ABC, calling from XYZ School/Institute/University. Am I talking to Ajay?"

          The cycle has re-started once again. Courtesy MAT scores of last year, people have been getting calls from admission departments from all over the country side. The conversation ususally lasts for 30 odd seconds if I were to tell them that I was not interested. But I do stretch it by 10 odd seconds by insisting on telling them that I have already taken admission and that too in EBS. That is, in my own way of thinking, a way to let people know that we exist and we are a force to reckon with. I am sure many others at EBS will be doing similar things in their own unique ways.

       Weather is getting warmer by day even though some spells tend to pull it back. The intermitent love affair between sun and rain, however, has delayed the settling in process of our newly breached parking lot. It will settle down soon but as of now, so much of space has been created. All that is now required to be done is to have enclosures sign-posted and if possible, by marking the blocks for parking the vehicles. Such a step, in addition to saving security guards some hassles, would make the place look orderly and neat. The first impression for a visitor, thus, will be pretty positive. 

       We had a surprise visitor during our tea break just outside our main gate. Without any doubt, the tea from the vendor is very good and environment pretty conducive for gossip and relationship building. Un-noticed it may be, but one family gets fed in the process and some part of our CSR gets addressed too. Now, let us not really get into debate about the canteen guy not getting full clientele. Some comepetion augurs well for everyone. 

          Well into third trimester, one gets amused to see relationships of all kinds. There is romance in the air for some, heart-breaks for others while others are simply "friends", who have, incidentally, decided to stretch the concept of friendship a little too far. But it is nice to see youngsters handling all kinds of situations - with elan at times, with panic at others. 

     That brings us to another issue. During one of the classes, a point came up about who has the edge when it comes to doing well at studies. The main argument was that we, the oldies, have experience that gives us an edge. The results of T-1 would justify such an argument. But then we too have a counter-argument; what about our rusted knowledge and slower minds or, like it is in my case, lack of familiarity with subjects like stats and calculus and such like! Then they would say that they have too many distractions in life; be it entertainment, affairs, pressure of studies and so on and so forth. And they are right if a 20-odd years old student of the day is compared with a 20-odd years old student of our era. We had simpler lives, slower times and far less distractions... that is right. But here, the comparison is between today's 20 years old and today's 40+ oldies like us. Some of the distractions, like internet and entertainment are applicable to us too. Then we have familial issues, more responsibilities and like I said before, a rusted grey matter BUT we have lesser pressures on us and that is a huge difference. At the end of the day, while it may be alright to debate such a topic for the sake of discussions, the adage remains true," No one dies virgin; life screws us all". And application of such a gospel is applicable here too. In the meanwhile, life moves on...

          Preparations have started for the upcoming ERABRATIONS..... !! The gut feeling says that it would be a great success!