More Than Words

I pull the cloth curtain and look outside. It is one of those days when the morning air strikes up a magical mixture between the frowning cold and the eager sunshine. Full of promises, it diffuses in you a sense of optimism that is unmatchable under ordinary circumstances. The old building running up the hill tells me that the village is near. As informed, it was indeed not very far away from SIBM Pune’s Lavale campus. 

I see a board which has Nande written onto it in wide alphabets. This is our cue as even the bus starts to slow down. A look to my right tells me that we have reached the school. The big blue steel banner, painted in white with the name of the school stares at us. I feel the familiar smell of uncertainty engulf me. Fact – I have never taught school kids, especially in a school. The thought of teaching students of Class 7^th was, I admit, a bit intimidating, just because it was the unknown till this moment. The same churning of emotion in the bellies was reflected on the faces of a lot of my batch-mates who had also volunteered for teaching students through this initiative Prerna made possible by Social Entrepreneurship and Consulting Cell (SECC) of SIBM Pune.   

As we walked into the school, staying close together for comfort, we saw a recess underway. Students, big and small, were playing football, badminton with racquets and plastic table tennis bats, cricket with and without bats, a bunch of 5 girls playing train-train, circuitously finding their way through the crowd. It reminded me of the melange of games and sports that we used to play in the field during our school days where a football used to hit a batsman ready to face a ball by a bowler who is waiting for the pitch to get clear because younger students are running all over it running after a small bright-yellow plastic ball, which for a moment gets mixed up with another similar bright-yellow plastic ball thrown by a student who is playing throw-throw, a game which included throwing and catching a ball in turn by two teams standing on opposite ends of the ground – in short, a microcosm of the rich playful energy of all kinds that is epitomized by children across barriers of race, community, religion and nation.   

The bell was sounded and the students were called in to their classes. When we reached just outside the classroom, a student with a black monkey-cap on the head ran up to us and gave us a mango-bite each. We were told by his sidekick, who always seemed to accompany him, that it was his birthday today. Then they ran into the classrooms. As we entered the rooms cautiously, the first thing I noticed was that the boys and girls were sitting separately – the girls on two rows on the left of the class and the boys on one row towards the right. I reminded myself that this was the rule and not the exception. We were faced by an eager looking bunch of around thirty kids, who got up instantaneously and started singing in unison a “welcome teacher” jingle, which was obviously taught to them, and which nostalgically reminded me of the “gooood moorrrniiiinnnggg siirrrr”, the elongated wish which was the established norm in school, universally replicated in each and every class room. 

After preliminary instructions, we started by teaching them basic introductions in English like “I am a student”, “You are teachers”, “We/they are students” etc. Initially we tried addressing the class as a whole, but seeing that we teachers did not seem like strict disciplinarians, the boys, who interestingly formed just 1/3^rd of the class, started chatting amongst themselves. So after a basic address to the whole class, we started roaming about in the class, asking the girls and the boys to individually recite the conversation starters to each other and we went about correcting individual mistakes.

 Some students were eager to perform – especially one girl whose body language was very confident. Whenever we asked anyone to come up to the front of the class, she looked at any girl sitting around her and tilted her head as if to say “Hey come on! Let’s do it!” Then there were others – a smallish girl sitting on the front bench, who was so shy that when we asked her to recite a sentence, she looked shyly at their partner and hid her head behind her, laughing uncontrollably. 

The most difficult part was to get the boys and the girls to perform a group activity together. The boys seemed shyer at this than the girls. It was tough to get them to do an introduction round together. The girls seemed pretty okay with it, but utter shyness made the boys bend, twist and loll their bodies in impossible ways. Also, when we asked the boys to write a couple of sentence “He is _____” and “She is _____”, they completed the first sentence, but for the second, did not write a name. One of them, hiding the sentence on his notebook with both his hands and with a wide grin on his face, said he will write the girl’s name later. 

After about an hour, we were asked to let them have a break of about 10 minutes. That was it – there was no looking back. Afterwards, when we tried to get them back in the classrooms, we were told that once they are let out to play again, it’s very difficult to discipline them again to go back in. So we gave up trying. Moreover, today being a Saturday, we could not see a single teacher around. So the students were in their full gaiety and merriment. 

One thing that was difficult to miss was the difference between the 7^th Class girls and the rest of the school students. The “senior” girls reflected discipline, standing in line waiting for their chance to play badminton, curious faces affected with the burden of imminent adulthood, disciplined by their mothers not to mingle much with boys, and looking responsible far beyond their years. The rest of the kids looked like a mish-mash of fun, playfulness and frolic, what with their unique game of jumping upon the teachers, trying to hang from them like one would from a branch of a tree, all at the same time. 

Soon it was time to leave. There were endearing kids that came to us and said good bye, requesting us to come again “tomorrow”. To the responsible and mature ones, we told that tomorrow would not be a possibility, but another time in the next week could happen. I also asked the SECC guys to organize something before our mega-fest Transcend begins next weekend. We had tea and vada-pav, which each one agreed were far better than what we got in our university canteen. May be it was the delicious taste of self-satisfaction. 

Nande opened my eyes to the extremely poor quality of education in government schools in rural areas. Also the lack of teachers and funding, social inhibitions and absence of fruitful ways of making students learn stifle the creative in each one of them. What they need is an effort to go beyond rote learning, to learn more than just words. Nonetheless, their spirit to learn and their sprightly enthusiasm floored me and it gives me hope. Hope that there is enough want but only lack of availability. Hope that if persistent efforts are made, a change can be brought about. And this is where the true India begins. It is time the politicians leave their ivory towers of discussions, speculation and suggestions and get down to some real work.     

The Glass Ceiling

Interpret the picture with respect to the theme "The Glass Ceiling"

Riju Dutta and Pranay Gupta

Human beings have a history of making promises, cosmetic guidelines for us to follow. There’s a huge hue and cry, teams are brought together, there is talk of change, empowered winds of change can be felt all around. There’s brainstorming, neatly dressed Ivy League graduates bring out ideas, and there’s a fragrance of change. But the day ends, everyone disperses and all that remains are new rules, reams of paperwork and a comfortably forgotten but burning issue. Glass Ceiling. It represents the disempowered thoughts shackled to the prejudices of yesterday. It represents forgotten ideals, ignored responsibilities and hypocritical ramblings. It represents us, and our actions that fail to live up to our words and promises. We talk of change in the workplace, in the world around us – change for the minorities, for women and the marginalized, but the actual changes are only minimally brought about. It’s time to accept responsibility and be personally involved to be a part of the change. It’s time to act.

The picture is a microcosmic representation of the minority and women presence in an organization of today. The Glass Ceiling is represented by the limits within which such rich amount of ideas and experiences are forced to operate. The everyday innovation in thought and in human capabilities is bounded by the man-made but invisible barriers to change. On having a closer look, it can be seen that the growth, rather the mere presence in an organization of women has been skewed. There is a greater number of women willing and able to be a part of the organization in the initial years. This changes with time because of familial roles and maternal responsibilities that a women encounters eventually. This leads to a gender imbalance. The lower end of the room can be interpreted as representing the beginning of a woman’s life in an organization. The number of women can be seen to be decreasing as the years pass by. This not only leads to a loss of gender parity but the diversity of view-points and thoughts that strengthen an organization get lost with the passage of time. The thoughts are not able to diffuse through the organization’s work culture. But there is hope. The bigger blocks represent the trailblazers, the mavericks, the leaders among not only the women, but also other minorities. They can be the torchbearers, the role models of the minorities, representing their cause and leading the way.

Diversity of actions emanates from diversity in people and their thoughts. Change is the order of the day. The question that today’s organizations face is whether the change needs to be top-down – a CEO lady leading the way and giving impetus to change, or bottom-up – broader recruitment initiatives, fostering a culture for gender diversity and policy action. The challenge is to bring about a change within specific domains which have not been considered to be a women bastion, like sales. Other suggestions include flexi-working hours, liberal paternity leaves and coaching, mentorship, sponsorship, and an improvement in social infrastructure. And most importantly, a change in attitudes is important, and it is time to walk to talk. Diversity is a given, but making it inclusive is important. Getting everyone aligned to the whole idea resulting in a cohesive spirit throughout the organization is the challenge.

SIBM Pune GD-PI Experience 2011

These are some of the questions are recently answered for an online site similar to PagalGuy. I am posting them here too. I shall be more than happy if it helps someone. Cheers!

 

   1. How is the GD- PI process structured at SIBM Pune? Can you share your experience?

The GD-PI structure at SIBM Pune consists of four legs. In the first part, we are shown an advertisement which we have to assess, dissect and give our views about. It tests the creative, marketing and interpretive side of us. We were shown an advertisement of Camlin Markers which had an element of humour in it. The second part of it is a Group Discussion. A contemporary topic, mostly from the national news domain, is given and you have to discuss on it with a group of 8 people for 10-15 minutes. Then with the same group and the same panel, you discuss a case study for the same amount of time. The case in our case was a general case study, which had the usual clash between ethics and performance. It was a non-organizational case study and we had a healthy discussion. The final leg included the interview which, in my case, was led by a panel of 2. Both seemed elderly and very polite. They made me feel at ease and the interview was not at all stressing. But then people with so much experience have a way to find out what they are looking for at the exact moment when you feel relaxed. They had my Annexure in front of them and they had already gone through it. The moment I saw their faces, I knew that half the job was already done. So for SIBM Pune, work hard on your Annexure. 

   2. What are the best sources to prepare for the SIBM Pune GD-PI?

For the Group Discussion, you need not prepare by picking up a current affairs book or something. It can be done by diligent reading of the newspapers of the last 3-4 months. Basically you need to be aware of all the big 5-6 news doing the rounds. And for each one you need to have a few arguments, either for or against. That will sail you through the GD. As far as the PI is concerned, you basically need to be thorough with the Annexure that you were asked to submit when you got a call. My Annexure can be read at http://pranay-joiedevivre.blogspot.com/2011/02/annexure-that-got-me-through-sibm-pune.html

 

   3. What are the characteristics that the panel look for in a candidate?

They basically look for the right learning attitude (40%), skills and ability (20%), interests and background (20%) and creativity and ability to think on your feet (20%). Remember, they do not expect much from you, as you will be groomed by SIBM in these two years anyway. All they want to see is a clarity of thought, and if you are mature enough to be in a b-school or not. If they do not feel so, they might think that you need some work experience before joining an MBA course. And honestly, it's much more learning if you have come with atleast a bit of work experience. But that is a separate issue. 

   4. Tips and Advice that you would like to give students?

Be aware of what is happening around you, watch debates (The Big Fight, We the People) on NDTV.com, watch TED talks, inculcate a habit to read articles from Economist, Tehelka, Frontline and Harvard Business Review, apart from the usually suggested Economic Times and The Hindu. Read a lot during this preparation, anything and everything you can get your hands on. Make up your mind about the specialization you want to choose by reading more about related careers on the net, on blogs or by talking to seniors who are in B-schools or have passed out from them. Read books, listen to good music. Make a list of the books and music artists and interests that you want to talk about in your interview. Do an inside-out research about them, because it happens that we have read a book or seen a movie a number of months ago for us to remember the nuances about the characters. So, it’s better to refresh those memories.

Words

Unhinged in the rush of semantics,

Deeper into words I climb,

Feeling my mind unclasp,

From the exasperating rituals of days unbound.

Blinded by the darkness in the character,

Sullied by the dirt sublime,

My soul gropes for the scattered reasons,

Tasting the numbness of time.

Oh my! It’s six already, hours passed by in a daze,

In the unreal human lie which I now faintly perceive,

Let me fly, the literature unshackle my soul,

This is the only life I want to breathe.

Doom II: Trouble?

The worst performing currency in Asia. Ever increasing and uncontrollably high fiscal deficit. Inflation continually above 9% in all the months of the calendar year 2011. Eurozone simmering. Foreign Institutional Investors pulling out of India. Humongous current account deficit. World economy teetering. The worst performing stock market in the past year in the whole of Asia. Capital goods sector shrinking by a gigantic 25.5% portending doom. Stultifying policy paralysis. These, and more, are some of the terms that I hear even in my sleep these days. They are all around me. From my Macroeconomics lecture to the dinner table, from class presentations to late night hostel discussions, this topic rules the roost. No matter how much you want to run away, sometimes it gets difficult to tear your ears away from these numbing predictions. The sword of economic doom is dangling perniciously on the neck of the faltering elephant.  

The perception of the economic performance of a country, especially in foreign markets, is shaped primarily by the level of its political stability. Assertiveness towards change is what the government of India lacks right now. If the Congress Party fails to win a lot of seats in the upcoming Assembly elections, it would have to depend heavily on its whimsical partners to garner the support needed to stand on its broken legs. If such a scenario turns up, forget about any reforms. The future sessions of the Parliament would be a repeat of the laughably depressing winter session, whose proceedings were some sight. Only a favourable result for the Congress party could give enough legroom for the party to make the train of reforms atleast start moving. The Assembly elections are important also because it would make or break the plans that the Family has for its “young” scion. Whether Rahul Gandhi’s attacking tactics can make a dent in Mayawati’s big plans is anyone’s guess. Meanwhile, B-school students can only sit down and pray. 

Fear and pessimism is written all across the faces I see. Doom splashes in the ocean of their eyes. The possibility of poor final placements by the end of the next year scrapes our soul. But then half-glass-full-me steps in. Did I scare the wit out of you? Of course I was exaggerating! The main driver of inflation – food inflation has fallen to a six-year low, Eurozone may finally extricate itself out of the morass, US economy seems to be improving, and car sales finally up. These and some other leading indicators are giving a glimpse of the light at the end of the long dark tunnel. But for the light to come true, I guess I better pull myself away from the web of words and start preparing for the quiz I have tomorrow!

        

Kiva.org - Making a Change

I wrote this paper as a part of the curriculum for Rural Marketing on the topic 'A Marketing Model functioning outside India, impacting the bottom of the pyramid'.

Introduction

Kiva Microfunds (commonly known as Kiva.org) is an organization which allows people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions, which in turn lend the money to small businesses and students. It basically funds the working capital needs of the entrepreneurs in villages, who either have their own shop, want to start up their own business, aim to increase the scale of their business or just want the money to educate themselves. 

It is a non-profit organization, which has its headquarters in San Francisco. It is supported by loans and donations from its users and through partnerships with businesses and other institutions.  

Administering Loans

Kiva primarily functions by interfacing with the lenders on its online presence called Kiva.org. With a mission to “connect people through lending to alleviate poverty”, and leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25. Kiva does not keep a cut of the loan. Nor does it charge an interest rate to these microfinance institutions.  

Kiva works with microfinance institutions on five continents to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. These MFIs are called “Field Partners”, and they are the ones who administer loans in the field. Kiva relies on a world-wide network of 450 volunteers who work with the Field Partners, edit and translate borrower stories, and ensure the smooth operation of countless other Kiva programs.

  

The people behind Kiva include volunteers, Kiva Fellows, Field Partners and the board, and a team of employees (shown above) and contractors. The Kiva headquarters are located in San Francisco, California.

Funding

Most of what Kiva lends is primarily funded through the support of lenders making optional donations. Funds are also raised through grants, corporate sponsors and foundations. 

History – Kiva through the years

Kiva was started by Matt Flannery with his wife Jessica, in 2005. In its first year, the site featured a spinach farmer in Cambodia, a hot dog stand man in Nicaragua, a carpenter in Gaza, a bee keeper in Ghana, and a fish seller in Uganda. Behind each of these businesses lay a story. These stories are at the heart of Kiva’s goal and strategy: the human connections Kiva claims to build between lenders and borrowers have brought new lenders to the microfinance movement, and fostered in them a new awareness and connection to the people who briefly use their money. By telling stories, Kiva allows MFIs that lack access to capital markets to efficiently raise money and serve more clients.

Matt Flannery claims to have been primarily influenced by Dr. Mohammed Yunus – Nobel Peace Prize 2006 laureate, and founder of the Grameen Bank. By sticking to their idea of “Sponsor a Business”, Matt Flannery wanted to focus on progress rather than on poverty. During the early days when he did his research, he found out that there had always been a historical tension between the donor/lender desire to “know where my money goes” and the recipient organization’s need for efficiency.

Another challenge that Kiva faced early on was the question of whether it was better to be seen as a charity or as a business. This was a challenge of perception. Flannery noticed that people seemed to think in these big categories, and breaking existing mental models proved harder than it seemed.

Also, commercialization of microfinance institutions was another trend to be watched. If microfinance was going to have a significant impact on world poverty, the argument went, then MFIs needed to be integrated into the global economy and tap into the capital markets. But an online survey showed that 50% of the potential users of Kiva would not lend on the site if Kiva adopted the for-profit model. Rather than compete in the commercial investment fund game, Flannery wanted to get individuals who had never even heard of microfinance into the mix.    

Legal Hurdles at the Outset

In the US, there are a number of regulatory bodies that pay attention when you offer investment products to the public. Such bodies protect investors from losing their money on scams. Most notable among these is the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC maintains a definition for what is and what is not a security. If the SEC says that you are issuing securities, they require that such securities meet a long list of requirements. One of those was that the businesses being invested into comply with US accounting standards. This was not always true for a goat herder and a fish seller in rural Uganda.

Another issue was that Kiva wanted to center around loans, not donations. They preferred to call their users lenders, not donors, as Kiva would actually return their money, possibly with interest. Thirdly, under the US Patriot Act, there was high scrutiny around flow of funds to other countries. Since the initial MFIs that Kiva wanted to focus on were in Africa and Asia, there was uncertainty regarding such scrutiny. 

Making a Beginning

The first task that Kiva owners faced was to define exactly what, in terms of investing, were they trying to do. There were a few high level goals that they were trying to focus on:

• Allow internet users to make small loans to specific micro-borrowers around the world, possibly with interest.
• Connect a network of MFIs to the Kiva platforms and have them post the loan applications of their borrowers to the site.
• Create financial connection between lender and borrower whereby the lender assumes the default risk.
• Create loans between people, not necessarily organizations, where Kiva acts as a platform and MFIs act as distributors.

Considering the role of SEC and the problems it might have created had the loans had an interest attached with them, they would have been considered securities being offered online. Thus, Kiva owners, after a year and a half of debating, exploring and researching, decided to launch Kiva.org without the interest rates on the site.

The domain name “Kiva” was initially being held by a squatter. Flannery bought it from the squatter for $600, and till date, considers these $600 the best money he has ever spent. The beta version of Kiva.org was launched with seven borrowers profiles online. All of them were funded over the weekend, where the managed to raise $3500 in a few days. Matt and Jessica were blown away! This was better than they had expected. 

How Different From Microfinance Institutions?

Kiva claims that the following two reasons are instrumental in differentiating it from the standard microfinance investment model:

• Kiva has a risk-tolerant source of funds: Individual internet users lending small amounts at a time have a greater appetite for risk than commercial institutions or wealthy individuals using microfinance.
•  Kiva uses the internet as a reputation-building mechanism: Through Kiva, MFIs keep a track record for borrowing and paying back in real time. Users can monitor the performance of each MFI and the borrowers associated with it. Thus, Kiva claims to give organizations the ability to prove themselves through performance in a similar fashion to how Ebay allowed lesser known individuals and businesses to become major e-commerce players through credibility scores. 

Camping Grounds

Kiva initially began by having tie-ups with around twenty MFI partners in a few months of its inception. But soon the owners realized that by limiting themselves to Africa, they would artificially reduce their potential partner base by 90%. While many such institutions exist in Africa, the majority are elsewhere. In fact, in 2007, Africa represented only 10.4% of microfinance worldwide; the areas of greatest concentration lie in Southeast Asia and Central and South America. Two factors have led to this situation:

• Africa has a low population density. Microfinance has scaled best in places where crowds of people live in close quarters. Dense populations bring down the transaction costs. The lower the transaction costs, the lower the interest rates. Higher interest rates are less appealing to the poor and thus inhibit growth.
• Microfinance does not have a very long history in Africa – it is relatively new. The first great movements of institutionalized microfinance occurred in Bolivia and Bangladesh and spread from those regions.

Kiva’s Revenue Model

Kiva divides its financials into two separate buckets – loan volume and revenue.

Loan volume refers to the capital that the lenders send to the entrepreneurs on the site: $25 at a time. One hundred per cent of this money is channelled to Kiva’s partners and then distributed to the entrepreneurs. Neither Kiva, nor its partners, as their agreements dictate, take any money out of the money stream to the entrepreneurs.

Revenue is capital that flows to the organization itself to fund their own operations – rent, servers, salaries and other expenses. They calculate the project revenue as a factor of loan volume. Today, Kiva has two streams of revenue – “optional lender fees” and float.

Optional Lender Fees are essentially small donations that Kiva’s users make during check-out on the website after making a loan. Typically, 7 out of 10 users choose to donate 10% on top of their loan to Kiva. For instance, making a loan of $100, the typical user chooses to pay $10 on top of the loan, bringing the total to $110. These small donations are tax deductible and Kiva doesn’t pay taxes on any profits made from them.

Float refers to the revenue from the interest accruing in one’s bank account. In 2007, float was a small revenue source that accounted for 1-2% of Kiva’s loan volume, but today it has grown to become a greater contributor to revenue streams.

Kiva’s Product Philosophy

People are central. The first thing one notices are faces. Money and organizations are secondary, people are primary.

Lending is connecting. At Kiva.org, money is all about information exchange. In a sense, money is a type of information. Lending to someone else creates an ongoing communication between two individuals that is more binding than a donation.

Things are always changing. Every time you load Kiva.org, it should be different. Every minute, loans are being purchased and repaid, and stories are being told about the borrowers. This can lead to a dynamic where philanthropy can actually become addictive.

Emphasize Progress over Poverty. Business is a universal language that can appeal to people of almost every background. This can lead to partnerships rather than benefactor relationships. We appeal to people’s interests, not their compassion.

Create a Data-Rich Experience. Whenever it is possible to collect data from the field, collect it. Over time, Kiva will display as much information about its partners, lenders and borrowers as possible and let the users decide where money flows.    

Statistics

I end this report by shedding some light on the achievements of Kiva represented in the form of numbers, though I would like to admit that the impact that Kiva has had goes way beyond mere numbers. As on 27^th December, 2011 (Kiva updates these statistics every night on its website), the following were the numbers that stamp the element of success all over Kiva:

Total volume of all loans made through Kiva	$270,656,900
Number of Kiva users	1,053,184
Number of Kiva users who have funded a loan	661,323
Number of countries represented by Kiva lenders	217
Number of entrepreneurs that have received a loan through Kiva	356,106
% of Kiva loans made to women entrepreneurs	80.53%
Number of Kiva field partners (MFIs Kiva partners with)	147
Number of countries Kiva field partners are located in	61
Current repayment rate (all partners)	98.92%
Average loan size	$385.48
Average total amount loaned per Kiva lender	$257.58
Average number of loans per Kiva lender	7.82

Not Just Another Brick in the Wall

I’m in a business school. Within the four walls of this “launching pad”, so to say, solutions and explanations are being hammered into our benign minds, ready to give a “fresh beginning” to our careers. (One very oft expressed assumption, not entirely inaccurately though, is that most of the students who have a work experience prior to coming to the b-school just wanted to change the sectors that they were working in). We are finally getting to make head from tail of the jargon that the newspapers like The Economic Times are full of. (The dull orange colour of the newspaper is ubiquitous; it is to be seen everywhere in this campus – the mess, the classrooms, the library, and sometimes even the poorly lit corners, perfect for the couples, can be found with the dull orange lying in a corner). But still, after so much of an effort, it is strange how perfect understanding of some topic always seems one step away – the closer you come, the further away it flits. Having subjects like Macroeconomics for the semester helps, but you never find enough time to do stuff. I like playing guitar, writing, listening to music, reading lots of books, but never find “enough” time to pursue each of them. The word “enough” is by its very nature illusory, especially in the context of a b-school. 

One good thing about a b-school is that you find all varieties of people here. I would say to the extent that it is a perfect representative sample of human beings – not financially or taking their educational background into picture of course – but by their very nature. You will find the “loner”, who is into his books all the time and not giving two figs about team work, collaboration, leadership, and all such ideas that they keep talking about. You will find the “screamer”, one who is hyper-active almost all the time, who dares to shout his lungs out at 3:30 am in the morning in the halls of the hostel. You will find the “ideal”, the student everyone wants to be, who is academically strong, perceptively astute, street smart and one who earns good name for whichever institution he is associated with. You have the “irate”, the one who cribs about everything from the mess food to the dirt under his bed, from someone’s way of walking to the unfairness of the whole system. You have the “balanced”, the one who everyone can bank upon in times of distress, and who never gets angry, not even while driving (can you believe that?!). And believe you me, at the end of the day it is such people who give you a perspective about life and it is they who make the whole business school experience something to cherish. And contrary to what Roger Waters said in 1979, when it all ends, you won’t be just another brick in the wall.  

I Can Change the World!

Recently, in our Consumer Behaviour lecture, we were shown a video on the projector. It was one of those videos that fill you with passion and pride in being a part of this great nation, that makes you want to stand up against this system, that makes you want to bring about the great change that today India is in a desperate need for. Even our highly admired Professor admitted that this was one of the most inspiring videos he had ever seen. As the 3-minute clip came to an end, the high spirits and the energy in the room were palpable. It felt as if everyone who would walk out of that room at the end of the class would change the face of this country by “standing up against the system”. But what did it come down to? Zilch. Nada. Half an hour later when the lecture ended, we left the room yawning, thinking about that soft bed that awaited us in our rooms for the beautiful post lunch siesta, all the patriotism and self-actualization transiently achieved by that one moment, lost in the streets of the mundane.

         
We all like to believe that our one act of spiritedness can change the world, one act of selflessness will end all unfairness. But it is not so. One, and for most of the times the only change we can bring about is a change in ourselves. Not a drastic one, which is near impossible. But a gradual change in our attitudes and perceptions that can make this world a better place. I can sense clichés galore, but I have an example to explain my point.

          
In our b-school campus, there is a canteen which is frequented by one and all at different times of the day, depending upon how busy the schedule is for that day or more importantly, what is on the menu in the mess. There have been occasions when we do not have much time between lectures and we have to get in the queue outside the canteen cash counter to order something. This queue tends to get long, depending on the time of the day. If it’s the lunch hour, one can expect to wait in the queue for a good 5 minutes for his turn. Now I’ve noticed instances where everyone flocks the one who has reached close to the cash counter, for ordering everyone’s food. It is a common thought that paying him the money and asking him to give your order as well would save time and energy involved in standing in the queue. I feel nothing but pure repulsion at such a behavior. Why do not people realize that it is unethical and grossly wrong to do so? If someone is standing in the queue behind that person, is he a moron to wait for his turn and not jump the gun like a bunch of smart-asses like you do? Is he plain stupid to follow the order, to respect others’ exigencies and constraints? No. Let me tell you that he is way wiser than you. You – The next time you jump the line and ask some “friend” of yours to order for you as well, look into the eyes of the next person in the line, and look at the anger at the system that is reflected there, at the gross unfairness of it all. It is HE who is trying to maintain an order. And it is YOU, who gives him all the incentive to break the rules and create the chaos that the system is today – so that you can crib about it later!

          
Such a thing happened with me recently, when I was bombarded with requests while I was close to the counter. Three “friends” found me standing there and all their friendliness arose to give me their orders. Then some more. I ordered for five people apart from my own order. And as I turned, my own roommate, who had joined the queue behind me, was there standing silently without my knowledge. He had not felt the need to give me his order, though I could not be closer to anyone than my own roommate. And when he joined me in the queue, there were at least 9 people ahead of me. That made him the 11^th in the queue – a good 8 minutes approximately. And he was scheduled for the same lecture that all of us had to attend. But he knew what small things matter.

          
I was a part of a similar queue the next day, when everyone started bombarding the people standing in front of us. The guy standing next to me appeared flustered, “Why are we standing in the queue? Let’s also give our orders to those in front of us!” That enraged me to such an extent that I almost shouted at him. Why is this bandwagon effect so strong? Is it peer pressure? Is it the fear of being different and being laughed upon? Or do we just look for a shortcut? If it is any of these – and I strongly fear it’s the last one – we are in for a big trouble.

          
It is this “chalta-hai” attitude that is destroying our identity as a nation. Go to any part of the world, and such small things are taken for granted. They are a part of life. Try jumping or pushing your way through a queue in, say, Hong Kong, and you will be stared down by one and all, leaving you ashamed of your own self. Everyone drives in their own lane in every western country, while road traffic in India is akin to a rat race. Things like “courtesy”, “respect” and “manners” hold a lot of value there, while in India they have become nothing more than mere jargons used by old men in white suits. We think these things do not matter a lot. But this is where the real change begins – with our own selves. Not littering and keeping our environment clean, not wasting any food by taking only small fillings in our plates, not just making sure we don’t leave any water tap open, but closing any tap that we find overflowing, anywhere at any time of the day, vacating our seats for elderly people while travelling in buses, addressing females with respect – these are just a few of the things where we can start by bringing about a change. But alas, we do not realize their importance. We only like to soothe our inflated egos by bursts of passionate nationalism and fervour for changing this world – bursts which have a very short life span and which die with a whimper. We should understand that rather than going gung-ho over something impracticable, it would be much better for us and for the ones around us if we start by standing at our rightful places in the queue. Can we make this small promise to ourselves? Let us spread this humble word to whoever we know – and it would then be interesting to watch what happens when the next time there is a long queue outside the canteen! For once, let us make peer pressure work in a positive way. Cheers!  

Demo(n)crazzy - The Ills, Thrills and Chills

The inception of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement was an epochal event which will go down in the annals of Indian history as one that reformed the face of modern India. It has created a sense of panic among the ministers who were used to basking in the comfortable sun of power. Now that comfort is eroding and that sun is slowly turning cold. A certain fear has been stirred in the conscience of the corrupt. But above all, it has brought people from all lifestyles together against a simmering cause which has had a sizable impact on their lives since ever. It was the common platform against this anger, not so much the love for Anna Hazare, which has made it a successful movement. But some uncomfortable questions need to be asked.

In the 2G scam, A. Raja was implicated, along with some top honchos of the telecom operators that were alleged to be involved. They, along with Kanimozhi, are still behind bars. But the problem is that thus far the CBI has not been able to come up with sizable evidence to prosecute them. Yes, the power of collective anger of the middle class says that they must be involved. But what good do we know? There is a lot that goes on behind closed doors and who committed what crime and with what intentions is something that is always very hard to verify. But the Congress had to act to save its face. This expedited action has led to an undesirable fallout. Policymaking has never been the problem, but implementation has been the bane of Indian polity. This peculiar position has been made worse by the Anna Hazare movement. Implementation of reforms by the government has come to a standstill, which is having a very negative effect on the growth stimulus that the government is supposed to provide to the ever slowing industry growth. Policymakers widely agree on the opinion that the soaring inflation can be given only a breather by the monetary policy of the RBI, and only quick implementation of long term reforms can bring down prices. High interest rates are in turn slowing down the growth, which can further be bolstered only by reforms. But babus sitting the cushy offices are no more comfortable signing blindly on the files passed on from above. In fact, they believe the safest thing to do is to let the file eat the dust. Why be involved and sign on a seemingly harmless piece of paper which may turn out to be a scam tomorrow and come back to haunt them? And that is what exactly is happening. The wheels of the Executive are stuck in the morass of procrastination.  

But then this is the downside of a democracy, that behind a freedom of expression, there could be an abuser, behind a Right to Information enquiry, there could a defamer, behind a rape accusation, there could be an avenger, and behind a safeguarding power conferred to the armed forces, there could easily be a human-rights violation. A well-functioning government should know how best to balance these opposing forces, but the eternal dilly-dallying by our present rulers on important issues has worsened the problem. Congress could make a beginning by taking care of the reform implementation, now! Being too late on that front can prove disastrous for the Indian economy, notwithstanding its strong fundamentals in the face of the impending Euro zone debt default.        

Forgiveness

Remember you always will, people who have hurt you

the wound, inflicted by that someone's indifference, will always bleed

there are times you felt angry, there are times you felt betrayed

but none compares with the peace you felt the day you forgave

Matt 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.