Saturday, November 29, 2014

Reflections on IDIO course


To my regular readers (if any): This blog post is part of my assessment for Individual Dynamics in Organizations course in MBA at IIT Madras

After a not-so-interesting OSD course in the first quarter, my expectations for the IDIO course were quite low. During the first few classes I managed to hide myself in the corners and bunked a few classes too. But by the end of the course, I was found sitting alone in the first row. Prof. Viji’s enthusiasm was too hard to resist, I had to get closer and closer to her.

The course started with the discussion of today’s work culture and how it has evolved. Since I had worked for 3 years before joining the course, I could relate to most of it. My Mother has been working in the same school for more than 15 years now even though she had better opportunities. The only issue I have with the millennials is the lack of Loyalty to the Organization. But, this is actually fostered by the Organizations themselves by paying an outsider significantly more than a current employee with similar credentials.

Next came the RBS- Reflected Best Self. I failed trying to get a written feedback from my friends and colleagues. So, I used the note I had got from my Project Leader Jananee before I left my Organization to write most of my profile. The one thing I didn’t realize about myself was the level of Enthusiasm I had, even in not-so-good situations. I did prepare a rough RBS profile but was reluctant to meet Prof to discuss about it which brings us to the next topic of Personalities. I had considered myself an Extrovert  since I don’t have a problem with Public speaking or mingling with people. But only after this course did I know what Extroversion and Introversion meant. I came to know that it has to do with more the mindset of a person rather than his skill/ability to communicate well. I realized that I was more an Introvert than an Extrovert which was evident when I found it difficult to overcome my reluctance to share my opinions and questions in the class or meet the Prof personally. My MBTI was in the borders except for a high ‘P’(as in Perceiving). Now this can mean two things, either I do not have a distinct Personality or I don’t know about myself. Since I had concluded that I’m an introvert, I should know about myself, right? ..Anyway.. lets move on.

Snapshot of the note from Jananee
The “last lecture” video was very inspiring. How can I guy who knows he is going to die have such a positive attitude. But then I realized that how can a boring and monotonous life give someone a positive attitude, there is simply no need for it. Only when you are oppressed and pushed to a corner, can you develop such an attitude. The other video which was inspiring was the “Narayanan Krishnan” video, He is from my hometown and I remembered that he came to my school once. Rather than promising myself I would do something like this in the future, I donated a small amount to the trust right after the class got over. As thalaivar says, “If you want to do good, do it immediately, before you can change your mind”.

Next came Ethics. Prof gave us a surprise quiz and walked out of the class. Most of us, including me tried to copy from neighbours. Only later did we come to know that it was an experiment/demo to teach us Ethics. Right now I remember nothing else about that class except for this demo. It was that impactful and totally unexpected. Though I did copy in the subsequent DAA quiz, I had a slight guilt feeling this time. Most of the times we tend to do such things not because we want it badly, but its easy to do so. I didn’t want grades badly, I would have studied harder then.. I copied because it was easy to do so.. And as mentioned by many in the class, it gives you short term benefits but refraining can give you benefits in the longer run.

I was most attentive during the Motivation class, since it was going to be the last lecture of the course. I liked the Expectant theory, it was more rational. But, suppose the ‘Personal Goal’ is small(like as in getting a good job). Your motivation gets satiated as soon as it is achieved and suppose if it is big(as in serving humanity). Your motivation might not be strong as rewards not very quantifiable. I think the best way to be motivated is to be motivated for no reason (if that’s even possible). About the purpose of life, Like most would admit, I don’t really know what my real passion is. But I’m only 25, and ‘worrying’ about the ‘purpose of life’ can only be detrimental to my life. As Thalaivar says, “You have to be patient till you get your calling”. I believe it will come one day and I will have the courage to pursue it.

Some spoilers.. We had to present Movie analysis based on IDIO concepts. Many of the teams chose movies which had office/work situations. I believe the motive of the exercise was to identify and analyze IDIO concepts in real life like situations. The final exam- some of the questions were purely memory based such as “Give the inhibitors and enablers for Creativity”- A memory based question on Creativity?

At times I wondered, what is the purpose of this course? Is it to make everyone behave in an acceptable/correct manner? Some kind of regressing towards the mean? NO. I believe it’s more about becoming aware of your own behavior. Nobody can teach someone to change her behavior.

Thank You Prof Viji for making us aware. It’s now upon us.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

A Sachin who could not become ‘THE SACHIN’


Amidst all the frenzy in bidding farewell to the Master blaster, in a parallel world Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar sat in front of his Desktop lazily browsing through his E-Mail. Sachin worked in one of the IT companies in Chennai. Several mails came from his boss asking him why he had not delivered his project. The same old feeling of helplessness took over him as he scratched his oversized belly. Though he worked day and night he could not excel at his work. It felt to him as though he was not born to be this. Shaking his head, he brushed these negative thoughts aside and moved onto other E-Mails.

 Suddenly his face brightened as he saw one of the mails. It said ‘Registrations are now open for CricoFest’.  His face drooped as fast as it had become excited. His mind raced back to those early years when his parents forced him to forgo cricket and take up studies. He had been livid with them then but now he was able to live with it. What would have happened had he failed? He tried to convince himself.

Sachin heard a enthusiastic voice from behind, ‘Hey Sachin, Aren’t you registering for CrickoFest?’
‘Only if you are the captain’, Sachin grinned back at his friend who was from Kolkatta.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sick with Click



‘Bring the Mangalyam(sacred thread)’, shouted the bride’s mother on top of her voice. ‘Muhurtham time is almost over. Mappillai must tie the knot now’, said the Iyer to the groom’s father. The close relatives gathered around the couple. ‘Gettimelam Gettimelam’, the iyer signaled the nadaswaram-thavil troupe to increase the tempo. The Iyer then gave the Mangalyam to the groom to tie to the bride. The groom stopped halfway, ‘Where is he?’ The relatives too realized he was missing. Then suddenly out of nowhere the Cameraman rushed towards the podium. The couple entered into a new phase in their lives looking at the Camera.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Ramayana Revisited



I sat debugging my code trying to correct the 1008 errors in the Application and with every change I made, I was hoping that all the errors would vanish but instead they only kept growing.
All of a sudden my monitor started flickering. Must be a loose connection, I thought to myself and bent down to check the power cable connection. There was a sudden surge of power into me and I fell unconscious.

I woke up in the middle of a forest. I realized that I had been teleported to a different place or may be a different dimension of the world. Hearing some footsteps in the distance, I quickly hid behind a tree and peeped to see who the strangers might be. They were a group of 5 people, all dressed in prehistoric attire. The leader of the pack made me jump. It was a bear wearing a crown.

‘Show me yourself’, the bear king bellowed.
I slowly crept out of my hideout and faced the group.
’ Introduce yourself’, the king commanded
‘I’m a Microsoft Certified .Net Professional with 2+ years experience in ASP.Net, C#, VB and Javascript’
‘What??’, the angry bear bellowed and raised his sword.
‘Sorry.. sorry, I got used to it in team meetings. I’m Gokul and I think I come from a different world. Can you please help me to get to my world?’ I pleaded
‘I think you must me from Rajni’s world. He usually comes here for vacation. We know how you can go back to your world, come with us’
‘ok’, I agreed 

‘I’m Jambavan, the king of bears and he is Angada, son of Sugriva, the king of monkeys and others are our servants. Our king Rama’s wife Sita has been abducted by Ravana and so we are on our way to Lanka’
I was dumbstruck, I was in world were Ramayana was actually happening.
I will sound foolish if I tell them about Ramayana so I managed to suppress my excitation and continued to walk silently with the group.

‘So, What do you do in your world?’, asked Jambavan
‘Do you mean Job? I work as a software developer for an Multi-National Company’
‘What?’ , asked Jambavan
‘sorry again.. Rich countries employ people from poor countries to do their work for a wage that is lower than what they would give to a man from their own country. I’m one such employee’
‘So, Are you a slave?’ asked Jambavan
I stared blankly at him for a few seconds and then responded, ‘In a crude way, yes!’

Atlast we reached the shore and Jambavan turned towards the group and spoke.
‘We need someone to cross this sea and convey our king’s message to Ravana’
‘I can jump a distance of 10 km’, Angada said proudly.
‘I can jump 5 km’, said another. They started arguing with themselves when suddenly a bolt stuck me.
Where is Hanuman?

I turned towards Jambava and said, ‘This might sound stupid but whatever is happening in your world is already written in one of our Epics called Ramayana and according to which at this moment Hanuman is the one who is flies to Lanka to meet Ravana. He is the only one capable of doing this’
Jambavan looked puzzled. ‘Who is Hanuman?.. We don’t have such a person here’
A Ramayana without Hanuman?? I got bewildered and said, ‘Jambavan, you are the one who will make Hanuman realize his powers and give him the courage to fly across the sea. Without Hanuman, we are all doomed there is no way we can reach Lanka’

Jambavan thought for a few seconds and then said ‘We have got out Hanuman’
‘Where.. How??’
‘You’, Jambavan responded with a smile.
‘No way.. I’m a ordinary person, I have no such powers like Hanuman. You are mistaken’, I argued.
‘Call it destiny or fate but you are our Hanuman and like you said you don’t know your powers and it’s me who has to make you realize your greatness’
‘But….’ I protested. On seeing Angada taking his sword out of it’s sheath, I agreed.
‘I can’t fly but I’m an Electrical Engineer with 78% marks. I could construct a motor boat to cross the sea’
‘but I need some components. I need a motor, a battery, fan blades, some wires etc.., Could you get me these?’
‘Thathasthu’, Jambavan uttered and all I asked for appeared before me.
I arranged all of them in order and wondered where I should start. I took the motor and thought to connect it with the battery. I was stuck, I didn’t know which was the positive terminal. I smiled sheepishly at Jambavan.
‘I was never good at Lab you know’
‘Could you get me the Motor Boat itself I asked without shame’
‘Thathasthu’

Jambavan gave me a ring to give to Sita which I put inside my pocket. I got into the Motor Boat and bid farewell to everyone. As I moved further into the sea, suddenly the water near me swirled and out of which a huge Rakshasi emerged.
‘I’m very hungry, I’m going to eat you now. What is your last wish’, she bellowed
‘Ok, but I have some advice for you. Hear me out, this is my last wish’.
The Rakshasi looked puzzled but nodded me to go on.
‘What is your Weight?’
‘Do you know your BMI?’
‘What is your body Fat %?’
The Rakshasi got angry, ‘I’m going to eat you now’
‘Waiiit!!’, I screamed. I’m saying this for your own good. In another 5 years you could get a high B.P with high cholesterol which could in turn lead to a heart attack. You should take care of your health you know’
The Rakshasi looked confused. ‘What should I do?’
‘A balanced diet is a must. Never eat Non-Vegetarian food, especially humans. Walk daily in mornings, yoga also helps’
‘Do you have a boy friend’, I asked
‘No, the Rakshasas always fancy the rambas and the urvasis’, she said in a sad tone.
‘To be honest with you, I find no fault in them. With a belly as big as this no one would even look at you. Maintain a strict diet, get to zero size and then see the magic’ I winked at her.
The Rakshasi smiled finally and thanked me for enlightening her. I bid her farewell and proceeded towards Lanka.

After a few minutes, I reached Lanka. I sneaked into the palace grounds to find Sita. She sat under a tree meditating silently. I moved closer to her and spoke. ‘I’m Gokul, I come as a messenger from Lord Rama. I was asked to give you this ring as a token’
Sita was elated, ‘I knew Rama would find me, Let my husband come soon and destroy this evil Ravana’
I nodded ‘He would definitely save you.. but….’
‘But what?’ Sita queered
‘I don’t know how to say this.. but Rama would eventually doubt you and ask you to get into fire’ I mumbled
‘How dare you say such a thing about Lord Rama??.... Guards… kill him!!!!’ She shouted
‘Adapaavi Sita…! Intha ponungaley ipadithan boss!!’
Within a second, guards who were sleeping until that time surrounded me and took me to meet Ravana in chains.

Ravana was seated in a big throne and other ministers sat at his side. ‘I’m a messenger from Lord Rama, I demand that I should be given a equal status to you’ I said
‘hahaha’, Ravana laughed ‘Neither you nor your Rama deserves such a status’
Immediately I got reminded of a similar situation in Thalaivar’s Padayappa movie.  With one swift movement, I brought down the swing which was hanging up and jumped into it.
(background :Padayappa theme music)

I was now able to see Ravana’s face clearly. It was a very familiar face. As I was thinking where I had seen him before. Ravana spoke in a stern voice, ‘When will you deliver the code?’
Suddenly there was a surge inside me. I woke up in my desk.
‘When will you deliver the code?’ asked my Manager with a stern look.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Strike - A short story



‘Get up, it’s already late’, screamed Saravana. 

‘What time is it?’ ,murmured Vijay. 

‘It’s 8.. Get up Vijay we have to start now’, said Saravana

‘But we slept only at 4 yesterday..’, Vijay murmured to himself and wearily got up from his bed. He peeped outside his room to notice that most of the students in the hostel had already left for the college. He quickly brushed his teeth and switched on his PC. Nearby, in his bed, Saravana sat with his laptop and egged on Vijay to join in quickly. As Vijay’s computer booted, he clicked on an icon in his desktop, Counter Strike.

For those who don’t know about Counter Strike. It’s a multiplayer game where you can team up as either counter-terrorists or terrorists. You will be given a set of goals to complete in each mission and you get a new mission with higher difficulty after you complete one. You also have buying, upgradation of weapons and things like that you normally find in a shooting game.  Counter Strike is a rage among students in wifi enabled hostels.

‘I joined’, exclaimed Vijay.

‘Good, Now upgrade your weapons. It would be difficult otherwise. This is one of the toughest levels, you know. I bet no one from our college has crossed this level’

‘Will you two ever stop?’, said Manoj entering the room fully dressed and ready to leave for college.
‘Did you know that we have Microprocessor Lab today? It’s one of the important sessions in the Semester. Surely you wouldn’t want to miss it’ Manoj claimed.

‘Who cares? I’m already placed in an IT company. I don’t need to attend such boring labs anymore. Just a pass in the final exams would suffice’, beamed Vijay smiling sarcastically at Manoj.

‘What about you Saravana, you are not yet placed, right?’

‘Ahh Who cares? As though attending this lab would fetch me a placement’ remarked Saravana with contempt.

Manoj shook his head and started walking towards college while the counter strike duo started their mission. 

‘I will go and find the bomb while you kill the terrorists’, Saravana commanded Vijay
‘Roger that’, said Vijay

Vijay reloaded his gun and slowly moved towards the enemy’s lair. On seeing a terrorist from a long distance he fired a shot without aiming properly. Suddenly there was gun firing all over the place. Bullets came in from all directions. Vijay frantically shot in all directions, clicking his mouse like a maniac. But the mission ended for Vijay.

‘Are you dead?’, Saravana shouted still looking at his laptop and moving his mouse like an expert.

‘yeaah , let me know when you die. We can start the mission again’, Vijay said awrily and picked up the newspaper nearby to find the headlines as ‘Two Army jawans dead and several injured in a shootout with the Pakistani Army…’

‘How can you die so soon? Do you have any sense of responsibility??’, Saravana barked at Vijay.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

The incomprehensible Mind



God’s greatest gift to mankind
A tool too powerful to wield

A complex algorithm it has
Evolving continuously as seconds pass

It dwells in the past, plans for the future
Seldom does it know it has a present to nurture

It feeds on your fear
Only to proliferate like a cancer

The more you try to control its venom
The faster you are engulfed by the phantom

Your mind is not 'you', know this and
The phantom is yours to command