Today is the last day of 2009 and I've been thinking of how I spent most of my New Year evenings.
In the 1990's second half, TV had become the most important part of our daily lives. The new years evenings were spent by watching the performances of stars together with my family. I loved doing it at that time. Don't know how come I don't enjoy such things now. (This was in school till 10th)
Then after S.S.C, I started going around with my newly formed friends and in eleventh and twelfth I went out for dinner parties as a part of new year celebration. One of the most interesting new years was that spent at my home, wherein everyone had gathered on the terrace of my new house. Had a great time making Bhel and stuff on the terrace.
Then after joining my graduate college at Mumbai, I started spending the evening out near the seas. I spent 3 of the new years at either the Marine Drive or Bandra sea face. On one ocassion I spent my new years evening at my relative's place (when everyone from the batch had been to Gorai beach. Don't remember why i hadn't gone with everyone).
Finally when I was at Vashi, I spent the new years with my room mates. We had been to hotels and the streets of Vashi to celebrate the night.
Now am at Pune and am again going to spent the night peacefully at my home (hopefully if I reach home at the right time) else will be in the bus at 0000 hrs of 2010. Lets hope that the bus service doesn't let me down and I reach home before 0000 hrs to celebrate my new years with my family members.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
3 Idiots - An illusion
Last evening, I had the previlige to watch the much awaited and the highly hyped movie 3 - idiots and am truly amazed by the way the director who has come up with an issue after issue in his films with novel solutions. First Munnabhai MBBS where he states that patients should be treated humanely and offers some solutions as in how hospitals should function (forms and stuff). In Lage Raho Munnabhai, the director recreates the Gandhian technique and the way it can be used in in the modern world.
In this movie 3-idiots, he focusses on the education system of our country. He has ably shown the plight the students of elite colleges face yet he fails, in this case, to offer solutions to improve our education system.
In the movie there are only talks that the grading system shouldn't be displayed, and the current system doesn't encourage 'original thinking' ( it is similar to Howard Roark in Ayn Rand's 'Fountain Head' who is said to be first hander) and focusses on mugging up. While this may be true, The movie also states that students should always do what they feel they are good at doing. Agreed that these are the problems that the current education system has been facing since long and the condition is getting worse due to increasing competition. Still I wonder how many original thinkers actually are present amongst us. In my life till now, I've come across only about 15-20 such people (Wish to meet a lot of such people). Others even though encouraged to think take ideas from others and build on them (sort of copy paste and mug it up). Also when I have come across a lot of students who actually do not know what he/she wants to do or what he/she is good at. Due their ignorance, they take up doing what the best in the society take up - engineering, MBA, medicine, etc. (sort of peer pressure).
The movie chiefly works because the movie shows what an original thinker can do which most of us (I mean the non-original thinkers) aspire to do but can't do. It works because people relate to the plight faced by them (or their children) in colleges/workplaces where they have to obey the rules (work compulsorily) of the organizations they are in. Now, isn't it human tendency to not do something they are forced to do?
For me the movie was good and watchable - the fun part was very well executed. The most important thing that worked for me in the movie is the Cinematography. Beautiful locations of Laddakh, Shimla, Delhi have been well shot and projected. This is probably the fourth movie where I've really fallen for the cinematography. (Lakshya, Kal Ho na ho, Swades being the 1st three randomly).
Thus, the movie is a sort of mirage which shows the people what they aspire and what they want to be yet doesn't offer proper solutions. Thus, 3-idiots is an illusion.
In this movie 3-idiots, he focusses on the education system of our country. He has ably shown the plight the students of elite colleges face yet he fails, in this case, to offer solutions to improve our education system.
In the movie there are only talks that the grading system shouldn't be displayed, and the current system doesn't encourage 'original thinking' ( it is similar to Howard Roark in Ayn Rand's 'Fountain Head' who is said to be first hander) and focusses on mugging up. While this may be true, The movie also states that students should always do what they feel they are good at doing. Agreed that these are the problems that the current education system has been facing since long and the condition is getting worse due to increasing competition. Still I wonder how many original thinkers actually are present amongst us. In my life till now, I've come across only about 15-20 such people (Wish to meet a lot of such people). Others even though encouraged to think take ideas from others and build on them (sort of copy paste and mug it up). Also when I have come across a lot of students who actually do not know what he/she wants to do or what he/she is good at. Due their ignorance, they take up doing what the best in the society take up - engineering, MBA, medicine, etc. (sort of peer pressure).
The movie chiefly works because the movie shows what an original thinker can do which most of us (I mean the non-original thinkers) aspire to do but can't do. It works because people relate to the plight faced by them (or their children) in colleges/workplaces where they have to obey the rules (work compulsorily) of the organizations they are in. Now, isn't it human tendency to not do something they are forced to do?
For me the movie was good and watchable - the fun part was very well executed. The most important thing that worked for me in the movie is the Cinematography. Beautiful locations of Laddakh, Shimla, Delhi have been well shot and projected. This is probably the fourth movie where I've really fallen for the cinematography. (Lakshya, Kal Ho na ho, Swades being the 1st three randomly).
Thus, the movie is a sort of mirage which shows the people what they aspire and what they want to be yet doesn't offer proper solutions. Thus, 3-idiots is an illusion.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Job of a plant production manager- A tough job mentally as well as physically
I had the previlige to work at Herdilla Chemicals (now SI Group India Limited), one of Mumbai's oldest chemical factories to have survived over years, for around two years and I've been closely associated with the senior manager of one plant there.
He is no MBA or an engineer. He is a science graduate who had joined Herdillia as a plant operator, yet his work, enthusiasm and abilities far exceeded that of an average engineer or an MBA graduate.He was a perfect time manager, people manager, operations manager, contingency manager and a host of other activities.
He worked in a chemical plant which handled chemicals like Benzene, Phenol, etc which are some of the industry's most hazardous bulk chemicals. So, all decisions which he made had to be studied w.r.t safety and a host of other environmental factors.
Let me describe a day in his life.
His day starts at around 0600 hrs when he gets a call from the factory to appraise him of the plant condition. He then gies structions if any are needed and then calls up the VP operations to keep him updated with the plant production level and other details.
Then after spending some time with the family, he goes to the factory at 0800 hrs and reaches the factory at around 0815 am. At 0815, he first has a small cup of tea over which he meets the managers of different departments to know what is going on in their departments. He then goes to check the stocks and other details to check the production quantity of the previous day. He then goes to the Technical Department where he has to report to the GM of the plant. But before going to the GM, he comes to the deputy managers of the Technical department to see to what extent are the various plant modifications are and provides them (people like me who have newly joined) with necessary plant input for their work to be done fast. (Mind you he is no technical person yet he knows the calculations of equipment designs better than most of the people in the technical department). He then reports to the GM of the technical department where discussions related to the requirements of the plant are made. Different schemes prepared by people like me are finalized and we are given specific instructions as in what to do with regards to different projects going on in the factory.
From there, he goes logs on to the ERP system to check the raw material availability and other details related to stocks. Based on production targets, he decided the amount of raw material trucks which are needed in the next 3-4 days and instructs the purchase department to order the raw materials. (Mind you a lot of complex decisions have to be made here. e.g- propylene can be procured from 3 places each having a different purity level and having a different lead time. Depending on the stock and their purity he has to order propylene from one of the source to adequately blend with the existing propylene). After this, he heads towards the plant where he takes a round of the plant which takes around 15 miutes, notes the problems he notices (He carries a diary to keep a track of all his work. No Outlook or blackberry), and then instructs the plant shift managers about the work to be done in the plant. (The plant being very old always required some or the other maintenance activities).
At around 1015 there is a meeting between the VP, GM and all plant senior managers. Here, issues faced in the plant, the status of activities and other things related to the production are discussed. Day to day working decisions are taken in the meeting which goes on till around 1115 hrs. Then, he heads towards his office where he checks mails and does paper work related to granting ERP permissions, granting leave of absences, deciding on the shift schedules of plant people, etc. Now the Technical department people (ppl like me) are quire inexperienced and have not much idea about how the process designs need to be changed according to the existing conditions and how data related to the data need to be taken to calculate yields of the plant, etc. He therefore checks the work done by all of us, gives his feedback.
Now the VP of the plant is a R&D guy and hence he has no much idea about details. He only instructed GMs as in what to do who in turn pass on the work to the senior manager who has to actually do the work. Hence, he is involved in making presentations to the MD, the directors, etc. Of course, he takes help from youngsters likie me but still the data is rpovided by him. (We do only the designing work).
After all this, he goes for lunch at around 1300 hrs. Then has meetings with managers of offsites, marketing managers to convince them regarding the requirements of his plant and the urgency involved in the purchase of the materials. Later on, he has to supervise the maintenance activity in the plant (a real strenouus job in the afternoon sun). Later on, he has some free time wherein he prepares documents related to compliance related activities with regards to pollution, noise, ETP, etc. Then has an meeting with HR w.r.t issues faced by the workers. He plays a major role in deciding whom to promote and whom not to. So, he has to take sort to a lot of politics within the organization so as not to disappoint the union as well as get good poeple in the plant.
He has a meeting with the VP at around 1730 hrs to appraise him w.r.t the works completed during the day and the work to be undertaken at night. He then goes on to prepare instructions to be given to plant shift managers. (Very detailed instructions as in what temperatures to be kept, what pressures, what production levels, etc are to be given - a tough job). Then if possible, he leaves home at around 1930 hrs.
This is a normal day. In case of any emergency in the plant, he acts as the control officer who co-ordinates the activity of people during emergencies. He also plays a major role in the reports to be prepared to the directors of the company since he knows the plant in and out muchh better then the GM or the VP. Almost all new decisions made in the plant are taken through his consultation. He at times instructs finance managers with regards to cost sheet since ther are a lot of assumptions required by finance accountants.
He undergoes all the major training like Six sigma, HAZOP analysis, etc.
To sum up, I feel that he does a hell lot of job which is both physical as well as mental at the age of 55. In spite of all this work load, he is always cheerful and he talks to everybody with humility. He also has very good relationships at home too.
In my mind he is a perfect manager of things with no major MBA degree. I guess all MBAs should take a lesson from him to learn how to take decisions based on common sense and objectivity.
(The post is quite boring I know but I thoroughly respect this manager and want highlight that there is so much to learn from common people around us who shoulder major responsibilities and yet are not given any credit).
He is no MBA or an engineer. He is a science graduate who had joined Herdillia as a plant operator, yet his work, enthusiasm and abilities far exceeded that of an average engineer or an MBA graduate.He was a perfect time manager, people manager, operations manager, contingency manager and a host of other activities.
He worked in a chemical plant which handled chemicals like Benzene, Phenol, etc which are some of the industry's most hazardous bulk chemicals. So, all decisions which he made had to be studied w.r.t safety and a host of other environmental factors.
Let me describe a day in his life.
His day starts at around 0600 hrs when he gets a call from the factory to appraise him of the plant condition. He then gies structions if any are needed and then calls up the VP operations to keep him updated with the plant production level and other details.
Then after spending some time with the family, he goes to the factory at 0800 hrs and reaches the factory at around 0815 am. At 0815, he first has a small cup of tea over which he meets the managers of different departments to know what is going on in their departments. He then goes to check the stocks and other details to check the production quantity of the previous day. He then goes to the Technical Department where he has to report to the GM of the plant. But before going to the GM, he comes to the deputy managers of the Technical department to see to what extent are the various plant modifications are and provides them (people like me who have newly joined) with necessary plant input for their work to be done fast. (Mind you he is no technical person yet he knows the calculations of equipment designs better than most of the people in the technical department). He then reports to the GM of the technical department where discussions related to the requirements of the plant are made. Different schemes prepared by people like me are finalized and we are given specific instructions as in what to do with regards to different projects going on in the factory.
From there, he goes logs on to the ERP system to check the raw material availability and other details related to stocks. Based on production targets, he decided the amount of raw material trucks which are needed in the next 3-4 days and instructs the purchase department to order the raw materials. (Mind you a lot of complex decisions have to be made here. e.g- propylene can be procured from 3 places each having a different purity level and having a different lead time. Depending on the stock and their purity he has to order propylene from one of the source to adequately blend with the existing propylene). After this, he heads towards the plant where he takes a round of the plant which takes around 15 miutes, notes the problems he notices (He carries a diary to keep a track of all his work. No Outlook or blackberry), and then instructs the plant shift managers about the work to be done in the plant. (The plant being very old always required some or the other maintenance activities).
At around 1015 there is a meeting between the VP, GM and all plant senior managers. Here, issues faced in the plant, the status of activities and other things related to the production are discussed. Day to day working decisions are taken in the meeting which goes on till around 1115 hrs. Then, he heads towards his office where he checks mails and does paper work related to granting ERP permissions, granting leave of absences, deciding on the shift schedules of plant people, etc. Now the Technical department people (ppl like me) are quire inexperienced and have not much idea about how the process designs need to be changed according to the existing conditions and how data related to the data need to be taken to calculate yields of the plant, etc. He therefore checks the work done by all of us, gives his feedback.
Now the VP of the plant is a R&D guy and hence he has no much idea about details. He only instructed GMs as in what to do who in turn pass on the work to the senior manager who has to actually do the work. Hence, he is involved in making presentations to the MD, the directors, etc. Of course, he takes help from youngsters likie me but still the data is rpovided by him. (We do only the designing work).
After all this, he goes for lunch at around 1300 hrs. Then has meetings with managers of offsites, marketing managers to convince them regarding the requirements of his plant and the urgency involved in the purchase of the materials. Later on, he has to supervise the maintenance activity in the plant (a real strenouus job in the afternoon sun). Later on, he has some free time wherein he prepares documents related to compliance related activities with regards to pollution, noise, ETP, etc. Then has an meeting with HR w.r.t issues faced by the workers. He plays a major role in deciding whom to promote and whom not to. So, he has to take sort to a lot of politics within the organization so as not to disappoint the union as well as get good poeple in the plant.
He has a meeting with the VP at around 1730 hrs to appraise him w.r.t the works completed during the day and the work to be undertaken at night. He then goes on to prepare instructions to be given to plant shift managers. (Very detailed instructions as in what temperatures to be kept, what pressures, what production levels, etc are to be given - a tough job). Then if possible, he leaves home at around 1930 hrs.
This is a normal day. In case of any emergency in the plant, he acts as the control officer who co-ordinates the activity of people during emergencies. He also plays a major role in the reports to be prepared to the directors of the company since he knows the plant in and out muchh better then the GM or the VP. Almost all new decisions made in the plant are taken through his consultation. He at times instructs finance managers with regards to cost sheet since ther are a lot of assumptions required by finance accountants.
He undergoes all the major training like Six sigma, HAZOP analysis, etc.
To sum up, I feel that he does a hell lot of job which is both physical as well as mental at the age of 55. In spite of all this work load, he is always cheerful and he talks to everybody with humility. He also has very good relationships at home too.
In my mind he is a perfect manager of things with no major MBA degree. I guess all MBAs should take a lesson from him to learn how to take decisions based on common sense and objectivity.
(The post is quite boring I know but I thoroughly respect this manager and want highlight that there is so much to learn from common people around us who shoulder major responsibilities and yet are not given any credit).
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Some thoughts running through my mind
Now that I've started doing my MBA, I often wonder what will I be doing after MBA?
My long term objective is to become an entrepreneur.
I've taken up Operations as my major (Still not sure whether I've made the right decision coz I don't like the subject much) and Finance as my minor (I love this subject). The options which I have in front of me are the following:
1. To secure a job in supply chain, inventory management department in a good foreign FMCG company which will obviously pay me handsomely
2. To do a job in prijects department of manufacturing companies and have the thrill of handling day to day operations os a factory. (Which I loved at my stint at SI Group).
3. To start something on my own immediately.
I've always believed that very few Indians get a chance to study in the best engineering colleges in India and also do MBA in reputed B-Schools in India. I am lucky to be one of them. I feel that it is my duty to do some good for such a wonderful society and country. As such, working for foreign FMCG companies & consultancies will not do much to help for the cause.
Also, I feel that working in a large organization will limit me to a particular department and will not provide me the opportunity to look at businesses as whole. I want to get myself involved in all the departments of the organization I work for. (The same as Herdillia where I could interact and work with people of various deparments). So, I believe that working for large organizations wherein the tasks to be done are well-defined will not suit me.
So, I feel that the best job for me will be a small organization wherein I'll get to know about different business functions which will in turn help me when I start my own organization. However, in this case I will not be able to see the "Best Practices" followed in companies.
Similarly, when I think about the third option, I feel that I'm not well-prepared. I don't have a business plan, nor I'm sure which sector I want to start my firm in. Reading about entrepreneurs has made me understand that this path is going to be very tough and I'll have to take a lot of risks. When I think back in retrospection to the way I've handled things, I find that I don't take much risks. This makes me wonder whether I am really capable of starting something. In case I want to start something on my own, I know that this is the right time to think about this because in case I end up doing a job now, in 2-3 years, I'll be married and then I'll have to take up an apartment in a city (on loan)which will cause me working for some more years to repay the loan amount. After that I'll have to ensure adequate availability of money for children for education and a lot of endless expenses which will obviously need a good stable cash flow. So, that won't be the appropriate time.
So, the point is that I'll not be able to start something on my own for a long time in case I don't do it after my MBA. But the problem is I'm not prepared.
These are some of the thoughts which run through my mind as and when any company comes to my collge campus for summer placements.
My long term objective is to become an entrepreneur.
I've taken up Operations as my major (Still not sure whether I've made the right decision coz I don't like the subject much) and Finance as my minor (I love this subject). The options which I have in front of me are the following:
1. To secure a job in supply chain, inventory management department in a good foreign FMCG company which will obviously pay me handsomely
2. To do a job in prijects department of manufacturing companies and have the thrill of handling day to day operations os a factory. (Which I loved at my stint at SI Group).
3. To start something on my own immediately.
I've always believed that very few Indians get a chance to study in the best engineering colleges in India and also do MBA in reputed B-Schools in India. I am lucky to be one of them. I feel that it is my duty to do some good for such a wonderful society and country. As such, working for foreign FMCG companies & consultancies will not do much to help for the cause.
Also, I feel that working in a large organization will limit me to a particular department and will not provide me the opportunity to look at businesses as whole. I want to get myself involved in all the departments of the organization I work for. (The same as Herdillia where I could interact and work with people of various deparments). So, I believe that working for large organizations wherein the tasks to be done are well-defined will not suit me.
So, I feel that the best job for me will be a small organization wherein I'll get to know about different business functions which will in turn help me when I start my own organization. However, in this case I will not be able to see the "Best Practices" followed in companies.
Similarly, when I think about the third option, I feel that I'm not well-prepared. I don't have a business plan, nor I'm sure which sector I want to start my firm in. Reading about entrepreneurs has made me understand that this path is going to be very tough and I'll have to take a lot of risks. When I think back in retrospection to the way I've handled things, I find that I don't take much risks. This makes me wonder whether I am really capable of starting something. In case I want to start something on my own, I know that this is the right time to think about this because in case I end up doing a job now, in 2-3 years, I'll be married and then I'll have to take up an apartment in a city (on loan)which will cause me working for some more years to repay the loan amount. After that I'll have to ensure adequate availability of money for children for education and a lot of endless expenses which will obviously need a good stable cash flow. So, that won't be the appropriate time.
So, the point is that I'll not be able to start something on my own for a long time in case I don't do it after my MBA. But the problem is I'm not prepared.
These are some of the thoughts which run through my mind as and when any company comes to my collge campus for summer placements.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Gender Bias
After my Semester 1 examination of MBA 1st year was done, we had the previlige of holiday - one day long holiday. I decided to go home on that day. I decided that I'll go in the luxary of a volvo bus. To my dismay, I found that the bus was full. Yet, the bus operator being considerate asked me to wait and in case any passenger doesn't come, he promised me a seat.
I waited for about 20 minutes praying passengers not to turn up. Everytime, I saw someone alighting an auto near the bus stop, I cursed them in my mind for having turned up. At about 1515 hrs, a pretty girl, approximately 25, came to the stop, obviously with her boy friend. Even she wanted to get into bus and had no ticket. Even she was asked to wait and try her luck.
Thed bus was at 1530 hours and at 1525 hrs, I found that about 11 passengers hadn't turned up. I was overjoyed. However, int he last 5 minutes, a mini-tempo came from nowhere with about 9 passengers. So, now only 2 seats were left and it was time for the bus to leave.
So, the bus operator now turned to us - first to me since I had come before for the service. He checked his papers and saw that seat 36 and seat 8 were vacant. I being the first contender, I demanded seat 8. However, he being a 'responsible' citizen said that ladies should be given front seats. I reluctantly agreed to him and allowed the gorl to seat in the front. Ah bad luck.
But this was not enough. This girl who had just come on a bike with her boyfriend saw that seat no 7 was occupied by a man, in his late 20's say about 28-29 years, demanded that she cannot sit next to a man. (It was only 5.5 hrs journey).
Even this demand of her was accepted and guess what, she was transferred to seat 1, the seat behind the driver where we get a lot of leg space and also no jerks. For me, seat 1 is the favourite seat in a volvo since we can stretch our leg and can relax just like in the train. The poor guy from seat 1 was transferred to seat 8.
No one could protest because on the ticket it was written that the decision of the bus operator would be final in case of any disputes with regards to seats. Thus, the girl inspite of coming later as compared to me got the best seat on the bus and I got
possibly the worst seat (in the last row) in the bus.
At one place women say that they are equal to men in all the tasks. They compete for higher positions in the corporate world, earn as much as the men - atleast in the IT comapnies. On the other hand in situations like mentioned above, they conveniently project themselves as weak and vulnerable to get better treatment. This is not done. Equality has to be followed in this case too.
But alas, this will continue so no point arguing it. Even I'll want my wife or daughter to be given a front and a better seat in a bus if she is faced with a similar situation. So, no use cribbing about this!!!
I waited for about 20 minutes praying passengers not to turn up. Everytime, I saw someone alighting an auto near the bus stop, I cursed them in my mind for having turned up. At about 1515 hrs, a pretty girl, approximately 25, came to the stop, obviously with her boy friend. Even she wanted to get into bus and had no ticket. Even she was asked to wait and try her luck.
Thed bus was at 1530 hours and at 1525 hrs, I found that about 11 passengers hadn't turned up. I was overjoyed. However, int he last 5 minutes, a mini-tempo came from nowhere with about 9 passengers. So, now only 2 seats were left and it was time for the bus to leave.
So, the bus operator now turned to us - first to me since I had come before for the service. He checked his papers and saw that seat 36 and seat 8 were vacant. I being the first contender, I demanded seat 8. However, he being a 'responsible' citizen said that ladies should be given front seats. I reluctantly agreed to him and allowed the gorl to seat in the front. Ah bad luck.
But this was not enough. This girl who had just come on a bike with her boyfriend saw that seat no 7 was occupied by a man, in his late 20's say about 28-29 years, demanded that she cannot sit next to a man. (It was only 5.5 hrs journey).
Even this demand of her was accepted and guess what, she was transferred to seat 1, the seat behind the driver where we get a lot of leg space and also no jerks. For me, seat 1 is the favourite seat in a volvo since we can stretch our leg and can relax just like in the train. The poor guy from seat 1 was transferred to seat 8.
No one could protest because on the ticket it was written that the decision of the bus operator would be final in case of any disputes with regards to seats. Thus, the girl inspite of coming later as compared to me got the best seat on the bus and I got
possibly the worst seat (in the last row) in the bus.
At one place women say that they are equal to men in all the tasks. They compete for higher positions in the corporate world, earn as much as the men - atleast in the IT comapnies. On the other hand in situations like mentioned above, they conveniently project themselves as weak and vulnerable to get better treatment. This is not done. Equality has to be followed in this case too.
But alas, this will continue so no point arguing it. Even I'll want my wife or daughter to be given a front and a better seat in a bus if she is faced with a similar situation. So, no use cribbing about this!!!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Dangers Threatening India
Four Dangers which India is facing today
Swine Flu, Chinese aggression, economic recession and drought
Swine Flu:
Still at its inception in India, H1N1 virus has already affected a common urban Indian. The Swine Flu death toll has already crossed 82 in the country, the highest - number of deaths : cases detected, which raises doubt on the centre as well as the state to effectively tackle the deadly pandemic.
The government has declared that the swine flu is here to stay and with the number of death reported increasing every day, it could lead to a major problem if not controlled properly. Reports say that the vaccines for the H1 N1 virus will come up the next year. Let’s hope that till then the number of death is bare minimum
The swine flu has resulted in quite a loss to our country economy - particularly in Maharashtra. The closure of malls, multiplexes, etc have resulted in tremendous losses to the economy. Also the timing of the flu couldn't be worse. It struck in the 1st week of August and aggravated around the middle of the month when there were festivities across all the religions. The celebrations of the Independence Day, Gokulashtami, Patteti, Padusan (Jain New Year), Start of Id fastings, Ganesh festival, etc have been affected. Especially the income of the people who sell roadside things during the festivals has taken a beating. Movies - Kaminey, Life Partner have also survived loss of close to Rs 25 crore.
Chinese aggression
I’ve never considered China a friend of India. It has now and then made it clear to the govt of india that it supports Pakistan and Bangladesh. The act of banning Indian sea food in response to India's ban on the Chinese toys and milk products clearly shows the Chinese attitude towards India. It's opposition to India at the Asian Development Bank recently for an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh exemplifies its stand towards India. China is still not ready to accept that Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are a part of soverign India.
According to a news (on *INDIA TV*), Chinese thinktank is planning to divide india into 30 parts. Though this piece of News is highly exaggerated, Indian Government cannot neglect the movement of Chinese troops along the northeastern border of our country. Steps to answer to their aggression should be thought about and implemented quickly.
I am though an admirer of China who by its sheer power has managed to emerge as a global leader. However, its hunger for is worrying me. It doesn’t believe in peaceful existence.
Economic recession and the drought combined
Time couldn't have been worse for the drought to strike India. India has been trying hard to come out of the clutches of the global recession. The huge fiscal deficit created by government of India to help the economy will not be sufficient in case the monsoons don't come in the September.
174 districts in India have been declared drought affected and huge chuncks of money are being allocated to these districts. However, according to some reports there has been corruption in the list too (some northeastern states receiving ample rain have also been declared drought prone).
Food security problem which was actually a problem this year has just become more grave with the declaration of drought. Problems related to power, water shortages, agricultural suicides, etc will be more rampant in the next year.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wow what a month!
So many things occurred in the last month. The appointment of the cabinet of the new government in India, the failure of Indian cricket team at the world cup, the emergence of Fedrer as the 'all time greatest tennis player', the end of the M.J era, to the opening of the long awaited Bandra-Worli sea link, the presentation of the dismal budget by the FM and the slow progress of monsoon.
While all these diverse things were occurring, I've been having a great time at my new B-school at Pune. It has been a great and a wonderful experience so far here at my college.I've been really impressed by the quality of the students in my batch (their academic diversity as well as their achievements), the discipline at the institute (It is really like a school where attendence is taken in every lecture and the sitting arrangement of the students is predecided- something I only had in school), the attitude of Director (to keep everbody on the feet at all times with assignments), the welcome by the seniors at the Freshers party (where all the seniors dressed as if a fancy dress competition and made us all have a gala time), the ambience at the institute (I've felt like I am staying in isolation away from the city), and some faculty (I didn't like all though).The things worth mentioning are:
1. We had a test conducted on the very first day (commencement of lectures) on Financial accounting. (Most of us were ill-prepared) and got average marks
2. The outbound learning (A routine team building exercise which I enjoyed thoroughly)
3. The schedule - The schedule of the 1st month atleast was very gruelling which left no time for anyone to do anything other than studies. (I, however, managed to meet Vish, Shan, Ravi, Dhav once)
4. The academic rigour - The pace at which the things are taught here is very fast. (Infact, the school believes in the funda of learning and not teaching). So, we are made to self learn most of the things.
5. The Freshers day (Milaap)- It was one of the memorable events that I recall. The seniors dressed as if in a Fancy Dress competition made a grand entry into the institute auditorium in front of the whole junior batch. (The entry was really awesome - spectacular - wish I had taken my camera). For the first time after coming here (After nearly 1 month), I saw people dance, make fun and enjoy. It was a great change from the regular routine and a pleasant change.
6. The marketing assignments - There is one professor who asks the class to read the chapters from the book before taking lectures. Once we didn't read for his class. When he realized it, he gave the whole class a punishment assignment wherein we had to the write whole chapter on 24 A4 sized papers. It was the first time after school may be that I wrote for 5 hours continuously. The funnier part was that the marking scheme for this assignment was -10 to 0. The perfect assignment earned us 0 marks while any substandard work fetched us negative marks. Never heard about such a thing before.
There are a lot of other interesting things here though they are not that worth mentioning.
In short, the past month has been a sort of a roller-coaster ride for me and hope to continue doing well - both academically and extracurricularly.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
How fair is it?
Consider the case of two of my friends who have obtained the same degree from UICT with almost the same academic record. Both had aim of obtaining a Ph D after the degree and then teaching at an institute and become a professor and then act as a consultant to the chemical industry.
One of the two opted for the option of doing a Ph D at an university in USA and the other opted to do it at UICT, the same college where both had done their under graduation. Needless to say that the second one had the desire to do something for our own country and do research for India and what better place than UICT (the best for chemical engineering in India).
The person who has gone to the USA for research enjoys a scholarship of $ 22,000 per annum.(the normal scholarship for any person putrsuing PhD there). In addition to this, he is offered some teaching assistanceship where he has to teach people simple mathematics which he is quite comfortable.Alongwith that excellent research facilities and the tag of staying in America (parents' pride and all that). The research consists of studing the cell wall of a human cell. Now this kind of research is done with a view of clubbing together research of different students from the same university to create some biological drug by a faculty member of the university. The /final result will be the development of some kind of drug. The benefactor of this research - USA & the drug manufacturing company.
The other guy starts his reserach with the Director of UICT, the highest paid chemical engineeing faculty in India (on consultancy & teaching). For the first two years, he studies multphase reactors & then turns to research in core chemcial engineering, the development of reactors. Alongwith this, he has to do a lot of work on nuclear projects, a result of the Nuclear Deal in India. After 4 years of hardwork, he is offered a post of faculty as a lecturer & he has to teach multi-phase reactors - (a tough subject in chemical engineering) to final year students. In this case, the benefactor of this is India and its people (power generation by the development of new reactors). He is offered only Rs. 22,000 per month.
How fair is it - a person who wants to do research in India and do something for India is offered only Rs 22,000 per month and another who does research in USA earns $ 22,000 per annum (close to Rs. 90,000 per month).
One of the two opted for the option of doing a Ph D at an university in USA and the other opted to do it at UICT, the same college where both had done their under graduation. Needless to say that the second one had the desire to do something for our own country and do research for India and what better place than UICT (the best for chemical engineering in India).
The person who has gone to the USA for research enjoys a scholarship of $ 22,000 per annum.(the normal scholarship for any person putrsuing PhD there). In addition to this, he is offered some teaching assistanceship where he has to teach people simple mathematics which he is quite comfortable.Alongwith that excellent research facilities and the tag of staying in America (parents' pride and all that). The research consists of studing the cell wall of a human cell. Now this kind of research is done with a view of clubbing together research of different students from the same university to create some biological drug by a faculty member of the university. The /final result will be the development of some kind of drug. The benefactor of this research - USA & the drug manufacturing company.
The other guy starts his reserach with the Director of UICT, the highest paid chemical engineeing faculty in India (on consultancy & teaching). For the first two years, he studies multphase reactors & then turns to research in core chemcial engineering, the development of reactors. Alongwith this, he has to do a lot of work on nuclear projects, a result of the Nuclear Deal in India. After 4 years of hardwork, he is offered a post of faculty as a lecturer & he has to teach multi-phase reactors - (a tough subject in chemical engineering) to final year students. In this case, the benefactor of this is India and its people (power generation by the development of new reactors). He is offered only Rs. 22,000 per month.
How fair is it - a person who wants to do research in India and do something for India is offered only Rs 22,000 per month and another who does research in USA earns $ 22,000 per annum (close to Rs. 90,000 per month).
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Cartoons - What happened to them?
When I think of my school days, I remember that I and some of my friends used to watch 'Disney Hour' at 6 o'clock on Zee or the Sony channel without fail. In fact, when we reached school the next morning, the topic of discussion used to be the cartoon seen the previous evening. We spent the lunch hours on discussions on the cartoons like Gummi Bears, Duck Tales, Chip & Dale, Tales Pin, Alladin, Mickey & Friends, etc. We even talked about cartoons on the cartoon network like Caption Planet, Swat Cats, The Centurions, Scooby Do and many more. Everybody - right from children in 1st standard to those in 10th used to watch the cartoons daily. Even some adults used to see the shows. Such was the power of these cartoons.
The cartoons have played quite a role in my upbringing indeed. I have unknowingly learnt quite a lot of things from these cartoons. While cartoons like Gummi Bears and Alladin took me to a new world which improved my ability to imagine, cartoons like Tales Pin and Duck Tales helped me learn the art of deducing from clues, thereby improving reasoning skills. (treasure hunting). Caption Planet threw light on the environment and nature while Swat Cats and Centurions focussed on the new developments. Apart from these teachings, the moral values like honesty, self-discipline, truthfulness, friendship, sacrifice, etc. were learnt from almost all these cartoons.
I wonder whats happened to the cartoons now.
Last week when I had been home and did not have much to do, I turned to the cartoons for fun. I was surprised to see that not a single old Disney cartoon was being telecasted on any of the children TV channels. 'Tom and Jerry' was being shown on the Cartoon Network for long stretches of 3 hours or so. Now 'Tom & Jerry' though good, (in terms of animation) doesn't help much w.r.t developing imagination, moral values. Nor can we watch the mindless cat and mouse show for hours long. The other cartoons shown on the cartoon network were not watchable due to poor animation or negligible content. The only cartoon on which was watchable on the Cartoon Network was Richie Rich. But the number of breaks in the 30 minutes show (about 4 or 5) took all the fun away .
Other channels like the Toon Disney showed sme cartoons under the name JETIX. The quality of animation of these JETIX cartoons was pitiful. I couldn't distinguish one character from other. (I wonder whats happened to the animation industry in spite of the advances in digital technology). On the Pogo channel, some good cartoons were being shown but none were interesting. These cartoons were appropriate only for a child in K.G class - were filled with a lot of colors and music with no story whatsoever. When I tuned to the Disney Channel, I was surprised to see no animated shows screened. I tried to see the much hyped recent cartoons of Shin Chan and the Pokemon on Hungama channel but unfortunately none of these were aired during my stay of 5 days.
Largely, I am disappointed with the quality and the content of the cartoons aired on television. None of the cartoons are what can be called appealing to the children or the teen agers. None of them had any quality of the brilliant Disney Cartoons mentioned before.
I really feel that the kids of today are missing out on an important aspect in their upbringing - the cartoons.
I wish that the old cartoons are again aired on the television so that kids of this generation do not miss out on the wonderful opportunity to learn from the cartoons on their own.
The cartoons have played quite a role in my upbringing indeed. I have unknowingly learnt quite a lot of things from these cartoons. While cartoons like Gummi Bears and Alladin took me to a new world which improved my ability to imagine, cartoons like Tales Pin and Duck Tales helped me learn the art of deducing from clues, thereby improving reasoning skills. (treasure hunting). Caption Planet threw light on the environment and nature while Swat Cats and Centurions focussed on the new developments. Apart from these teachings, the moral values like honesty, self-discipline, truthfulness, friendship, sacrifice, etc. were learnt from almost all these cartoons.
I wonder whats happened to the cartoons now.
Last week when I had been home and did not have much to do, I turned to the cartoons for fun. I was surprised to see that not a single old Disney cartoon was being telecasted on any of the children TV channels. 'Tom and Jerry' was being shown on the Cartoon Network for long stretches of 3 hours or so. Now 'Tom & Jerry' though good, (in terms of animation) doesn't help much w.r.t developing imagination, moral values. Nor can we watch the mindless cat and mouse show for hours long. The other cartoons shown on the cartoon network were not watchable due to poor animation or negligible content. The only cartoon on which was watchable on the Cartoon Network was Richie Rich. But the number of breaks in the 30 minutes show (about 4 or 5) took all the fun away .
Other channels like the Toon Disney showed sme cartoons under the name JETIX. The quality of animation of these JETIX cartoons was pitiful. I couldn't distinguish one character from other. (I wonder whats happened to the animation industry in spite of the advances in digital technology). On the Pogo channel, some good cartoons were being shown but none were interesting. These cartoons were appropriate only for a child in K.G class - were filled with a lot of colors and music with no story whatsoever. When I tuned to the Disney Channel, I was surprised to see no animated shows screened. I tried to see the much hyped recent cartoons of Shin Chan and the Pokemon on Hungama channel but unfortunately none of these were aired during my stay of 5 days.
Largely, I am disappointed with the quality and the content of the cartoons aired on television. None of the cartoons are what can be called appealing to the children or the teen agers. None of them had any quality of the brilliant Disney Cartoons mentioned before.
I really feel that the kids of today are missing out on an important aspect in their upbringing - the cartoons.
I wish that the old cartoons are again aired on the television so that kids of this generation do not miss out on the wonderful opportunity to learn from the cartoons on their own.
Friday, April 17, 2009
What happened to our dreams?
This thought occurred to me when I was seeing the Aviva Life Insurance Children Plan advertisement in which children talk about becoming pilot, sportsman, model, etc. after growing up.
A lot of children have plans to do something adventurous or creative in life like becoming a pilot, sportsman, model, actor, painter. However, I wonder how many children actually end up becoming something they wish for. May be a few have but I don't think that a majority of children end up becoming an engineer or a doctor or a lawyer which is so very conventional. Why does this occur?
I feel that our educational system has been created in such a way that a child gets trained to follow the conventional career path. After standard tenth, a child is made to choose between science, commerce or arts. While arts is a field where painting and other creative skills could be honed, it is not the preferred choice. This is because arts is not viewed as a good career option by most of the parents. They force a child to take up either commerce or science. Also the peer pressure plays a major role wherein a child is forced to take up either science or commerce. After 12th standard, again the path forward for most is engineering, medicine or law for science and B.Com (CA alongside) or BBA for a commerce candidate. And after the completion of these courses, he/she starts to look for a job to support his/her family. Some go for higher studies (many don't) and do their post graduation in their respective fields. Then they start earing and get involved in their jobs. Now if he/she has to go for his/her dream it has to be done so only by quitting the job which becomes very difficult considering the fact that he/she has to support family.
I have a friend of mine who has completed his LLB degree and now wants to follow his dream of becoming an actor. So, now he has started his new path to become an actor. It has been a lot of struggle for him to go along a path which is totally different from his qualification. If he had started preparing for it when he was in 11th or 12th, he could have been in a better position. However, better late thane never. Moreover, his family approves of him becoming an actor. So, I feel that he will achieve what he dreamt of. I wish him all the luck to become a renowned actor.
In the case above, the parents were supportive and there were no pressures on him. However, I do not think that most of the parents will not be supportive.
So, what happened to the dreams a child saw? The dreams died somewhere right in the school where the child was compelled to follow the conventional path and then his dreams remained dreams.
I feel that this happens for a majority of the children. Few lucky ones have a chance to follow their dreams and fulfill their aspirations.
So, what can be done? We can in no way change the educational system in a radical manner. So, it is the parents who have to be supportive of their children to help them pursue their dreams. Also, the child should be determined enough to be follow the path which will help him achieve his dream.
As a song from Westlife goes,
'Make that magic rule, let the miracle stay. Dreams come true'
A lot of children have plans to do something adventurous or creative in life like becoming a pilot, sportsman, model, actor, painter. However, I wonder how many children actually end up becoming something they wish for. May be a few have but I don't think that a majority of children end up becoming an engineer or a doctor or a lawyer which is so very conventional. Why does this occur?
I feel that our educational system has been created in such a way that a child gets trained to follow the conventional career path. After standard tenth, a child is made to choose between science, commerce or arts. While arts is a field where painting and other creative skills could be honed, it is not the preferred choice. This is because arts is not viewed as a good career option by most of the parents. They force a child to take up either commerce or science. Also the peer pressure plays a major role wherein a child is forced to take up either science or commerce. After 12th standard, again the path forward for most is engineering, medicine or law for science and B.Com (CA alongside) or BBA for a commerce candidate. And after the completion of these courses, he/she starts to look for a job to support his/her family. Some go for higher studies (many don't) and do their post graduation in their respective fields. Then they start earing and get involved in their jobs. Now if he/she has to go for his/her dream it has to be done so only by quitting the job which becomes very difficult considering the fact that he/she has to support family.
I have a friend of mine who has completed his LLB degree and now wants to follow his dream of becoming an actor. So, now he has started his new path to become an actor. It has been a lot of struggle for him to go along a path which is totally different from his qualification. If he had started preparing for it when he was in 11th or 12th, he could have been in a better position. However, better late thane never. Moreover, his family approves of him becoming an actor. So, I feel that he will achieve what he dreamt of. I wish him all the luck to become a renowned actor.
In the case above, the parents were supportive and there were no pressures on him. However, I do not think that most of the parents will not be supportive.
So, what happened to the dreams a child saw? The dreams died somewhere right in the school where the child was compelled to follow the conventional path and then his dreams remained dreams.
I feel that this happens for a majority of the children. Few lucky ones have a chance to follow their dreams and fulfill their aspirations.
So, what can be done? We can in no way change the educational system in a radical manner. So, it is the parents who have to be supportive of their children to help them pursue their dreams. Also, the child should be determined enough to be follow the path which will help him achieve his dream.
As a song from Westlife goes,
'Make that magic rule, let the miracle stay. Dreams come true'
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Looking at the Sea
Looking at the calm sea about 6 years back at Ganpatipule, my father asked “What does the sea help us learn?” I couldn’t give a satisfactory answer as is the case when one is young (I am still young though). He later explained “It makes us leave our ego aside. A man thinks that he has conquered the world. He thinks that he can do anything. Yet in front of the large body mass of the sea, a man is just a small tiny creature standing helpless. So, whatever a man thinks of himself is just his brain doing the talking with absolute reality being that man is nothing in front of the sea. It has tremendous power to do things which he cannot even think. So, whatever ego a person has just dies away in front of the sea.”These thoughts didn’t leave me. From then on, I started to view the sea as something with a force to do anything. The Tsunami incident made these thoughts more profound.Now after so many years, I have come to realize the deep meaning of the statements made by my father. Not only did I understand the meaning of the explanation given by him but also I made up came up with my observation. I think that the sea is one of the most powerful forces the nature has created. It is spread over vast area and is all the time moving with waves always trying to expand its area. Yet despite all the turbulence within, it remains on the area it occupies. It doesn’t move out of the area it has chosen. (Tsunami is a time when an earthquake caused it to move. But at all the other times, it is in its own fixed area). It means the sea respects its existence and at the same time it respects the existence of humans and all the other living beings. Despite of all the forces within (waves and the high tides), it doesn’t trespass the area occupied by humans. This belief helps us understand we should respect each and every individual irrespective of our size and position, thereby, forgo the ego we have regarding ourselves.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Are IITs losing their edge?
"IITs still have their charm" was the newshead line on CNBC tonight. The news was with reference to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to be conducted on Sunday (12th April).
The news report described how despite the lacklustre placements and the global slowdown, there is a rise in the number of students appearing for the JEE.
Considering the fact that the internet has penetrated in the tier 3 cities and the rural areas coupled with the rise in the awareness amongst parents of the fact that the IITs are the best insitiutions in India for engineering (thanks to the mass media), it is so obvious that more students will opt for the IITs.
Well my point here is that the IITs are actually losing their edge as the premier educational institutions in India on the academic front. To prove this point, I will illustrate an example I have had while working for SI Group India Limited.
As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the organization SI Group India Limited (Formerly Herdillia Chemicals Limited) allows students of chemical engineering from engineering colleges in Mumbai like IITB, D.J.Sanghvi, etc. The educational course mandates that the students need to have atleast one chemical plant visit in their third year. Thus, the plant visit helps the company as well as the educational institution. (both benefit through the activity). But do the students (for the benefit of whom the whole exercise is conducted) actually benefit?
Well most of the teachers will say that the exercise helps students see how a chemical plant and various unit operations which they have learnt. Even I felt that this should be the case. But after looking at the students who visited SIG for the past two years, I felt that students were not really interested to see the actual working of the plant. They just came to the plant to satisfy the compulosry attendance criterion. Let me give my personal experience.
I was asked to show the plant to the students for a couple of times this year (and thrice the last year). I started with a small presentation highlighting different products of the company and the processes for their manufacture. I deliberately didn't say some important things (like the type of packings, trays, reactor and other things of importance for a chemical engineering student) thinking the students will want to know them. But to my disappointment, no one in all the batches asked any questions. They were sitting only with the intention of finishing the task asap and leave the factory. Further, during the plant round, out of a batch of 30 students, only 3 or 4 students were found to actually listen to what I was saying. Infact, about 10 students were actually chatting something else (maybe films) and were about 30-40 meters away from me and did not hear even a single complete sentence from me during the plant round. There were only 3-4 students who were actually excited to see the plant. Others were disinterested to it.
Adding to my horror, it happened once that even the guide who had come with the students was not aware of the basic equipments of a plant. How the hell was he supposed to teach students?
One of the things that I learnt from their plant visit was that the chemical engineering course at IIT didn't include the 'environmental engineering' as a part of their syllabus. Now that's ridiculous. Even small colleges where chemical engineering is taught (Say PVPIT at Sangli, D J Sanghvi or LIT) have a compulsory course for environmental engineering. Basically, chemical engineering is incomplete without environmental engineering. Students didn't even have any idea about effluent treatment plant (let alone its working which we had been taught in detail).
These experiences imply the these students have actually joined IIT with the intention of securing high paying jobs and not with the intention of acquiring knowledge. Further more, the teachers here are basically just doing their jobs but not nurturing talent (atleast at the undergraduate levels. I know that at PhD level, the quality of researches is excellent) nor do they wish to change their syllabus or even consider to ammend a part of it so as to make it more industrially relevant. Later while chatting with the VP of the company, I realized that even he shared the same view.
So, have the students come to the best educational institution of India with a view of getting high paying scale jobs? Also what is the use of teaching students something which is incomplete and not of the standards which a normal person (who sees TV and feels that ppl at IIT get the best knowledge available) ?
If this condition persists, I feel that the IIT's will really lose their edge of being the best. Something has to be really done to change the attitudes of students coupled with significant changes in the syllabus (atleast the syllabus of chemical engineering - other branches I have no idea) so that they retain their status of being the best.
The news report described how despite the lacklustre placements and the global slowdown, there is a rise in the number of students appearing for the JEE.
Considering the fact that the internet has penetrated in the tier 3 cities and the rural areas coupled with the rise in the awareness amongst parents of the fact that the IITs are the best insitiutions in India for engineering (thanks to the mass media), it is so obvious that more students will opt for the IITs.
Well my point here is that the IITs are actually losing their edge as the premier educational institutions in India on the academic front. To prove this point, I will illustrate an example I have had while working for SI Group India Limited.
As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the organization SI Group India Limited (Formerly Herdillia Chemicals Limited) allows students of chemical engineering from engineering colleges in Mumbai like IITB, D.J.Sanghvi, etc. The educational course mandates that the students need to have atleast one chemical plant visit in their third year. Thus, the plant visit helps the company as well as the educational institution. (both benefit through the activity). But do the students (for the benefit of whom the whole exercise is conducted) actually benefit?
Well most of the teachers will say that the exercise helps students see how a chemical plant and various unit operations which they have learnt. Even I felt that this should be the case. But after looking at the students who visited SIG for the past two years, I felt that students were not really interested to see the actual working of the plant. They just came to the plant to satisfy the compulosry attendance criterion. Let me give my personal experience.
I was asked to show the plant to the students for a couple of times this year (and thrice the last year). I started with a small presentation highlighting different products of the company and the processes for their manufacture. I deliberately didn't say some important things (like the type of packings, trays, reactor and other things of importance for a chemical engineering student) thinking the students will want to know them. But to my disappointment, no one in all the batches asked any questions. They were sitting only with the intention of finishing the task asap and leave the factory. Further, during the plant round, out of a batch of 30 students, only 3 or 4 students were found to actually listen to what I was saying. Infact, about 10 students were actually chatting something else (maybe films) and were about 30-40 meters away from me and did not hear even a single complete sentence from me during the plant round. There were only 3-4 students who were actually excited to see the plant. Others were disinterested to it.
Adding to my horror, it happened once that even the guide who had come with the students was not aware of the basic equipments of a plant. How the hell was he supposed to teach students?
One of the things that I learnt from their plant visit was that the chemical engineering course at IIT didn't include the 'environmental engineering' as a part of their syllabus. Now that's ridiculous. Even small colleges where chemical engineering is taught (Say PVPIT at Sangli, D J Sanghvi or LIT) have a compulsory course for environmental engineering. Basically, chemical engineering is incomplete without environmental engineering. Students didn't even have any idea about effluent treatment plant (let alone its working which we had been taught in detail).
These experiences imply the these students have actually joined IIT with the intention of securing high paying jobs and not with the intention of acquiring knowledge. Further more, the teachers here are basically just doing their jobs but not nurturing talent (atleast at the undergraduate levels. I know that at PhD level, the quality of researches is excellent) nor do they wish to change their syllabus or even consider to ammend a part of it so as to make it more industrially relevant. Later while chatting with the VP of the company, I realized that even he shared the same view.
So, have the students come to the best educational institution of India with a view of getting high paying scale jobs? Also what is the use of teaching students something which is incomplete and not of the standards which a normal person (who sees TV and feels that ppl at IIT get the best knowledge available) ?
If this condition persists, I feel that the IIT's will really lose their edge of being the best. Something has to be really done to change the attitudes of students coupled with significant changes in the syllabus (atleast the syllabus of chemical engineering - other branches I have no idea) so that they retain their status of being the best.
Starting to script the journey called 'Life'
It is often said the the most difficult step for any activity is actually initiating it. Be it setting up an enterprise, learning a musical instrument or even starting to write a blog. Once the activity is initiated, we automatically take steps to take the activity to its logical conclusion.
So very true!
For me too the first step of actually starting to write my blog was a difficult step. I wished to start writing this blog 6 months back. But due to my habit of procrastinating things, the first step got delayed। I couldn't make up my mind to actually start scripting my ideas and experiences. However, finally i have started this. Yes!
'Khair der aye durust aye' Start toh kiya !
Looking forward to add some spice in my life by jotting down important events happening in my life and expressing opinions about different events occuring around me.
So, this ends my first and the most difficult part of this activity of scripting my life. I just hope to continue blogging.
So very true!
For me too the first step of actually starting to write my blog was a difficult step. I wished to start writing this blog 6 months back. But due to my habit of procrastinating things, the first step got delayed। I couldn't make up my mind to actually start scripting my ideas and experiences. However, finally i have started this. Yes!
'Khair der aye durust aye' Start toh kiya !
Looking forward to add some spice in my life by jotting down important events happening in my life and expressing opinions about different events occuring around me.
So, this ends my first and the most difficult part of this activity of scripting my life. I just hope to continue blogging.
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