In the following paragraphs, I describe the experiences of Orientation day of the PGSEM course @ IIMB for the 2008 batch.

As one gets off Bannerghatta road, and glides smoothly into the serene campus of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, all the chaos gets left behind. The churning mind assumes a clarity previously absent. A sense of timelessness envelops you - much like the IIM campus itself. You may have been on the campus earlier for many reasons - to visit the library, to collect application forms - but when you walk in the doors as a student, its different - the shoulders broaden, the gait is more elegant, the stride more confident. There is a sense - a sense of something big, a feeling of welcome change. For IIM is not just another school - its a Hogwarts - and it is known for making magicians of its students, even of muggles like me.




DAY 1:

So as I turned up at the IIMB on the dot at 7.45 am on Saturday morning, I was led to the breakfast area. This was followed by a welcome ceremony. After this, there was a team building workshop - a very interesting and inspiring session. When the same thing happens @ work, employees are indifferent. But here, things were different - we participated with gusto and showed total involvement. At the end of the session, we learned a few basic but important lessons on management and life.

Post lunch, we were given a talk on the administration and general do's and dont's by Mr. Bharathi - I found this to be the most essential part of the 2 days. After this, Mr. Shankar Venkatagiri, the chairman of the PGSEM, painted a terrifying (but probably true) picture of the course. The PGSEM is 2.5 year long course - and when you add the pressures of work and marriage and children, you can be assuredly sure that you will be tired at the end of this long journey.

ASIDE:
[ For those who landed here via google :

But the PGSEM is a sound investment as history indicates, and I am doubly sure of this because of the energy I saw on the faces of the seniors who organized the Orientation event for us - anyone with so much energy after one year of grueling & rigorous life will do well. The PGSEM students (on average) may not have the number cruching ability of their....oops..."our" PGP counterparts, but then solving 5 problems a minute does not necessarily indicate your ability to top an MBA program.

The CAT is another example of the great Indian twisted logic that we place so much faith in to choose the leaders of our next generation. "CAT" and "Top Ranking students" - most of the great businessmen I know would have failed miserably in both. However, let's leave this argument for another day.

It is the wealth of experience - and, thereby, the hunger for learning and excelling, combined with the maturity of being slightly older, as also the class diversity in terms of age and the attributes one develops by multi tasking - that makes the PGSEM students a formidable bunch. And don't forget, we are actually applying all the we learn - and as they say, there's no better teacher than practice ].

This was followed by a Corporate quiz organized by the PGSEM batch. Of the 40 odd questions that were asked, I could answer two - and both were wild guesses [ Next time I visit Las Vegas, I must try my luck at one of the tables there ].

We were then given a case study to complete - Yay! Our first assignment - which we postponed for later.

The dinner was followed by a ragging session - more of an introduction session between the seniors and those of us juniors who decided to stay back. I must admit I've never had such sporting seniors ever. The ragging was 2-way - and some of us had fun ragging our own batchmates as well.

That night, an unfortunate few folks had their sleeps disturbed by a bunch of 5 extra energetic people arguing a case study in the middle of the night in a cricket stadium.

DAY 2:

The day opened with - guess what - a Math Quiz !! Although its been a while since we left school, most of us managed to score some decent marks. They actually scored the sheets and gave us the results in a short while as well as announcing the toppers. Amazing! Talk about seriousness.

This was followed by a Presentation on Presentations - a lively and interactive class where one person was asked to describe his experience of eating elephants - and he actually gave quite a graphic description of it. I mean, how heartless can you get !! I understand eating chicken, lambs, goats, deer, but elephant - no way!! Personally, I draw the line at Crocodiles.

The rest of the half was business - we were given introductory - and inspiring - lectures on Sales, Micro Economics and Operations. At 4.30, toppers of respective subjects came up and gave us tips on how to prepare - I thought this was a very thoughtful gesture.

Finally, there was a speech from Mr Som Mittal, Nasscom President, and a panel discussion on the next generation of IT leaders - which (in my opinion) failed to throw up too much radical thought on the subject.

I then had dinner - and what a dinner it was - a sumptuous feast, made more sumptuous by the company of Mr. Shankar Venkatagiri, whose intense eyes bore in on us like a homing device - and left a deep impact as he proceeded to destroy our preconceived notions of success and urged us to follow our hearts. As I left the campus that evening, I was sleepy and exhausted, but reinvigorated and vibrant. There is a fear of the unknown and the struggle which I have never done in the past, but I look at it like the weather that evening - it had rained heavily earlier, but when I drove home, the rain was forgotten - all I could feel was the refreshing smell of wet mud.

Hopefully, in the years to come, we will justify the faith that the Institute and her people have put in us. There is a duty to be done - to the nation and to ourselves - a duty to unleash our passions and prove ourselves worthy of this great institute ( which, despite the increase in fees, I suspect is still doing us a favor by allowing us to partake in the company of India's greatest wealth - the great minds that crowd the corridors of IIM Bangalore ).


---- The Elephant Eater :)

This was a speech I gave at the Toastmasters'.

Introduction

My professor once told a girl who was late for class yet again. “Girl, You are always coming late. I’m tired of your excuses. So many days you were lying with me, now go and lie with the principal”. In this lecture, however, I will focus on the “lying to smn” as against “lying with smn”.

Abraham Lincoln once said : “You can fool all the people some of the time, some you can fool all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time”. And in saying so, he had us fooled yet again. For if the evidence below is true, and it is so, it goes to prove that humanity can not only be fooled all of the time, but actually, it wants to fooled all of the time. In fact, we want to lie and we want to hear lies. Lying is more integral to our survival than the truth.

Politicians and lawyers, of course, are the standout liars. In politics, there is a saying: “A straight line is the shortest way to disaster”. They lie before the election, during their term and until they die. Then their children carry on from where they left off. Foreign policy is another source of lies. Most countries cloak self-interest in a veil of generosity and it works all the time. Marketing is yet another area where lying is a requirement of the job. Resumes, report cards and love are other areas. In fact, Robert Wright once said “The most successful people are those who can lie the best to the spouse, convincing her of your ability to be the best choice.” When women say they want honesty in a man, it is implied that honesty in most matters except those pertaining to themselves. And men, of course – we excel in lying in the matters of love.


Why We Lie…

Let’s face it. Truth can get boring. Once in a while, we are all tempted to lie, and we want to hear the most pleasant lies. But the paradox is that we don’t ever want to be caught lying and we always take great pleasure in unmasking the lies of others.

1. Self-preservation
2. Self-esteem
3. Fun
4. Being One up
5. Developing Self-confidence

At times, lying is imperative, unless you believe in an after-life ----Criminals----. It’s a question of saving your own skin or life. Other situations may not be so life threatening but more of an ego hassle. ------Xpressions articles ---- But all of us, we love lying for heck of it. What would life be if we couldn’t lie for fun? To play a prank, to pull a friend or enemy’s leg? Other times are when you want to go one up over someone, when you want that promotion so badly that you are willing to sacrifice the character of your competitor --------Corporate-----

Finally, and this is a new discovery of my own, lying is critical to one’s own self-development. Your success is not determined by how true you can be to yourself but how well you can lie to yourself -----Cricket batting example, polygraph test ------.

Succesful Liars…

The funny thing about lies is that the bigger the lie, the easier it is to get people to believe it. Religion is the principal aggressor of this kind of lies. They have you believe the craziest of explanations in order to preserve the social order of things. Smn once said “When there are multiple explanations, the simplest one is most often the truth”. But religion has mostly ignored this fact.

The best liars of the world have often been the most powerful people of their time. To be able to pass off a lie as the truth is a critical requirement of a leader. Hitler is the best example. How Hitler convinced his people that Jews were evil and must be condemned is beyond our comprehension.But we see parallels of it even today in the foreign policies of some countries.


Justification

Even god lies. Krishna in the case of the bhagvad gita. Or in his younger days when eating butter. Children lie. Children often tell the best lies. -----Socks story----
Lying, therefore, is not in the domain of the unnatural. Actually, it is lying which is natural, and it is truth which is forced. From now on, I have decided that I am going to lie with Abandon. Wonder where she went, my Abandon....

Yes, no, yes, no, yesss. Now, later, now, later, now. At last! Here was my first team outing from HTSL in my two years here. And what a fine experience it turned out to be.

On reaching Kodaikanal, one is amazed at the fact that, despite tourist spots all over the country deteriorating due to crass commercialisation, it has managed to retain its colonial feel and aesthetic beauty. In spite of its fair share of bustling shops and crowded pathways, Kodaikanal still has its sprawling meadows, pristine lake and evergreen valleys intact. Somehow, one cannot but help feel that it has got right what Bangalore has got wrong.

One of the several tastefully built hotels was the Kodai Resort Hotel, into which we lugged our bags early Saturday morning. The weather, apart from being a little on the colder side, was quite mild and pleasant. We were greeted with a sumptuous breakfast – made more delicious by our desire to put our backbreaking all-night journey behind our...er...backs. The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent sightseeing and clicking pictures.

It was the evening that brought the crowd alive and transformed the motley crowd of fifteen into a team of one. While there were many unknown variables prior to the trip, the evening session by the campfire helped transform mere names into living people and still faces into festive carnivals. What started as a hesitant and formal ritual, metamorphose into a frenzy of dancing and games partly due to the gentle prodding of Harsha, and partly due to the ballet and Bhangra skills of Veda and myself, respectively. And so it was dance, musical chairs, a hilarious session of JAM (Just A Minute), Antakshari and a game of cards that helped individuals come into their own and embrace the concept of the team openly.

We left Kodaikanal the next morning for Bangalore. On the way, we paid a surprise visit to Karthik’s home in Karur. We were given a live demonstration of the cloth mill. It was a learning and a humbling experience. To think that the International brands we so haughtily flaunt and die for are made in our own backyards by our own people who may not be able to afford the very clothes they make....

-------


One of the rather unsettling aspects about most of us is the manner in which we tend to perceive ourselves and our colleagues - as Trainee, Engineer, TL, PM, HR, Domain Lead and BU Lead. We often tend to overlook the fact that somewhere in there, we are individuals as well – distinct individuals with disparate talents, experiences, expectations, interests, compulsions and behaviors (although all of us conform to Honeywell behaviours). In doing so, we never get to really know our colleagues. And hence, we miss out on making our workplaces exciting, fun and friendly places to work in.

It is here that team outings can play a critical role. Our trip threw up a host of pleasant surprises. Who knew that studious Mr.Vedaraman could be so prolific a dancer? Who knew that shy and reticent Ganesh could actually double up as a motormouth if the situation demanded it? Who knew before the trip that witty and humorous Karthik Kandavel even existed? And who knew that the bespectacled(and eligible) MCA topper Hameed was actually hooked on to Bollywood actresses? Who knew indeed….

One believes that this trip will fuel the energy we bring with us to work every morning. One hopes that this will help the newcomers blend in better with the team and express themselves more freely. This trip should encourage innovative ideas to be more forthcoming and should result in the development of a more cohesive outfit and a collective, helpful, mutually respectful, knowledge driven workforce. For the seniors, the new closeness should help identify and encourage the talents of the others.

Personally, I discovered once again how endlessly fascinating people can be. And even though between us we cover a sea of talent, jokes, singing, dancing and playing cards, with powerful protagonists like Ganesh, Karthik K, Hameed, Vedaraman among others in the fray, when you came right down to it, it was I who really took the cake. You see, the day we left happened to be my birthday and the team surprised me by buying me one. Thank you, fellows.

- Karthik Naig

Marriage – Time for Divorce?

 Jeans? Not Quite, Sweetheart…   

We live in tumultuous times.

 

I prefer marriage, but I think marriages have lived out their lives. Why do I think so? To answer this, let us understand the purpose of this glorious institution we call marriage from the standpoint of Darwin 's theory of evolution. But first, the question – why Marriage at all? Why and how did marriage evolve in the first place? If pre-20^th century society was always male-dominated, and considering the common belief that all men wanted was to have sex, then how come “Wham, Bam, Thank you Ma’am” never really got in vogue? Or for that matter, how come it was never Biff, Bang, On your way, Man ?!! 

 

Marriage was a solution for a pressing problem that the human society faced while still in its infancy: that of producing and rearing offspring successfully. In my opinion, all the other factors viz. a bond that creates spiritual harmony, is emotionally fulfilling, and gives us security at old age are secondary. The primary purpose of any animal (which we very much are) is to multiply and spread the world with more of its kind therein increasing its chances of survival in case of calamities. For a mammal, because its offspring are so very weak at birth, it has the additional responsibility of rearing its offspring until adulthood. Hence, reproducing and nurturing the young is encoded in our genetic makeup. 

 As already mentioned, the success of a species lies in multiplying [There is ample proof of this in India. Every Indian child is rigorously taught the multiplication tables right from birth. It’s not very well known, but in India, Multiplication tables are a religion by themselves. Most Indian children have multiplication tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and if they make a mistake, then that’s all they get. But hey, who says 1 billion is easy?] Anyways, nature, through eons of trial and error, hit upon a successful strategy - It built in the male the desire to see his genes proliferate, and in the female the desire to see that a maximum number of her offspring reach adulthood. In the case of humans, since a child takes around 16-18 years to reach adulthood, it means that the woman can mate with only one partner or, at most two in her life. Indiscriminate mating by the female meant she would have that many more children to care for. Also, the males would have to compete with each other to mate the most healthy (read “attractive”) female. Feminists are not all wrong when they say men only try to get into the jeans – they are just a bit off – men actually want to get into the genes. 

This natural competition is almost universal in the mammalian kingdom and ensures the best offspring, thus ensuring the success of humans as a species. This is why you observe that throughout history, there have always been more men than women having indiscriminate sex. And this is also why you find that a woman always looks for security in a man. Her innate, instinctive responsibility lies in ensuring that a maximum of her children reach adulthood successfully. This is best ensured by seeing that her offspring are well-protected by a bodyguard. Who better than her mate to do this job? This is why the woman will accept him only when she is sure that that man will give her the best offspring and will protect her as well as them until they reach adulthood. Ever wondered why it is almost always the girl who's coy and smug while the guy has to do all the wooing? Well, there’s your answer.  

Love and Jealousy 

          The paradox of the statement I make next is so beautiful, it’s well, fascinating – you are the reason your parents fell in love with each other, even though you were not born at the time. Lovers often wonder where they get their sudden doses of motivation, courage, inspiration, joy and protectiveness for their partner with which they feel they can do seemingly impossible acts for their loved one and often, they can and do. Where does this heightened emotion come from? It seems to arise from nowhere.  

         But there is an explanation. Nature had to evolve a strategy that would keep the offspring protected from harm as much as possible until the offspring learnt to take care of itself. Of all the strategies possible, it chose love - a set of bio-chemical reactions that make it impossible to contemplate existence without the other person[Think about it. If nature had chosen any other strategy to keep children safe (as indeed, it might have experimented) for 18 long years, it was almost certainly doomed to fail]. You were not a consequence of your parents’ love for each other; actually, you were the reason for it. You were not the fruit of their loins, you were the seed! Love, in short, has a cause - children. It is undoubtedly a very solid understanding of this concept that arranged marriages, defying common sense, have lasted for millennia. Arranged marriages are just as sound in their logic as love marriages are and will last, on average, almost exactly for the same duration.  

Continuing in the same vein, there is also an explanation for feelings of jealousy one feels when the spouse switches loyalties - this would mean that there is a lesser chance of his/her offspring being cared for and hence, a lesser chance of them reaching adulthood. Jealousy, therefore, is nature's answer to the problem of indiscriminate sex. 

Transformations

         The woman's need for security is why most women always like to remain in groups. And because they remained in groups most of the time, they had to find an activity to keep their immensely intelligent minds busy while their mates hunted for deer. Unfortunately, their 2-year-old offspring could not provide them the intellectual activity they craved for. And since this was all somewhat before the time of Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, they invented what is now known as gossip – a term for vividly imaginative, unproductive, random and incessant chatter. Remember, we are discussing a period some 15,000 years ago. Since then, of course, womankind has made great strides in great many fields. In fact, now they gossip about ‘Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' and ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki‘(We see here the actual beginnings of Data Abstraction - gossip about gossip). Linearly extrapolating, in 17,005 AD, we can probably see gossiping about the gossip in ‘Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' and ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki'. While many may not agree with this part of my reasoning, I am sure one will not be so foolhardy as to contest my claim that in 17,005 AD, ‘Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' and ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki' will still air on primetime.  

But we digress. Returning to the topic of marriage, our ancestors realized very early on that it had to protect its women so that they could nurture their offspring in a peaceful environment. In fact, in my view, this was one of the primary factors that led to the formation of societies and the concept of marriage – protection of women. If you observe why marriage has been so successful in India, you will see that women have had no option but to tolerate their drunk, chauvenistic, paunchy, demanding husbands. The women could not afford to have even the shadow of a negative thought about their husband in her mind. And this is still the main reason why has such a low divorce rate – the man still rules most of India . 

 But in urban , we see the beginnings of change with 's bold women leading the way. With contraceptives and condoms, children are not an issue anymore. Therefore, the woman can be that much more carefree in her choice of partners. The man, of course, is not complaining (as yet, at least). And when the woman wants to bear children, there will be day-care centers that will ensure their upbringing. And protection for the woman, while still an issue, may not be such a huge issue a few decades down the line with improved law enforcement - which leaves us with love as the sole motivation for marriage. As we are already seeing in the west, live-ins and open marriages have filled in to fill this basic human need. Why, pray tell me, will not India follow suit? Culture? Think again. Culture evolved for reasons – reasons that mostly reside in the distant past and few in the present that will soon cease to exist anyway. And where there is no more cause, there can be no more effect. Cultures will change in as much as a blink.  

There is no doubt in my mind that marriage is on its way out. Our strong belief in marriage will eventually lose its battle to the onslaught of technology and the espousal of democracy. As the society begins its long journey towards the acceptance of the single woman, there will be more career women, more indiscriminate sex, more child crimes (a la US), probably more violence (due to men not being able to curtail their innate jealousy at having lost their women to other men), lesser love, more frustration and more Art of Living centers. 

 In a way, we all benefit. In a way, we all lose out. It is, as they say, all in the eyes of the beholder. The next generation will not view marriage the way our parents see it. Our parents think of it as a means of finding spiritual contentment, everlasting love and emotional support in times of need. The next generation, however, will see it as a chain tying them together for life and preventing them from experiencing life with different partners. Caught in the messy transition is the generation that is facing the brunt of this social upheaval – ours.  

But it’s not all that bad. For now though, I get to test-drive the Porsches, the Ferraris and the Lamborghinis. In today's world, there are also many many station-wagons available. So as long as I get to test-drive the former but make my long-term investments in the latter, what cause do I have to complain? 

 Karthik Naig

 

I wrote this piece in April '05 as the cover story of Xpressions, Honeywell Tech’s in-house monthly. However, surmising from the feedback, of which there was none, I can confidently say that this article ranks as my No.1 flop.

CARambaa

First I am going to tell you what you already know. Then I'm going to ask you what I don't know. Then I'm going to tell you what nobody knows. 

 – Horsing Around (1898 – 1950)   

It was in 1898 when the good old horse, Arjunan, dutifully pulling his carriage, braving the oppressive summer heat on Nungambakkam Main Road, Madras, heard a strange roar that he could not quite identify with. It sounded somewhat like a sick, coughing tiger but did not quite evoke that kind of fear in him. Before his slow mind could identify the source, his infinitely more intelligent master had deftly used his bamboo stick to force him off the road. Bemused, his head struggling against the reins to turn, he could see from the corner of his eye, a strange animal producing this horrible coughing sound. It was a monster. It looked much bigger and much more fearsome than the tiger he had seen in the forest, and he was half expecting it to pounce on him, when it sputtered harmlessly past. With a shudder and a sense of relief, Arjunan walked on quite unmindful of what was to befall his successors and replace them of their hard-earned place as the chief agents of transportation in the years to come.   

Me? A Car? Surely You’ve Got To Be Joking! (1950 – 1980):  

Thankfully, it was a good half a century years before successfully managed to put the car before the horse, so Arjunan probably didn't live to see it. It was in the late forties when the first generation car of

, the Ambassador was seen on the Indian roads. For several years, the Indian street was ruled by the Ambassador, which was succeeded by the ambassador and after that, there was still the ambassador. Only when it looked like the Ambassador was about to become the Embassador, did our horse-brained babus give a horse's ass (Sorry Arjunan, no disrespect meant to you) and put it where it belonged – in the museum along with Arjunan and his cart.

 I Bought A Car! At Last! (1981 – 2000):

Since then, it was the Maruti (800 and Omni) that ruled most of the Indian roads for two good decades. For twenty years, this delicate darling caused many a middle-class heart (and pocket) to melt. With several affordable loan schemes, the Maruti Company with their flagship model, the 800, took the Indian auto market by storm.

Here was the opportunity for many a middle-class Indian with a comfortable and steady income (read post-retirement pension) to own a car. And that's what many did - sold their Bajaj Chetak, bought a car, and spent the rest of their pension maintaining it. Maruti had become the middle-class Indian's way of telling his neighbor – “Hey look, I'm more middle-class than you”.         

The liberal nineties saw the sale of the Maruti skyrocket. Maruti Udyog, which had taken a good fourteen years (1980 – 1994) to sell their 1 millionth vehicle, doubled this figure over the next three years!

As the Maruti went from strength to strength, the eyes of the world turned eastwards. The global players poured in like bees to create a niche for themselves in the burgeoning Indian auto market.

had finally woken up.

 Hmmm….Which Car Do I Buy? (2000-2010):

For the first time in more than three centuries, we Indians are earning more than we can spend. We have money leftover after saving (I hope my dad isn't reading this). And disposable income across a cross-section of the society always implies business opportunity. If the IT boom lasts for another two decades, it will lead to the spurt of many more industries and that again, will have a cascading effect on other industries – resulting in an increase in the net buying power of the people.

The first opportunities of the liberalization have been seized by the mobile telecommunications, the real estate and the two-wheeler markets. Cars too have been selling rather well, but there is a feeling that the motor industry can do more. The fact is that despite so many cars entering the market, the Maruti 800 is still the highest selling car! The urban citizens now want something new, something better than the 800 but - for the price of the 800. And it is the duty of the industry to cater to this demand. Besides, the Maruti 800 is a family car. Can't the auto industry do better and provide a car for the individual? A car which takes the place of the bike?

 

This precisely is what Mr.Ratan Tata plans to do. Manufacture a car for Rs.1 Lakh. And change the face of with it.   

The $,$$$,$$$ Question:

CAUTION: I am aware that Navjyot Singh Sidhu will not appreciate this game, for it is full of ‘ifs' and ‘buts'. However, unlike an analysis of the match that lost to United Cricket Club of North Morocco, this particular hypothetical game can have its fair share of rewards. In a world where being first is everything, a calculated gamble could be the difference between those who make and those that break.

Having prepared the background (and in the process, probably put half my readers to sleep), I'm glad to be able to raise the question that will hopefully make this read worth your while: How will the Rs.1,00,000 car, assuming it sees the light of day, impact the country in general and the cities in particular? And a more important question that you would do well to ask yourself: Does HTSL have an opportunity in this market? If yes, how do we prepare for it?

I will now try to address these very interesting questions as best as I can.

Report in “The Hindu”, January 15th, 2009 Special Correspondent:   Bangalore, Jan 15th, 2009: After a first year of hiccups and numerous technical complaints from customers, Tata Providere plus, the new model of Tata Providere (Latin word meaning “see forward”), has bounced back to record maximum annual sales figures ever in the history of the Indian auto industry, according to reports from AMRi(Auto Market Research inc.), an independent consulting firm.             The effect of this car has been hard on the rest of the auto industry. For the first time, the annual market share of Maruti has dipped to below 15%. The rest of the auto industry has not been spared either. Hyundai, Ford, Fiat, Suzuki and Honda have all posted heavy losses in the last quarter.             Two wheeler companies have also been adversely affected. High end bikes such as Hero Honda Karizma, Enfield and Bajaj Pulsar have begun to lose their customer base to the Providere. In fact, the only motor vehicles unaffected by the Providere are the high-end cars that are priced above 8 Lakh rupees and the low-end motorbikes, priced at around Rs.35,000.             Making merry are the Petroleum outlets as business has catapulted and the last few years have petrol bunks mushrooming at literally every street corner.             Mr.Ashok, an independent consultant and head of AMRi said he expected this trend to continue. Mr.Ashok said “We will now see a lot of cars pricing their vehicles very competitively as there is a huge market potential and Tatas have set a benchmark. Also, the two-wheeler industry will slowly fade away. The only cars that will remain will be the low-range cars like the Providere and the really high-priced ones. The mid-segment cars will vanish as any family will prefer to buy two, three or perhaps, even four, Providere-like cars rather than go for a single Santro. The only issue that may prevent them from going for three or four cars would be the fuel cost. But I would expect at least two cars per middle-class family to be the norm from now onwards.”

 Irrespective of whether the Tatas do manage to sell their car for Rs. 1 Lakh, and irrespective of whether it is a success or a failure, I think it is a reasonable assumption that cheaper cars are definitely going to happen in India(a la Deccan Airways). And once any one company does it, the rest of the car-manufacturing world is going to jump in on the action .

So everybody will try to design the cheapest car. But cost can only be minimized to an extent. Beyond that, value addition will play a big role. To differentiate itself from the others in the fray, each car company will look for a host of goodies to offer the prospective customer in double-quick time.

 

And I strongly believe that this is where the secondary players, viz. HTSL, can enter the picture. If we go in early, then we stand the best chance. In addition, if we can decide on the goodies before they design their car, we can influence its design. That would give us the option of installing our products or providing our services in a location (like say, the dashboard of the car) where the Honeywell logo is most visible. Such an advertisement will be looked at every day by the owner of the car, or even better, assuming the owner is male, by his wife (unless she has her own car, in which case, both will look at it everyday). This can give us a mileage that can be quite impossible to quantify in financial terms.

 

 I can think of some opportunities that the 1 lakh car will throw open for HTSL: 

 •Increasing traffic jams and rising fuel costs will make for a “flats” system as most people would want to be near their place of work to cut down on transportation cost and time. And since IT industries and other industries too tend to huddle together, we can expect colonies to come up in the nearby areas. This will give rise to what I call “Mushroom colonies”. With bigger buildings, city temperatures are likely to rise, as indeed they already are. Therefore, demand for low-cost ACs and air purifiers will increase - a great opportunity for the Energy Conservation and Optimization businesses in the industrialized areas of the city.  

 •More cars per family would mean less inter-dependence among family members. More lavish lifestyles are going to be a most definite side-effect. Also, the family will get together less and less often leading to dwindling family values, higher divorce rates etc. Therefore, the biggest gainer will be the healthcare industry.  

 Who can say? With increasing work pressure and personal stress and a traffic jam to boot, a heart attack could be right round the next bend. And since HTSL doesn't offer to cure it, we could enable its detection. Maybe we could have a contract with the car company to install pulse-rate and blood-pressure monitoring sensors in their car? With HTSL's expertise, we could probably embed these in the seat belt. And when it happens, we could probably initiate an automatic emergency call from the car to the nearest hospital informing them of the current location.  

 •More cars imply greater demand for car parts. Demand for better quality audio, video and security systems in cars and who knows what else? 

 I think this is a great opportunity for all of us at HTSL to start working on at least some of the business and technical aspects in anticipation of a future innovation. Let us integrate our thoughts to differentiate ourselves.

 

Karthik Naig

I wrote this as new year greetings for my classmates at tech school. And Btw, I hold Prasad in very high esteem. But of course, we all have our quirks and foibles.

New Year Greetings and Prasad’s Dimag Ki Batti

 

Hi,

 

Wow! This must be an all-time high. So many ppl have never been awake at any one given time in the history of the group. And guys, its really refreshing when you all write-in instead of sending some forwards. Of course, there are exceptions and Mohan sir's fwd is one of them. So I guess we are indebted to your for sending this forward. So this one time we'll let you go.

 

Vish, its been so long since you wrote long mails. I really liked the way you started your mail ':' and finished it ')' . Below is the full text of Vish’s long mail.

 

start

 : )

End.

           

            Thanks Vish, we appreciate it.

 

Amyway, our dear friend Prasad is conspicuous by his absence. Apparently, he is absconding and the California polics are hot on his trail. He had apparently robbed $1000 from a store! Yes, our Prasad robbed a store! Wondering why? Here's the story:

 

            Prasad had been to Vegas on a holiday when one of the girls he was with encouraged him to gamble. Now Prasad being Prasad, he readily agreed. Next thing he knew, he was down to his last penny and in a last bid, he agreed to bet his clothes. And, needless to say, he lost and had to part with his clothes.

 

            Now he had to go home - which was in a town thousands of miles away. Now even US has not yet reached the stage of “civilization” where you can walk down the road without clothes and still be considered normal. It might take a few years yet for that to happen. So prasad got this bright idea to steal clothes from a cloth shop. Now there was no cloth shop in sight. So what did prasad do? He robbed a stationary angdi. What did he steal?  $1000 in hard cash and 1 Glue bottle.

 

Now prasad being prasad, one cannot predict his actions. Normally, if you had robbed a store, you would use the money for what you need the most. And its the same with Prasad. He literally "used" the money for what he needed the most. He put glue all over his body and stuck the cash all over it. And then, he coolly started home.

 

            Of course, by the time he reached the state border, word had spread about the man who had robbed a store and had money stuck all over him. It is a different matter that at the border, he had only 2 dollars left, and I guess you know where they were stuck.  

 

            And since the police spotted him, Prasad ran for his life. Now there has been a statewide operation to nab prasad and reclaim the 2 dollars. If anyone of you hears from him, please ask him to return the 2 dollars (I am assuming that he has found another set of clothes).  

 

Anyway, here's wishing all of my dear friends a happy, peaceful, joyous, adventurous, prosperous, exciting, memorable, long-lasting, no process work, few meetings, timely project releases, no bugs(for those in development), only bugs(for those in testing), sports-filled, fewer late nights, more holidays, great vacations, great girlfriends (or boyfriends, as 'your' case may be), cheaper cell phones, cheaper housing sites at Arkavati, lesser traffic, no potholes (ok….that's going too far, I know), metro finalization, Bangalore international airport kick-off, Indian victories in cricket, more pak-bashing, at least one good bollywood movie, one good kollywood movie, (censored for Sumanth's sake)great s** (for the married), safe s**(for the unmarried), and finally, a great crossing for those on the single side of the marriage divide.

 

 

     This is a piece I had written after the HTSL annual day in which I had organized the cricket tournament. I don't think I really enjoyed it though. Gopal Jayaramreddy is one man who I never tire of admiring though. Its a thankless job he has - one of maintenance -  to keep HTSL on its feet. Despite all odds, he keeps the wheels of HTSL turning. You've got to deal with the fools, with the supremely demanding, the newbees and almost every kind of person under the sun. And what's more, you don't know what the next problem you face will be. To keep your equanimity in the face of potential catastrophes day in day out and still retain that smile at the end of the day requires something really special. What a man!

 

                                                                  The Game Behind the Games

 

            The sports focal, Shankar, has delegated this task to me, an insignificant organizer of a single event. His (and Krishna L’s) task of coordinating all the sports events was more complicated than mine, which was just organizing cricket. However, having worked together with him and the other event focals for over a month, I hope to be able to do some justice to it.

 

Surely organizing a sporting event has got to be the most challenging of all. Alright, I submit that all the track focals would consider their own tracks the hardest. In any case, I’m sure all will agree that organizing a sporting event is no walk in the park.

 

In almost all the previous sports events in which I have participated, there has been some controversy or the other (myself being chief architect of a number of them) and many have ended in fights. No kidding. Here’s a sample (I was NOT involved in this one) - On one occasion in my pre-university days during the inter-class matches, one cricketer, apparently unhappy with the proceedings, raised his bat and brought it to bear with great force on the skull of one excited member of the opposite team in true Roman gladiatorial style, thus splitting it into two. For the records, although in deeply divided state of mind, the poor soul survived.

 

Why is sport so hard to organize? Is it because of the passion it generates that even grown-ups become kids when they play? Is it because of the pride and prestige involved? Is it because we, as a species, are not designed to lose – nature had obviously deleted the “accept defeat happily” gene from us or we wouldn’t have survived the process of natural selection.

 

Well, whatever the reason, it sure kept us organizers on tenterhooks for over a month. Not only did we have to combat the natural elements that always seem to be against outdoor sport, but also cope with the demands of the other track focals, who thought of sport as being “just another track”. I know, it is unbelievable – its as though there is more to life than sport.

 

There are many challenges that one faces in organizing a sports event. A person with the desire to organize competitive sport must learn, among other things, managing a crowd. For it takes only one mishap to turn the crowd into a mob. Just like that. And it takes meticulous planning, precaution and the all-important factor – luck, to prevent the same from happening.

 

This is not to say that HTSL crowds are as unruly as, say, the audience of an India-Pakistan cricket match. Nevertheless, mind you, the difference is only  in degree, not in kind. HTSL crowds may not bodily harm you, but if you make a mistake, then prepare to be taunted for the next several months by the affected party. However, to the credit of the organizers of the events of the HTSL sports annual day, there was no controversy worth the name. It was, in 2.5 words, a “(nearly) flawless victory”.

 

And with good reason too. It was a tightrope walk for us organizers, a struggle in the art of balance between project and extra-curricular. Fail in the project and be out on the street or, on the other hand, organize poorly and remain in HTSL, but walk with your head down.

 

As I struggled to grapple with these two conflicting, yet very necessary tasks, I discovered that these tasks are very similar to what our project managers face every working day of their lives. And I began to realize the enormity of the challenges our Project managers are faced with and why they are indispensible to any organization and then, all the jokes on them started to sound hollow (I dearly hope my PM reads this - I need that raise).

 

If I start discussing all the problems that we faced, then it will take me a whole book and will serve no purpose except putting an insomniac to sleep. Instead, I will strive to answer two crucial questions that have been on my mind as well as most others’ right from the start of the events.

 

Why did I organize? And having done it, what did I get out of it?

 

The answer to the former question is tough. A part of me has always wanted to plan, organize and manage people and events. And a part of me has always wondered on previous occasions when things were not well organized - as to how I might have done had I been the organizer. So it was in part a challenge and an opportunity to test myself. Another reason may have been the diversion from routine – the reason that the HTSL Annual day events are held in the first place. But there is another, more sinister, factor - The dark human desire to dominate and control people and events, the part of me which wants to play god (Yes, I do happen to be in the Automation and Control Solutions but that is more by accident than by design). If you have read Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”, you know what I’m talking about. (If you haven’t, but you are in HR, you still know what I’m talking about. Just kidding. I really meant that thing about the raise). For others, I wholly recommend the book.

 

But in all these things, I fared badly. The planning was just ok-types. That the event was a success in spite of this is a tribute to the many dedicated people involved (But I won’t name them or I will need to dedicate a whole chapter. And I don't want this to sound like a bibliography). And as for my desire to exert my will over others, I ended up on the receiving end. The focals and participants of other events tried to enforce their will on me and occasionally succeeded. Well, so much for trying to play god. All the gods (the real ones) must have had a hearty laugh in heaven over the plight of this earthly hopeful. Thankfully, Lord Indira apparently did not join the party. For if he had decided to send down rain, it would have resulted in a logistical and communication nightmare - I don't even know if there was a backup ground to play on the next day. Finally, as for the diversion bit, the less said the better. I ended up getting so distracted, that my project got adversely affected. This, despite being at the fag end of the project. I wonder what would have happened had I been in the critical path. 

The answer to the second question (what did I get out of it?) is tougher. For I believe that most people do not get involved in these extra-curricular activities for this very reason. They believe it’s not worth the tradeoff. In other words, the return on investment is low, if not nil. Are they correct? Or is there something beyond the obvious that they have missed to take into account?

 The answer is, I suspect, highly subjective. As for me, I got to appreciate what managers and entrepreneurs go through on a daily basis. I discovered that it is all about tradeoffs - Time Vs Resource. If you had all the time and all the resources in the world, you could plan to attack Washington with a nuclear bomb and get away scot-free (As it is, you have a chance. Who’s going to notice missing politicians? And even if they do, who’s going to report it?). However, this is never the case. Everyone has constraints. But despite this, planning has to be done to the last detail. And this you only learn with experience. And finally, no matter how much you plan, how minutely you go into specifics, luck plays a crucial role. And because everyone is playing the management game all the time at some level, they all have constraints. And so you have to be sensitive with them. The trick is in knowing how much string to allow. And this again, you learn only with experience. And therein lies the beauty of the game of management….this very real game, which is, in fact, not a game at all. 

So there it is. My crash course in (mis)management. To get back to the question: Do I believe it was worth it? Despite the philosophical lessons, N...O. Will I do it again next year? Highly unlikely. But then, that's just my view. I believe that there are people who have benefited from the experience and who would gladly do it again. After all, someone’s got to play Mr. Manager. As for me, I am done with dealing with multiple unknowns, at least for the moment. I am glad to be back to saying – Mr.x, you’ve just been….evaluated. 

I have written earlier in the article that I will not name anybody for reasons of volume/injustice. However, like all rules, this one too has an exception. One man has stood head and shoulders above all of us and made the HTSL day events possible. Heck, I greatly suspect he is one of those who keep the organization up on its feet on a daily basis. And so I will end this article with a tribute to this man - Gopal Jayaramareddy. Mr.Gopal, you rock!

 

Jungle Book

 

 

Never in my life had I thought walking alone could be fun. Well, I was wrong. In a big way. Trust me guys. Indian rainforests are just a different planet altogether. You get nothing like it anywhere else. There is this noise. Permanent omnipresent noise. The chirping of the birds, the sounds of the insects, specially the rain-insects that hum throught the day and night. Its like there is a creature at every point around you and each is making a sound unique to itself. It was noise in the beginning. But as I sat in the heart of the jungle, absorbing as much beauty as I could, I began to discover a pattern in the noise.

It was late evening, around 6.30 pm, the sun blood red in the distance, when the clouds came to meet the land. I saw clouds, suspended hundreds of feet from the ground, decide all of a sudden that they wish to make a closer inspection, and swooped down like an eagle and swept the earth in a huge arc. At that point, visibility was practically zero. And the whole forest went up in one voice until it reached a crescendo that was almost deafening. And then the clouds lifted off, and again, as one, the entire forest went silent. Its unbelievable, I tell you. A fascinating experience.

I can say for sure that I have never enjoyed a walk more than the 1 km trek to the base camp, right in the heart of Kudremukh forests. The base camp is in the heart of a 100 - square mile jungle, probably one of the densest in Asia. There is a man-made path that leads to the camp from the road. Its abt 3 mts.(10 feet) wide, so that's no problem.

The problem, however, is when you are walking alone. For all around you is jungle. Deep dense jungle. Where the only sounds are nature's sounds. And there are several leopards, 450-pound tigers and bisons that grow upto nearly 6 feet in height. The thing is, tigers get hungry. And it might, at some point in its life, decide to have a change of diet. When you are in a group, that thought doesn't occur to you. If you are alone, it doesn't leave you. Not even for a nanosecond. And then you feel vulnerability like never before, like you are nature's toy.

There is this silence that is nerve-wracking. Like something is about to happen. And you don't feel like breaking this silence. You want to preserve it. You want to enjoy it. You feel like an intruder. And the jungle helps you know it.

Throughout the length of my walk, as I entered into denser territory, I kept looking past my shoulder for a hostile, hungry pair of eyes. Actually, I needn't have. For if the tiger wants you for dinner, then you will be the dinner. There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, that you can do to stop it. So while you are there, you might as well accept that fact and enjoy the trek. And that is why there is no reason to fear the tiger...or any other animal. Simply because you are the weakest in the forest.

But there is a catch. Such rational thoughts never occur to you when you are alone. You are so used to security and protection that you’re unable to accept facts for what they are. Especially in the dark of the night, when the forest is lit up by eyes and when you don't know if those eyes belong to a wolf or to fireflies. And that's what keeps you from sleeping.

However, when its dawn and the forest is at its most incredibly alive and beautiful, you lose every bone of fear in your body and you wish to explore and you feel incredibly brave. But that is only until you are alone again. For in the forest, there is no night, no day. No law, no reason.   

True joy is not travelling in a bus to kodaikanal and looking down from a viewpoint and admiring the scene. Nor is it in burning a campfire playing antakshari with your friends. It has to be discovered in the bliss of solitude, when you are one with nature. Adu irodu!

       

 

 

19/7/02

Hi all,

 

    As I was in the process of writing a mail to my dear friend Vijay, this thought suddenly struck me. I want to elaborate on the idea as it takes shape in my mind.

 

    A question that troubles most of us at one time or the other is of going abroad. Its called greener pastures. Fine. But why? The answer to most people is one word. MONEY. Fine. But lets ask ourselves: are we willing to leave our aging parents, most of whom are in their mid-fifties, at the hands of these merciless Indian Government and fly away to be treated as second class citizens in a land where even the people are as merciless as the Government?

 

    Obviously, we are going to return sometime. Say, in 5 years. Probably 10. If not out of our own free will, atleast out of compassion for our parents. Our parents are surely going to be unwilling to relocate for their life, which comprises of their relatives, culture & friends, lies here, In India. The language & cultural constraints on them abroad is far too high and a son has to be pretty heartless to force them to move to America.

 

    The question then arises: How to make the most use of our limited stay abroad? What follows below is my rather crude observation.

 

    In the foreseeable future, I don't think life is going to be restricted to one location. It may be argued that advanced communication capabilities will reduce one's need to travel. But I don't think that over the next 20 or 30 years, that that is going to be the case.

 

   Most kinds of work needs constant supervision. Therefore, it brings with it the need to travel. Travel implies Socializing. Socializing implies developing contacts. It is here that I strongly believe that many Indian students abroad have got it all wrong. Indians try to mix with Indians abroad as they miss their home culture. What they should be doing is to mingle with the people of the land. To be a part of their culture, to speak their language, to dress in their fashion & to be one with them. This does not mean losing one's individuality. It means that you are spreading your net of influence far & wide & improving your chances of being treated as an equal.

   

   Now follows the plan of action: Most Indian students abroad tend to focus on studies alone as they want to "play it safe, get financial aid & then get a job";  All this stems from a lack of confidence of getting a job after studies. I think that the first job will be a struggle but its what you do after getting it that is more important. In our desire to secure a job, we tend to become book-worms and disoriented. This leads to home-sickness.

    In the process, we miss out on the bigger picture, which is to view things from the perspective of a CEO. I think at some time, most of us will develop a vision for the future, or a scheme to earn more money.  We will then decide to start our own enterprise. So why not look at everything as though you are a 32 year old CEO. What will you want then that you can start working on now? Here are a few points.

 

    International contacts. Most importantly Chinese. China will explode over the next decade. That's stale news. The fundamental difference between Chinese and Indians is this: Chinese look to own. Indians look to work under someone. That's what this article deals with. 

     A truly successful company, you will observe, is one which has a fairly equal sprinkling of people from all backgrounds. So don't say: He's a jew.Therefore he is cunning. Therefore I'm not going to mix with him. Mix with all. Even gays. Even if they make a pass at you. But don't take it too far. That of course, is unless you are gay too.  

 

    Trustworthy friends. So develop trust. Help people. But don't ask me for help. I'm busy. One more thing: Never say that.

 

    Industrial colonies: Keep a lookout for locations that you think will Industrialize in the coming decade. Look for potential ingredients: hospitals, schools, colleges, low-cost housing, large open spaces, lots of water resources(You may remember that the good old JSS guys were duped into buying 230 acres of desert land. They must have bought it on April 1st), generally low cost-of-living(If you are gonna build something, you will need workers. Workers are not rich people, although you may be), Pubs(You may be a teetotaller, but the workers will booze), airports, intra-city travel  etc. These things may not exist, but look for the legal constraints: Some countries & states have laws against smoking & boozing. So such places may not be the best bet if you are gonna be the CEO of a high pressure company. People have to let off steam in some way. An area like Jayanagar 4th block, has a law against building flats. So the cost of living will only increase.

 

    Dealing with women (this is for the guys): I see that most of our class guys stayed away from women for a long time, like 2 years. I bet this is the case now too. Women, obviously, are hard to understand and deal with. They are present at most high-level meetings. If you want to clinch a deal, you may have to win arguments against women. Believe me, that is easier said than done. A woman won't mind losing the deal, but she'll throw herself at you if she thinks you are challenging her. There won't be logic. Just empty and mad rhetoric. You will be staring uncomprehendingly, as she launches into a tirade. I have no idea how you win an argument against a woman, but I have a fairly good idea that befriending her is the first step, because then you stand a chance of dealing with someone on a more professional basis and not an army tank at full burst. Most women know our weak areas & they'll know exactly how to distract you.

    When I am CEO, I'll send my wife to do the arguing. So if someone knows a beautiful unmarried girl who's also an excellent computer engineer along with being good at HR, Please put intro. Ok, that sounds desperate (But don't steal my idea and marry her instead).

    The point is, I have observed that we guys as such are uncomfortable in dealing with women whereas women have absolutely no problems in dealing with us. For those who remain aloof, it is best you become house-husbands & let your wife hog the limelight.

 

    Understanding the Economy: I don't know much about this. But I know its important. So read the Economic times. I will too.

 

    Keeping an eye on Technology & Research areas: Trying to find out areas of promising research is crucial as there is an absolute need and a fairly good chance of knowing in advance as to when the technology you develop may turn out to be redundant. To be more precise, you may get to know exactly what technology is going to overpower the current technology & when it may do it. So develop an excellent rapport with your professors & those of other Universities in your country, if possible. Professors know. Also try to get in touch with students from various Universities across the country & the world, if possible.  Peer-to-Peer protocol will prove to be an important Research area in the near future.

 

    In short, India is Home and The world is our playground. We play during the daytime & return at night. Then its a new day again.

 

    I guess that's about it for now. Don't try to keep ideas to yourself for this is the era of communication. I hope I have opened up an interesting topic for discussion. Feel free to give your opinions on all & sundry.  I welcome & invite feedback from all of you.