Ellur Anand's World

Difference between PGDM and MBA

2012-01-11T16:18:00.001+05:30

Since CAT results are out (today on 11/01/2012), few of you will be now trying to understand the difference between PGDM and MBA. You might be planning to join some Business Management college now. I think those who are seeking admission to management courses doesn't know the proper difference between PGDM and MBA. It is very important to know the difference as it might help you to decide which type of college you want to pursue your management education in.

MBA is the degree given by those management institutes which are affiliated to Universities. For ex., Oxford College of Business Administration, Bangalore is affiliated to Bangalore University and since it is affiliated to B'lore University, it can give MBA degree certificate and not PGDM.

Take IIMs, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies, Amrita College (Coimbatore), XLRI etc.. are autonomous and not affiliated to any University. Such colleges which have authority to give degree certificate on their own (autonomous) can give only PGDM certificates. These colleges have got permission to run on their own since they have the capacity equivalent to a University.

But there are few other colleges like ICFAI colleges (except Hyderabad and B'lore branch) which doesn't have any sort of recognition and they themselves claim that they give their own degree certificates, maybe PGDM and you must avoid taking admission into such colleges (colleges which are neither autonomous nor AICTE approved will make you look like that you are in Thrishanku state after your degree). You will regret having studied in such colleges as these have come up with only one objective - make hay while the sun shines. They are out there just to cash-in the hype.

Try to join good autonomous colleges which give PGDM and only then think of joining MBA Degree Colleges.

Arvind Gupta Toys

2012-01-11T15:11:00.002+05:30

Very good Youtube channel by Arvind Gupta and his team. Worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/user/arvindguptatoys

Manual Duplex using Macbook on Xerox Phaser 3010 Printer

2012-01-10T15:34:00.002+05:30

If you have bought new Xerox phaser 3010 model printer and you want to print several pages, you might be well aware of absence of Duplex printing option on this printer. And if you want duplex manually on your macbook which doesn't even show Duplex option even in inactive mode, then these steps can make your life little easy:

i) Print in multiples of 10 or 20 to make life easy.

ii) Now to print first 20 pages (numbered) of your original document, you need only 10 sheets as you are going to print on both sides i.e. duplex printing manually.

iii) Though you need only 10 sheets to print 20 pages, don't count exactly 10 sheets and load into the tray but randomly pick thicker chunk with more than 10 sheets. Don't worry about how many sheets have been picked, but you must pick handful of sheets more than 10 (will explain the reason for more than 10).

iv) Load this chunk onto the tray of printer and set the printer as usual. Then go to your original document, click 'Print' option. You will get a template if it is a Acrobat file similar to the one show below:

you can see i'm trying to print a document which has 510 pages using manual duplex option on Xerox phaser 3010.

v) But when you want to print in multiples of 20 pages of original, i said we need only 10 sheets and i had asked to load quite a chunk of sheets to print these first 20 pages. If you want to print only 20 sheets, then template would like below:

you can see pages 1 - 20 in this template.

vi) Once you get this go to the next option 'Sub set' below that. Here choose 'Even pages only' option. And then select 'Reverse pages' option too. Now the template looks like this:

vii) Now click 'ok'. Once you click ok, it will print pages 20, 18, 16......2 thats it. Wait till it prints 2 i.e. completes its task of printing all even numbered pages between 1 - 20 in reverse order. After this, now discard all other blank sheets from the tray since I had asked you to pick a larger chunk greater than 10 sheets. Now those 10 printed sheets are at the top. Don't touch and disturb the order. Follow the next few steps carefully, which are important and will reduce your work to great extent.

viii) Now the those printed sheets are actually in a manner in which the page no. 2 is at the top but with a blank sheet facing you while page 2 is face down. Which means page no. 1 will be printed on this page. Now, you pick those 10 sheets and load them onto tray but while doing so rotate the sheets 180 degrees as that is the feeding position. Once you load, again click 'Print' option. After clicking print operation, next follow the same procedure i.e.
- go to pages 1 - 20; go to subset, now opt 'Odd pages only' option; and then undo the Reverse pages option. It will look like the template shown below:

Now click ok.

ix) Now odd page nos. 1, 3 ....19 will be printed on the back side of those even numbered pages.

x) Now get the rhythm right. Next go for pages 21 - 40 and so on...

Now why i asked you initially to pick a chunk of sheets instead of exactly 10 is that there is every bit a chance of you picking only 9 sheets and giving command to print 1-20 which causes error and everything will be printed wrongly. So, when you pick a chunk, you can avoid this error. I committed this error and wasted 10 sheets.

I don't know whether you got this or not. Hopefully, a 'YES'.

New Coke Ad - 2012

2012-01-07T19:59:00.001+05:30

I couldn't trace it but watch out for new Coke commercial of 2012. It's very nice. OPEN HAPPINESS - BELIEVE IN A HAPPIER TOMORROW is the tagline and the ad perfectly suits the tagline. I just loved it.

Ad is for pessimistic people, nah....Optimistic people.

Sibal's Stupidity Leads to Creativity

2011-12-07T16:58:00.001+05:30

Best example of this is: check this link. Superb creativity.

http://thecomicproject.blogspot.com/2011/12/siblet-one-tablet-to-rule-them-all.html

Sibal will repent for his this stupid behavior. How easy it has become for these politicians to use "Communalism and Kashmir" that they tend to use it whenever they want to impose certain restrictions. I don't know what I should call such people as.

Chinese Warnings

2011-11-29T08:19:00.001+05:30

China again warns India and is umpteenth one. This time it warns India not to give platform to Dalai Lama. How funny these warnings have become?. I think it wants to time and again remind India about its asserted position in this part of Asia. And I have never heard news something like India warns China. This, I really love because if you keeping warning for everything and anything then warnings become funny jokes. China warns India about everything and anything and commit more mistakes by not issuing visas and all such stupid acts. A day will come when India warns China once and only once which it will remember forever, I assume. Hope I will see that day.

Why I hate HR

2011-11-26T21:03:00.001+05:30

Somewhat HR and me are two poles apart or is it, in HR language, that I have developed a stereotype about this stream, department and people who work in this area. I just hate HR and look at the irony that I have to continuously be in touch with these people as part of industry integration study tour in-charge in my institute.

My experience both as a student then, and as a faculty now has never been nice about this HR department and people. What I dislike the most is that though they should really consider humans as resources, they treat them just like some trash. They behave exactly in an opposite manner of what and how they actually have to as they have been taught in their education and in their profession. In my experience, I have found that roughly 80% of the people I contact in HR are highly pathetic when they interact with people. I don't understand is this what they are taught in their B-school education, if it is then I'm lucky for not having opted HR as my stream.

In case if you want to understand what I mean, try calling HR department of some random company and try to talk to the person, you will regret for having tried this. Why and what I dislike more about this stream is that most of them are ladies and they treat anyone who calls them up in a manner as explained above. These ladies are disgrace to their gender more so for having undergone a course in HR. I really pity these people. I feel they just do not know what is the meaning of 'Human' let alone 'Human Resources'.

Kolaveridi spoof on Sharad Pawar being slapped

2011-11-25T17:53:00.001+05:30

It was really a ONE TIGHT SLAP. And watch this spoof on the SlapGate episode.

Dropbox

2011-11-25T17:38:00.002+05:30

www.dropbox.com is really a wonderful website. Small idea but big use. I really wonder how these people convert their small ideas into very big business. Wish I could do that some day.

Kashmir - Last Resort of Failed Pakistani Politician

2011-10-31T18:28:00.000+05:30

It took him several years as politician to say this. He was, till yesterday, known by his great cricketing skills. Imran Khan, the cricketer, finally attains the status of being politician by talking about Kashmir. Finally, he has come to terms that in Pakistan, you need to rake up this issue to be considered as politician. It is not development that they want, they want anything that deteriorates their current status as a country. I really do not understand, what is the foundation of that country? How really hopeless is the foundation.

Look at these people, they allow their land to be graced by foreign troops. First it was US troops to fight against Taliban (Afghanistan) and now it is Chinese troops (estimated 6000 of them residing in PoK). They have tasted what it is from recent US tactics aftermath Osama's execution. But still are not satisfied with the result of allowing or giving shelter to foreign troops. I'm quite sure, I bet, they will face the same fate with Chinese troops too. Chinese are greater evil than US. This they will understand very soon, I hope (my guess, within next 5-6 years).

Kite Flying at KIAMS during Sankranthi

2011-10-24T17:33:00.002+05:30

Long time pending photos. I wanted to post them, but forgot to. Few photos:

Director Dr.Gopal Iyengar trying his hand at kite-flying

Dr. Abhishek Ranga wanted a photo with this background

Synthetic Pitch

2011-10-24T17:16:00.001+05:30

I have started feeling funny about the ways teams are winning in cricket matches. Host country ends up winning the series because of its acquaintance with the conditions there. The probability of winning by a host country increases with the winning of toss, as I understand, because most of the times captain talks about when (after how many overs) ball will start turning and all such things.

I wonder if anyone has thought about having synthetic pitches which would level the playing field for all 50 overs for both the teams. The pitch would be same no matter the country (host or guest). I do not know whether this idea is really worthy but cannot be ruled out just like that.

Why cricket, like tennis, should not have two types of cricket - one with natural pitch, one with synthetic pitch? Just a thought, point to really ponder about.

RIP Dearest Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T06:27:00.002+05:30

Oh! really a very bad Dasara morning on Oct 6th, 2011 to learn the peaceful demise of Mr.Steve Jobs. Look at this guy, dies on the same day when iPhone 4s is launched. In death too, he didn't miss the endeavor of his brain-child.

I'm bit shocked to learn about his death. Hadn't felt the same for many of my relatives when I had heard about their demise. It will take several more years to have one more Steve Jobs, I suppose. RIP Mr.Steve Jobs.

Google Homepage pays tribute to Steve Jobs today (06th Oct, 2011, India).

And the other people have tweeted so many beautiful things in kind memories of Steve Jobs:

Other tweets:

By Subin Mathew

@ShashiTharoor "3 Apples changed d World, 1st one seduced Eve, 2nd fell on Newton nd d 3rd was offered to d World half bitten by Steve Jobs.

Aashish Kashyap

@subin_mathew @ShashiTharoorSoon God will launch iHeaven... RIP Steve Jobs...

Trillion Dollar Question - By Shonalee Biswas

2011-09-15T16:46:00.000+05:30

Another good one by Shonalee Biswas. As usual, she is good in explaining finance related things to a layman. Enjoy reading this.

"Debt is a four-letter word," my roommate said early in the morning, still wondering what had made her run up such a huge credit card bill. "I am so glad that you helped me pay back my credit card dues, otherwise I would have been in one big mess."

"Yeah, it sure is a bad word, unless you are the United States of America," I replied.

"How is it different for the USA?"

"Reminds me of that great line from The Godfather, 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse',"

"So tell me."

"As we have discussed in the past, on August 5, 2011, Standard and Poor's, one of the big three rating agencies downgraded the US government debt from 'AAA' rating to 'AA+' rating. This basically meant that financial securities called bonds issued by the US government to finance its fiscal deficit were no longer in the safest category. Fiscal deficit is the difference between what a government earns and what it spends."

"Yeah, I remember that. AAA rating is the best rating possible on a bond, and is currently enjoyed by only 16 countries."

"Yes, I remember reading a few lines in the report issued by the rating agency on the reasons behind the downgrade and it basically said: 'The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. Our opinion is that elected officials remain wary of tackling the structural issues required to effectively address the rising US public debt burden in a manner consistent with a 'AAA' rating and with 'AAA' rated sovereign peers'," I quoted.

"Whoa! What was that?" she asked.

"What the rating agency meant was that it no longer trusts the ability of the US government to repay the debt it had taken on by issuing bonds," I told her.

"And that's why the downgrade, to show that the riskiness of US government bonds has gone up?"

"Yes."

"So what is the issue then?"

"Well, after the downgrade a rather funny thing happened."

"Funny thing?"

"Now what should have happened after this downgrade?" I asked.

"At a theoretical level, some of the investors who had bought these bonds should have sold these bonds because their 'supposed' riskiness went up after the downgrade."

"Yeah, right. But exactly the opposite thing happened. Investors went ahead and bought these bonds, instead of selling them."

"But why would they something as 'daft' as that?"

"The purported reason is that investors are fleeing to the safety of the US as there are bigger debt issues in Europe."

"Safety of the US?"

"That's the thinking at work. They feel that the situation in the US is not as bad as it is in Europe."

"But it is bad nevertheless. I mean last time you told me that the US debt to gross domestic product ratio was almost 100%. This doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it doesn't. Let me ask a question: If the debt is riskier what does the issuer of debt have to do to make it more attractive?" I asked.

"Offer a greater rate of return on it."

"Yeah. But exactly the opposite is happening when it comes to US government bonds. The return on a 10-year bond before the downgrade stood at 2.5%, but now the return has gone under 2% as more and more investors are rushing to the 'supposed' safety of the US government debt. Frankly this does not make sense."

"Yes."

"In fact, there is something that makes the situation worse. The US dollar is losing value against other currencies, making the situation bad for foreign investors buying US government debt."

"Can you explain this a little more?"

"Sure. Let us take the case of China. At the beginning of year one US dollar was worth 6.6 Yuan. Now, one dollar is worth 6.4 yuan. So let us say at the beginning of the year China invested a million dollars in US government bonds. One million dollars would mean 6.6 million Yuan (1million x 6.6). Let us say on this investment a return of 2% is earned till now. So the million dollar investment now becomes $1.02 million Yuan. Now how much do you get when you convert this into Yuan?" I asked.

"You tell me. You are the mathematician."

"Well, you multiply $1.02 million by the current exchange rate, i.e. 6.4. So you get 6.53 million Yuan. Now how much had you invested?"

"6.6 million Yuan."

"So even though you made money in dollar terms, in Yuan terms you lost money because the dollar has lost value against the Yuan in the meanwhile," I explained.

"Now that's interesting."

"Since the investment bank Lehman Brothers went bust the US has printed nearly $2.3 trillion in order to first rescue banks and insurance companies like Citibank and AIG and then revive a moribund US economy."

"So?"

"Well as a simple understanding of economics will tell you, when you flood anything into any market it tends to lose value against other things and vice versa. So the dollar has been falling in value against other currencies. As Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, wrote in a recent research paper titled What's Next for the Dollar, 'The real trade weighted value of the dollar fell 11 percent against the Federal Reserve Bank's index of major currencies during the 12 months through May 2011 and 31 percent during the past ten years'."

"Hmm... So why are international investors still investing in the US government debt, despite low returns or even negative returns in some cases?" she interrupted.

"The answer lies in the US trade deficit."

"Eh?" she interrupted again.

"Trade deficit at a very basic level is the difference between what a country buys from foreigners and what they have sold to foreigners, i.e. imports minus exports. In the case of the US this number adds up to nearly $8 trillion over the last forty years. Even now the trade deficit is still growing by around $50 billion per month."

"What has this got to do with my question?"

"Here is how it works. The US buys stuff from other countries. This means that these countries get paid dollars for it. This money finds it ways back into the US. Countries which have earned these dollars use it to buy bonds issued by the US government. This money coming back ensures that the US can continue buying goods and services from these countries. And so these countries are ready to buy US government bonds, even though they are risky because the money keeps coming back to them."

"Hmmm. So it's like I scratch your back and you scratch mine," she remarked.

"Yeah that's the best way to look at it. And that at some level explains the dichotomy. Despite the riskiness of US government debt increasing, foreign investors are more than happy to invest in it. So, what we have here is a bond market bubble in the US."

"Because it is not sustainable. The United States government over the years has been spending more than what it earns. Like for the year 2011, the expected revenues for the US government stand at $2.17 trillion, whereas the expected expenditure is much higher at $3.82 trillion, leaving a difference of $1.65 trillion between what the government earns and spends. This difference is partly met through selling bonds to investors. The rest is met through printing money. Over the years the US government debt has accumulated to around $14.3 trillion," I explained.

"So how will they repay the debt?"

"They can't. Technically you can repay your debt when you save something, when your income is greater than your expenditure. Otherwise the only way out is to issue fresh bonds and use the money raised to payback maturing bonds. And that's what is happening currently. The new debt being issued is being used to pay off old maturing debt. Also, on August 1, 2011, the US government approved the raising of an extra $2.1 trillion of debt, over the next few years. So they don't seem to be in any mood to cut down on their debt."

"And when will this bubble burst?"

"That is the trillion-dollar question which no one has an answer to. As the famous economist John Maynard Keynes said, 'Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent'."

Faking News

2011-09-14T14:19:00.001+05:30

Hope you visit this website daily. Worth visiting daily. Faking News a Day Keeps Definitely The Doctor Away. Excellent News Channel and am sure you will laugh out loudly. It refreshes you. It is the Height of Creativity. This is better than 'The Week That Wasn't' by Cyrus. I bet, you will laugh it out like never before if you read a news item. Subscribe to the website or follow them on twitter.

Faking News

Faking News on Twitter

You can contribute too.

MAD & ROB

2011-08-26T11:56:00.003+05:30

Wow, Rob is just an incredible guy. I like this guy very much. He is so talented. Why he doesn't get any award? Is it because there is no such category in awards ceremony. Or he has got some award and i'm unaware of that. But Rob of Pogo TVs MAD is really an amazing guy to watch. I'm one of the biggest fans because he give me so many ideas that i can teach my kid daughter. She has not yet started watching TV and i look like hero in front of her creating many things which are copied from works of Rob. Thank you, Rob, for such wonderful program of yours.

For those who would like to copy Rob's work: MAD&ROB

STEVE JOBS - No less than God!

2011-08-25T12:25:00.005+05:30

I always find few people no less than God. Steve Jobs is one of them. His contemporary Bill Gates is just another. Both are no less. They have literally changed this world for better. And one more person who has contributed to this Tim Burners Lee. All three really have changed this world as of I understand.

Really Aug 24th, 2011, Wednesday is a sad day as Steve Job resigns from his post. Ramesh Srivats tweets "imac, ipod, ipad, iphone, pixar - creating any one of those would have made anybody a LEGEND, creating all - must be GOD". Very true, indeed.

I never thought Apple is such a good company and i didn't even know that Apple's laptop is called Macbook. I had just heard about 'Macintosh' and not more than that until I bought my first Macbook which was again an accident. And a worthy ACCIDENT I would die for. I never, not even in my dreams, I thought I will not be using Microsoft Windows or so called PC. And last four years, I hardly remember me using MS Windows. Even if I use, I use MS windows for Mac version and not their parent brand. I really don't and didn't regret for missing MS windows, not even once. I have never looked back at Windows after purchasing my first macbook four years back. Thank you, Steve Jobs for such a wonderful product.

It has changed my life and so of many others in the world too. You have changed this world. I really doubt anyone could better this. Really tough job for Timothy Cook. I wish him, really, all the best in his handling of such an important succession the world is witnessing.

What I really loved is that, understanding Steve Jobs loves the number '24' very much just like me. No comparison but just a thought that passed after reading so many articles related to him in last two days. He was born on Feb 24 and I was born on Jan 24. He released first Mac128k on Jan 24, 1984. He released iphone some version also on the same day. And he finally retired on Aug 24, 2011. So many '24's in his life and so do also in my life. I love the number '24'. And there is so much of Indian connection too in his life. He had visited and stayed in India where he got converted to Buddhism. Thanks to Hare Krishna temple (I think it is ISKCON temple which he mentions) which fed him when he needed the most.

@adrianeconomic's nice cartoon on Steve Jobs:

Anything to Get Recognition

2011-08-24T14:26:00.003+05:30

Look at this cartoonist - Siddarth Acharya and his cartoon. As if Siddarth Acharya has never failed in his life. These critics, cartoonists and people of similar genre get their daily food by such cheap gimmicks. They don't even bother about how it might effect Indian team members and its captain. Same team has got us the cup. These people can go to any extent to get recognition. Whether a good act or a bad act, a person surely gets recognized easily in both cases. And getting recognition through one single bad act is the easy way out these days because it is hell difficult to get recognition by a good deed.

Why China is at America's mercy?

2011-08-22T16:19:00.000+05:30

Very beautiful article by Shonalee Biswas. I liked the style and also the content. Superb!

"So how was the movie?" my roommate asked, after I had just finished watching the all-time classic Gone with the Wind."

"It was nice. And I loved the last line," was my reply.

"Last line?" she asked.

"Yeah, in which Rhett Butler, the hero of the film, tells the heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'."

"Oh, my. That's some line."

"Yeah, it is. And it's so true even about the world that we live in."

"There you go again, talking in that roundabout manner of yours. Please explain."

"So let me start at the very beginning."

"Oh. But doesn't everything start at the very beginning?" she interrupted.

"Yes, it does. Can I continue?"

"Yes, of course," she said.

"So somewhere over the last 20 years, China became the factory and the outsourcing capital of the world. Everything from Nike shoes to Dell PCs were made in China. A lot of this stuff made in China was exported to other parts of the world."

"Yeah, I know. Like my laptop is 'Made in China'," she said.

"Hmm. But a major part of the Chinese exports was to the United States. For these exports the Chinese exporters earned US dollars. When these dollars came back to China, the People's Bank of China, the Chinese Central Bank, bought these dollars and gave the Chinese currency renminbi to the exporters."

I went on: "This helped in maintaining a peg between the Chinese renminbi (also known as the Yuan) and the US dollar."

"Peg? What has a 'peg' got to do with currencies?" my roommate interrupted again.

"That wasn't funny at all. The Chinese government ensured that the US dollar could be converted into the renminbi at a fixed rate. One dollar was worth 8.27 renminbi between1997 to 2005. Now how did this work?"

"Yeah. How did it work? I haven't understood this at all!"

"See, if a normal currency market functions, things would work like this. The Chinese exporter exports goods to the United States. He earns dollars in the process. But his expenses are in China. He has to pay taxes in China. And so he needs the renminbi."

"So," I said, "when he gets his money back to China he converts those dollars into renminbi. Now with exports growing big time in China, every time dollars are converted into renminbi, the demand for renminbi goes up. With the demand for renminbi going up, the renminbi gains in value against the US dollar and this would have hurt the exporters."

"I still don't understand," she replied.

"Okay, let me give you an example. Let's say an exporter exports goods worth a million dollars to the US in the year 2004. When he gets the money back into China he gets 8.27 million renminbi (1million x 8.27). Now for the sake assumption, let us assume that the demand for the renminbi has gone up and one dollar is now worth only eight renminbi now. In this case the exporter earns only 8 million renminbi instead of the 8.27 million he earned earlier. So if the domestic currency appreciates the exporters tend to lose."

"Now I get it," she replied with an expression of relief on her face.

"So the central bank keeps buying dollars and at the same time they ensure that there are enough renminbi in the market, so that the renminbi does not appreciate. But as a result of all the dollar-buying, the Chinese central bank has built up a huge amount of foreign exchange reserves. The Chinese foreign exchange reserves at the end of June 2011, stood at $3.2trillion, and that's a lot of money," I said.

"But is all that money lying in the vaults of the Chinese central bank?"

"Not at all. If it was lying in the vaults of the Chinese central bank, it wouldn't be earning any return. Of the nearly $3.2 trillion, nearly $2 trillion has been invested in financial securities issued by the US government and its entities. This money over the years has helped the US government finance its fiscal deficit. Fiscal deficit is the difference between what a government earns and what it spends. This is financed by issuing financial securities referred to as government bonds, which pay a certain rate of interest to the investor."

"Okay. That's interesting. So what has been happening all along?"

"China exports, US buys. China gets the money. The money is in turn invested in US government bonds, i.e. lent to the US. The US, in turn, buys goods from China from the money that is lent, and China earns dollars in the process. These dollars are again lent to the US and so the cycle continues."

"Oh, that's a lovely I scratch your back and you scratch mine, kind of routine that has been developed," she remarked.

"Yes, it is. So that has led to China having nearly $2 trillion of their foreign exchange reserves in US dollar-based assets."

"And is that a problem?"

"Yes, it is. The total government debt of the US is now around $14.3 trillion. Other than China, the other big debtors of the US are Japan, Saudi Arabia, etc. And the US government wants to raise more debt. On August 2, 2011, the United States passed a law which allowed it to increase the debt level of the government by $2.4 trillion from the current level of $14.3 trillion. With this the debt to gross domestic product ratio of the US is almost 100 per cent now."

"And that's why the rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded US government debt (basically financial securities issued by the US government to finance its fiscal deficit) to AA+ from its current AAA rating, a rating it first awarded the US way back in 1941. AAA rating is the best rating any financial security can get from Standards & Poors. It tells the investor that any financial security with an AAA rating is the safest security to invest in with chances of default being next to zero. AA+ rating is one level lower, and hence a tad riskier," I explained further.

"So that means that the debt has reached dangerous proportions now?" she asked.

"Yes, it has. Other than borrowing money big time, the US government has also gone ahead and printed a lot of US dollars since the financial crisis began. Estimates suggest that $2.3 trillion of the money has been created since the September 2008, when the financial crisis first exploded. So both these things do not augur well for the US dollar."

"And what is China doing about this?"

"Well, what can they really do! As the famous British economist John Maynard Keynes remarked, 'If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But if you owe a million, the has a problem.' So China clearly has a problem. Of late, they have been making some aggressive noises about this. The Chinese rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating, downgraded US-government's debt from A+ to single-A. AAA rating is the highest credit rating that the agency issues. An A rating is two notches below. A senior Chinese official even asked the US to 'cure its addiction to debts and learn to live within its means'. Estimates suggest that for the first four months of this year, China invested nearly 75 per cent of its foreign exchange surplus in non US dollar assets."

"So they are getting aggressive with the US, the Chinese are?"

"Yes, they are. But where else will they go? Europe is in big trouble anyway. Plus the kind of foreign exchange they generate, only the US bond markets have the ability to absorb. There has been news going around that they are quietly buying gold, other metals and physical assets as well. But these markets are not big enough to satisfy Chinese demand."

"So that leaves them very vulnerable, if the US dollar were to crash?" asked my friend.

"Yes, it does. They are in a Catch-22 situation. As far as the US is concerned, it can default on all the money it owes to China or happily continue to borrow more and even tell China: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'."

LOKPAL BILL

2011-08-18T11:00:00.004+05:30

Though I believe that Lokpal Bill as suggested by Civil Society led by Anna Hazare is a good thought but am completely against that complete Bill being drafted by civil society. I'm partly with Congress party because it is finally Parliament which should have final say in drafting the bill because it is their job. But having said, it should definitely consider what Civil society members have also drafted. Now if Civil society led by Anna Hazare says that Bill should be as it is drafted by them, then definitely I'll not support such a cause and this is because it weakens the Parliamentary system in which I have complete faith. Just because of few corrupt politicians we cannot blame all the politicians. If the draft has to be finalized by a civil society then why the election process and why the parliamentarians?.

We shouldn't get emotional at this point of time because of wrong steps being taken by Congress party. There is a system and we need to follow that. If, by chance, people completely support Anna Hazare and forces the Government to allow the civil society to draft the bill and finalize it, then there will be no difference between Pakistan and India as military has its say in Parliamentary proceedings in Pakistan, we will have Civil society having its say in Indian Parliamentary proceedings. I don't find any major difference and this is dangerous for a nation like ours.

I support Anna Hazare only to the extent of forcing the parliamentarians to draft the bill and getting it passed. But if he says that my team will draft the bill, then I wouldn't definitely support such a thing. It is wrong.

Test Match and Dhoni

2011-08-13T14:28:00.002+05:30

Why so many people who actually lecture a lot about supporting the team when it is needed the most, themselves start blaming. I feel sad for such people and for MS Dhoni. I actually support him even if this test match is lost in saying that 'He is THE BEST captain India ever had'. Whoever thinks that Dhoni's image will go down after his first defeat must be greatest fools on earth. They just doesn't know how much and what he has done to this nation by winning the World Cup though winning the world cup is not everything. It is definitely not everything once you win the world cup but before winning, it is the ONLY THING. And MS Dhoni has succeeded in achieving that only thing.

MS Dhoni and his current team is THE BEST. I'm sure it will bounce back and even if it doesn't, by chance, I don't mind. I have already had enough by WORLD CUP.

Importance of Being Virendra Sehwag

2011-08-08T09:26:00.002+05:30

Who isn't a fan of Sehwag? Merciless to any kind of bowling attack in the world. Just hoping that he clicks in Edgbaston, Birmingham test. A nice article on Virendra Sehwag which I found was a respect paid to the player by none other than the great Shashi Tharoor.

Virendra Sehwag

One of the best article on Sehwag.

Indian team is filled with great players now, Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and our Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. How come we are not winning?

vCard by Linkedin

2011-07-21T12:37:00.003+05:30

I liked vCard feature/option of Linkedin. It really is fantastic. I just clicked on it and it immediately downloads the address details of the person. But this is not what excited me, since that is what is expected of vCard, what it does is slightly more than just downloading the address details. It automatically starts the address book present in your macbook (do not know how it works in a Windows PC) and enters the address details of the person. Oh, great work since it reduces so much of time. And it makes easy to collect addresses of everyone now.

Finest Spoof from India

2011-07-20T08:21:00.001+05:30

It is a very nice spoof on upcoming movie 'Singham'. Spoof features Manmohan SINGHAM and Sonia Gandhi. Watch this spoof.

Reshma and Rs.25k

2011-07-19T19:00:00.002+05:30

Mr.Narendra Modi, y'day tweeted this

'Guj Home Min to felicitate brave Reshma with prize of Rs25 k for exposing her husband in national interest - 8 live bombs recovered from him'

How sad, right? She helps the Gujarat govt. by risking her family and gets only Rs.25k as prize amount. I'm one of the biggest fans of Narendra Modi. But these are silly mistakes by such great people. Suppose, 8 bombs had exploded and approx. 10 people in each explosion had died, then same chief minister would have announced at least 1 lac / family amounting to Rs.80 lacs. I personally feel she should have been given at least 10 lacs which would have at least acted as motivation for others to come out and act as whistleblowers.

By paying meager Rs.25k, nothing much has been achieved by CM Narendra modi. Quite sad and bad decision.

Chanakya's Chant by Ashwin Sanghi

2011-07-10T17:16:00.002+05:30

Ashwin Sanghi's new novel 'Chanakya's Chant' indeed is an entertainer. Will be one of the best movies, if converted and directed by veterans. I think the book will need two directors - Asutosh Gowariker and Prakash Jha who possess expertise in period films and political films respectively. While Asuthosh can shoot Chanakya's part of the novel, Prakash Jha can shoot only Gangasagar Mishra's part (21st century's political Chanakya).

I can say, I have found my India's Jeffrey Archer. Amazing work and research by Ashwin Sanghi. Everything in the book cannot be fiction because Chanakya's moves explained in the book refer back to around 340 B.C. (Chandragupta Maurya's period) and superbly explained and written about his war strategies.

Worth reading. I'll give 5/5 rating for this book.

An Observation

2011-07-06T10:52:00.003+05:30

Have you noticed this in a group/team. If a member of a group/team does some good, everyone in the team wants to claim to be from the same basket and if a member of a group/team does some bad, then others claim 'Why consider me in the same basket?'.

If good happens, I'm from the same basket. If bad happens, then 'Why treat me as if I'm from same basket?'

A Beautiful Photo!

2011-06-16T07:57:00.004+05:30

Just happened to get it from Twitter. Someone had taken the photo and had sent it to Mr.Shashi Tharoor who inturn had re-tweeted.

Nice photo to cherish and believe it can happen only in India.

Les Paul - Best Doodle

2011-06-09T08:22:00.001+05:30

I really, still, do not know who is he. But I think today's doodle on 'Les Paul' is the best till date. From this I could only guess that he is/was a guitarist. Superb work by Google for this doodle.

Visit www.google.com today (09/06/11) or else you will miss it.

Gandhiji and Ignorant People

2011-06-01T10:12:00.012+05:30

Gandhi (I'm referring to Mahatma, here), for me is 'GOD in human form' just like Jesus was human and even Mohammed was human. I really do not know what good Jesus and Mohammed did for the human beings but I definitely know what Gandhi did for India and Indians. It is as simple as that, to all the ignorant people and to all those who talk negative about Gandhi, if it was not Gandhi, I think we would have got our freedom now may be in 2000 or later. Or simply put our freedom would have been postponed by several more years.

For all those stupid people who have negative thoughts and negative things about Gandhiji, I'm sure they have not read anything about Gandhiji not even his autobiography 'My Experiments with Truth'. But by reading his autobiography, one will know less about him than by reading books written on him by others. In his autobiography, he writes only about diet, ayurveda, truth etc. and less about himself and his achievements. If one would like to know what he has done that we call him 'Mahatma' then there are several other books written on him by others. One of the best researched work on him has been 'Freedom at Midnight' written by Dominique Lapierre et. al. In fact, book is on our struggle during last four to five months just before Independence but during those few months itself, Gandhiji was more required than anyone else in achieving Independence.

If anyone would really want to know what is the meaning of 'Power of One' then you should know what Gandhiji was doing when Nehru and Patel were hoisting Indian Flag in parliament on Aug 15, 1947 night. For your information, Gandhiji was not present in parliament during that time to enjoy those precious moments of achieving Independence. Then where was he? and what was he doing? if he was not present in parliament. Just get the information about this, then you will understand how powerful this person 'Mahatma Gandhi' was.

I'm writing about Gandhiji today because I read a tweet by Ram Gopal Verma on Gandhi. I was following RGV and after reading the tweet on Gandhi, I immediately stopped following him. I have learnt one thing, any one who talks negative about Mahatma Gandhi cannot come close to me in whatever manner or form or status they are in. I just cannot stand people who talk negative about him. Having said this, I cannot be a true Gandhian too. I cannot follow his principles, it is just so difficult. But anyone who talks negative about Gandhiji can cut-off relationship with me (whatever relation it be), because we just don't match each other. I'm one of the biggest, ardent fan of Gandhiji. So, frankly speaking, I hate even RSS for the same reason. They killed him for his principles. Foolish enough by a organization like RSS for having done that act without any proper knowledge. Then they talk about Pakistani terrorism killing Indians. They already are biggest terrorists when they killed Gandhiji.

Bogie or Compartment Number

2011-05-30T15:05:00.002+05:30

How nice it would be if all the platforms of all the railway stations have this facility of showing which bogie will come and halt where of which train? This would ease redundant queries to either the station master (if the station is small) or the vendors on the platform or the most accessed member COOLIE. It is usually the coolie whom we approach to get clarification on where your bogie (reserved or unreserved) will come and halt on that platform. He mostly has accurate answer for this question and he does this free of cost. To do the same thing we pay and have so called enquiry counter but they act as if they are doing a great service to mankind by answering to the queries of general public. And many people ask the same query again and again they just go wild without any reason.

So, best solution lies in making it mandatory to have this system installed even in smallest of the stations. This facility should be a default facility for any new railway station that is being built and also to all the existing railway stations.

And I always wonder why the compartments are also not standardized in terms of placing them in a particular sequence. The compartment sequence is not standardized and I strongly feel, this thing can be standardized. Standardization of sequencing the compartments would make things even more easy for the public.

Store Credit

2011-05-26T16:46:00.003+05:30

I loved the Flipkart's 'Store Credit' option. May be it is available in all other online shopping websites but experienced it on Flipkart recently when I ordered a book and it was not available. So, I requested them to hold back the amount instead of crediting into my bank account. And they did hold it back and this was called as 'Store Credit'. And I ordered another book of lesser amount later and the beautiful thing is that it deducts only that amount and keeps the balance as 'store credit'. So, it shows how well they have planned the shopping experience online.

Another Show of Stupidity by Jairam Ramesh

2011-05-23T14:13:00.002+05:30

Jairam Ramesh is a eccentric politician as he as proved time and again. His recent statement that 'IIT and IIM Faculty are not world-class' is just another googly that goes to prove his weird acts. I don't directly deny what he has to say because he might very well be true when he says that IITs and IIMs are world-class because of its students and not because of its faculty but he has to remember that neither of the facilities and emoluments given by these very same shoddy politicians is also not world-class.

Give them, what according to you world-class Universities provide, and then talk such bull-shit. Of course, students are gems, no body denies that fact but at the same time don't talk rubbish about faculty there. They are equally good. I just want to write one thing "If it had been only because of good students that IITs are world-class and not because of faculty then let them appoint a University faculty and get the same output from students". Is it possible to give same output by the students given another set of faculty from average University.

This Jairam Ramesh is a over-hyped nerd. Better start ignoring this politician who thinks himself the smartest than others in the country.

A.Raja, Suresh Kalmadi, Now Kanhimozhi and Who's Next?

2011-05-20T15:34:00.002+05:30

A.Raja, Suresh Kalmadi, now Kanhimozhi, then who can be expected to decorate Tihar. Good days for Tihar. I think they will improvise the Tihar jail conditions to accommodate these VIP criminals. Good days ahead for India, that's what it shows. Hopefully the days are not that far when Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule will also see the same fate. I will be the most happiest person on earth if at least Supriya Sule faces the same because I feel Sharad Pawar must be counting his days (if you look at his face you can guess) now. So, he will not survive for long that is for sure, his health conditions will not permit him to do so. So Supriya Sule will have to shoulder all the ill things done by her father too. Her bad luck. However she is also party to many corrupt events that have happened during their hey-days. Now she must be waiting for her turn eagerly or can shy away from all the responsibilities before CBI reaches her. Great Judgement by Supreme Court. Take a Bow!

Dematerializing University Certificates

2011-05-17T12:22:00.007+05:30

I was thinking of this aspect as now-a-days I'm quite regular visitor to the Notary Officer at Harihar court to get my certificates signed and sealed approving authenticity or originality or whatever it is, of the documents. It has become quite an easy thing to go to Notary of Harihar court, pay Rs.10/sign and seal and get out from there. No words spoken, only actions take place there. Quite funny. I really didn't know that it is so easy to get signed by a Gazetted Officer or equivalent authority lies in Notary of any court until very recently.

This is a hint for all those who many times get confused to whom to go to for getting your certificates verified. Easy way is search for the nearest Notary officer in nearest court, pay him and get them verified. Do not waste your time searching for a Gazetted Officer in terms of Head Master of a Govt. School, a Govt. Vet. or any other officer. Just search for the nearest court. Thats it. It hardly takes a minute for Notary Officer to help you with the task.

Coming to the topic mentioned in my title. Why the hell every time I should go to court, find a Notary Officer and then get my certificates verified. Just like we have financial DEMAT account where once you open an account all your shares are automatically appear in digital format instead of a hard copy as in olden days, why not Universities adopt a similar system where every candidate/student who enrolls in any University first gets his/her University DEMAT account where all his/her certificates are put in digital format instead of student holding hard-copy of all marks cards, all certificates etc. It is so risky to hold those things in hard-copy format. There are chances of we losing those things as most of the students roam throughout the globe with them till their death as part of job-change and how can you expect to carry all this stuff all along their life. It is so ridiculous.

Just have a University Demat Account. Produce the Demat A/c for which, whoever requires the students certificates and other related documents whenever and wherever it is required. Only difficult thing is the initial digitalization of all the documents of all the students (meaning almost the entire population of India as each and every citizen must have been student till sometime). It should be made optional initially so that Government gets enough time to Dematerialize the documents of all the interested hoping that it will filter out at least 20% of the uninterested population.

Just an idea. Hope this someday comes true even if it happens after my lifetime.

Pondicherry University - Ph.D Entrance Exam

2011-05-16T10:47:00.005+05:30

I'm impressed by Pondicherry University for their seriousness in handling things. After having attempted entrance exams of several universities, I felt this is the best and serious about even Ph.D entrance exam. Most of the Universities are not keen on this because may be it is not revenue-generating area. But they wouldn't mind collecting application fee and entrance exam fee separately like recently Dharwad University did. Worst is Dharwad University when it comes to Ph.D. They are not at all serious about this. Look at the events in Dharwad University for Ph.D:

i) They issued a notification in the month of march or april - First notification

ii) They cancelled and didn't even bother to inform that it was cancelled. They didn't even bother to put it on their website. Luckily I happened to call them on Sat as test was on Mon and then they inform me that it has been cancelled and do not date of postponement. Ridiculous enough. I called them up because I had not yet received their hall ticket. Had I not called up that day, I would have reached Dharwad Univ directly on Mon just to find that test has been cancelled. Lucky me, I narrowly escaped that one waste of a trip it would have been.

iii) We were supposed to keep track of postponed date ourselves and it was suddenly scheduled on 14/05/11 and date of announcement was just 09/05/11. So, if anyone had not seen the website, he/she would definitely miss. Suddenly on 12/05/11, I happened to visit their website and found the date and got a shock of my life. There was no intimation, I was literally boiling when I called them up. They say that they tried to call me on my mobile and found that it was not working and then didn't bother further. I happened to change my mobile number recently. But then I asked them best way to contact now-a-days is not mobile but e-mail address because for almost everyone only permanent address is email address and nothing else is permanent address (Anand Mahindra has said this in his tweet, how true!). Then look at the height of foolishness when they say, it is easy for them to call 75 candidates than to send email to those many people. This is height of being ridiculous because, one common mail can be CCed to all.

I finally finished exams day before yesterday and am back today on Mon to Harihar campus and just happened to receive hall-ticket from Pondicherry University and was quite happy as I was compensated for all the bad things which happened with Dharwad University. The hall ticket itself shows how serious they are. It looks like this:

Though you can see only mirror image, you can be impressed by the fact that they have literally taken their time in scanning my photo on to this original hall-ticket.

Would love to do my Ph.D in such University. Hope things work out well.

20/05/2011

I'm even more impressed by Pondicherry University today for their active, rather pro-active, initiative in giving this on-line facility to the candidates. Just superb efforts by the University. Look at the images below to understand the ease of getting the hall-ticket:

I thank the University for all such efforts. It keeps our hopes alive.

World Cup 2011 & 'Sir' Mahendra Singh Dhoni

2011-04-04T11:53:00.010+05:30

If there had been Indian knighthood, definitely he would now be called 'Sir' Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I do not know whether other players would have been conferred by it or not, but Dhoni definitely deserves 'SIR' title. Oh! what a captain he is? I have added him above Aamir Khan in my 'IDOLS' list. For me, at least, he is above Sachin Tendulkar, though i wouldn't wish to compare. But mentally, my thoughts do compare these two. I have shamelessly saved (not worrying about copyrights and other stuffs) few photographs which I have liked the most, shot during final and post-final match. I'm pasting them here so that they get etched forever in my memory and my blog. This is my most favorite photo. He looks stunning here.

Gambhir's inverted 'C' dive

Mahi's Winning Sixer - A Shot Which Indians Will Remember for Generations

I was one of those critics who really didn't believe that this team would achieve this. I felt we really didn't play well in the league matches. But my opinion changed the day they won against Australians in Q/F match. A superb display by Yuvraj and Raina. I think that partnership made me believe that we will definitely win the cup even after 2 wickets down (Sehwag and Sachin having got out) in the finals. I had an instinct telling me and I did tell my colleagues that day when these two got out that, today is Dhoni's day. It surely was one. I had complete faith on Dhoni that day. I was sure that he will perform on the final day. His look when he was at crease when he came in to bat was depicting 'CONFIDENCE'. He was at ease. His shots (looked similar to the shots he used to play in his earlier days) gave confidence to all Indians, I suppose. Amazing Captain. Last two days, I'm trying to gather as much facts about him as possible. I'm awestruck with his captaincy.

Reading all the articles related to him and watching his clippings more than the WIN or CUP, actually. He is a case-study on 'Leadership'. Thanks to him and the team for making the dream a reality. I always had feeling that I will never witness India winning the World Cup in this life-time of mine. Finally I did. Hope I would witness Indian Football team do the same in future.

Indo Pak Encounter at Mohali

2011-03-31T07:40:00.003+05:30

Oh! finally relieved. It was such a high-voltage game that it relieved all the pressure. It was a nice viewing on a big screen with a projector at my Director's residence lawn. It was complete entertainment. Thank god, we didn't loose this one. Otherwise it would all have been a damp squib.

Shahid Afridi displayed superb captaincy but batting order crumbled just like India used to crumble during earlier days, under pressure. Otherwise, I felt 260 was very much gettable. Whoever says Dhoni has GREAT LUCK has to think twice because luck can favor anyone once and not all the times. If you look at it carefully, one will understand that India is playing as a team now, so no need to depend on a single player which used to be the case in pre-Dhoni era. Amazing Captain Cool. Irrespective of saturday Final result, Dhoni has done a wonderful job as captain with few errors which any captain would have committed. Look at his positives than negatives. He has too many positives which will subside all the negatives.

And at the same time I felt, some day in far future I might die with an heart attack while watching some India - Pakistan match. I was so tensed and i really do not know how players will actually cope up with so much pressure on them. Once I did think that if I were to play, I couldn't even have held the bat properly under this pressure.

Superb Match. Superb Cricketing Display by both the teams.

Only Time Will Tell

2011-03-31T07:33:00.002+05:30

Only Time Will Tell is the first one of the five Clifton Chronicles which Jeffrey Archer has planned to release. It seems to be very interesting read which ends also in a such a manner that it paves way for its second book of chronicles. What happens next will happen is US, I presume and it would be solving a murder mystery.

First time I found that Jeffrey Archer has made no mention of SOTHEBY'S Auction House anywhere in this one. Otherwise Sotheby's and World War are two things which take a mention in almost all his previous novels.

Phas Gaya Re Obama

2011-03-28T06:58:00.003+05:30

Yesterday I happened to watch this movie on Star TV. I think, of all the films that i have seen this year, I loved this movie the most. Wonderful movie. I loved all the characters who are at their best in this movie. Even villains look so innocent and naive. Superb Direction. I loved 'Tyagi Sir's English Coaching Class' scene, the most, in this movie.

My Comments and Views of - GOOD, BAD & UGLY article

2011-03-24T16:01:00.006+05:30

Yesterday I posted an article written by, I suppose, an alumni of IIMB who probably works for Career360 now. Though I do not want to act critic to an article written by an ex-student, and I suppose that he is not into teaching, yet the article just made me wonder 'how soft is this target called teaching community'. I presume this community of teachers must be the most soft-target in the world judged by the fact any tom, dick and harry has his or her opinion on how teachers must teach and how teaching as profession must be led. I personally feel that, many of them target teaching community or education because of mainly two reasons, one is that they think they are smarter than teachers at any point of time and the other reason is that they think they can be best teachers given a chance. I will talk about this at last again. But first let me talk about the article which I posted earlier.

This article which I read, and most of you must have read might have given a good reading with two urdu couplets, one at the start and one at the end (never mind I didn't understand either of them), was the stupidest article that I have read in recent times. One reason that i'm using this word is that title says something and article talks about something. If you observe, the title actually talks about 3 different categories of B-schools. It means that by reading this article, I should have been able to put any chosen B-school in one of the 3 categories but it doesn't happen so. It mainly categorizes either the faculty or at best the curriculum into 3 categories.

i) Level 1 - Inertia driven: In this it mostly speaks about faculty members who happen to teach the same thing every year. It also says that 70% of the courses and faculty falls into this category.

My Comment: How sad that people think in this way and much worse they write this as an awareness article to help the aspiring students. And take any student, who loves to hate either the faculty or the curriculum (before joining B-school) will definitely believe so. Let me clarify this to all those who believe that it is so by saying that there is a reason why it happens like this. There are courses (definitely not 70% as mentioned and didn't understand how the author arrived at this 70%) which we call CORE courses which doesn't require any changes to be made because these are fundamental courses and that is why they are called CORE courses. Without learning these, how one can learn much complex things which the author is talking about in his Level 3? How can you talk 'Gravitational Force' without knowing the meaning of 'Acceleration' or 'Force'. You need to know the basics, right? So, there is no point in changing the CORE courses.

It is like this, simply put, If we are covering A, B, C, D (existing topics in course) this year; then do not expect us to cover E, F, G, H (totally new topics in a course) next year because it is mere foolishness if we do so. Next year it would definitely be A, B, C, D and E (added topic). And I wonder how did the author know, in the first place, that 70% of faculty teaches the same thing next year without adding 'E' as shown above. Did the author sit for the same course taken by the same faculty next year too, by chance? If it is so, then how worthy it is to believe an article written by such student. If it is not so, then please do not talk about faculty handling certain course because you do not know what he/she has taught this year and next year. In this case, PLEASE KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

ii) Level 2 - Market Driven: Author says 15-20% of the courses are market linked and mostly developed by those few faculty or institutes who have competence and have good industry linkages in the form of MDP or consultancy etc. Author further says that any company or industry would be happy to involve in curriculum development, research or case writing collaboration.

My Comment: If any student picks up a syllabus copy of any B-school (preferably a PGDM institute), and checks the list of CORE and SPECIALIZATION courses, it would be easy to make out that the number of courses that are market-linked are not just 15-20% but a quite higher percentage.

Most of the PGDM institutions would fall into this category if I happen to agree with this type of categorization of B-schools and not their curriculum. Now to the point that companies or industry collaboration for curriculum development or case writing is a MIRAGE. I would rather say 'IT IS THE HEIGHT OF MIRAGE'. Pay them and still they wouldn't agree to get involved. I have seen it happening when our institute tried doing this during our curriculum development. And here author is talking about some Utopian Dream. Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies is one such college where curriculum development workshop is conducted every three years and no industry person turns up and if someone turns up, it is from academia only. Though the institute is ready to bear all the expenses, no one turns up for such workshop. To hell with them, we (KIAMS) do not stop our ritual of doing it. Now I would not like to talk about the workshop here. It requires a dignified blog entry some other time. I believe it as a HOLY event, and it needs a separate place in my blog.

iii) Level 3 - Thought Leadership - driven: Author talks about leadership and management education for tomorrow. Faculty members should move towards this level and further quotes few management faculty members like late Sumantra Ghosal, Ramnath Narayanaswamy, Anil Gupta (IIMA), Indira Parikh etc.

My Comment: Yes, I also believe that we faculty members should definitely move towards this level. And at the same time I also believe that most of the faculty members do strive for such a benchmark. And I further believe that may be few might fall in 'Outliers' category like the names mentioned above and if others are unable to achieve this level then it must be because they fall under 'SECURITY' (second from bottom) layer of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Only when faculty members feel secured - personal, financial, employment etc., they can think of moving on to higher levels of this pyramid. This level of research the author is talking about can happen only when the education industry allows people to move to at least 'MIDDLE OF THE PYRAMID' if not top. For this, one should know how much a university faculty earns and what is actually the expenses of normal middle-class household. When someone is more worried about all these day-to-day expenses how can one think of the research others talk about? Most of the university faculty face these hardship.

Now thats about the article. Coming back to few examples why I consider this industry as soft target? Now consider Aamir Khan (my idol) who relentlessly talks about education, academia. He says several things about how should this industry be. In one interview, he mentioned about people coming to academia now-a-days are those who actually have failed in industry and so they do not have any work experience. Without work experience how can one teach?. This was typically the crux of what he meant.

Now if you read his previous articles or recent articles or interviews especially the one after he was announced as judge of this years CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, then you will also hear from him saying that 'I do not know how they have chosen me as judge because I do not have any formal training in acting'. Then why the hell you comment on 'Teacher' who is not having formal experience in industry. I personally feel, after being in academics for over 8 years now, that formal industry experience is good and necessary but not a 'MUST' to be a teacher. 'Teaching' is not completely directly related to 'Work Experience'. How many people with 20 years or more of industry experience are actually good teachers?. If you are not from certain industry, better not talk about that industry.

Finally, to conclude I personally feel suggestions and your opinions about something is quite okay. But better if they are related to you and your industry directly. Academicians very well how to manage their industry. Leave them alone, they can manage themselves.

I feel the title should have been - GOOD, BETTER & BEST instead of GOOD, BAD & UGLY.

Three Levels of B-Schools - Good, Bad & Ugly

2011-03-23T15:25:00.001+05:30

THE essence of my critique of current MBA programmes in general is captured by this couplet by Akbar Allahabadi.

Taleem jo di jaati hai humein uff kya hai faqt bazaari hai Jo aqal sikhaai jaati hai who kya hai faqt sarkari hai

In the context of management education in India, the IIMs need to take a bulk of the blame for the current state of unimaginative curricula that trails the needs of society by a generation! Before sharing a few examples about the good work done by a few private institutions in this space, I would like to categorise the present curricula and its delivery by diverse colleges as per a schema of my own, I would put them under three levels.

Level 1: Inertia-driven

These are the courses that are victims of ‘inertia’. They are offered and taken because they have been offered and taken for decades. No one complains. The professor knows it by heart. It can easily be couched as ‘a must’ and the ‘tamasha’ continues. My own reading is that over 70 per cent of the courses and teachers fall in this category. Chances are that these teachers at the IIMs are drawing more from the IIM brand than the IIMs drawing from them.

Level 2: Market-driven

These are usually courses that are market-linked. Typically, this is an outcome of the professors’ or the institute’s competence and working linkages with the industry outside. These constitute about 15-20 percent of the courses offered. The professors who run these would command respect from the industry or companies. They would be happy to partner for curriculum development, research and case writing collaboration and so on. MBA, being a real world education, has to be at least at this level. While this category would come close to being cutting edge for management, it still falls short of being inspiring and transformational.

Level 3: Thought leadership-driven

This is the category of original research where the world is waiting to eat out of the hands of the researcher, professor or/ and institution. This category looks at management and leadership education that is needed for tomorrow. ‘Core competence’, a renowned concept by the late C.K. Prahalad falls under this category and Fortune 500 companies will spend the next decade to learn and follow this “mantra”.

Imagine him teaching a 25-year-old face-to-face. Mind-blowing, isn’t it? Isn’t that the benchmark that the self-proclaimed top guys should aim to better? Professors or teachers such as the late Sumantra Ghoshal, Ramnath Narayanswamy (Indian Institute of Management Bombay ), J Ramachandran (IIMB), Anil Gupta (IIMA) and Indira Parikh (Flames) fall under this category.

What is special about the level-three programme?

The core attribute of a level-three programme is the deep and original insight that it carries from the understanding of the human psyche or the society, at large. The emphasis is to understand it ab-initio in the current context and covert these insights into a body of knowledge that can be structured, fleshed out and taught to a learner. “Thought leadership driven programmes look at management and leadership education needed for tomorrow”

Applying this model in India

In the context of India, we transformed from being an administered society to a managerial society about two decades ago. However, India is fast emerging as a society of entrepreneurs in diverse ways. The ethos of democracy coupled with the economic well-being is throwing up opportunities like never before in the history of mankind. In this context, entrepreneurship and personal leadership-linked programmes and offerings rank very high in my ratings. Shining examples from private B-Schools

The family business programmes by S.P. Jain almost a decade ago is a shining example of an institute demonstrating this thought-leadership which continues to be of greater relevance even today. At least 90 percent of the economy is driven by the unorganized enterprise run by an individual or a family! Makes sense?

The work done by ISB to go after the aspect of management education for the working professional and even senior management is another role model example of what was done successfully with deep insight. Continuing education or back-to-education was the mantra for ISB. Works wonders and IIMs followed suit. I would think the work done by Wellingkars over the past decade too is praiseworthy here.

The wholesome development at Flames (Under Prof Indira Parikh) and Symbiosis (under Prof Pillai) are two shining examples and the students’ gratitude to them is the best testimony of these level-3 courses and programmes. The focus on personal growth is worth emulating for any other institute worth its salt.

Similarly, the focus on entrepreneurship at IWSB (Greater Noida) has begun to find mention and I believe this to be a level–three programme.

The work being explored by SOIL (Anil Sachdev) and Great Lakes (Under Prof Bala) are other examples of new-era and original think outcome, in my view.

IIMs – Bring the inspiring guys back into the class room

It would be unfair to categorise IIMs as non-innovative. However, that these marquee institutions need to move from the current 10% of the courses being in level three to about at least 50% of them to be in that area. The market-savvy courses could be left to the lesser mortals in the management education space by the IIMs and they would do well to bring back the top-notch professors who do exist on the campus but do not find it motivating to offer any courses for the PGP programmes. For instance, if Ramnath (Ramnath Narayanswamy), Sundi (S Sundarajan), IR (Indira Rajaraman), RamC (J Ramachandran) teach the PGP batches in my own alma mater (IIM Bangalore), there is no way anything is going to be anything less than level three.

Conclusion

Aaj mujhse hazrat e naaseh yeh jalkar keh gaye Aasman se ab farishtay aayenge taalim ko - Daag

Entrepreneurs are optimists and incorrigibly so! I am no exception and would like to end on a note of hope. The above couplet by ‘Daag’ shares his optimism about a near future when our education would be so inspiring that the ‘farishtay’ would want to come down from the skies to be learners in our world. Insha Allah (by God’s grace), we will get there!

Rs.5000 laptop

2011-03-21T19:50:00.002+05:30

Though nice to hear about efforts of such students, i'm personally really bugged up with such type of reports on such laptops. Have a look at NDTV report:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/rs-5000-for-a-laptop/194283?hp

I'm bugged up not with those who claim so, but why the hell they are not hitting the markets. They talk about lack of funds. Then how could they claim that it is worth only Rs.5000. Sometimes I wonder whether they are properly doing their costing or not? I will be definitely disappointed if they have done their homework properly but are not getting support from anyone. Hope they click and many others with such ideas too.

It is really irritating to see such reports because they prop-up every six months. After another six months, there will definitely be one more such laptop report with so low cost but not commercialized.

Interview II - Jeffrey Archer

2011-03-16T09:40:00.001+05:30

My Favorite Author and I wonder why Nobel Prize in Literature should not be given to him as he is most read in the world. However, I always feel that Nobel Prize is fair only in case of Science, Medicine and Economics and not fair in Peace and Literature. These two streams are mere bullshit.

Master storyteller, former politician and an ardent cricket fan, British author Jeffery Archer was in Delhi to promote his latest book,'Only Time Will Tell' the first of the five-part Clifton Chronicle. IBNLive managed a little time with the catch up with the author who chatted about his latest book, his love for cricket and his future plans.

IBNLive: First things first, you're a big cricket fan and the book tour incidentally falls while the sub-continent is hosting a World Cup, which team are you betting on?

Archer: Of course England! Am English and I only want England to win.

IBNLive: Have you managed to catch up some matches?

Archer: I'm afraid only on TV. I have been traveling to several cities and so catching the World Cup action only on TV.

IBNLive: Tell us a little about your latest book?

Archer: It tells the life of Harry Clifton, born in the backstreet of Clifton. He wins a scholarship to a very posh school and his whole life changes. The story revolves around him, The lead character (Harry) doesn’t know who his father is.

The tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920 and will go on till 2020. In each of the forthcoming four books I will tell the story of the Clifton family in 20-years period. The last book in the series, expected to be released in 2015, will chronicle Harry Clifton’s last 20 years from 2000 to 2020.

IBNLive: In the past you’ve written about India and Indian characters, do you plan writing more with India as background?

Archer:Yes I have written a short story 'And Thereby Hangs a Tale'. But no, I will not write anything on India, mostly because India is a country with complex culture. Its religion, culture, people are very complex, one really should know, have very good knowledge about it for writing anything on it, Which I believe I don't have. Hence, I will never write on India.

IBNLive: If not India will Indian characters find their way in your writings?

Archer: Yes! they most definitely will, I have met a lot of Indians both in India and England. Indians are very English in a lot of ways.

IBNLive: Are there any Indian authors you pay close attention to?

Archer: My favourite Indian author is RK Narayan, I like his work, his writing.

IBNLive: What satisfies you more... plays, short stories or novels? Since you've written across the genre.

Archer: Novels are definitely more challenging, its more demanding in every way. Although in India short stories are almost as popular. A lot of people are waiting for the next short story to come out, I have written 75 short stories. But there wont be another one for next five years because I am busy writing the Clifton Chronicles.

IBNLive: Books by other authors that you always go back to?

Archer: I love storytellers, of course Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. I have a passion for short stories, and I mean stories, not whimsical observations, so F Scott Fitzgerald, Maupassant, O’Henry and H H Munro have always been favourites.

IBNLive: Have you been happy with the TV-movie adaptations of your books?

Archer: Three of my books have been adapted for television: First Among Equals, Not A Penny, and Kane & Abel. I was very disappointed with the adaptation of Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less. Kane & Abel was watched by 17 million people when it was first televised; and 50 million people in India have read Kane & Abel, that's a huge number.

Eight of the other books are currently in film production, I don't have much idea if all of them reach the screens or not. Since its all just talk..talk... talk!! But most likely would be 'Paths of Glory', by Columbia they have the script and have to decide whether to press the button.

IBNLive: Will you consider acting in them?

Archer: Well not really (laughs) or okay may be a minor part.

IBNLive: Are you comfortable with someone else directing your vision, your story?

Archer: Very few authors believe that what they see in the screen is what they had visualised, you can just cross you fingers and hope that they look like what you had in mind. I would love to have a film though!

IBNLive: According to you which is the most important part of a novel, the plot, character or the theme?

Archer: Unquestionably the plot, if you've got the plot you've got the story, rest everything is just around it. Also the characters have to be right. 'Only Time Will Tell' has seven characters in it but in the end its the plot its the storytelling which matters.

IBNLive: Which book are you ashamed you haven’t read yet?

Archer: No not ashamed because most I have attempted and started reading many books but never got through them. Just couldn't finish them. but that doesn't stop me from trying.

IBNLive: Have you ever had writer's block?

Archer: No, never! I have never had a writer's block. I had some problem writing the end of this book (Only Time Will Tell) because I'd put myself in a problem and did not know how to solve it, but that's not a writer's block.

IBNLive: Barring writing what are your interests?

Archer: My major interest is the theatre, and I see at least one production a week when I’m in London, and all of the Stratford season. My other hobby is charity auctions which I enjoy immensely. But as I am writing this, I am half an hour off walking to the Oval to watch a One Day Test match, so cricket remains one of my great loves.

IBNLive: Did you always want to be an author, what drove you to become one?

Archer: Writing is my first love, really that's been my career and my life. I have been a politician but being an author is what I do.

IBNLive: What’s your take on e-books?

Archer: Well, at the moment 7 per cent of people read on e-books, I have one myself (Kindle) but the organisers of Amazon tell me that there will be 50 per cent of the readership is going to be on e-books in about ten years time. But I love the feeling of holding a book in my hand reading it.

Telangana and Million March

2011-03-11T09:51:00.004+05:30

'Million March' yesterday in Hyderabad by pro-Telangana activists should be condemned and shouldn't be allowed in the first place. I hate people especially who are teachers and teach such things to the students. Why 'Osmania University' has become the epicenter of such activists. Why, if at all, professors of any University provide anyone such ideas and fill students' thoughts with such things. I do not understand why meaning of Democracy is misunderstood and mistaken by such people.

No more Telanganas, no more Gorkhalands must be allowed. Let these people fight. They cannot take democracy for granted. Sometimes I feel, why these people doesn't understand simple logic that such things really give advantage to neighboring countries to fuel them.

Khan's Academy and Better Explained

2011-03-07T16:22:00.005+05:30

These two websites are quite useful and informative. Though Khan's Academy has several videos explaining the basics of most of the subjects, still i feel something is missing in those videos, like for example, when I was watching video on limits (pre-calculus), i would love to know the meaning of each of those examples taken in that video. lim (x^2 - 2x - 4) something of this sort (couldn't show the formula properly), then I would like to know when would we really encounter such equations in real life.

Better explained is another website that a person can use to understand few fundamental concepts. I just love the way the site explains so many things in such a nice and easy manner. Kalid and Salman Khan would definitely make superb teachers. Wonderful Sites.

www.betterexplained.com

www.khanacademy.org

Politician to watch - Dr.Subramanian Swamy

2011-02-12T15:26:00.001+05:30

Interview to Sheela Bhatt on Rediff.com. Very Interesting Character (VIC).

Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi

"Just wait and see. Halfway through 2-G spectrum case I will bring in Sonia Gandhi into it. Nothing is going to go wrong in this case. This case is going to make a modern, new and clean India," claims Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy, one of the petitioners in the 2G spectrum scam, which is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation under the Supreme Court's supervision.

As the Supreme Court's pressure on the CBI mounts, Dr Swamy feels the thrill of success.

After former telecom minister A Raja's arrest, Swamy is now targeting Raja's mentor and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi.

Swamy claimed to rediff.com that Karunanidhi is a worried man now.

Swami and now even the CBI's case is that Raja favoured Swan Telecom to get the 2-G spectrum at a low price. Businessman Shahid Balwa, who was arrested on Wednesday, was a promoter of Swan. Etisalat Dynamix Balwa, which purchased shares of Swan, is also the front company of Balwa. He also launched another company which reportedly gave a loan to a television company ran by Karunanidhi's family. This nexus and sequence of money passing hands is being established by the CBI.

The sceptic may find this complex transaction difficult to prove but Swamy is oozing with confidence. He says, "I will not leave the case half-way. I will ensure that Raja goes to jail for 21 years."

He alleges that Raja gave that licence to Swan Telecom and as a result of this the Karunanidhi family firm got a loan.

Swamy's main contention is that Raja changed 'the cut off date' in the process of allotting spectrum and helped Anil Ambani's Reliance which had a 9.97 percent stake in Swan and the Tata group, which eventually sold shares to Docomo and made profits.

Swan has now been renamed as Etisalat DB and Unitech, which also got cheap spectrum, sold it to Telinor, which now operates in India under the name Uninor.

Once Swamy got the above facts and related papers he took up the case.

In November, 2008, Dr Swamy wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and followed it up with four more letters seeking sanction to prosecute Raja.

When the prime minister didn't take any decision, Swamy went to Supreme Court and the rest is history. Even advocate Prashant Bhushan filed another petition to create a monitoring mechanism to supervise CBI's investigation of the 2G case.

Swami's worry is that Swan's shares have been sold to people with connections to Pakistan and Chinese investors, raising security concerns.

Swamy has strong reservations about Balwa and his connections in Mumbai but he says, "I may disagree with Ratan Tata's judgment but I don't doubt his patriotism."

Swamy is an odd one out on a mission to hit the UPA government. The maverick's scheming activism is creating headlines these days. His motives are always difficult to grasp because he acts with vengeance against his political opponents.

But there is no one like Dr Swami in Luyten's Delhi.

He first shot to fame during and after the Emergency in 1975 when he became one of the founder members of the Janata Party under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan. He heads the almost-defunct party even now.

He has 52 years of experience teaching economics at Harvard University in the US. Even experts stop and take notice when he writes on the economy of China. He is familiar with Mandarin. He has studied the Gita and many other Hindu granthas and has written many books including Hindus Under Siege. He has been always supporter of the market economy and since last few years has been a supporter of Hindutva.

He abhors today's politicians and is a rare political animal who is not afraid of the media. His political adversaries have every reason to be afraid of him.

When he fell-out with former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, she ordered his arrest in Chennai. But Swamy boarded a flight and once inside argued that aircraft comes under the central government's domain.

His greatest strength is his grasp of the law and its bold interpretations.

A very few in New Delhi can match his tenacity in taking on his enemies in a court of law. He is a rare public figure taking on Sonia Gandhi relentlessly. He is not a regular politician with a retinue of chamchas around him round the clock.

He is a one-man party but he reads signals from the grassroots well and knows what pinches the common man.

He says, "The problem with these ancient politicians is that they think they are big if they go around with a big crowd, so 200 people should follow them all the time. I don't believe that. I am in the 21st century and my large network is on the internet/phone."

"There is no part in India where I can't pick up the phone and ask what's going on in your town. You won't see me at a cocktail party or a new year bash."

Swamy is 72 but looks much younger and has been very bullish on India and its future. He says he left a job at Harvard to become part of the 'India story'.

He believes a glorious future lies ahead for India. He lives in a comfortable house in New Delhi's Nizamuddin Colony. Roxna, his soft-spoken lawyer wife, is his strength and carries his briefs to various courts. She works hard maintaining papers of cases Swamy wants to fight. She diligently files petition after petition.

With a 40-year career behind him, Swamy knows what he is doing and talking. His talking, in fact, distinguishes him from other politicians. He is never restrained in expressing his views. Since he speaks only in extreme terms it affects his credibility in the long run but he will bombard you with the very same extreme arguments if you try to tell him so.

He never tampers ideas before he speaks and he is just not afraid of his enemies or their might. His drive to carry on his mission has helped him.

He can't be ignored because if you look closely he does not actually lose many legal battles. From the Islamic bank case to one concerning gold-plating of the Tirupati temple to the issue of Ram Sethu his activism brings the results he strives for.

There are scores of such issues where Dr Swamy has been ahead of all in raising it and taking it to its logical conclusion.

Dr Swamy, in fact, is a complex politician carrying too many secrets in his long, chequered career. Once he was close to government in Libya and Iraq, at another time he was influential enough to get one-on-one meet with Premier Deng Xiopang in Beijing and even got Chinese government to open up Mansarovar for Hindu pilgrims.

In 40 years he has been twice minister at the Centre and five times he has been elected to Parliament.

Since the last ten years his target is Sonia Gandhi against whom he has filed a case of smuggling of Indian antiques. He also took up the issue of his foreign origin and the issue of a foreign-born person's eligibility to become prime minister.

Swamy has umpteen times made allegations that Sonia's real name is Antonia and her family background is not what she claims to be. He has spoken so many things against her but he has never been challenged.

His favourite line is: "You journalists are ignorant."

He tells us, "There is no defamation law for a public person. I have won all the cases filed against me. Most people in political life are ignorant they don't know anything they just sit in drawing rooms and make guesses they go to cocktail parties and gossip when Jayalalitha filed hundreds of defamation cases against me, I came to the Supreme Court and read the law. The United States Supreme Court in 1964 has given a judgment that if a person in public life decides to sue for defamation then the onus is on him to prove that the charges levelled are false. Normally, if you are not in public life the defamer has to prove that charges are true. Here the burden is reversed. Recently, Karunanidhi issued me a notice I tore it up his notice in public before the cameras and threw it in dustbin."

He adds, "The law protects me. This is in the public domain out of ignorance people keep giving opinions and discourage you. I speak bluntly. I get irritated to see people's ignorance. I don't speak diplomatically."

When asked, "Do you know people sometime say you are crazy?' Dr Swamy says, 'That's a fact! Only crazy people bring change. I don't want among the sane who are stooges of people in authority today. If that is sanity, I don't want that kind of sanity."

When rediff.com asked him, "Was there any pressure on you to not move forward in the 2G spectrum case?" Swamy's reply was astounding.

"See, there is a general impression amongst all crooks that if you offer Swamy money, he will take the money and still continue, so no use giving him money!"

Then, giving a playful look, he says, "Since, I am Brahmin getting dakshina is my birthright. If anyone gives me money I will take it. But I will not do their work. I do exactly what I think is right. I play a role of an ancient Brahmin. Today Brahmins are connected to birth. It's nonsense. It has nothing to do with birth. You have to have vidya (knowledge) and you have to have courage. You should not have any personal wealth. I don't have any personal wealth."

He adds, "Ask Roxna. She is constantly complaining that I don't care for money.

She being a good Parsi keeps account of every penny spent. Anyway, I will not take any money for consideration. That's why in these 40 years nobody has charged me with anything."

Swamy's political operations and legal activism is too intertwined making it complex and cunning.

In the 2G spectrum case he wants to protect Prime Minister Singh but wants to see Sonia Gandhi implicated. He speaks ill of the Bhartiya Janata Party and its leaders but he enjoys backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

When asked about his feelings for Dr Singh, he gave a political answer.

"I have said clearly that Manmohan Singh is like Bhishmacharya who watched Draupadi being disrobed. That was unforgivable. This man is also without a spine. But I will not do anything or remove him because a vacancy created will not be filled by the people of India but by Sonia Gandhi."

In 2004, Swamy went to court and even to then President A P J Abdul Kalam to prevent Sonia Gandhi from becoming prime minister.

He is of the view that, "She herself can't become prime minister because of legal bar but she will make her son or someone else who will be worse than Dr Singh."

He says, "I am playing for removal of UPA and in the process Dr Singh will also be removed but I won't be party to anything under which only Dr Singh gets removed."

When asked why he has a soft corner for Dr Singh, he says, "He is a man of integrity. He has personal integrity. He is not the man fit for this job. He has no political backing so he is totally dependent on Sonia Gandhi. You can't have throne of India occupied by a boneless wonder. No matter how good you are its not enough. You must be a person who is able to take risks and make decisions. A man should not look over someone's shoulder. From day one we know he is not an independent person. His background is bureaucratic. It's not political. I know him for so many years. In the present UPA system, I know of no gutsy, no decent or no political person who can be prime minister. They have to be a rubber stamp of Sonia Gandhi."

When asked what nailed Raja, Dr Swami says, "That press conference of January 10, 2008 when Raja allotted spectrum on first come, first serve basis. That was his unbecoming. If he had done it with little bit finesse he would have got away with it. It was so crude. He gave one hour for the companies to get demand drafts for Rs 1,650 crore. He gave advance information to those whom he wanted to give spectrum. So those people came with pre-dated cheques. I had a press release of that press conference. Some officers gave it to me."

Swamy claims that his case saw legal success because the Supreme Court could not ignore two things.

"One, why the prime minister did not reply my letter. And, two, he could not say yes or no about my plea to charge Raja for corruption. Obviously, he could not say yes so he kept quiet because he can't even say no."

While ending the interview, he said, "Raja was assured by the Congress and the DMK that he will be protected. Their alliance won't break because both are partners in crime. But Raja was let down by Karunanidhi and Sonia Gandhi because Dr Singh showed individuality in arresting Raja."

Then, giving a mischievous look, he said, "You can't ask Sonia Gandhi any question on Raja because she would never give that interview."

Critics - Worser than Teachers

2011-01-21T16:13:00.004+05:30

This is a sample of why I feel critics are worser than teachers. A person who can, does; who cannot becomes a teacher. I think it should have been CRITIC, as now-a- days we teachers are capable of taking risk to something apart from teaching. The saying is quite old as it was said by Aristotle. Look at critics, they do nothing except judging others. Look at this person Raja Sen. His review of 3 idiots. You will surely laugh after reading this piece if you have seen 3 idiots. I think Raja Sen is the real idiot not this movie. And how can we believe such person's review?

Three Idiots, Two Stars, One Missed Opportunity

In Rajkumar Hirani's latest film, a character steps to a blackboard and chalks up, for the benefit of a befuddled engineering college classroomful of students, the word 'Farhanitrate,' daring them to tell him what it means.

The word is a pun on the character's best friend, Farhan, and while it may be a non-existant gag word in the film, the compound seems to exist in real life -- Hirani's film is doused liberally with Farhanitrate (in an Akhtar sense of the word) and several other directorial scents -- including Hirani's own touch, which is why by the time the end credits eventually roll around, you have a 'been there, sniffed that' feeling about it all.

There's also a tragic, overriding feeling of futility. Why, you ask yourself, does a college film have to be made with middle-aged men playing the lead? Can we not trust younger actors to deliver, or has the insecurity of the star system blinded us to all reality?

Why must Aamir Khan, a man who told us of the last day of college 21 years ago, still play a fresh-faced student? He does adequately, and is impressively bereft of age-lines, but we really have seen it all before. For the actor, it's probably yet another disguise, that of the young man. But it's a role he can do in his sleep.

Ditto for Hirani and his partner in wordplay, Abhijat Joshi. 3 Idiots is a very average bit of fluffy Bollywood masala that tragically pretends, at times, to be making a profound point, one it loses in repetition. The result is a confused film, one that doesn't know exactly where it stands, torn between lump-in-the-throat filmmaking and amateurishly written juvenilia. There are a few moments which click, but coming from the duo that created thefinest film this decade, this is a massive letdown.

This is a film, as you have gleaned from the inescapably omnipresent publicity material, about three students in an engineering college. Yes, indeed. And while it borrows its principal cast from Rang De Basanti and a vibe from younger-voiced filmmakers like Nagesh Kukunoor and Akhtar, it never quite gets going. It sorely lacks that magic touch, that trademark broadstroke of Hirani sincerity. That lick of good ol' honest filmmaking is enough to gloss over many an underwritten scene or overwritten soliloquy, but this film remains washed up, without that all-absolving coat of paint.

Anyway, back to the story. Aamir, Sharman Joshi and a portly R Madhavan are students in an engineering college run by Boman Irani, the actor reduced to a caricature so unreal that shaving his cartoon moustache takes away even Irani's ability to keep a straight face through the farce. And what a stretch this farce is, as Hirani plays out his now-familiar tropes: college ragging with pants dropping down; cheering up a paralysed patient; and a short fellow given a length-deriding nickname. Stats are thrown in about college pressure and suicide rates, and they really don't fit into the narrative.

Nothing quite does, to be fair. There is ludicrous fun to be had every now and again but Hirani seems ill at ease, borrowing a Farah Khan-style old school flashback but refusing to go all-out funny -- and instead labouring really hard to make a point, the aforementioned one about college and suicide. I repeat it because he does, and he does it over and over again.

The film really tries too hard. A wonderfully endearing character named Millimeter shows off a group of pups, calling the little one Kilobyte and the bigger one Megabyte, and there is a pause before he calls the mother Gigabyte. Sigh. The principal is called Virus. It's an engineering college, get it? And so the jokes groan on, far more obvious than any of us Hiraniphiles would have liked -- even as the dramatic twists and reveals emerge inadvertently funnier than the gags.

The cast is strictly okay, nobody really sparkling except for Millimeter and the girl, who isn't around much, darn it. Kareena Kapoor dazzles with her brief role, and even though a lot of her spunk seems significantly Jab We Met in tone, she lights up the screen when she's around. Aamir manages to sell some scenes strongly enough to make you laugh, while Madhavan proves to be a really bad choice for narrator.

This isn't a bad film, though. By which I mean it conjures up a few moments, it will doubtless make some people cry, and every now and then we glimpse some heart. Yet it hurts to see that this is traditional Bollywood masala schlock, with scenes calculated to tickle and to evoke sympathy. It's not awful at all, but since when did 'not bad' become good? Dr Feelgood doesn't make the cut this time, and we need to measure him by the high bar his previous excellence has set -- by which degree this is a whopper of a disappointment.

Rajkumar Hirani's one of the directors of the decade, a man with immense talent and a knack for storytelling. On his debut, he hit a hundred. With his second, he hit a triple century. This time, he fishes outside the offstump, tries to play shots borrowed from other batters, and hits and misses to provide a patchy, 32*-type innings. It's okay, boss, chalta hai. Even Sachin has an off day, and we still have great hope.

Rediff Rating:

Now I'm pasting his review of Dhobi Ghat. I'm sure this will also be idiotic review by him. He had given 2 stars to 3 idiots and it went on to become the highest grosser ever. None of the films have beaten till now (more than a year has passed). Now he is giving 2 1/2 stars to Dhobi Ghat and proportionately it should garner more revenues than what 3 idiots had done. Amen!

**Raja Sen reviews Dhobi Ghat.**

Films about cities, as opposed to films about characters or plot, are soaked in a different kind of romanticism.

Unabashedly smitten by backdrop, filmmakers take us through neighbourhoods, by-lanes and situations familiar to them, in an attempt to let the city woo us as it has clearly done them. Dhobi Ghat is a film utterly besotted by Bombay -- which is why it jars when it doesn't call it that.

There are four protagonists, each starkly different from the other. It all varies diametrically: background, career, social standing, and most critically, their level of acquaintance with the city, their relationship with Bombay.

And yet, most likely to skirt clear of inane controversy, they constantly call it Mumbai [ Images ]. We don't. As a migrant increasingly in love with this city, I declare that commitment to the safer word untrue, a false note that tragically trips up a film trying so hard.

And that is what Kiran Rao's directorial debut eventually is, a film that tries too hard. And visibly so. Falling prey to all the arthouse cliches -- handheld cameras, romanticised obsession with rain, multiple narratives, conversations focussing on class disparity, exclusively 'creative' lead characters -- the film comes across as earnest but hollow.

Handicapped by the self-consciousness of a student film, it feels like a diploma project, albeit one with excellent production values and solid performers. Rao occasionally conjures up lovely moments, moments that feel wonderfully accidental and incidental, but those that fleet by too quickly. It is a clearly affectionate debut, but falls short of being an impressive one.

It is a film with soul, but not nearly enough story. The plot -- that of an artist stumbling upon a story as characters around him fall into one-sided love -- just doesn't have enough meat to warrant a feature.

Dhobi Ghat would have worked wonderfully as a short, actually, at most a 40-minute ode to the city. I strong believe films have a right to forsake story, sometimes even entirely, but then they must seduce interest through mood, texture, and emotion -- the telling can overwhelm the need for the tale. If skimpy with the meat, give us gravy worth killing for. And while Rao is dedicated to mood and languor, her film just doesn't engage enough to justify its length.

The parts are better than the whole, really. Gustavo Santaolalla's score is beautiful, for example, the title theme positively haunting.

And Prateik is a treat. Fantastic from the get-go, the thrilling young actor has a warm, immediately likable screen presence and provides the film's most honest moments. His body language -- slackery and loose, like a wornout rubberband, occasionally snapping into speed -- allows him to inhabit the dhobi's skin, and there are scenes he positively shines in.

Aamir Khan [ Images ], in my mind looking better than ever, leaves his innate Aamirity aside and truly becomes the film's Arun, a reflective, self-involved artist shaken out of his stupor by a revealing story. He's a great character -- one distanced from his own grief but easily and voyeuristically feeding upon a stranger's tragedy -- and Khan forsakes charisma for credibility.

There comes a time he gets scared -- I refuse to reveal what of -- and Aamir's freakout is perfect and pure, a goosepimply moment of acting transcendence. However, he's only good when he isn't talking. It's an absolute shock, but Khan seems ill-equipped to handle English dialogue, his delivery stagey, inconsistent and mostly artificial. He's a fine actor delivering one of his best, most understated, most honest performances, but his lines don't work at all. Yet Rao mercifully gives him more beats than words, and those he knocks clear out of the park.

As a camera-happy banker enamoured by the city's sleaze, Monica Dogra is very, very believable. It's a solid performance but her accent, however authentic, ironically gets on the nerves. It suits the character to a T, and yet cinematically it lets her character down, which is a shame because it's so well-written.

Kriti Malhotra has the opposite problem. Playing a smalltown girl writing a video letter to her brother, she's both authentic and visibly talented, but her character is one-note, the only flat one of the four.

So fits and starts, then. There is some fine writing on display, and mostly steady performances, but usually independent of each other.

For a paean to an often-caressed city, it has nothing new to say or show, save a brief glimpse of the rat-killing profession. And then there's its stubborn conventionality: Prateik and Dogra's arc, for example, cries out for sex, but it is denied; Babbar instead is straddled with a strange gangster tragedy that seems shoehorned into the film merely out of a need to wrap up a Bombay-cliche checklist.

Dhobi Ghat is a middling debut, watchable due to its nuances but simply not interesting enough to recommend. Yet Rao seems assured of her craft, and worth looking out for in the future.

Indeed, she deserves applause just for giving Prateik the platform she has, highlighting a raw young actor the industry ought covet. She clearly cares for her characters and has a massive crush on Bombay, her leading lady. Yet her lovesong, however earnest, just doesn't sound good enough.

Rediff Rating:

BIDDING ADIEU TO AIR CMDE KRISHNA SHANKAR

2010-11-26T09:44:00.004+05:30

I remember my good old school days where the way to bid an Officer a farewell, was quite an experience, especially the special dinner or special lunch part. Just before we finished with parting prayer 'For What We Have Received, Thank Your Lord', the fellow who was to be bid farewell was given respects by taking him between all the aisles of the mess rows where students were seated. He used to be escorted by School Captain and another Officer in uniform. When the fellow walked between the rows, students shouted or sang in unison, the choir "He is a Jolly Good Fellow, He is a Jolly Good Fellow, He is a Jolly Good Fellow, He is a Jolly Good Fellow". Such a wonderful way of bidding farewell. I thought of such farewell for another superb Officer I met after several years of passing out of school. That's here in Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS), Air Cmde Krishna Shankar. I bid him adieu with all the best wishes in his life. Really "A COMPLETE MAN" as rightly expressed by another marketing heavy-weight Prof. S AnanthRaman. What a perfect tribute to a fellow by another fellow colleague. It says / said everything about Air Cmde Krishna Shankar (KS).

This is the second time I'm wishing him farewell. Yesterday when KIAMS arranged an official send-off in auditorium, Prof.R N Venkateswaran compering the ceremony had planned to call one senior faculty who has been working with Air Cmde KS and one junior faculty who had recently joined KIAMS. First Prof. S Anantraman was called and calling Prof. SAR itself gives a kick to everyone. He is a pleasure to hear and listen to. What a statement he made to precisely describe Air Cmde KS - Wow, superb timing and superb presence of mind.

When next my name was called to express something about Air Cmde, it was typical damp squib. Calling my name itself makes me a laughing stock which literally i felt, i was, y'day after superb way of expression by Prof.S Anantraman. I prayed God, why Prof.R N Venkateswaran didn't call Dr.Abhishek Ranga who also happens to be newly joined faculty and is senior to me in terms of academic credentials. He is a Doctorate. Though I was pathetic on stage, i did deliver some statements. What I felt bad was, though, I did say something about our Air Cmde KS, it was all artificial, I felt. When we are on stage, it is more about how I am performing on it than about actually conveying what you really want to convey. So, I thought of dedicating a post in my blog which, for me, is a perfect place to express myself. Now whatever I'm writing here is never (hardly, rarely) artificial.

Air Cmde KS is a fellow who is impeccable in his conduct even when he is having his drinks. Superb attitude and what a personality he has!. He is a person who happens to be gifted with amazing administrative skills and a born orator he is. I think he typically looks like a old hollywood hero. Of course, he is no less. When he is on the podium, in front of the mike, the aura he creates is something one has to experience. He is the person whom every one wants to listen to. His grip / hold / mastery / command over English language is a thing of envy. I wish I had a life like his. He jogs everyday without fail, I envy that; He comes to college in his Opel, I envy that; He walks into office with his chest held up always, I envy that; He controls the students in a perfect impartial manner, I envy that; He is liked by everyone on the campus - staff, faculty and students, I envy that; The way he tells his real-life stories during his Air Force days, I envy that; The way he has his drinks during any party, I envy that; The way he is retiring, I really really envy that. Oh! what a life and what a way to retire!!. Superb Innings, I feel.

I wish Air Cmde Krishna Shankar a wonderful life ahead. I had wonderful time with him - academic or otherwise too. His one-liners will be most cherished. His love towards dogs and other pets will be remembered forever. He is a typical person who can be a friend with the even most stupidest animal on earth.

It is a pleasure for having known Air Cmde Krishna Shankar. Thank You, Sir! for everything you did for me. GOOD BYE!! SAYONARA!!

Yeddy does it again...

2010-10-11T10:28:00.002+05:30

Great news, indeed!!

Yeddy has won the floor test. Thanks to speaker and Chief Justices' actions at the right time. I do not think there has been any violation or abuse of tenth amendment regarding anti-defection act. These 16 MLAs bloody should be put behind bars for taking the Government and the state for granted and for having held at ransom. These 16 MLAs must be taught right lessons and their work has become overly selfish and crooked. Time for BJP to think properly and act.

Hope Yeddy lives again and these 16 MLAs loose elections which will be held in their constituencies again.

Nirmohi Akhara

2010-09-30T19:12:00.006+05:30

Amazing internet. What is speed? Just have a look at this image and guess what really is speed?:

It is Nirmohi Akhara's wikipedia page. But if you go to the page and read the last two sentences, it reads the verdict given by Allahabad High Court today (Sept 30, 2010) saying that Nirmohi Akhara should get 1/3 the disputed area. What a fame? And if you look at the date at the top of the image you can see that it is Sept 30, 2010 i.e. today which means that someone has made an entry into Nirmohi Akhara's wiki page about the verdict. And I call this "SPEED". Amazing!!

And someone in twitter tweets "There is not even a wiki page of Nirmohi Akhara" and I call this IGNORANCE.

Today is more of Nirmohi Akhara's day than Babri or Ayodhya or Ram JanmaBhoomi. Fame in just few minutes. This is speed!!!

Oh!! another shocking image of speed of fame for Nirmohi Akhara, look at this, Google Hot trends is topped and volcanic by Nirmohi Akhara (Sept 30, 2010)

Pune Ganesh Viserjan Event - 2010

2010-09-23T07:37:00.024+05:30

I had a chance to witness Ganesh Viserjan (Hope the pronunciation is right) this time in Pune. These are few photos which I could shoot. Only after witnessing this event I understood why we often here deaths due to stampeding during mega festivals. Oh! the rush was frightening and hell. You don't have to walk, just stand in the direction you want to move, you will reach your destination just by virtue of being pushed.

Micromaxx and Flipkart - Superb Combination!!

2010-09-15T10:52:00.013+05:30

It was worth buying. I was thinking of buying a mobile since several days and couldn't control when I saw a model on the Flipkart's new service - Mobile Phones. This model from Micromaxx was just what I wanted. It was perfect for me. I ordered and couldn't believe that I would receive the mobile phone within 3 days of me placing the order.

After Rediffmail Shopping episode where I had totally lost my hopes on Indians providing online shopping experience, this Micromaxx and Flipkart episode has really put my faith and belief back in place. Wonderful experience in deed!!

And you know the price of the mobile phone is? Just Rs.1428/-. And the services which delighted me are:

i) Have a look at the product first

It has keypad and the phone directory is exactly the way wanted it to be. I really didn't require camera, bluetooth and not even songs. I just wanted it to perform the most basic function : to call and to receive the calls. Luckily, it has audio option, video option and also mms option. Though I do not require all the three.

And since I was not carrying my camera, i have clicked this photo from my macbook, so the image is not that clear but very much okay for you to get the correct idea of my micromaxx.

ii) Now the services that delighted me:

a) Delivery time: Just 3 working days, Unbelievable!! Look at this snapshot, you will understand yourself:

I do not know whether the TRACK SHIPMENT details are visible or not? But let me tell you the tracking shipment was another delight.

b) You never lost sight of your package being shipped. All the details - day to day basis, was seen on this ARAMEX website.

c) ARAMEX seems to be new courier company which I had not heard about. So got to know about new shipping company - will be useful for my Logistics class!!

d) Last but not the least of my delight is that BOTH the companies are Indian, just for information. That gives the real KICK - DOUBLE WHAMMY!!!

Headlines Today & Aaj Tak - Worst Channels on Earth...

2010-09-13T07:13:00.002+05:30

I think the worst News channel in the world are Headlines Today & Aaj Tak. And both are from same group - India Today Group. I used to like India Today magazine very much. But not any more. I feel, these two News Channel can go to any any any extent to sell News. These people are shameless and skunks. Look at their News and compare with the News from NDTV, you can feel it. I'm not saying that NDTV channel is THE BEST but at least they know which news is actually news. While NDTV is showing food grain problem, at the same time you switch to these two channels you will find them showing Bishop's sex scandal or on some Swami as they do not dare to show something bad on muslims.

Pre-Pooja Celebrations on Krishna Janmashtami Day at KIAMS

2010-09-03T15:35:00.003+05:30

Time to repeat 'A Wednesday'

2010-09-02T18:38:00.003+05:30

I think it is time to repeat 'A Wednesday' - plot of the movie. Hope someone challenges these bloody maoists and start killing the 8 of their comrades whom they are asking to be released. It is high time that government starts retaliating. Please do not be soft. I doubt whether they will release the other cops even if their demands are met. Maoists are taking the system for granted and think that these so called Human Rights activists will save them for every act of theirs.

I have started feeling that Al Qaeda, LeT, and any other terrorist from Pak or from any other country are less terrorists than these useless bas...ds called Maoists. These are so shameless people that they can sell their own motherland to others for their personal gratification. But whereas Al Qaeda is challenging some other nation like US for their personal gratification. Nothing wrong in it. But Maoists are black spots on humanity. They should become extinct otherwise humanity suffers. It is dangerous to allow maoism spread. It is real virus and not al qaeda or LeT or any other terrorist organization operating from foreign soil.

New 'STATS' feature by Blogger

2010-09-02T18:32:00.002+05:30

This is the option I think most of general bloggers were waiting for. And this is very and most interesting option till date, at least for me. In fact, more than the Design option. I loved this new feature offered by Blogger to its users. This is good and useful one.

Hope many more revisions in this basic feature in future.

CWG, 2010 - My Take

2010-08-27T19:18:00.002+05:30

My gut feeling says, though not as big as Chinese Olympics, yet this CWG would sure be a big hit, at least in India. For Indians, this would be the greatest non-cricketing event till date. I guess and hope this would surely be one of the best. My gut feeling is mainly due to the fact that we Indians love publicity before some event and CWG, 2010 had one of the most watched news on T.V., I suppose. Thanks to Kalmadi and team for minting money, for bribe and whatever bad things they did without which it would never have got this attention as it is getting now.

If you have observed, however bad is the movie, with some sort of publicity stunt before its release will catapult that movie into the list of hits. Best example would be Fanaa, one of the worst Aamir Khan's movie went on to become a very big hit. I had never imagined that after watching movie, that it is going to recover its money. Worst movie ever made, in fact. But thanks to Narendra Modi, Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan that it not only recovered its money but went on to become a big hit.

I think same thing will happen to CWG, 2010 too. It is surely going to rock. As my Director rightly puts it "Nothing gets done on time, but when the time comes everything is DONE".

What's on the menu at CWG, 2010?

2010-08-27T15:34:00.001+05:30

Forget the corruption claims and unfinished stadiums, Sheela Bhatt finds out that New Delhi is all set to feed the 8,000 athletes who will descend for the Commonwealth Games, in true Indian style

No Indian function is complete without a sumptuous spread of food. Fortunately, the controversy-ridden Commonwealth Games Organising Committee will maintain that tradition when guests descend on New Delhi for the October 3-14 sporting extravaganza.

Some 8,000 athletes who are expected to attend the Games will get a taste of the best of Indian kababs, meat, prawns, fish, chicken biryani, ethnic curries, chicken tandoori and 20 other items cooked in the tandoor. And, of course, vegetarian staples like idli, dosa, sambhar, dhoklas, puris and other famous Indian delicacies will also be served in the dining room at the Games village.

It goes without saying that the athletes will also get what their physicians, nutritionists and coaches order for them.

Australia's Delaware North Companies, the world's number one in food service and hospitality, along with its local partner TajSATS, a subsidiary of the Taj group, is catering for the CWG.

Delaware North catered for the Beijing Olympics, some previous Commonwealth Games and at London's new Wembley stadium. They also cater for more than a dozen airlines and airports. They have already set up a giant marquee in the compound of the Games Village under which they have set up state-of-the-art refrigerators, microwaves, mobile kitchens and cooking and serving ranges bought from PKL, the United Kingdom's best-known supplier of kitchen equipment.

The giant kitchen will churn out more than 300 food items, hot and cold, 24x7. In an hour it is expected to dish out up to 2,500 meals, and 36,000 daily during the duration of the Games.

Food will be served at the main dining hall, village bar, casual dining hall (where India's popular street food will be served) and coffee carts. A special area to serve food for the Games officials, and one for drivers and operators of the kitchen have also been created.

The main dining menu has fruit juices, yoghurts, cereals, sticky rice, dry fruit, smoked fish, cured and grilled meats, assorted cheese, salad bar, fresh herbs and all that the athletes need to eat to keep them in competition.

In fact, a fascinating aspect of the kitchen in the Games Village is that under one roof it will serve food from six regions of the Commonwealth. Asian, Asia-Pacific, Mediterranean, African, Caribbean and Oceanic food is being finalised. In short, the menu will have the kind of diversity never before seen at Indian events.

But all of this nearly did not materialise. Some Indian experts came up with the terrifying idea of roping in Indian Railways caterers for the Games as well. Thankfully, the idea was nixed. For some months a discussion was on in the Organising Committee that food of temples, gurudwaras and even the Kumbh Mela could be served, so that India doesn't need caterers from abroad. But, then, dawned the realisation that serving food to the international community of sportspersons is a different ball game from serving prasad to the poor and middle-class masses of India.

The food served at the Games will be accompanied by a food card giving the nutritional information, details of allergy food and other details that athletes need. There will be separate hot and cold food zones in the dining room, and all athletes will get food tailor-made for them. They will have to visit the nutrition kiosk to get the nutritional breakdown. The dining room will also have an in-house nutritionist.

The entire menu will be displayed under separate heads as red meat, seafood, nuts, additives, wheat and gluten, spicy or non-spicy, vegan, fish, vegetables, lactose, halal and eggs.

Since the event is in India, the casual dining room will have the feel and decor of a street cafe in India, with seating capacity for 400 people. The participants will have to pay for alcohol though.

The village bar will be located in the international zone of the Games Village. Along with beverages, the bar will provide finger food like nuts, wafers and fries.

Fortunately, despite delays due to late decision-making by the Suresh Kalmadi-led Commonwealth Games OC, catering, transport, policing and other arrangements seem to have got the Games on track. Things are looking better only because the government is spending money unhesitatingly.

An apt example of this spending spree is evident from how the catering services came to be arranged. Since the Games were allotted to New Delhi, Kalmadi sat on all important decisions.

In the winter of 2009, when the Prime Minister's Office took stock, everyone panicked when they realised that catering arrangements had not even been initiated. In November that year the PMO sent bureaucrats to sit in the CWG office. Jiji Thomson, a senior IAS officer, was made special director general of the CWG, in-charge of three crucial areas -- catering, media and transport.

As soon as he joined office, he issued a global tender for catering for the athletes and experts from 53 countries. He had a reasonably good budget of Rs 70 crore. In the first round, Delaware North of Australia got selected. They, in turn, had arrangements with the PKL Group of London, who was supposed to rent the kitchenware and equipment needed for the Games. The contract with Delaware, which was to the tune of Rs 72 crore, took care of the kitchen equipment for PKL also.

But Kalmadi being Kalmadi cancelled the global bidding. Delaware got upset and the PKL group also backed out. Kalmadi asked Thomson's office to issue a fresh tender as late as in April 2010. Any tender process in the Indian government takes four months. Thomson had sleepless nights and enormous worries. Somehow, a decision was taken to retain Delaware North, but the Melbourne-based company showed no interest in rejoining the event.

Thomson visited Australia and got their nod at very favourable terms for the company. But, in the meanwhile, PKL had got other commitments in Singapore and China. They had no spare equipment to rent for the Games. Without PKL support systems Delaware was in no position to prepare 36,000 meals per day.

Thomson went to London to talk to PKL. They said they had diverted equipment to two other mega events but offered to sell India the entire range of kitchenware. It is not clear if PKL was taking advantage of India's situation.

India had no choice but to buy Rs 8.63 crore worth of equipment since it was already mid-2010. But the equipment could not be shipped because it would have taken 40 days to arrive at Mumbai port and another two weeks to reach New Delhi. Nothing would have moved before August and that would have been a recipe for disaster.

So a Russian Antonov cargo aircraft was chartered to lift the kitchenware for the Games!

Because the OC delayed taking a decision for two years, another Rs 18 crore was spent on packaging, insurance, airlifting of equipments and installation!

At the end of it all, Thomson's department managed world-class catering services at Rs 93-94 crore. As per a rough estimate, the cost of serving breakfast-lunch-dinner per person, per day, will be around Rs 1,973!

After the Games are over PKL's equipment will be sold and a sum of Rs 5 crore-plus would be recovered. Still, what a loss it will be!

When contacted, Thomson refused to speak on the delays or the hiked budget for the catering services, but displayed super-confidence that the food served will be out of the world.

"We are ready for the Games, absolutely! As far as catering and transport-related arrangement is concerned, our Organising Committee is confident that both these areas are very much under control. As far as catering is concerned, we will provide the best food to the visiting athletes and our own. It will be the best-ever kitchen set up anywhere in India with such exotic varieties of cuisine."

He added, "We will ensure that we do not make any compromise on quality."

A TRIBUTE - Thank God For The TATA’s.

2010-08-23T08:01:00.001+05:30

By Lakshmi Mittal

As Lakshmi Mittal says ......... we have more to be proud off than what the Infosys and Wipro's of India provide ...........

I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like Narayanamurthy and his ilk.

It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's finest industrialist J.N. Tata.

Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of the Tata's but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the Tata's is unquestionably Ratan.

I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is no exaggeration.

For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a must.

Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost isolated from the mess in the rest of the country.This is not meant to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In fact, I asked Mr. Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all.
They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully haven't changed. The food is still as amazing as it always was and I gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time I did that was with Russi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to environment management.

You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I inhaled! There was no belching smoke, no tired faces and so many more women
workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain calmness which has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages of how boring and decrepit the lack luster Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old values intact and this is what I learnt.

I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis." Which is exactly what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to industrial India, then what is?

Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpur’s but it also needs this Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of campus visits being publicises to the Infosys and the Wipro's of the world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.

Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are beingeducated through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt : Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine. One of them has just been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition. They have their own women's football team and what's more they are now fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.
This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman haven't sold their souls to some business management drivel, which tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area talks about the social respect that the Tata's have earned.

The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in thehaze of the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to those who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" must first visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means.
See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for the imbroglio in the IIMs.
This is where the Advani's and Vajpayee’s need to pay homage. Not to all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with. India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that. I couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their villages, they willreturn with knowledge that will truly be life-altering.

Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away. For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advice is visit Tata Steel, spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That is true service.

Tata Steel celebrated 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group that has people who are committed to nation building than just building influence and power.
JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji. These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain. And continue to do so with vigour and passion.

Thank God For The Tatas!

Can Sonia's family ever be wrong?

2010-08-17T11:22:00.001+05:30

Can prime ministers hailing from the Nehru family ever be wrong, asks Virendra Kapoor.

Believe it or not, prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family did no wrong, infallible as all three were.

If there were mistakes, nay, Himalayan blunders, these were the handiwork of lesser mortals, not of super human beings belonging to India's [ Images ] First Family.

Constraints of space do not allow one to catalogue all that went wrong during the time Jawaharlal Nehru [ Images ] was prime minister. Suffice it to say, the man guilty for the bloody nose the Chinese gave India was not Nehru. No, how could it be him? No way.

It was then defence minister V K Krishna Menon. However, if the defence forces did anything good, such as 'liberating' tiny Goa [ Images ] on the eve of the 1962 general election, the credit solely belonged to Nehru and Nehru alone.

Of course, it was not Nehru who internationalised the Kashmir [ Images ] dispute by rushing to the United Nations. Why? Simple, being a Nehru, he could do not wrong.

Now come to a huge black mark during the reign of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi [ Images ]. Of course, she was happy to be Atal Bihari Vajpayee's [ Images ] Durga when our valiant soldiers helped liberate Bangladesh. But if a few months later Bangladesh became an Islamic republic, it wasn't her fault, was it?

Mind you, snuffing out of democracy from the land for 19 months was certainly not her decision. The Emergency was the handiwork of her minions. So were those horrible excesses committed during that dark period. Corrupt bureaucrats and policemen were clearly at fault while Indira Gandhi was completely innocent. And her younger son, Sanjay, well, he was the epitome of good political behaviour all along.

As for Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ], dearest to the current bosses of the Congress party, one seeks the reader's indulgence, especially because one has to acknowledge the sterling contribution of one of his most enlightened followers, Arjun Singh [Images ], as well.

Hats off to Singh. Age might have taken a toll physically, but mentally he continues to be as crafty, as devious as at anytime before.

Maybe the Churhat Lottery king still hoped to get a crumb or two from the table of Sonia Gandhi [ Images ] when he absolved her late husband and then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi of any role in the escape of Warren Anderson from these shores in the wake of the Union Carbide catastrophe.

That at no time he wanted to tell the truth was clear from the fact that hours before actually speaking in the House, he had duly sent the text of his speech to at least two Cabinet ministers who, in turn, vetted it for ensuring that there was nothing in it that may show the great prime minister of the time in bad light even by inference.

So it was that the wily Thakur told the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Bhopal gas leak tragedy that then prime minister uttered not a word edgeways when informed about Anderson's arrest soon after the latter had set foot in Bhopal.

Singh would like everyone to believe that Rajiv Gandhi had nothing to say about the arrest and escape of the head of the parent Union Carbide Company. Now, which other prime minister could maintain such stoic silence upon being told that the boss of the company which was responsible for the deaths of thousands had been arrested?

Clearly, Rajiv Gandhi had acquired such saintly qualities that he could be completely unmoved by mundane, worldly events. Remaining indifferent both to a huge tragedy or a great windfall is one of the prerequisites for being a godly person.

No wonder the party led by his widow was duly engaged in deifying him, though personally the one-time Italian does have a very good reason to do so. And people like Singh were determined to bolster Project Mahatma Rajiv Gandhi in the expectation of some worldly gain.

It was not without significance that Singh sought to blame then home minister P V Narasimha Rao for Anderson's inexplicable release. That way he indulged his pet peeve while simultaneously earning brownie points from the Congress boss who too shares his antipathy towards Rao. And, on the whole, quite a good one at that.

Curiously, all persons Singh named to buttress his story -- and what a story it was -- are no longer alive. Rajiv Gandhi, Rao and then chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh [ Images ] whom he named are not around to testify as true his version of events.

Nonetheless, one is really happy that even at the ripe old age of 80, when he can hardly walk or speak, Singh has not lost his sycophantic streak, though of late he has been denied an opportunity to worship at the altar of 10, Janpath.

The British monarch, it is famously said, can do no wrong, (even though a British monarch behaves far more responsibly and correctly than most democratic leaders in this country.) For our Congressmen, members of the Gandhi-Nehru family too can do no wrong. Be it the Bhopal gas tragedy, or the Bofors bribery scam, or the massacre of thousands of Sikhs in the national capital, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was entirely blameless.

Though the anti-Sikh riots took place under his very nose, the nation was expected to believe that then prime minister was completely unaware -- even if he had proclaimed at a Boat Club rally that when 'a big tree falls the earth shakes'.

Or take the Bofors scam. Ottavio Quattorocchi had publicly claimed that he was like a member of the Gandhi family. But Gandhi, the nation was told, was completely in the dark about Q's involvement, if any, in the Bofors deal.

It was another matter that without the Italian agent's powerful intervention the contract for the purchase of the howitzer guns could not have been given to the Swedish firm in preference to the French Safma which had emerged number one in the short-listed panel after rigorous field trials.

Now, anyone with a wee bit of common sense would ask whether a prime minister who was unaware of these huge controversies was fit to rule the country. Or was he sleeping on the job?

Admittedly, Congressmen are not expected to ask questions; they are only expected to follow the Great Leader. But must everyone else, especially the so-called independent media, give in to this craven display of cringing sycophancy?

Meanwhile, it ought to be remembered that unlike the present system under which every minister does his or her own thing while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] minds his own business, that is, in case he has any business to mind, prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family were truly in firm control of their governments.

Nobody dared take a decision without prior consultation with them. So, to say that Andersen was released and sent back to America without Rajiv Gandhi's prior approval is truly a cock-and-bull story which must form part of the fiction section in the parliamentary library.

Why is Gujarat being targeted?

2010-07-28T17:11:00.004+05:30

DEVANG NANAVATI seems to be very impressive lawyer. Look at the answers. At least, I'm impressed. Especially his answer to the last question. Amazing person, i suppose..

The Amit Shah episode is snowballing into a major political battle.

The Congress party has outwitted the Bharatiya Janata Party [Images ] by cornering Shah, a key aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [ Images ].

Beyond any doubt, the BJP confronts a huge crisis even as the Central Bureau of Investigation began interrogating Shah, who resigned as Gujarat's minister of state for home, on Saturday, July 24.

The Modi government or his party is unlikely to leave the former minister to his fate.

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj [ Images ], the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has already warned, 'Yeh ladai sansad ke andar aur sansad ke bahar bhi ladi jayegi (This battle will be fought inside and outside Parliament)'.

The legal and political battle over the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case has just begun. Gujarat's BJP unit has deputed prominent lawyer Devang Nanavati, one of its youthful leaders, to speak to the media, which has emerged as an influential force in the high-profile case.

Nanavati was incidentally the first runner-up in The Times of India [Images ]'s Lead India contest.

Devang Nanavati, a fourth generation lawyer from Ahmedabad's [Images ] well-known Nanavati family, has been practising in the Gujarat high court and Supreme Court since 1995. Since Shah's lawyers are Nirupam Nanavati (who is not related to Devang) and Nitesh Amin who acts on advice provided by lawyer Ram Jethamalani in the case, Devang clarified to Sheela Bhatt that he was not speaking to Rediff.com as Amit Shah's lawyer.

The first of a two part conversation:

Those who have read news reports about the Sohrabuddin encounter case and have seen five videos of the sting operation would like to believe that Amit Shah's case is not even defensible.

First of all, I can't comment as his lawyer. I will speak as a BJP member.

First, these cassettes are subject to verification. Second, they are showing only bits of it.

We don't know in which context the conversation is taking place. Shah has already given the statement that these tapes are apparently doctored.

The court should decide its authenticity and we must know when these sting operations were carried out.

Was it before the encounter or after? And under whose instruction were these operations carried out?

Let us not pre-judge the issue, let the court decide.

The tapes may have been doctored, but the details of the phone calls Shah made suggest his links with the accused.

A home minister talking to police officers, it is possible. Whether it is against protocol or not we can keep arguing, but the fact that phone calls from person A to person B don't establish what the subject of the conversation was. It is a bit far-fetched to imagine what conversation could have taken place.

A mere list of phone calls is not sufficient evidence to convict somebody. I think it is not even sufficient enough to 'charge' somebody who was the minister of home in the state.

What about the statements made by Raman Patel and Dashrath Patel, the Ahmedabad builders, indicting Shah?

The BJP has already stated that the Congress and central government is pressurising the CBI. It is easy to manipulate two builders in Ahmedabad who themselves have a long record. Their past is murky.

Why did they not come out till now?

They have not said there was pressure to keep mum. According to their own story, they carried out the sting operation long ago. Till Shah was arrested they didn't speak to the media.

Whatever the Congress spokespersons say today, the next day those events will be presented either by the media or CBI. Is it a coincidence?

This is creating doubts and giving credence to what we have been saying -- that this case is entirely stage-managed by the Congress.

What about the broader issues? One, the Gujarat government has accepted before the Supreme Court that the Sohrabuddin encounter was fake.

There is such talk in the affidavit filed at that stage. I don't have the records to let you know more about it. I also don't know in what context the affidavit was filed.

Whether it was a fake encounter or not is one thing, and whether the home minister is involved or not, is a separate issue. We should differentiate between the two.

Are we talking of an encounter or the minister's involvement? Just because the encounter is fake doesn't mean the minister is involved.

The issue of men in khakhi taking the law into their hands...

Let me ask a counter question. There have been more than 5,000 encounters in this country. Over 1,700 encounter-related complaints are pending in various courts and before the Human Rights Commission.

More than 800 encounters took place in the last few decades in Uttar Pradesh [ Images ] alone.

More than 400 police encounters took place in Maharashtra [Images ].

At least 900 encounters took place in Punjab [ Images ].

None of these have come to trial as has the Sohrabuddin case. We have never heard that anyone has been convicted for these thousands of encounters. No policemen have been found guilty or even arrested as it has happened in Gujarat.

In Gujarat, the controversy is being created about nine encounters. We are making a hue and cry about Sohrabuddin who was a known confidante of (fugitive gangster) Dawood Ibrahim [ Images ] and (slain gangster) Abdul Latif.

He was wanted by the police in at least five states. Many more AK-47s was recovered from him than were recovered from (26/11 terrorist Ajmal) Kasab [ Images ] and his gang.

Why are you not talking about 1,700 encounters about which strong suspicions have been raised? You want to pick and choose. You are selective in applying the law.

When it comes to Gujarat, when it comes to Mr Modi, you want a different set of laws to be applied. Please ask this question to those governments in power who have known about more heinous and more number of encounters.

Why is Gujarat being targeted? The Supreme Court said that because the investigation requires to be done in five states, let it be done by the CBI. The apex court was right.

But where is the investigation in Andhra Pradesh? Sohrabuddin was also wanted by the AP police.

**(Gujarat police officer) Geeta Johri has done an intensive investigation into the Sohrabuddin case and the details of the Kausar Bi murder also came to light.**

(In a quick tit-for-tat tone) Did you read Geeta Johri's investigation report?

No. I have known whatever became public when the Supreme Court heard the case. And we have read the news reports that carried reliable reports of the case.

You have not read the actual report filed by Johri nor have I read it. Why comment on it?

But we have covered the case...

I am sure you were briefed by the CBI.

Nation at Ransom - Thanks to Sharad Pawar

2010-07-10T19:17:00.003+05:30

No person on earth can be as greedy, selfish and shameless as Sharad Pawar is. I do not know how we (people of India) are still tolerating him as Minister of Agriculture. I don't remember we having given so much of space to occupy even with such high inflation with regards to agricultural products. If he claims that he hails from a agricultural background, then he should have seen a stable or consistent prices throughout his tenure. But if one observes carefully, the current inflation which a common is facing started only after he occupied that chair as Minister for Agriculture. If he thinks that farmer has really started gaining, then he must be fooling 1 billion people of India as he is no less broker himself to claim that.

Broker himself, has made the prices go up. Bet he must be the richest person on earth if CBI actually rips him financially naked.

High time we tolerate him as Minister for Agriculture. Someone should something about it.

I Will go on adding to this blog as i'm sure, in coming days, this issue is going to be a very serious one.

India Today: Pawarful counter attack

Mon, Jul 12 02:50 PM

A MONTH ago, when in the wake of the 2G spectrum scandal, rumours swirled about the possible axing of A. Raja. A Congress spokesperson said, "It is the Prime Minister's prerogative to decide who stays in his cabinet and who stays out." That Raja is still in office says much not only about the limited prerogative of the incumbent PM but also of the limited powers that the Congress enjoys in the government that it heads.

Sharad Pawar has been around so long that he can give a few lessons in the art of politics to all in the UPA, barring perhaps Pranab Mukherjee. Like the Spaniards and Germans on a grass pitch, the Maratha is the master of counter attack in the field of politics. When the pressure mounts, he switches strategy, marshals his resources and blunts his opponent's attack before launching a counter offensive that changes the course of the game.

For the past few months, both he and his NCP colleague Praful Patel have been under the scanner for their roles in the IPL. Pawar has been particularly targeted by the Congress for the uncontrolled inflation which the party believes will cost it dearly.

When the Left and the Right joined hands to bring the country to a halt last Monday to protest price rise, Pawar was in Singapore for his coronation as chief of cricket's world body, the ICC. No sooner had he landed in New Delhi, he drove to the Prime Minister's house and requested that some of the workload be taken off him. You can't but sympathise with him. At 70, even a Grand Maratha cannot be expected to carry multiple burdens. And Pawar carries so many: minister of agriculture, food and civil supplies, consumer affairs and public distribution.

It's a well- calibrated strategy, the kind that has served him well for the nearly 40 years he spent in public life. It has put the Congress on the defensive. Pawar wants his workload to be lightened, but is adamant about not yielding agriculture.

That leaves Manmohan with the limited option of handing food and civil supplies and public distribution to someone else.

The question is: with inflation running in double digits, who would want to hold the hot potato? The real motive behind Pawar's request was to force the Prime Minister to effect a cabinet reshuffle, something he knows the Congress is not ready for. At 77, this is the largest ever cabinet in independent India, with 58 from the Congress alone and Manmohan is not inclined to add to it.

Besides, he never tinkered with portfolios in UPA 1, so it would be out of character to expect him to do so within fourteen months of UPA 2. Within A. Raja the Congress, there is considerable anger at the inefficiency and the many charges of corruption hurled at alliance ministers, particularly from the DMK and the NCP. While Pawar constantly revises strategy to counter the Congress, the DMK is typically brazen and rubbishes demands for Raja's ouster saying that it can happen only if he is found guilty by the courts in the 2G spectrum allocation case. With the Prime Minister looking on like a helpless spectator, senior Congress leaders are putting pressure on Sonia Gandhi to put the house in order. The internal bickerings in the UPA would have been fodder for the media if Kashmir had not flared up and hogged the headlines. Still the Congress strategists continue to ply their trade, with motivated leaks of an impending reshuffle and TV channels predicting, like Paul the Octopus, the names of new ministers.

A mid- term reshuffle is a normal course correction strategy that governments routinely undertake to repair their battered image. But by taking the initiative for a reshuffle, Pawar has effectively stalled one. It's not the first time he has resorted to such chicanery.

After 26/ 11, when Vilasrao Deshmukh refused to resign as Maharashtra CM and Union home minister Shivraj Patil continued to spend more time in front of the mirror than looking at files, Pawar got R. R. Patil of the NCP, the deputy CM and home minister to step down owning moral responsibility.

Both Deshmukh and Shivraj saw the writing on the wall and quit. And now comes the news that the NCP will contest next year's assembly polls in Kerala in alliance with the Marxists. No one knows the black arts of the political trade more than Pawar.

The NCP may have only nine MPs in the Lok Sabha, but Pawar will continue to strut around as if he has 90.

Reproduced From Mail Today.

Begone, management gurus!

2010-07-10T12:18:00.000+05:30

By T T Mohan Rao in Economic Times Editorial, 8th July, 2010

Leading B-schools are looking to overhaul the MBA syllabus. Nitin Nohria, the newly-appointed dean of Harvard Business School (HBS), is said to believe that the way management is taught in B-schools contributed to the recent financial crisis.

Srikant Datar, another HBS professor, and two of his colleagues have authored a book, Rethinking the MBA: Business education at a crossroads, that echoes this theme. It also laments the fact that MBA students are taking less and less interest in their classes and spending more time on networking and attending recruiting events.

A book that I have just finished reading, The management myth: Why the experts keep getting it wrong, provides pointers to why students in MBA programmes may be switching off. The author, Matthew Stewart, thinks that management theories don’t add up to much, so the MBA course itself means little.

Stewart’s background is interesting. After completing a doctorate in philosophy, he took up a job with a management consulting firm. With no knowledge of or background in management, he found himself advising CEOs of top companies at a billing rate of half a million dollars a year.

Stewart rose to become partner at the consulting firm. The firm itself went bust a few years later. Finding himself unemployed, Stewart decided he would get acquainted with management literature. He caught up with the books that he had acquired when he joined the firm but had never had a chance to open since.

In his book, Stewart dissects some of the more famous management theories and finds them hollow. His assault on management’s claims to being a science rests on a scrutiny of key theories in two areas, organisational behaviour and strategy, and works that focus on the creation of ‘excellence’ in companies.

As an example of how pretentious management theory can get, Stewart cites the Hawthorne effect uncovered by one of the famous names in organisational behaviour, Elton Mayo. A researcher was studying the effect of workplace illumination on worker productivity at a plant, Hawthorne Works. When the illumination was increased, productivity went up; when it was turned down, again it went up. The same thing happened with various other interventions.

Mayo concluded that the results were not due to an external intervention but to the fact that the employees found they were getting attention. This is the foundation of much that has followed in the field since: About empowerment, teamwork, etc. But Mayo’s finding hardly qualifies as a dazzling insight. He was merely pointing out that, as Stewart puts it, “If you are nice to other people, they will usually be nice to you.” This is a simple ethical construct. The danger in wrapping it up in management jargon is that students will see through the puffery and switch off — and, perhaps, this is what is happening at B-schools.

Stewart also takes on one of the most hallowed theories in strategy: the Michael Porter framework for analysing industries. Porter came up with a couple of important prescriptions based on the framework. One is that there are only three generic competitive strategies open to firms: cost, quality and focus.

Stewart points out that the Porter theory has not been tested rigorously, say, by comparing firms that adopted these strategies with firms that did not, and seeing whether one sample did better than another. There are plenty of real-life examples of firms that did not pursue one of these strategies and did well. For instance, several Japanese manufacturers managed to combine quality with low cost, as US firms learnt to their dismay.

Another important conclusion from the Porter theory is that firms end up making excess profits when they can take advantage of market imperfections. But it is not a theory in the sense of having predictive power. It cannot tell you whether a firm has sustainable competitive advantage or not. The corporate world is littered with the debris of firms that, at one time, were thought to have sustainable advantage.

Other theories of strategy have not fared any better. Gary Hamel and CK Prahalad propounded the idea of core competence and held up the Japanese manufacturer, NEC, as a shining example. In the years that followed, NEC turned out to be an underperformer.

In Competing for the future, Hamel and Prahalad gave several examples of model firms. Bill Gates said much later that, except for Hewlett-Packard, every example they gave was a ‘total joke’. Hamel had moved on — he was now pronouncing Enron as America’s most innovative company.

Some of Stewart’s sharpest criticisms are reserved for the genre of management books typified by In search of excellence, authored by two ex-McKinsey consultants, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. The book purported to list the attributes of high-performing companies after evaluating 43 such companies.

Two years later, half of the excellent 43 were in trouble. Five years later, almost all showed signs of decline. Peters responded in his next book by declaring, “There are no excellent companies.” By then, of course, he had made a fortune out of his first book.

There are serious limitations to Stewart’s examination of management theory. He focuses on a few theories in the softer areas of management and some popular books. A great deal of what is taught in the harder areas at B-schools, such as accounting, finance and quantitative sciences, is based on sound theory and finds wide application in business.

But Stewart is right in saying that most of the hard stuff at B-schools can be picked up fairly quickly. That is why companies have taken to recruiting from admission lists and hiring bright people from streams other than the MBA. They know they can themselves provide the necessary training in hard skills and in a shorter time.

The hard skills constitute training. It is the soft part that constitutes education and makes for a rounded manager. It is not easily imparted through courses, such as ethics or leadership, that are the staple of B-schools.

Soft skills, Stewart points out, are what the old liberal arts education or humanities was all about. This indicates a way forward for remaking the MBA: Combining the hard parts with the basic elements of a liberal arts programme.