The End...

The beginning of the End….”
“All good things come to an end…”
“The End is close…” No, my GTalk friend list is not suddenly having a morbid interest in the “End”… It’s a mixed feeling that most people have right now… an exhilarating feeling of nearing the completion of the one year roller coaster ride and at the same time sorrow of having to leave behind the student life yet again... and re-entering the ruthlessly competitive corporate world.Some of the craziest things we’ve done have been with people we didn’t know until a year ago… Sleeping in classes (sometimes literally!)… playing football and cricket on the concrete ground made for basketball players… club hopping on Saturday nights… utilising stale food and drinks to treat the birthday boy/girl with skin and hair therapy… chatting.. playing UNO until morning, completing assignments at the last moment… trying our best to fool turnitin… trying to imitate patented actions of friends… going for long walks not knowing where we’re heading… managing on low.. and sometimes no cash for weeks..

These ‘idiots’ we met a year ago have now become some of our closest pals. The past one year brought us close and the memories we share will be cherished lifelong. This end may not be the end at all… It might just the beginning of yet another journey where we’d again encounter strangers who we’d never want to part with… There is no dearth of nice people in this world… “The End” is just one step forward taking along all the friends and the memories to make a bigger circle... ‘cause a circle is continuous.. it has no beginning and no end.

Learn the new way...

Guidelines to answer questions in the assignment submissions:
- Use Jargons
- Refer to the models mentioned in the textbook
- Apply learnings from the case studies done in class
These are the general guidelines one gets to see at the start of a course in perhaps the most coveted of higher studies today – the MBA. Here the students are made to understand the minds of Allen Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, decipher the personality types with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and take a pledge that they’d go through the entire book of Mr. Kotler at least once a month.
For the final exam another bullet point is added to the above list which says “10% marks allotted for creativity”.
In a matter of a few sessions the students are trained to learn from ‘history’ and then ‘unlearn’ the same. The process of unlearning enables the students to look at and approach a problem from an entirely different angle.

While the above is stated with respect to a business school, this is the mantra for anyone who has insatiable hunger for knowledge and an undying spirit to learn. After understanding the well researched theories and getting a hold of the concepts of the subject, the knowledge seeker must clear his/her slate to approach a situation in a manner that would provide a new perspective.

This cycle of learning and unlearning has a new dimension added to it and that is “relearning”. So why ‘relearn’ after putting in enough effort in the process of learning and then unlearning? Learning ensures that the vital basic knowledge gets imbibed into the system and unlearning ensures that all the excess information that is probably applicable only to specific situations or may not work all the time, should be forgotten. Relearning refers to adoption of different approaches to handle different situations.
As they say - if you want different results, do things differently.

With the advent of the Information Age, an infinite knowledge base has been created which is easily available and can be reached by everyone. The flat world empowered by the advances in technology and communication, has facilitated increased speed of ‘change’ and at the same time has provided the means to satisfy an individual’s desire for knowledge. The Internet has provided a medium for easy exchange of information among individuals across the globe surpassing boundaries, literally. People can now interact, exchange information and learn from each others’ experiences. Students, professionals, businessmen and consumers by far have access to the same amount of information. The information makes news, trends, ideas and others’ perceptions available for anyone to access and make use of. This, in turn leads to dynamic changes in the environment of business, politics, education, fashion and even healthcare. Availability of freeware, online data, books, blogs, magazines and newspapers help in keeping a person up to date with the happenings around the globe. On the other hand, networking not only brings people closer but also helps them share knowledge and ‘relearn’ the ‘new rules’ of the game to succeed in the constantly changing environment.
The world is evolving and constantly changing at a lightning speed where time and space have multiple dimensions. To avoid extinction in the information age, the mantra to be adopted is: Learn – Unlearn – Relearn.

Perfect 'Present'

What was this that I was hearing !!!! I lowered the volume of music to listen more closely. I thought I heard tip-tap outside my almost-sound-proof air-conditioned room. It sounded like rain !!!! R-A-I-N – something that none of us had ever expected in Dubai…

The unbearable heat (especially in the summers) makes it the official air conditioned desert. An air conditioner is a must in homes, the corridors of apartments, offices, public and private transport. Even the smallest of the grocery stores, restaurants and the bus stops ought to have the cool air blower. Nothing below an A/C is suited to the climate. Most places don’t even have ceiling fans.

In a place like this, the sound of drops of water hitting the concrete was something I had never imagined. I couldn’t believe my ears! I pulled the curtains to see if I was just hearing things. There it was, the azure blue sky at 4 o’ clock in the afternoon with water vehemently crossing over the railing to flood the balcony. It was a sight I will never forget all my life. I could see a at least a dozen people come out in their balconies to feel the water, some even with umbrellas to protect themselves, this time from the downpour and not the scorching sun. Some were so elated that they even went out on the streets to drench themselves in the cold showers on the first day of the year.

It’s only the absence of something that makes us know the value of it. We detest the incessant rains in Mumbai, crib about it when it clogs the Delhi roads and curse it when it brings the Bangalore traffic to a halt. We worry about our clothes not drying, our cars getting dirty and the humidity caused by the rain water. What we don’t see is how the surroundings suddenly become bright green when the vegetation magically comes into bloom and the streets become clean as if they’re newly made. When it rained in the desert, all that came to our minds was that water actually touched this dry land, and the thought of rains in winters, making it colder and dirtying our jeans while stepping into a-little-over-ankle high water didn’t even cross our minds.

Similar situations – different reactions. It’s just a matter of the attitude. All it needs to be happy and contended is to appreciate the situation one is in and make the best of it. Who knows, may be in the future we’ll yearn for the same things that were once available in abundance when we didn’t care a damn for them.