Memorable Meeting with a Charismatic Cop..

I’m a big fan of police force, their exploits & achievements. I have a huge collection of Hollywood action movies based on cops, and oh yes, of course not to forget our very own Khaka Khaka and Vettaiyaadu Velaiyaadu. But to meet a real time heroic cop, whose achievements even surpass those shown on celluloid is a dream come true.

In relation with our college management fest Daksha 08, we were mooting with the idea of inviting Mr.K.Vijay Kumar I.P.S , Director General of Police (Training) for the inaugural session. The grounds on which we decided on a cop for a management fest is, apart from being an IPS officer he is an MBA graduate too. Now, with leadership and strategy formulation being the top priorities for a management student we thought it would be prudent for a highly successful person, who has proved his leadership credentials and ace strategic skills time and again, to inaugurate and inspire us with his leadership mantras. But, it turned out to be an increasingly difficult proposition with Mr. Vijay kumar getting promoted to Director General of Police, the highest rank in Police force, just 10 days back. But finally we did manage to get an appointment with him on 19^th September.

My friend Archana, who was instrumental in getting the appointment, and I met Mr. Vijay Kumar DGP at his office in Police Training College in Ashok Nagar. He welcomed us with a warm smile. Once we introduced ourselves, he could immediately identify SSN as educational institution founded by Padma Bhushan Shri. Shiv Nadar. We spoke in detail about the college management festival which is scheduled for 17^th of October and requested him to grace us with his presence and inspire us with his inaugural speech. He listened intently and seemed to be interested but also expressed his inability to confirm immediately as he had two tours coming up in October. He then went on to ask about the papers we study in our first semester and once we mentioned Legal Aspects, he spoke of the different laws and with regard with to Organisational Behaviour he pointed out of the various theories. We stood in speechless surprise. Here was a man who created history by eliminating the country’s most dreaded bandit, Veerapan, was part of the Special Strategy team which ensured Indian Army’s victory at Kargil, and no one could forget his stint as Chennai’s Commissioner during which he weeded out many antisocial elements by means of encounter, his list of achievements is long and impressive, talking to two college students without assuming any airs with childlike enthusiasm. But there is this invisible aura of authority and great power around him which immediately demands respect and honour. While it was time to leave, he wished us good luck for our MBA programme and made a note of my mobile number and said he would get back to us in 2 days after checking his schedule. I sincerely hope that this charismatic and distinguished personality manages to grace Daksha and make it even bigger.

AMBY-Perfect Illustration of Class & Power..!!!

One of the earliest passions, or rather celebrated fantasy, of my childhood was the white Ambassador Car at my grandmas’ place. I used to visit her during holidays, and as a child I was into the habit of drawing up a list of all the things I intended to do during my stay there, and invariably, on top of my ‘to-do’ list would feature "A Ride in the Amby" (What a cute name for a ‘colossal’ machine-Ambassador!!).

Now, I can come up with numerous reasons as to why I fell in love with the car, the simplest being, I like things to be big and strong and Amby fits that description perfectly. My appreciative fervour for this automobile piece of art refuses to bog down. It was such a stupendous and awe-inspiring car, that I used to feel that it was car fit for the rich and the powerful. (Wonder which genius came up with the brilliant idea of turning Amby into the official car of Indian political and bureaucratic leadership.!!! ) Now for a little background information on my favourite car.

Ambassador is based on the Morris Oxford model and was designed and manufactured by a British Automobiles Co. Morris Motors (started by William Morris, a bicycle manufacturer). Production started in 1957, by Hindustan Motors and was initially (& rightfully too) called Landmaster. A year later it was christened Ambassador, and in the subsequent years, improved models of Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV were launched. The final upgrade was launched in 2003 and was called Avigo. Ambassador ruled the Indian roads for a period of almost 40 years before being taken over by the sleeker and compact models (With ‘Being Thin’ becoming the latest fad, even for cars ). With its characteristic musclepower and class, Amby was soon adopted by the corridors of power and is still the most preferred car for official use, so much so that car itself is a pseudo password for access to enter restricted government establishments. That factor was completely exploited by the terrorists who attacked Indian Parliament in 2001 in a Ambassador car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels .

Even to this day, when I see a Amby on the road, Im filled with nostalgia and am sure a lot of people would have fond memories with this particular car, which immediately reminds us of the time when our roads were less clogged and traversed only by the relatively safer Amby along with few of its other contemporaries chiefly-Maruti 800 and Fiat.

SINGUR: Taking TATA NANO for a ride.!!!

A lot has been spoken and written about the TATA’s wonder car-NANO.
And why not, a car for Rs.1,00,000 .!!! NANO had not only managed to captivate the imagination of the whole nation, but that of the world at large. Im not prognosticating here, but going by the projections and the promise this car holds, it is about to revolutionize the automobile industry and the concept of ‘small cars’ is set to be the next big thing after the advent of hybrid cars. With input prices soaring, crude prices hovering above the 100 dollars per barrel mark (with no indication of prices dropping in the near future whatsoever) and roads increasingly growing smaller, it is not difficult to discern that small cars akin to NANO are to carve an especial niche market. I am particularly proud of the fact that an Indian MNC like TATA is the first to have conceptualized the idea and have made the world sit up and take notice.
Mr. Ratan Tata had promised in January 2008 that the first NANO would role out by October end. But that situation looks bleak now, thanks to M/s Mamata Banerjee, who is the self proclaimed ‘protector of human rights’ and ‘champion of social cause’ in West Bengal. She has managed to single handedly hold the WB state government (which IMO has no backbone!!) for ransom and has sabotaged the image of the West Bengal which was trying head over heels to come across as an industry friendly State. Our politicians are well known for their vast and vague aspirations and opportunistic stance, and M/s Banerjee is a classic example of a politician hijacking an amicably settled issue and turning it into a political melodrama.
Her party has employed cheap tactics like threatening and at times even physically assaulting employees working at the TATA project site to disrupt and derail the NANO project. She claims her real concern lies in providing justice for the villagers who have been displaced and whose lands have been ‘forcefully’ acquired by the government. But if one watches closely, her real intentions lay bare for one and all to see. M/s Banerjee’s words and actions are wrapped by personal pretensions and she seems to have a two-point agenda:
1) Gain national prominence as a champion of the downtrodden and create a fake image of being a true leader of the oppressed.
2) Hold TATA to ransom but stalling their work in the last minute and try to leverage monetary benefits.


But ultimately, if the TATAs decide to leave Singur, it would be a death blow to the future of industry in WB and M/s Banerjee’s actions, wholly devoid of national and public interest, would backfire and she would have to bear the ire of the people of State, who stand to gain a lot if the NANO project does go through successfully. I wish the TATAs and the people of WB good luck. And like the rest of the world, I’m eagerly awaiting the NANO.

Life at SSN...

I decided my first blog would rather not be the stereotypical 'why i chose blogging' and straightaway list reasons but would be about my life as a MBA student at SSN SoMCA. Truly the last few days have been eventful and have enjoyed myself completely here at SSN. I would write more on my profile and related information in subsequent postings.

Everyone is aware Post Graduation can get hectic but here learning is fun. I was impressed with the teaching practices here and the faculty. Due importance is given to overall development and students are encouraged to make the best use of the infrastructure (which is as good as the ones in IIMs or IITs). Guest lectures are often arranged. On the very first week we had the opportunity to interact with Mr.Anand Pillai,Sr VP from HCL Tech. The BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY formed the crux of his speech. (For those who are not aware, Blue Ocean Strategy is a business Strategy which focuses on making the competition irrelevant by venturing into uncharted waters i.e. to exploit the untapped unknown market space. For more info check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ocean_Strategy )
His speech was loaded with information snippets, dealt with various case studies and most importantly dosed with the perfect dose of humour.

Hostel life: Now, since MBA here is a residential program, reluctantly I chose to stay in hostel, which is a first-of-its-kind experience for me. But then, that turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. And trust me when I say hostel life is the best, I really mean it. Am sure anyone who has stayed in a college hostel would agree. After college hours, our hostel block is literally a 'fun house'. Evening time just evades into vacuum. Birthday celebrations are a specialty here and a conscious effort is made to turn the birthday party into the most messiest affair. A 'toxic' cocktail of rotten eggs, tomatoes, cough syrup, oil is prepared and the bday baby is given an extensive, exotic 'treatment'. Then comes the usual bday bumps.

More in my next blog....