Its a cruel thing really, to be aware of  both a constant need to write about my travels and of my blog-killing inertia(read laziness). I’ve always wondered about the process of expressing what I see in my mind and whether the fact that it is challenging is born out of some higher design to ensure that only the most worthy thoughts are expressed. I’ve also thought about instruments which can capture on a screen what one sees in one’s mind. I’m certain film makers would find such tools helpful as there would be no cameras to handle or actors to pay. All they really need is this one instrument (a mind camera) which can record every scene from their minds.

I’m digressing, in fact the only sentence relevant to the subject of this post is the first one. So I’ve always wanted to write about my travels and about those tiny-often-ignored elements which enable me to really feel a place. Yet I found myself constantly pushing such endeavors to the bottom of my to-do lists. I’ve now come to the conclusion, that perhaps a common template which can be applicable to all travel related posts would make the task of blogging about a place seem less burdensome by removing the necessity to think about the style and layout of the post. Am I killing possible innovation in the way I present my travels by factoring my laziness as a constant? Yes or no depending on how you look at it. It was laziness which forced me to innovate and develop a template in the first place. In fact laziness could  entice me to further simplify the template, perhaps making me deal only in videos. That would be quite innovative as well. But yes, we are digressing again!

Finally, presenting to you the “If You Are Ever in ______” Series.

“Tell me fifty things you’ve learnt in college!”

“What?! Why?”

“I just want to know”

“Erm, ok, here goes: Principles of Management, Thermodynamics, Introduction to Philosophy, Biology, Advanced Computer Orgaa..”

“Stuff that matters in a cool sophisticated manner vague enough to be applicable to all..please.”

“Okhay…

1. Your happiness is affected by and affects the happiness of those around you. So stay away from that depressed kid unless you’re sure you can help him/her without getting depressed yourself.
2. Gratitude is the weakest emotion. Don’t bank on it.
3. When people ask for advice they generally want you to tell them what they “could” do and not what they “should” do.
4. A team will communicate or perish.
5. There is no black or white. There is no right or wrong. There is no absolute.
6. People have a natural affinity towards things that seem absolute. Remember this while promoting any idea.
7. People(you included) are woefully unaware of their full potential.
8. The gap between thought and talk ought to be larger than the one between talk and action.
9. When people come to you with problems, thank them and ask them to come back with solutions.
10. Misery wants to get in bed with company. Its pretty desperate.
11. To not feel lonely is to realize everyone is alone.
12. Reading books gives you confidence.
13. If you think you know everything, you know nothing. If you think you know nothing, you know something.
14. Always know if the juice is worth the squeeze.
15. You will always have to answer to people who you consider to be of lesser intelligence. Save yourself the effort and tell them what they want to hear. Do what you want to do.
16. Heroes and Gods are man-made. Making them is fun. Try it.
17. Try everything, only in the company of people who can stop you.
18. Girls are not dumb. They just have different priorities.
19. Flirting is a sport. An extreme one.
20. The more you know about yourself the more you know where you want to be and with whom.
21. Don’t enter a relationship expecting it to last forever. Grow up already.
22. Numbers alone mean nothing.
23. Weakness is a state of being unable to defend what is right to you.
24. Understanding where the power lies is crucial if not everything.
25. Don’t be afraid to manipulate, everybody else is already doing it, consciously or unconsciously.
26. Good leaders are instinctive. Great leaders have words attached to explain their instinct.
27. A leader’s strength lies in his followers.
28. As an individual you can afford to do one thing at a time, as an organization you cannot.
29. Its ok for others to tell you what you need to do, but how you do it, is upto you.
30. Explore your physical environment as much as possible; opportunity lies in the next corner.
31. Jealousy is just plain lousy. Avoid it like the plague.
32. Introspect.
33. Be honest to yourself. Its first step towards being honest to others.
34. Always think long term; except when it sounds uncool.
35. Being Type A works, even if it kills you.
36. The devil really is in the details.
37. Take care of all the little things and the bigger things will take care of themselves.
38. Be nice and polite at all times. It will help you in the craziest possible way.
39. Consciously try to put yourself out of your comfort zone.
40. You already know what is right and what is wrong. Just listen to yourself.
41. Treasure people who value what you can do and not what you’ve done or what you know.
42. Death reminds you of life.
43. It all starts with an idea.  Make sure it doesn’t end with it.
44. The opportunities that find you are the ones that really matter.
45. Cultivate the habit of Wowing people once every month. Its cool to do so.
46. Understand that you can’t pursue all opportunities. Thinking about what you’re giving up on can be depressing.
47. Our society is based on taking certain things for granted. Humans are not one of them.
48. Religion or friendship; you’ve got to have at least one of them.
49. Everybody has a story. Get it out of them.
50. Always keep your head down. Seriously, do it.

Why fifty again? I think I can go on for like 50 more…”

“No, thats enough, thanks.

.

.

Seriously, go away.”

As some of you would know, I really enjoy traveling. Especially when it involves meeting amazing people from all over the world. International conferences are the perfect excuse to travel abroad on a shoe string budget and invest in a kind of experience you simply cannot buy with your own money twenty years hence.

I was in Norway a month ago, representing India at the International Student Festival in Trondheim(ISFiT) 2011. Needless to say, I had a whale of a time! I’m now writing a short account of that complete experience, how I wish I had done the same for my trips to Turkey and the UAE!

I spent 15 days in Norway, exploring Oslo, Trondheim(ISFiT) and Tromso. Most of the planning for the trip was done by Madhu, a great friend from Singapore who put up with all my laziness for 15 days.

Oslo:

My first port in Norway was Oslo, where I spent half a day before heading to Trondheim for ISFiT. I roamed the city center with a couple of other Indians, a Finn and a Brazilian. I was thoroughly exhausted as I had been traveling for over 24 hours. But it was snowing and things became really pretty..and slippery..and wet. I quickly realized that I didnt really have the clothes needed to survive that kinda weather. But I did manage to attack my companions with snowballs.

The size of the city surprised me, it was really small for a capital. We could cover the entire city center in an hour. We covered a path leading from the Oslo Central Station to the Sculpture Park. We saw the Parliament, The Royal Palace, Oslo University, The Cathedral and a couple of other important looking buildings on the way. I soon realized that Oslo, being the world’s most expensive city, was gonna burn our pockets. For example, a McChicken burger costs a little over 1USD in India and 13USD in Oslo! (Sorry, didnt bother to check the price of the veggie burger, if it existed). The sun set at 6pm and the snow started melting. As the snow melted, it seemed to get warmer somehow.

After roaming about for a few hours we returned to the Airport to catch the bus to Trondheim with the rest of the participants.

Trondheim:

The bus trip to Trondheim took 8hrs, but it was OK as I was asleep most of the time. I was still pretty tired by the time we reached Trondheim. I was relieved to be connected with my host, Kaia, who took me home immediately. She was a literature student at the university and was as kind as she was beautiful. I was to share the living room with a participant from Iran(whom I didnt get to see much of as he devoted most of his time to getting laid). Kaia cooked us a lovely dinner with rice, chicken and salad. That dinner taught me that Norwegians stay fit by eating little.

The ISFiT experience was all about my workshop group “The Future”. There were about 38 of us. As I’ve noticed in previous conferences, I take some time to get talking with people. So I was kinda shy at first. But slowly I got talking and made some really close friends. Everybody in my group were somehow amazingly cute! It was also interesting to note how close we became, a lot of people cried on the final day, no I DID NOT CRY.

What exactly did we do?? Well in the mornings we would meet up and do group activities, debates. discussions, have guest speakers over and play loads of games. We’d then head over to the university campus to have dinner at around 5pm. After dinner we’d go to this student activity center called Samfundet. That was the epicenter of all ISFiT activity. I was really impressed by this building as its completely run by the students on a voluntary model. We’d either have a plenary session or a few cultural events at the samfundet. After these there would inevitably be a party. Not really being a party freak I would generally take the last bus home at around 11pm. Yeah, I was kinda loserish there.

But I always found the route back home quite intruiging, I would sometimes even walk home. Now, Trondheim is considered by some to be the most beautiful city in Norway. I think it looks even more beautiful by night, with its many trees, cobbled streets and white snow. As I lived close to the city center, I would pass half the inner city before reaching home and it still wasnt too long. I would just grab a cookie(that was the cheapest thing available!) and some cola on my way home. I think I found it intriguing because it had this sense of uncertainty and adventure attached to it. I would sometimes lose my way until I come across a land mark and then redirect myself from there. Hard to believe, but I did this for 10 days!

So by the end of it, I knew bad words in four new languages, heard stories from all over the world and found places to stay in three continents . I also got to introspect a lot and understand myself better. I was kinda flattered because girls from different parts of the world found me “cute” and I actually got videos of some of my new friends describing how awesome I am!

On one of the days they showed us a video about the free hugs campaign and everybody started hugging each other. Now, I’ve never really been a huggy person, my hands are never aligned the right way  and I dont lean the right way either. But needless to say, I got plenty of practice at ISFiT. I wanna hug everyone now!

I really wish I could write in more detail about my friends at ISFiT:  whether its about angelic Xiwen(Moshie), or drunk Eams, or the amazingly sweet Raluca, Cigdem,  Romy  or the constantly abusing and funny Daniel and Cem or whistling Ida or the amazingly sweet Andres and Jaochim, or the embryo that Anin is or the winner in Nina, or the beauty of Ermira, Lena and Marina, or about just how cute Hye Na is, or about Ingvild’s Puppy face or about charming Charles or bold Marian, Rabab, Jane and Kim or about the leaders in Carlos, Rosilin, Marius, and Vebjorn and how awesome  Ines and Jose are, or about how Vandana and her camera are one thing or about amazing Zak who is currently battling it out in Libya or practical Nikoline or about dancing Aina and talented Defbry or eccentric Akshara or smart David or just about how bright the future looks because of everyone else.

But I cant, you’ll read about them in the news soon enough

On the last day of ISFiT we said our goodbyes and people were really crying. I felt kinda bad that I couldnt get myself to cry but I really did feel sad for leaving them. I stayed back as I was going further north while most of my group mates took the bus to Oslo. Those who were left went back to this place where we all used to hangout and it felt really weird seeing it so empty. We cleaned up, ordered pizza and discussed marriage traditions in different parts of the world(always a great topic). I was really groused out by this Zimbabwean tradition where the father in law sleeps with the bride first to test her virginity.

I headed back home after some time and had a long conversation with Kaia. I really did enjoy my conversations with her, she was also very deeply introspective and we would discuss at length about personal satisfaction and stress control. She also taught me that Norwegians are well educated, well rounded, competitive and very proud of being Norwegian. The next day, Madhu and I explored Trondheim a bit more, got kinda lucky because it was the King’s birthday and we got to witness, read: feel, the traditional firing of the canons at noon. Kaia prepared another really amazing lunch for us and we ate, laughed and talked for one last time.

Tromso:

The flight to Tromso took us a couple of hours. Now Tromso is to the north of the arctic circle and is considered to be one of the best places  on Earth to catch the northern lights. Madhu and I were kinda concerned because the lights are not visible everyday and the forecast was not looking very good either. But, we got lucky, really lucky in fact. We saw the northern lights from the flight. So we literally went hysterical in the flight, much to the amusement of out co-passengers.

It has always been a personal dream to see the northern lights and we couldnt stop smiling stupidly for hours after that. We took a bus to the hotel where we were staying and the lights were even more distinct there. They seemed fluid somehow, green lights playing in the sky, needless to say, it was pretty amazing.

We were joined soon by Akshay and his DSLR with which we were able to capture this:

We spent the next day exploring the beautiful town of Tromso.  It was quite amazing actually, its like everywhere you look, you see a scene out of a post card. We went northern light hunting the next night as well, but due to a cloud cover couldnt really see anything. But we met this really nice Aussie couple who travel all over the world. Talking to them really gave me an idea of where I see myself in 30 years.

Oslo:

We took a flight back to Oslo the next morning.  We were going to stay at the home of an Indian professor. We were really happy to meet her and the German researcher she shared a flat with. They were researching on social media branding, an area in which I had some insight, so I thoroughly enjoyed my  discussions with them.

We then set about exploring Oslo. We first went to the Edvard Munch museum.  We went on a guided tour and I was feeling kinda sleepy towards the end.  We then went to this lane which was filled with ice sculptures on display. All of these sculptures were modeled after Munch’s creations so it was pretty easy for us to recognize them.

We then went to the harbor and walked around a bit. We also checked out the Nobel Peace Prize Center where the Nobel Peace Prize is delivered.

We then met this Norwegian lady and her son who took us to their ‘ancient’ house. As it turns out, her son was a genius piano player! So we were treated to some good music and some great conversation at their house. She told us how she used to travel a lot when she was young and her wish to visit India one day. Everyone in Norway has either been to India or is planning to visit soon.

By the time Madhu and I returned home, there was hot Indian food waiting for us! We then had a really long discussion on social media, culture, bollywood, living outside one’s home country etc. We finally called it a night and slept for one last time in Norway.

We woke up early next morning and went our separate ways at the airport.

As my flight was taxying towards the runway, I got a mail from London Business School, saying that I’ve been accepted to their Masters in Management programme. A fitting end to the Norwegian Experience.

 

I’m kinda overwhelmed by the number of people who approach me for career advice these days, gives me this false sense of accomplishment which I constantly battle. It helps to understand that “BSchools like most organizations choose candidates based not on their capability or accomplishments but on their fit to the programme.”

As such, I’m writing a brief account of my journey so far. I hope It’ll be helpful for all those interested in the Masters in Management programme or in BSchools in general.

My Current Status:

Understanding my current status is crucial to ascertain how far the information you find below is suitable for you.

I’m a final year Computer Science Engineering Student from BITS Pilani.

I currently have admits from the following schools:

1. London Business School

2. HEC Paris

3. Duke Fuqua School of Business

4. ESCP Europe

Test Scores: GMAT: 760/800 (AWA-6/6) TOEFL:114/120( Not required for most MiMs)

Resume Overview: A couple of BIG name internships(Practice School is very helpful), substantial college leadership experience, moderate international experience, a couple of high impact projects and a social angle supporting my long term goals. For more specifics check my linked-in profile: http://in.linkedin.com/in/prateik

Job Offers: Bain Capability Center(BCC)- Gurgaon

I’m planning to pursue an MiM at LBS, though the decision has not been a straight forward one.

The Process:

1. Planning out a Career Path- Achieved through online research and talking to seniors, alumni etc. Best if one can define a clear set of short term and long term goals.

2. Preparing for GMAT- Some people are just good at it. For everyone else, two months of disciplined preparation is recommended. I prepared for a month, averaging around 2 hours of disciplined practice everyday. I recommend following two books 1. The Official Guide and 2. Either Kaplan or Princeton Review. I sat through 10 mock tests before the actual exam. I strongly believe temperament on the day of the exam is worth two weeks of preparation, atleast. I spent only one day preparing for the AWA section, following formats found online helps, a lot.

3. Writing the Essay Answers- Helps to be honest, it reflects in the essays. Beating around the bush is a certain no-no. Should reflect significant research on career paths and the school. Expect to prepare at least five drafts before arriving at the final version. Patience is valuable in this stage.

4. Recommendations- I got one from the manager of the firm where I was interning and one from a Professor I had worked with. Recommendations are very important.

5. Interview- Helps to read the essays answers before going. Being funny and charming yet grounded and nervous works. Helps to face atleast three mock interviews before the real thing. I have to thank Naveen for his “shock mock”. Always great to have background information on the interviewer, I thank Manish for that.

6.  Choosing One path- The hardest step. I first labelled this step “Choosing the Right Path” then changed it to “Choosing One Path”. Understanding that all the options you have are good helps. Thinking about the opportunities you are giving up could lead to depression. Discussions with family and alumni help.

Conclusion:

A Masters in Management Programme is not for the faint hearted. The risk involved is substantial, especially keeping the current economic scenario in context. Look upon it as a long term investment and chance to experience/learn a lot at a very young age.

If you are the kind that likes to play it safe, I strongly recommend you work for 3-5 years before applying to an MBA programme.

Most of the views expressed above are my personal views, their appropriateness depends solely on their use and the nature of the user. I’m more than willing to help any future candidate through his/her application, please feel free to reach out to me.

The last little girl trudged along the desert night. It was dark, the moon refused to turn up yet again, it was becoming a habit now.

She approached the hill, a visibly denser mass of darkness. Her tiny hand held something with motherly care.

A voice called out “Little one who is last, where do you go? “. It sounded old and wise to her; though her judgements on what is old and what is wise could hardly be trusted. She looked around, couldn’t see beyond three feet.

“I ..… wish to go up the hill.”  She replied timidly.

“What is it that occupies the tiniest hand in the land? Is it gold?“ the voice asked eagerly.

“No, no gold. My hand carries the last sapling.” She answered.

“Sapling? A young plant, the very last I’m sure. What are your intentions?” the voice asked.

“I wish to take it up the hill where light, earth and water might nurture it. It is dying now, I need to reach the peak soon.” The little girl replied, worry in her voice.

“Be warned tiny hand, to reach the peak you will have to pass both life and death.” Replied the voice.

“I don’t understand.  The sapling must survive, please.” Said the girl.

“Why is it so dear to you? Men older and wiser than you have never devoted so much love to it. I assure you, Life has tempted men of greater virtue.” Revealed the voice.

“Men older and wiser than me are dead.  It was among their remains that this tiny plant sprouted. The last woman told me it was mine to keep and that life must protect life. She was my mother and she died only wishing life to the sapling. She never once spoke of me, for she believed the last sapling is more important than the last little girl. The sapling must survive, my sapling must thrive. ” Replied the girl, childish stubborness in her voice.

“Your intentions are worthy, tiny hand. To reach the peak you will have to face both life and death. Beware, for life is not always an angel and death is not always the devil. Farewell.” Said the voice.

A gentle breeze blew.

She moved on, slowly moving from one boulder to the other. She wondered what angels were, her little mind reasoned that they had to be something pleasant, pleasant like donkeys.  She loved donkeys, they were the only animals she was fortunate enough to see. She found them cute and enjoyed running about with their babies. She remembered how the last donkey died. The last bag of yam was gone and there were nine mouths to feed, seven men, one woman and one little girl. The seven men jumped at the donkey and bit it madly. There was not enough to fill seven stomachs, so they fought and two were badly beaten. The others feasted on the poor donkey, devouring everything in its rawest form.  There was much madness in their eyes and they ate more than they needed. They all died the next day, it was concluded that the donkey was diseased. The last woman found the whole situation amusing, she laughed convulsively. Fearing she had gone mad, the last men thrashed her. She laughed through the beating and finally uttered these words to the little girl:”Greed brought us here, just you watch little darling, it is going to finish the job.” And she resumed shaking and laughing. The little girl started laughing too, she didn’t know why. Perhaps, if she wasn’t human and could study the situation, with alien objectivity,  she would have figured out what made it so funny.

She was nearly halfway up the hill by the time the first rays of the sun appeared.

“Hello! My name is life!” came a voice.

The girl looked around and found the source of the voice. It was the last little boy.  He was a healthy little being with brilliant blue eyes and curly golden hair. His face was clean and he was dressed in a shining white gown. As he beamed at her, his red cheeks glowed.

“Whats your name?” he asked.

“My name?” she said, a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, what do people call you?” he replied.

“People?” she looked even more lost.  She had never known the need for a name, she met few people and they too were not keen on calling her anything.

“Were you never named? What a pity!” replied the little boy. Life was disappointed, for he always imagined the last little girl would have a name as beautiful as his own.

“It’s ok really, you can call me donkey.”  Replied the little girl with a smile on her face. She liked life and she found it cute that he got disappointed so easily.

Life was relieved, he had finally met his donkey.

Together they played throughout the day and the little girl learnt many new games. Life proved to be a good teacher.

By evening they settled down in life’s hut. It was a tiny hut perched on top of a gigantic boulder.

“I’m hungry! Lets have some food.” Suggested life.

“Food….you have food?” the very mention of food made her salivate, profusely, a tiny pond formed in her mouth. She could not recollect when she had last eaten. In her time it was perfectly normal to spend days without food, man’s body had evolved in its attempt to survive and she was evolution’s greatest creation.

“Yes! Plenty of it! I have all kinds of food and drinks. What would you like to taste first?” he asked.

“Taste?” that was a new word.

“I meant, what would you like to eat first?” the boy repeated impatiently. He was really getting hungry.

“Where do you get all the food from?” asked the girl.

“I don’t know, it just appears when i think of it. Does it really matter? Please let us eat something.” the boy replied, his stomach growling now.

The prospect of having any food tempted her.  Life further tempted her by showing all the different types of food she could have.

She looked at all of them, took a deep breath and said, “No.”

“No? What do you mean no? Are you crazy! You haven’t eaten in days! You will die!” screamed Life, now frustrated.

“People die because they eat without ever wondering where the food comes from, my mama once said. I think she’s right.” The little girl calmy replied.

Life was disappointed, he couldn’t understand.

“I love you donkey.”  He finally said, desperation in his voice.

“I love you too.”

“Please don’t leave me and go to death. Everybody leaves and dies. Please don’t leave me. I can give you everything, we can play all day, watch the stars all night, we can love each other for ever.” Life pleaded.

“ I’m sorry my love, I have to leave. You have been good to me. I will forever remember these moments with you. But I must leave now for higher grounds. My destiny awaits me.”

Life wailed. He couldn’t understand why she had to leave. He couldn’t comprehend why everybody died. It seemed plain unfair to him.

Life was also jealous, why did people leave him? Was he, strong and beautiful , just not worthy enough to have their company for all eternity? Not one stayed behind and they all left him for that ugly bloke death. An ugly bloke who kept to himself mostly. Nobody knew what he was like and nobody ever seemed like they wanted to find out either. Yet they all went there, they all left life for death, what a bunch of hypocrites.

The little girl had tears in her eyes, he hated her for that. They all cried when they left, like they were in pain, all that fakeness made him sick. All men were two faced and the last girl was going to be no different.

“You may leave donkey…….. But know this, you can never come. You are not welcome here anymore. There is no life after death.“  he finally said, childish grudge in his voice.

The little girl continued her ascent, tears rolling down her cheek. Why couldn’t Life understand. For the first time she wondered, are all boys like that?

Darkness enveloped her swiftly. The moon didn’t turn up today either, nasty habit it had deveoped. The little girl wondered what death would be like.

She reached what seemed to be a flat piece of land. She fell, the land was too flat and abruptly so. For a while she just lay there admiring the flatness. She looked up, she saw the peak. The sun was rising behind it and there was something shimmering at the top, water. There was an old bridge which lead all the way upto the peak, a good fifty feet long. It seemed old and weak. Where was death?, she wondered. She put one foot on the bridge, it seemed steady, she put both feet on it, it tipped over. With one hand she held onto the rope bridge, her tiny feet pointing to the unknown fall below; her other hand held the sapling. She was afraid now, she didn’t want to die. She saw torn bits of cloth stuck to the bridge, others had been here, in search of water and soil perhaps; none seemed to have made it far though. She dangled there for a while, thinking about all the things which mattered to her, her mother, the donkey and life. Yet now, the little piece of life in her hand seemed to matter the most. Slowly she lifted the sapling and placed it on the bridge. Immediately, the bridge turned over and she was on her feet again. She laughed, there was something funnily simple about this situation. She had just solved mankind’s greatest mystery, yet she had no time to think about it or frame it in simple words. She carefully travellled the length of the bridge and reached the peak, laughing all along. As promised there was water, soil and sunshine. Tenderly she planted the sapling in the moist soil, whistled a gay tune and waited for hope to grow.

The Problem:

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani is considered to be among the best engineering colleges in India and I’m proud to be one of its students. Pilani is a small town located in the north western state of Rajasthan. The sprawling campus, spread over one thousand acres, is maintained by a workforce comprised of hundreds of semi skilled labourers.  The institute provides them with accommodation and their children are provided free education. A couple of student organizations have started volunteer groups to tutor these children. Schools have been setup where students from the institute  tutor these children every day and have been running successfully for years now. One evening, I went to see one such school being operated by the students under the National Service Scheme (NSS).

“Cloiky” says 11 year old Anu when asked to pronounce the word “choice”. Noting the look of surprise on my face, Anil, a second year engineering student who is in charge of the school said “She is among the better students of the English language, a lot of children of her age have already lost all hope of passing the English examination. They concentrate on other subjects such as maths and science.”

I later learnt that this strategy doesn’t really help them as they struggle with basic operations such as addition and subtraction and  fail to manage good grades in these other subjects as well.

“Most children need at least three attempts to clear the tenth class public examinations. Up to the sixth class, the children are promoted every year, irrespective of their academic progress.  Sixth class proves to be a rude shock for these children as they are not accustomed to the fact that they actually have to learn something to progress to the next class.” says Krishnan, another volunteer at the school.

The Causes:

As I looked around at the eager faces of the children, I realized that most of them would lead a life similar to that of their parents. With a group of concerned fellow students, I set about talking to as many children and volunteers as we could. We found that Pilani and some of the surrounding villages are a lot better off  thanks to involvement from student groups such as NSS and Nirmaan, but the situation in some of the more backward areas continues to be bad. After discussions based on the data we collected, we concluded that the following are the major reasons for the low quality of education in some parts of rural Rajasthan:

• Uneducated Parents: The parents of most of the children were found to be illiterate. Working as cooks, attendants and gardeners, the men hardly saw the need for education. The women almost invariably turned out to be house wives.  In fact, education for was not even an option for these women when they grew up. Personally, I find it rather ironical that the men and women responsible for the upkeep of one of the nation’s best educational institutes can be blind to the need of education in their own lives and in the lives of their children.

“The children need to be guided; they need to be taught how to think ….. uneducated parents simply cannot do that. “says Vikas, a student volunteer with the school. The parents were found to be of two types. There are those who force their children to study, often beating them when they didn’t obey them and there are those who persuade their children to quit school and help them in their work. Needless to say, neither of them succeeds in motivating and guiding their children.

• Poor teaching: There is a shortage of qualified teachers in Pilani. Good teachers find little reason to come teach in villages for low wages. As most of the local schools have budgetary limitations, they cannot afford to employ qualified teachers from the cities. It was observed that they generally fill up vacancies with locals who have little or sometimes no knowledge of the subject they are teaching. Shortage of teachers has also lead to a very high student-teacher ratio which is a widely accepted deterrent to quality education.

One volunteer related a particularly disturbing experience,  where on a visit to a school in a nearby village,  she witnessed a teacher  busy knitting while the children turned unruly. These poorly trained teachers fail to inspire children to study. They cannot invoke interest in subjects on which they themselves have little interest in.  Another disturbing fact worth considering is that teachers in most of the rural areas of Rajasthan are perceived to be strongly opposed to free thinking from their students. As the teachers do not have much knowledge in the subjects they are teaching, children who ask doubts are either punished or made fun off. Even though the necessary infrastructure is in place, practical classes for science are not allowed as it means extra work for these teachers.  Another disturbing trend worth noting is the fact that some of these teachers take tuition classes after school. Very little is taught in class, forcing the children to join these tuitions for which they have to pay extra. Those children who do not comply are given low marks to force them to join. With such negative influences on them, it is not hard to believe that these children find it difficult to grasp what is being taught and that the overall quality of education is pitiful.

• Availability of small jobs: There is no dearth of small jobs in Pilani. These jobs do not require the employees to be educated. Hence, the children and their parents are disillusioned into thinking that they do not need education.

“I earn Rs 2000 per month working in a grocery store as an assistant. In a couple of years, I will start my own shop and earn a minimum of Rs15,000 per month. Why should I study for five more years to earn the same amount? “ asks Javed, who recently dropped out of high school. This logic is simple and is also very popular among the masses in a country where education is seen primarily as a means of generating income.

• Economic backwardness: Most of these children come from a poor economic backgrounds. The family needs to be supported and this motivates many children to seek jobs before they even finish their schooling.  We observed that in most families of the families we spoke to, the eldest child is not educated as he or she takes on the responsibility of providing for the entire family.

• Gender discrimination: Discrimination based on sex is still very much prevalent in rural India. Women are expected to get married and take care of their children. Nothing more is expected of them, in fact, they are strongly discouraged from doing anything more.

” Most of the girls here study only up to the eighth grade. In the evenings, when the boys are left free to play, the girls  do household chores.” says Robin, another student volunteer. This phenomenon has a lot to do with the psychology of rural Indian men who prefer women less educated than them. Parents, afraid that their daughters might not find suitable matches, are not keen on seeing their daughters educated.

It is worth noting, that a number of steps have been taken by the Government of Rajasthan to promote education among women. In spite of these measures, there is a very high dropout rate among the girls. “The fact that one day they have to get married and leave their parents is always at the back of their minds. They too have resigned themselves to a life of dependence. This translates into poor grades for most of these girls. “says Manisha, a student journalist . Sadly, parents and the students themselves are not aware of the fact that women have a much greater role to play in the modern idea of a balanced society.

• Low standards of the prescribed syllabus: The syllabus being prescribed by the Rajasthan Board of Education is of a particularly low standard. Topics and concepts which are covered in fourth grade in schools outside the state are covered in seventh grade here. This is to ensure that more number of students pass the exams and hence develop a mirage of an educated society. However, the syllabus is being revised constantly and the new syllabus is considered to be a major improvement.

The Road Ahead:

“The children need to be thought how to think. There are a lot of negative factors here which affect their still maturing minds. This leaves them confused and unable to differentiate between right and wrong. In the school, we teach the children how to study, we teach them how to prioritize. We hope this will lead them to better lives. Around here, things are changing.”  says Vikas with a proud smile. While the number of dropouts is still alarmingly high, it has witnessed a downward trend in recent years. The change is attributed to the work being done by student organisations such as NSS and Nirmaan. Spreading awareness is considered to be the key. The value of education needs to be communicated to those who have not experienced it. Awareness is required, not only among the uneducated, but also among the educated, regarding the responsibilities they have towards the less fortunate.

“I’m going to be a painter.” Says little Anu, a shy smile on her face as she shows us her paintings. As ten volunteers gathered around her, appreciating her work, encouraging her, I knew that hope existed, here.

Those who frequent the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi would only be too aware of Terminal 1A which serves only the passengers of our national carrier Indian Airlines(or Indian or Air India, nobody really cares).

However, this post is not about how bad the terminal is. Its about my quest towards seeming busy at every single point of my existence and that includes the time I spend in Terminal 1A waiting to board the plane. A year ago, I spent a considerable amount of time reading Malcolm Gladwell’s works and developed a habit of making a note of everything in my surroundings. Its the perfect way to seem busy, there always has to be something around you! So the next time I was sipping coke and munching on fries from McD in Terminal 1A, I took some notes. (Present tense)

1. There is a smoking zone here.

2. Bangalore has retained its name in all the display boards.

3. There is a toilet with “Passengers Only” written on the door.

4.While it has almost fully been renovated, there are certain objects which have been retained. The fans, for example, look like they’ve been manufactured in1985; they probably were.

5. The network cables have been left uncovered and the overall appearance of the routers is quite dreadful.

6. The floor doesn’t look like it has witnessed much change in recent history .

7. A male steward is always accompanied by a single female steward..

I suck. Please buy me.

8. The pilots on the otherhand, are not so lucky, most of them boarded the flights alone. Even the female ones.

9. There are quite a few aged hostesses and they always travelled in pairs.

10. Most of the passengers seem absolutely clueless as to where they have to go next. The signs don’t appear to be very effective.

11. Captain Rohini Samuel will take me home tonight.

We’re all creative and learned enough to come up with explanations for these observations. But Malcolm Gladwell will write a book on it. We’ll buy that book. We are like that only.

Written for The Million Arts Project

A decade ago, at the start of the new millennium, we were clamoring about the Y2K problem and all the implications it would have. The Y2K bug was also a reminder of how much computers and “Information Technology” had penetrated human life and that these held the key to development in the new millennium. Sci-fi dreams had become reality and life had become simpler…simpler for the people who could afford such technology. For example, a middle aged woman from a slum in Kampala, would she be able to afford 3G wireless connectivity? My guess is, she wouldn’t, neither would the billion others in the “bottom billion”. Hence, she might be justified in concluding that Information Technology would hold no relevance to her life.

In the latter half of the recently concluded decade, the socially conscious world woke up to the possibilities offered by information technology. I’m sure the woman in question wouldn’t complain about all the awareness the Ushahidi Platform provided during the post electoral violence in Kenya in 2008. I’m sure she appreciates the money Kiva and a thousand other MFIs are pumping into her community. She won’t mind if a hole-in-the-wall project is implemented in her locality. She’s also probably wondering how more and more foreign students are volunteering with NGOs in her neighborhood. She’ll probably empathize with the rural BPOs of India or the moving clinics of China. Today, if she considers what’s behind all this “connectivity”, she will realise technological progress is indeed relevant to her.

My point is that technology, computers and internet are means to a greater end. ‘Connectivity’ is the keyword.

I’ve noticed three kinds of connectivity relevant to most social organizations. I’ll illustrate these types by taking our own Million Arts as an example.

The first type is the Primary connectivity (Primary because no change is possible without this): the connectivity between the change makers and the ones most directly affected by that change. With respect to Million Arts: It’s the connectivity between the team and our partners Joyce, her team and their children. The concept behind Million Arts is quite simple: just bridge the gap between demand and supply in a manner that benefits artisans who are working hard to cross over to the other side of the poverty line. As simple as it is, it wouldn’t have been possible to implement it on a truly global scale a decade ago.

The second type is Secondary Connectivity: Communication among change makers. With respect to Million Arts, it’s the connectivity among the team members. While, I’m writing this blog post in India, Aaron is visiting on Joyce in Kampala, Prajakta is forging collaborations with organisations like SE101Africa of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and Aparna might be implementing a road show with an MNC like CISCO in Singapore. This connectivity enables us to stay updated and work towards one goal. Not a possibility in the older and slower millennium which just passed us.

The third type is the Tertiary Connectivity: It’s the connectivity between the SocialOrganizations and their customers/sponsors: Whenever customers/sponsors come into play, so does money. When money is involved, trust becomes the deciding factor. It’s the connectivity which connects social organizations to their customers/sponsors and enables them to develop mutual trust. With respect to Million Arts, it is absolutely essential for us to have customers who trust us and buy our products with the knowledge that their money translates into real social impact and that the products they purchase are indeed of the quality stated. We build this trust by giving them constant updates through social networks and by taking regular feedback on the internet. God bless the Internet!

All said and done, when our lady from the slums of Kampala goes to church this Sunday, I hope she prays for love, equality and 4G.

Constructive criticism is a myth… or is it? In my many varied observations, I’ve noted how almost all criticism is….. harsh, to say the last. The problem comes with the general notion of feedback, where invitations for the same are treated as open invitations for abusing(read: raping) the hell out of the subject. “This sucks … that sucks… you suck…. everybody sucks….” Whoa …. whatever happened to good old suggestions where not only are problems pointed out but solutions suggested as well. I was at the point of classifying all feedback as stuff you learn to ignore when I got the mail… Pandey’s mail. Read and understand:

Hey guys
Straight to the point. Lots of action happening on BITS Pilani Media WordPress.
But I am confused as to what is the reader supposed to take from it. And the reason I am putting in this mail is because I feel there is a lot more which could be achieved out of this blog and that you guys would listen.
This post has triggered this mail. Unfortunately I do not know the dude who typed this, else I would’ve surely ccd him.
For one, what is this post aiming to achieve. SEL came to OASIS played some rocking songs and people loved it. Makes sense, but “It was then that the people present shifted into a psychedelic state swinging themselves from side to side, head banging to every drum beat, and shouting the complete lyrics at the top of their voices. On exiting the auditorium and interviewing a few students, they said,” We can no longer feel our ears and legs. It was the most amazing concert ever.”  just makes me wonder if the blog is supposed to be a freelance journalistic view of BITS Pilani and the events that happen there. There is a mention of interviewing students and the rest of the text is just standard sixth stuff.
Not that I have a problem with standard six text, it just doesn’t deserve to be on BITS Pilani blog, probably on our shitty personal blogs, but not there. I had conveyed my concerns regd. a previous post about a BITSian winning an obscure competition in VNIT Nagpur to Prateik, which he found were genuine (probably that has buoyed me to type this). But I digress.
I see a definite lack of focus in the posts on the blog. I think it would really help the blog’s cause if some questions were answered, such as:

• Target audience: No, the entire internet does not count because you have folks ranging from passionate BITSians alums to wannabe BITSians reading your blog (I hope so). And you cannot talk to all of them at the same time.
• Style: Which brings me to the point of how do you actually put your posts. This really cool way of just describing events informally just doesn’t work. I wish not to read three paras about one quiz/ concert. Why not make attempts at brevity, condense the facts, use more numbers, and cut the nonsense (including the obviously fake one line interviews).
• Branding: Related to former is structuring the posts such that one is left wanting while getting minimal reqd. info. That means having all posts such that the reader goes “Man Wish I was at BITS”. That should not include lines like “BITS Pilani is such an awesome place” or “This is just the beginning..”.

Hence I think a to-the-point smart reporting of stuff could really help (along with a cooler template), something that makes it sound classy with all images photoshopped in a certain way, all posts following a typical formatting (not just writing style), in short unifromity across posts and writers. I think the CMU News blog fits the bill. There would be more which you could google for.
Would that be boring? Suppose so. But then most of us are anyways past the read-whatever-you-see-on-the-internet phase of second year, and pretty soon no one will have time to skim through paras of text.
A reply would be sincerely appreciated. Sorry if the mail sounds too much about me and my likes, I’m working on that.
But I’m trying hard to follow the blog and it’s objectives but keep failing.
Yours
Vineet Pandey
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Now, why is this is so effective? Its because of a couple of factors: first, it offers solutions to nearly all the problems pointed out and the second is the spirit. While Pandey is a personal friend and hence could take out time to give such precise and effective suggestions, I wouldnt expect a normal respondent to replicate his effort. However, if they can manage to ensure that the benefit of the initiative remains the highest priority, I believe that any criticism would be constructive criticism. All I’m saying is study his mail, If you can duplicate it, that’s great , if you cant at least try to comprehend the spirit in which it was written. I’m sure it will help you deliver criticism to your peers, a vital networking tool.

About Pandey: Vineet ‘Pandey’ is a Computer Science Undergrad Student at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science(BITS), Pilani. Formerly an avid blogger, Pandey is now too incensed with the ways of the world to bother about the so-called sharing of opinions and ideas. He used to rant here and currently doubles up as the Student President of the Computer Science Association.

The image pretty much says it all.

xkcd continues to marvel “we”; the unbashed honesty and our ever increasing ability to relate to the geek stick figures makes their comics truly life defining pieces of art. The Alchemist comes a distant second.