How can you do that?...Thank God you did that!

My MBA is almost half-way through. Its exciting, its fun, its informative and its hectic as well! The subjects and topics of discussion vary from one end of the spectrum to another. There's the trick in the balance sheet in Accountancy, the infinite graphs in the Economics, the 'lean approach' in the Supply Chain, the 'it depends' answer in the Strategy, the presence of innumerable 'four quadrants' in almost all the subjects and the ways to handle and manage people in people management and organisational behaviour , to name a few. Good! Interesting!

Today, there were so many things that I can relate to the daily activities and the way my previous organisations functions. There were so many interesting things there that became clear to me as I sat in the classes hearing the lectures. Below I would point like to point to a particular case from my old organisation.
There was one senior person who is supposed to have an MBA degree from the best IIM (Indian Institute of Management) in India. Those of us from India know that those set of elite students are highly respected and admired in our society. And , going by the Indian ways and norms, he displayed it with a certain pride, when in his CV the qualification had the words 'IIMA' (IIM Ahmedabad), nothing else. That spoke a lot about him. Or did it??

Its not a question of critiquing someone or the very common practice of criticising your boss. (I have learnt many things from him, I must admit.) Its a question of asking 'How can you do that?' as I saw the way he functioned many times, the irrational way in which he handled and dealt with people. I wondered how can people make such a royal mess and be blind to what was going around. But there is something called a small fish in a big pond. That's what I was. I realised it was none of my business to rectify or correct a senior person. I tried to turn a blind eye to what was going on , as long as it did not interfere my way of functioning.

Unfortunately, within months I realised, quite ironically, I happened to get the wrong treatment from him. Initially I ignored and neglected, but soon it came to stage where things got messier.
I thought of asking the same question again: ''How can you do that (to me) ?' . But from my previous experience I felt some things never change. There is a small story from the famous Indian saint, Vivekananda, which says that however hard you try to straighten a dog's tail, it soon curls - its a waste of your time to try to do so. So I did not want to change the way he behaved. I knew he never will!
So I decided to do something that will take me out of the mess. I decided to do it in a more interesting and elegant way, rather than changing the job. I decided to do the MBA.

Today when I look back and think of the person and the incidents I don't ask that old question any more. In fact, I am glad they happened! So, I just say 'Thank God you did that! Otherwise I would never have been here!'

The English Weather!

"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy...
If there is a day I can give, I will give sunshine all the time"
these are lines from the famous singer John Denver.

When I was in India I was used to the sun and its scorching heat. Waiting in the bus stop or walking to the market in a hot summer noon were not the things I looked forward to. Many times getting out in the sun seemed more of a punishment. So in Wimbledon when the spectators clapped when the sun shone on the Centre Court, I wondered why they did so. I never realised how the sun is unmindfully linked in our day-to-day life.

In UK things are quite different. Here when you stand in the bus stop you dont have to bother about the sun, because hardy you find it shinning! You have to bother about the rain, the clouds. Whether the meteorologists say or not, there is always the chances of rain - anywhere, anytime. The drizzle; the cloudy days; the cool breeze; I have slowly become so used to the English weather. Its not the kind of weather where you will feel the adrenaline pumping and want to go out to work. It is the kind of weather you like to stay indoors and spend lazily. You feel sleepy and want to take as much sleep as you can! And in the afternoon if the sun comes out you want to take out the cricket kit and get yourself warm in the field.
I cannot say whether people will agree with me, but its a kind of poetic and romantic weather. I felt I came more close to nature. I began to appreciate nature even when there are no mountains or oceans around. Another thing, which may sound contradictory to some extent is that the night sky is sometimes very clear here. I have not seen so many stars in the smoky sky of Bangalore, India.
The nature expresses herself so differently here. It brings a thought in my mind that its the same sun, the same moon, the same sky and the same stars...yet they are so distinctly different in different parts of the world. And what makes them special and eternal beauty is their ability to display the different forms that seems so familiar, yet so mysterious, so common and yet so mystic!