An eye-opening lesson on sub-cultures!

"Traveling. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a story-teller" - Ibn Battuta

One such official visit made me stumble upon a totally different culture that existed in a small part of a large organization, and how! Of course, I had come across traces of this culture in my IT days, but seeing it in real is a different experience!

MUM to MDU

Mumbai was a city that never let you sleep and Madurai does not sleep. In both these places, I have slept a lot. Of course, there is a lot more to these places than mentioned above. Good or bad, I will be at fault if I do not talk about culture after mastering in HR. Although I will express stuff in a mellowed tone, 'coz this is a temple city and I fear God!

1. Stop, Halt, Proceed

Life in Mumbai was fast, in true sense of the word.

From entering a train in Andheri local station (am not mentioning Dadar) to boarding ferry near the Gateway, it was congested, noisy and "mad", for lack of a better word. Madurai, however, is cute and slow. Anything can be reached in half an hour's time with traffic - there is that amount of predictability here. Minimum fuss.

“Country things are the necessary root of our life - and that remains true even of a rootless and tragically urban civilization. To live permanently away from the country is a form of slow death.” 

― Esther Meynell

2. Get, Set, Go

Transportation seemed to be an issue at first when I landed here. I was very happy to know Ola existed. But that's how limited your vision is, if you sit in four walls under an Air Conditioner in the Head Office and think all things are bright and beautiful everywhere in the country! Reality was different...

--- Ola booked--- 5 min ETA.

"Hello ... Sir..."

"(destination informed)"

"Ok sir, 5 minutes, reaching... cash ah ola money ah"

"Ola money"

"Half hour aagum sir, tyre puncture" (It will take half an hour...)

And that's how I got my 'Welcome to Madurai' wake up call.

Autos are not helpful either. They charge you proportional to what basic food items cost at an airport.

Transportation was never a problem in Mumbai. You just hop on to the nearest auto, pay by the meter, get down, board a train and reach the destination.

After coming from that kind of sophistication, Madurai was a shock. Later I figured out the only way to survive here is to get a personal vehicle.

One big lesson learned: All that talks about staying asset-light and surviving with Ola/Uber are good only for the metros. Auto companies will stay for a long time.

(The fact that Madurai roads are getting too crowded for automobiles to ply is something that locals and governments here have to worry about; not my headache!)

3. Indulgence

Well, yeah, MDU is a tourist spot for the good. It's a very good retirement city. Okay, I can't hide the fact that it's really hard to find places to hang out in this town (it's difficult to call Madurai a city).

Continental breakfasts, tea cafes and brunches are long forgotten. Here it's about idlis, jigarthandas and kothu parottas! At best, there are different varieties of the items mentioned, but that's as far as it gets.

A few choices of movie theatres, fewer options for entertainment - if you know what I am talking about. You really need a hobby to pass time!

4. Quality of life

I don't know the exact numbers, but am sure the average life expectancy in Mumbai is rather poor, around 60 years.

In this town, it's fair to say the quality of life is much better - the air people breathe, the stress levels, the noise levels... are all at acceptable levels. One stroll in a park and the difference was stark. At night, stars are visible in Madurai sky; the only stars visible at night in Mumbai were in Prithvi theatre. If you go to a terrace in the evening or night, you get breeze here, compared to Mumbai where all we get is more noise, heat and aroma of freshly heated oils in pav bhaji or tabelis.

5. People

One thing common to MUM and MDU is that people are generally helpful. While Mumbai people are usually not respectful, MDU is just the opposite - "Anne, sollunga ne!" (Everyone is a brother here!)

It's unfair to compare these two places - one is the Vegas of India and the other one is a tourist spot for history-lovers / art-lovers at best. While it's easy to say it's just a matter of time before one gets adjusted to this town, nothing is farther from reality. It takes a lot of effort from an individual to adjust in a place like this. Not all places are cool once you finish MBA. The fact that same sentiments are shared by all the Sales (pronounced 'Mar-ke-ting) professionals across India is a satisfying feeling (yeah, right!).

Conclusion:

There's a reason why many Headquarters are in Mumbai. May be it's just because corporates work too much, eat too much, "<insert>" too much - and Mumbai facilitates those! Considering the fact that MDU has given me a chance to not get drowned in the sea of madness and immerse myself in what I really want, well, I can live with this! I have seen a lot of Facebook check-ins from random locations of late, largely from far off destinations away from routine life. For me, Madurai in itself looks like a holiday, a long one. Slow and peaceful!

“Country life has its advantages,' he used to say. 'You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good. . . and there are gooseberries.”  - Anton Chekhov

Adios, amigos!

(Fact to be noted is the author is not from Mumbai!)

Lessons Learned in MBA Life

As the "1-year-10-month-course" (Prof CDG's words) comes to an end, I finally got some time to reflect on my journey here at NM in particular and Mumbai in general. There are a few things I will share, which I thought would be helpful for others who are embarking their MBA journey this year and in the forthcoming years. And some of you could reminisce on the past few years too! Needless to say, these are my personal views - take it or leave it. Take the good things and leave those you don't like.
p.s. This is not a Scoopwhoop post!

Lesson 1 - Read books

I wish someone was there to tell me this earlier. More often than not, this habit will keep you sane, from the hustle and bustle of MBA life. MBA life was mostly busy, and this helped me relax.

Lesson 2 - Invest in friendships
This is not like school days where you automatically become friends. You need to spend time with people. Time is a luxury good in these two years, meaning it's not easily available.
I have been fortunate to meet a few good men (and women) over the past two years, and they have made my life special. Also, some old friends have come of age - life's looking good now. To make best use of this lesson, take time out to make a list of 15 people who matter to you the most - and stick to that list. For more on this, read 'Busy' by Tony Crabbe.

Lesson 3 - Have a strong value system
Values are simple - honesty, integrity. Old school stuff, but important nevertheless. Easy to talk about, easier to forget in real life - especially at the pace of life we lead here.

Lesson 4 - Be ethical
In one of our discussions, the dean, quoting some research, mentioned that MBAs are one of the most unethical people in the world. I don't disagree totally with him. I have seen things personally as well.
Ethics, according to me is simple - use common sense and do the right thing. Remember this great man, next time you face a conflict of ethics:

Lesson 5 - Less is more
One of my biggest lessons from first year at a B-school. Doing more things, accepting everything that came my way, took me no where. As a blessing in disguise, I was not in any committees in the second year and that helped me realize what is important to me in the long term.
Do a few things that will be of value to you in the long run, say 'No' to everything else. That does not mean being selfish though. There's a difference between being immersed in something you like and being submerged in a sea of mess!

Lesson 6 - Let go
There are many things that seemed unfair to me in first year. Later on I realized there was nothing that could be done to things not under my control. So I let go of those stuff. In the process, the clarity I attained was unbelievable.

Keep doing good things and forget the rest, it always worked for me. After all, self-actualization is more important than instant gratification on Facebook!

Lesson 7 - Sleep well
Some friends and faculties have often said that sacrificing on sleep is okay. On hindsight, I can tell with some amount of conviction that it is not okay. I tried sleeping on time and waking up early for a few weeks - those weeks I was more productive in the classroom, more attentive and felt more energetic throughout the day.
I maintain my stance as I write today!

Lesson 8 - Eat three meals
Skipping breakfast isn't cool, it is just sad! Manage time well. On the rare days I skipped breakfast, I was found thinking about food at 11 AM while the lecture was going on - it's not a good feeling.

Lesson 9 - Punctuality is cool
Murphy's law will work here - you never know when the faculty will close the door at 9 AM for a 9 AM lecture. But it will surely happen when you are late [happened to me!]
Punctuality is a good thing, even if there's no one to appreciate it. Over time, I have picked up the habit of carrying something in PDF format to read in waiting time. Five years down the line, I am sure a culture of punctuality will make difference in organizations.

I've made a list of these people!

Lesson 10 - Pursue hobbies
I have seen people with a wide spectrum of hobbies - travel, painting, reading fiction, working on fitness, music, chess... the list is endless. These folks seemed to have a better balance on life, a calming presence and a better head compared to those who didn't have or pursue hobbies relentlessly.

That's about it. Ten is a good number to round off!

In between this hectic life, I have managed to play chess in some beautiful campuses across India - XLRI, SIBM Pune, NITIE, SP Jain, NMIMS and KJ Somaiya. I also managed to visit IIT-Bombay and IIM Indore for other competitions. Overall, this has been a great learning experience.

On a lighter note, I could well be the strongest Indian chess player ever to have an MBA degree from an elite B-school in India :P (For once, let me blow my own trumpet, why not!) So somewhat qualified to give some gyaan!

Thanks to the few great people who made this journey memorable!
ak

Royal thrillers at SP Jain!

It seemed business as usual on a sedate Saturday afternoon for the NMIMS Chess Team (ak, Neel, Rahul and Akshat) After winning first two games with a certain level of comfort with Neel and Akshat, I went to attend lectures from 11.30-14.00, with finals slotted at 3 PM. I came to know later that it was a semi-final at 3.

Of course, Rahul joined our team for the semis. When we were paired against SP Jain, I knew it was going to be tough. Shyam's SP Jain team has always been a formidable opponent to us since first year. This year was going to be no different. However, the magnitude of competitiveness was on a whole new level this time around.

Disclaimer: This post contains chess notations and some technical terms. Please bear with me if you can't understand - they were all important for this post. All said and done, Chess is a royal game... for the classes!