Strike

We liked the work ethic of the staff of ASCI. They arrive in the morning , get to their duties, ensure that all things which are to be done behind the scenes are done so that the various courses which are running are not affected or disturbed and then, during the lunch break carry out a protest , walking in and around the campus shouting slogans about people and everything in general. While the strike is on, they also take care to ensure that the visiting students are not inconvenienced by leaving a skeleton staff to look after them. After generally making their presence felt , it is time to proceed for lunch. It is also pertinent to mention that negotiations have come to an impasse with neither the management nor the strikers giving in to the other . On a more sombre note we really did appreciate their ( the strikers' ) decision to be in mourning after the sudden demise of Shri Abdul Kalam.

After an hour of shouting the place down , they all trooped off for lunch. The method of protest was really novel and it was nice to know that there was no compromise on the work ethic. Only the slogans were not original. They were shouting for someone to go back ( they did not mention where the person was to go back). In an oblique reference to some one they were referring to a spoon. . 

A symposium on water and hygiene in schools was held for a day in the other class room.... GJ attended. His dissertation on suicide prevention is progressing well. Throughout the day under the diligent and expert supervision of Prof Shah ,we learnt the intricacies of project management. 

A funny thing about Prof Shah And Prof Mahadik.Prof Mahadik is from Maharashtra and stays in Gujarat. Prof Shah is from Gujarat and stays in Maharashtra... Who says that there is no integration of India ! 

We learnt to our dismay that in order to get any tangible results we hav to work equally hard putting in the raw data. Our desire to download the project management soft ware from the net proved equally frustrating and took an enormous amount of time. Today the senoir executive course is finishing . They will all proceed into the world after an infusion of wordly wisdom and theoretical wisdom gained from the instructors and staff at the ASCI . We wish them all the luck in all their endeavours and hope that they gain from the wisdom gleaned in the haloed halls of ASCI.

Joke of the Day:

Two secretaries of a Boss were talking about him:

First Sec: The boss dresses well:

Second Sec: Yeah - and Quickly too!

Special Event

We the willing ,were being taught by the hesitant, about the things that we did not know and were ready to learn, from the dedicated instructors, some things that we did know and some we had a vague idea about and those which prior to this time were unknown and as difficult as chinese language and some we knew existed and were scared to tackle because of the implications and some which we wanted to learn and into which we dived as the diver into the cold unwelcoming waters of the arctic, to try and prepare for the life beyond... That we were few in numbers and of diverse ages and temperaments did not matter. The Motto " Bash on regardless ",was topmost both on the minds of the instructors and the students. In the past two months (almost) - they taught and we learnt.

One such new class was that of human resources. As the two days flowed seamlessly into one another with present future and the past playing a big part in the scheme of things we started drawing parallels with what we have been doing all life long. They downsize- we post out. They take feedback on working conditions -we also do the same. They have to learn to trust and so do we- the simple saying that one cannot be at all the places at all the times has to be borne in mind. Our planning is all the year round an so is there's... They do mid course corrections and if need be so do we. They interview people all the time and so do we - whether it be for leave , performance counselling, appraisal reports or simply to check what is on . they give presentations so do we. they work on primary and secondary jobs - and at times on third and fourth jobs , we do it al the time..

The difference is we work with the resources in hand - and anything unpalatable is unceremoniously kicked out by them . They do not give much credence to loyalty whereas loyalty is of great importance as far as we are concerned. Honesty is the best policy for both of us. Reluctance to do a job is not part of our lexicon. We do not have a choice of jumping the ship. Responsibility to the job is a must for both - or - maybe not...

And that is why we are a special event at the ASCI. Added to the fact that we were doing a course at this institution for the first time and that too for a long period of almost 6months we were bound to be special. We are indeed special in many ways .

A feedback from the course which I thought was logical was about the name of the course. It has been named : Business management course for the armed forces personnel"; The course wants it to be named - " ARMSASCI BUSINESS MANAGEMENT COURSE (AABMC-I) . Has more tang to it - It also rolls off the tongue easily The roman I is for the serial of the course.
The instructor stressed on routine today- " Things are easy to do if a routine is established" he said. We counter by saying that all our life we are more or less following routine to stay afloat. But within the set routine we make it interesting by following a different routine every day. All the more necessary because otherwise by following a single routine everyday one tends to vegetate...Good thought provoking lecture by Prof Sharma to round off another mid week class....

Flight

Time to return to picking up the threads where they were dropped a few days ago due to exigencies of familial compulsions . Suddenly I had to fly across the country at a very short notice. Notwithstanding my involvement in matters not concerning others the show which had begun a few days ago - a month ago to be precise had to go on . Agartala is a place which is waiting to be developed. The process has already started . But there is still a long way to go. The problem with the north east is two fold . One is the distance from rest of India and the other is the fact that you cannot own anything there . This leads to a sense of insecurity in the minds of the people .
While the first problem can be easily countered with - "You fly to the far east and claim it to be a vacation ; but you don't want to do Anything about your own eastern areas . ....
Turbulence in the flight . Bad weather is rattling the plane quite badly . But my man Bal reddy is the pilot . So little to fear... . Back to about the north east . It has a lot of potential for development . One place I was impressed with was national institute of technology agartala . Situated in a 400 Acre lush green area it was converted from tripura college of engineering to NIT AGARTALA in 2006. Since then frenetic construction and a dedicated faculty is slowly seeing this institution  becoming a premier institution for engineering  in  the country . Since it is isolated even from the isolated agartala the chance of students getting into trouble is quite remote. They have no option but to turn to studies as a past time .
Another place to visit is the Bangla border. It is quite close to agartala and people travel across everyday for work . I believe that all have relations across. Anyway I met this junior commissioned officer of Bangladesh rangers. A old Veteran. Consented to pose for a photo . As did our own BSF personnel . After completing all formalities with regard to my son's admission  I am now headed back to hyderabad . In between, like some one said "if given a chance I will do it again " my faith in my service was re- affirmed when on reaching agartala my people in the army were present to help me in all ways possible . All in all my stay was memorable .
In the meantime. ..
While I was into my own world, financial statements were being read by the dozens and tests being held and human resources were being understood.
On Monday there was also this disquieting news That Dr Abdul kal am collapsed and completed his time on earth . He had done a lot for the country and also helped children in learning to be creative and intelligent . It is indeed a great loss for the country . For not only was he a great scientist but was also apolitical . May his soul rest in peace . We join the country in mourning the loss of this great person ....

Ramble

Everyday one of us by turn forgoes exercise in the morning or wakes up early cleans the car and reaches the rendezvous early to pick up the other three to proceed to ASCI to attend the classes. It was our way of reducing the burden on the overpolluted atmosphere of Hyderabad. Todaywas no exception. Only we found that while crossing the tank bund via the necklace road we had plenty of time on hand and so decided to pose for the photograph on the tank bund. It was also our way of reminding ourselves that we were slowly winding down on one career and starting another where we hoped that we would have more time on hand. To the left of where we were standing on the banks of tank bund we found a couple hiding fromthe prying eyes and kissing away in the bushes. AT 0830H in the Morning? give me a break . There were better things to be done in the morning than that -surely... What was hyderabad coming to? 

Today as on last thursday we were studying Project Management. With all the pitfalls and there being many a slip between the cup and lip we discovered that no matter how good the planning for execution of a project there were bound to be delays due to unforeseen circumstances. A ptoject manager - we learnt - had either to be a conjurer or had to be so thorough in his job that he was capable of plugging all the loopholes to ensure smooth execution of the plan. Till now we thought that the most difficult job was marketing . Now we know otherwise , The most highly strung person in the whole business of management was the project manager who I am sure had to consume a whole lot of antacids to ensure that his ulcers did not act up. Our Prof Shah proved why he was a good manager of projects , as he executed the project of educating us on this facet of business management with thoroughness and elan. His ability to get to the nub of the problem was commendable and nothing short of miraculous as he completed the task allotted in time without eating into the buffer on either side of the network diagram. In spite of this by the end of the class we were thoroughly saturated knowledge of the hithertofore unknown.

During lunch we visited the canteen of the employees where the delicious smell of biriyani almost persuaded us to go in for a second meal..

For the second day in running the board of directors was in conference discussing things that we are not privy to - though we did see Prof Bagchi and Prof Chandrasekhar going in to present a paper on something. A around 1030h there was the inauguration of the photo gallery by Mr Narendra Luther. If I remember right he was the municipal commissioner of Hyderabad when I was a mere lad in my teens. He is responsible for clearing a lot of muck all around Hyderabad and also widening of the roads around the city. I really enjoyed reading his book on Hyderabad. For all those who arre interested he also has written a blog on Hyderabad and other subjects including some poems. It is worth a read... 

Dr Ramu did a splendid job of setting up the photo gallery in record time...

Condensation.

Jul 22

I was feeling like a mother who sometimes feels at her wits' end when trying to feed her offspring. It is indeed difficult for her to conjure new dishes each day and in the process gain approval of her progeny. How does she keep her children's attention everyday ? She whips up new dishes every day from the available resources and manages to keep her children healthy and happy. I thought that I might have to work hard at keeping the blog interesting - A change -much like going to a restaurant once in a while to break the monotony of home cooking was required . Help came from the most unexpected and the most qualified direction. During the tea break I happened to mention to Prof Bagchi and Prof Mahadik the need for their intervention. To my surprise Prof Mahadik  readily agreed to my request to pen a few thoughts for the blog.In spite of his young age he is highly qualified , having done PGDM from Ahmedabad and M Tech from IIT Mumbai and worked in a gaggle of Fortune 500 companies. We are indeed fortunate that he decided to undertake this task . And the subject of his discussion was - Anyhow why spoil it for you ? please read on..

Condensation.

The crux of management education is brevity. As each subject in a 2-year MBA is a distilled form of a full graduation degree, be it economics, accounts, statistics or organization behavior. For armed forces, its a mini-MBA within 6 months !! How does one condense a 2 year course in to a 6 month program? That was the first question that had come to my mind when I was approached in June to join the coordination team of Prof Chandrasekhar and Prof Bagchi. Thanks to 4 years training at ASCI, I've learned a thing or two about elasticity as also of brittleness. Making or breaking anyone's interest solely depends on the ability of the instructor in sustaining momentum both in the teaching and the thought process of the students. My premise was based on the fact that any topic can be stretched to a PhD specialization and people can spend their lifetime on working out the modalities ,OR it can be compressed to either a 2 week program at ASCI OR for that matter a 1 week workshop , one or a 3 day crash course or a day long symposium. A 90 minute session would also suffice for the  participants  going back with exact same happiness and precisely same amount of confusion. No wonder management is more of an art than a science!

With program structure and design broadly ready when I walked in, it was a cake walk for me. My colleagues help and co-operation was also of great help.

The challenge thereafter of course was to face a class that had walked the face of Earth  for a decade longer on an average. How does one match  their experience, in some cases more than my age? To fulfill a long cherished dream, I decided to treat it as a war, albeit a metaphorical one. I built some trenches using financial jargon and formulae and managed to hide behind. Whenever there was an attack from behind enemy lines, I used the ammo of numbers. Numbers that drive businesses !! 

In Absentia

Jul21

Like Dhrithrashtra relied first on Vidura and during Kurukshetra on Sanjaya for his daily updates on the day to day running of the state and thereafter just to keep abreast of the news in general and about his sons in particular , I had to make do with second hand accounts from my dear friend Jagpal and objective Himanshu. Himanshu was preparing for the Hyderabad Marathon and I initially did not get him on phone. when he did deign to answer he was breathless and tired. We are behind him in this attempt - the keyword being 'Behind'. Jaggu was also out on his evening jog and also sounded breathless and hassled. While Himanshu spoke with adequate description of the day's events Jaggu was laconic and to the point- "Kucch nahi hua re" he said ; "Sab thik hai; Subah mein classes hue' aur dopahar mein classes hue' Aur phir ham ghar aa gaye".

Kal poora din Prof Malini Ka class hai"
.
I always used to wonder as to why people whether sick or otherwise sought second opinion. After interacting with both it was evident that the days events were perceived differently by both. And it has helped me in piecing together events as they occurred today. Opinions and reporting of people matter a lot while coming to a decision . Prof Rafaat was very much back in action . She started her lesson in the usual way with a recap of the previous class and then getting down to the brass tacks about Profit and Loss . It was like she was never away. Her constant endeavour to keep the class lively and on its toes has the side effect of ensuring that we learn something worthwhile...

Prof Sutanuka Dev Roy took a break from her stewardship of the senior management course and spen the afternoon with us working economics with us and ending with an exercise. For a second day in a row we interacted with the director General of ASCI. His Key Result area at the moment is the meeting of the board of directors. WE are sure that it will go smoothly without any hitch...

For me the day was eventful . My son was confirmed for BTech in NIT....

Newsletter

The notable feature of today was that Prof Bagchi made dean of Research and something . and it is always good to be seen with notable people. Hence the photograph while returning from the server room.  Likr any other Monday today was no exception. Like a runner who needs to warm up the class on beginning took off sedately enough and  the caught speed. avisit to the server room followed by tea and the we got down to carrying out the post mortem on the case of the mysterious fire in the pakistani factory. Of course our forensic investigation revealed  that the owners deliberately set fire to avoid deadline on submitting the tax returns.We felt like the Crime Scene Investigators. Post lunch a presentation on the case and then we were off to a lecture on the leadership by the director general.

The DG has a way of connecting with the audience and putting his view point forward in a forceful and effective manner . The class also gave us an opportunity to connect with the senior managers course again. A new three day course had also started . Though we have yet to meet them . Overall a sedate start to a stormy week which was in store for us - what with Prof Mubeen having returned from a two week hiatus and rearing to go at us , in a big way on finance. The brochure of our course was progressing well and we hope to have it ready in a few(?) days. in spite of the lateness of the hour when we left ASCI we reached home well in time to pursue activities which would help us in maintaining our dharma.... 

Tale of Two Classes

 Prof Dasgupta's mind was preoccupied. Her programme , where she was the director was coming to an end. There was still a lot to do to round off the programme. Unfortunately she also had a class with the armed forces programme. Knowing how slow on the uptake the class was and how poor their retention she was in two minds whether to postpone the class and conduct it at a later date or whether she should go ahead and complete the class so that she was free of all encumbrances till the following Friday , when her next class came up. A vision of poor paper work during the last session rose before her eyes and she decided that she would complete the class no matter what ...She had a choice of going through the motions of of completing the allotted bit of syllabus or as was her wont conduct the class in a manner that the students understood. Her problem was that the age of the students varied from around 28 to 57 years. While the younger students were quick on the uptake the older ones took time. She had to strike a balance between the two extremes in the limited time that was available to her ....

After entering the class, her mind, which was in a turmoil over this dilemma , all of a sudden became calm and composed and she thought to herself that come what may she had to stand by her professionalism and ensure that  ensure that all understood about monetary and fiscal policy and how it affected the aggregate supply and demand . Her patience was monumental and she took care to go over all the aspects of monetary and fiscal policy , taking care to ensure that all the students were unanimous in affirming their comprehension . Suddenly the fact that another programme awaited her presence for her closure took a back seat. At the end of the class there was a feeling of satisfaction as she perceived the the dawn of understanding on the faces of her students. It was worth the delay caused by the slower lot amongst her students. She left the class secure in the knowledge that she  had done her job well.

We were also very happy at having cracked the theory of liquidity preference and how it affects the country's interest preference. In spite of it being thee first class  we were glad to exercise our brains to a good effect. The rest of the morning was devoted to the sorting out the people as per their efficiency in performance . The Director General kindly consented to conduct a joint session of the services and the senior managers class to educate us on this aspect. His confident and lucid delivery held us enthralled well into our lunch break . As much as the morning was busy the afternoon was  relatively less so- a perfect ending to the week and the beginning of the weekend....

Passion ( The Man From Dhule')

Prof Vilas Shah

In Conversation With Dr Anil Mulpur

 If you have to get to place B then you can do that only if you start from place A . Going to place C is also only possible through place A. However if you have to go to C from B then you either come back to A and proceed from there to C or alternatively go to place B to D to E take a detour to place F and from there directly come back to A and then proceed to C. Both the options are right. However going from B to D to E To F and A To C is not only time consuming but tedious also. What do you want to do? It is upto you . Would you like to spend more time going the circuitous route or take the direct one? Project management more or less sums up the philosophy of life . All along the teaching in our formative years and thereafter has always stressed an adopting the shortest and direct route.

But there are people in this world who would want us to stray from the direct and difficult route. Project Managers help us achieve the goal in the shortest possible time. And that is what Prof Vilas Shah struck us as . We would trust him to help us work out the various pros and cons in a difficult situation. After serving as the principal of an engineering college of more than 3500 students for more than ten years he gave it all up to pursue the passion of his life; Teaching. That requires real guts and dedication . He seems to have it in plenty. Right from the start of the class he had our attention with his soft spoken   attitude and devotion to his job. Soon we were tackling the ins and outs of project management with ease and  without the fear of the unknown. In short it was an enjoyable class. He was an out spoken advocate of the need to have project management certification within the country - which sadly was far from happening in the near future. We support him in this endeavour of his and hope that it will soon be a reality....

Soon - much too soon - the first session on the project management came to an end . We had to proceed to the other establishment of ASCI at the Banjara hills to attend the lecture by Dr Anil Mulpur. Dr Mulpur is a noted cardio thoracic surgeon working at present at at the Sunshine Heart institute in the Banjara hills at Hyderabad. Here was another human being who was so passionate about his work that he gave up a lucrative practice at England  to serve the people at Hyderabad. His skill and passion did not end at setting defective hearts right but he was also an able administrator who knew the ins and outs of law, management of hospitals and dealing with the civil organization to ensure that there were no glitches when dealing with his patients. His passion and expertise manifested itself in the three hours lecture that he took on the subject. Not once could we fault him for being repetitive and boring . He exposed us to the good ,the bad and the ugly of medical care , liberally quoting from the scriptures to underline the need for forthrightness , should we decide to take up hospital management as a profession , post retirement. His ability also was evident when he took questions at the end of  the grueling session and answered them with a lot of patience.His methods reminded us of another professional earlier in the day.... Finally when we ran out of questions it was already eight'o' clock in the evening .

We would like to label this as one of our most satisfying and complete days....A notable feature of the evening was the freshers who were attending the lecture by Dr Mulpur . Their fresh faces enthusiasm and desire to succeed in the profession of their choice (Hospital Management ) was heartening to see - the only thing in common with them was we were also looking for new professions to work at... post retirement...

Bula Yadra (Hello Good Morning)

Jul 17

For the past two weeks we have been sharing space at the ASCI with another long(?) course - the Senior Management course. A majority of the students in the course were from foreign countries like Bhutan , some african countries and eastern countries like indonesia. But the person who stood out with an ever smiling visage and cheerfulness which was contagious to all people in the sphere of hher influence was Salanieta Rauwale Radaniva . Salanieta was from Fiji. She impressed us right from the beginnin. And the desire to know more about this charming person was becoming stronger by the day. Jaggu came up with the idea of inter viewing her and I was all enthusiasm to go ahead . We set up an interview during the lunch Break. 

But first things first. Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited,Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources.Fiji's culture is a rich mosaic of indigenous Fijian, Indo-Fijian, Asian and European traditions, comprising social polity, language, food (coming mainly from the sea, plus casava, dalo (taro) and other vegetables), costume, belief systems, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance, and sports. While indigenous Fijian culture and traditions are very vibrant and are integral components of everyday life for the majority of Fiji's population, Fijian society has evolved over the past century with the introduction of traditions such as Indian and Chinese as well as significant influences from Europe and Fiji's Pacific neighbours, particularly Tonga and Samoa. Thus, the various cultures of Fiji have come together to create a unique multicultural national identity.

The setting was the class room as it was with all other interviews we had conducted. After the customary greetings which is the norm with all civilized people we settled down to have a freewheeling conversation with Salanieata. 

Jaggu - Although we have been meeting every day this is the first time we have met formally. I am curious as to what route you followed to reach India.

Salanieta- Oh it was a long and tedious journey. But since I was going to a new place I was excited. I flew from Nadi international Airport in Fiji to Seoul to Mumbai and from there to Hyderabad. The journey involved 34 hours of continuous travel !

MR-  What is your job description in your country?

Salienieta- I am in the police. I have been in the police for about 23 years.

Jaggu (Interjecting) - That is quite impressive. What is it that you do exactly?

Salanieta- (Smiling) - I am dealing mostly with matters relating to matters related with national.

Jaggu - Can you tell us about your 23 year Journey in the Police Force?

Salanieta - I joined the force at 18 years of age after completing my schooling. I did so well that due to my good work I was promoted directly to a sergeant , then to an Inspector and at present I am the assistant superintendent of police. Of course maintenance of law and order play a big role in my job also.

MR- We are really impressed with your determination to do well. Can you tell us something about your personal life.

Salanieta - Nothing much to say. I got married in 1990. My husband is also serving on the police force in Fiji. Life has been good and we are proud parents of seven children.

Jaggu- And how old are your children?

Salianieta- (With a twinkle in her eyes as she spoke of her children) Oh they are between the ages of 5 -17. Two of my offspring are boys. They are all at the moment at various stages of schooling. I suppose they are enjoying it.

MR - (Changing Tack) - How do you rate your stay in India. What are your experiences here?

Salanieta - My experiences are good. I Like travelling a lot and though I have not travelled much I am enjoying myself here. 

Jaggu- How do you rate ASCI? You have been here for two weeks. I am sure that you have formed some opinion...

Salanieta - Yes . I can say with conviction that the environment here at the ASCI has been extremely good. Away from home I have plenty of time at hand. I have already done a course on management earlier in Fiji. The course here has further enhanced my knowledge.

MR - and...? 

Salanieta- The classes of one and a half hour are a bit long. However if the topic is exciting then it is fun and one forgets the time. 

Jaggu - Although it is premature - any special instructors?

Salanieta - Mr Sachendra , whose  classes are lively as are his deliberations. Another favourite instructor of mine is MR Vishwanatham. In his classes we can relate to real life experiences his sense of humour is good as is his timing.  

MR- Can you tell us something more about yourself?

Salanieta - I am a methodist and was born on 30th of october. While here at hyderabad I visited the Ramoji film studio and the Golconda. The cuisine here is somewhat similar to that at Fiji so you can say that I am not home sick.

Jaggu- Did you see any Indian Movies?

Salanieta- Alas no -though I did see the light and sound show at Golconda went to the GVK Mall .

MR- What are your most enduring memories?

Salanieta- ( Smiling) - People , culture , traditions , friendship - right from the kitchen to the classroom and of course the food....

Jaggu - Thank you for sparing your time and we hope that you enjoy the rest of the course...

With this we ended the interview with this soft spoken and extremely articulate lady...and parted on mutually good terms..

Marketing trip

For the past thirty days we were in the first floor room. Every morning we got into our conveyances , drove down to ASCI and voluntarily submitted to being incarcerated in the 15x15 room. The room became an essential part of our existence. WE were in turn happy, sad , pensive, boisterous and rebellious within the confines of this room . A sort of stockholm syndrome set in . WE started missing the room even while at home. The room has been witness to our private discussions and also the discussions with our teachers figured here. We also got bored and ennui set in many a time. 

So when Prof Malini suggested a field trip we jumped at the opportunity in great joy. Not that we would not miss the room. Our only means of distraction was the window to the world from where we were the Kings of all that we surveyed. Today Prof Mahadik also joined us at the window and in an unguarded moment we were clicked by friend Jagpal. 

As I was saying we were to take part in a field trip to a restaurant where our project manager told us that we were to gather info about the customers Incidentally while the restaurant was centrally located -close to the offices - it was not doing good business. We were to analyse the data on the customers to help the owners to modify the marketing mix. We saw that during the interaction with the customers the staff was indifferent in their attitude.

While we initially thought that the customers were not regulars , to our surprise , we found that not only were they regular but they also had no choice because it was the only place to dine in the near vicinity. It was clear that the staff was not utilising the knowledge of the customers' preferences to the fullest extent. It became clear to us - after some research - that the restaurateur did not really have to worry about the probability of the customers staying with them for at least for sometime to come. Maybe in the future when more eating houses opened in the area he would have to worry about maintaining his customer base through constant feedback and satisfaction mapping.

In case this did not happen and the customer switched his loyalty to other places then retrieval may prove difficult . In that case he would have to work on re- energizing his customers to return. since most were youngsters the need to segment the customers was not all that important as keeping their loyalty. Impeccable and efficient service coupled with  personalised service were the need of the hour. There was a requirement to change the perception of the customer immediately.

At the end of the day when we submitted our report to the project director the grateful owner treated  us to a sumptuous meal which underlined our findings that with a little effort the restaurant would be raking in moolah in no time...

Earlier in the day we did a case study about a sentimental old fool who did not sell his rubber farm when he got a good deal. He is we believe regretting this lapse in judgement . Most of his earlier fortune was now being expended in maintaining this now defunct farm which had become a white elephant ... This was Prof Mahadik's class om financial management  ....

Corruption

Jul 14

Today I almost decided not to continue our experiences at ASCI. Having completed more than a month here one wonders what else can be new here. The day started off routinely enough with Prof Mahadik already at his desk when we walked into the class. The class commenced with Prof mahadik , teaching us about managing finances for any project and how the revenue is calculated , in the next three hours . 

Along the way we came to know that two teams of the Indian Premier League in cricket - the chennai super Kings and the royals of Rajasthan were banned from participating in the competition for the next two years. For the next few hours it became a topic of discussion. If meiyappan and raj Kundra were the culprits then why ban two very able and competitive teams from playing cricket was the question uppermost in our minds. We surmised that some players were also involved in the betting on cricket and spot fixing. Then the question - that if smoking was not an offence, drinking was not an offence shouting on the streets was not an offence and horse trading was not an offence and corruption was an accepted way of life then why was betting an offence? Moreover if we follow everything that is done in the west then if betting was legal in the USA and UK then why was it punishable in India? There were no suitable replies to this rather pertinent questioning. We were of the view that betting should be made legal. This would provide employment to many bookies and betting agents. Infrastructure would have to be developed to to make this possible. Bookies would have to pay taxes on their earnings and this could be a sizable chunk of revenue to the state. There would be no black money to a large extent. All people who lay bets would have to pay taxes upfront and more tax when they won on their bets. This would reduce a lot of unaccounted money in the market. 

Similarly imagine what would happen if corruption were to be made legal. We could officially levy taxes on the earnings through corruuption. For example everyone knows that people would do anything to avoid going to courts for traffic violations. Many times most of us seek to bribe the policeman to get away fromthis rather tedious process of being prosecuted by law. When we travel at a short notice we tend to pay the TTE a small remuneration to provide a berth on the train to facilitate our travel. If we have a corruption tax then imagine the revenue that it will provide us. Rather than fighting to rooting out corruption we could in fact make money for the state. 

The seventh pay commission is round the corner. We should include corruption allowance which will find its way back to the government coffers - one way or the other. In fact it will also ensure that people desist from corruption because no one would like to part with hard earned money.  all government employees will receive the corruption allowance as also the police who will have an enhancement of their pay and stop taking bribes thus effectively ending corruption. 

So please ponder on these few random but humble thoughts and let us make India a corruption free state.

Back to the Future - I

Jul 13

The yeasty smell emanating from the bakery took me back to another time and place . When we were under going a course at administrative staff college of India.Reminded me of the fantastic aromas emanating from the kitchen of ASCI. Almost two years ago on 20th November we ,as the first course had passed out of the college . Since then almost all of us retired from the armed forces. Most of us as predicted wanted to work in the civil organisations. 

Nov20

As the course was begun , it ended in the same way. We had congregated again in the lecture hall CR-1. Again there were a whole lot of eminent persons sitting on the stage . The air was full of scented aerosol spray and smelling good. A few bouquets on the stage added to the colour. Aerosols had not yet been declared carcinogenic by the Concerned authorities. And since ignorance is bliss everyone concerned was enjoying the spirit of bonhomie prevalent in the air. In the past six months many of us had taken part in the projects of ASCI. Partly due to our interest and partly due to our availability. In the past six months we had learnt a lot of economics , finance , Organisational Behaviour , Marketing , Public Relations and a whole lot of other subjects which we hoped would stand us good in the civil environment which we endeavoured to embrace for our second innings.

Yes ; That is what it was - A Second chance at having a stab at life in a totally different atmosphere. Most of us felt vulnerable and alone . Not knowing what the future held for us. We were sure that unlike the services where life was dynamic , we would have to settle down to a static 9 - 5 job. In the past month our brochure started paying dividends. While at first there was not much enthusiasm in the companies to have a look at us ,  things started changing when a stream of head honchos from various companies started to interact with us . Based on the knowledge acquired purely due to the diligent efforts of the accomplished staff at ASCI , our penetrative questioning impressed them and soon the word spread around . Within no time we were getting offers from various companies and some of us landed some good jobs...

2017

Perumal decided that he was not for any corporate employment. His mind was always on agriculture and land improvement. He steadfastly refused jobs which would have suited him . In 2016 after a protracted battle with the authorities for his pension he found himself in chennai where in answer to an advertisement of the department of agriculture of Tamil Nadu State he landed a job with them . His down to earth behaviour and his ability to connect with the drought hit farmers of TN made him a suitable interface between the populace and the government of TN. He became the chief troubleshooter for the agriculture ministry of TN. He became a pioneer of the drip irrigation in TN. His intervention made him much sought after guest speaker in various institutions and state government symposiums. He is slated to make an appearance at ASCI to lecture the third course for retiring services officers and the topic of his lecture will be business management and agriculture...

GJ Rao joined an international school at Hyderabad as part of the board of directors. His education back ground along with his business acumen developed at ASCI stood him in good stead. His school prospered and soon he was busy in spreading the business of education through the states of andhra and telengana. His pet project of helping down and out people and thus contributing to the reduced suicides in both the states saw him shoot to prominence. His oratorical skills driven by ambition moved him to join politics. He is at present touring kazipet area to garner support for being elected as the Member of the legislative assembly . In case he wins he will almost certainly be the next education Minister of the state from the elected government. He is also planning to introduce his kith and kin to politics...

2015

We had no idea of all this at the present. As of now we are diligently toiling away at the marketing class trying to help Kotak Mahindra in kerala to corner the lucrative market of HNIs . We are taking baby steps in this process and most of our suggestions have been shot down by Ms Malini Reddy through her logical  reasoning ,as she poked holes in our strategies to acquire the market. By afternoon we came to a tenuous and acceptable solution . Post lunch saw us feverishly working on excel sheets to establish a trend in the customers of a garment shop to see how we can maximise sales and increase our profits. More than anything else we were also learning the operation of the excel sheets. While some of us were adept in this arcane skill most of had no idea and it was dual learning for us....

Tomorrow and the days after are another day... when we shall see how the rest have fared..

Games People Play

Jul 10
They were playing games. Dressed in multi coloured jackets and yellow coloured hats they were getting a kick out of centering the ball and hopefully learning about how to focus their minds on doing things which were more important than the Balls - or that is what it seemed like from our vantage point from the first floor where our class was based. From what we could gather they were really enjoying themselves. Reminded me of the book Games People Play. We watched with amused tolerance as the loud cheers rent the air drowning the cacophony of the traffic The sound of ladies laughing was like the gurgle of a cool stream on a hot day. Soon they tired of the game and came in for lunch. They were not a little sunburned. There was exciting chatter in the dining hall. One participant was castigating others in her group and telling all of them to man up and perform better. She was disappointed and did not make bones about hiding her feelings. Who said competition was dead? Post lunch they headed off to the badminton courts and started playing catch with a ball. the only difference being that four persons were holding a sheet at the four corners and jerking the ball over the net with four others holding another sheet were catching the ball in their sheet. Perhaps the aim of the game was to teach them team spirit and how co-operation and co-ordination played a big role in achieving their targets.

If Only the Salt Cellars Could Talk

Image Blurred for keeping Identity a Secret

We in the services play a similar game where the fault of one man may be life threatening... Team spirit is one thing that is induced in the forces right from the first day. Psychological profiling plays a huge role in the forces . A game of a different sort was on for us in the classroom where one thing we did not have to fight against sleep - due to the scintillating form of the instructors - but definitely had to make an effort to understand the aggregates of supply and demand. The funny thing was the instructors were so accomplished that when they taught the subject everything was crystal clear but when it came to interpreting the same on paper one found oneself at loss for words till the explanation by the instructor made everything very clear.- then you mentally tended to kick yourself saying" of course : how could I have missed that?" Sandhya added colour to the proceedings by celebrating the weekend by dressing colourfully. Professor Ashita had a matching mobile cover .... Professor Dasgupta was her usual professional self . Her only passion being that we understood what she taught correctly and did not forget it. Jagpal was lost in his own thoughts and was preoccupied. Himanshu went beyond our mandate and asked questions which the instructors had to put a stop to as it was beyond the need of the class. Creating a database on suicides and how to prevent them was also a part of the learning - although unofficially - and was being worked upon by Jagadeshwar Rao garu. Asking pointed questions to elicit the maximum learning is a way of life for Prasad. Technical analysis and logical conclusions therein were ingrained in Sivaram. The only two normal people in the class were Banerjee and ......me. Our effort to view the water diamond paradox were nullified due to the slow speed of internet at ASCI. Between Himanshu and me we disproved the Law of marginal utility when we established that the 'more the consumption of whiskey - the more happy a person became'- and that even if your stomach was full you could make space for more by working out OR.... something -my memory fails me at this point...

In Retrospect..

Jul 09
Today was the busiest day of the week . It was a laid back week that we saw. We also had our monthly work anniversary on the 8th of this month. It seems unbelievable that we have already finished a month on the course. It only seems like yesterday that we had arrived at hyderabad to attend a business management course at Administrative Staff College of India. A month back Prof Bagchi and Prof Mahadik came and told us that in order to keep track of our classes we should start a blog about our doings in ASCI. This -let me assure you proved to be a boon in disguise - to give vent to our creative abilities to express ourselves over a medium where we were allowed to write all the occurances in the College.

I remember , when in 1987 one of my cousins from alembic came to do a course in management and had invited me to to visit him. The ambience of ASCI has not dimmed since then. It was ambient now as it was in 1987. I happened to meet a lot of people at that time who were serious and dedicated to learning about various things. Little did I realise that I would myself doing a course here in the future.In '87 we were callow youngsters who had little thought about the future. I met so many people that I forgot who they were as soon as the introduction was over. Now in the fag end of our service to the Nation in uniform we were back here as students. Life has gone a full circle. While the instructors were more relaxed now, the teaching has not changed much. Newer research and  better techniques presented a more polished method of teaching- in short marketing , economics finance and organisational behaviour were further evolved and were better understood now than in 1987. All for the better. Another thing which struck me was that there were definitely more lady instructors now than in 1987. I can vouch for this because a case in example was our own class where we had Professors Paramita Dasgupta , Shahaida ,Mubeen Rafat, Sutanuka Dev Roy, Malini, Dimple Grover Ashita Allamraju, Subhashini, Padmashree and a whole lot of others. Of course Professors Chandra Sekhar Vishwanatham and others also equally contributed to our learning. Visiting CEOs also contributed to our understanding the need to mutate into the civillian garb. Though Dr Ramu the PRO did not provide us insights into handling the press so far, his presence across the corridor toiling away at the next bellavistan magazine constantly kept him on our radar.

 We , a bunch of strangers before 8th jun , became a close knit group of services officers, sharing our experiences in our disparate fields. Some of us also contributed to the blog in a constructive fashion and all contributions were avidly read by the students and the staff alike. If I were to classify my coursemates I would say that they are a bunch of serious and happy go lucky lot at the same time.

Incidentally the blog in the past month has quickly gained repute and has - I am happy to say - Crossed the 1000 (1015) mark in readership with readers from across the world. A lot of officers on the threshold of retirement have instituted enquiries as to what this course was all about. Congratulations to all the participants in making this endeavour  a success .
I am sure that we will continue to scintillate the readers with brilliant insights in future.
Today we were into economics and organisation behaviour where we learnt about Man watching ( Remember Desmond Morris?) And if anyone did see our body language today the first thought that would come to their mind would be that here is a bunch of people who are upbeat about every thing!

Sulgay's Sermons

Jul08
There was a girl named Maya
Who said I am gonna kill ya
I laughed at her naivette
she murdered me by saying something inappropriate

 N o I am no good at limericks. I think I will stick to preaching normal sermons of love and brotherhood. Do not get me wrong. when I say brotherhood I mean it entirely in the right manner. One really mind his Ps and qs when one speaks nowadays. One cannot say to someone something like "You are looking so gay"; Gay earlier used to mean happy and carefree. Now it has been given an entirely different connotation - if you get my drift. Where I am posted there is a lot of foreign tourist traffic. They always stop in front of this restaurant and start gesticulating to others of their party. General hilarity ensues and then they pose in front of the restaurant clicking photographs by the dozen. Initially I used to wonder at this.. Then I got it. They were all going ape because the restaurant was named 'Gaylord'. How crazy can people be.

Yesterday I had told you my story about my joining the academy. I was of the view after joining the services one does not have to study anymore. But the services had other ideas in mind. I not only had to study more but had to demonstrate this knowledge both to my seniors and to my juniors to prove my professional competence. Using limericks was one way of remembering things

A war correspondent named Guido
Was struck by a flying torpedo,
So they called up his boss,
Who deployed the Red Cross--
They found only a sleeveless tuxedo! 

Whenever I forgot anything I remembered this limerick. It did not help me in any way - but It was the first thing that came to mind. By associating it with my preparations I was able to associate it with what I wanted to write.Often I found that a particular occurrence triggered a train of thought which may be happy, sad or lead to some action with positive or negative results.The thing about sermonising is that you can go on and on without coming to the point. 

To cut short a long story . Today was a day totally devoted to marketing. I marvel at Ms Shahaida's ability to go on and on for close to four hours on the subject without losing steam. If I hadn't eaten the whole day I would be seeing food swimming in front of my eyes and not marketing . Provided that  I had to speak at an occassion then my speech by the timer would not go beyond 10 minutes. It would start by addressing all present by gender, seniority general public and desperately searching for any more categories , which woud then be followed by congratulations to the participants and thereafter exhorting others to follow suit ending with Jai Hind - and that mind you would be a reasonably long speech. Anyhow we learnt a lot today and hope to do the same tomorrow...

I am enjoying this writing and may be I will twist Ravindra's arm to pontificate further in the near future..

The Word according to Jaggu

Today's blog is by my dear freind of more than thirty or more years. We trained together on our inception in the army and with being allotted different arms proceeded our separate ways -meeting only during holidays at Hyderabad- and that too only when our leave happened to coincide. ( Who says that friendships are not enduring?)Along the way we happened to marry the girls of our choice and produced healthy progeny to carry the Sulgay and Mangipudi lines forward into the posterity. Jagpal has achieved a lot in life - but who am I to jump the gun ?  he will tell you his story as it is... But one thing  is clear - he is definitely not as sober as he looks in the snapshot. Full of fun and mischief with a sense of unique humor he has made many climb the wall in sheer frustration.

Jaggu's Gospel

Ravindra cannot do what I can do what I propose to do. Write the blog, while I am working on the same. There is a certain amount of floweriness in his language which while being able to impress others does not in the least do the same to me. I have been set the difficult task of writing a few lines today. "Arre' my apna naam bhi jab tak zaroorat nahi padti to nahi likhta" I told him .In the end his persistence irritated the hell out of me. Back in the time when I used to stay in bowenpally we could look right across the begumpet airport. Now there is a huge intercession of buldings and a permanent smog which makes one yearn for the open spaces which are no longer there. Hyderabad has lost its old world charm to the IT sector and along with its  innocence. St Patrick's school ( Me and  ravindra may have been classmates - he left after only two years in the school)was where I started my enlightenment. Later in the academy it was quite impossible to get along with all the Jats and others who used to make fun of my hyderabadi accent and not a day passed without some fracas or the other..We all became good friends after some time as all of us had to contend with the exacting standards of training. 

This blog is not about me -it is about the course I am undergoing at ASCI. Unlike Ravindra I will stick to facts. The day started off pleasantly enough. Maximum temperature 35degrees and minimum 24 degrees. Sunrise was at 0545h and sunset at 1855h. pressure1006mb and visibility 6kms. Moon in the third phase. Must stick to facts... All people born today as per the daily forecast will be romantically involved... 

Perhaps the moon's juxtaposition had something to do with the classes. Prof Mahadik's

 class was professional and passed off pleasantly enough. For the second day in the week people were quite alert . Sandhya gave a brilliant presentation on  her school which did not have too many queries and we as sponsors were nodding in appreciation at the way she handled the finances of the school.

When we started on the marketing class with Prof Shahaida ( she was back in action after completing a project after a long time) on segmentation Iwas immediately struck by the different categories of people , who could be classified into various segments. This reminded me of the poem by Robert Browning. The analogy of segmentation was not much different from the classification of rats in "Pied Piper Of Hamelin"When I quote from the poem then you will realise the similarity:-

Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
Brown rats, black rats, gray rats, tawny rats,
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers;
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—

Thus the day ended.I forgot to mention the great war of the airconditioner. Perhaps we should classify people with the the way they handle the change in temperatures- every one wanted the AC at different temperatures... One more day of learning....I hope you could make sense of what I am trying to say.  Adios or should I say Au Revoir

Sabbath and Thereafter

Jul 06

Two days of lazing with not a thought of working on the classes already conducted. total holiday is what I describe it as. No work no exercise  - just a long and lazy weekend. The only thing that we were preparing for was  monday morning. Anyhow feedback from the rest of the crowd proved to similar as far as the week end was concerned . Some were more adventurous than the others ( I belong to the second group) Some went out of hyderabad to satisfy their desire for travel, while others went to the club and to movies on the insistence of their partners . Me? I sat at home - I could not afford it- I was slowly bleeding cash into my my new apartment . The contractor was rational in his arguments in my making additional spending- he is good at marketing his product...

Monday morning was as dull as it could be . We had already seen off two other courses which were being conducted in the previous week. Today we welcomed another course - the senior executive course . The duration of this course was for a month with as many as 25 participants from various public sector undertakings and about sixteen of these from foreign countries. The lunch break was a chance for us to interact with them - an opportunity we did not avail...We did inspect them closely..
Maybe tomorrow..

Earlier in the day our education continued with a case study on an unscrupulous woman who took advantage of   a new entrant in a company- whom she stabbed in the back by stealing his ideas and presenting them as her own. She was also guilty of misinforming him about the whereabouts of crucial information which would have raised his stock with the bosses.Alas it was not to be so.. Poor Mark. Ultimately her actions were justified as that of a person who was ambitious but totally ruthless. Mark was left high and dry.. Chak de' India was the second case study which we carried out to establish the workings of a down and out coach who turns adversity into advantage and help the womans' hockey team to win the world cup- interesting...

Finance was a necessary and a compulsory subject which got interesting when we started to establish running cost of an enterprise and how to cut corners to maximise our profit. A profitable exercise of the grey cells...

A Three Course Meal

Post Interaction Photo

Imagine having your meal backwards. You would eat the sonf (Fennel seeds) first, then the dessert, thereafter the last course and round off with the first course of the meal.

The Dessert

 Our last class was a case study in marketing which Like the sweet savoury got over in good time and left a lingering aftertaste.

The Third  Course

 This was preceded by a lecture by Dr Ratnakar, of the Global hospitas lakdi- ka- pul hyderabad Who came to our class to tell us about how best we could ease into civillian life . Certain home truths about life ,-like spicy condiments used liberally  -its purpose and how a successful life should also be productive opened our eyes to what awaited us beyond the uniform. At last a doctor of medicine... Like home food that bursts into a complexity of tastes on the palate leaving us gasping for breath and at the same time desiring for more, he opened our eyes to a lot of stark  truths in a very precise, gentle, and forceful manner. One had no option but to ask for second helping and to listen to this doctor of medicine who , even at seventy was sounding sprightly bright and optimistic about our tryst with destiny in the civil life . Frequently quoting from the scriptures and mythology which he used as the recipe for driving his points home he underlined the need to be flexible to adopt to the ways of functioning beyond our retirement age . For one and a half hours he held us spell bound with his vast experience frequently dipping into the sauces of his vast experiences. His lecture, like a well cooked dish was educative and motivational at the same time and evoked in us the feeling of our ability to do something gainful with our lives . We are indeed grateful to padmashree jee for having arranged this momentous meeting , A few questions and we were off to tea where he answered our further queries patiently. One thing he stressed was on honesty in our dealings and this is a piece of advice we are not going to forget in a hurry.

The Second Course

Prior to that was Baked fish a favorite of mine. But like getting an unexpected thorn which always took time to extricate and made one pay attention while eating, the next lecture by Prof allamraju also had a lot of twists and turns and subtle thorns -It was back to the curves both negative and positive concave and convex, and straight lines . When she explained to us the consumer theory based on the indifference curves which are restricted severely by the budget line we understood that we always had some control imposed on us on all our actions whether this was self imposed or otherwise. A moment of hilarity ensued, when one of the participants was slower on the uptake and joked that only curves of a different sort were better understood by him....

The First Course

The first course was a tasty appetizer - a start to a gourmet meal...

Economics, I am convinced is as precise or vague -if you like it-as the english language. Nothing is wrong with the way you interpret a particular theory or pronounce your liking for a particular type of food as long as the person eating/being taught can be satisfied- or that was our thought- till Prof Dasgupta got into the act. Her laying out the facts about the issue of employment had nothing vague about it. More than us she was the one who was not satisfied till she got her pupils to understand what it was that she intended to disseminate . We are in safe hands as far as macro economics is concerned....

The day started with a long run and a desperate bid to beat time in getting ready thereafter.......

All in all a gastronomically satisfying and an intellectually stimulating day...   

Routine...

Jul 03

We were transported back to school days. "All right students;" said the teacher . "Pull out your books and make notes". There was a rustle and a surprised murmur as the class got down to working out the intricacies of marketing and understanding the ins and outs of marketing strategy. It was a lot tougher than we thought it would be . We are indeed grateful to Dr Malini who, for three hours wrestled with our sluggish brains to help us make sense of the convoluted manner in which the minds of the promoters worked to force a product down the throats of unwitting customers. Mind you it involved a lot of hard work and grey matter to ensure that this happens - and in an effective fashion.

Today was a day of important happenings . Sandhya finally got her car from Bareilly. As was the case in bareilly she drove her car to work innocently. On the route she was stopped by a police man for having tinted windows. No amount of explanation on her part that the tinted windows were a norm in north India and that if it was the practice in Hyderabad not to have tinted windows she would get the film removed affected the policeman. Not even the production of an I-card to the effect to prove her newness to town made an impression on the  thick headed police man. Ultimately she was handed a challan for having 'broken the law', Our sympathies are with her for having been unfairly penalised. Were this anywhere else in the country she would have been left with an advise to make amends and remove the tinted film at the earliest. ..

For the third day in the week Prof Bagchi and Prof Mahadik were missing from the tea break. We miss conversing with them on various topics of the day and gaining their brilliant insights.. The mess as usual was crowded with a junior management course from oil India from Gauhati , senior managers from a no of companies who had come to improve on their learning and gain valuable tips to improve their lot as also that of their companies.

More than 20 days have been completed on the course and as the first week draws to a close we are much more clued up in our primary aim of easing into the civillian way of life...formal classes and informal interactions with people from a vast cross section of  population which is already involved in the job is proving beneficial..

Sandhya;s Wellness Centre

Jul 01

It has gone all wrong from the word go today. Neha my boss is gunning for me . Last time just before my presentation she told me to do away with the earrings. I took a calculated risk and disobeyed her. That the presentation on the marketing of sandhya’s wellness centre went off well is no reason for her to forget my intransigence. I fear for my job . what are my friends going to say when they come to know that I have been eased out of my job? Neha came to the office in a bad mood; That she was unwell  boded ill for all concerned . No amount of diligent market survey to identify the market and thereafter target the correct segment to sell the item under consideration was going to save me from her wrath.

The problem with Neha was that she spent too much time on her phone to develop any meaningful interpersonal relationships with us drones. I' m experiencing an extreme stress related disorder – who says that post traumatic disorder effects only people who fight the enemy?- It is a common complaint even among us marketers . The stakes are very high and by the end of each day we permit ourselves to breath a sigh of relief  that the day has passed without any untoward incident. Good performance and job retention are heterogeneous. If one does not do well , then one is likely to be given the boot and lose ones' livelihood.

The test marketing of  of the psychological services offered by Sandhya’s wellness center  has showed promise. People from all walks of life with personal problems are crawling out of the woodwork to give this promising service a chance to improve ones’ state of mind and improve their lot  in this world where dog eats dog. Forget the 'soft launch'. There are people out there who need succor. The promise of confidentiality- which was promoted strenuously- seems to be reaping dividends. The time has come to try out their services myself. Maybe it will help me alleviate my stress at work and help me handle the invisible tension between me and neha (all because I decided to wear the ear rings) with equanimity. If it does work out for me I will be sure to recommend it to neha so that she learns to manage her time better and handle the obduracy of her subordinates with aplomb.

Failing which I shall have to appeal to her rationality and maybe ingratiate myself into her good books. I have decided that her pressure tactics have to be firmly dealt with. In the end it looks like I have to personally appeal to her sense of justice.and hope her leadership qualities take over....

Two classes today, one by Prof Malini reddy – on marketing which- as has become the Habit in ASCI- been  dealt with skillfully and with a lot of panache and an inimitable fashion - and the other by Prof Subashini – who in her own soft and cheerful manner,  guided us through the intricacies of leadership. At the rate at which we are learning there is no saying how proficiently  we will be educated by the end of the course….