The Armament

Dear Jatin,
I am indeed grateful that you remembered me today through the medium of your email. I am fine and hope the same with you. Often the writer straightaway jumps to the meat of the letter and forgets the niceties of normal conversation - even if it is through letter. Like I had mentioned before, I am doing a course at ASCI in anticipation of my retirement . The course will help us in preparing for life out of uniform. It is quite interesting and as part of our curriculum we visit various companies and government installations. You will I am sure be interested in our activities . I am sure that you are keeping abreast of our activities through our blog. Today we went to an installation where they were manufacturing armaments. We were looking forward to this visit for a long time and it finally fructified after an inordinately long time. We were accompanied by scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO). They were about 27 n number. For a change our visit was well coordinated and reception was in place. That was after we were unexpectedly delayed due to a wrong turn here and a misdirection there...

Group Photo Prior to Briefing

The project was in place since 1998 and has gone from strength to strength since that time. The project director was One Mr Manoj Kumar - a dynamic and hard working mechanical Engineer from Jabalpur. When asked where he was from - his reaction was typical- "I am from Jabalpur , but for the past 23 years since the inception of the project I have been in Hyderabad. It has become a second home ."  He continued in the same vein " when we came here , the entire area was a jungle but we were provided complete cooperation by the government and the locals alike. What you see here today is the facility developed painstakingly over a period of time. I am happy to say that we are now totally self sufficient not only with respect to the project but also otherwise. We employ and train people locally for carrying out tasks on the armaments locally. It not only provides us readily available manpower but also helps them make something of their lives. It is a symbiotic relationship".
Before we proceeded on a briefing and tour of the facility we all had a group photograph for posterity. Mr Manoj Kumar then conducted us to the briefing room where he proceeded to brief us about the work that they were carrying out to help India a better place to live in.

Briefing

By the way I hope that you did not feel bad that I did not call you on your birthday. In my defence I can only say that your phone was consistently giving the 'switched off' signal. I hope you got my greetings on the facebook.Any how Mr Manoj Kumar then proceeded to brief us in general and then about the armament and its capabilities. I can tell you with confidence that the ability of the armament is such that it can destroy pinpoint targets at a designated distance.
While the lecture was on we were simultaneously fed and provided bevarages. Considering that there were scientists from the ISRO also attending the lecture, it was but natural that the questions turn technical and searching . They id not let Mr Manoj Kumar off easily and posed searching queries , which I have to admit that Mr Manoj Answered quite satisfactorily . Of course we had a few questions of our own...

Further Briefing

In the morning we had a class on Supply Chain Management. I had mentioned Prof  Sachendra earlier who was the instructor of the day.As usual his teaching methods followed  unexpected and interesting turns . In this way we were to assimilate the lessons on supply chain Management in an effective manner. With the instruction still fresh in our minds, it was but natural that our questions were more to do with logistics mechanisms involved in the transportation of the armament to its place of use, planning for the procurement of innocuous raw material which could be converted into the deadly weapons and capacity and capability of the plant as also procedures in place for maintaining high standards of quality , so that the weapon did not fail in the time of need. Being put through the paces a number of times in his professional life Mr Manoj Kumar came up with the right responses to our queries. We thank him for  his patience
Well, all good things mist come to an end. The major gains from the visit being that we could learn about an armament which we had only seen in the Republic  Day Parade, up close and meeting the scientists from ISRO and getting to know them. Do you know - We have a tremendous respect for these  intrepid ISRO scientists who have done India proud with their accomplishments and put India on the world space Map. I am sure that with their hard work , dedication and superior brains they will continue to do India proud in times to come. We hope to visit SHAR soon in the near future.
I am sorry that I will have to reluctantly take leave from this verbal onslaught and hope that you will continue to keep in touch - now that the ice is broken .....

Bye

Work Out

Many people that I meet often ask me about various ways to stay fit. When I tell them that any regime in fitness is achieved by hard work some of them change the subject. The others venture a step further and  probe the fitness mantra. I tell them that while they are on the right track, by deciding to stay fit , it is not always about exercise only. At this age it has to be a combination of both exercise and dieting. Some more of the remaining people walk out when it meant controlling their diet. The balance of the people - some had back ache which can be alleviated by doing the simple exercises shown here. These exercises , incidentally , can be done sitting in a chair also . They are so simple that you can do them any time of the day. They will definitely alleviate the back pain. The other exercises shown on top are for improving the musculature and reducing the flab both on anterior and posterior parts of the body.Any one who is looking for a quick fix in the weight department - let me assure you - there is no quick fix. Firstly you have to be sure that you want to reduce. Then you have to work on your diet. Meeting a dietitian for fixing your diet may be a good idea. Remember the dietitian can only tell you what to eat. Putting it into practice is entirely your own doing and one has to be patient . Regular walking will be a good way to help you reduce your weight. 

To kick start your campaign one of the tried and proven methods is adopting the general motors diet. This diet helps one in initially to lose three or four kgs from where one can build up on further reducing weight. To know more about GM diet it is advised to google it . A complete schedule is available on the net. No exercise in isolation will help. A combination of walk and stretching exercises will be very beneficial . It is recommended that surya namaskar is very effective not only in reducing weight, but also in improving the muscle tone and help in reducing various blood related ailments. More information can be got from www.ijcep,org 

A pictorial representation can be seen from the above figure. If you have any chronic ailments it is always better to consult a doctor before starting of on any exercise regime. Don't say I did not warn you !

Certain basic rules to be kept in mind for working out. Do exercise on an empty stomach. Set timing, if you cannot set timing then ensure you work out once a day at a time convenient to you- wit four hour gap between meals and workout. Remember there is always time it is only that one should have the inclination to use the time available in the best possible manner. Do not over stress on work out . if you are not feeling well consult a doctor, Give a day's break in the week. Do not avoid any food . Eat everything in small quantities - this applies to beverages also. New fangled diets do not work over long periods. If possible vary the type of work out you do once in two to three days.

At ASCI

Classes are going on at a much less frenetic pace . There is  reduced activity. It is happening  - but at a normal man's pace. Today's lecture was by Prof Vilas shah. We played an interesting game which at the beginning looked more like speculation then like anything scientific. But as we progressed through the day it was amply proved by Prof Shah that nothing was speculation. It all followed a pattern and it was for us  recognise the pattern so that we could maximise our profits. The lesson was brought home in a very effective manner through the medium of the game. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day with a field trip planned...

Award of the Day

Goes to GJ Rao for having his suicide prevention project accepted by the Andhra Pradesh Government - You will remember that earlier he had successfully got it implemented by the Telangana Government - Congratulations.

Quallities

Today the professor who was to take the class took ill. So we were at a loose end. But as they say - It is all for the good. Don't get me wrong. we wish the professor a speedy recovery and at the same time we assure her that we missed her sparkling wit , patience in handling a class full of recalcitrant people and her ability to turn the class in to a learning citadel with role plays and other practical methods of teaching employed by her. We hope to see her back on her feet at the earliest.

The free time gave us time to concentrate on the all important brochure which has been hanging fire for some time. As prof Bagchi brought out during our interactions - it is a passport to get interviews and the presentation has to be good and purposeful. My friend Vishwanath in spite of ill health- the virus strikes again - put his top staff to work on the brochure. They did sterling work and produced a good brochure. But sometimes I wonder whether what we have said in the brochure adequately covers everything about us? It is a thing that we will probably solve only when we meet someone who can look at us objectively and tell us our strengths and(?) weaknesses.

Over the past few months I have interacted with the course participants and have learnt a lot about them - what are their strengths, weaknesses , what makes them tick and what irritates them how they would behave in an emergency, what are their food preferences, about activity that they were constrained from mentioning in the brochure, their work ethic, family life , children, dress preferences interaction with their colleagues , how they react to seniors , ego, impetuosity, cars they prefer and level of intelligence, adaptability, health, exercises, punctuality , obedience. temper and a whole lot of other features that have not been written in the brochure. All these things I suppose will matter when we turn up for interviews.

I can say with courage of conviction that all the qualities will be in the positive . Moreover I also leave this as a teaser for all all those who have interacted with us and leave a photo to refresh your memories as to the participants....  

Back To The Future V

Moto Gp Riders Schedule

It  was in Indianapolis that I met with Jagpal Sir.He was a changed man. Ten years had elapsed since we did that course at ASCI. I had gone there to meet my son who had settled in Chicago. On my expressing interest in viewing the Moto GP my son took me to Indianapolis. This had been the venue for Moto Gp since 2008. I was still soaking in the atmosphere when there was a shout from behind somewhere. " Oi Siva" shouted someone. It lighted up the memory bulb and even before I turned I knew that it was Jagpal. And what a change! He had grown a mustache and looked a lot younger. The years did not mellow him down. Astoundingly he looked very spry and handsome. My day was made. It was with joy that I returned his greeting. Many questions popped up in my mind and they found expression immediately as soon as we could make ourselves heard over the roar of the motorcycles and the excited hubbub of the crowd which was patiently waiting for the race to begin. " Let us go to the lounge where it is quieter and we can watch the race also uninterrupted " said Jagpal. I was suitably impressed but did not say any thing till we were in the lounge. As I read the programme sheet I saw that the American was at the pole position . As I ran my eyes down I saw a familiar name- Rithwick Sulgay. Suddenly everything became clear - or at least a part of it - the part about our access to the VIP Lounge. The other questions remained however. Jagpal put up his hands laughing. " Let us first finish the race and then I will answer your questions " he Said. The next forty five minutes passed in a blur of speed, daredevilry and skill exhibited by these young riders of the two wheelers. The mobikes were more powerful and difficult to handle. But these boys did it with ease. Rithwick came in at 9th position and his dad was reasonably pleased. Jagpal then told me the whole story since we left ASCI in 2015. Over to him....

Jagpal 2025

" I had no doubt in my mind that I would continue in the services after retirement" he said. After Feb 2016, I was posted to Andaman And Nicobar Islands and subsequently moved back to Hyderabad. You will remember how my son was stuck on acquiring the KTM motorcycle at that time and how I had to give in to him and buy the damn thing. Initially I was worried but other than cautioning him I did not interfere with him , trusting his sound sense of safety. How was I to know that this purchase was to change his life forever and mine in the process? He started racing on the sly , knowing fully well that I would object if I came to know about it. Anyway it was not to remain a secret for long - when one of my course mates posted in Chennai called to congratulate me on my son's performance in the Solavaram races . Naturally I blew my top on reaching home that day. But my wife with irrefutable logic made me see reason. Women have this way of pouring oil over troubled waters you see... Any way by the time he came back from his degree course from Chennai for vacation, things had suitably cooled down for us to have a reasonable dialogue. I saw that it would be better to support him in his endeavour to achieve something in life (motor bike racing) rather than becoming an obstacle for him. Once that was over and done with I was totally into bike racing - reading up literature, meeting people who could advise both me and my son and working on the strategy to propel him to higher things in the sport - namely Moto GP. Soon I knew more about all the aspects of the sport than my son , with out having ever riding a motor bike in competition .
The biggest problem of course was the sponsorship. Here the lessons in business management learnt at ASCI came in very handy. I had to work hard but when people saw that I had a winner on my hands, support started coming in - first in a trickle and soon in a deluge. A reputed tyre company which supported  the icon of cricket joined the band wagon of sponsors for my son. Money started pouring in . I took up the full time job of managing my son - on his insistence of course. South Africa Spain, Istanbul , Italy, UK, Malaysia- I have been every where. Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini Casey stoner, Michael Doohan, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo- I have met them all, and they have nothing but a good word for my kid. If you stay long enough I will introduce you to them" Said Jagpal.
But this was not to be . My grand children were baying for my blood- it was feeding time - for once I felt that it was difficult enough bringing up their father - God why are you doing this to me all over again? But better sense prevailed and promising Jagpal that I would take him up on his offer in the near future I left him haggling with the advertisers on his son's remuneration for the   next Boost commercial in India....

Pistol

Sep 22 On a cold winter morning in Jan in the year in 2000 I got a call from a friend. At that time we were residing in Delhi. No mobile was available. However the telephone was conveniently placed at the bedside and I had to make no effort to pick up the receiver from under the quilt. "Wake up" He said; " the other day when we were having a drink you happened to mention your willingness to pick up a pup - well - I have found one for you. Go to Rohini and meet Mr Bhalla. He had a litter and one pup is left". "Is it a male or female?" I asked. " What does it matter? " he said impatiently. "You wanted a pup and he has it.Just go and pick it up. He is waiting for you. I have already told him that you will be coming ". And so I was committed to picking up a pup. It was then that I knew in my mind that she was a female. Even in the canine world prejudices existed . No one wanted a female.I gave it up as a bad dream till the second call roused me. " Why have you not gone yet?" remonstrated my friend. " What will I say to Mr Bhalla"? I had half a mind of telling him to go hop it, but considering that he had undergone the trouble of finding a pup , I did not have the heart to refuse him. A call for a vehicle and a quick trip to Rohini - I had already decided to go see the pup and politely decline the offer of a pup to Mr Bhalla. A hot cup of tea and we got down to business. The pup was produced and handed over. All thoughts of a graceful exit evaporated. The pup fitted neatly into the palm of my hand and it started licking my fingers as if to express its approval of its new master. Having thanked Mr Bhalla for his generosity I headed home, with the pup stuffed in my jacket to protect it against the biting cold. As I was heading home the situation at home struck me with full force.

My wife was mortally scared of dogs regardless of age sex and size. How was I going to convince her? On reaching home I knew that I was in for a tough time. My daughter aged 8 years was immediately thrilled, My son was very happy but my wife was another matter altogether. She refused to listen to reason and was very vocal about her displeasure. When I put down the pup it started moving about finding its feet in an unfamiliar territory. The long ride home had rested it and the first thing it did was urinate in the carpet which was a prized possession of my wife. And so it literally started off on a wrong foot. The whole day was spent on the arguments and at night fall the dog was put in a carton. My troubles were just starting. Having been removed from the warmth of its mother's embrace it started voicing its disapproval in a very vociferous manner, By evening my wife and I were not on talking terms. Not wanting to further ruin the situation and waking up my wife I picked up the pup and put it on the bed. When we woke up in the morning - a rather rude awakening -because during the night the pup was cuddled up at my wife's feet .On waking up my wife was up in arms. No amount of reasoning that the dog had taken to her seemed to pacify her. This now became a daily routine - my wife threatening dire consequences if the pup was found on the bed and the pup invariably curling up at her feet during the night.

Gradually an uneasy truce was signed between them - as if the dog telling her that "you don't interfere with me and I won't with you'. Being away at the office most of the time and the children being away at school my wife had no option but to take up the responsibility of looking after the dog. Pistol- for that was her name soon became inseparable from my wife. Discussions about the home  family and children soon became the order of the day between them - so much so that I started feeling jealous of their relationship. We soon moved to Agra and I had to leave my family behind at Agra , when I moved to Devlali. By now the small pup who used to fit in the palm of my hand had grown into a strapping dog. At Devlali we picked up the strings and we used to go for long walks. 

The problem with bitches is that they get into heat. And this is what happened precisely. In an unguarded moment , while at Devlali she ran off in the night. Forget the fact that I spent the entire night looking for her. In the morning she comes back with her friend as if to say " Can we keep him? He seems to be the good sort;" To ensure that she did not give birth to illegitimate children it was back to Agra to get her uterus removed. At that time I felt bad but I was not up to facing the ignominy of unwanted pups. For the next few years pistol was my constant companion on long walks and a good friend to the children. They grew up from lisping tots to children seriously thinking about the future. My wife had now developed a lasting friendship with pistol. Whenever my wife used to colour her nails pistol also got a new coat to her nails . They used to discuss every thing under the sun .

As the time passed by pistol got old .Sandy and Duke joined her at home. But she never let them forget her seniority so much so that they would eat only after she started eating. Along with old age came the problems associated with old age. Her eyesight started failing her and soon came the Day when she was no more.

We buried her under the lemon tree in our compound in Agra, along with all her items of use. It was a heart wrenching moment . We still remember her with a lot of fondness. She died on the same day my Mother passed away albeit in a different year. Wherever she is right now we hope she is happy and contented.....  

3000

Sep 21
There is a feeling of - dare I permit myself ? - satisfaction that I feel today. The blog ( ARMSASCI) has completed 3018 page views as we go to the press. Three months back , on 9th Jun  Profs Bagchi and Mahadik came to the class and told us that we have to maintain a blog. The only term of reference being that we have to make allowance for the daily occurrences in the class, True to their word they did not interfere in the actual blog . Other than the fact that they kept tabs by reading it. The thing that most saddened me was none of the people who read the blog offerred much of a feedback initially.I suppose that it was the wait and watch policy as to where we were going with this narration on a daily basis.


During the posting of the blog a variety of topics were tackled. The distinguished staff, my fellow participants, social issues, festivals, interviews of foriegn participants in the many programmes conducted at ASCI and current affairs . Many of the participants also contributed to the blog - notable among the being Jagpal, Banjo, Himanshu, Sandhya and also in a rarest of rare occassions Prof Mahadik . The endeavour being to include as many viewpoints as possible , so as to make the blog multi dimensional and not uni dimensional,  Initially the response to the blog was quite lukewarm. The number of views did not amount to much. But we persisted. Soon our persistence started to pay off. The blog became a daily read for many at the ASCI. While the reading was restricted to only the participants of ARMSASCI programme in the beginning ,it gained impetus after the first fifteen days with all the staff and others who had come in contact with the course either in the class room or the dining hall or participants of the other courses reading it. In fact many of my coursemates in the training academy who were on the verge of retiring when they asked me about what the course was all abouut I directed them  to read the blog to learn about the course.

Entry	Pageviews
Caveat Emptor! The Surgeon is here 11 Jun 2015, 1 comment	61
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Some of the more popular blogs and their readership are as listed above. It was with the view of ensuring that the blog did not become stale that we included an interesting series called "Back To The Future". This series speculated on the ARMSASCI participants future employment after hanging up their boots. We also wrote about the various visits in field and these were read  avidly. Many guest lecturers who visited us for informing us about job prospects also found mention in the blog. In the past three and a half months some of us distinguished themselves by getting involved in various activities . Notable among these were the study done by GJ Rao on prevention of suicide. The way to prevent suicides- which we fondly call the 'Jagadish Model' was adopted  by the Telangana government. Sivaram pursuing his passion of bicycling touching new heights by completing 600 kms in 23hours. Himanshu participated in the half Marathon and completed it in good time. The others are still at it and I have no doubt that they will soon provide ammunition for this blog in times to come.

Prof Mahadik in a moment of candour told us that as faculty they expected the blog to die its own natural death after a few posts - of course -he also was happy that this was not the case. And we are happy that we proved him wrong. I also take this oppurtunity to thank all contributors to the blog either directly or indirectly to make it a grand success

Hierarchy& Discipline

Heirarchy as prevalent in a feudal English household . As described by P G Wodehouse
"If there is I can't think of it. When I was at Oxford I used to go and stay with a friend of mine who had a butler that looked like a Roman emperor in swallowtails. He terrified me. I used to grovel to the man. Please give me all the pointers you can."
"Well, as Mr. Peters' valet, I suppose you will be rather a big man."
"I shan't feel it."
"However large the house party is, Mr. Peters is sure to be the principal guest; so your standing will be correspondingly magnificent. You come after the butler, the housekeeper, the groom of the chambers, Lord Emsworth's valet, Lady Ann Warblington's lady's maid—"
"Who is she?"
"Lady Ann? Lord Emsworth's sister. She has lived with him since his wife died. What was I saying? Oh, yes! After them come the honorable Frederick Threepwood's valet and myself—and then you."
"I'm not so high up then, after all?"
"Yes, you are. There's a whole crowd who come after you. It all depends on how many other guests there are besides Mr. Peters."
"I suppose I charge in at the head of a drove of housemaids and scullery maids?"
"My dear Mr. Marson, if a housemaid or a scullery maid tried to get into the steward's room and have her meals with us, she would be—"
"Rebuked by the butler?"
"Lynched, I should think. Kitchen maids and scullery maids eat in the kitchen. Chauffeurs, footmen, under-butler, pantry boys, hall boy, odd man and steward's-room footman take their meals in the servants' hall, waited on by the hall boy. The stillroom maids have breakfast and tea in the stillroom, and dinner and supper in the hall. The housemaids and nursery maids have breakfast and tea in the housemaid's sitting-room, and dinner and supper in the hall. The head housemaid ranks next to the head stillroom maid. The laundry maids have a place of their own near the laundry, and the head laundry maid ranks above the head housemaid. The chef has his meals in a room of his own near the kitchen.

This one aspect from the British we have thoroughly imbibed in to our culture . After having spent a suitable amount of time in the army I for one am thoroughly convinced that this is a must . One of the things that a leader has to keep in mind is the need to maintain distance with the followers . If this is not done there is always a good chance that any decision whether good or bad popular or unpopular are going to be questioned and what better way to do this than to be at a distance from the madding crowd.  For does not familiarity breed contempt  ?  A leader has to have certain amount of mystique . Anyhow I am digressing.
In the course of interaction with civilians during the past three and a half  months we noticed that rigidity in the ranks was more pronounced outside the armed forces than within . We in the services are flexible accommodating and sensitive to the needs of both our subordinates and our seniors . But along with the flexibility comes certain amount of maturity and discipline  which is necessary in the army . There have been often sighs and " How I wish " with all the people we have interacted with when we talk about discipline. One person said " how I wish people had the same  commitment and work ethic that you have in the services(as in uniform) . But having met lot of people I realise that the methods we employ in the services are as rigorously practiced in the  civil as they are in the services. The bottom line in the services is that the loss of life should be minimized as much as possible and that in the civvy street is profits. Profits drive everything else. The motivation , the discipline the urge to work the attendance at office personal life and everything else are driven by profit.
Nothing else matters. It is therefore I suppose that the hierarchical ladder is so rigid in the corporate world.In any case a little bit of discipline did not kill anybody - of that I am very sure.
In addition to discipline being a by product of hierarchy it is very important that one exercises self discipline. Self discipline is more important than enforced discipline. We all exercise self discipline to some extent. when we prepared for exams we sacrificed other pastimes , when we ate food or got drunk we exercised self restraint - those who did not suffered the consequences and made a fool of themselves much to the  misery of all those around them - whether it be parents , wives , children or friends. But we always tend to veer away from the straight and narrow and follow dark alleys in the hope of early gains. This is where hierarchy and discipline play an important part in our lives. It is for this purpose that for self progress we must be disciplined and if we cannot do it on our own then it is only logical that someone else will do it for us.And that is why we have a saying in the Services:-

Flying Solo

Sep 18

Waiting

Mr Satya Gottumukkala alumni BITS Pilani formerly of Anthelio Health care solutions and religare solutions now president at Eli global Hyderabad on entering the training room  said " this is not a class why are you all sitting at the desks?" Immediately there was migration of his staff to the other side. Having no one from the ASCI to guide us we were at loss initially as to how to break ice. Being a seasoned campaigner Mr Satya started of by introducing himself and subsequently all his staff also introduced themselves. As usual even the newest among them, Ms Thomas were very well qualified for the job they were to be doing at Eli global.

Jaggu Sivaram And GJ

Himanshu Sandhya And Thomas

Eli global started off by the founder Mr Greg Lindberg buying his first company (as the story goes ) on a credit card. The company was founded in 1991 in new haven Connecticut. They are mostly into health care - the logic being that health care goes up by 12-15% every year. The company employs 2500 persons world wide. The Hyderabad branch was opened on 18 May 2015. The number of employees at Hyderabad is about 200. Mr Satya is the president at Hyderabad and the thing which struck us most was his absolute belief in the task he was performing and his total trust in his team to deliver the goods. The long and short of the story of the company is that they take over and turn around companies - the bottom line being of course the profits in doing so. Their commitment is long term and is said to be about 30 years for all the companies that they take over. As mentioned earlier they are mostly into health care and are concentrating on ophthalmology. They have already cornered 40% of the US market in this respect.

The boss of the company and so it follows the employees are numbers focused. Mr Satya told us that the style of functioning of Mr Greg Lindbergh is hands off approach but with his eye on the bottom line. The philosophy being that business should always make money. A team of financial analysts is always on the look out for acquisition of new companies . For running these new acquisitions  they have a pool of leaders who can think out of box to provide impetus to these companies. The potential for growth - by revamping sales and marketing, the financial aspects and stress on structure are the few things that they concentrate on.

Mr Satya And His Staff

Continuing his briefing about the company Mr Satya said " for the improvement of the company the leadership bandwidth has to be good . It is for this reason that we take immense care while recruiting leaders. We look for a person who is aggressive , who is an entrepreneur and who can take risks. In fact I myself had to undergo seven rounds of interview." He told us of a manager who five years before had been recruited and was doing a sterling job. On being asked whether the company would go public , Mr Satya was shocked at the idea and said that " we would never go public for this would mean that we would have to play to the stock markets and in any case we would have lost focus on going public".An added snippet was that their oldest employee was 87 years old and was a counsel for the company.

Workplace Eli Hyderabad

Thereafter there being no further questions we were given a tour of the work place. The available space was admirably used to full effect and had all the facilities as required for attaining their goals . For the benefit of the employees there was a cafeteria and a sick bay. A gym would have been good - for a healthy worker is an inspired worker.

It was our first interaction with the corporate world without a chaperon from the ASCI accompanying us . We were struck by the work ethic of the organisation and especially its president Mr Satya . We take this oppurtunity to thank them forr an immensely instructive afternoon.

Jagpal Handing over the Memento To Mr Satya

Ganesh Chathurthi

Vishakapatnam

Khairatabad

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi. The festival is now celebrated almost all over India now. I remember in 1989-90 when in Agra and newly married we had to scour  the entire city of Agra to find a Ganesha idol for installing at our home .When young while still in Hyderabad,  at home we all assembled in the Drawing room on  the morning of the pooja. An evening prior I used to (Being the youngest I was assigned the task of going along with my mother to Badi chowdi market to act as the coolie for my Mother while she went shopping for all the requisites for the Pooja.) be all excited in preparing the pandaal for the Pooja. It seemed quite an intricate affair and the time for sleep used to be delayed by an hour to complete all the preparations. The next morning we all used to be woken up with the sun. My mother would scrub my hair with Sapindus or soap berries.(commonly called reetha in hindi).The juice of the soap berries mixed with water used to taste not unlike beer - probably it is why beer used to set off nostalgia whenever we used to drink it. Like I said we assembled in the hall with our eyes still smarting from the natural shampoo and start the pooja. To add to our woes was the smoke from the sacred fire lit to perform the rituals. Just when hunger was at its worst and one had given up all hope of any sort of sustenance, food used to be served. The food was really good - and more important- it was home cooked.

 By this time the relatives and friends trickled in to partake in the festivities. Latest by about 1'0' clock all loose ends would have been tied up, the debris of the feast cleared after the ladies of the house had finished - they always used to eat after the men. A sensible method as one could eat in peace. Should be followed even now... The evening was devoted in visiting others residences and and propitiating Lord Ganesha by holding ones ears and begging God for forgiveness for all perceived acts of sin. Since there was no TV it was also a good opportunity  to socialize. Almost everyone knew everyone else. Indigestion at the end of the day was norm..No Tv no unnecessary news ....

 By about the third day huge processions from all over the city started for immersing the idols in Hussain sagar. Happy drunk people dancing to the tune of the beats and shouting on the top of their voices formed part of the procession. Directors of movies along with top choreographers kept a sharp eye on the processions to learn new steps to introduce in their movies. Women in their right mind of course kept off the streets. Once in a while these processions also resulted in religious riots. But that was all a part of the game...
Of late the Festival has become more pretentious. Nowadays it is all about politics and competition and tremendous amount of money is spent on the idols and the processions. It is now about "Mine is Bigger than yours"....At home all has changed. We now employ a priest or the you tube for the method of conducting the Ganesha Pooja  .I leave you with a few photos of Ganesha chathurthi being celebrated around the city

Marooned

Sep 15
Log Entry #72
There is a calm at sea which we have never seen before. Experience has shown that it is always calm before a storm. We have been sailing turbulent seas for the past 14 weeks . Our interaction with the locals at all the ports has been fruitful.On this particular port the natives have been very friendly and informative. They have taken pains to explain to us the intricacies of their customs and traditions. This was the  first port of halt  where the natives welcomed us with lot of courtesy but were disappointed by our small numbers. They had the predatory looks of people deprived of potential food. 

Our ships were scuttled and were stuck in the port for the next 6 months at least. Slowly we are coming to terms with our incarceration. If anything the natives have in addition to teaching us have been very hospitable. They have been feeding us well.... The reason for this is probably to fatten us for the jobs in the offing .

Date 15 Sep 2015 Weather  wind at 11km/h78%Humidity Tuesday 2217h 17.3700deg N 78.4800deg E The natives in addition to feeding us exotic food are also forcefully teaching us things which we feel might be useful to us in the near future .  How useful will be determined by the need to put these teachings in practice in near future. We do not know what will happen . Banjo is on a trip of his own , Perumal has been removed from the daily happenings for sometime now. Rumour has it that he has been taken away to a far off hospital to be ' Reprogrammed'. since his return he has been acting "normally". But there is a marked change in the way the natives have beeen behaving with him- they have been agreeing with everything that he says and does.Jaggu has been the leader. Always plotting as to how to escape from the clutches of the natives. He has tasked Sivaram to cycle all round the area of interest to find ways and means of escape. Only recently Sivaram has done over eight hundred or more kilometers to check out our routes of escape. 

GJ Rao has been teaching the natives as to how to overcome their desire to overcome their death wish. In the process he has been successful in befriending the top echelon of leadership.

 we see no real hope of getting out for another few months . But there is no dearth of trying. Today we were introduced by the locals to a new level of torture. The threat to use calculus and six sigma are real and the only way to alleviate the extreme pain is to go along with the natives and learn their ways so that we do not feel the pain, The report by Sivaram has been encouraging. His trip has indicated the various ways we can get away from all the this safely, The date for trial escape by Sivaram is set . It is Nov  01. Right from the beginning we had decided that it is better to escape one by one , The next person who is scheduled to move away is Sandhya. All that in near future . The last to escape will be GJ Rao . He has decided that his lot is tied up with the natives. His yeoman work in alleviating the lot of the local people will help him in settling into the life here in this location. Jaggu and Banjo have decided to make a break for it together. They think that their team work over a period of time will help them in overcoming any odds that might come their way. The one person who will escape by the sea route will be Himanshu. He plans to make a lie for himself on the foreign shores. ....

God only knows what they have in store for us . It is hopeless ,and at the same time challenging. See you soon....

Desire

Sep 14

Walk a mile to catch a thief - there is no limit to what you should walk to save a life. On Sunday morning GJ Rao was the guest for the 2 km run held by Care Hospital for bringing awareness in the population with regard to Suicide and its prevention. Sunday while it was eventful for some was run of the mill for the others.

For Dr Ramu the PRO at ASCI it was a day of decisions. At long last as the sun hidden by the cloud cover moved up in the sky he at last came to a decision. His motto of 'variety is the spice of life had to be lived up to. Rather reluctantly he came to the decision that he must also put into practice his motto. It was this decision that made him get rid of his close friend and companion for many years. It was with a heavy heart that he took his razor to personally murder his goatee. The transformation was rather miraculous and he was young and debonair once more. The fact was the topic of many conversations in the college. Jagpal said " kya dikhra Boss" and as usual it summed up everyone's thoughts . Of course the dense among us had this puzzled look on their faces and reflected it by saying " Kya dikhra?" 

Anyhow the other part of the story deals with the class by Prof Sachendra. The difference between a leader and the manager was clarified. The leader should also be a manager however a manager need not necessarily be a leader. It is a matter of semantics . A manager is also a leader. Only he  has to follow to lead. Quality as usual reflected in the lecture by Prof Sachendra.  In fact the topic of discussion was also quality. We strive for quality all our lives more than anything else as children we want better clothes and toys as teenagers we want better vehicles as young men better girl friends as husbands - the neighbours wife is always better as middle aged men theneighbours is definitely better if she is younger a, our children are never performing better than their peers, as old people we look for better medical care, housing and various other things. In short we always stress ourselves out craving for these things and striving to attain these material things.

Back to the Future - A short story

Sep12
            Sandhya looked around. All was in place. The mansion was lighted up. The multi colored hues of lights were enhancing the beauty of the Bungalow. The vast expanse of garden with flowering shrubs were immaculate . The pleasant smell of night queen brought back memories of her childhood. She remembered with fondness the open areas of the military cantonment where her father used to serve. Her father traveled all over the country. Every two to three years it was the same . Just when she was developing new friendships the packing would start. The truck was loaded and then it was a new school, new friends and a new location. It had its own advantages. she more or less traveled the entire country, developed lasting friendships and learnt new customs and traditions. The only thing constant was the family and similarity of the cantonments. They ( the cantonments) looked uniformly similar. At every cantonment there was a Sadar Bazar. a club and lot of other children who were in the same boat as she was sailing in.
         
            A remonstrance to the waiter who was mixing up the knife and forks , rearrangement of flowers on the table so that they did not obstruct the guests from each others view and the place was ready to receive the guests. She looked impatiently at her watch. Father and daughter were as usual still not  on the horizon and it was time for the guests to arrive. she dispatched a servant to tell them to hurry up - not that it would make any difference - they always came in after the guests. Having sometime on hand she took the weight of her aching feet. She mentally made anote to spend a little more time at the gymnasium. She had not put on much weight but the extra time spent at her office was telling on her figure...
         
            Her thoughts rolled back a few years . In keeping with her family background she decided to join the forces. At first it was all very novel to her . The carefree days of training, immediate settling of any sort of indiscipline and plenty of money at hand to indulge in whatever took her fancy. She was on the top of the world or rather the world was at her feet. Posting at remote location did not really bother . Then she met her husband. They were both undergoing training at the same location. The affinity was immediate. Before the course was over they were a familiar couple. He a dashing fighter pilot and she an administrative officer . The combination worked well. Soon it was wedding bells and a daughter Hariyali. She doted on her daughter and was content with life. There was however a problem. Spending time together in spite of the best intentions was not always possible - what with both of them being posted at different places - the maximum time being not more than two years at a stretch. This seemed unfair and more often than not, very frustrating. After ten years of serving the nation without complaint she decided to hang her boots for the chance at a more stable family life. In preparation to attack the civil life she decided to undergo a course at ASCI.
         
            ASCI was offering a certificate course in business management and it fell in neatly with her plans of pursuing a civil career.  The first day was quite a shock as all the other officers were very senior. The only saving grace was one other officer who was her age group and who was also planning to leave the services as he was proceeding to foreign shores. The six months sped by and again she was at the cross roads. A job meant that she would again be separated from the family. Her entire being rebelled at the idea of further staying apart from her darling daughter. She took a considered decision (after completion of the course at ASCI)of pursuing further studies in the place of her husband's posting. But as the time went by and her daughter grew up it was only natural that a job was what would keep her sanity. With her qualifications she was snapped up in a multinational company. Her organisational skills learnt in the Services coupled with her qualifications gained along the way stood her in good stead and slowly but surely she climbed the corporate ladder . Today was the party to celebrate her breaking the male bastion and becoming one of the top honchos in the company which she had served with the same dedication she had when she was in the forces. This party was a celebration of this fact. What made it memorable was that most of her coursemates from the ASCI were joining her to toast her success.
         
            Her thoughts were interrupted by a warm embrace round her neck by Hariyali who was breathless and excited at the prospect of an evening full of fun and frolic and dancing. Both Mother and Daughter loved to dance. She turned around to see her husband following her daughter at a sedate pace. Seeing them both Sandhya suddenly felt relaxed and knew in her heart that all was going to be all right. Neither the present nor the future held any threat to her...

Mission accomplished

Sep 10

I dedicate today's blog to two of my course - mates, who have accomplished the Missions they set themselves in their own inimitable styles. It all started off a few weeks back. In fact their achievements are so mind blowing that I would be doing a disservice if I did not tackle them individually.

                           Gp Capt GJ Rao and Mrs GJ Rao

The world suicide day is observed today every year. Why September 10? There seems to be no apparent reason as to why this particular day . But it is indeed commendable that the awareness of prevention of suicide is made public to help people to recognise the signs of suicide and help prevent it . In this respect my coursemate and fellow toiler GJ Rao has spared any effort. In the period since the beginning of the course, he has been working tirelessly to contribute to the prevention of suicide. He has made the government of Telangana accept his model of prevention of suicide. His efforts have culminated in the 

State of Telangana accepting the grim reality

 that suicides are a part of life and have to be prevented. He has released a paper in this respect and 104 has been now accepted the official number for counselling/ calling for all people who are desperate enough to feel the urge to commit suicide. After finally having completed his task he came back to ASCI to report to us his succes. We are proud of the fact that one of us has done some work which is useful to the public in general. In a relaxed frame of mind he is finally a satisfied man.

When The Going Gets Tough , The Tough Get Going

Sivaram  has not been far behind. Sivaram's passion is bicycling. He started bicycling a few years back just to keep fit. It has now become his mainstay and in addition to bcycling he has done extensive research on the subject. In the past three years in Hyderabad he has been a familiar sight on the roads of Hyderabad. In fact he knows the places where he  has been posted like the back of his hand - thanks to cycling. Not unlike the belts in karate this event also has stages of 100, 200, 400 and 600 kms. The mega event sometimes called the blue riband is the Paris - Brest- Paris 1200 km Brevet or the randonneuer, started in 1890. It is now a non competitive endurance test. Sivaram has been preparing for this 600 kms event for some time and has at last accomplished this Mission. It involves a lot of mental and physical toughness and as is evident he possesses both in plenty - and as the newspaper clipping will testify, of the 29 cyclists who attempted this only 12 completed it. Kudos to Sivaram for putting youngsters to shame; He is 53 years old.Finally about class. We can imagine what a tough job the ASCI is facing when we attended the trade union class. Prof Swarnalata gave us a sample as to how trade unions function .We had a mock session with regard to negotiating the deal with the trade union. I suppose that trade unions all over feel that the management is the only entity which is enjoying the fruits of the labor of any organisation. Even in the mock session it was amply proved that the trade unions had a single point agenda - that of not agreeing with the management. No amount of pleading , cajoling or reasoning seemed to work with the union. It was all or nothing . Tempers ran high (remember it was a mock session) and the class ended on a frustrating note with no common understanding in sight. Lessons learnt were many including the one that it does not pay to lose temper.

The afternoon was devoted to Indira Nooyi and how communication played a big part in her success. Prof Swarnalata left no stone un turned to see that the lessons were hammered into our psyche. Her teaching methods are fresh and innovative, We indeed are fortunate to have her teaching us communication . By the end of her capsule it is a given that our comminication skills will improve manifold...

Gallows Humour

Sep 09

Some people have morbid fascination for death ( Of other people). They tell anyone and every one that a death has occurred. Until they get it off their chest they are not happy." Do you know? Today someone I know has handed in his dinner pail". I had spoken to him only recently and now he is no more". It does not matter whether the other person is in a frame of mind to listen to this monologue or not - it is imperative that this news be imparted to all and sundry. And then there are others who do not want to talk about it at all. They are the people who relate to such occurrences in a silent manner . For them it is a sad mishap which should not have happened and it did... Then there are others who feel that the sooner the person is removed from memory the better . There are others who have grave side humour ostensibly to ameliorate their feeling of distress and in the end turn out to be irritating and start grating on everyone's nerves. It is not an uncommon feeling among the others to restrain themselves from becoming violent and causing injury to such persons. One famous joke is by Ronald Reagan - when he was shot and wheeled into the operation theater - asking the Doctors , " I hope that all of you are republicans".  In any case death is a serious business and it is said that Freud summed up gallows humour as follows "The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure."  Why death? I say why not? Any case it leaves the survivors traumatized. We should support them in their hour of need . For is it not all about help and support?

Today's class was once again with Prof Sachendra. Realising that our level of understanding was not what it should be as far as the decision tree was concerned he decided to educate us on the matter by working it out for ourselves as to how the tree functioned by solving practical problems .. The first problem was solved only by Sivaram and Himanshu. Then it was solved by the Professor for the benefit of the entire class. The second problem was solved by a few more people. By the time the third problem was posed , the tree started flowering - even I understood the method to go about solving the problem. By the time the fourth problem was given the entire class was on the take and easily solved the problem. The methodology, patience and forbearance adopted was commendable. There is a suspicion lingering in my mind that the illustrious professor took it on as a challenge to make sure that we not only understood the logical  way to arrive at the solution but also that we did not forget the teaching all our life. He kept offering us blandishments in form of tea (in the first break) Lunch (in the second break ) and the reward of early release in the final session if we came up to his standards ( Low as they were for us). We rounded the class with a presentation on the process mapping of our choice and pinpointing the shortcomings and how we would overcome them. It was approved by the Professor. During the tea break we were joined by Professors Shah and Shahaida. They discussed with us things other than those concerned with putting our nose to the grindstone of learning and so helping us to recharge our batteries for nurturing a decision 'Plant ' in to a decision tree.

Rains lashed Hyderabad again today . Indira was munificent in all ways after ignoring,  the city for a long time.... 

Feedback

The feeling of contentment has to take a back seat. What contentment? And why Backseat?  The story is as follows - Himanshu wrote a blog about me yesterday. The blog was well written and had a flow to it which was very pleasing. More importantly it did not drag me through the coals and was very nice . But ever since I read it I have been going to the mirror and staring at myself. Am I really what has been written? In any case I take this opportunity to thank Himanshu for a wonderfully expressive and articulate blog. 

Today Prasad did not come for the class. He was busy getting his affairs in order. The dust about Suicide Prevention has yet to settle down. I think it will continue till 10 Sep 2015. That happens to be the world Suicide Prevention day(SPD). As part of Spd there is going to be a run for awareness organised probably on next sunday . GJ Rao will have all the details . For all those who are interested it  will be worthwhile to contact GJ Rao directly.

After a gap of about three weeks Prof Bilolikar  made his appearance in the class again today. Today's class was about sampling and how to go about the conducting it. An interesting class which I am sure will be of use in the future .One important part of sampling is the feedback. Unless you have a feedback it is of no use  - no matter how big or small the sample size. 

The goal of feedback is to improve performance by increasing people’s self-awareness and understanding about how their actions affect others and how others perceive them. So feedback can provide a much-needed reality check. But if the feedback you give seems to have little impact on behavior, maybe it’s because it’s not being given in the most effective way.You may not be giving enough negative feedback – A focus on strengths alone won’t illuminate gaps between how employees think of their performance versus actual measures of that performance. You don’t give people enough of a narrative – People need concrete examples of how their behavior is affecting others. As we have also long said, be specific You are not speaking in a way that can be heard – Use your personal knowledge of the employee to craft a message that can be taken in. In other words, know your audience. Finally, feedback is  just the beginning of the actual coaching, which requires follow through… We want to hear: How do you offer feedback and how do you like to receive it? Do you feel the feedback you have received has altered your behavior? You require feedback from your peers your friends your enemies your children and most importantly from your spouse. Imagine that after you come home from a hard day's work your spouse is sulking and you do not know the reason for this - it is going to drive yo up the wall. In military parlance you need actionable intelligence to further your operations - it is the same in your day to day life also - if I may go astep further you require feedback as to your performance also! Maybe it will help you improve beyond measure...

Sky Warrior

Sep 07

Today, I have the honour to introduce the writer of our course blog who has been relentlessly writing and maintaining this blog, breaking pre-conceived notions and perceptions which challenged its survival beyond a few days. It is indeed remarkable and has set a benchmark for the future courses to look up to. Though it was meant to give a glimpse into the course, but its comprehensive coverage leaves no blind spot and gives a vicarious experience to the reader. These blogs, more or less editorials, have become a source of invaluable information for faculty, course officers and other officers of our fraternity who are yet to decide to hang their boots.

It re-imposes ones faith in the multi-faceted personality of this senior officer who can effortlessly yield not only a weapon but a pen too. Col M Ravindra, commissioned in ’84 in the Indian Army, belongs to the elite 6 PARA which is a special forces unit of the Indian Army’s Parachute regiment and is tasked with special operations, direct action, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, counter-proliferation, counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery. The pinnacle of athleticism in service is having both physical strength and mental tenacity/mental agility which undergirds it, for these specific qualities sets the paras apart.

He underwent his Para Basic course at PTS, Air Force, Agra, and was eventually absorbed in the Parachute Regiment. Later, he was deployed to flush out militants/terrorists from Punjab, famously known as Operation Blue Star. Subsequently, he moved to the Eastern interiors of India and was involved in the Counter-insurgency operations under Operation Orchid. From there on, he was instrumental in his role in Operation Vijay, Operation Parakaram and various other operations in dark and deadly valleys of J & K (since in ’90’s subversive activities in the valley increased multifold). An officer with such distinct service was rightly posted as an instructor in Nasik and Army Airborne Training School, Agra to mentor the later generations of troopers. This course has given him the much needed break to settle on family front. Ma’am is the Principal of Neeraj International School, daughter has recently finished her MBBS and his son has embarked on the arduous journey of Engineering from NIT, Agartala.

On a lighter note, he can jump from 10,000 ft without blinking his eye but, understandably, it is difficult for him to fight the goddess of sleep during afternoon classes. As once Prof. Vishwanath remarked, it is difficult to retain the attention of creative minds beyond few minutes unless the speaker is innovative in his/her approach. His observational prowess is three standard deviations from the mean of the population (0.15% of gifted people), who can listen, process, and speak intelligibly on any topic whilst being engrossed in mobile and preoccupied with some other thought. Aptly, rechristened as ‘Chanakya’ of this course by Prof. Swarnalatha.

            I, for once, think that Col Ravindra can write case studies for each of these management subjects to infuse a fresh lease of life into the theoretical knowledge that has evolved with time. The complex interplay of variables to have a desired certain outcome of establishing peace, done by the armed forces against asymmetric insurgents and militia, is indeed an advanced level of application of  these theories. A lecture by officer(s) with such vast and varied ‘first-hand’ experience to the other courses, as well, would definitely help them to learn from his (their) experiences as no one remembers theory in crisis.

He once shared with me in his deep baritone about his first experience of jumping, “At an altitude of 12,000-feet, the instructor asked us to get, set and take the leap, turn wise. Standing at the open door of the plane, I could feel the wind blowing past me. As I leapt out, I felt a strong jolt when my parachute opened. It was totally silent. I spun and when my gyro settled, I realized the enormity of life; I felt closest to the Creator in the huge void as I drifted down to land…..”.

-         Lt Cdr Himanshu Saxena