Saturday, September 30, 2006

Active Listening

U must have heard of this term isn’t it? Be it in the induction into a company (IT mainly) or preps for mgmt, or in a mgmt school, or for preps of GDs etc for placements…somewhere or the other we all of have usually heard of this term.

The other day, I was reading (made to read basically coz we have to some readings to complete for each day) on the topic of listening and some barriers to listening. There it was written (as I remember) that active listening involves listening to the other person in a non-evaluative way, and trying to look at the other person’s point of view i.e. empathize with the person.

This is when I realized I hardly do that. Asked myself why? The evaluative thingy comes into the picture. We tend to evaluate or infer the meaning of what the other person is saying i.e. we try to read between the lines. But then another reason is that we also consciously or unconsciously are scared of being changed.

Now some of us may argue how can listening to someone change u. It can. I am a case in point. There are very few people who have been able to bring about changes in me due to what they are or what values they stand for. Most of the times, I feel I need to change, and then in someone I see that this is what I would want to be in terms of this value and work towards it. But then me seeing a value or a characteristic in someone and then thinking that I would be a better person if I too were like that is very unusual.

But then I have changed like that to a large extent over the last one year. And I guess active listening is one of the main reasons of that. When you really want to listen, not infer, just listen, not evaluate, just listen, not sympathize, but respect the person for what he/she is, then you would ask yourself, why is it that you listen to this person so intently, why do u respect this person so intently.

That is when you realize that you see in the other person aspects, traits, which would like to see in yourself. U see or feel that you want to be a better person, just by listening to or being with that person. I believe that is one of the best things that can happen, and u should cherish the friendship of such a person for all your life.

But don’t forget, without active listening, it wouldn’t have been possible :o)

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Monday, September 25, 2006

someone told me 2nd term is cool

if i find him now......I guess my friend would understand what would ensue :o)
have to find time to blog. I really want to. Have stuff to write.
But that will have to wait till my arse is off the frying pan :o)

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

i am drunk

Drank yesterday. And I drank fast :o). Result. Outage :o)
Dont remember nething of what happened yesterday. Had to ask my friends if I said nething at night. I didnt. It was something that I was worried bout since morning. Not for myself though :o)
U can tell me nething, it goes into one ear and exits from the other :o). But there are a few people I care bout, and cant really accept the fact the they have to listen to things due to my fault. So am happy that i didnt let myself down in my own eyes :o)
Now am having kind of a hangover. But then I will be fine in a couple of hours :o)

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The mall/hall phenomenon...n much more

I watched the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday. I wanted to see ShivaTheMovie but then had to end up on a compromise decision (individual dynamics terminology :o)). But then not much of an issue for me. Coz I invariably like any movie I see in a cinema hall (I told one of my friends this, and he cracked a killler PJ..."Then u must be liking all movies, coz no one watches movies in kitchens...HA HAH HA HA.......I can imagine the expression on ur faces. I had a similar expression on mine when he cracked this kaatil PJ). So I liked this movie also.

Another attribute of the mall/hall phenomenon or rather of any movie i see is that i try n derive some learning from it. I know it might sound very far fetched but then is it that far fetched, especially for a day dreamer like me :o) Neway there are movies which i cant derive any learnings from. Examples would be Military Raj, Mard, Cheetah, Coolie No. 1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Dulhe Raja, Haseena Maan Jayegi, Transporter etc etc. Mithun movies (as u might have seen in the list) are something I havent bee, after repeated efforts been able to derive learnings from. Coz somehow my education refuses to let me accept that a person can run faster than electric current. Govinda movies also are without learnings (except how to do the pelvic thrust with perfection :o)). Also hardcore english action movies like Transporter. All the movies I have mentioned, I liked watching them. But from a learnings point of view....NAAHHH.

Ok. Coming to the movie of yesterday. It was basically bout this girl (played by Anne Hathaway..she looks really cute) who is pretty smart, and not at all conscious or concerned about fashion, but takes up a job in the most happening fashion mag on the planet. And she has a real taskmaster boss (merly streep). The movie then revolves round how Anne's life and outlook towards fashion changes, how she also nearly changes, but finally realizes what is it that she really wants. Also what she stands to lose in the blind pursuit of success (not only what she wants to do but also the person she loves).

So basically the learning was that one should realize what one wants to do and not join the crowd blindly. I myself was thinking on all this some days back. What do i want? What kind of job do I want? What are my aspirations? What is it that I want to do?

There are many things that I will do..that I want to do. I have to start reading, and have to read one book. That is a promise I made and also because I want to read it. Have made a beginning on the reading front. Apart from that, there are so many things I want to learn. I have always felt that I should have learnt a musical instrument. I will do that in the 2nd yr or after my MBA. Now people would argue u wont have time. Job, family etc etc. Job, yes I will have to manage time. Other than that, I wil have a lot of time. No other obligations seem to be coming my way for another 20-30 odd yrs (that is how long i expect to live :o)).

As for what all I would do...rather I will do.
I will learn basketball in college itself.
I will learn how to play the guitar.
I will learn how to play the mandolin.
I will learn a martial art :o)
I will buy a cruiser (enfield kinds).
I will read.
There is one more thing I would do, but then that does not need mention. Coz that might take my whole lifetime and still.....but then....as Paulo Cohello said "If you want something really bad the whole universe is gonna conspire n give it to u". So am being a die hard optimist, and keeping my fingers crossed :o)

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i need to diet

i have been thinking bout this for sometime now. But the fact that i dont have a weight machine nearby and the mess food is quite good (as compared to my previous college its awesome) made me lose track the extent of force exerted by the earth's gravitational force on me.

But then today my trip back to college from a movie made me realize that i need to do what the subject line says. Me lugaai n busty boarded n auto. And the poor auto had to run on 1st gear to pull the three of us.

Now proponents of non dieting (i am actually one of them...i am against psycho dieting, which means giving up food, but i am in for dieting, which means eating healthy and maybe a realizing when to stop eating :o)) would say the pain caused to the auto was due to busty and lugaai.

Maybe true (both are heavier than me :o)). But then now that i have a reason to diet (for the benefit of auto drivers of Amdavad), i would not let go of it :o)

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Monday, September 18, 2006

Trip to Mt.Abu: Day 2 - Sept 17th 2006

We were supposed to wake up at 5:30 to leave for trek at 7. We woke up at 9 :o)
We were thinking, whether we should go on the trek or not, since the sun was up n it was pretty hot. We finally decided we should go. So at around 11:30 we set out.
Our first destination was honeymoon point (he he…nice name isn’t it :o)). We walked upto that point. It’s a pretty nice view from there. Then we asked a couple of horse riders (yes there are many horse riders in abu :o)) as to where can we go for trek. There was a temple a bit higher up from honeymoon point. The riders said we can go upto there, and from there, we can go to on thru the jungle to anchalgarh (that is in the city).
We were a bit skeptical. Then we found a person (our guide for the jungle tour) who is a lumberjack in the forest. He also had brought his elder brother to show him around the forest. So he said he will take us around (I was skeptical but that is the topic for another blog).
So we set out. First we went to the temple. Then we all walked up n up n up. The path was called craig’s path and we were headed first towards anchal cave. We reached there (most of us were a bit tired…but I am not boasting here….but my weekly 5-10 weekend walks in blore…coupled with my regular 3 km treadmill run in blore ensured that I wasn’t tired at all :o)). No one was there in the cave. It’s a temple actually n the guide told us some priest had come down from Punjab n settled in the cave. Then after many years, the police came n caught him n took away. Sounds so much like the hindi movies where someone does some crime and flees and then becomes a holy man, both for redemption and for safety. Lekin kanoon ke haath bahut lambe hote hai :o) :o) :o)
From there, we moved up, and reached craig’s point. We were told there are wild bears in this region and recently there have been incidents wherein they have come out in the day, and attacked people frequently. While walking, once in a while, I had streaks of vision of scenes from Rambo 3 and An Unfinished Life (try n correlate the two…kar liya to chikki treat :o)). After climbing a lot, and trekking thru jungle paths strewn with leaves, we finally reached craig’s point. I was having a lot of fun. Because my idea of a holiday is one in which u don’t rest but just keep doing something. Lying down and lazing around isn’t my idea of a holiday…yet :o). At craig’s point, another round of snaps was taken. Then we decided to go to another cave. This time the path was a real jungle one. The forest wasn’t dense. But it was still dense enough to give the feel of a forest. Bole to a average Indian forest. Not like the amazon or the satpuda ke ghane jungle :o).
This time, the cave we reached was Limbunala cave. Its called limbunala coz there is a small stream flowing near it :o) Also the guide told us that this cave was inhabited by a chamatkari aghori baba, who used to become a tiger at night, and not allow anyone near the cave…….no comments on the plausibility of that….coz I kinda believe that :o)
Neway, we washed up a bit at the stream and then after another 5-10 minutes, came out into the town (mt abu is a town n not a city). From there, our guide took us to anchalgarh temple. It’s a walk up 265 steep stairs. N the temple is some 5500 yrs old (so I was told).
From the temple, we walked to the market, bid adieu to our guide, went to the ATM, reloaded our wallets, had lunch (I had a beer after about 6 months..i usually never have beer but then today was feeling too thirsty :o)).
Then we went to Nakki lake again, to collect our photos as Tipu Sultan. I got mine. But the photographer gave Lugaai’s photo to a group of school scouts (like the scouts n guides). Poor lugaai. But then latak had taken snaps of both of us in those costumes. So no emotion (of those moments) was lost.
Then we boated and took snaps in Nakki lake. Then these two bought a couple of articles and we headed to the room.
Oh..point to be noted that throughout these 2 days, the service at the hotel sucked.
Neway, after lazing around till 8:30 we walked to the bus stop (in the whole day we walked more than 20 kms, many of those in the trek). The bus started. The bus was a Volvo bus, so there were no windows. But the fare was for a non ac bus. So the driver wont start the ac. It was getting very suffocating. Then we the people (not me, the other passengers) used their right to noise n got the ac running. In the trip of 5 odd hours, I could sleep just about half n hour, partly coz I was thinking bout someone :o) (I call it day dreaming…not it was night but then the fact that I wasn’t sleeping n still dreaming makes it day dreaming…even though it was night)…n partly coz I wasn’t feeling sleepy (u see those claims of stamina I made…even after a whole day of trekking n walking thru hilly roads, I was still not feeling sleepy, n even now, I am sitting n typing this, after sleeping for just half n hour in the bus). Neway, we reached Ahmedabad at around 2:30, reached college by 2:50, had a small snack n thn I came back and started typing, while orkutting :o)

Today (18th Sept) is Deka’s bday, so gotto call him today. First ISD call I will make with my mobile. Also have a buy a suit. Planning to buy a couple of t-shirts and maybe also watch a movie. Oh yes, want to play basketball at night. Hope that works out. Latak is gonna teach me how to play basketball :o)

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Trip to Mt.Abu: Day 1 - Sept 16th 2006

The moment we came out of the bus, we were surrounded (read 2-3 people :o)) by hotel agents. We chose one convincing agent who said that from his hotel the lake (I had no idea which lake but I knew the lake :o)) can be seen. Also he had a jeep. So that meant less walking :o). So we boarded his jeep. He had said, rooms at 250-300. So he drove and we reached the hotel. I will come to the name of the hotel later on. We went in. He had to wake up on of his deputies to show the room. The deputy showed us 2 rooms. We selected the triple seater. We asked for the price, he said 450. We said what the hell. We were told 250-300 that is why we came. We took our bags (the bags were small, the season was off season, and hence we had walk out power :o)) and moved on. He shouted 350 but we kept walking.
Then the deputy’s senior intervened, and offered the room at 300. We took it.
Oh, missed the part of “being able to view the lake from the hotel”. When we looked around n could see no lake, we asked one of them, “Where is the lake”. He replied innocently “U have to walk for just around 5 minutes (we later realized it bout 10 minutes) to see the lake”. So its as good as lake view……balls :oX.
Neway, we unpacked a bit. We all watched Jhankar Beats till about 7 or 8. The weather was pleasant. We decided we will walk to the lake and get something to eat. We walked.
The lake (called Nakki lake) was beautiful. There were ducks (the big white ones) qwacking away to be fed. There were boats also. First we helped ourselves with some poha and chai. Then we went boating. Ours was the only boat on water. Paddling was tiring, especially with the sun up. We were sweating by the end of the stipulated half n hour. We “parked” the vehicle and walked up the hotel, or rather decided to walk up to the hotel.
Now comes the part of the name of the hotel. We asked each other, “ abbey hotel ka naam kya hai”. Lugaai was proactive and replied “Hotel Sudhir” (god bless him). So we set out searching for hotel sudhir. I took a back seat, because people who know me would also know of my “keen” sense of direction. We roamed around for about 20 odd minutes and finally reached hotel sudhir, which was actually the hotel next to our hotel (hotel parash view).
In hotel, we freshened up. Again ordered n had aloo paratha. Everyone took a bath. We asked the deputy from morning to get us bikes, two of them (Oh yeah we were gonna bike our way around mt. Abu :o)). We got two bikes. One a passion plus and me got a discover (since I had learnt riding bout a year and 3 months back on a discover and had ridden only a discover except for the occasional short drive of arnab’s victor glx).
We also got ourselves a map so that we could chalk out a plan as to where to go and all. So we decided we go in one direction today, and the other direction, which is a trekking path, we will cover the next day (since we had the bikes just for a day). We started. It was good to know I could still ride the bike :D. The road was hilly (bole to ghumne wale roads). It was the first time I was driving on hilly roads. It was good to see myself not faltering (apne mooh miya mithoo :o)).
We went upto Trevor’s Tank. At the gate, we had to enter our bike numbers, and then there this km long drive thru the jungle, thru steep roads :o). It was fun, real fun. We reached the place. Its a beautiful…tank, with a board next to it saying “Crocodile Infested waters” :o). Rocks surround it and water is pretty clear. One can take a small path up to another set of higher rocks and reach a view point. We went. On the way, took some “Save me” photos, where each one of us, posed on 10 – 15 degree inclined rocks as if we were struggling for survival by fighting our way up (actually this is not an original idea, at least as far as I am concerned :o)). Then some more photos (we actually hired an analog camera coz my digi cam can hold only 20 pics :o)).
From Trevor’s tank we moved on to GuruShikhar. It is the tallest point in Mt. Abu. It has many temples there. On the way, latak picked up a guy on his bike (the guy, rather the boy was going on the same direction). We rode for around 7-8 kms uphill before we reached GuruShikhar. The drive was great. We reached and parked our vehicles. And then walked up to the temples. All three of us entered one. The other one, only lugaai entered. Me and latak in the meanwhile went to the highest point. From here we could see the whole of Abu. And also the most famous X-ray observatory in the country (I forgot the name, it was chandra something….damn my GK). I saw that one could actually trek down some distance. Lugaai and latak were not game for it. So I went someway down, got a photo taken :o) and came back up :o).
When we went back to get our bikes, the young guy, who was the “guard” taking care of the bikes, offered to recite “shayari” for 5 bucks (oh before that we three tasted the worst softees in our lives which all of us had to throw in 5 minutes). The shayari was something we had heard before but still it was nice :o).
From gurushikhar, we drove back downhill. On the way, we had skipped going to a part before. We went in. Again some snaps. Then we came down n decided to go to Brahmakumari’s ashram. Before entering, there is this “faith chowkidaar” on the gate, who asked us if were carrying any cigs or anything, and if yes, donate them in the “daan pind”. I asked, then how do I get them back. He says, if u want them back, then leave them behind n come. Also anyone entering the ashram has to necessarily listen to some preaching for 5 mins. What the f***. I am not an aethist. But I believe faith or religion should not be something u force on someone. If I want to listen I will. So after forceful listening to preaching for 5 mins, we moved on into the park. Didn’t take any snaps there. Coz none of us was in a mood. Also it was just another park. Well maintained no doubt. But nothing interesting.
From there (or maybe before the brahmakumari park…..don’t remember…how does it matter), we went to the famous Delwara temples. We were asked to keep our mobiles n cameras outside (but people still managed to take them inside n take pictures). These temples are 1000 to 750 yrs old. They are made of marble. The sculpture is amazing. To do that fine work at that time with single blocks of marble is just unbelievable. There are 5 temples in the complex. In one of the temples, the head priest came n spoke something. The visitors (who were not jains I guess) made mocking comments and laughed (I will explain this in detail some other time). Also the head priest actually asked for money for himself and stood at the door stopping everyone asking for money. I don’t want to comment on either of these events in this blog since this is supposed to be a light blog without much introspection :o) Another feature of the Delwara temples is that from outside or from above, they look very plain. This was done to avoid attack by Muslim invaders. From outside, one cannot even guess that such fine and exquisite workmanship is present inside.
Then we rode on. On the way, the Discover started making strange noises. Latak took over the bike, but the noise kept on increasing. So we took to where we had rented it from, and got a CD deluxe. We went on for lunch then (it was past 4). So we could not get any thali. Had to settle for Dal Bati instead. Each of us would totally totally advice people from east or from the south against having Dal Bati. Its too oily, and my personal opinion is totally tasteless.
Oh forgot to mention, bought a few small abu special goods at GuruShikhar. Would be dispatching them off to their respective destinations tomoro or day after :o)
From Dal Bati, we went on to Sunset Point. Its more of a trek (from where we parked our vehicles) to the point. There was nothing really special about the sunset, and all three of us agreed that the sunset looks better from our respective homes than it does from this Sunset point :o).
Then from Sunset point, back to the main market. Returned the bikes. Got return tickets for the next day and also packed up chicken, vodka and beer for the night :o)
Night, we drank. We were watching TV. All of us were drinking. Suddenly current went. Me and latak weren’t feeling sleepy. So we went out, climbed the water tank of the hotel and started chatting. After about half n hour, current came back. Lugaai was fast asleep in the room. Latak also fell asleep. I finished watching the movie, Vijay, and then fell asleep.
Forgot to mention, we went to Nakki lake again in the evening. There me and Lugaai dressed up as Tipu Sultan and had photos taken. I had a sword in one hand, and a raw mango slush in the other. Oh did I look royal (photos would be uploaded soon on orkut or maybe here too :o))

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Trip to Mt.Abu: Day 0 - Sept 15th 2006

We (me and latak) reached the bus stop. We asked the travel agent as to when is the bus gonna come. He was busy on the phone and pointed in the east direction (I think it was east, but then there is no way I could be sure coz it was night :o)).
Lugaai came by then. He had to withdraw cash (4 me too since I still don’t know where is the nearest ICICI atm :o( ). We told him “The bus hasn’t come. We have to wait here”. We too, just for time pass went and asked the agent. This time the agent actually spoke. And then did we come to know that the bus was waiting for the 3 of us. We walked up to the bus (in the east direction :o)) and boarded the bus. We asked “kaunsi seats hai” (it was a sleeper bus…. and I had no idea of what naming or numbering convention they followed. It was combination of numbers and alphabets but with none of them appearing together, and there were sleeper racks…I don’t know what else to call them..on the top and seats below. Add to it the fact that this was the first time I was boarding a sleeper bus). The conductor said “kahi bhi baith jao” !!!!!!! We thought aloud “kya $%($*%($ hai”. Then he gave us a REM on why he said what he said (if u guys remember, REM is a remedial session, meant to explain to hapless individuals like me the truth about life). Our current bus was going to SaiBag (some place in Ahmedabad) and we had to get down there and wait for the bus to Mt. Abu. Wokay. So be it. We boarded the bus. It took us to SaiBag. We bid adieu to the bus. And we waited. For about half n hour (at least). Over 3-4 smokes and a couple of bottles of water and about a quarter litre of sweat per head and a mitha pan (one without supari for lugaai) we waited for our escort to Mt. Abu. It finally arrived. It was a sleeper!!! (of course it was, that is what we had paid for). We boarded. I sat. Then I slept. N then morning 5 odd we reached.

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Friday, September 15, 2006

no subject

was planning to write something humourous......but that can wait
am in a more serious mood now....rather a more enlightened mood
why......coz i realized....again that i am right in one the most important decisions of my life
so lemme smoke away in silence...in peace....in realization

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Sunday, September 10, 2006

across walls.....

I had read this self help book quite a few yrs back. There the author had narrated an incident in his life. He was sitting alone in a church one day. Another man came. Prayed for sometime. When the other man was leaving, he (the other man) stopped instinctively beside the author's pew (i guess that is what one calls a bench in the church). The author too rose. They both shook hands instinctively, like brothers. Not a word was spoken.

The other day i was in the library. I and another person were the only one left in the library. She (i later realized) was sitting in the cube (we have cubes in our library) ahead of me. She was studin eco. I was studin quant. Sometime later, she was just walking about (it was due to economics :o)). She just stopped next to my cube. We exchanged a couple of pleasantaries. In a few moments she left, of course after saying goodbye (i want to assure the readers that her leaving was not due to her stopping in front of my cube :o) )

Now people should not draw any romantic conclusions from this. Wat i am trying to say is that wen u know u r alone with someone else, there is a momentary connection which is made. Its a nice, though momentary, feeling.

Talking bout being alone and feeling together, today, wen i went to the rest room, my dorm mate also entered at almost the same time in the next "cube". I am sure u dont want to listen about the "music ridden" conversation that ensued :o)

Have my end-terms from tomoro. Hope i can live up to my expectations.
Amen :o)

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Friday, September 08, 2006

analogy......

have u listened to "No Leaf Clover" by Metallica? Awesome song.
Do u remember the lyrics?

'Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, is just a freight train coming ur way............coming ur way..........coming ur way"

Why am i writing this.....I am suffering from dysentry :o(

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Wednesday, September 06, 2006

it takes a lot of effort......

to remain optimistic when everything seems to be falling apart
to stay awake when ur head is aching like someone is blowing a trumpet inside it
to not be able to talk to people u really long to due to telephonic disruptions
to try n share urself with someone.....but not being able to do so
to maintain a smiling face when u really just wanna be alone n smoke away in peace
to try n bounce back after repeated failures
to blame urself n noone else...not luck...not god....not anyone else for whatever u do wrong
.....it does take a lot of effort

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Work Hours

I was just reading about asymmetric information (a topic in economics). The problem of asymmetric information is when the two parties involves in a transaction donot have the equal amount of information. Eg. when one is buying a second hand car, the buyer does not have complete info about the health of the bike, but the seller does.

One way to deal with this problem is thru signalling. When companies give warranties on their products, they are sending a signal to their customers that u can trust the information we are giving u, that our products are reliable.

This concepts of signalling works even in organizations, wherein employees have to be appraised (this is what i intend to mention in this post). Employees working for long hours, working their arses off over weekends, are actually sending signals to their managers which would enable their managers to gauge their dedication and performance etc etc.

I found this somewhat disturbing. I was part of a large organization (i hardly mention names) wherein the CEO had mentioned that he or the organization does not expect its employees to work for more than 8-9 hours a day. The organization wants it employees to have a life beyond office.
But then on my last or second last day, i went for a team meeting (we had those every week...total waste of time....n a time whn my manager used to try n find ways to humiliate me or others whom he didnt like, in front of the other team members, but in a subtle manner). There he praised one of my colleagues (that colleague is a good friend), gave him a certificate of merit, and went on to say that this guy had shown great dedication, working for 15-16 hours regularly, missing team outings etc etc. This is the kind of dedication expected from other team members also for the benefit of the project.
F*** that arsehole.
On one hand, the organization says u shld maintain a proper work life balance. On the other hand, a manager is telling his team that to get appreciation u have to give me ur arses for eternity.

But why I suddenly felt like writing this post is that this is what many or rather I feel a majority of appraisals take into consideration, at least in the IT service companies.

Damn, we are cyber coolies.

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Saturday, September 02, 2006

surveys

We have a subject on Individual Dynamics in this term. Its again a pretty interesting subject. It was in this subject that I came to know that the first impressions which a person forms is a function of his dominant set of values and perceptions. These impressions might change over time according to the characteristics of the individual forming them, but then the formation of the impressions is a more or less reflex action that most of us dont have much of a control on (unless ofcourse our value system and perception set changes over time, which is happening for me, at least as far as perceptions are concerned).
In this subject, we also get to see movies once in a while. These movies are to show the various ways dynamics work among individuals.

But then all the above is not the prime topic of this post. This post is about this survey we were required to conduct as part of our course in Individual Dynamics. Each group (our class is divided into 15 groups...i think its 15 :o)) was supposed to take some aspect of Individual Dynamics or some issue or some topics, and conduct a survey, and present the findings.

Our survey was based on Value systems. Now there are different types of value systems etc etc. For all that u can go to the net. But then I just wanted to write about the survey we conducted.

We (two of my group members actually. Most credit goes to them for designing the major part of the survey and for coming up with the idea for the topic) actually designed questions for the survey, with five alternatives. Each respondent was supposed to give weightage from 1 to 5 to the various alternatives. Each alternative corresponded to a different value class. So based on the total weightage given to a value class, we could determine the value system ie how much each value set meant to the the population of the survey in general.

We divided the population of our survey into two groups. One with 5+ yrs of industry exp. and the others with <2 yrs. We managed to get 10+ yrs of exp people to respond coz one of our group mates is an assistant general manager in the RBI :o) (now u see i have clout :o))

It was a nice experience (though i never did much of anything). Esp the presentation part. I am getting over my presentation phobia :o).

This post might have looked arbit to u. But then....my blog....my posts :o)
MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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Friday, September 01, 2006

saala....aaj blog karke hi rahunga

For many days I havent been blogging. Many days bole to over a week. Considering the fact that i was posting almost a post everyday it is a long time. But then had consciously taken that decision initially. N then dear dear lethargy crept in. But then I just realized that I have people reading my posts. Yeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

Ab dekhta hoon nikamme anurag dutta tu kaise nahi likhta hai blog

Ok. So the first thing is what to write. I would like to mention how i decide on topics for my posts. In lectures, whenever i come across some interesting points (I havent slept in even one lecture over the last two weeks...muwahahahahahahaha), or when i start thinking of what i think, why i think, what i think i should think, what i think i should not think, is thinking good, is thinking bad.....I think whatever small occasional readership I have would disappers afer this post. lekin mai likhunga.....ganga mausi....aaj mai likhunga

But then I do have many things to write about. Really. God promise :o)

This post I will write about .....(let me check the topics I had jotted down in my various notebooks :o) ).....I went to my HR notebook, so will write about something told in class. I found it pretty interesting.

We were being taught about discipline needs in the organization; various ways to ensure discipline, standing orders (please do remember that i invariably exagerrate a lot in my blogs, so whatever i say take it with a pinch of salt..even this statement :o)) etc.
Then the prof told us about the amount of discipline demanded of 18th century bank employees in britain. There there whole code of conduct had to radiate humility and trustworthiness because people had to beleive them to place their money n wealth in their hands.

So the bank employees were required to go to church every sunday. Now its like telling someone like me again n again, go to the temple, take a bath (actually i do take a bath everyday) etc. But then here, to ENSURE that they did go to the temple, their managers (oh yeah..managers have been present on the face of this planet since the beginning of time itself :o)) "quizzed" them on the preachings of the previous day for an hour :o)

About the ladies, they have to be moestly dressed (I dont know how someone could be dressed immodestly in 18th century england...at least from wat i have seen in movies i cant think how), display the most humble and noble code of conduct. If they decide to see a guy, he has to be of humble and decent descendents, and also any courtship has to be approved by the manager of the bank.
Also if the guy and the girl are to meet, it has to be under the auspicies of the manager's wife (I am not sure if this is everytime they meet or not, but wat the hell, u r talking to the girl or guy u like/love, and u have an uptight lady with a strange umbrella and even stranger hat watching n listening to everything u r say....i remember sarfarosh when aamir khan was trying to propose to sonali bendre in the bus stand and there was this sardar, looking totally lost, but staring at them from an arm's length distance, and as aamir khan and sonali bendre were speaking, he was moving his head as if he is watching a tennis match :o))

Coming back to the guys. If they have to reply to the call of mother nature, they have to go beyond the third boundary of the bank ( i guess that means far far away...this was a term used in class n i have been too lazy to look it up), and releive himself somewhere where is not disturbing or seen by even the cows :o) These things have to be done discreetly (again remember a forward which came when i was working. It was how management can minimize time wastage by employees in the loo. By warning them that if u r not out in 3 minutes, the door is gonna open automatically, and a photo is gonna be taken and send across the organization thru email :o) ......ha hahhahahahahahaha....u didnt find that funny????!!!!!! I did :o))

So that was how 18th century British Banking used to work :o)
Again I add as disclaimer, these are things i have heard in class and take no responsibility or attribute no responsibility either, for the authenticity of these statements :o)

That was my comeback post. Now i will keep coming back.
Hasta la vista.....baby :o)

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