Bullied away!!

It was a routine for me to browse through the sites for some news here and there. Just came across this headline which demanded my attention towards it! “16 students beaten by teacher in Dera Bassi” Well… this has been a regular news off late. The display of brutality from the teachers to impose some silly things which they feel is the most important thing in a students’ life!

Many people whom I have come across have this long running issue in their minds about the Indian education system which is in a way is bullied away by the teachers' view points. It’s not all though. We also encounter teachers who are gems! There are a few who really encourage to go beyond the boundaries to think about what, why and how do things happen in the way they happen and not make one restricted to textbook thinking. On a contrary, there are a LOT more of them who think they are GODS (imaginary supreme person) and according to who textbooks and the predefined methodologies are the ultimate way for knowledge acquisition! This article is dedicated to such wonderful creatures!

As children, we always have a quest for learning and a quest to acquire as much knowledge^# as we can. Even biologically, that’s the period when an individual’s grasping power is at the highest. Kids will be more experimental and will want a reason for anything and everything they do. “Why?” appears to be their favorite word! In the due course of answering their questions, few of them tend to go beyond boundaries and will think out of the box. When they do it the response they get is, "YOU ARE WRONG!" and why this response... because the syllabus doesn't allow u to do it! It’s not there in that thing called TEXTBOOK! You can't choose what you want to do... You can’t be in the way you are... You are not allowed to be creative... Most of all, you are not supposed to go against what your so called leading lights (in the form of teachers) guide you to! And why is this? Because they wouldn’t have done it in that way and it is out of scope of their thought process! They can't think in that way and hence you can't! And what is the result of it… the student gets demotivated and thinks that his thought process is wrong and hence he will never dare to do it again! Why... because he is not supposed to think on his own!

They say that teachers are the ones who lead people to what they'll become in the future! It's very true! But if we get such great individuals as teachers, then I am sorry... but it’s better to be illiterate! You will atleast preserve the values embedded by your own families! Please do not get me wrong here by assuming that I am self-centered. It’s just a humble attempt to express the dishonesty currently happening in the country. The whole point is that, there will definitely be a lot of learning involved when you come across people… when you meet wonderful teachers… even among the peer group for that matter; but as teachers they should realize the responsibility on their shoulders! You go wrong at times... that’s when teachers come into picture! Not that they can think better than you, but they would have had the right experience to guide you in a better way. This is the real teacher! You, at any stage should feel confident about doing anything and everything coz you always have a backup in the form of your teacher! The one who encourages the student to reach higher than where he/she really stands is the real teacher! That’s the spirit required for the New age India! They should realize the entire nation’s future is in their hands!

Instead, if the same situation continues... then I am sorry to say… but, India is going to remain in docks forever! When the world has reached a stage where countries like China are committed for a R&D spending growth of 21% per annum, if things like these happen on a regular basis, then the day is not far when the other third world countries will easily push us back! Only a few people sitting at the top and stressing on innovation will not help in any way! Each and every individual should have this embedded as a moral responsibility! That is the way where the whole nation can work towards one particular vision! That’s when the dream of our own ex-President, Abdul Khalam, will come true! This is the kind of bigger picture that one should be providing to the kids! That’s when they will grow to become individuals who can drive the entire nation to success!

^#Knowledge is not restricted to science, math or any subject related. It’s referred here in a generic manner.

The power of value perception!

"The value of water is more than diamond in a desert!" This one small statement changed the whole way I looked at things. I was exposed to this concept of "Value perception" when I for the first time in my life came across this wonderful subject called ECONOMICS!

This concept of value perception has influenced me in a very huge way! The whole building block for any business in this world, Rate of Return or more popularly known as ROI, is based on this factor. The ROI of your business is basically the value perceptions you feel is there for your products or services in your consumer's or client's eyes! Whatever you pay for the goods you purchase is basically because you value the good so much. You see the ROI in it. Here again I feel the words "Value perception" and "ROI" are interchangeable. Each of them are conceptually derived from each other! Few years back, had anyone imagined paying 100 bucks for a single cup of a coffee! (I am basically referring to the CCDs n Baristas we have today...) This is the paradigm shift in the perception of the customer which has created wonders!

This whole concept of value perception leads us to a new era of costing and accounting! At the end of the day, while pricing a particular product or a service, the first and foremost factor is to meet the break even! All extra you get is technically termed as profit. Now your profit depends on the way the customers/consumers value your product/service...

Since I have explored a bit on the Psychology also, let me not constraint myself to just business and accounting. If you see a relationship, the whole point of having or not having a relationship with a person is based on the way you see the value out of it! The amount of importance you give to a relationship is in direct correlation with the way you perceive it and hence the amount of value you derive out of it. You might want to term it as love, hatred, anger etc etc... But all these again are an output of human values! :)

If I correlate all of these factors, I will end-up with a summary to explain what I call it as "The power of value perception!" It just is an amazing matter of fact that all our lives, work, relationships, anything and everything you can relate yourself to, is definitely someway or the other related to the three evergreen letters "ROI"...

A random thought process...

Well well... my quest for knowledge continued and I started asking more and more questions to myself and to the people associated with me. I have offlate been into a mode of finding a relationship between vedanta/upanishad etc and physics. The basic reason being I believe that anything and everything that we have spiritually today (which is supposed to have been proposed by our ansestors) must have a logic behind it without which there is no point in which it can be quantified and presented in a way the world accepts it.

Okay... I had a very abrupt start in it though. I was reading a book called "Modern Physics and Vedanta" authored by Swami Jitatmananda of the Ramakrishna Math. I there was refreshed upon by the concept of the existance of the cosmic planes in particle physics. To give a brief; whenever an electron or a proton rotates around a nucleus, it does so in an orbit in the cosmic plane. Now I wanted to relate it to the cosmic plan talked about in meditation. The basic concept of meditation revolves around the 7 chakras present in the human body. If one can relate it to physics, this actually is how deep you go in identifying what is the finest particle with which your body is made of. When you reach to a level where you identify the existance of an atom in your body, this will basically pull you towards the same plane as the sub-atomic particles are in. Hence you will be in this cosmic plane!

Okay... this was just a hypothesis which I could derive out of my thinking. I need to find out the actuality of the situation through some more research on the proven theories in physics and some more in-depth knowledge about meditation which I shall be doing in the due course of time.

There is lot more actually. This whole concept of "Brahman" is related to the unified theory which the physicists all over the world today are trying to prove. :) ... Sounds exciting right!! :)

There was one more observation which I could make related to the massless paticles... When meditation reaches its highest level, I have heard that one reaches a level where he doesnt have a control over his body and his body for that period of time becomes immaterial to him. He starts acting with his 'manas'. Can this be the massless situation talked about in physics?

According to physics, a sub-atomic particle will reach a massless situation hypothetically when it travels at the speed of light. Say for example, photon, when it travels at the speed of light can be considered massless. Here Heisenberg's uncertainity principle also comes into picture! But in reality there is no concept of massless!

Coming back to meditation; when a stage is reached where you are in a different plane and when the claims of you virtually travelling around the world is made, is it actually this stage of a sub-atomic particle? Because through meditation the ultimatum could be you identifying your inner self which is made of these sub-atomic particles... So I am jsut wondering if this is the stage where you move a step ahead to the sub-atomic plane from the atomic plane and hence you have the capability of moving with a speed equivalent to that of light :O... While young I had heard SubrahmaNya (the elder son on Lord Shiva) going around the world 3 times on his vahana (a peacock) by the time Ganesha made three rounds of his parents... Now.. w.r.t the above hypothesis, was this vahana just a hypothecation to signify the plane in which he was? I am not really sure about the existance of the entity called God first of all... thats a different entity to research about altogether. But if I go by the assumption that they do exist and the stories surrounding them are true, do all the vahanas of the Hindu God indicate the same?

My questioning continues... and hence the research... :)

I was able to arive at one more concept related to music and physics... medine and physics. This was an output out of a discussion with my mom who has done some research on music. We would have heard about the existance of music leading to the extensive growth of plants... or curing of ailments in animals etc... A thought came into my mind that it might be because of the concept of resonance. Even though the other living organisms cannot communicate as a human does, the basic concept of frequency generated out of the pharynx and the ear drums responding to the vibrations outside (in case of fauna) still exists. Hence I personally feel that all these might be because of this concept of "RESONANCE" explained in physics. Even this different ragas in music to be sung at different time frames is in some way related to the electromagnetic waves generated by the natural environment. Thats probably why Tansen was able to light that diya in the court. This again is another hypothesis I am making. I am just wrting down my thought process which I underwent today.

I shall definitely get back with statistical, scientific and mythological proofs for this either to validate these thoughts or to negate these thoughts in sometime :)

Hogenakkal under threat!

South India is a land of wonderful places. It's a paradise of greenery with an innumerable number of tourist attractions. Down south, in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu, is situated a waterfall “Hogenakkal falls” on the river Kaveri. It is sometimes referred to as the “Niagara of India”. With its bewitching beauty and fame for medicinal baths and hide boat rides, it is a major site of tourist attraction. The carbonite rocks present are considered to be the oldest available in South Asia.

According to the etymology, when the water falls on the rocks, it appears as if Hoge (smoke in Kannada) is emanating from the top of the kal (rock in Kannada) due to the forcing waters. Hence it got its name Hogenakkal. It is also called as Marikottayam by the people of Tamil Nadu.

At Hogenakkal, the mighty Kaveri river spreads out over a wide area of sandy beaches, then flows through a straight but narrow ravine near Salem. Before reaching the falls area, the river flows through a forest range which contains herbs which are traditionally believed to enhance health.

Hence, Hogenakkal is considered both a sacred bathing place and a spa-like health resort. Here the area is spread across through a very wide area which gives a panoramic view. It also is a very good destination for many upcoming photographers.

Having all this advantages and an astounding scenic beauty, Hogenakkal is heading towards a threat from the tourists who come there and enjoy. On a recent visit, a few unfriendly sights stuck my eyes. All the plastic wastes and other non-biodegradable products are being left unattended. They are left for the nature to take care of it. Though it is very minimal, it is an alarm for all of us. We have been playing a very integral role in spoiling the rich heritage of our nation on a very regular basis. It's high time that we realize the importance of the rich cultural heritage India has and contribute towards the enrichment of the same.

Looking at it at a serious note, tourism in India is a very important and emerging segment where it act as the second largest net foreign exchange earner for the country and generated about 32.57 million employment, both direct and indirect. Tourism in India, both domestic and international has been growing consistently over the years with a growth rate above the world average! With such a large sector involved, as a citizen of the nation, it's very important for us to play a vital role in maintaining (if not improving atleast).

We don't have to invest lacs together to contribute towards the improvement of the situation. All we need is a quick action with individualistic responsibility. Being a tourist, its our responsibility to maintain cleanliness in and around the places where we visit. Hogenakkal was just given as an example. There are many more places across the state and nation where the situation is even more worse. Through this media, it's just our sincere appeal to all of you to maintain the purity offered by nature as it is. Play with the nature but in a way where none of us are harmed!

Retailing ahead…

Big bazaar, Shopping malls, Hypermarkets and Mega mart. These are just a few names which almost spontaneously strike to an individual’s mind when the word retailing comes into picture. It reaches every single home in every single corner of the nation! The market is huge and is untapped in various ways. India has still not experienced the ultimatum! But if one goes to see the history of the retail market in India, it took a little more than eleven years for it to evolve to the level it is today as compared to more than fifty year taken by the west.

Today, in the present economic position the world is, the word “credit crunch” seems to be highly fashionable. Let us try to analyze the hiccups and opportunities of this buzz word on the Indian retail industry. I will try and put forward my analysis on the same which has resulted from a bit of market study and interaction with big thinkers. I shall basically be concentrating on the opportunities that one can look at in the current market scenario.

The thought process moving across the investors today is “None of the customers are willing to invest their money in everything apart from the basic needs today.” How should one as a retailer take this? If one can sensitively look at the retail market, a huge amount of an investment is involved before a retailer actually pitches himself into the market. For him to reach the break-even and start making profits, it takes a lot of time and patience. Hence, in a highly skeptical and volatile market condition, it’s very important for one to sense the importance of the slightest of the opportunity that is created.

Having understood the seriousness of the situation let me just elaborate on the problem itself. Since retail industry runs on a low margin business model, the time required for the industry to recover is more. One can see a sluggish and a weaker period for a much longer time when compared to the other sectors. “The basic problem is profit and not consumers!” quoted Mr.Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan. This simple sentence says it all. The customers are still very much there in the picture. The only problem is that they are not yielding the kind of profit the companies were getting. This was just a briefing about the problem that is prevailing today. One has to also consider the impact of other sectors and the interdependency factors as well before coming to any conclusion. Just to sum it up, the magnitude of the problem is huge!

One choice for an individual is to sit and analyze the problem that prevails. The other option of course is to tweak the situation a little bit and make the best out of it. Just to take an optimistic approach, let me put forward a few good things about this situation as well. One can be aggressive in his approach and expand his establishments to reach out more and more people and make them realize that there are other ways of dealing things as well! The current situation also has seen the sustainability of various sectors like food and farming. So, the bottom of the pyramid is still alive and kicking. If India is considered, 73% of the population comes from this bottom of the pyramid. Hence there a considerably big gate asking to be opened. One has to just find the right key!

We can also look at the revenue shared model. This is the model followed in the malls now-a-days. One established individual/organization helping the other smaller ones by providing a good platform for establishment. This is a perfect WIN-WIN model. This also involves a good amount of economy distribution among the individuals involved in the business. Since more and more number of people are skeptical about spending, it provides space for a new era of innovation. One can concentrate on low-price high-quality products, thus providing a room for a lot of technological improvement.

We can also look into the service industry as a money making industry. If an individual decides not to buy a new vehicle for a few more years, this automatically calls for a good and reliable service provider who can help the individual to maintain his vehicle so that he doesn’t have to invest in a new one. Apart from these, the basic service providers like doctors, lawyers etc., will be in demand no matter what is the economic situation. To give this article a philanthropic twist, we can also ask them to reduce their prices or do more of social services if they are not serious about business!

Above mentioned were just a few bright sparks which are existing even in the current market which is told to chaotic by many analysts. At this juncture I would appreciate if you would think on these lines which says, “When the world is observing recession, India is expecting a 6-7% growth in the GDP.” This speaks about the market in India and its opportunities!

Just to take you all forward, let me just share with you all a few key points which I came across. These were a few takeaways from the established players in the industry.

• Get the cost structures rightly in place. Re-examine the pricing that has been conventionally been done.
• Do not reduce the prices of the products. Instead work on a pricing model which will basically reduce the overall pricing of the products thus preserving the MRP of the product. This is basically because, once the market comes back, you must make up for the loses. Also, you should exist in a competent way even when the market is doing very good. More importantly, you should maintain the expectancy level the customers have in the brand.
• Please consider the fact that the mothers, kids and other market pullers do not watch and analyze the market analysis telecasted on the television sets.
• Geographically position yourself properly in the market.
• Have the bigger picture of India growing along with you.

These were again just a few observations made in the market. This is the best time to invest, to gain good market share, to leave an impression on the customers, to exist and also to make a long term impact on the society. All that is required is a little bit of optimism and a foresighted thought process which can lead you to success. So retailers, nothing to worry, have patience, enjoy the competition and make the best out of the market! Happy retailing!!

NOTE: Few of the analysis and ideas were shared as part of the TiE Entrepreneurial summit ’08.

Bengaluru, misaligned!

It was a very usual day for Manohar(an arbitrary name used and no other purpose intended). Early in the morning, he set out to his usual morning walk on the Kanakapura road. When he reached Yelchenahalli, to his utmost surprise, he was unable to continue his morning walk. He stood there stand still just wondering for a few minutes. All he could see in front of him was a huge pit! To accompany the pit, there lay a huger element of this earth! There was a huge, numb and helpless tree which was uprooted the previous night!

Unlike our own Manohar there are hundreds of others who off-late come across incidents like this in our once upon a time called “Garden city of India!”

The main reason for this kind of developments in Bangalore is told to be the coming up of the metro! Namma Metro! Even if one considers the amount of infrastructural development that is planned as part of Metro, we cannot neglect the impact it is having on the beauty and the environment of Bangalore.

Just to give you an example, consider the Large-leaved Mahogany’s tree trunk on the St.Mark’s road. It releases Rs.150000 worth of oxygen annually! The branches and the leaves would add more, as would the carbon fixed roots.

Here are the calculations for just the trunk of the tree. Height of the tree trunk is 7.5m. Girth at breast height is 4.25m. The average growth is 4 rings per inch. Hence the trunk would add 1.23m³ of wood every year. Since the density of Mahogany wood is 450kg/m³, this would amount to 552kg.*

A safe estimate as assumed in the Kyoto protocol is half the wood weight is contributed by Carbon. So the net Carbon fixed would be 276kg. The carbon to oxygen ration in Carbon-di-oxide (CO₂) is 12:32. Hence the oxygen released per year would be 736kg!*

The above provided data and calculations were just for one tree which is present in Bangalore. If we look at the statistics of the number of trees felt as part of the project Metro, the number reaches as high as 6000! Out of the total 1800kms present in Bangalore, 400kms are being covered as part of the Metro project. Hence one can imagine the amount of impact our city will be having after this act!*

To look at the big picture, in this present world which doesn’t have an economic plan which has considered environment as a factor, it’s very important for each and every individual to be aware of the implications and complications of the situations created by ourselves! In the name of industrialization, a major part of the environment has already vanished within a blink of an eye. Further to it, globalization has brought in a revolution which along with its good part has a very long lagging tail of a bad facet.

We can make a difference to the beautiful world around us! On this auspicious day which marks the last edition of this magazine for the year 2008, this is our humble appeal to you all to contribute your part to the Mother Nature! As the saying goes, “No science is rocket science apart from rocket science itself”, it’s not difficult to contribute to the environment we are living in. Even a very small step taken by us may lead to a huge change with a tremendous impact! (I actually wrote it for a journal for its december edition... Thats why you can see the mentioning of the year end :)...)

*All the statistical data and the calculations involved were provided by well known ornithologist and environmentalist, Prof.M.B.Krishna and are subject to slight variations due to the time factor.