There is more to my city than meets the eye !!!

A famous community for management students, aspirants and alumni clubbed with a travel blog-cum-journal portal for a contest - Something in my city that's ignored and not realized.

Now, What's ignored in Agra??? The world knows Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri; even the mental asylum !!!

But pouring in bit of thought, I realized there's more to that in my city. Here go the 200 words, that framed my reply -

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Agra, one of the most ancient cities of India is today famous worldwide for two great monuments – One is Taj Mahal, a symbol of Love and another – A mental asylum. This makes Agra the biggest proof to mankind that love cannot exist without madness. Where Love prevails, madness simply pours in…

A city with a rich ancestry, Agra has many well-known as well as yet-to-be-discovered buildings. Among the famous ones (apart from the forenamed ones) are Agra Fort, the Fort and Dargah at Fatehpur-Sikri and Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra.

However, among those that are ignored by many tourists, one is the tomb of Etmad-ud-Daula, Father-in-law to Jahangir. It is indeed the BAAP of Taj Mahal, in many senses. The carvings here have laid foundation to the famous 'Lucknow's Chikan' embroidery.

Another one in the line is Dayalbagh's Radha-Soami Temple. It has a history of its own and is said to be cursed that its construction will never end. It's dedicated to the Gurus of Radha-Soami clan and construction is going on since generations.

Lastly we have the Pohiya Ghat – on the peaceful banks of Yamuna, the same bank where Lord Krishna once had his leelas with the Gopis… Exotic, eh?
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PLAGIARISM

PLAGIARISM – For better or worse???

While coming down to office today, I found myself humming a sweet number – Pal Pal Pal Pal Har Pal Har Pal… Oh no, not again!!! It has been over a week now that I am continually humming the same number. And why… simply because the tune is catchy enough. But drilling down the memory lane, I can easily remember those days when I used to cycle down to school and hum the same tune… How come? Coz this tune is basically Cliff Richard’s Theme For A Dream (1961). So what the Indian Cinema thinks is kudos to Shantanu Moitra is actually a hats-off to The Great British Singles Chart-Topper.

But a deep thought forces me to think whether this plagiarism is really bad… For I was sure I had almost forgotten the original number at the time the Hindi tune refreshed my memory. So, it did me good… Now I have one more song to sing at parties… :)

Well, remotely related to this, I always remember something that my father, a professor in Physics, has taught me – Old and proven things can always be used as tools to find out new things!!! As a very blunt example, say if you want to know the length of the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle, you need not begin from scratch – prove Pythagoras Theorem – and proceed. You can just use the formula and take the next step. Is that plagiarism as well??? Moitra took the basic theme and used it to create an advanced model… Introduced a few changes – An Ultra Suprano Effect, varying rhythms at chorus and stanzas… and so on, to recreate a melodious number.

So where lies the thin line of difference between inspiration and plagiarism??? Hamlet wonders…

A few well known “inspired” numbers in Hindi Cinema

Re-made Song	Composer	Year	Original Composition	Composer	Year
Itna na mujhse tu pyaar badha (Chhaya)	Salil Chowdhary	1961	40th Symphony	Mozart	1788
Mere Rang Mein (Maine Pyar Kiya)	Raam Laxman	1989	The Final Countdown	Europe	1986
Aate Jaate (Maine Pyar Kiya)	Raam Laxman	1989	I just called to say	Stevie Wonder	1984
Sochna Kya (Ghayal)	Bappi Lahiri	1990	Lambada	Kaoma	1989
Jab koi baat bigad Jaaye (Jurm)	Rajesh Roshan	1990	A hundred miles	Peter, Paul & Mary	1962
O mere sapno ke saudagar (Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi)	Nadeem Shravan	1991	Bachelor Boy	Cliff Richard	1963
Dole Dole Dil (Baazi)	Anu Malik	1995	Theme Music of Come September	Bobby Darin	1961
Nazarein Mili (Raja)	Nadeem Shravan	1995	Theme Music of Come September	Bobby Darin	1961
Aisa Zakhm Diya hai (Akele Hum Akele Tum)	Anu Malik	1995	Child in Time	Deep Purple	1970
Dil mera Churaya Kyun (Akele Hum Akele Tum)	Anu Malik	1995	Last Christmas	WHAM	1984
Tu Wo Tu Hai (Beqabu)	Anu Malik	1996	Theme Music of The Good, The Bad and The ugly	Ennio Morricone	1966
Payal Meri (Rajkumar)	Laxmikant Pyarelaal	1996	Faith	George Michael	1987
Haseena Gori Gori (Tarazu)	Rajesh Roshan	1997	In the Summertime	Shaggy	1995
Oh Baby !! Don’t break my heart (Mohabbat)	Nadeem Shravan	1997	Oh Baby !! Don’t break my heart	Stereo Nation	1996
Dil le le lena (Auzaar)	Anu Malik	1997	Macarena	Los Del Rio	1995
Dil Maka Dina (Dhaal)	Anu Malik Again !!!	1998	Macarena	Los Del Rio	1995
Ek Shararat Hone ko Hai (Duplicate)	Anu Malik	1998	Slip and Slide	Laura Allen	1978
Koi nahi tere jaisa (Keemat)	Rajesh Roshan	1998	Cotton Eye Joe	Rednex	1994
Kya Kehna	Rajesh Roshan	2000	O Carol	Paul Anka	1959
Pretty Woman (Kal Ho Na Ho)	Shankar Ehsan Loy	2003	Pretty Woman	Roy Orbison	1964
Pal Pal Pal Pal (Lage Raho Munnabhai)	Shantanu Moitra	2006	Theme For a Dream	Cliff Richard	1961

Why I call myself Hamlet

Why I call myself Hamlet???

Before I begin this post, would like to mention some trivia… Hamlet, one of the most famous Shakespearean Heroes, was the prince of Denmark, son of the deceased King and nephew to the current King Claudius. It’s a story of love, lust, fame, power, money, murder, fear, death and revenge, and how the human brain works out to optimize an ideal life through all these in the journey called life. The ghost of Hamlet’s father guides him to take revenge on Claudius, his treacherous and lecherous brother, Hamlet’s uncle; who poisoned the Late King to death amidst his sleep. Claudius then successfully took over as the new King, and wooed the Late King’s widow as bride.

So begins a tale where desire for power and lust leads to murder. What remains now is Hamlet’s Revenge; for the death of a Father; for his mother’s love that he was robbed off; for the throne that belonged to him but was take away; for the Kingdom to which he was the legal heir. And for Hamlet’s it wasn’t too tough. For he had everything with him that he needed. He was a gallant warrior, armed with the loyalty of the courtiers and the sympathy of the subjects of the nation.

Did he take revenge? Yes and No. Yes – because he was able to kill Claudius in the end. No – for he delayed his revenge so much that the purpose of the revenge had already lost its reason. Critics say that Hamlet is highly indecisive. He could not make up his mind. He often curses himself for not killing Claudius –

“Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words”

He even calls himself a coward, but for a warrior of Hamlet’s merit, that is not expected. A son of so brave a king can never be a coward.

“Yet I,

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king
Upon whose property and most dear life

A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?”

Unlike the critics, I feel differently. Hamlet simply procrastinates. He has an aim (kill Claudius) and a reason (avenge his father’s death), but keeps delaying it till the last hour.

Here lies the missing link – the reason why I identify myself with Hamlet. I have an aim in life and a reason to fulfill it… But there’s something in me that bars me to – time and again. I procrastinate a lot. This is not laziness, for am never lazy to do anything. This is not lack of will or ambition, for I want to achieve a lot… But this somehow happens… days go by, and I find myself where I was… The day I know the reason, I guess I’ll learn a lot about myself.

The Spirit of Mumbai

The Spirit of Mumbai – Just in words, or in matter too???

A few days ago before the Bombay Blasts, there was another event – which died down in a premature manner coz of the Blasts – A vandalized statue of Minatai, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's former wife, followed by Mumbai-wide riots thereafter… My uncle, with my 6-year old cousin, was stuck right amidst an angry mob, who were burning a tourist bus. Without any consideration (and this was well expected), the ruthless mob was setting fire to the bus. My uncle somehow managed to escape from the scene. Believe me, my friends, (those who say one becomes a Mumbaikaar within 5 minutes or 5 days after coming to the city), even after staying in Mumbai for 20 years, my uncle felt like a stranger there.
While discussing this with a fellow Mumbaikar who was bubbling with the “Mumbai Spirit”, I just got an answer – “Shiv Sena wale to aisa karte hi hain yaar (how obvious), but the best part is that they don’t hurt the public” (God!!! people in Mumbai are thankful to them for that!!) That, is the Mumbai Spirit folks !!! "Chalta hai yaar… karte hain karne do…." Truth is that even without the blasts, the people do exist in an atmosphere of terror, and that too created by the fellow Mumbaikars.
One speaks of the queues of masses ready to donate blood. Dear All, this is not a new scene. In 1993, even a small city like Agra (as compared to Mumbai and Delhi) saw massive blasts, and such a scene of people queuing up for donating blood was common… It’s the human spirit, I must say, and not some Mumbai Spirit. For humans, I believe, still have retained that element called humanity.
As for the stock markets, lets not speak about it… The Indian market has been coined emotionless even at Dow Jones when Sensex and Nifty both continued rising even during last years’ Mumbai floods and Tsunami!!!
Leute, Plz don’t consider this as a personal attack, maybe it’s just an emotional outburst of what happened with my uncle and cousin the other day. Just wanted to ask, on which point did I misjudge the spirit of Mumbai?

Management in IITs - Brand Building or Brand Dilution

Management in IITs – Brand Building, than Brand Dilution

“Old order changeth, yielding place to new…”
- Lord Alfred Tennyson

The world has very successfully redefined itself of late. This face of the earth was so far hidden from the realm of humanity. Competition finds itself at the zenith. Buying and selling have left the markets and become the part and parcel of life. A doctor sells himself to retain his patients and attract more. A sportsman sells himself by performing in the National Level to reach the International Hall of Fame. A student sells himself in the interview to get the seat in one of the best known institutions of the world. They call it The Corporate World… where factors like price and quality hold but mere importance vis-à-vis the big name – BRAND.

In this scenario, expansion of horizons becomes the name of the game. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are not left far behind. The IITs, renowned for producing techies of worldwide fame, have ventured into the domain of management. Technology and Management together – sounds awkward, eh? Not at all! For right from the inception of management, technology has been its counterpart and raison d'être – its very reason for existence. When Frederick Taylor, one of the forbearers of management, laid down the Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, he believed management to be a pure science. Later, the human factor continued to pour in. However, the role of Science and Technology in Management is undoubtedly, inseparable. This is the very reason why courses like Economics and Organizational Behavior, which are not considered as core engineering subjects, are taken as mandatory courses in almost all engineering colleges throughout the world. So if we can go for a couple of managerial subjects, why not go for the entire course?

Today, it is not uncommon to observe massive diversification in all spheres. ITC Wills, after the huge success of its brand of cigarettes Navy Cut and Silk Cut, used the same name for its range of sports apparel and formals as Wills Lifestyle. Kingfisher, known to be one of the best brands worldwide for beer, did well in the Mineral Water and Club Soda industry as well. The list of such examples is endless. The only reason for success of all of these firms is that they had already won the hearts of the masses by one product. Similar is the world of education, where the IITs have proven themselves worldwide by producing masterminds. Organizations throughout the globe have immense faith in IITians. Today, it would not be unusual for a good organization with a global presence to be ignorant about institutes like MDI, FMS or XLRI. Yes, it’s a true fact that globally, IITs are a much bigger brand name than any IIM because of their rich ancestry. IITs are recognized by anybody and everybody. Why not use this brand image to impinge upon the new domain of management? Managers from IIT will be internationally recognized than any other institute because of the same faith that corporations have in IIT. This is brand building!

Finally, it’s a common fallacy that the IITs are the predecessors of Management in Technological institutes that they may or may not succeed. The truth, however, is quite different. One of the pioneers in this field is none other than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the undoubted worldwide leader in its field. MIT entered the realm of management with the inception of the Sloan School of Management, which today produces one of the best managers in the world. Universities at Purdue and Mississippi have also followed suite. A noted example will be of the Harvard University, a premier name in the B-School world that has opted to go into technical courses. Should the IITs be left behind in the field of management which has a tremendous potential in the corporate world as well as education and research? Never! This is a loss not just to The Institute, but to the Nation in totality.

Only by competing with the world in the rat race that is marked by the survival of the fittest, we can stand as a brand apart like we always have since the birth of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Stagnancy in what we are, on the other hand, will lead only to brand dilution. In fact, a very good upcoming school of thought is that the IITs should venture into the field of law too, which is in fact already taking shape. Foraying into new educational grounds will leave a broader global footprint for the IITs. This, in my view, is the only key for us to lead India into the heaven of freedom that Tagore dreamt of,
“Where the mind is without fear,
And the head is held high…”

A Tryst with a Fever

A Tryst with a Fever… and further revelations!!!

Long long time ago, there used to be a doctor, one of the greatest ones of his kind. A doctor who could sense the disease his patient was suffering from just by entering the patient’s room. No diagnosis, no Pathology reports, no X-Rays and Bingo! He always cracked it. His name was Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. But that is history… Today the name B. C. Roy is remembered for one of the highest awards of honor that the Indian government presents to noted Doctors.

Welcome to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and just like the rest of India, the name B. C. Roy is famous here as well. The only hospital available in IIT Kgp for the best brains of India is called the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. Technology Hospital???
Never mind the name, for everything in IIT has the word Technology attached to it.

From here begins my story, not as queer as the Comedy of Errors, but regarding the fact the fact that we are comparing a work of fiction to a real-life incident, one could rate it quite close to the plot that has been the evergreen magnate of comedies.

10th of January, 2006 – I mange to catch up a mild fever. Against all my wishes, my friends force me to visit BCRoy (Hereafter, BCRoy shall refer to the hospital only and not to the great physician). So I make my first visit to BCRoy as a patient. The doctor seemed to be a genius. I gave him the list of symptoms.
Shock 1: The doctor, in no time, sensed it to be typhoid. Oops, all those who have suffered from the disease before must know that detecting typhoid within 24 hours must be the dare of a maestro.
My reaction: I was not conviced at all. I went to the nearest pathology and got myself checked. Gosh… no malaria, no typhoid, thankfully. I consulted another physician (another maestro from BCRoy). A dosage of a few antibiotics couple with ad-hoc paracetamols worked and I was Ok in the due course of time.

27th of January, 2006 – The fever relapses, this time more rampant than before with a sense of vengeance as it had been mercilessly pushed out of my body two weeks back. This time it came with a lot of shivers and shot up to 104.3 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale. For the second time, against all my wishes, on being forced by friends (Since friends in need as friends indeed), I was taken to BCRoy and this time, was admitted there.
Shock 2: The next day was a Sunday and the BCRoy pathology centre was on a weekly off. So no tests on Sundays…
My Reaction: Doctor, can I consult another pathologist?

Shock 3: Yes, you can; but we would not accept it. You will anyhow have to go for another test tomorrow… (Please remember this shock, for it is a prelude to another one to come)
My Reaction: My blood is not free, man. Better delay the test by one day…

Next day…
Shock 4: Doctor says that the report shows that I am perfectly fine and that I will be fine in a couple of days.
My Reaction: Do I have a choice? Maybe, the thermometer is a liar… Stupid thermometer!!!

When lunch is served, I ask the nurse if I can get chapattis instead of rice since I am feeling nauseate.
Shock 5: You may, but not now. Lunch has been served today and you will have to eat it. The change in your lunch schedule will be made from tomorrow.
My Reaction: Firstly, what do I eat for today? Secondly, what if I don’t feel nauseate tomorrow? God knows… let the time come.

Two days go by, and I continue getting rice. I use my right to speech and ask why am I not getting chapattis?
Shock 6: The nurse complains – “You might have told to other nurses. You will have to report it to the nurse who is on duty for the day.”
My Reaction: Shame to Oracle, Microsoft and creators of the database management systems. Long live the traditional file systems where the old data is lost as soon as the system restarts (I mean, change of duty).

Finally, I get Bread instead of rice… I dare to ask again, “But I asked for chapattis…”
Shock 7: This is what we know as chapattis here!!!
My Reaction: Grrrr!!!

Meanwhile, fever is still as rampant as ever… still crossing the 104 mark on the Fahrenheit scale…
Shock 8: (An extension of Shock 3) Son, we are not able to detect anything here; you better get yourself checked by another pathologist…
My Reaction: As you say doc. Maybe my blood IS free after all…

Next day,
Shock 9 (The Biggest One): Doc himself comes to me and says that nothing has been detected as yet. All reports say that I am fine… We all here believe that your fever is due to an unknown disease!!!
My Reaction: I call up home, and the next thing I knew that I was leaving on the jet plane (Jet Airways, to be precise) and was homeward bound…

Back in Agra (my hometown), my family doc asked me to go for another blood test (Poor me…) After going through them, gave me a couple of antibiotic doses and believe me, I was alive and kicking in a couple of days!!! Am now returning back to heaven, a place that gives me an identity in all spheres of life, a place so perfect in placements, infrastructure, faculty and everything one could think of, but void of any medical facilities – IIT Kharagpur.