Lock Stock and Trade at Great Lakes

Great Lakes, with the firing mechanism- a coruscating metallic lock (the biggest mock IPO event); fitted on the wooden butt end -stock of the gun (20 acres green campus); Powered with nine cylindrical smoking barrels (seven of these were Great Lakes teams) fired incessantly for over eight hours.

Even as the met department issued signs of warning, even as the torrential rain consumed the east coast road, Great Lakers escorted the enemy tanks (teams from other institutions) to the war zone. And, soon it began.

Prof. R.S. Veeravalli-Director Executive MBA, opened the event with the characteristic elegance and composure that he is known for. Welcoming the guests, he quipped that Great Lakes has been busy praying for rain this morning, so the visitors would remember the day for a life time. He later remarked that the memorable day has been made possible by the judges who have confirmed to be on the panel, and expressed his deepest gratitude for making to the event despite the deluge.

Judges:

1. Srinivasan Vishwanathan, partner at Apt Talent Partners, Inc
2. K. Ramakrishnan, Executive Director & Head, Spark Capital
3. Mr. R. Narayan, VP, HDFC Bank

Mr. Vishwanathan recalling his meeting with Dr. Bala V. Balachandran (Dean and founder of Great Lakes), noted that his visit to Great Lakes has been a memorable one. He observed “I have not seen such an event anywhere else. Perhaps this is one of its kind; a unique one”. Later he spoke about the sea change in the style of investing today, from what it had been twenty years prior to now. In this context, he noted “I think it was Reliance that changed the way we looked at stocks”. Moving on, he explored the rationale behind the shift. Technology, he opined, shrunk the product life cycles and has brought in short term focus.

The event began with all the teams presenting the companies they represented while investors sifted in their minds, their priorities.

T. S. Eliot resignedly postulated in 1915 (albeit in a different context)

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse

Every one of us, ones playing investors, ones representing the nine companies, all of us submitted to neurotic indecisiveness in the face of suffocating intensity of the game as the event began.

Every single minute, someone in a corner somewhere in the big hall of three hundred switched his priorities of investment. The worried ones left the hall to sip hot coffee in Bajaj Bistro, the jubilant ones sat meditatively staring at the steel structure in the India Cements Amphitheater.

And, so it went on for over eight hours.
Please check out the winners at our Achievements page.
http://www.greatlakes.edu.in/studentAchievements.php

And the sun was gone!

There was never a longing for sun in Chennai as it is now. It has been a week, sun is held back by the thick clouds that look menacingly towards the earth. I still remember those days when sun would enquiringly peep above the horizon, searchingly shed light on the edge of my table cloth, paint it yellow and pale. Light smoothly slides over, finds a coffee mug or some such object, and glides over it (for the morning light is still weightless); reaches the end of the table, swoops over the edge, and floats on the floor much as a reptile with no legs. The light now passes over a spoon lying on the floor and swathes it crimson gold; now reaches the end and crawls up the wall, above and above it climbs until the wall is flushed yellow.

Must be a cold morning breeze, for the leaves of the tree beside my room gently tap against the window. Slowly the light grows in intensity, now it has gained some weight, it slips from the surface of objects to explore their bodies and uncovers them one after another. Light explores the objects that are submerged in darkness and brings them to life, lifts them out, much as an explorer underwater pulls one out of water; gives form to the table, spoon, floor and the wall. Gradually the objects are rid of their golden colour, now they are firm, inelegant and exuding raw energy. Some glisten as if they find sun inhospitable; others merely stand alive and naked in the sun.

As the sun ascends higher and higher, the light on my bedroom wall slips as if sun is pulling it back; I watch as the light desperately clings on to my spoon here, and table there, I still watch aghast as the last pools of light resting on the curtains by the window part. And the sun was gone.

That was last week, and since then it has been raining here in Chennai. Classes as usual, but the students have reserved themselves with playing football indoors; from upstairs one can see students leaving the canteen covered with umbrellas. The progress of construction of guest rooms inside the campus is slightly hampered by the torrential rains; some of us sneezing (some have moved on to catching cold already);  atmosphere humid and air clean, sky dark and clouds menacing, floor slippery and slippers muddy, shoes heavy and clothes clinging to the body, head scratchy and body aching.

Every one of us is waiting for the sun. The thick clouds are still protesting saintly and the sun has so far failed to pierce them; the clouds above are so low that they are brushing the tips of tall trees beside our campus, and resting on some mountain or plain in the horizon.

So far, no sun!

There! There! Cried out a great laker

There! There! Cried out a great laker at eight forty five on a bright morning,

At the sight of vision in his head that was forming

The rainbow in the sky receded into the background,

While he treaded on the road to class, lonely and awkward

In the class, he chided and others were thrilled,

For able though, he left the assignment unfinished

The lecturer grimaced and the lonely warrior produced,

‘Parts missing’, the lecturer exclaimed ‘splendid, you have achieved’

Doubtful warrior protested,

And the lecturer censured

‘Your work is a mark of genius, for you have twisted the ending’ explained the bald man on stage,

Baffled but delighted, acquiesced the young sage

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A golden bird alighted in manamai,

Impressed fortune upon the great laker and said ‘hi’

The bird (guest lecturer) dipped its wings in pools of great lake,

And was treated with a big candle, coke and a cake

Golden fluids dripped him (great laker) wet as he stepped into the pool, in glee,

The clock chimed four quarters past three

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It was raining and he wore his trousers rolled,

The sky was pallid and weather cold

Munching heavily on the evening snacks, gratified with every bite,

He enquired with his team, of the tasks for the night

‘So much to do, so little time’, complained his team mate ‘what with the cold weather, I am not even fit’

‘Whining doesn’t help’, said he ‘it’s for our own benefit’

Together they finished the assignments, little did they realise that it was three in the morning,

Widely yawning, his friend scathingly argued ‘it is so very boring’

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But, it is….he yawned ostentatiously, staring pleasingly at the wrist watch,

And they all went into the TV room to watch highlights of the previous day’s match

Then they parted, slept for little over two hours,

Before waking up to read the first fifteen pages of the next course

The washing machine was swallowing his shirt buttons one at a time,

And he thought ‘aliens are behind this conspiratorial crime’

Thoroughly enjoying the picturesque beauty of the fields from his room’s window,

He started, at someone behind him, the shadow

‘We are getting late’ adjudged his friend ‘for the class’

So, he ran madly and almost fell into the pool, trying to prevent from bumping into the lass

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The library so huge and wide that he sat in a corner overlooking the gym,

To avoid feeling empty and vacant, he pulled the blinds before him

Rain left the mirrors clean, oh the outside weather was so still!

He caught cold, so reluctantly swallowed a pill

Perused through the day’s news, grimaced at a politician’s fate,

Made notes of some, for a future date

The white little doggy was dancing in the rain, while he was searching for ‘the times’ in the shelf,

Prancing and pulling hard at the branch of a tree that dropped low, the doggy enjoyed all by himself

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The sun descended, stars conjured as if in a trail,

The academics lady released the score card, so read the mail

‘come let’s go to mahabs’ his friend craning his neck into the grade sheet proposed,

‘But it’s nothing really, oh nothing really’ he read the lyrics for the song he composed

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The canteen was chaotic and the queue long,

So he left the place to try a hand at ping pong

Horrified at the defeat he ran upstairs, the mirrors inside the gym had a lustful sheen,

Heaving he returned after finishing a round on the jogging machine,

At dinner, he eavesdropped on some fellows, about economy, they were quacking,

After dinner, the cute little dog approached him, with its tail wagging

He pat the dog around the ears,

And struck a chat with a chap about the market bulls and bears

Morning glory of canteen-spider of drowsiness

After filling her plate with bread sandwiches, a bowl full of cornflakes and hot milk, she proceeded to sit in a lonely corner of the canteen. There she held the sandwich loosely between her fingers and brought it closer to her mouth. She was in a rather pensive mood, for she bit into the sandwich meditatively, almost mechanically she chewed her food, and was staring into blankness. Her plaintive mood depressed him, and he rolled his tongue over the over-chewed remains of a single bite of sandwich, much as a bull does in its period of rumination on a lonely afternoon under the shade of a banyan tree- with the sun trying to look through the leaves that shifted with a small whiff of air; and the flies poking into the thick skin; and the white swans deliberately walking over (with their thin weakly long legs, as if in eternal fear and trepidation of something or someone watching them, slowly balanced on one leg, and the other tucked in, about to be deployed. Oh but one must think! Above all one must be sure if the other leg has to be deployed or not. Look around and only after absolute certainty should one walk), the giant mammals preserve their stately state.

The man standing before the kitchen door wonders if breakfast cereals had fibers of melancholy in them, hidden inside they would await a victim, and once in mouth multiply and secrete a juice that produced the hormones of melancholy. And, now he is dragged in too. The network of rumination (the frightful clarity of staring into abyss) drags in each and every occupant of the canteen. Every new person that entered into the canteen, choose (by the inherent virtue of an unknown treaty) some place calm, some place morose, lonely, uneventful, once here the person would reveal himself, expose to the open jagged ends of the spider net. And, it goes on, the invisible spider crawls up above the floor of every single person’s mind, hooks them up and suspends them, baits them for every new person that enters the canteen. It is only a matter of time before everyone submits to the omnipotent and omniscient spider-the spider of drowsiness, and everyone merely stares into the abyss.

Great Lakes canteen is a rarity in itself, it has the seething brilliance of an afternoon, and accommodates almost punctually to the chaotic snacking of the evenings, princely (and stately) catering of the night, but above all preserves the glory (with a certain wickedness) of the mornings. After a vertiginous night out (with the brain servicing room for more, and more, and more….. flooding of information), and barely enough sleep (for the dusk sinks they are awake, and the dawn rises they are awake), Great Lakers wake up to a fine breakfast. Each student walks into a lonely corner of the canteen; (mornings) canteen is rid of the usual chatter, the kitchen door is open and the milk man walks in and out delivering packages of milk, a lonely person (where there would be tens during the rest of the day) stands before the counter serving nonchalantly, the white dog before the canteen door would still be sleeping, the maid inside the kitchen leisurely chops off carrots (or potatoes or tomatoes…). The absence of hubbub in canteen makes it such a desirable place that only sleepwalkers would fail to notice. Someone turns on the radio from inside the kitchen, or the delivery van has come and the man is unloading the day’s vegetables (fresh from the market), and the men get to work solely, slowly, languidly. The morning glory of the canteen lasts only for a precious thirty minutes (on some days, it lasts longer, perhaps on a Sunday), and it gradually dissolves into the surroundings as the kitchen crew pours in.

And, just as the morning glory of the canteen dissolves, the spider of drowsiness retreats into its shelf, and all the students un tethered and unhooked from the bonds of the spider, become active and the day goes on until the next morning, until the spider wakes up, until the morning glory of the canteen magically conjures up.

 

Frigid splendor or splendid frigidity?

Frigidity, ah I reprimand such an indecent display of nature’s will! She thought as she looked about her helplessly. Unhitching the torn sari’s end from the hatchet lying on the dried and woodened floor, she gaped at the horrific sight before her. Dusty wind stormed towards her, hurling dry twigs, sticks of wood and burnt ash (of trees that the villagers fell). Wind passed her by, now swooping to collect debris by the hut here, now dropping it on the corpse of a buffalo there. Poor thing, he is limping now, she thought as she approached her husband. Fatigue and fright had deprived him of humanness. He felt dizzy and nauseated; he hated himself for the nature’s wrath (famine). He trusted no one, the figure approaching him was menacing, no they would never understand him, mankind was upon him, it was a terrible curse, to be born and to live a life such as this. Her husband was talking to himself; he bothered her, only yesterday he talked about killing himself. Such a terrible thing to say, for a man like him, they had better lives, in those days; he walked about the village in his neatly ironed cotton shirt, but now, nature with her spiteful venom dried up their wells, sucked up the clouds (so high were they now, it no longer rained) and ruined their lives. ‘The terrible creature again’ he ran madly, ‘they are going to kill me now’ he screamed with mortified terror of the unknown and crawled up into the attic that disturbed the kettle that was suspended from the roof. The kettle tumbled on the floor, with the pugnacious dog by its side, for the rice from previous night was now emptied out of it. The creature maliciously craned its neck and faced the indescribably hapless owner, dropped its neck and began eating as the owner watched the day’s food being snatched away mercilessly.

Splendid, ah how I like it! Such a beauty, the drapes fluttered joyously as the hostess opened the window. Wind blew the drapes over the smooth round pillars, lollopped over the velvet fabric and caused a rapid flapping- tut, tut, tut, and the hostess closed the window, duly apologizing for her mannerisms. The window doors creaked softly, reminding the hostess of the remarkable job done by her carpenter. I must invite him for the party next time, she thought. The wind receded, with one huge whimper and the drapes slowly settled into folds by the window side as if life beneath them has been sucked away, and wrinkled, there, they lay for the rest of the party. A man in an impeccable suit, brown hair, blue eyes and stout shoulders walked into the big hall that was radiating with energy. The hostess soon recovered (for she wasn’t expecting him) and stately, she approached him. ‘How delighted I am that you accepted my invitation’ she rejoiced with her cheeks flushed. His hair was drawn back and neatly combed, ‘he looks fabulous’, she thought.  The hall was decorated with majestic velvet drapes, a huge chandelier in the middle suspended from the roof that mimicked an octopus with the tentacles (coloured in gold) running all the way from the roof to the floor (thickening on their journey) and branching into the pillars draped in velvet. The hostess lifted her cat and patted it. She fed her cat with the most delicious food and blushed as the creature took turns between licking its paws and nibbling at the bread crumbs.

The stark contrast between the two lives is depressingly clear. ‘Great Lakes’ endorses the idea of fundamental disciplines. In its attempt to build leaders of tomorrow, the institute has sworn to deliver on its promises-to churn out men of character, of desire to balance the pans (of rich and poor, of educated and uneducated, of good and bad). It is said that a nation progresses together with all of its people or merely tips the balance way off. Great Lakes is endeavouring to foster social responsibility among tomorrow’s leaders. It is the responsibility of tomorrow’s leaders to build a strong nation- a nation full of heroes.

Great Lakers win accolades!

The conundrum of success and failure is never ending one. You don’t succeed if you don’t try. But when you try, failure is at a knocking distance. But try, you must!

For starters a B School event is nothing like a normal event. Add a heap of a Quiz or two, 1 teaspoon of B Plan contest, one trading simulation game, two crates of white paper contests, for appetizer a Debate contest, as a garnish add a Rock music performance, Eureka you have a B School event.

Present batch of Great Lakes, Patriots, are there all across B Schools these days. These festivals are an amazing place to showcase talent but more importantly it’s a vindication of all your learnings both in the class rooms and out of them.

Every now and then news of a new conquest comes trickling. The quietness of East Coast Road, with an occasional car zooming towards Pondicherry, is in stark contrast to the hectic preparations for the latest event being done inside the Great Lakes campus. May be this very unique mix of ethereal beauty and best management education makes us who we are.

The ongoing ‘Footie’ – Great Lakes football championship is the icing on the cake.

Check out the latest news on Great Lakes Student achievements @:

http://www.greatlakes.edu.in/studentAchievements.php

Hidden purse and passion

He opened his eyes slowly, looked at his wife, first the chin, then the nose and finally the forehead. She was sewing, with her lips pursed (as all women do while sewing). He watched her intently, was it the morning’s fog that was rubbing its back against the bedroom window, was it the day’s first shaft of light that slantingly stroked her ears, was it the jocund manner in which she brandished her needle as a child does its scars, he no longer remembered, but she was beautiful, and nothing else mattered. She muttered something indistinctively, rose and brushed the crumbs of bread on her frock, flapped it once in air, pulled the needle away, started, as if she has seen a ghost. He never woke up so early, she held his face up by her pink palms and kissed him on the lips, there is nothing whatever the matter with him, she declared after examining his sleepy eyes and wrinkled forehead with her lips.

Here at Great Lakes, students approach electives as the protagonist did his wife. First the perusal of course outline, then the first session, and finally the assignments. All the trepidation is washed away and the students begin to love the electives, for each elective taught by the best and only the best in that field. Most of the professors fly from US, for they feel united in the sublime cause (to be the change, be the best and make India proud) for which the institute stands for. And, the professors shower their love (fuelled formidably by their passionate reverence to the subject) on the students, just as the protagonist’s wife did.

Holding her purse in one hand, tea cup in another, she approached him. Washing the tea around with a spoon, he lent his eyes to the purse. She was hiding her hands behind her, such a ravishing beauty she was, he thought. Much as a hen spreads her feathers and guards the nest and eggs, she was hiding something from him. He shaded his eyes with the back of his palm and looked at her. With glistening eyes and hair that had fallen over her forehead, with the sun that flew in to catch her smiling, with the parrot on the window sill picking at her wings, with the cat that stopped licking its paws, in the bright morning, she looked frightfully gorgeous. He stroked her cheeks with his palm, held her hair that was smoothly caressing her forehead and tucked it away, rolled it over her ears with his thumb and index finger. Slowly he extended his arms about her, embraced her and pulled the hidden object out of her hands. It was the purse; it had a beautiful rose knitted on one side. After thorough examination, he indicated to her that the rose was so good that it had to be in the middle rather than on a side.  Ah she liked him for that! She loved him the most when he commented on her hobbies. The moment was so precious for her, it was a moment that she lovingly gulped in, if someone walked into the room right now, they wouldn’t realise that a precious and intimate moment had just occurred, and she thought, it was so intimate that only she and her husband would know, it was theirs and no one would notice. She loved him for that.

Much as the relationship between the protagonist and his wife, the lecturers hide their most precious objects (case studies, assignments) until the very end. And, at the end of the course, students lovingly embrace (with a thorough understanding of the subject) the case studies and business plans. And the lecturers are so delighted with the display of passion (by the students in their deliverance of the assignments) that they tuck the moment close to their hearts. And the relationship between any guest lecturer from any part of the globe and the student stays fortified forever, as they promise to come back to Great Lakes, for little did they knew (or expect) that passion of the kind displayed at Great Lakes existed.

Visited Godrej Sara Lee Limited

 

It was just today early morning at 1AM when we returned to our campus after having the best two days as a part of Great Lakes. It is not often that you as students are treated so well by a corporate industry and that too by one which is among the best in the country.

We arrived in Mumbai on Oct 22 and were handed over two Innovas which were to be used by the nine of us to go around Mumbai on a sight-seeing trip. Quite a few of us had not visited Mumbai earlier and we made the best use of the vehicles and covered as much as we could from the Gateway of India to Queen’s necklace to the new suspension bridge. All this included a lunch at a Mexican restaurant which just added flavour to the trip. Lots of photos were clicked at various points, most of them being close to the beach area which presented a scenic view.

All exhausted we made our way to the Godrej guest house at Vikhroli by 7PM. The Godrej housing colony at Vikhroli is a huge campus and seems like a town in itself. All the people freshened up and moved out again at 7:30PM to go on to the next leg of our journey, to a new mall pretty close to the Godrej campus.

The next day after a hearty breakfast at the guest house mess, we all got ready to visit the Godrej Sara Lee office which was five minutes drive from the guest house area. We went straight into a meeting with the top managers of GSLL – Executive Vice President (PSO), K.Somanathan and Associate Vice President (Manufacturing H&BC North East) – R.S. Gopalakrishnan who explained to us about the processes within Godrej Sara Lee. This was followed by a meeting with the Deputy General Manager (Marketing) – Vinod Salvi who threw some light on critical marketing concepts in a manufacturing industry. After this we had a session with the HR Manager – Pooja Sharma. It was good to interact with the top notch managers of a top company. We then proceeded to have our lunch at the Godrej cafeteria. After lunch we were escorted to the R&D centre where the R & D Head – Dr. Sreedharwe showed us how the products in GSLL are created and tested, we then actually got to see the R&D centre and its practices; it was a very insightful trip across the R&D centre. Next was our meeting with Mr. Mahendran, the MD of Godrej Sara Lee wherein all of us shared our two day experience with him and also got to talk exclusively about Godrej Sara Lee as a company and its future plans. It’s always good to listen to person of his stature. It was 4:30PM and two Innovas were waiting to drop us back to the airport for our flight back to Chennai.

We reached Chennai at 11PM due to a delay in flight and reached the campus by 1AM. It was a trip which will be remembered very dearly by all the nine of us, for it was a trip which showed us why Godrej Sara Lee is a leader in quite a few segments of the market!

By

Syed Zoheb [syed.zoheb@mail.greatlakes.edu.in]

 

The atavistic nature of great laker’s MBA

There has been a change in the atmosphere inside the campus. In the past couple of days, it has begun raining; the neatly ploughed fields beside the campus are drowned, the deepest of furrows marooned, only the tractor stands in the middle of the fields, lonely as if awaiting its turn to pluck the soil with its sharp rusted teeth on the trail. The sun is covered with thick veils of translucent clouds; the whole sky now looks seamless as if the painter has dabbed the borders of the sky on his painting board with cotton buds.

Just as the driver of a four wheeler, after driving up an incline, pulls his feet off the throttle on a long ride and the four stroke IC engine idles, so the campus is idling presently. The driver sits back and relishes the scenic beauty of the lush green fields on either side of the roadway that converges briefly into a bridge over a canal; the driver stops the vehicle and sits by the bridge-with the sound of water running into rock crevices in the background, he lifts his head and gapes at the bluish sky scarred with a straight line of smoke (a jet plane must have left the trail of cloud). And, the driver wonders, amazed by the straight line of thin streak turning into a thick amorphous cloud and finally disintegrating into the bluish sky.

Seated with his back against the cement wall, sound of water pulling his nerves taut as strings of a guitar, he reacts promptly – he descends into depths of serenity as if water in the canal carried rich sediments from the Himalayas and paused just for the moment on its way to the ocean, for he was present there; birds paused briefly in their flight, swooped down upon him, for he was separating grass stalks holding them by their tips and reaching out to the roots as if he was searching for something (but what! He no longer remembered, but it did not matter anyhow); the wheat fields on either side of the road swayed towards him, for they too wished to be present; the sky lowered itself down; and the clouds enraptured with delight, drizzled, for never before have they all witnessed a person so calm and assimilated into nature.

It is perhaps the atavistic nature of an MBA course, or the anachronistic feeling of a great laker, because we had no classes for the last couple of days. And, this is such a rare moment that every one of us has been epitomizing the driver. Our reflections over the serene comforts of the driver are needless to say, ephemeral, for we have received the time table for our next week and it is anything but serene.

The sun has come out into the open and the lonely tractor in the fields beside our campus has already begun its work. The driver of the countryside is no more than a lucid dream, for the running water, birds, fields, sky and the clouds have all disappeared now, and the roadway if anything is chaotic with vehicles honking horns rapidly. The driver gets into the vehicle and as he drives, he reflects on the brief but enraptured moment of experience he had. As the roadway is punctuated every now and then with small bridges such as the last one, great lakers burn their midnight oil amidst chaotic schedules, anticipating another one of those days with nothingness, another one of those bridges.

Pics from our picturesque green campus

By

-Harshdeep Singh Rapal [harshdeep.rapal@greatlakes.edu.in]

Demon sleep, coffee hall and the sleepy white dog

Just as a young man seated near the window in the general compartment of a moving train is troubled by a sleeper jolting against him, Great Lakers seated near the window of the world in the compartment term 4 of the moving course MBA are troubled by the state of sleeplessness jolting against them perpetually.

The young man, the protagonist, might scornfully nudge, or worse poke against the sleeper. But, Great Lakers have learned the discipline of carrying the weight of sleeplessness; students have learned to confront the overpowering desire to sleep (by merely delving into the depths of subjects, be it marketing, operations, finance or strategy). Slowly, Great Lakers have evolved into balancing the slippery sleep on their eye lids, never to let the demon sleep fall into the eyes, for once inside, the demon multiplies and reddens the eyes.

“Reprimand the sleep, let us stay awake!” protest the Great Lakers. The rendezvous at the coffee halls late in the night have turned into something more meaningful. Sipping the hot coffee out of a disposable paper cup, with the screeching noise (of the learnt knowledge of the day floating on the surface of everybody’s mind, seething with piercing intensity to settle on the floor of the mind, for once and all) in their heads, each student eyes the other. In a fleeting glimpse, each student acknowledges the other’s conquests of the day.

In that coffee hall, while the world sleeps peacefully, Great Lakers compare their bounties, as the predators in wild do. Students sit loosely packed under one unifying theme- the unquenchable desire to know more. Someone in deep muse staring at the glass window is deeply adored by someone outside the window as an affirmation to the swelling mind space of the former.

The ruminations over the day’s conquests are silently acknowledged by everyone. The sleepy white dog disturbed by the communion, wakes up, wags its tail, stretches its body with its front legs extended outwards, paws a fly fallen from the overhanging bulb suspended firmly, pokes at the fly with his paws, puts his wide nostrils against the miniature, sneezes instantly and walks away from the dead fly (for he dislikes dead flies). Then, he sits and curiously watches the students and wonders if they all belong to a secretive clan (for it is late at night, and the students are punctual, and everyone is involved in tempestuous colloquies).

The sleepy white dog is perhaps (for now) the only one who has noticed the development of the secretive clan; he has been with us for almost seven months now. He waits for the clan to adjourn the day’s proceedings, for he has to get some sleep. Oh no! Not so fast, because here comes the time of the day he had been waiting for; before adjourning for the day, all the students, for a brief but momentous time, reflect on their reverence to the ultimate goal (an overwhelming desire to contribute meaningfully to the imminent and dramatic change in the world).

All the students raise their eyebrows to greet each patriot (for they belong to a secretive clan now, and have to follow the rituals) goodbye for the day. And this greeting leaves all the patriots’ (for the current batch is called patriots by the charismatic Dean ‘Uncle Bala’) foreheads wrinkled with the weight of sleep burdening upon the eyelids, and the wrinkles stay on forever as the secret symbol of rank and membership in the clan. He watches as all the students disperse with the contentment of the weight on their eye lids, and slips back into sleep.

Great Lakers would perhaps never fulfill the role of the protagonist (the young man troubled with the jolting sleeper in the train), for they have tamed the demon sleep by its tail and hooked it to their eyelids, never to let it fall into the eyes. For Great Lakers who have carried the monstrous weight of sleep on their tiny leaf shaped eye lids, the weight of a puny little jolting sleeper on their firm shoulders is grossly unsubstantial. 

Stockholm syndrome in Great Lakes

After the first three terms putting my nerves stretched to their epitome, the first few weeks of the fourth terms seem to be a quite relaxed. I now have the luxury of sleeping for up to 7 Long hours, something which was merely a dream in the previous terms. Wow!  My eyes no longer look drooping and I look fresh the entire day.

Hey! But what is happening to me- I am not liking it. This reminds me of a famous poem in Urdu about a bird that is caged. Initially the bird is worried and doesn’t like the small cage. It is dying to be freed and hates the person who caught him. But as time passes, the bird slowly starts liking the surroundings and starts loving the captor. Now when the bird is freed, it says that it has developed so much affinity towards the surrounding and the captor that it would die if freed.

Stockholm syndrome, as Nils Bejerot calls it, refers to an incident in Stockholm in 1973 when some robbers kept the bank employees hostage for about 6 days. During the period, the victims developed so much affinity towards the captors that they defended the latter when released from the hostage. The emotional attachment that human beings develop sometimes does not depend on whether the person does good or bad to you.

Same is the story of the Great Lakers here in Chennai. Tough Love as they call it, the mind boggling work load has made us so used to it, that we miss it. And nothing can be better then a situation when you start to miss the challenges. The fact that tough love makes you really a tough person and a business ready manager prepared for any challenge has indeed been proven.

And I can feel the Stockholm syndrome ticking within me from today.
-Tabish Maqsood

‘Frugal Marketing’ by Jessie Paul, Chief Marketing Officer, Wipro Technologies

Ms. Jessie Paul with her almost effortless soothing voice presented to the class, the microcosm of brand building exercise. She asserted that the purer and traditional modes of marketing are increasingly becoming predictable, whereas the newer, innovative and unconventional practices (owing to their novelty, accessibility, flexibility and frugality) are mostly sought after in the current times. The speaker proffered on the patriots (class of 2010), a challenge-to define one’s uniqueness. Patriots conferred with the speaker; the session was more of an interaction than a guest lecture.

Pointing to the matrix (an adaptation of BCG matrix) on the presentation, she advised the class to identify the firms that they wish to work with, in one of the quadrants. This exercise, she promised, would reveal surprising revelations, and would aid one in career planning. She shared her knowledge of Yahoo’s traditional mass advertising campaigns in contrast to the frugal advertising adopted by Google.

In response to a question from one of the patriots, she replied that, one need not be the best in a huge expanse of space and time; one only has to narrow the space that one wishes to ascribe oneself with. She contended that by narrowing the space down, it becomes easier to define our uniqueness, which (in a much wider space) must have appeared fallible.

The speaker, in her well structured presentation, slowly took to the arduous task of preparing groundwork in answering the fundamental questions – Who am I? Why buy me? Why not buy someone else? – She implied that a brand map of an individual is no different from the brand map of a product or service.

Ms. Paul observed that though firms fudge the figures, the educated consumers of today would pay no heed to unverifiable proofs. Extending the train of thought a little further, she advised patriots that their abilities would remain merely claims in the eyes of a recruiter if they are not verifiable.

Towards the end of the session, Ms. Paul remarked that it is perhaps easier to sell experience than to sell the product itself. She noted that Padmasree Warrior on twitter is trusted more than any TV commercial. In reference to executive branding, the speaker noted that Barack Obama epitomized the whole brand building exercise.

Ms. Paul ended the session contending that social media would continue to dominate the world of marketing in the years to come.

 

Mr. Srivatsa Krishna, IAS on India’s second war of independence-Making Infrastructure happen

Mr. Srivatsa Krishna presented to the class, facts about India’s dominance in the world. He shared with us, figures on the infrastructure spending of India. And, he commented on the stark contrast between the two. Referring to some of the major and successful infrastructure programs of the recent times, such as the Golden Quadrilateral road network, he observed that the progress is palpable. Speaking about Gujarat’s GIFT project, he expressed his optimism on India’s predominance in the years to come.

The speaker observed that India’s spending on infrastructure is dismally low. He ascribed this state of inept approach towards the most defining parameter of progress of a nation, partly to the underpinning of democratic framework in our nation. He contended that, although corrupt politics are to blame, the private sectors cannot be left out of the sphere of culpability. Furthermore, to forestall any debate on propositions of audacious private sector involvement, he cautioned that the reliance on private sectors is neither the panacea nor is the efficacy of private sector involvement over the public sectors empirically proved.

He later turned his attention towards the systematic adulation of India in comparison to China. He argued that the two nations operate on radically different philosophies and the comparison is not only facetious at the face of it but also fallacious. He pointed out that the Shatabdi express, India’s fastest train travels at 130km/hr against the 430 km/hr train of China. He also commented on the phenomenal growth of infrastructure sector in the city of Shenzhen, which grew from a mere nothingness to a mammoth city of 3984 sky scrappers.

Mr. Krishna explained that the democratic framework that runs through the fabric of our society is omnipresent, omniscient and has protected us from the viral foreign invasions. But, democracy comes with a price, and the price is the gradual and selective progress (as in India) as opposed to the rapid development (as in China). To substantiate the point, quoting from his experience, he noted that the Chinese government in their ‘land acquisition’ operations paints the local houses in red, yellow, white and the authorities with unquestionable power of the rule proceed to dismantle the houses without paying heed to the plight of the people living in the houses. But, here in India, land acquisitions are painfully slow. From his anecdotal experience, he quoted the hilarious episode of three individuals in Hyderabad claiming the hussain sagar lake, in response to the government’s land acquisition orders in the city.

With a wild tiger exuding grandeur in the background in his presentation, the speaker concluded the session by asking us ‘The tiger is roaring, India is ready, are you?’

  

The new Micro-economies of Manamai

With the new campus being set up just outside Mahabalipuram, I am fortunate enough to be part of a batch watching evolution right in front of my eyes. Just like the way, reptiles slowly took to the trees and began to fly after sprouting feathers, I find myself at a very interesting spot, watching numerous small businesses spring up around college as days go by. This epiphany happened at the place we fondly refer to as ‘The Blue Mall’. The Blue Mall is a small blue coloured house, set a hundred yards from our college. We occasionally step out to get ourselves some hot Maggie noodles and omelettes. Until a few weeks ago, the exterior of the house was pretty dilapidated. We generally had to sit on a badly made makeshift fence, or stand on mud. But this time around, there was something new. After much staring in the darkness, we realized that the mud had disappeared and in its place were proper tiles. The house bore a new look. Where once remained a scruffy bush, now lay a well set flower bed and pots. And all this was thanks to the simple business of selling Maggie and omelettes to hungry MBA students bored with the canteen menu. When we moved in, the owners only stored cool drinks and a few biscuits, but thanks to some of the girls at college teaching them how to cook what we desired, they found a very profitable business and are showing the first signs of expansion and growth. First tiles, the next thing, we’ll probably get decent chairs to sit on. Soon enough I am sure the menu would improve to include more dishes. Come a few years, a buzzing restaurant, giving competition to the college canteen. All this, thanks to Great Lakes setting up a home far away from the hustle-bustle of the city.

This got me thinking as to the number of such small businesses have cropped up since the arrival of our batch. These businesses will continue for many years to come, along with every passing batch of Great Lakers. Take for example the tiny store set up inside our campus. What began as a simple store for soap, toothpaste and basic necessities is now a flourishing business for the nice lady who runs it. The store now stocks every kind of cool drink, confectionary, snack and stationary. The lady running the store is perhaps the best example of ‘Customer Relationship Management’ in action. She understands everyone’s tastes to the point she almost knows when to get what shampoo for which person, how many chocolates a person eats, what kind of chips do they prefer. If the store does not stock it, a request is made to get the goods in a few days. She also sells on credit to every student. Another example of a flourishing business in the out of nowhere.

The autorickshaw guys in the locality can now send their kids to college thanks to our students. An auto guy who would previously roam around earning not more than 500 on a good day, earns nearly 10 times these days. As explained by one of the auto rickshaw guys to me, they would at best travel between villages charging a flat rate of 5 rupees. The occasional trip to Chennai would come at about 30 per head. With us, we do pay a premium, but the premium is for them. For most of us living in the city, the rates demanded are pretty reasonable. A small nexus has formed between the students, who can call any of the auto guys at any time of day or night. The auto driver is more than glad to come immediately, drop us, and pick us up from Mahabalipuram, irrespective of the time, as he knows he is bound to get at least Rs300 from the round trip. Understanding their customers, they even know which restaurants the students frequently visit. Even trips to the nearby Mayajaal multiplex are at a subsidiary rate, with no waiting charge. The auto has made customers for life. One of the more enterprising chaps speaks hindi, and is well connected to get us any sort of vehicle, right from a Sumo to a Scorpio at an hour’s notice.

Take the city of Mahabalipuram itself; restaurants see greater sales on weekends. Besides the usual crowd, every restaurant on a weekend or a relatively lazy evening is filled with students from our college. Many of the restaurant owners serve us beyond closing hours, and even know the dishes we regularly order. All this, by the simple act of moving the college from the heart of the city to the outskirts. Each one of us is an enabler of sorts; creating business for nearby people. Businesses based on tapping simple needs of desperate city-bound students and placing it on a strong customer relationship foundation. I’d really like to come back 5 years from now and see what other businesses sprout up thanks to the college. Am pretty sure we’ll get a dominoes and Café Coffee Day soon. If one looks at it, not only is the college giving the country future leaders and managers, we’re improving the standard of living around the college too. Win-win situation for the nation.

- Nikhilesh Murthy

Mr Shiva Subramaniam, former consultant in creative learning and innovation for Tata Consultancy Services and Ms. Mrunalini on “Thinking About Creativity”

Mr. Shiva Subramanian, in a passionate lecture professed to the students of Great Lakes, the need for refining the thinking process. He ideated the thinking process in class, holding a bottle of Bisleri in his hand. And, he exclaimed “Is there anyone in this world who cannot be creative?”

Ms. Mrunalini with her placating voice and charming air delicately steered the lecture onto the right course. Drawing parallels between her industry experience and the classroom ‘knowledge sharing’, she and Mr. Subramanian epitomized the wealth of creative conflagration that they believed (and made us believe by the end of the lecture) was hidden in everyone of us.

Mr. Subramanian, speaking about his visit to Sri Lanka on a project with the Indian Cricket team under Rahul Dravid’s leadership, observed that the “six hats” apparatus of thinking is infallible. But he cautioned that being wary of the tool-six hats, might not be fruitful all the time. For, he explained that human beings are not impulsive or instinctive, but learn through experience. Human beings follow the routines that have been put to rigorous tests through the generations and apply them, the whole civilization runs on the application of these tested models. Instinctive behaviour is too slippery to create platforms for great civilizations such as us.

In a different context, Mr. Subramanian, through the example of Xerox, showed to the class that inventive minds, the creative minds should not be bogged down by the impediments of societal constructs, but have to swim against them. Relentless persistence after eight years resulted in one of the greatest and smartest works of copying paper-xerox. He advised us to bear in mind, the fact that necessity need not always precede invention. In fact, more often than not, it is the invention that precedes the necessity. Xerox is one such example, Edison’s phonograph is another example, and Einstein’s general theory of Relativity is a classic example.

The speaker implored the Great Lakers to be creative, use the “six hats” technique to streamline the thinking process, and lastly use the “lateral thinking” device to coax oneself out of the box.

September: The fun-filled jam packed month!

September! A month that had everything that could possibly have happened in thirty days. Ganesh chaturthi had just gone by and people were under its euphoria when Sanghamitra took place, our bi-annual college festival. The hostel came alive during this period, there were practices for dance, singing, fashion show, skits etc in every nook and corner, much before the event was supposed to take place. So when the actual event arrived, everyone was very well prepared and executed their part to perfection. This day saw the whole set of 260 come to the newly inaugurated India Cements amphitheatre and enjoy every part of the show which ranged from singing, dancing, skits, fashion show, miming and the in house rock show. Moreover everyone hit the dance floor at the end of the whole event, and that was the time when everyone let their hair down and had a blast. A day which captured everyone’s imagination and brought in some fun, in the otherwise hectic work schedule of a Great Laker.

Two days after Sanghamitra was the much awaited event, the HR Conclave which saw almost 300 HR executives visiting our campus from various parts of the country. The preparation for HR Conclave was on from the time the new session began, and this day saw people getting ready from 4am in the morning to receive guests to until about 11pm in the night when the guests left the campus after a successful event.
Just a couple of days more and the event called Mr and Miss Dillogical was organized by the BIG FM group, needless to say all the participants were heavily geared up for the event! Big FM had organized a host of competitions for all the participants from blowing balloons, to selling items and performing a stage show, which was not only an exhilarating experience for them but for the audience as well. Mr and Miss Dillogical were selected from the all the set of participants.

Two days more and the college witnessed a sports event which was to go on for about a month with events like badminton, basketball, volleyball and football; what made it more exciting was that all the four sections were vying for the top spot which made it tremendously competitive. The ‘finals’ of the volleyball matches was the night to look out for. Despite having three assignments to complete the following day, almost half of the college was on the ground to cheer for their respective teams.

Meanwhile there was a Chinese skit which was supposed to be performed by everyone, and boy oh boy what professional skits, it was mind-blowing to say the least. The CII conference followed next, it was a two day event and our college was invited for its participation. A few students got a chance to share the space with the industry big wigs including the Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot.

It was the month of Ramzan, and an iftaar party was organized for the whole college with a few goodies meant for the occasion. Not to mention it drew a lot of participation from the college folks. This was followed by Eid where the students were presented with the traditional sweet meant for the festival, ‘Sewaiayan’. All these festivals reinforce the ethos and values that Great Lakes stands for where-in all the national festivals are celebrated by one and all with equal fervour and enthusiasm.

The fun session was still in progress when we had the daunting task of completing seven exams in about 50 hrs. There was hardly anyone who slept for the two nights during the exams. The hour that followed the last exam cannot be mentioned in words; it was the time when students were to get back home after a gap of more than 5 months, and everyone’s faces were cheerful and bright despite the sleepless nights and hard work which went while preparing for the exams.

Meanwhile a set of students were preparing to leave for the International study tour to Malaysia and Singapore. This tour would facilitate the students to view the world with a broader perspective and would include university visits as also the local sight-seeing, a trip not many would want to miss.
A barrage of events and activities makes this month by far the most eventful month till date!

-Syed Zoheb

Interpol’s International Drug Expert Mr. Ramachandra Sundaralingam on ‘Drug trade & Drug addiction’

Mr. Ramachandra Sundaralingam’s lecture had an air of investigation, and was filled with rich anecdotal references interspersed with the ominous nature of future awaiting the progeny. He shared with us, the ‘global drug trafficking’ scenario; modes of mischief and notoriety that Italian, Columbian and Russian mafia are known for.

He pointed out that the fall of Berlin wall was a moment of significance, a milestone for the future generations to look back upon us and ruminate. But, he remarked ‘today, the mafia, by their contrived use of global platforms has made the episode of globalization, a terrible curse’. From his 17 years of service with the Interpol as a police officer, he observed that the fall of communism and the globalization thereof have been the most catalytic moments that throttled the drug trafficking and propelled it into new heights hitherto impossible.

Mr. Sundaralingam commented on the plight and pitiful state of some of the undeveloped nations and their exposure to drug trafficking. Quoting from his experience, he noted that ‘80% of cocaine is produced in Columbia, 80% of heroin from Afghanistan’. He added that the UN mandate aimed at reducing both the supply and demand for drugs.  The incorrigible nature of drug traffickers and addicts is such that they have, in the compulsive mood, committed horrendous crimes and misdemeanors. Speaking of Afghanistan, he remarked that ‘of two sons in a family in Afghanistan, one embraces al-Qaeda and the other opium’. He added that smitten with poverty, drained of hunger, eclipsed by grief, the people of the nation have took to producing opium.

With reference to the death of a plastic surgeon in Mexico, Mr. Sundaralingam remarked that the cap to humanity is smeared; the drug addicts and traffickers are individuals of lacerated self esteem, they have become prey to the powerful trade, they are rid of curiosity, they have become impervious to the lives of people that they have victimized. The speaker then spent some time on the methods of concealment and the training schools of drug traffickers.

In culminating the momentous lecture, he pointed to the screen with two legends-one of Sachin Tendulkar, and the other Osama Bin Laden. A 12 year old in Afghanistan, thrown into the corner of a decrepit, misogynistic, malevolent, pestilential and metamorphosed society, finds refuge in AK-47, burns a house here, and kills a man there, aspiring to become Osama Bin Laden one day. While the class awaited in silence that put a serene lake in shame, he turned around, cleared his throat and observed that a 12 year old in India, with MRF bat in his hand, whirls the timber in cramped streets of every city in the country, breaking a glass window here, a car’s window there, and dreams of becoming Sachin Tendulkar one day.

He implored us all to respect the tradition that India is host to, the culture and family values by their inherent apparatus have saved us from the capricious minds outside. But, the fashionable western trends are burning holes into the ozone protection of family values that we stake our lives against. Mr. Sundaralingam prodded us, to embrace the culture that we are, and not dilute the atmosphere that piques the curiosity of the young ones, that lets the young ones dream of becoming Sachin Tendulkar one day.

Mr. Francis Alapatt, Atulya Development Associates Pvt. Ltd on ‘The science of selling’

Mr. Francis Alapatt delivered a passion filled lecture on ‘the science of selling’. In his lecture, he explored the ‘cliches’ associated with ‘selling’ in the businesses and the market environment. Pointing to the brown leather bag by the table, he remarked ‘I like to carry my bag that represents the old sales man bag’. He added ‘the philosophy of selling is undergoing a major transformation in the present times’. Selling according to Mr. Alapatt is no longer the job of persuading the customer, cajoling or coaxing him into buying the product or service. He opined that selling encompasses a whole gamut of requirements in businesses. ‘selling is the culmination of marketing’, he noted that selling in isolation is merely selling, but through the integration and coordination ‘selling’ spawns a new life;  a synergetic solution to the monolithic integrated whole-marketing & selling.

He observed later that ‘Marketing brings the horse to water or vice versa. Selling makes it drink’. In a different context, he expressed his apoplectic reaction to the phrase ‘sales people are feet on street’. He added ‘Marketing prepares the ground for sales team; some roads are frictionless, refined and polished to the extent that sales team swishes past their competitors. But, other roads are rugged, for marketing failed to polish the road, and sales team has an uphill task in such a case’.

Mr. Alapatt demonstrated to the class, human behaviours and instincts, by blindfolding 30 volunteers from the class and letting them on an exercise for fifteen minutes. Mr. Alapatt ended with the observation ‘selling skills are not merely persuasive skills but skills that focus on gaining commitment- to a product, a proposal or an idea’.

Mr. T.Ramaswamy, DGM Indian Bank on ‘Global Economic Meltdown’

One of the most exhaustive, comprehensive, cerebral and unimaginably superior lectures ever delivered on the topic ‘Global Economic Meltdown’.

Mr. T. Ramaswamy, quoting Einstein “I can predict the motion of the stars but not the markets” commented on the economic downturn of the recent times. He remarked on the placid latitudes such as people bemoaning at the inability of the able and best minds of our times in failing to predict the catastrophe and the cascading effect thereof.

Quoting Irving Fisher “I fancy that over-confidence seldom does any great harm except when, as, and if, it beguiles its victims into debt”, he claimed that the economic catastrophe was indeed speculated by many a people. To substantiate his point, he furthered us proofs from ‘The Economist’ magazine that anticipated the housing bubble way back in 2004; article from OECD, IMF in 2004-05; Prediction by Economists Nouriel Roubini & Robert Shiller. Commenting on the behaviour of people during the times of these publications, he said the general population was undergoing the ‘psychology of denial’.

Mr. Ramaswamy commented on the evolutionary characteristics of human brain. Pointing out to the studies made in various fields such as behavioral psychology, evolutionary biology and sociology, he exclaimed that it was the reptilian brain (prime mover of emotions) covered under thick shadows cast by the dog’s brain (the prime mover of loyalty) and rational brain (prime mover of rationality) that forms the rationale behind all the behaviours of humanity and certainly the behaviour of buyers and sellers in markets. He added ‘Rational brain waits, but the reptilian brain seeks instant gratification, and eventually the rational brain is foreshadowed subconsciously by the preponderance of the impulsive and instinctive reptilian brain’.

Quoting from ‘Mean Markets and Lizard Brains’, “the key to our biological success is the source of our financial difficulties”, he observed that the bizarre ‘herd instinct’ of markets can be explained from the evolution of human brain. In further to his assertion, quoting from the same book “Our lizard brains made us all financial risk junkies”, he noted that the explanation can also be derived from other fields of study such as Sigmund Freud’s ‘Id’ and ‘Ego’. Freudian study indicates that the ‘constant state of flux’ of the external environment puts the bridge between ‘Id’ and ‘Ego’ at risk. Freud contended that ‘Ego’ gets carried away by the external environment, while the ‘Id’ is stationary.

To finish the jig saw puzzle, he pulled out exploratory studies from rich and diverse fields by men such as ‘Michio Kaku’ and ‘Jared Diamond’. The speaker claimed that the 1930s recessionary scenario is strikingly similar to the present one, for the Debt to GDP ratio of US in 1930 was close to 300%, and presently it is around 350%. He added that India’s ratio that stand at a fairly decent rate-140%, coupled with the demographical advantage we are bound to see in the next two decades, would certainly propel us into periods of progression.

In a different context, he quoted from ‘collapse of complex societies’, commented on the ‘Medici Effect’, and pointed out that diversity spawns hitherto unrealized intellectual episodes. He commented on the lives of ‘Leonardo da Vinci’, ‘Michelangelo’. On his explorations into Carlota Perez’s studies, Mr. Ramaswamy professed that after every catastrophe or a crisis, there comes a period of progression.  The tremendous display of awe and vigor in our countenances was a manifestation of the great lecture that ended with the speaker’s contention ‘for younger generation of today, there is a gold mine awaiting you’.