A visit to the House of Glowing Lamps

- Chhavi Gupta, PGHR 2010-12

This Children’s Day, I had the opportunity to be on the bus to Deepalaya School’s hostel with Team Samaritans and some of our student volunteers. Situated in Village Gusbethi, the place is just about an hour’s drive from MDI; but it seemed like it belonged to a different era altogether. The fact that it was a part of Gurgaon seemed unbelievable because for me Gurgaon was a ‘happening place’, a ‘corporate hub’, a ‘shopping haven’ et al. Deepalaya was way beyond all this. With echoes of innocent laughter, and the hustle & bustle of children playing around, the place had a soothing calm. It was serene.

As soon as the kids spotted us, they came running towards us, clung to us like we belonged there and called out to the familiar faces among us. First-time visitors like me weren’t left out. Kids clung to me with the same affection. That they were seeing me for the first time didn’t stop them from holding my hands with their little palms, pulling me into their hostel and introducing their friends to me. Then came an innocent question, “Didi, aap sab kitne din ke liye aaye ho? I said, “Hum toh aaj chale jayenge”. The little girl was so disappointed. She wanted to see more of these new faces. I explained to her that we hardly get any holidays and have loads to study, and diverted her attention to the fact that we were there to celebrate Children’s Day. She quizzed me on the activities for the day and was happy again!

I went there with the notion that those children were in need. I wanted to give them some happiness and make them smile for a while. I thought I enjoyed privileges that they didn’t. But it took me just a couple of minutes with them to realise how wrong I was. They have a twinkle in their eyes that I don’t witness too often. They have the ability to make themselves contented and happy with just about anything that comes their way. They know how to find joy in small things.

As Samaritans, we wanted to make Children’s Day special for those little angels and to a great extent we succeeded in bringing our idea to fruition. They thoroughly enjoyed all the activities we organised for them. Their happiness was so infectious that it touched us to the core. It takes most people a lifetime to gather as much love as these children gave us in a few hours.

We sure made them smile, we sure made their day but we didn’t give them anything that they didn’t give us back!

Don't lose the child in you

- Amit Papneja,  Sarcaustics (PJ10)

No matter how many birthdays we celebrate (read get our ass kicked),
No matter how many gray hairs we count on our head every day,
Or how many we lose every day,

No matter how cynical we become as the world around us gets more real,
No matter how hard life seems once we start slogging it out at work,

No matter how many times we feel low in life,
No matter how much we feel lacking in enthusiasm

(In short, no matter how old we get)

It is the innocence in us that makes us enjoy the little pleasures in life,
It is the childishness in us which makes us go wild,
It is simplistic, uncomplicated behaviour that makes us laugh out in joy,
It is the kid in us which exults as we meet old friends.

Sometimes, as we grow older, the little joys in life cease to matter. We start focusing on our career, relationships, and the world around us, rather than on the simple things that make life beautiful. But the beauty in life lies in laughing and jumping around for no reason at all, like we once did as children.

An author once asked a child why he was jumping. He replied "Because I am happy". When asked why he was happy, the child replied, "Because I am jumping".

Saluting the child in all of us, so that no matter how much we age, our spirit remains as pure, innocent, uncomplicated, and childish as it was when we knew little.

Happy Children's Day :) !

On being a Mandevian ... a salute

- Amit, NMP 23

No one has felt the experience of being born. We arrived on this planet because of the doings and conceptions of others and not out of our choice. We were conceived as well as delivered by other human beings and were invited to travel the path of life. For many early years we never had an idea of what was in store for us or with what purpose we had arrived.

Abhimanyu, perhaps, was among the rare few, who arrived with predefined targets.

As we grew, the identity and personality shaped up. We started feeling the joy of ownership. Starting from family, the sphere of our ownership – euphemistically referred to as social circle - expanded. The notions of ownership started in the tangible domain – toys, comics, stickers, tattoos and so on. With the passage of time, it encapsulated the emotional realm. Some, or perhaps, most of us, have had occasions to identify ourselves with best friend, bestest friend, jigar ka tukrha, apple of eye, 1 soul in 2 bodies….. Gradually, the identities merged and people were identified with their gangs. The phenomenon continued and the identity syndrome spread in education. The schools, colleges, B-schools started carrying a market value and people jumped in the race of value enhancement – claiming and boasting tags – Cottonian, IITian, Stephenian and a few call themselves Mandevians !

I, like a 100 others, jumped in the battle this year upon joining an executive course at MDI. Sadly though, the ownership of being a Mandevian never came till yesterday. The tag eluded the participants of executive courses.

Being only in the realm of Gurugram but not in its spirit was like Abhimanyu longing to be born. The life in the womb was choking. The foetus was getting restless. It had to evolve. It had overlived its self-allotted timespan. Finally, with a kick here and a knock there, it felt the experience of being born, the pain of breaking the silos, the pleasure of belonging and above all the joy of evolving to a new life!

What a caterpillar calls the end of a day, the Master calls it butterfly.

Let Mandevian be a word of colourful pride for all who Belong to this spirit. Wish that people do not have to be born twice in their lifetime!

Rural Illumina - A memorable Khichdi

- Piyushi Sobti, PGHR 2010-12

As the countdown began, our excitement level rose. Rural Illumina was happening after a gap of two years and we were going to be a part of it! All preliminary arrangements done, props made and roles practiced, 16th October dawned bright to find a group of over 50 Mandevians- Illuminatis and volunteers- raring to go. An hour's drive later, we found ourselves in the village of Pataudi, in a 100-year old Mela we were proud to be a part of. The tents were still only partially up and we had around four hours to complete the entire set-up before the crowds started pouring in. In the next few hours, the place transformed in front of our eyes. Rooms were demarcated, props put in place, costumes donned, stomachs filled, Airtel Dish TVs installed and Tata BP Solar Appliances ready to be advertised!

What we saw and experienced once the Mela began was nothing short of thrilling and unique. Expecting a good response, we had already enlisted Police help for security and narrowed our entrances to allow respondents in one at a time, so that we could record their responses to the Market Researches. The response was indeed phenomenal! From five-year olds to 80-year olds, the curiosity around the ‘Kaun Banega Dabbang ka Robinhood’ and ‘Khichdi’ tents spread like wildfire! So much so that some of the Mela-visitors actually suspected that we were hiding Salman Khan inside the tents! Our boys, with the help of the Police, could just about keep the crowds from mobbing us. Meanwhile inside the tents, multiple Hansas and Babujis, Maa’s and Rajjo’s, Chulbul Pandeys and Makkhi Singhs were busy interacting with the respondents.

Delighted at our success and tired to the bone, we saved up just enough energy within ourselves to arrive at MDI at the end of the day and dance behind the Dholwala in each corridor of CM and Odyssey, declaring the triumph of Rural Illumina to one and all.

In the words of an Illuminati, “…it was a memorable Khichdi... and we hope to create DA BANG on 31st again.”

2010 Square by The Sarcaustics (PG10)

The huge mass moves together. It is a suit-maker’s delight: Reid and Taylor may as well drop Amitabh Bachchan and just put up a photo of this venue in their adverts. Suddenly, a number would be announced, the mass would open up for a second and a solitary figure would emerge, hoping to return with a smile on the face and a spring in the step. Sometimes, there is ecstasy; sometimes, disappointment. The mass continues to soldier on, getting smaller with passing time.

Suddenly, the voice from the sky booms out my number. The mass opens up in front of me, and I see the world outside. There are others like me, hoping that this be their final attempt. It almost feels like a stage of Contra, where all fights are boss fights. After this fight, I come back and rejoin the mass. Sometime later, my name is called out. The boss fight is over: I have won. The mass gets smaller. I look around and see a tall fellow. He seems to be surveying everyone present with stony eyes. I try to read his mind, but my short stature prevents any form of mental contact. I stand up, and try again...

Summers were late. Usually they end by June, followed by heavy rain till September, but here they started on 20.10.2010. Suit-boot pehen ke sab mess mein. The tension of Day Siphar writ large on their face. Little did they know the type of mess would soon change.

At 8 a.m., The Placecom Toughie (lol) called up some numbers. Those lucky people were told that for the rest of the day, their favourite word would be tanki. And then the procession began. Numbers called. Numbers logging out. Numbers logging in. Numbers signing out. Ramanujan and Aryabhatta would have been proud.

A projection showed the ones who could loosen their ties, at least till the next Sintex-related opportunity arose. The rest of the procession marched on, unendingly, from The Horizon to The Family of Teachers, from The Athenian Temple to Bihar, and from The Target to Taxila. And yet, apart from the rest, sat another group among them, slowly but surely confident that they were in more than one kind of mess.

By the afternoon, everybody was in tune with Surf Excel’s theme. Daag acche hain (Spots are good). Warm applause for the latest dhabba. Even cleanliness freaks and pimple-repelling (I don’t have a suitable word here, so I’ll go for) people were desperate for that one elusive dhabba.

One spot to rule them all
One spot to find them.
One spot to bring them all
And in the joy and sadness, bind them

By the time the Sipher had passed, there was, at best, muted celebration. Though 2 more days remained, self-doubt had started creeping in. Somewhere, creases of the brow reigned. Somewhere else, salt water ki nadiyan. And among them, and yet separate from them; exhausted but relieved, ready for the challenge next day; stood a band of soldiers with a mission. What had started well must be brought to its rightful conclusion.

Visions: What limits us?

- Rohan Pai, PGHR 2010-12

This was the million dollar question that came up in our strategy class, thanks to the thought provoking session by our Business Strategy Formulation Professor, Dr. Harsh W Mishra. The question became even more interesting when the vision – ‘A World without Poverty’ - was discussed. When we were asked to imagine what such a world would be like, many of us expressed it as being “idealistic”, “utopian” or “difficult to imagine”. Of course we would like to live in such a world but given the economic, social and political scenarios prevailing today we find it hard to imagine such a world. It is not that our vision is limited but that we looked at the issue from a practical point of view.

Many questions blur our vision as we think of a world without poverty: Are there enough resources to fulfill this vision? Will there ever be equitable distribution of resources? Is the inherent selfishness of businesses the hindrance? Even if we close in on attaining the vision, will it be sustainable?

Let us consider the question on sufficiency of resources. The major hindrance we face in this regard is that growing population will keep demanding more and more resources and greater the population growth, more the probability that there will be a section of society that is not able to get enough. Consider that few decades ago we had a clear divide in the rural and urban India. But today the divide has reduced to the extent that people from rural India have migrated to the urban or more developed areas and many of these families are much better off than they were few decades ago. Similarly growth and development has percolated to many rural areas and many of these are experiencing a better standard of living. However, a majority of our population still lives below the poverty line because both the urban and rural population grew uncontrollably and the allocated resources didn’t reach all of them. So, concrete steps need to be taken on planning and creating mass awareness, especially at the bottom of the pyramid. Providing necessary control measures to check population growth will benefit all.

Next, the question was on equitable distribution of resources and the inherent selfishness of businesses. It is imperative that there has to be a collective effort on CSR as efforts and benevolence of individual personalities and firms would neither be all pervading nor a long term solution. Also what we need to understand is that the basic concept of the market is that the businesses out of their own selfish motives allocate and utilise resources efficiently for their own benefit and the output ultimately benefits not only them but also the economy. This is what economists call ‘the invisible hand’ guiding the process. The inherent selfishness of business might not be all that is to be blamed as it has provided growth to the private sector and ultimately the economy, without which there would have been much less growth, employment, output and many more poor people. So the Microsoft vision of ‘a PC in every home running Microsoft’ might be motivated by profit but it has benefited people and businesses worldwide.

The requisite growth has been achieved by our economy but have the generated resources over the years been utilised efficiently and have all of the resources allocated on social development actually reached where they were supposed to?

The next big question is about the sustainability of the vision. If the needs of all the poor are fulfilled and they are provided the basic food, clothing and shelter, will it be sustainable, considering the strain on the economies and the resources? Probably not. Just satisfying the needs of the poor is a short-term solution. Allocating a larger proportion of social development resources to empowering an increasing proportion of the needy to earn on their own through local employment or what we know as ‘dhanda’ might be a long term solution. And one day we might be able to envision ‘A World without Poverty’ without many doubts.

Road to the top - IM conquers KoK

- Anuj Mahajan

Big things come in Small packages.

[caption id="attachment_272" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The victorious IM team"][/caption]

IM’s journey to the pinnacle of KoK success is the culmination of hard work, dedication and perseverance of the whole batch. One unique thing that about the batch is that they may disagree or crib about a number of things - ranging from academics to faculty to their super hectic schedule - but when it comes to sports, they have their hearts in the right place. How else do you explain a crazy Kshitij practicing alone at 6 pm right after classes, failing to understand the hue and cry behind the club selections around? Or Jatin playing badminton till daybreak, only to be shooed back into his hostel room by a faculty member who planned to take a morning walk? What do you think inspires Kabir and Indro to unfailingly turn up at 6 every evening on the football field and practice their religion irrespective of the volumes of after class and before class work assigned to them?

It is the one passion, the one inner desire, the ultimate nirvana each IMer craved for, the ultimate sporting glory in MDI: to be the King of Kings!

Having only 33 people in the batch and just 4 girls, we knew the numbers were never in our favour. Cheerleading was never our forte and to be honest we never even tried to match the firepower of HR in that aspect. Even when it came to CKK, we had that insipid project right before the main event. But when the day came, we at least put up a respectable show and did not come last, contrary to popular expectation. As one of us rightly said that day,
“We are here to win the sporting event KoK, the real thing, CKK is the consolation prize for the intellectuals.”
But one good thing that came out of CKK was that we managed to put up a show in two hours. Whatever we did, in the end, we left with the satisfaction of a job well done, a message loud enough for everyone else – “I AM what IM”.

It was cricket that came up first and with the fireworks of Jatin in the first league game and the Bevan-like finishing of Apurv in the second, we marched into the semis with our confidence sky high. Our bowling was looking good, fielding even better. Batting was a concern, especially at the top, but we knew we had enough big-hitters in our ranks to blow away the opposition.

But in the semis, a rain-marred game that had to be played the next day, we did not live up to expectations. Signs were looking ominous from the first over itself when Abhinav got hit for a flurry of boundaries and our bowling mainstay Hemant was also punished. But we had been in tougher situations before and still had our batting to follow. We did not have a good start and with the asking-rate spiralling, it was too much to expect from the lower order. It was a heart-breaking loss as we had high hopes in cricket. Guys like Kshitij and Mohit had put in a lot of effort, but destiny had other things in mind for us.

In tennis we had Sandeep Reddy, IM’s version of Rafal Nadal. In the first match he put up a heroic effort against Deepak from Section B but lost. But the good thing was that we discovered the talent of Christoff Neuner and were ready to unleash him for the remaining matches. From then on tennis was a cakewalk. Such was our dominance that in the final, in all the three matches we dropped only three-four games and eventually won our first 100 KoK points.

Then came football and badminton. Football was clearly a prestige issue. IM was the defending champion for two years running and there was no way in hell we could afford to lose. The league rounds were reasonably comfortable. Such was the extent of our dominance that our goalkeeper was hardly tested till the semis: there were less than five shots on our goal whereas we scored 13 in three games. The finals were a tense affair with HR proving to be a formidable opponent. They in no way resembled the team we had swatted past 3-0 in the league game. We were so used to a dominant position that with the score at 1-1 and 15 minutes to go, we were in for an exciting finish. But again, the talismanic Kabeer Singh Bedi and tireless workhorse Christoff sneaked in goals to give us a resounding victory.

All along, we had made our way to the badminton finals as well without many hiccups. Yogesh with his methodical approach to the game led a talented team comprising of Jatin, Mohit and Tanika. Tanika especially put in a lot of effort before the finals against Section B, practicing continuously for hours. Stakes were raised even high when we were tied with Section B on 200 points in the overall table before the badminton finals, making it a ‘Winner takes All’ match. Jatin lost the first set but eventually emerged the winner in his singles match. Yogesh then played against Karan in the ‘Match of the Tournament’ between the two best players in PG10 and emerged victorious with an astounding ease. But Tanika lost her singles despite putting up a brave front and Jatin-Adithya lost their doubles in three sets. It all boiled down to the mixed doubles where Tanika and Yogesh combined to defeat their very spirited Section B opponents and win KoK for IM in the process. For Yogesh, it was a special victory as he never lost a game or dropped a set throughout KoK.

Also worth mentioning is the effort put in by Raghav, Akshat, Himani, Manish and others to represent IM in table tennis, chess and volleyball despite our super hectic schedule and mid-terms. We did not win any of these but that does take away anything from their efforts.

In the end, it was the self-belief in each of us that made this possible. Each of us - whether playing, cheering, making posters for CKK, shrieking in support etc - played a crucial role all along. This was the event where we realised that it’s one’s tireless pursuit of passion that ensures victory and that sport is never a lone man’s battle, it is always the team that wins or loses in the end.

Hoping that upcoming IM batches take this year’s victory as an inspiration and uphold the tradition of IM being the best batch, at least in Sports!