Symphony

আমার জীবন থেকে উঠে আসা সুর….

Symphony from my life….

Krishna ya Nivedane….

Chronology of life’s events makes a story. A story with the human feelings presented in an artistic manner makes a good literature. That is what I’ll focus to do in my process of writing. And a good literature attempting to portrait the eternal Satyam, Shibam, Sundaram ( Truth, Divinity & Beauty ) creates a great literature. I pray to god to direct this to that.

This is not a novel, not an autobiography, nor a management or motivational book, not a travel story (braman katha), but it is my attempt to touch my feelings and state of mind at some moments in this incredible journey of my life. More importantly what thoughts and analysis I made, in those circumstances, or in those moments of choosing a path from many. And in reality, those choices and decisions have brought me at where I am now. With this travel through my memory I’ll try to reach the value system which has guided me in this process of decision making, and I personally feel that is the most important part which I want to catch through this.

Because I believe, in this ever changing world every person and every situation is unique, there is no proven path to success, so you can never reuse any decision making process second time in your life, nor I can not exactly reapply the path some body had taken in similar situation, but if anything we can try to utilize which can help us to take right decision on our way, is the value system which has driven the decision making. And we can reapply those in our life which may guide us in right decision making and grow us as a person.

Another aspect I want to catch through this is, when I have got an opportunity to see the, so called, land marks of current humanity or may be simple unknown structure at a new place or a beautiful landscape out of nowhere or got an opportunity to work in a different society and culture, I always wanted to perceive it through the eyes of a small town brought up boy, what I am originally. I’ll try to capture that original feeling and emotions of that time because I feel, it always helped me to realize madatma sarba bhutatma…

Over here I kept few articles which I tried to write to express my thoughts and feelings which crossed me at different point on the journey of my life. I consider myself very lucky that I have got such an opportunity to see and work at different parts of the world, and that’s also with out any reason. When I have got an opportunity to see the, so called, land marks of current humanity or may be simple unknown structure at a new place or a beautiful landscape out of nowhere or got an opportunity to work in a different society and culture, I always wanted to perceive it through the eyes of a small town brought up boy, what I am originally. Hope I’ll be able to capture them in words….

Two factors have driven my life from very childhood :

• How to make sure of earning bread and butter in future.

• Always wanted to remain as an exception.

Some characteristics of my nature helped me all over my journey:

• If it’s a free time I can spend as my wish and I have two choices, one pure time pass fun another may have some usefulness in future, I naturally choose the second one most of the time.

• By nature, I don’t like to fall into competition for anything, rather than I am more opportunists by nature. So normally, I avoid to run behind of something, what suppose to be craze of the time and everybody is competing for that.

• I prefer to accept what comes in my way and appears to me that it has a strong connection to the ground and basics.

• When its time of choice between strengthening what I have and attempting to reach something higher, I normally give importance to the first one.

My academic journey started from St Thomas School, Chandanagore. Baba took me to the school mainly to gather information about the admission procedure but end up admitting me over there that day itself. Over there before I realize anything, I started doing well academically. So I could include my name in the list of good students. Normally kids from very good families used to go to that school. Performing good among them was very encouraging for my parents, as they were not very sure with our family background I’ll be able to cope with the aristocrat, missionary school or not.

Actually St Thomas School was a Bengali medium school with some additional stress on English. We had to go through regular West Bengal Board Primary education books and some additional books in Mathematics, Science, English. School was a very disciplined one, with strict restrictions of convent school.

Slowly when I started promoting through classes, I started learning that the highest academic achievement from that school was getting the scholarship through the Voluntary Primary School Scholarship exam program of West Bengal Board at that time. So I started setting it as my goal. But it was quite tuff and also very competitive. All students were not allowed to take the exam. School conducts an internal examination, and from the performance in the test about ten students are been selected to take the government exam.

There were two sections for every level in our school. I was the first boy of section B in class 3. Next year was the scholarship exam so I was mentally very prepared to get a chance in the school selection list and finally succeed in the public exam. But next year another new student joined in our section from another school whose name is Anish Roychoudhury, who had defeated me in every exam in the class. And he was much outspoken kid and in the contrary I was always a shy and calm in nature. I suffered with some health issue also that year. And everybody used to say section A is much better than ours. So I had some doubt, I could finally qualify or not. But actually I did and then for next 3 months selected students where given some additional attention and had to attain some extra classes other than the regular class. We need to read some upper class syllabus also.

Finally I appeared that board exam with lot of sincerity; our exam seat was in Kanailal Vidyamandir. It was kind of representing your school, so with high morale and enthusiasm I wrote that examination.

After that school internal exam everybody takes very lightly next objective is to take admission in a good school. But I used to love my first school very much. For last few years of we were hearing school may be extended till standard 8. I wished a lot if school get extended, I can spend some more time in that school. But it’s a primary school even today, didn’t get extended.

So our next objective was to get chance in a good secondary school. Most of the students of St Thomas School move to Kanailal Vidyamandir. For me that was the natural choice. But just to be in safe side, if I don’t get quailed through the admission test, I took admission test of a local school Telinipara Vidyamandir also. And I also wrote the admission test for Narendrapur Ramkrishna Mission, but my parents couldn’t make up their mind to put me in a boarding school and I also couldn’t qualify. But the memory of that day, going to Narendrapur with baba, appearing to the exam still very alive in my memory. We were running late and we had to take a taxi to reach. In those days travelling with taxi was not an option of choice for us. I remember once the exam was over, some volunteers put the kid on a table and make sure about parent and hand over him. I purchased some children books of Vivekananda and Ramakrishna.

My Telinipara admission test was good but Kanailal exam I couldn’t write up to my satisfaction. So I was little worried about not being qualified for Kanailal, and on the test day I have seen so many kids wrote the test which raised my fear. But I qualified normally, so got admitted in Kanailal. So I didn’t even check the result of Telinipara even. But after the admission day passed, one teacher from that school came to our home and asked why I didn’t appear on the admission day and informed I stood first over there. And the headmaster called my parents to the school. When my parent went to meet him, he told if all the good students from our locality doesn’t take admission in our school how the school out perform. But my parent convinced him, he studied in St Thomas and all his classmates are going to Kanailal that’s why he wants to go there. But that incident definitely boosted my confidence and increased my morale also at very early stage of my life.

But transformation from St Thomas culture to Kanailal was a cultural shock to me. In St Thomas, we were under strict discipline any misconduct was punished, in the contrary in Kanailal it was very loose. For example, in St Thomas once a class is over, we cannot imagine to leave our seat, unless it is the scheduled play time or lunch break. But here immediately after teacher leaves everybody go out start playing, shouting, do all kind of childish fun. It was kind of a shock to me. The lower class rooms 5-6 were located in Nandadulal Block that was not having any clean toilet even. For drinking water we have a tap but it was running only for certain amount of time of the day. Classrooms were some old small rooms build from British period, not properly illuminated. Some time during rainy season water comes down from roof, that time teachers used to combine two sections together in one room and keep the school running. Naturally, nothing was very encouraging in fact quite in contrary of what we got in St. Thomas. But eventually other than completing school syllabus and progressing through classes, I came across some good teachers and personalities in the same school only, which helped me to learn and understand the world outside and helped me to be prepared for future life. So now I can tell that initial cultural shock was also a lesson for me, never conclude about anything from the first impression.

Among all the not so likable things, in one aspect Kanailal was definitely much better, it has a very good library and we have a library period every week when we can go and issue or renew books. That is the time I read Bengali translation all world literatures from Shakespeare to Victor Hugo. It helped to develop my reading habit and introduce me with world literature.

But after moving in Kanailal, I was not being able to do that good in progress reports. Most of the time, I was not being able to secure place among the top tens in the class. When I look back I think there were couple of reason, most important I think, more than having the subject knowledge, every examination process has its own nature. If your natural way of expression goes in line with it, you will do excel. But if you cannot, you shouldn’t be disappointed from the results. But the world always judges a person from, how much you have been able to express not from the quality one has. So when we prepare ourselves for the future world we should keep always two things in our mind, never neglect the study and developing knowledge, you will be surprised in your own future life some skills or knowledge you developed but never thought of any use, has become your trump card in what circumstances of life. So what comes on your way in the process, try to learn it without being much critical, but it doesn’t mean you should not be critical when it’s a time to selection. And at the same time start developing the faculty of expressing knowledge also. Importance of this is life long, you can never be successful in life ignoring this, no matter how much knowledge you posses. It’s the faculty of pouring your knowledge in a casting in which form other party will understand, only get counted in the real life, it may be your examiner may be your student or at what ever opportunity knowledge and skill can be useful. And if you think carefully that’s the way it should be. This is a life long process and as long as you want to sell something in this world you have to keep doing it. I definitely lacking in that faculty that time.

So when a student can’t do up to his or her expectation, he should make an analysis in this two dimensional matrix. There is other human, social factor too but we don’t have control on these and those factors, some time will be conductive another time hostile but one should not be much bothered with them because my analysis from my own life, says the randomness of the world make sure favorable and non favorable situation will balance each other in the gross level, at the end of the day what is your personal quality that’s only matter.

When I was in standard 5 the result of class 4 scholarship, had been published and I got the scholarship. The scholarship amount was 8 Rs. / month and paid yearly for next 4- 5 years, I can’t remember exactly. Other than giving a lot of self satisfaction to me, and this event always motivated me to do some excel in something, which no one from my known world did.

During early stages of Kanailal, I was not being able to excel in the academic results but that is the time I developed many other useful skills, out from school syllabus, those all are have equal contribution to develop me as a person. And I have really got a chance of enjoying my childhood, and I believe its very importance for every person’s life. I am really lucky I have got such a big group of kids of same age group in our locality. We didn’t have much compare to what today’s average middleclass family kids get, not even back on those days, but what we have a very big gang of kids all from the diversified economic standard but very common family value system with very common lifestyle. We played, dreamed, planned and executed lot of constructive things together grabbing whatever resource we had, like doing picnic, going for nature walk in jungle, playing cricket, football all possible sports, some time take a cycle and keep going where ever road takes, swimming in ponds or Ganges, just be creative come out with an wild idea, there is a big group of friend is there to give company to execute it and above all spend a very positive happy time with out spending any money or very little. But what we got in the process, not any amount of money can buy. We learned to be happy, content and creative with very simple things from our life and spent a very happy childhood. That positive free spirit of generating ideas always helped me a lot to develop as a person. I am sure all our friend of that group will tell exactly the same. I haven’t seen that spirit, that positive spark of life in many places. This is a golden memory of my life which always inspires me to look back to my growing up days.

Other than study I tried couple of extra curriculum at this period of life tried learning Tabla, recitation, joined in Art class on Sunday. The last one I continued for some time and tried to do it as sincerely as possible without sacrificing study, to develop as a stand by skill for opening up another opportunity for bread and butter in future. I was ok in drawing but I have seen much more gifted kid with this faculty.

Other than these structured learning, I have learned many more things unconsciously like swimming, climbing trees, catching fish, cycling, and many more like this which doesn’t fall in the curriculum but its absolutely needed for life. Today there are classes, structured program, for these but we learned through our growing up process only being inspired by each other from our friend circle. I think our learning was more natural if not very scientific so we enjoyed the learning process also.

Academically I could never be as distinct student as I was in St. Thomas. In fact I remember in class 7 I failed in one subject 1st time in the half yearly exam. That was 1st time I got a red mark on my progress report. And that was such a shameful incident to me. More than parent saying anything, I myself demoted myself in my own eye. I remember when I went to play after having my food returning from school, only this thought was revolving my mind, I am no more a bright student, I have failed like any other ordinary kid, from now if anybody tell me a good student its just a wrong impression about me. Today when I am thinking about this, it appears just as a childish thought of a kid. But at those days perspective, it was very self damaging. Today lots of kids suffer from these kind of self damaging psychology caused due to undesirable performance at those evaluation process.

Finally in the test examination for appearing secondary school examination my performance was quite good. I came to know about that when I was in a student camp at school for three days. It was mandatory as per the Secondary School curriculum at our time, and at Kanailal teachers used to execute it very seriously.  You can’t go home during that period, you have to spend the nights also in school, the days were heavily packed with activities. That was a very good learning experience for me first time away from home with out family. Anyway I was very serious about the test exam because, commonly the performance of the board exam result, turn out to be better than the number you usually get in test. And secondary exam result was very important at our time, not only it opens up the door for, which stream and what school you can get admission for the Higher Secondary, but also it’s the first compulsory board exam mandatory for all West Bengal Board students. Performance of that was the indicator how good you are as a student.

Higher secondary : the period of dedicated study, and hardship shutting down everything else of life.

Our time all the one year eleven month period of HS was very crucial to us. It is not only because the syllabus of HS, science was quite extensive, but also every sincere student takes it as if it’s the one and only chance to be successful in life. To us it it’s the single most opportunity if we miss, life won’t give a second chance. Today when I look back, I am proud of my hard work, learning so many subjects in such a short period with great details, which always helps me to relate any scientific topic with fair amount of clarity no matter how much higher domain it talks about. I can always take advantage of the knowledge which I gained during my HS period to understand the concept. But the psychological fear we had created about the academic success, the amount of do or die mentality we developed, was not correct. That day we had limitation of our vision, we couldn’t think of life beyond a not so desirable performance in HS and the competitive exams we had taken immediately after. This attitude could be very damaging. Its fact life is much bigger than that. I know many of my student life friends who couldn’t do that well but became very successful in their own field in future. But in those days we couldn’t think this as a possibility.

Process of choosing Electrical Engineering in BE college

• Fear of mugging up and 5 years study in medical college for getting graduation and interest in Maths and science tilted me towards Engineering.

• Struggle to gather information about the Engineering college.

• Staying close from home at the same time getting exposure to fight and survive staying alone in a residential college turned me to decide about BEC

• At the same time wanted to avoid waste of time from daily passengery to Jadavpur crossed my mind.

When the day to join arrived, I had a mixed feelings. Though I have got lots of  encouragement and appreciation from family and friends for being able to qualify to an Engineering college like BEC, I had my own thoughts and anxiety. I was not sure, how I’ll be able to adjust the new system, all students over there must be ……, the bests from all the schools of Bengal, how to maintain standard with out being the last bencher over there, and most of all the trailer of ragging I have seen during the counseling the in Jadavpur, I didn’t have any clue, How to handle these situations. In Jadavpur it would be an option to give up and come back to home and keep the mind free at least some amount of time of the day. But BEC is a residential college, it won’t be possible to get totally secluded from their contacts 24 hours a day. All those thoughts were crossing my mind. I was just pushing myself with thoughts jo hoga dekha jayga.

Some thoughts on ragging

• Its allow the free play of human minds criminal nature, sometime pathological sadistic minds, covered or glorified in name of get along with the system or developing juniors for the harsh reality of professional life.

• That inferiority complexity and fear I couldn’t overcome in Hostel 8.

Results and academics of BEC

• Dream to tell a good result from HS failed.

• Fear of writing papers in English. Due to which I decided to write in Bengali in HS, but here no option.

• Failed in basic electrical engg and in another subject most likely Strengths of Material couldn’t do much good other than Engineering Drawing and Maths. in the half yearly exam psychologically broken me.

• Liking engineering drawing

• Finally made a good score in 1st year final and securing a position in top ten, helped to regain my academic confidence .

• Slowly get seasoned in the Engineering College study and examination process.

Luckily I got few friend and roommate  Good Time in BE College.

• Walk in Botanical garden

• Spending evening in ghat

• Watching movie after an exam.

• Someday going to Esplanade

• Playing Bridge.

Have seen some possibilities to die.

• Kamal Sarkar

• The junior of computer science department.

• I have seen many good students to be lost embracing wrong direction in this confusion.

Angry youngsters in action

• Horrible fights and shutdown of college

• Some professors with guts and daerings

Tried to develop a habit of going Gym

My struggle to develop mental toughness : Joining NCC.

• Joined first year as an extra curriculum activities,

• Buying a quality ice cream at Howrah station from the NCC money on the way of going back home.

• Encourage met to increase alartness.

• Barakpur rifle shooting training.

• Experience of bayu sainik camp.

  • Starting from Howrah station.

  • Reaching Secunderabad at Midnight

  • Travelling through dark in military truck

  • First night at un prepared tent.

  • 3-4 days of hard work to set up tent.

  • In between changing locations.

  • Collect food from big lines , how much enjoyed those simple food.

  •  Interacting with students from all over india.

  • Going out to see Hyderabad with out informing.

  • Pack up but miss those 10-15 days.

  • Finally reach home at mid night of Shashti

My biggest achievement and most memorable experience as an NCC cadre was getting the opportunity to participate in 12 days long All India Vayu Sainik Camp at Nadirgul, a place close to Hyderabad. This Centrally Organized Camp is conducted at different part of India every year for Air Wing Cadets. About 600 cadets from all Directorates, all over India, attend the camp. A combined Annual Training Camp for Air Wing cadets was organized in 1992 for a period of 12 days at Nadirgul, Hyderabad. For many serious NCC cadres being selected for Vayu Sainik Camp is kind of a dream come true. For me, I joined NCC 1st year as it was mandatory in the Engineering College curriculum to have an extra curriculum activity. But kept continuing after 1st year because of two reasons, I always inspired by the disciple and attitude of the defense personals and it will help me to develop my self-confidence and personality. And it truly helped me in that aspect and also given …… I am happy I took a very right decision that age.

My biggest achievement and most memorable experience as an NCC cadre was getting the opportunity to participate in 12 days long All India Vayu Sainik Camp at Nadirgul, a place close to Hyderabad. This Centrally Organized Camp is conducted at different part of India every year for Air Wing Cadets. About 600 cadets from all Directorates, all over India, attend the camp. A combined Annual Training Camp for Air Wing cadets was organized in 1992 for a period of 12 days at Nadirgul, Hyderabad. For many serious NCC cadres being selected for Vayu Sainik Camp is kind of a dream come true. For me, I joined NCC 1st year as it was mandatory in the Engineering College curriculum to have an extra curriculum activity. But kept continuing after 1st year because of two reasons, I always inspired by the disciple and attitude of the defense personals and it will help me to develop my self-confidence and personality. And it truly helped me in that aspect and also given …… I am happy I took a very right decision that age.

As not many Engineering College students participate in NCC, getting selected for the Vayu Sainik was not that difficult, total 8 cadres from 2nd and 3rd year students have been selected for the camp. Once we have selected we have given 3 weeks of special training. We need to polish our drills, then taught how to set up tents to live and given a thorough orientation about the activities and importance of the events. 

Night before the departure from Howrah station, we gathered at Jadavpur University NCC office. My personal belonging was just few clothing and tooth brush and pastes. After reaching there each of us has been given one big metal trunk and a military kit bag with all the necessary belongings to survive including own plate cup etc. Other than this we had two very big trunk for the group carrying tent, all the required tools to set up camp in a deserted place and also decorate it properly, there was a prize for the best camp set up, I’ll tell some more about it after. All our belongings were tagged with our full name, the arrangement was definitely more than what I was mentally prepared to receive, which really boost up my morale. We had our team leader ….but most balanced, matured and …interms of communication was Pandy. Our instructors counted on him a lot for a group of youngsters who hardly can communicate in any other language other than Bengali. We had one more advantage in terms of communication quite unexpectedly, one of our team member name Raju, was originally Telegu, which helped us a lot for local communication. In our team member myself and Pintu was from 2nd year, rest six were from 3 rd year students. At that age travelling with uniform was very …..inspiring. We had more than usual language arranging everything in short time inside train was a struggle in many cases other passengers were not very compromising. Anyway after we settle down, I occupied a window sit and enjoying the views of the passing by landscape. I always enjoy long distance travel by train. I never get bored in train travel, in my another experience of traveling Bombay to Howrah train was delayed for 24 hours, due to some derailment it was diverted and travelled through an unusual route, but I don’t have any complain about that, more than the pain of travel it gave me an opportunity to pass through many unknown places which I am sure I’ll never be able to see in my life again. 

Weather its day or night, sunny or rainy every train journey gave me a golden life time memory.  I’ll write about some of them in details. Finally we reached Scunderabad station around 10-11 pm. It was another struggle to get down with our luggage. There was a military truck standing outside the station to take us to the camp ground. We quickly jumped into that with our military swiftness. On the way it stopped beside a road side dhaba far away from the city limit and the person in charge told, you don’t know when you will get your next food, so fill your stomach in 30 mins. After having dinner, we came into consciousness, and realize the truck is travelling through a dark road and taking us to a totally unknown place with full of uncertainty about what’s going to happen.  Finally it cross a gate with security guards and enter in a very big open ground. 

At one corner of it there were some tents erected, our car stopped there, we jumped down from truck and were instructed to take out stuffs inside a tent and take rest for rest of the night. We were so tired at that point that we just dragged our trunks, kit bags and all other belongings in side the tent, spread our mat on the ground and just fell asleep. 

Next morning when we woke up our first challenge was to figure out how to response to the morning call. We realize we have to do it open air, little far from our tent, there was some small bushes, other cadets started using cover of them to do the small task which you suppose to do indoor. Then there were some water bodies which collected water during rainy season. We washed ourselves over there. We found a running water tap little far from our tent site, which was basically our drinking water source. After some time we heard the breakfast is distributed, we dig up our plate and mug and rushed to the place. There was a long queue, it was a different kind of experience for me, I had collected food like this long back during my school final camp. But I enjoyed it. Normally they serve some feeling Indian fast food like upma or halua and tea, not much choice but with enough quantity. We collected our breakfast came back to tent and all eight ate together.   

Initial few days of the camp we spend to set up the tent, other than regular drill etc. We had been given a training to set up a perfect tent, and there were prizes for the tent set up and we had nothing to do other than this so we worked hard to set it up as nice as we can. In the evening there were some cultural programs almost every night. If not myself and Pintu sometime Gadadhar da used to sit on the grass of the wide open ground and enjoy the pleasant wind of the evening. Other than good time among us, I tried to interact with some cadets from other states with my broken English and Bengalis Hindi, and earned some friends one guy name Philip, I still remember he was from Tamil Nadu.

Before leaving we had some biriyani from a small station side restaurant.

Tata Still experience of Jamshedpur with Niloy, Arindam Aitch

• Reaching baba’s office guest house.

• Eating much bhat at near by restaurant

• Going to TATA training center

• Excited seeing XLRI

• Introduced with Bhowmick

• Next few weeks visiting different plants

• Doing project in Bar and rod mill

• Morning eating Idly as breakfast everyday

• Movie watching experience

• Dimna pahar, dalma lake

• Preparing project report

• Roaming around under sun

• That man with no hand

Decided to move in independent accommodation in 3rd year. Thoughts around that

• Doing everything for yourself not a situation faced before.

Thoughts of getting a job or what to do after BE started overpowering

• Started for aptitude test preparation.

• Form a group to practice GD.

• Other than improving spoken English, I enjoied the discussion of different social, political issues and events with Priyanjan, Dhruba, Shovan, ……Amit,

• Took a cochin from Brilliant Cochin with another of friends for GATE, with an idea it will help to brush up entire 4 years syllabus and prepare for other competitive exams and interviews.

• Started appearing to public sector exams. ( NTPC, BHEL lot more I can’t remember all of them)

• Trying to position myself in that horrifying force interview situation.

• I was more interested to face the industry rather than keep rolling in the academic for another two years for doing M Tech, as starting realize this won’t be able to give protection for long.

• Got a lot of satisfaction by expressing baba’s way of motivating juniors, by setting and example of work by himself, though I have not been selected.

• Were planning to get a job and work for 1-2 years then do the MBA

Gate

• Wrote the exam without much tension

• Went to Salt Lake to see the result

• From BEC came to know about NITIE

• Trying to remember how I have collected the Form and took care of the logistics

• I think we called up Swapan da to know about the institute.

After that got the Bicco Lorry.

• The postman was more excited than me.

Start from the interview failure in 4thnyear

• Struggle to understand how to be successful in life

• Reevaluate personal value system

• Eternal struggle to understand whats right

• Try to figure out whats wrong in me.

Discussion with baba in the local train

• Why I don’t want to join Govermnet service

• Take the responsibility on me

• Why its needed to have freedom to quit.

Last but most important aspect, when I look at my path of life, I can see I have taken a lot from countless people from the world, but have never been able to return them anything. I know I’ll never been able to return also in my life time, with this its my attempt to acknowledge their Rin.

Difficult time with stomach pain and all sorts of uncertainties.

Finally Bombay chal para…

• Sudden stop over of the train at a beautiful hilly location

• Agreeing with Anupam Kher’s comment best journey of his life is from Bombay to puna.

• Selfconfidence and boldly facing any situation attitude of Anil mama, inspired me to practice the same in my new environment.

When I had started thinking for job seriously in BEC, one thing I realized, my soft spoken, shy, good boy personality is no way a desirable characteristic in the industry or professional life. Keeping apart the career, job or work life, I’ll be victimize  in every aspect in my life.  I’ll always remain under dog and people will take advantage of me due to this. But in your known world, it is very difficult to change your outlook suddenly, So when I got a chance to go to Bombay for my MBA, told myself this one and half year is my opportunity, more than getting academic success, I’ll try to mold myself to free myself from those weaknesses. I can understand when you position yourself in  a particular way, society also keep expecting same way from you. So I’ll put effort to face the world by overcoming those weaknesses from the day one in this new environment. Today when I am thinking about those days, it appears as very silly thoughts, but in those days it was my hard reality, and definitely helped me to grow as a person.

As a physical change to enhance the personality change, I dropped my moustache immediately. In B E College also I had to drop moustache during ragging periods, but that was forced by seniors but I grew that after the ragging period. But after dropping it at Bombay I pretty much maintain my clean face.

I used to look at Anil mama from my neighborhood, he is not highly educated, nor very well build, financially also ok not very great but how confidently and boldly he faces any situation at any places of the world. He can make his presence visible at any company most of the time not by bully nature but with his amazing self-confidence. This aspect of his personality inspired me a lot. I truly realized to radiate your existence in the world only thing you need is believe in yourself and I can attitude.

I started realizing there are two types of aggressiveness can be found in the world one is pure bullish and more arrogant in nature which works as long as opponent feels weak and other type from ones inside its more believing in yourself that is the self confidence Swami Vivekananda prescribed for Indian Society also preached around the world. That is the time I started realizing the teaching of Swami Vivekananda in new light.

Sometime I used to get very disturb when somebody look upon me or treat me childish way, it is mainly because of my fear of fall in trap of my old personality. That was very critical time of my life for preparing myself to face the world. From childhood I used to listen shlokas of Srimad Bhagabat Gita and different spiritual textures and how they explained positive attitude in the conflicting situation of the world, how strong faith on spiritual powers helps human being to overcome difficulties. All these things started appearing to me with new lights in a place where I had of very few friend and family contacts. I started reading scriptures of various religions. I started understanding the spiritualism in much more deeper sense than simply praying to get results. It ignites my life long journey of truth with more perspective understanding.

The knowledge content of MBA curriculum, never impressed me. What I liked of the MBA course is the softer aspect of the development. I’ll try to explain it after. But MBA has become the most important certificate to sell in job market at our age. I believe all the so called educational institutions have two primary objectives. First one I call buying certificates, the certificates, which you can attach with your resume to sell it in the market. There is no way we can lightly take its value. At the end of the day practically it matters what sells in the market. When you have to select a student from 100, the most rational approach is do the initial five screening from the certificates, they posses, this will reduce the effort of screening process and also increase the probability of short down more correctly, because reality works on probability not on absolute. So when you are deciding the certificates you want to buy for your future, with the knowledge content, you must give enough importance to the market value of the certificates you earn from it. Just  being carried away by the romanticism of the knowledge, may end up with frustration. After the golden age of Law, Medical and Engineering and all the technical degree certificates our times craze was MBA, and it is not exhausted even today.

As far the learning of some new thing goes, MBA subjects don’t have enough to justify its glamour. Its syllabus never impressed me that much other than very few subjects like statistics, operation research, Comptuer science. The aspect I liked, which many of the MBA classes doesn’t give enough importance is, developing a thought process about the dynamics of the system where people work for living.  As I taught in those classes, common sense is most uncommon among us, it encourages us  to apply the commonsense to solve industrial problems. 

To me the examinations and other modes of evaluations in MBA curriculum are more subjective in nature, more creative way expressing than reaching to the right answer like a mathematical problem. Your creative works may appear silly at the beginning, but never be discouraged, that is your originality, your identity, in your working life you will be paid only for that. The more mature creative thoughts you can produce, the better possibility of being successful in work life. In fact we should encourage this faculty from very child hood.

In human society some way or other educated in subjective studies are more honored at every age. In the early university age of  art, literature, philosophy were considered as the most honored subject to study. And today nobody wants to take up those art and philosophical or social subjects as a subject of choice normally. There is definitely economic reason, but at core level MBA and those old curriculums, both deals with same softer human quality and creativity of a person which can’t be quantified. In fact in the highest level of any faculty by nature is very subjective and surprisingly all different streams become very similar topic to nurture. And I believe this faculty will have the highest respect of education as long as teaching system exists in humanity.

Another important aspect of MBA class it building presentation skill and obviously polishing communication skill, which is an absolute lack in many society, this is the quality I found very commonly among Americans. This is one of the reasons American out shines and very successful around the world. 

Quiotw from scriptures

Hearing the similar things from the professors of heighest educational system was really encouraging to me, all those value system I heard from childhood from the small town of Bhadreswar are equally honerd in the oracle of highest education.( enlightening) All those great teachers were from all different corners or India from all possible community of India. This is my begiest…… from NITIE.

Carried away by the philosophical motivational thought is good but unless we can find its application to the future work place, where all the negative instincts of human mind also powerfully in action, is very difficult to co relate. More difficult is for a boy of that age is to identify what to set as a goal. Raising up in the management ladder, earning money or something else or all of them?

In business the owner have a limited resource and he has to produce require output with that limited resource. This is the reality, practicality for survival. Get the job done is more important than practicing the moral value system at that point. So where do you have scope of applying the higher value system which all human appreciate at the bottom of their heart ? You can get success by hooks and crooks only few situations, But getting success again and again and making success as a habit? You can’t do with out ethics, without playing the game by rule. And again at the end of the day it matters how you are as a person because professional life is not all that only a part of your life.