44th Week@XIMB

44th Week@XIMB - 8th April to 14th April, 2012

8th April- I was dehydrated and tired on reaching Bhopal. Yet, journey in Sleeper compartment help me to reconnect with lower middle class of India. A more acute and clear cut picture of India emerges in 35 hours of journey.

9th April- I reported with my college mates to New Narmada Bhavan for the first day of internship. A short and concise meeting was over with brief office work. SEEDS India, UNDP and MP government are the major stakeholders of the complete project. Two days of reading time is given ahead for learning about district. I am allotted Bhind District for next 6 weeks for the work. SEEDS consultancy is overlooking the project at state level.

10th April- All of XIMBians who were intern at SGGPA were accommodated in Administrative Academy. It was a luxurious arrangement. I learned a little about Bhind through district website. I roamed around Bhopal lake and visited science museum also. I was accompanied by Aditya and Ashish who were doing internship at MPWPCL.

11th April - A day utilized in studying and sleeping.I want to bring Buddha and Marx both together in this India. It is time to stop listening to what state say, and start focusing on what they do. Hence, signing off for today.

12th April - First Day of Meeting and brief summary of the disaster and its terminology. There were 31 interns with 30 officers together. I was the lucky-one for whom no has arrived from the respective district. The respective District commandment homegurad has been transferred few months ago.

13th April - This was 2nd day of the meeting and much more technical in the nature. Hazard, Vulnerability, Risk, Capacity (HVRC) Analysis and role of various department were discussed by the consultant. There was no officer/representative today also from Bhind district. This is a cause of worry as this can led to zero assistance in the working area. Most of us were forced to leave Bhopal to their nodal districts even next two days were holidays. There was no arrangement of stay and travel in the working area till this moment of time.

14 April - I traveled from Bhopal to Bhind and the whole day has passed in the journey. With much difficulty, accommodation was made available at circuit guest house.

Let me introduce the basic profile of Bhind district.Bhind is the Northernmost District of Madhya Pradesh,north east of Gwalior, situated at 26°34'50" latitude and 78°48'05" longitude. There are 6 Development blocks in the District namely Ater , Bhind Mehgaon, Gohad, Roan and Lahar. With 95% of the population practicing Hindu religion, there are Jain traders also. Castes of the upper strata like Brahmans and Rajputs dominate the social structure. The proportion of working women (2%) is much less, as compared to the State (19%) indicating a high degree of economic dependence of women on their men counterparts. As per 1991 Census, the district is having 39.06% literacy. 53% of the male population is literate and female literacy is 22%,that is apparently much lower than anational figures. Agriculture and Dairy are the main occupation of the people in the District. Hence, I can assume to be placed and will be working in a deeply feudal society.

Sparsh: Development in a Trimester of rural management - 3...

Sparsh: Development in a Trimester of rural management - 3...: Continuing from the 2nd part of the Development series in RM , I will move towards the 3rd part of the learning in the field of Rural Manag...

43rd Week@XIMB

43rd Week@XIMB - 1st April to 7th April, 2012

1st April- REPP effect was conglomerating the senses. Various thoughts were springing in the mind. Like : Until Ordinary humans of the first world will become economically destitute, and will be reduced to the state of the third world, they will not rise in solidarity with all the dispossessed by colonilaism and neo imperialism.

2nd April- The last day of exam. Exam is over still two assignments are pending. The extent of stress is always relative to our current level of growth, hence satisfied with the performance.

3rd April- The assignments and packing had make the day hectic. Still, I am enjoying the marathon named MBA.

4th April- A nice day with final packing done for our summers. Seasons come and go. I’ve witnessed the beauty of XIMB campus in the rains, as well as enjoyed even a foggy night here. Although most of my schedule was occupied with classes and , I still found some time walking around the school in night to admire the hidden loveliness of the campus. But looking at what I’ve been through, I feel happy that I’m here. It has been amazing, and I’m looking forward to more exciting experiences.

I am now habitual of seeing my MBA friends around all time, and I miss them. Their smiles are simply everywhere, in the classrooms, the mess, XCafe, GR2 and even the elevator. Two and Half months to the new semester seems to be a long time to wait, but I know our eagerness to meet one another again will be much greater after a long break. Thank you my friends. You all make XIMB so special to me!!!

5th April- It took a special train journey of 30 hour to reach Bangalore. There is 5 day break before joining organization for summer internship.

6th April- Bangalore, you are special to me. MG road looks like New York to me. I said in my mind that its not that everyone should have the same but that each should have enough in the life.

7th April- A day in the train...

42nd Week@XIMB

42nd Week@XIMB - 25th March to 31st March, 2012

25th March - This Sunday has been devoted to assignments and presentation. I take a long nap instead of all this hectic schedules. I also talked to GM about doing PHD in public policy from any foreign university. The complex question of Distribution and Creation of the wealth always intrigued me. Merit, Network, Violence, Open Society, Distributive Justice and Reservations are few vague key words around which I want to focus my work.

To imagine a long life and planning for 20-25 years down the years is an extreme example of the unrealized luxury. Only elites can have insurance, coping strategies and resources for mitigating future risk required for such plans. There remains a deep aura of uncertainty  in the life of aam aadmi. What I felt deeply that future exists, may be for a day or week for most of the people living on the fringes. People are living from hand to mouth situation having much vulnerabilities like health, displacement and social risk. Majority of their time and wages is spent in food. Yet, they plan and save with much difficulty for marriages, festivals and fatal accidents. The vulnerability of commons is due to the wrong policies of the major institutions. The economic and social institutions are not designed by mistake but exists only for the benefit of the elite. There is a huge gap between what people want and what the government is prepared to give in the doamin of public services  and goods(education, health, clean water, sanitation). State policies have no meaning unless they consider the weakest person of the society. Salute to aam aadmi who is a portrayal of resilience and vulnerability in the same skin.

26th March - I had change in daily schedule and more behaving as an nocturnal animal. This mutation can be contributed to hot summer days of Orissa.

27th March - Convocation day. There was convocation address by Harsh Mariwala of Marico.

28th March - CID exam was a disaster. And yet, I am satisfied with my preparation level.

29th March - OM and CMIB exams were much better than previous examination. Exhaustion is approaching due to lack of long of sleep and stress.

30th March - RIM exam was tough yet viable. UDO exam was based on RLLE and bring out the writing bug in every student. The abstract concept of development and vision were flowing from the nip of the pen. The creative tension between mind and aching hand produced the answers of high creativity and innovation.

31st March - MP exam was over. Answer sheet with limited space are doing wonders for me and curbing the habit of muggers to vomit their data. Three exams more to go....

The Spirit of Invisible - Kalyan Akkipedi offers a quick peak into the heart of rural India peppered with lessons learnt from traditional healers, contemplation on co-operation between religious factions and the story of salt. Best Lines Read in the article: “Nature is unique in every region, and so are the ways to exist in synergy with it. Understanding this way of existence is knowledge. Knowledge is omnipresent in the region, but can’t be explicitly articulated. Traditions of a region preserve this knowledge in codified ways. Lifestyle in any given region evolves along these traditions. And, lifestyle interactions of a community weave cultural fabric. Therefore, each region has a unique culture. Without this uniqueness, there's no diversity.”