What doesn’t kill you, only makes you better

You wake up one fine morning, not knowing what date it is, not knowing when you slept, not knowing what day it is, and have a general feeling of being confused. And then you ask yourself, what is it that woke you up, and what is it that you need to do. And then you curse….yourself, others around you, and people and surroundings in general.

You have a few submissions to make, and you have a few quizzes to crack, and then there are a few pending things (actually many a pending) that have been begging your attention for quite a while. Your near and dear ones haven’t heard from you since ages, your feelings in general towards all your friends is that off indifference, and that you are at your wits end to make it on time to the class room. And Oh! You have not had your break-fast yet.

All the while you believe that an external force has been unhappy with you. That why at all times you are in the eye of the storm. Why can’t you just close your eyes, and have a nap.. without ever giving a thought to what the world will end up like.

You believe in the fact that your destiny is playing around with you, that your very existence is being mauled with what things are in store for you. Oh look at you, once a great singer, a great dancer, a great painter.. oh look at you, reduced to nothing but a book worm. “When was the last time you did something for the first time, and that made you happy…” you think. Generally there are no answers… you thought you had a talent and you were good at something, but you just don’t remember what it was. Not anymore.

You find people, some janus faced, some innocent, some cunning, and some that you can’t categorise. You find yourself behave in a manner you couldn't have imagined. You fail in a quiz or two, get a zero for the first time (this first time thing, does not make you happy.) You blame it on your inability, you blame it all on to yourself, without thinking a dime about what is it that saw you come to place with some of the smartest people around.

And that’s where the inspiration begins…

You find engineers score more in accounts than CA’s

You find commerce students score more in IT than software pros

You find absolutely tongue tied and shy people, chart out excellent poetry

You find actors, where none were expected

You find singers who you never had thought had a voice

They all did it… and so could you…. And then you think about yourself. You look in the image, and search within your soul, and try to find what is it that you are good at. There's no answer. You ask yourself again, thinking that there has to be something special about me, this time its real hard (almost approaching a tear in the eye for some).., and then it clicks…. You learn a lesson.. Life is not about fretting your weakness, its about building upon your strengths..

This in short what an MBA has been.. precisely saying nothing more than a laboratory of mixed emotions, that prong one to self discovery.. that led one to a better understanding of ones own self.. thank these challenging 80 days of your MBA life, you are a tougher, stronger and a more mature person... moral of the story.. what doesn’t kill you, only makes you better.

Gunjan Bothra

PGDM Batch of 2010 (Finance)

S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai

Placements at SPJIMR in full swing

Internship placements for corporate projects at Mumbai based SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR) were hugely successful as the institute effortlessly placed its largest batch yet in the face of a not-so-favourable economic situation. The entire batch of 164 was placed on the first day of placements. Signing off with exciting, never-offered-before profiles, the PGDM class of 2009 accentuated the trend that has been seen at SPJIMR. The placement process, that was spread over 27th and 28th August, ended with participants being offered their dream projects in reputed companies across sectors like Consultancy, Banking, IT, Investment Banking, FMCG, Private Equity, Manufacturing, Healthcare& Pharmaceuticals, Telecom and Media. Companies participating in the process included Tata Administrative Services (TAS), ING IB, Miebach Consulting, Microsoft, GSK, Tata Capital, E&Y (Business Advisory Services), Deloitte, P&G, HUL, Marico, Cadburys, Nestle, Intel, J&J Consumer, Motorola, HT Media, Capgemini, CTS, Cummins, Aricent, Wipro, IBM, SAP, Edelweiss, Development Bank of Singapore, etc.SPJIMR also attracted participation for the first time from renowned international firms coming exclusively to SPJIMR. These firms included brand and creative design consultant Landor Associates and leading online auction and shopping website eBay, international networking giant Cisco ,which offered coveted roles for the first time across B-schools.PGDM participants at SPJIMR carry out social projects when the rest of the business schools have summer corporate projects scheduled. It is for this reason that corporate India has to come out with specially designed projects under the "Autumns internship" in the months of September and October. SPJIMR has been known for its innovations in management education. Projects based on its flagship programmes, Development of Corporate Citizenship (DOCC) and Assessment and Development of Managerial Potential (ADMAP), are now being tried at other Indian business schools. It is these reasons that set SPJIMR uniquely apart from other business schools, as clearly endorsed by corporate India lapping up SPJIMR students for their internships.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/09/01125655/Placements-at-SPJIMR-in-full-s.html

Amazon Web Services on Campus

Cloud and Utility Computing for MBA's, are you kidding, eh... no, not at all.

Last week Mr. Jinesh Varia, Technology Evangelist at Amazon visited SPJain, participants were quite curious to know about Amazon and its new Web Services business which has already made such a huge impact on how enterprises work (one of my friend's startup uses the same platform). Few coming from a technology background like me were excited knowing more about the new technological changes happening, and the ones who were not-so-tech-savvy kinds were curious as the Amazon Web Services Case Discussion in one of our courses had been pretty exciting.

As Prof. Nilanjan rightly introduced Mr. Varia, a Google Search on his name weaves a CLOUD of information on Cloud Computing. Mr. Varia has moved on from Amazon's research division to a role of an evangelist and he surely didn't dissapoint anyone as he took us on a journey of development of Amazon Web Services and how its offerings have enabled businesses to come up with new business models. The talk as the name suggested covered Cloud and Utility Computing in the perspective of Amazon which has extended offerings from a Website selling Books to Web Infrastructure provider on the basis of research efforts put in by their scientists.

Amazon Web Services is a collection of Web Services offering a range of infrastructure services (both storage and processing). In a layman terms it’s like what Jinesh mentioned, it’s analogous to the difference between renting a house and owning a house. Renting gives you flexibility, you get a raise and you can move around easily, owning a house you get stuck to a particular place and there are people who prefer both. Now talking about from a business perspective someone starts a business and instead of owning up all the storage and processing platform we rent an infrastructure from a service provider like Amazon and utilize their technology platform.

Cloud Computing is at the heart of that strong technology platform. Cloud Computing is an extension of Grid Computing where XML based Web Services are accessible to users (Services in the Cloud) to provide control over the technology infrastructure supporting them. Amazon is a pioneer in Cloud Computing Technology and it’s a perfect example of how research efforts can help you to extend beyond your traditional business.

Mr. Varia used the Animoto story to put across this point. This cool website which enables user to upload pics, mix music and create videos out of it was doing well. One fine day they come up with a Facebook App and all of a sudden the number of user hitting them takes a Quantam jump. As it was based on Amazon Web Services they were able to cope up with the increase in numbers easily. AWS enables businesses to scale-up and down based on seasonal variations and removes overheads of managing the changes in infrastructure.

Amazon Web Services runs with the motto We innovate for you, so that you can innovate for your customers. People running the business(web based) don't waste time on day to day operational activities of maintaining servers etc. and they can concentrate on innovation so that they create more value for their customers. Mr. Varia shared stories about many entrepreneurs who have leveraged new innovations in technology to kick start their business and become successful. He asked everyone to utilize the opportunities available especially in India which according to him is on the verge of becoming a huge economic power and the environment is just apt for such things.

There were lots of questions asked, lots of nice discussions, from both a technology and business perspective and I am sure Mr. Varia would have enjoyed those discussions. The students surely enjoyed it and left the session much enlightened with knowledge of Web Based Businesses and motivated to try out things on their own.

For me it was about understanding how quickly technology has evolved, from my Lab in college two years back, when I tweaked numerous settings of a Globus Toolkit to setup Two Linux Box Grid (that was some achievement :)) to Clouds of Amazon. The challenges and opportunities rapid changes in technology throw up surely provide a great platform for both managers and entrepreneurs to learn, innovate and create successful enterprises.

---
Abhishek Deshpande PGDM(08-10)
PRCom

Technorati Tags: Jinesh Varia, Amazon Web Services, SPJIMR, SPJain

ASSIGNMENTS of 2009

(Inspired By Summer of 69, By Bryan Adams…..)
I got my first real assignment,
Got it with a real close deadline,
Worked at it till my group got mad,
Was the assignment of 2009.

Me and people from the class,
Had grouped and worked real hard,
Some quit, some got frustrated,
Always knew we never made a start,
Oh, when I look back now,
The assignment seems to last forever…
Boy, if I had the choice, I would have never had it completed,
Those were the dread days of my life….
Those assignments of 2009…..

Ain’t no use in complaining,
When you’ve got a submission to do,
Spend my time fighting the deadlines,.. oh COCO that’s when I met you!!..
Standing in the GW room, You told me that it will be postponed for ever..
And when I saw your cynical smile, I knew that it was now or never…

Those were the dread days of my life…
Those assignments of 2009..

Man we were killing time,
We were chatting and playing, and having a great time..
I guess that assignment will be forgotten forever.. forever.. forever… yeah!!

And now the times are changing,
look at everything that’s come and gone,
But when I remember those assignments,
think about it wonder what went wrong.

Standing near the GW room,
I Felt that they would last forever,
Boy as if I had a choice, I knew the submissions was now or never..
Those were the BEST days of life…

Those assignments of 2009….

-GUNJAN

PGDM- 2008-10 ( Finance )

The Celebration That Was…

It was August 15, the Year 08,
The anniversary of India’s Birth Date.
The SPJIMR family came,
Together to salute India, the lovely dame.
The occasion began as tradition told,
The national flag on the staff unfurled.
Respect writ in the masses’ face,
As the national anthem took its pace.
Proud Indians renewed their pledge to serve,
Their motherland in all its verve.
Post this there was a cultural fest,
Where SP’s students proved to be the best.
Adi and Supriya led the show,
While talent came forward in a beautiful flow.
The freedom struggle came to life,
When dancers depicted peace and strife.
United India in harmony sang,
“Mile Sur”! Oh with what joy our voices rang.
A thespian treat thrilled every sense,
India viewed through a 61 year old lens.
Enthralling was the story told,
By actors from the SPJIMR fold.
‘Vande Mataram’ was the culmination of it all,
And on this lovely note, the curtains did fall.
And in store was a lovely treat,To bistro, we all went to eat

-Reshmi Mathew

Anandwan- the abode of joy

When you hurt your knee, did you remember that old man by the lane with one foot? When you threw an old rotten fruit into the bin, did you realize there was someone out there whose limbs were being cut and thrown coz they were rotten too. When you sang for your picture perfect partner, did you realize that there are thousands who have been painted in haste? Yes, there is a world other than the perfect one etched out for you. There is a world that believes in carving out the best from what has been given to them. This little world, set out to make the impossible possible, taking the deaf and dumb, the blind and less fortunate along in the march, is a small abode of happiness we happened to take a peek into. It is Anandwan – the abode of joy.

Year after year, Anandwan has been inviting the students of SPJain, silently though, through the special bonding both the organizations fondly share. When PGDM batch of 2008 set out on a 20 hour journey, little did they know that they would bathe in bliss on reaching this little town. Anandvan is a noble initiative, started by Baba Amte, to treat and rehabilitate leprosy victims from the disadvantaged sections of society. Today it is not just a shelter for these patients, but serves the livelihood of 3500 people, serving the blind, deaf and dumb. It is a self-sufficient village with people engaged in more than 100 different occupations. All they need from outside is oil, petrol, salt and sugar. It’s only after this visit we realized how handicapped we were.

When our bus entered the Ashram, the first thing that struck us was the peace and serenity of the place. We could hear the chirping of birds, watch people busy at work, catch students of a nearby school hopping around, cattle grazing – there was rhythm in every action. We grabbed a quick yummy lunch and were ready to travel another 3 hours to talk to Dr. Vikas Amte, a man who calls himself the jailor of the prison called Anandwan. As we passed through the open fields, we could witness the sun setting behind us and a new spark dawning in our hearts. Dr. Vikas Amte, a man of grit and vigour, might not be too refined in his talk, but it’s his heart you connect to when he speaks with such passion about his work. Here is a man who lives in a remote village in Yawatmal with a “Land Army “ of 100 people to save their own people. They have set out to stop the suicide of farmers, provide irrigation by building dams and through rain harvesting. Now we know there are people who crib and here are people who act. We received a cordial welcome with delicious poha and steaming tea while Dr. Vikas spoke about his father and family, their journey till date, the innumerable obstacles they faced, the initiatives they have undertaken and how successful they have been in their endeavours. He displayed various products made by the people of Anandwan. There was truth in his talk, confidence in his walk and passion in the future he wished to chalk out for India and her people. When he left us or rather when we left him, we knew that our society needs many such people and we could be one among them. We had dinner and went back to our dormitories. Anandwan had taken care of every minute detail of our stay. We felt grateful to them.

We woke up the next day to walk around Anandwan and witness the miracle they have built over years. A group of us took a stroll by the nearby lake, a walk which we can never forget. The scenic beauty was breathtaking. We walked across a school where students were melodiously singing ‘itni shakti hame dena data, manka vishwaas kamzor na ho’. It meant a lot and we could relate to the context very well. Groups of villagers passing by greeted us with a warm smile, talking to each other with sign languages, carrying those who could not walk and leading those who could not watch the road ahead. It was extremely heartening. Then we were guided through the different occupations that are done there. We witnessed footwear being made of tyres, x-ray sheet flowers, beautiful greeting cards out of twigs and husk, jute bags, huge machines weaving clothes, artistic wall hangings made of mint covers and many more. The artisans were so skilled that it took us a few seconds to realize that people who were sewing were blind, cards were being made with the help of toes, nails were being hammered with precision despite not being able to see anything. How many of us are deaf, dumb and blind towards the job at hand? Here was a lesson to learn.

The real big thing was yet to come. We were told that there was an orchestra of performers awaiting us to make our stay memorable. This one was mind blowing. You can even list it as one of the wonders of the world. This troupe of handicapped people has been keeping anandwan running for the past 6 years earning crores for it. A couple of songs and the audience contributed a staggering 16k rupees to Anandwan’s kitty. That is good enough to say how captivated they were with the performance. Voices as sweet as nectar, steps as perfect as on screen and a narration that strung them as that of the beads of a necklace, made it look elegant and beautiful.

When we wound up for our journey back, our backpacks seemed heavier. We now knew the responsibilities we carry as we sketch the future of an emerging india and the worlds we have to take along with us to have a complete inclusive growth. We also realized that all of them whom we term as disabled are just ‘differently-abled’. They do not seek pity, but an opportunity to live, just like you and me or as Dr. Amte subtly frames it - All they need is a chance, not charity.

-Nagashree Natarajan

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