Of accidents and tragedy

One more accident…and many lives lost again.

Two big accidents back to back and it’s disheartening to see the videos and images of these accident sites. Rescue teams carrying the injured and the dead and being explicitly shown by the media on the television.

The only thing that bothers me is the lack of disaster management plan we have. We as a country has seen umpteen number of attacks by the terrorists, by natural calamities, some big accidents and many other. And yet, we fail to organize a plan or method to cope with them (preventing the terrorist attack is more important though). We don’t even have proper medical facilities for the injured.

We should have a separate disaster management teams in every state (we might be having…but I simply fail to see them working in an effective manner) specially trained for these situations.There has to be awareness for these situation within the public too. And it’s not only a government initiative. people should participate too.

I really appreciate the reality show Dadagiri 3: against terrorism. Something novel, unique in its approach, it’s like training normal people in combat against something dreadful…something that we may find ourselves in (given the kind of intelligence we have).

Anyway, my condolences for the families and friends of the people who lost their lives in the Mangalore air crash and accident of the Mumbai bound Gyaneshwar Express (allegedly attacked by Maoisits). May their souls rest in peace.

Adios,

Kunal Lodha

RIP Gary Coleman

Sad to know one of my fav character from television Gary “Arnold” Coleman died yesterday.

Was going through youtube for his videos. Simply Nostalgic.

Brings back the childhood days where I was stuck to my TV set watching “I dream of Jeannie“, “Who’s the boss“, and “3 Stooges” on Sony when it had started. It was fun watching all these serials dubbed in Hindi and still love them. I can’t watch the original English versions..unmein woh baat nahi hain… 🙂

RIP Gary Coleman…You’ve entertained me and millions others. My prayers are with you.

Adios,

Kunal Lodha

A new beginning…

Wow, my first post on wordpress and I am already jumping up and down (ofcourse it causes a lot of problems while typing..but who cares).

Anyway, I find WordPress far better than blogger though for starters, blogger is a much better platform than wordpress because it’s far simpler. Ummm..something like Blogger = Microsoft windows and WordPress = Apple. Apple is technologically superior and more sophisticated…BUT Windows is simpler (atleast initially…)

Anyway…I just hope I have better inspirations and posts here. And more visits by people 🙂

There is an email subscription link there…people who like my posts and want to be updated with the new posts…please subscribe and enjoy!

good luck to me… 🙂

Adios,
Kunal

Good dean, bad dean!

I have finished my course and I am almost an MBA now. Almost in the sense, that I am yet to finish my dissertation and one more exam to go (thanks to the insanity of an old man), but who cares!!! I’ll still call myself an “MBA in Marketing” and give a pat on my back to achieve this herculean task. (yeah, LOL!!!)

But in these two years I have noticed a familiar concept due to some instances (or issues) that have either shook the college management or the students. Instances like hike in fees, two sections (140 students) failed in exam, guys and girls sitting together (can you beat that!! :D) and other such things. Some were serious and others were made serious. Anyway, during these time I have noticed the occurrence of the “good cop/bad cop” concept. This is generally seen in movies where a culprit is caught and is tortured and threatened by the “bad cop” after whom the “good cop” comes and tries to calm him down in the hope of getting the information from the culprit. The sudden change of behavior in the approach of the two cops makes the culprit more vulnerable to confess or say things that the cops want to the good guy who acts as a “friend” as he behaves in a manner that seems kind and beneficial for the culprit.

My college is founded and run by two brothers, our honorary deans Mr. MA and Mr. SA.

MA is in the U.S. for the most of the time of the year and gives occasional visits while managing the college through the efficient management of the staff here (once again LOL!!!) while SA is here and manages the…umm…gardens (?). Never mind that, but the thing is that the college is somehow managed and students pass from the college with shattered hopes, broken hearts and bitter sweet memories!

Okay, so how the good cop/bad cop concept comes in the picture. It’s like this – whenever there arises a problem or a serious issue, we see an uproar among the students against the management. The management, including in some instances Mr. SA (the bad cops), tries its best to suppress us and make us look like it was all our fault and that we, the students, are not capable of anything. Now, as one may expect, the students don’t take this kindly and rebel vigorously against the decisions taken by the management. The tug of war (of words and power) keeps on going for some time and reaches a dead end. The bad cops leave a wound in the hearts of the innocent and hardworking students (hmmm…yeah it’s true alright) while the management hides its face.

And then enters the good cop, Mr MA. He is a kind hearted, highly knowledgeable man and has the knack to impress people through his speeches and that heavy voice. He is always supportive of the students. Whatever the case is, he has always talked in the favor of the students. Many of us look forward to his visits and if at all there is any lecture or seminar to be given by him, we all turn out in large numbers to listen to him, learn from him or discuss our grievances with him. We have never been let down so far by him and I don’t think it will ever be for the future batches as well.

Big deal, eh!?. But how does it affects us?

It affects us in the way that the anger, the frustration, the plans of revenge, the bad mouthing, the etc etc feelings are all washed away with the words of Mr. MA. The students are sometimes left mesmerized and are sometime hushed and calmed down ( in a good way). A feeling of satisfaction prevails amongst us for the few days after the decision till another issue crops up and again the same cycle goes on and on and on!!!

How does it help the college? Well, the funda is that whenever the solution comes out after the visit of Mr. MA, it is always mid-way which suits both, the college and the students. Also, the students are quiet now and thus the college can continue its functions as before. Everyone’s happy and the routine continues. Now is it deliberate or not, I ain’t’ sure. But is it effective? Hell yeah!!!

So for anyone in the future batch of ABS, next time any issue comes up, it’s better to call Mr. MA directly in the U.S. rather than wasting energy on getting head-on with the “efficient” management. Isn’t it!?

Adios,

Kunal Lodha

A letter to Google.

Dear Google,

After the launch of Buzz, I have been having a discussion with some friends about whether Google wants to diversify in all different form of media.

One thought that came to my mind was Google Groove.

Similar to Buzz and YouTube, which are social networking tools about daily happenings, sharing, videos and entertainment, Google Groove can cater to the needs of music lovers and creators.

Like some of the sites where the people can create their music and share online, this will be another social site which will enable musicians and bands to upload their music and share it (they can do that on YouTube, but this will be only the music and no videos). The other users can vote, favorite and also listen to music online.

Secondly, along with music sharing, Groove can also indulge in an online radio service and music downloads similar to iTunes (with better options like some freebies or additional Google services or sharing stuffs)

Google groove can be integrated with Buzz and Wave, where it will be easier for users to share their favorites with the followers and spread the word.

This was just an idea to improve upon. I would be glad if someone replies from Google for further discussions.

Thanks and regards,

Kunal Lodha

Marketing Student – Alliance Business School, Bangalore

India

Social Media is a Teenager!

Some lectures interest me more than others – especially when its on Internet and Technology.

Ray Sir was giving us some examples about how some brands tried to control the social media on the internet to protect their brands or ideas or patents and how they became viral.

I just thought about my teenage days then, how my parents tried to tell me to do something against my wish and I went on a crusade to prove them wrong and do exactly the same things they forbid me to do. I don’t consider myself a rebel but this is what I thought of Social Media today (the definition is for Brands)

“Social Media is like a rebel teenager – the more you try to suppress its thoughts, the bigger they’ll be & worse it is for your brand”

Do you agree?

Adios,

Kunal

Steve Jobs’ Inspirational Speech

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Suffering from Infomania…

The whole day spent in front of the comp

mails, Twitter,

blogs on Google Reader,

Links-links everywhere,

Sometimes videos, sometimes text…

never come to know what will be next!

 

 

so much of information around

even with a wrong click, look what I found…

it’s oh-s0-amazing,

but the very next moment…

its blank n bling bling!!

cant recollect what I read last…

my tweet timeline moves so effing fast…

I’m goin down with the amazing info,

but sometimes feel, should shut dowm my laptop and just go…

go where???

Oh! I dont know..

will have to search on google or bing!

On google maps…

I’ll even get the directions,

today I look on to the internet for each of my li’l actions!

is it good or bad..i dont know..dont ask me my friend..

I don’t have no information on that from any site,

that I can lend…

so many profiles on the net, so much information,

I don’t know who’s me…

Am i suffering from Schizophrenia???

Or is it just that,

with so much to browse around,

that I am dying of infomania!!!

 

Adios,

Kunal

P.S.: Sitting too much in front of the computer and surfing on the social networking sites may decrease your IQ. It’s a humble request to anyone who reads it (accidently) that close your laptop now and go out for a walk! 😀

Image Source: http://is.gd/6OJCA

Nasa’s Pen, Soviet Pencil…

This is one of the few days when you encounter a  REEL life incident in REAL life. Most of us have watched the movie 3 Idiots. (and most of these most have watched it due to the hype created…but that’s another matter). Everyone remembers the scene when Virus (Veeru Sahastrabuddhe) played by Boman Irani shows a NASA pen to the new students in an attempt to scare+motivate them to do well in their engineering class. ( I am not going in the scene’s details ‘cos it’s seen and heard by everyone)

The similar thing happened today in our Business Strategy class today. BVK Sir (one of the most intelligent men I have had the privilege to talk to) was sharing his experience with his Director at London Business School. He had actually brought this Space Pen in the class and was talking about how impressed with him, his director had given him this pen. And…

The class burst into a derisive laughter with some people banging their desks and some commenting about who Kareen would be (bad one). It was funny because everyone was expecting the joke and everyone laughed. However, the poor prof had no idea about it. And some people like Ms M.G. felt really bad for him. 🙂

It was fun. One of the most unforgetful incidents at ABS….

Why am I blogging so much (and such nonsense)

I have been blogging and tweeting quite consistently this week (and plan to do so).

Why?

There are two reasons for this sudden surge of blogging:

1) I am working on a new marketing blog which will cover most of what I have learned in these 1.5 years. It’s a good platform and I need to develop a good sense of writing ‘cos it will be a not-so-personal blog and I just can’t write crap.

2) I am working on a story…no details!

So I need to let go off my daily frustration and random thoughts off my brain and need to actually work on the above mentioned “projects” (and ya, those are my hands)

Wish me luck. and Help me God!

Adios,

Kunal