"The IITJEE Dilemma:to be or not to be!!"

Time-5:00 AM

Place-A study room of an engineering aspirant residing in a small town in UP

Praveen Singh woke up at 4:30 AM and got an early morning scolding as a Christmas present from his mother for not waking up half an early and got a warning that he will have no other choice to take an occupation of a “vegetable vendor” if he is unable to clear IITJEE this year. Praveen left the home at 5:30 AM on his bicycle for coaching classes where he was preparing for his engineering entrance exam. He has been going to the coaching classes from last 2 years and putting in a lot of effort towards his goal. He comes back at 9:00 AM from class and straight away went to his room to complete his assignments. He came out of his room at 1:00 PM and left the house to go to another coaching class which he has joined recently to prepare for the newly proposed (but not surely implemented) “main test” of entrance exam. His classes ended at 5:00 PM and he raced his bicycle to tuition where he was preparing for his board exams. He reached his home at 8:00 PM and entered the drawing room where his father was watching the idiot box. There was a debate on a news channel to discuss on the new pattern of engineering entrance exams which will be implemented in the coming year. The discussion panel which comprised of IIT professors, coaching institute’s faculty and school principals was still confused that which pattern is good and when it should be implemented. Praveen’s father instructed him to go to his study room to prepare for his pre-board exams which will e held next month. He also reminded him that he should also focus on his board exams as it can also play a crucial role in getting selected in a good college if the new pattern is implemented. He left the drawing room and the last voice which he heard of the debate was of Mr.Kapil Sibbal saying that they are planning to bring about the changes” to lower down  the burden of students.”This brought a faint smile on Praveen’s face and he started to study and prepare himself for another grueling day tomorrow.

This is the condition of all the engineering aspirants in the country after our education minister has presented his lame proposal for a common entrance test and in response of which different IITs have been announcing about their own common test. The students are in a dilemma that how to prepare and where to focus. The pattern is still not clear and the exam is just few months away. Mr.Sibbal has not even once thought of the students who will be the one facing the major outcome of this decision, rather he is arguing with IIT management and not putting forward a clear picture so that students should start preparing accordingly. If this remains the situation for the next few months, the pressure on students is going to increase as they will be confused about on what basis are they going to get admissions in colleges. 

Mr.Sibbal has proposed the consideration of board exams and made it a major role playing factor in getting admissions but has not made clear that how the marks of different boards going to be compared. He has also not made it mandatory for the private universities to take part in common entrance test. For sure, the private universities will be going to take their own test as they earn a handsome amount from the sale of their test forms. He is also unable to convince the IITs to be a part of the proposed test pattern. Collectively which creates a situation of pressure cooker in the mind of a student and he is left running from one coaching institute to another aiming to pass the test and get to his dream institution. So the main aim of Mr.Sibbal’s plan which was to close the coaching institute and to force the students to attend schools has bombarded. This plan will be increasing the revenue for coaching classes as more and more students will be attracted towards them to learn the new pattern and they will be skipping more school in order to devote their time at these coaching classes.

At last I just want to say that this decision should be taken as soon as possible so that students prepare for the test with a calm and cool mind. The decision of the students who will be playing a crucial part in the development of country tomorrow should not go wrong just by a foolishness of a minister. The wise and experienced people should come forward and take the decision quickly and remove the dilemma of students.

What can Facebook teach us!!!

After Facebook (Thefacebook as in the 1^st half of the “Social Network”) went public on 17th May,2012 I became more interested in knowing this social networking giant which is on the verge of overtaking the internet. I started my research by going through different articles and after a lot of reading a picture was created in my mind about this company. But the idea was not clear in my mind. It was a kind of a picture puzzle; I knew the solution was in front of me but I had to arrange all the pieces in a proper order to get the solution. And I can say I found a cheat code to the problem in the form of a book-“The Facebook Effect by DAVID KIRKPATRICK”. It was a compelling account of the origins and prospects of the social networking giant. After completing my research on Facebook I drew a conclusion that Facebook is really teaching us “TO LEAD”.

  

Here are my observations on what leadership lessons Facebook can teach us-

#1 KEEP IT SIMPLE-

The CEO, Mark Zuckerberg followed this rule and kept the site as much easy to use as possible. He knew people will be interested in using a social network if they can use it without getting into confusions. There were other networking sites at that time like Friendster, six degrees and there used to be a separate social network for each university. But the problem with them was that they were too much complicated and cluttered, as a result of which they failed to continue. Similarly we try to complicate our lives to such an extent that we are unable to handle even the simplest tasks and end up losing everything. We should learn to simplify our life (Use the simplification-multiply your happiness and divide your sorrows).The real challenges of life will be more easy to face if we don’t mess up with the complications of our daily life.So,keep in mind the first lesson-“KEEP IT SIMPLE,SILY”.

#2 PASSION-

Mark Zuckerberg had a real passion to connect people. He was offered millions of dollars from the big names in Silicon Valley, which was considered as a huge amount for a startup made by a twenty something college dropout. But massive offers were unable to convince Zuckerberg to sell Facebook as he was passionate for connecting people. In his initial years as a Facebook CEO he was interested in making people comfortable to connect rather than generating profit for the firm through advertisement. This is what we should learn from Mark. If we have a passion to do something in life, we must follow it regardless of money or anything else. Because if we follow our passion and achieve our goal the glory and money are bound to follow which is very clear by the stature  of Facebook in today’s market.

“Mark Zuckerberg didn’t build services for money, he made money for services.”

#3 COMMUNICATION-

The most important ingredient for success in professional as well as personal life is communication. Mark Zuckerburg understood this thing very clearly. He improved his communication skills and presentation skills. He has always ensured that what he is trying to convey must reach his audience clearly. Facebook has similarly improved the way we communicate. The best way to solve a problem or end up a dispute in private or public is to communicate effectively. We should work on our communication skills to be successful.

#4 FAIL HARDER-

 Zuckerberg believed that-“you are destined to fail, if you are not making mistakes”. Silicon Valley was a home for successful entrepreneurs who succeeded after making a lot of mistakes. The unique part of the valley was that they had a belief that-“if you don’t fail, it means you are not trying”.Facebook did faced many problems at their initial years but they learnt from it and improvised in their technology. We should keep in mind that failures are stepping stones to success. They are just the path finders to do the things in a right manner.So, we should not be afraid to fail as if we are failing it should remind us that we are more and more closer to our success.

So these are the leadership lessons which Facebook teaches us.

Grow Up Once Again…..

:)

And according to Supreme Court Also-IT’S Oh-GAY!!

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved verdict on a batch of appeals challenging the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalizing sex between two consenting adults (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code).

The point to be discussed here is that why the government is so much interested in getting into the bedroom of people rather than working on issues such as removing corruption, child labor etc. Why are we standing on the same road where we were few years back? The statement given by ASG P.P Malhotra that gay sex is against social order and the Indian society cannot imitate the practices prevailing abroad was insane.We should not forget that religious places in India only like Konark Sun Temple depict gay sex which makes it clear that it has been there from ancient times and is not a virus as told by the people who are against homosexuality.What social disorder are two persons in love creating in the society by expressing their affection towards each other.People have their own choices and can whatever their conscience allows within the ambit of constitution.

Today due to some irresponsible statements given by some of the renowned personalities in public the Indian society is having a wrong perspective in their mind about homosexuality and are treating gay people as untouchables and if we go according to our “Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad” it’s a disease and gay sex is unnatural. As commented by Yogguru Baba Ramdev-“God won’t have created two sex if he was in favor of homosexuality.”

I mean what is wrong with these people? Why are they making such nonsense statements even when they know that they have a large number of audiences listening to them and willing to believe them? They are just spreading ignorance. It’s a choice of a person to whom he loves and with whom he wants to have physical relationship. Why is the government so much interested in invading the privacy of people when there are so many serious other issues at stay in the country. They should just follow the policy of “Live and let live”.

Once the issue has been settled by the Delhi High Court and made it into a law (Section 377 of Indian Penal Code), why are we again and again hammering on the same spot when we all know that the nail once hammered won’t come out with more hammering? So the Indian government should focus on other vital issues or rather they should advise their ministers to make stiff  laws rather than making their private parts stiff by viewing porn in assembly….:P

And at the end it all comes to whether you are a good human being or not. It doesn’t matter that if you are straight or gay!

So just keep smiling and be happy with your loved ones.

Engineering:lessons for life

Getting into an engineering college was my dream when I completed my class 10^th board exams (mind it that till that time I had not faced the horrors of differential calculus or brutal attacks of pulley-wedge problems).Still somewhat like an injured war soldier I reached the end of my 2 years as a science student. Now to become an engineer I needed to crack the entrance exams but on an occasion when my AIEEE rank resembled my cell phone no, this dream was far from true. Still at the end I was able to crack an entrance test and was able to get into a college of some repute. (And all is well that ends well…no in this case it’s starting of the worse)

And here I was sitting in my first engineering class and having an enthusiasm of starting my engineering life and converting myself into a tech genius like Mark Zuckerburg or Larry Page (which lowered down at the end of first semester: P).Two months gone and I was the nowhere being near a Zuckerburg but at least I mastered the art of playing FIFA.The whole enthusiasm was down and I was wondering whether I dreamt it the wrong way!!

 

But after being in an engineering college for over two years I have learnt that whether you learn the concepts of electrical machines or Fourier theorem or not, you will at least get the lessons for life which will help you in your life forever and will always make you remember your ALMA MATER!!!

Here is what you will be learning in an engineering life (and all the 10 pointers, please go away, there’s nothing that will be of your use)-

1. First of all as mentioned by Bill Gates also “you will be learning time management”. Because in an engineering college you will be solving as many maths questions one night before an exam which if you would have solved few years before you would have topped IITJEE.

2. You will be learning multitasking. Engineering students do at least 2-3 tasks at a time. An engineering student will be chatting online to a girl who he wants to woo, at the same time he will be playing CS on the same system and at the same time he will be modifying and then coping an assignment so that the professors are not able to know that he has copied (you see we keep ourselves more busy than Ratan Tata).

3. An engineering students doesn’t get disheartened if he scores an F in his semester exams but he is a failure in life if he is unable to unblock the torrent for American sitcoms. There is no use of his studying the engineering if he is unable to open the proxy setting of the sites banned by the college (Yes boys these are the same sites which you are thinking of: P).So after you pass out from an engineering college, you need not to worry about these blocking and stuff. You become an unofficial hacker!

4. Marking a proxy in a class of a strict professor is tougher than being a Rajnikant (actually Rajnikanth was an engineer before he became Rajnikanth: P).

5. You will be able to go without food at stretches and will be able to live in areas of water scarcity as you will be getting into a habit of going without food and without bathing (and still looking fresh on a date with a girl).

And the list goes on but truly an engineering life does prepare you for the challenges coming ahead in life. It’s not just a four year degree it will be a life changing experience, rather a personality development course in which you will be making friends of your lifetime. You will be astonished to see the change in you after these four years. So make the best use of these years.

So proud to be an engineer!!!

And yes,i dreamt it the right way,so no sorrows. 

Best of luck.

Inspiration-The dabbawala way!!!

Hi friends,I just watched a TED show on "Mumbai Dabbawalas" yesterday and that made me believe that the inspiration can not only come to us from the elite group of personalities such as SRK,J.R.D Tata but also from the everyday sphere of life.

 These unnoticeable group of extra-ordinary performers are working in the tiffin business from 1890(so they may not be "angrezo ke zmaane ke jailer" but they are "angrezo ke zmaane ke tiffin suppliers."They are the one who make it possible for an office going person in Mumbai to leave the home at 5 a.m. and still enjoy the taste of home cooked food at the lunch hour.You can judge their efficiency rate by the fact that their error rate is as low as 1 in 16million transactions.They are the only organization in the world which has received the six sigma certification without any application and it shows their success rate till date.

But why are they doing so?They are not earning hefty packages like software engineers as their monthly income is merely Rs5000-6000.Its all because all the members of the organization are showing the trait of "Leading Without A Title" as described by famous success coach ROBIN SHARMA.They take their job as a responsibility without worrying about the returns which they are receiving.There is no dispute in the organization which is proved as there is No-Strike campaign done by this organization till date.Each and every member of the organization considers himself as the CEO of the organization(and most importantly the CEO of his job) and works for its betterment.Imagine if the same group of people were working in a manufacturing firm,what would have been the position of that firm in today's market.

They inspire us to do the best in the role which we are today rather than waiting for promotions or a higher position in the firm.Because if we are good in the role which we are working today we will be noticed for a higher position automatically.But for getting there we need to focus on the present as someone rightly said-"past is history and future is a mystery" so we can't control both.But what we can control is our present and lay a solid foundation for a successful tomorrow.

I hope you all will now work like these dabbawalas and consider your daily tasks as an action of change in the organization you are linked with by leading without a title.
Best of luck
1 life,Rise and Shine.....:)

the end of beginning or the beginning of end-YOU DECIDE

So I am also a member of the great blogging family now.I decided to start blogging at the new year.Any idea why I didn't wrote it on Jan1....because I wanted to write for my friends and at that time you were more politicians taking oath at the parliament(Hum kasam lete hai ki iss semester mein hum 9pointer bn kr dikhaenge and other crap) rather than the friends I know.Now its the best time.....you know why?Because someone who took the resolution to be healthy must be sleeping till 11am after stuffing himself with chicken burgers last night.Someone who took the resolution to read more will be watching dubbed Hollywood movies and by reading its subtitles patting his back as he thinks he is on the right track.

So I am with my real friends now.Guys tell me whats special about this year apart from being a leap year.YES....its the end of the world and we all are heading towards our end ie 31st Dec 2012.Observe carefully this will be the last January of your life....a bit more carefully,last 18th January of your life.

YES!!If its true then what?Should we start screaming at the top of our voice?No,that won't be of any use.Should we panic or get into useless discussion that whether its true or not and live our last 18th Jan without making it count or should we start doing what we really want.Follow our own heart rather than following others gossip(read rumors-U know next year TCS won't be coming for campus placement.How the hell do they know?Are they J.R.D TATA or what!)These people are what I call panicky chicken sitting in the cage of a chicken shop and shouting "aaj hmari turn hai yaar,aaj to hum gye.OMG!"Leave them on their own .Start planning what you need to do before it all ends as if you do so by the end of this year you will be achieving all your major goals and your life will be changed completely.And if you don't realize it now even if the world doesn't ends in 2012 it will end 1 day for you with all your plans remaining only plans and not realities.By the time you realize,it will be too late.It will be like entering into an examination hall,lifting your pen and time up.Answer sheets snatched.You failed!And you better know that there is know supplementary exam in life with yamraj being the invigilator.

So be bold.You know what you want and how to get it.So just get it.If you wanna be super-fit eat less and workout.If you want a job acquire the right skills.Just keep it simple and straight(not gay).Don't stand in between the racetrack and think whether I should complete the race or go back to the starting line.If you have started it complete it.If you want to do something do it completely or don't do it.Let me explain in the language I know the best.Boys,if you like a girl either impress her and make her your girlfriend or leave her.Don't be in between that something is in between us and i think she likes me crap.Don't be in frustrated one sided lovaluv association(FOSLA).You are no JOEY TRIBBIANI of FRIENDS that you will say"Hey,How u doin" and the girl will faint(Beleive me it doesn't work.I tried it and 1 girl said get lost and the other 1 slapped me but still its also a progress from words to touch)You need to do a bit more.

Think of what you want and commit to it whether its money,success,girl anything.AIM BIG.Aim what other define impossible(they say so because they are not able to see the opportunities which you can see). As one of my favourite teacher says-"1 Life,Rise and Shine."

BEST OF LUCK.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MAKE IT REALY NEW....:)
REMEMBER 31st DEC 2012 IS APPROACHING.....:P