Tuesdays with Morrie

Teachers share a very special place in my life. Every teacher I have known has been able to create a profound impact in my life. However there is one teacher whom I have not met, whose class I have not attended, but who still has made the greatest impact of them all in my life – Professor Morrie Schwartz. It is novelist Mitch Albom who introduced me to the world of Morrie through his book Tuesdays with Morrie.

The book is a deeply moving and touching account of the relationship between Mitch and his favorite teacher Morrie. This real life story talks about how Morrie explains to Mitch the greatest lessons in life even as he is battling a terminal illness.

The story begins at a graduation ceremony at Brandeis University, Massachusetts where Morrie teaches Social Psychology. Mitch Albom was graduating from college. Mitch promises his favorite professor Morrie that he will stay in touch even after leaving the University. But Mitch does not keep his promise. He gets so entwined with his promising career as a sports columnist that he totally loses touch with his teacher. It was not until Mitch came to know that his teacher was dying that he realized that he had been so wrong. Mitch visits Morrie soon after he hears about his illness. Little did Mitch know that it was just the beginning of a series of visits that were to change his life forever.

Mitch Albom presents his readers with the profound wisdom imparted to him by Morrie during his last days through Tuesdays with Morrie. The book beautifully captures the conversations that Morrie has with Mitch about the simple things that make life worth living. Morrie talks about life, death, family, money, forgiveness and he talks about it all from his experience. 

Tuesdays with Morrie is full of memorable, heart-warming moments that often leave the reader teary-eyed. The graduation ceremony where Morrie says “Mitch, you are one of the good ones”, the living funeral that Morrie’s dear ones organize for him, and the visit when Morrie talks about forgiveness are the most memorable and stay etched in most readers’ minds. Equally memorable is the quote "Love each other or die" that Morrie often quotes.

The author says ‘We all need teachers in our lives’. For the author it was Morrie. Mitch like most of the people whom he knew was in search of the meaning of life; he wanted clarity about what was important in life. Morrie gave him that clarity. Like Mitch most of us are in need of someone to guide us, to show us the right direction in life. We can find that mentor, that teacher in Professor Morrie Schwartz of Tuesdays with Morrie. 

The book was a New York Times best seller and won the author Mitch Albom great critical acclaim. It was also made into an award-winning TV movie. 

Tuesdays with Morrie lets the reader into the final class of the angelic teacher that was Morrie – A class on life. The teacher is waiting, are you ready to enroll in this class of a lifetime?  

Utsav 2011

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

Utsav 2011

During my school days, I always thought of extra-curricular activities as a means to stay away from class without losing your attendance. During my engineering college days, even an excuse like that was not needed to bunk class as we hardly had any class and attendance (read ‘proxy’) was not a concern at all (Studying in a government engineering college had its own advantages!).  I always used to find some excuse to stay away from all these activities during my school and engineering college days. It is only when I started working that I realized that I had made a mistake by letting go of the many opportunities that I had to take part in such activities. When I joined ASB, I was determined that I would never make that mistake again. 

The first major event that happened in our college was ‘Utsav’ – our annual college arts and sports festival where the students are divided into four houses and the house with the maximum points walks away with the coveted ‘Utsav trophy’. The theme for ‘Utsav 2011’ was ‘Royal fiesta’ though it was more like a ‘Royal battle’ towards the end, with the houses battling it out for the trophy. 

I had made up my mind that I would participate only for those competitions that I was good at. But fate had some other plans for me. I was elected as one of the two captains of my house and there was an unwritten rule in ‘Utsav’ that if an event did not have any participants from a house, the captain had to take part in it, whether you were good at it or not. And that is how I ended up doing things that I would never have imagined doing, not even in my wildest dreams. Dancing on stage, playing table tennis, singing on stage with a karaoke, poetry writing – I did it all. One of the best things about ‘Utsav’ is that it did not matter whether you were good or bad, whether you won or lost; the only thing that mattered was whether you at least tried. 

‘Utsav’ was a very taxing time for both students as well as faculty; students trying hard to juggle academics and events, and teachers complaining that studies take a back seat during it. With events happening early in the morning, evening and late in the night, many of us spent sleepless nights during those days. I remember, I once fell asleep during Achath Sir’s statistics class during ‘Utsav’ time. 

In the end ‘Utsav’ was not just about fun and games, it was a great learning experience for most of us. I learnt my first lessons in Human Resource management during ‘Utsav’. I realized that managing people was not an easy job after all. ‘Utsav’ also taught me a great deal about team work and negotiation too. I remember our professor Shri Krishnan Sir say that events like ‘Utsav’ are not “extra-curricular”, they are in fact very much a part of the curriculum. Some of the best managerial lessons we learnt were during these events. 

Today as I sit in my office engrossed in work, I occasionally think about those days spent in Ettimadai especially the ‘Utsav’ days.  True to its name ‘Utsav’ was a celebration that gave us some of the most memorable moments of our college life. I have no regrets now as I made up for all that I could not do in my school and engineering college in ASB. Life does give you a second chance, sometimes.

And then the ice breaks

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

And then the ice breaks

The classes had begun and we were in the middle of a gamut of assignments, when our seniors returned to the college after a two month long summer internship. The very first time we all got together was during a colloquia session in SKH. Most of them came across as very reserved and serious. “All of them have loads of attitude”, “Not even one person is smiling at us”, we were very quick to judge our seniors and make comments about them. However that was how we felt about them before the Fresher’s Day – a day much awaited by the seniors (and much dreaded by the juniors).

Like most of the important events in ASB, this one too was held in SKH. The serious faces and reservations were long gone; the seniors we saw on that day in SKH were a total contrast to what we had imagined them to be. They were all smiles and friendly to us, the reason for which became evident only after the event started. Yes, it was an official ragging session, but in a fun way. We were made to do all sort of crazy things – from doing a ramp walk in a saree to mimicking animal sounds to proposing seniors, we did it all.

On that day we also came to know that our batch had a lot of good dancers and singers too. I can never forget Dimple dancing to “Munni badnam hui” (it almost became synonymous with Dimple after that dance) or Vaisakh and Bipin singing. We also realized that day that, ultimately it did not matter whether you knew how to dance or sing, what mattered was the confidence to do whatever the situation demanded, without any fear or inhibition.

The day was meant to be an ice-breaker between the seniors and juniors, and an ice-breaker it was. Very soon we all became good friends. In the days following the fresher’s day party, we had the selection rounds for the various forums in our college. It felt like an extended ragging session by the seniors, but we enjoyed it, and so did our seniors.

That was the beginning of a very colorful period of our college life. I felt that the fresher’s party was crazy, little did I know that more craziness and madness was to follow, as the biggest sports and  cultural extravaganza of ASB – ‘Utsav’ was about to begin soon. I belonged to the category of students who believed that college life was all about studies and immersing oneself in textbooks. My friends from my engineering college days would vouch for it. Well, all of that was about to change, very soon.

My first hero

They say that a child’s first hero is its father. I cannot agree more to that. As a child I had always idolized my father. I always tried to do things the way he did, especially the way he wrote. He had a habit of keeping a diary and I used to read it often. His handwriting was something that I had always admired. After many efforts of trying to write the way he did, I must say I came close. I used to get really excited when my mother used to say that my handwriting resembles his.

To me, my father is an epitome of honesty and sincerity. I always try to be as dedicated to my work, as my father was to his. Being the typical Capricorn that he is, everything he does has a touch of perfection. I like his perfectionism and obsession with orderliness. I guess it is because I myself am a Capricorn and to an extent share many of his personality traits, including his perfectionism. I sometimes feel that my mother deserves special appreciation for tolerating two Capricorns like us at the same time!

Simple, humble, kind and loveable, my father is my hero; he has always been and will always be. I continue to idolize him the way I used to when I was a child and every time someone tells me that I am just like my father, I feel proud and in my mind thank God for it. Today morning I wished my father saying “Happy Father’s day, Accha” and in my mind I said “Thank you Dad. I am what I am today because of you. I love you.”

Class Room 1 (CR1)

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

Class Room 1 (CR1) 

It had been three years since I last entered a class room. I felt like it had been ages since I left my engineering college. I was thrilled at the prospect of being a college student after a long time, but I was nervous too. When I joined Wipro after completing my graduation, I remember we had a training called ‘College to Corporate’. It was to help fresh college graduates get accustomed to the corporate culture at Wipro. During the initial days at Ettimadai, I felt like I very badly needed a ‘Corporate to College’ training to get back to being a student again.

I realized very early on that the transition from Corporate to College life was not going to be as easy as I thought it was. Long working hours, conference calls, deliverables, appraisals, work pressure, and deadlines – Corporate work was too taxing. The atmosphere in Ettimadai was entirely different. It was calm and peaceful. All was well until the classes began.

Firstly, I was struggling to stay awake in the class, especially during the first session in the morning. Many a time, I even dozed off in the class during the Morning Prayer before the first session! After the initial struggle however, I found a way around it. The solution was none other than the most popular item served in the ASB canteen – ‘Tea’. Never before in my life had I enjoyed and appreciated tea as much as I did during the two years that I was at Ettimadai.

That problem was far from solved, when I met my arch nemesis – ‘Financial Accounting’ (FA). Now that is one subject that still sends shivers down my spine each time I think about it. Finance was never (and I guess will never be) my favorite subject. My first encounter with finance did not go very well. Despite the efforts put in by our Financial Accounting Professor and my ‘finance nerd’ friends , I was struggling to make sense out of the finance concepts I was being taught. The mid-term exam for FA was a disaster; the end-term was even worse!

While FA was dreaded by most of us, there was one subject that almost all of us liked – ‘Micro Economics’ taken by Bala Sir. That was one session which all of us looked forward to. One can never forget Bala Sir’s inimitable style of saying ‘’People are rational’’ and also the various ET reading sessions in Sir’s class. I totally disliked reading ET back then, however I developed a liking for ET towards the end of the course.   

And that’s how classes began in ‘CR1’ (short for ‘Class Room 1’), a little bit of struggle in the beginning, but all went well afterwards. CR1 was our class room for the entire first year at Ettimadai. Though the initial days in CR1 were terrifying, thanks to FA, I have very fond memories of the time that I spent in CR1. Lots of learning, lots of discussions, lots of presentations, and not to forget, lots of exams happened in CR1. How I wish I could just go back in time and sit on one of those benches in CR1 and listen to those lectures once again!

Unity in diversity

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

Unity in diversity

I had always found new places very daunting. I used to dread the very thought of travelling to a new place. However my experience in Ettimadai was different. For the first time in my life, I was totally devoid of the anxiety and fear of being in a new place. I really felt at home there. It was very unlike me. I guess it was the first of the many changes that happened to me during the two years that I spent at Ettimadai.  

The first day in college was very special. I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. We were the sixteenth batch of students of the institution. The college was bustling with new students and their parents. I could see anxious faces everywhere – anxious students and their even more anxious parents. I was trying to look for a familiar face in the crowd, but to my disappointment could not find any.

The inauguration of our batch was to take place in the college auditorium called Sree Krishna Hall. We at ASB call it the ‘SKH’. It has a very special place in every ASBian’s life. From the inaugural ceremony to the convocation ceremony, SKH is the place where all the important events in ASB happen. All ASBians have very fond memories associated with SKH. For me, one of the fondest memories would undoubtedly be that of the inauguration day. The function began with a prayer. It was followed by a series of speeches by the dignitaries at the function. We were addressed by our then Dean Dr. Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, an MIT scholar, whom we fondly used to call “GK”. His presence totally changed the atmosphere in SKH from serious to lively. He came down from the dais and shook hands with the students and greeted everyone saying “How are you my friend?”. He occasionally cracked some jokes and won over the audience. We were also taken by surprise when he recited a sloka in Sanskrit!

It was a day of speeches, but there was never a dull moment. Every professor, every guest who addressed us that day shared with us very valuable lessons from the wisdom that came from years of experience in their domain. They were all stalwarts in their fields. Our professors have great pedigree – IIM, XLRI, JNU, Berkeley, Texas and other top notch institutions. What surprised me the most was the humbleness and simplicity of these great minds. I considered myself fortunate to have got an opportunity to interact with them.

It was on that day that we came to know that our batch comprised of students from U.P, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi, A.P, Tamilnadu and Kerala. There were students like me who had worked prior to joining the college and then there were also students who were fresh out of college. We were a batch of students from different regions of our nation, with varied educational backgrounds, and belonging to different age groups. But we were all united by the purpose that had brought each of us to Ettimadai – to learn. As the inauguration ceremony came to a close the conversations among the students started. We started talking to each other and the differences just seemed to melt away.

Two years later as I write this, many of the people whom I had met for the first time that day are now my best friends. They were total strangers to me two years back and now they are an inseparable part of my life. We have stood by each other through thick and thin in the last two years. The first day in college not only marked a new phase in our lives, but also the beginning of many a friendship. Together we began the journey towards our goal and what a journey it has been!

The train journey: Where it all started

The journey to Planet-E and back: A walk down memory lane

A series of blogs about my alma mater - Amrita School of Business(ASB) located in the beautiful village of Ettimadai which we Amritians fondly call ‘Planet-E’ and the happenings in the eventful two years of my life there. Dedicated to all Amritians.

The train journey: Where it all started

The very first memory that I have about my college is that of a view from the compartment window of the train that I was travelling in – the train that was to take me to a place that would be my home for the next two years of my life. Little did I know back then that very soon that place was to become as dear to me, if not more dear to me, as my own home.

It was two years back. I was one of the fortunate applicants to have got an admission to the MBA programme at my college. I packed my bags and set out on the journey from Cochin to Coimbatore in the Ernakulam-Bangalore City Intercity Express. I was told by one of the ladies whom I met in the train, that one can get a glimpse of the campus from the train.  I kept my eyes glued to the window after the train crossed Palakkad trying to find signs that we were nearing the campus. What was I feeling at that time – anxiety, excitement, happiness or was it a mixed bag of all those emotions? At one point of my career as a Project Engineer with Wipro Technologies, I had almost given up on my dream to do my higher studies. However I overcame all odds and there I was sitting in that train enroute to my college to fulfill my long cherished dream of pursuing my higher studies. 

I was engrossed in thoughts about the course, the faculty, the students and all that I had heard about the campus, when the lady sitting next to me spoke to me. “Over there. Do you see that? That is the Amrita campus", she said pointing her hand to the window. I could see through the window, a cluster of pink colored buildings amidst a lot of greenery at the foot of a majestic hill. I couldn’t help but notice the uncanny resemblance of the hill to an elephant. As the train went pass the campus, I kept looking at the campus and wondered “Wow! Is this place for real?". I had often heard people using  the phrase "In the lap of nature" to describe places; I got a sense of what it meant when I saw the campus. The campus was bounded by the breathtakingly beautiful Western Ghats. I still cannot forget the way I felt when I saw Planet-E for the first time. It had me from the very first moment I saw it.

It was the first of the many train journeys I was to make to Planet-E. Train journeys were an integral part of my life at Planet-E. Nothing beats the excitement of the first journey, but I still experience the same kind of awe and wonder every time I visit Planet-E. There is also a strange sense of happiness and calmness I feel when I am at Ettimadai. I guess it is the same feeling we get when we know we are home.