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Here is the first issue of GliMPse for the year 2011-2012. GliMPse was conceptualized as a

newsletter by the batch of 2010-11 to capture the essence of life at XLRI GMP variety,

experience and some spice!! We are trying to sustain and uphold that enthusiasm, make it a

tradition and also create new ones during our time here.

This newsletter is an attempt to tell stories that are relevant, present a compelling and honest

description of this important phase of our life here establish a connect with the faculty and

alumni and in the process strengthen the GMP brand. We have tried to package distinct andperiodic types of information - such as GMP News/Events, faculty and alumni interviews,

smaller stories about areas of special interest, such as sports, batch accomplishments and

other developments.

We also have some viewpoints/special-interest articles on entrepreneurship in the fields of agri-

culture, cloud computing and breathing as a potent tool that any living being possesses.

Whats new this time: We have a section with special focus on GMP Alumni containing infor-

mation on alumni profiles and activities. This edition has an interview of Girish Hukkeri (Class

of 2006), an entrepreneur and founder of embryoFund, the enabling ecosystem for early-stage

entrepreneurs. We encourage our alumni to contribute to this section, to renew and reinforce

their association to their alma mater, the GMP brand and the current batch of students.

Overall we have made every effort to represent and capture the great diversity of interest,

opinion and background inherent in the current batch and among GMP Alumni. There is no big

theory, it does not say anything profound, just a simple and concise look at what we felt really

matters in our lives and times here - but we do hope that it leaves an imprint and you find it as

a refreshing change from the usual business school case studies and the course reference ma-

terials.

We hope you enjoy this edition of GliMPse! And do drop in a line or two at glimpse@xlri.ac.in

to let us know what you think!

From the Committees desk...I N S I D E T H I SI S S U E :XLRI Leadership

Series

2

Diary of a GMPian 3

Diversity and

Medicos

5

Beyond the

Classroom

7

XLens Photog-

raphy Contest

9

Village Trip 10

Agripreneurs 12

Alumni Interview 14

Adventure Trips

and Team Building

16

Cloud Computing 18

Breathe 20

Rendezvous with

Reality

21

Whats up at GMP? 23

1 5 S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 1V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 1

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T :

The XLRI GMP Newsletter

Diary of GMPian XLens Photography Cloud Computing Event SnippetsThe Magazine Committee

Aditya Jha, Ankana Mehra, Deepak Khandelwal, Hrishikesh C, Ipshita Ghosh, Kaustuv Dasgupta, Rajeev Shahi,

Shreya Kohojkar, Vinay Mudgil, Vipul Patki

G l iMPse

mailto:glimpse@xlri.ac.inmailto:glimpse@xlri.ac.inmailto:glimpse@xlri.ac.in

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What is the mantra of success for any manager?

More than anything else its their can do

approach and readiness to learn which pave the

way for higher accomplishments. This was the

message echoed by Mr. Saumen Chakraborty,

President & Global Head of Quality, HR & IT,

Dr. Reddy's, during his visit to the campus on 7 th

August.

Mr. Chakraborty was the

Inaugural speaker of the "XLRI

Leadership Series", an initiative

of the GMP batch of 2012

where eminent industry experts

share their professional life

journeys and insights into the

industry with the students. As

can be imagined, the session

was highly rewarding as the

students were able to relate the

management concepts learnt in

class with real-life implementa-

tions of those concepts.

An IIM-A alumnus, Mr. Chakraborty has over 23

years of experience in both strategic and

operational aspects of management: as a

management consultant, line manager and as anHR facilitator. In his illustrious career, he has also

donned diverse roles in portfolios such as

Finance, Operations including manufacturing,

sourcing and customer service, TQM, IT,

Corporate Communications, Strategic planning

and executed projects in various assignments

spanning across CMC, C-DOT, Eicher, Tecumseh

and now Dr. Reddys.

Mr. Chakraborty talked at length about

Dr. Reddys and its transformation into a global

organization. He spoke about Dr. Reddys

inspiring yet unassuming leadership style and,

taking a leaf out of his own experiences,

enlightened the students on some important

aspects of leadership:

Being humble and honest. Listening and taking

cues and willingness to learn even from your

subordinates

Awareness of yourself and your strengths and the

ability to leverage them

Being open to experiments and the capability to

smell opportunities

Everyone has tremendous inherent potential and

performance is not directly influenced

only by potential. Potential is inhibit-

ed by external factors in cases and a

leader has to identify those and

alleviate the influence of those factors

Understand what creates value forthe organization, one of the key

contributors to performance and

growth

Leadership or the lack of it can be a

constraint to opportunity growth

He discussed at length about the

impact robust and clear processes can have on

organizational growth and how adherence to safety,

quality and efficiency leads to flawless delivery and

brand building. He also emphasized on the increas-

ing cross functional nature of a managers job and

asked students to develop leadership qualities to be

prepared for challenging roles.

Appreciating the diversity of GMP students hailing

from diverse sectors such as Media, Healthcare,

Energy, Manufacturing, IT, FMCG, HR, Mining,

Finance, Textiles et al, Mr Chakraborty urged all to

make the most of the curriculum and the peer-

learning.

The captivated audience listened in rapt attention

and expressed their gratitude to Mr. Chakraborty for

being a source of inspiration. It is but human nature

to warm to somebody with whom we can relate, and

there was as much food for thought for all of us af-

ter the address as there was admiration for the

man.

XLRI Leadership Series - Saumen

Chakraborty

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June 9: At last reached XLRI! Dr. Prashant

Karajgi, a fellow GMPian and I had chatted almost

non-stop from Kolkata airport to our destination.CorrectionI chatted, while he listened; very

much like that unfortunate blighter trapped by the

gaze of the Ancient Mariner. I must admit, the

medical profession trains its sons well. He was

courteous enough to give me company even in

the campus. A less gallant person would have

avoided me at the earliest opportunity.

I see a lot of familiar

faces who already happen

to be friends on facebook.

The usual hey-there-nice-to-see-you- in-person,

Sor ry-what-was-your -

name-again and WHAT-

you-too-from-TCS stuff. I

get a mild shock to see

Amit Raj Singh, however.

I mean, if you are friends

with Royal Enfield for two months and suddenly

see a perfectly normal person introducing himself

as Royal Enfield, you are entitled to stare at him

incredulously for a few seconds. But a pleasant

cove he turns out to be. Prasanna, the spammerextraordinaireof our facebook group, too seems a

lot different from his facebook profile and a lot

older. I get a feedback from the junta that my

profile picture and my actual face are also vastly

different, so I guess that makes us even.

June 10: Breakfast at Fr Enright mess. Another

round of hey-there-nice-to-see-you-in-person,

Sorry-what-was-your-name-again and What-you-

too-from-TCS? stuff. First visit to Bistupur. We get

our sim cards a plain vanilla prepaid card for

me. But whats with the rickshaw wallahs? Crazy

charges!

I am beginning to suspect that Nitin Rai has been

making secret visits to XLRI for the past ten

years. He seems to know everything about XLRI. I

would peg the odds at 100:7 that he can walk

blindfolded from the Admin building to our hostel. I

wont be surprised if he is elected as the CR of our

batch.

Tomorrow is an important day. In fact, a very im-

portant day. I have been worrying myself half to

death over the contents of this orientation course.

Did I make a mistake in not learning basic statistics

or accounting while I was throwing parties the en-

tire month of May? Oh yes, Ive made acquaintance

with a few pretty faces which always grace any

batch of any B-school.

June 11: The College looks

almost deserted until I

learn that BM and PMIRstudents are enjoying their

break. Probably the hardest

thing over the next few

days would be remember-

ing the names of 119

students. During the lunch,

I sheepishly ask the names

of my fellow GMPians for the third time. Lectures

from 9 AM to 9 PM, but the two lectures by Prof.

Sengupta literally took my breath away; partly out

of laughter and partly due to the gasps I let out of

sheer wonder at his brilliant way of teaching. I take

a look at the next days schedule and after sev-

eral re-looks, headshakes and an arm sore from

pinches, the reality sinks in: The day will begin at 7

AM with Yoga classes, and of course, end at 9 PM.

June 14: Batches have been formed. I am in batch

B. Its a throwback to my school days where roll

numbers were based on first names. Its been a

hectic day. The new academic year would be

inaugurated tomorrow and I must sleep now. By

the way, five doctors this year in our batch. Can I

afford to fall ill and get treated free of cost?

June 15: Prof. Pranabesh Ray inaugurated the new

academic year. Verses from The Gita, The Quran,

and the Bible were quoted during the ceremony.

Fr McGrath, at 90, still retains his charm and

Diary of a GMPianVipul Patki

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humor. We (GMPians) realize we are the only

ones in formals.

June 16: Fr Jesurajan seems to know everything

about everything. He even knows Russian. With

each Managerial Communications (MCN) lecture, I

am wondering more and more how my woeful

communication was tolerated by my company.

Then I think about my boss and his I-hope-we-are

-in-sink communication and I dont feel so bad.

His boss in turn was even more abysmal. Its a

lucky day for me that I am finding time for my

diary entries, and I feel such days may be num-

bered. We are going to a place called Patamda

near Jamshedpur for a three-day visit to an NGO

working there.

June 19: Excellent, if a bit sobering, visit to

Patamda. Food served was superb. I got to knowat least 14 batch-mates better in these three

days. No internet. I never knew staying away

from the digital world would be such fun!

June 21: On an average, five corporate myths of

mine are being busted every MCN lecture by Fr

Jesurajan. Some of my friends have reported an

even greater number. At this rate, we might as

well apply to companies as fresh graduates, albeit

smarter graduates. Making summer while the hay

shines. I am enjoying a rare luxury today: free

time.June 23: Back from the adventure trip. Wow!!!

Rappelling, rock-climbing, river-rafting and much

more, all in three days. I started back as I saw

myself in the mirror for the first time in three

days. I am tanned by several degrees. Thank God,

my parents arent here. But whos complaining??

It was a revelation of sorts that great sleep with-

out a fan on a humid night is possible.

June 30: A few unfortunate ones among us had to

give a speech in the MCN lecture. Gussie Fink-

Nottle would have been proud of some of them.Worse, Father let them know in the class itself

what exactly he thought about the speeches

and what he thought certainly wasnt nice. I guess

it was only his shock and disbelief at our

performance that stopped him from berating us

further. I have an appointment with God tomorrow

to thank him for keeping me out of this exercise.

He deserves a treat. Rs. 51 seems to be a goodamount. The lark is on the wing, the snail is on the

thorn, the God is in his heaven and all is well with

this world

July 14: I see the cruel joke Cosmos has played.

Two weeks of break from the diary-entry-ing rou-

tine and what am I writing? Essentially the oppo-

site of the June 30 entry. Is there anything going

right in this world?? M/S Pain Begins Ltd and M/S

Pain Escalates Ltd. Aargh!! Yes, these were the

names of firms in our MANAC test today.

July 17: Life is currently one interminable series ofquizzes and assignments.

July 20: Dear Diary, it pains me to write this but I

feared for this day ever since I got the offer letter

from XLRI. I am tired of this hide-and-seek game

between the two of us. Every night, I come home,

get an alert on the laptop about the diary entry and

almost daily, I cancel it even as I cast an almost

furtive glance at you. It doesnt help that you are a

dull gray in color. It only adds to the poignancy of

the situation. May be youll feel better if you know

that what spiritual agony I am myself going

through. Its not just the lack of sleep that burnsme I am too strong for that. Whats killing me is

the fact that I am too busy to appreciate the crowd

as I trudge back from Daddus to my lecture hall,

wondering instead whether we would have a sur-

prise quiz in MHB. If there exists a more painful

opportunity loss, I am not aware of it. Just last

night, I dreamt that I have been suddenly asked by

Fr Jesurajan in the class to introduce myself and I

am unable to let out anything more than a few

gurgles and gulps, more like a frog clearing his

sore throat. I suspect this is going to be my last

diary entry in XLRI. I hope that someday a tear or

two would probably bedew this page as readers are

moved by the pathos contained in it.

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Dynamic markets demand that its frontrun-ners possess a sound knowledge of various

subjects ranging from operations research,

strategic management, management

accounting, and to sustainable development.

But is this theoretical knowledge enough?

The same management concepts could be

applied differently to the workings of each

industry sector, and actually provide a

platform for lateral thinking and innovation.

Doesnt this give us enough reasons to reject

the dogmatic views on who and why one

needs management education?

An enlightening glimpse of the multifarious

General Management Program (GMP) 2011-

12 batch at XLRI revealed the importance

attributed to business management

education across different industries. XLRIs

admissions philosophy is also based on

attaining a right mix of students belonging to

diverse industries, which in turn provides first

-hand learning through peer-to-peerinformation exchange.

The current GMP batch comprises students

from close to 13 different industries and

provides the perfect combination of

management education through pedagogy

and experiential learning. The

eclectic mix consists of students whobring along core domain knowledge from

different industries such as Media,

Medical & Healthcare, Energy, Manufac-

turing, Information Technology, FMCG,

Human Resources, Business Consulting,

Telecommunication, Steel, Mining, Appar-

els, Banking, Textiles & Fashion. Yes,

thats what the current GMP batch is

made up of!

A closer look at the relevance of

management education to the healthcare

industry uncovers some of the incentives

that attract doctors to management

schools.

India has seen a tremendous growth in

the healthcare industry, mainly through

privatization fuelled by the deficiencies in

the public health delivery system of India.

The advent of corporate hospitals was a

result of the change in the orientation of

the industry from welfare to business,

supported by the various policy level

initiatives made by the government.

Consequently, and rightly so, the need for

business management burgeoned

amongst the practitioners of medical

profession.

As the healthcare industry corporatizes,

we will continue to observe doctors

transitioning from specialized medicos into

senior executives sensitive to thespecificities of the corporate world. Be it

managing people, building strategies,

analyzing financials or marketing a

service, doctors would be able to take

critical corporate decisions without

depending on external agents.

Diversity and Medicos...Ankana Mehra

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Though, as compared to the west, we are

witnessing a slow emergence of this

requirement in India, the interest is quite

evident with doctors comprising approxi-

mately 4% of total GMP batch strength.

One of the interesting profiles is that of Dr.

Vinod, enrolled for the GMP at XLRI.

Backed with 10 years of substantial

work experience, Dr.Vinod joined

GMP to gain insights into the

business workings of corporates,

with a focus on rural health-care,

medical marketing, and medical

products. After completion of the

program, he plans to pick up criticalhealthcare projects, and eventually

start-up his own healthcare business firm.

In his own words, he deemed the importance

of a management degree as fulfilling the

requirement of doctors with expertise in

marketing, clinical research, administration &

management of time bound health care

projects. He said medical profession has

slowly metamorphosed itself to be called as

health care industry. There is a huge require-

ment of creating a talent pool for this rapid

growth in the health care sector. On a

lighter note, he said its been a gruelling

journey fighting the not-so-common medical

subjects, starting from GMAT to hard core

statistics and management accounting.

Dr.Vinod secured his MBBS from MKCG

Medical College after which he went on to

pursue post graduate diploma in Human

Rights under Indian Institute of Human

Rights, for which he received Global Human

rights protection award in 2008. He also

holds a Fellowship (FCGP) with General

Practitioners under Indian Medical Associa-

tion and Professional Diploma in Clinical trials

from Catalyst Clinical Services. He worked

for Marketing & Sustainable rural health/

medical projects for Philips Electronics

India Limited for 3 years, and led a

project for innovative spectacles for the

base of the pyramid children, with the

objective to cut down the huge refractive

error problems in developing nations such

as India, Latin America and Africa

(www.u-specs.org).

While its challenging to resonate

with the intricacies of business

education and relate those to the

mechanics of a human body,

doctors view business education as

a platform to broaden their

perspective and to leverage their

soft-skills. Doctors at GMP have not only

managed but have shown their mettle in

areas left undiscovered earlier. Kudos

docs!

Your backbone has deteriorated.

how long have you been a manager?

To self:Gosh, what am I getting into!

Dr Vinod

GMP 2011-12

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Much has been written and said about how

MBA programmes are steeped in diversity when

it comes to selecting the right blend of students

from different walks of life manufacturing,

healthcare, IT, marketing services, commerce,

nuclear engineers and so on and so

forth. It is not often that a Business

School can boast of diversity within

its staff of faculty members.

Dr (Prof.) Tata L. Raghu Ram

teaches Environmental and NaturalResources management at XLRI

and also facilitates a core course on

Introduction to Sustainable Devel-

opment and Corporate Sustainability for the

executive GMP programme. His passion for the

cause is admirable and stands out in his clas-

ses, which in themselves are innovative in their

pedagogy. Besides what we see of him on

campus, Prof. Raghu Ram has quite an impres-

sive resume and accomplishments to boot.

Masters degree in Limnology and PhD in

biodiversity impact assessment

16 years of academics with The Wildlife

Institute of India, Dehra Dun, Indira

Gandhi Institute of Development and

Research Mumbai and IIM Calcutta

National Project Coordinator of Protected

Area Network Cell at the Wildlife Institute

of India (1994-1995)

Fulbright Environment Leadership Fellow at

Kennedy School of Government, Harvard

University

Co-editor of Reconciling Environment and

Economics (IGIDR, Mumbai 2003) and edi-

tor of Uttar Pradesh Environment

Monitor-2003 (World Bank, New Delhi

2004)

Currently, also a consultant to the Min-

istry of Environment and For-

ests, Government of India

The GliMPse team caught up

with Prof. Raghu Ram and got

in touch with his personal

side. We present excerptsfrom the interview:

On what caused him to go

off the beaten track

Limnology is taught at only one university in

India i.e. Bhopal University. After completing

my BSC, I came to know about this from my

uncle. I found this subject interesting and

hence took it up.

On life in the water

Since childhood I have a fondness for water

and associated life. I like water-

sports.mainly enjoy watching them!

If not a teacher at XLRI

I would have been a sportsperson. Since

childhood I have been very fond of cricket.

My favorite cricketers are VVS Laxman,

Rahul Dravid, G Vishwanath and Mohammad

Azharuddin.

On hobbies and other interests

Nowadays I play Badminton. Other hobbies

are bird-watching and photography.

Beyond the Classroom..

A teteA teteA tete---aaa---tete with Prof Tatatete with Prof Tatatete with Prof Tata

L. Raghu RamL. Raghu RamL. Raghu Ram

Page 7

Ipshita Ghosh

Shreya Kohojkar

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Given a choice to watch Wimbledon final

& Cricket world cup final?

If India is playing then I would definitely watch

Cricket world cupotherwise I will go for Wim-

bledon.

Are you a mountain person or a beach

person?

I am a mountain person anytime.

Best vacation spot till date

Himalayas.

On being environmentally conscious in

day to day life

I try to reduce my carbon footprint as much as

possible.

On the usage of air-conditioner when the

temperature is soaring

I will first explore the other options such as

taking bath. I try to use fan as much as possi-

ble instead of continuously using a/c. I use A/C

sparingly - may be for an hour or two - thenwhen room is cool I switch it off

Are you a day person

or a night person?

I am a day person.

Given a choice would

you like to set up clas-

ses at 8 in the morn-

ing?

Yes definitely. Thats

when the mind is fresh-

est.

On music and movies

I like Carnatic music. I tried to (learn). After

two months my teacher asked me to leave!

Once in a while I do watch movies. I enjoy

intelligent as well as light-hearted movies.

Words of advice for the GMPians

Follow your passion.

Prof. Raghu Ram is also the faculty judge for our XLens Photography Contest and

helped the GliMPse team evaluate the photographs on the basis of visual impact

and portrayal of the ethos of XLRI.

The camera can photograph thought and mind- Prof. Raghu Ram is an avid photographer and we are featur-

ing a few of his pictures that capture his passions -nature, birds and plants.

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XLens Photography Contest

Bodhi Tree | Live andExclusive

Since years, its bringingpeople together, soothingtheir agony of abysmalgrades, sharing their angstof fallen romances and atthe same time, celebratingtheir exceptional talents!It has given us hymns torelate to every occasion,to look back and relive

every moment! XLRI givesyou Bodhi Tree!

The MelancholyBench

Once you were that newborn child, in distant far

Now you are a GMPian ,eyes ajar ;

Soon, you spread yourmighty wings and off u

take,

I remain ever rooted herefriend and wish : plowahead ,yet lets meet at

soonest break

Rays of Wisdom & Hope

The photo captures the true spirit

of the XL er, who doesnt hesitate

to burn the midnight oil in pursuit

of the gleam of dawn which is

filled with a bright future. The girl

is engrossed in the wealth of

knowledge. The boy is being

insightful and basking in the rays

of knowledge. Both of them are

awaiting a well deserved and a

promising future.

We invited students, faculty and alumni to dig into their memories ofthe times spent @ XL and share with us pictures that captured theethos of XLRI . Here we present you the winning entries for the XLensPhotography contest.

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Some of us from the General Management

Program actually presumed that the Rural

Exposure Program at XLRI, would be a re-

laxed affair with plenty of time to catch up

on our overdue rest and sleep. Little did we

know that our minds and hearts, hardened

by the hustle and bustle of a life in the city

and in the corporate world, would undergo

such a profound transformation.

A mind blowing metamorphosis!

Every year, XLRI together with NGOs func-tioning in the

villages of Jhar-

khand arranges

for batches of

students to be

sent to different

villages, accom-

panied and guid-

ed by rural de-

velopment socie-

ties. The objec-tive of this pro-

gram is to expose us

to a lifestyle that very

few of us have wit-

nessed firsthand. We get to see the coopera-

tive functioning of a village, the hardships

and struggles faced by the residents, the

aspirations of the next generation within the

village and the ideas supplied by an enter-

prising few.

On a damp Friday morning, 15 of us left for

the Tagore Society of Rural Development

located at Patamda, East Singhbhum district.

The village was originally a part of West Ben-

gal and the local language was Bangla. Luck-

ily, we had a couple of Bengali colleagues

with us, which proved to be vastly useful.Though Patamda is only 50 kilometers

away from the XLRI campus, rains and

bad roads played spoilsport and it took us

a good 2 hours to arrive at TSRDs gates.

Mr. Akash from the NGO passed on a

copy of our itinerary for the next 3 days

to us, and the realization that the visit

was not about fun and sleep, sunk in

slowly.

Mr Akash had an infectious enthusiasm

which instantly

rubbed off on

us. We started

by visiting the

Dhadkidih village

which had a

population of

close to 800

people. The

school was our

first point of vis-

it, and we spent

time talking to

children and their

interests. It was also

obvious that the

schools found it quite difficult to attract

children. The midday meal scheme was

very much in existence and played its part

in ensuring that the children stayed in the

school at least till lunch.

There were two things that struck us al-most immediately when walking through

the village. One was the lack of electricity,

and the other was the prevalence of mo-

bile phones (despite the unavailability of

electricity) and the occasional Airtel Dish

Life, seen through a different lens

Visit to Patamda Village

(Collage by Venkatesh Iyer)

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Sripathi Chakkravarthi

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TV connection. We later understood that the

village did fall under the electricity grid, but

the availability of electricity was dismally spo-

radic. To our disappointment, there was just

one single determined girl from the whole

village who was pursuing her Masters at

Jamshedpur.

The day progressed

with meeting the

Village Panchayat

and also under-

standing the econo-

my of the village.

The highlight of the

day was the inau-

guration of the Kis-an Club. The Kisan

Club is a perfect

example of the co-

operative system in

the village. Mem-

bers of the club

pooled in money

and resources to pro-

cure equipment of bet-

ter technology which could be used on a

need basis by all members. The day endedwith all of us analyzing the supply chain fol-

lowed by the villagers for their vegetable and

poultry produce trying to see if there were

options that resulted in better margins for

the villagers.

The next two days were spent in visiting the

Public Health Centre and the village of

Sundarpur. During the time spent there,

Jharkhand experienced torrential rainfall and

the Suvarna River swelled threateningly. In-terestingly, none of us felt like staying back

because of the rain. Contradictory to our

original plans, our inclination to rest and

watch the raindrops was cut down by our

curiosity to visit every nook and corner

that the surrounding villages had to offer.

Other eye openers were visiting the farm-

ers market (where one could get anythingfrom vegetables to

local liquor and

open cooked chick-

en), meeting the

school teacher and

the Anganwadi

r ep re sen ta t i ve ,

walking one kilo-

meter into corn

fields that were

destroyed by therains, understand-

ing the NREGA

system and its

problems, and fi-

nally the talk with

Mr Bakshi who

spearheaded the

activities of the NGO.

The change that had come over us at the

end of the visit is hard to put into words.We left TSRD with reluctance, with a feel-

ing of leaving a task incomplete. Days

after, the feeling still lingers on.

The end result is that each one of us has

turned more socially conscious in one way

or the other. We had always been blinded

by our wants, even as the needs of many

deserving people went unfulfilled. The

urge to bring about a change in the sys-

tem finally awoke in us.

Thanks to XLRI and selfless organizations

like TSRD, our eyes have opened to a

completely new India!

TATA Steel Rural Development Society

(Collage by Samarjit Mazumdar)

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Entrepreneurs are simply those who under-

stand that there is little difference betweenobstacle and opportunity and are able to

turn both to their advantage. Niccolo

Machiavelli

In a country like India where more than 9 million

people are unemployed, entrepreneurship is not

only an option but a necessity in order to meet

the socio-economic needs. Government of India

recognised this need and therefore started invest-

ing in entrepreneurship development programs.

For instance, Entrepreneurship Development Cen-

tre at XLRI is one such noble initiative from the

government of Jharkhand.

Agriculturethe next big thing!

Agriculture provides the principal means of liveli-

hood for over 58.4% of India's population. It con-

tributes approximately one-fifth of total gross do-

mestic product (GDP) and accounts for about 10

per cent of the total export earnings and provides

raw material to a large number of industries. A

study says that 1% increase in agricultural

productivity reduces poverty by 0.65%. However,

low and volatile growth rates and the recent esca-

lation of agrarian crisis in several parts of the In-

dian countryside are threats not only to national

food security, but also to the economic well-being

of the nation as a whole. And the entrepreneurs in

the field of agriculture (known as Agripreneurs

are the need of the hour.

Nonetheless, with the launch of the National Food

Security Mission, myriad avenues in this sector

have opened up for Agripreneurs; from supply

chain to logistics to food processing to cold chains

to warehouses and many more. Government has

come up with plethora of financial subsidies to

augment the growth of the agriculture sector. All

big business power houses like TATA, Reliance,

Mahindra and the likes are shifting their attention

to the agriculture sector which is a healthy cue for

budding entrepreneurs.

What is AXOM AGRI?

Owing to high perishability, shelf-life of vege-

tables/fruits is very low. On top of that, the

supply chains in the present scenario have no

contemporary mechanism to address this is-

sue, which is the prime reason that India in-

curs a colossal loss of 40% of total fruits and

vegetable grown every year. It has been ob-

served that an innovative arrangement to re-

duce such losses can result into a viable busi-

ness proposition.

On the same tune, AXOM AGRI - a company

based on socio-capitalistic business model,

aims at establishing retail network of food

(raw, processed, and frozen) for Class I/II/III

towns (population of 20,000 and above). It

conceptualizes existing traditional markets by

setting up micro retail and other contemporary

retail concepts and introducing an efficient

supply chain.

Operation of Axom Agri

AXOM AGRI intends to establish an efficient

supply chain by bridging the gap between

farmers and markets in an organized way.

AXOM AGRI: A Value-added Vegetable

Supply chain Biswajit Bordoloi

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It will procure farm-fresh vegetables from farmer groups at a fair price by forming self-help groups

and will sell it to hotels, hostels, restaurants, local vegetable markets (sabzi mandis). It will also sell

vegetables with the help of its makeshift retail outlets and multi-utility push-carts. Once the supply

line is established it will go forth with the export of high quality farm produce.

AXOM AGRI in return will channelize the government schemes and subsidies and provide essential

farm inputs to the illiterate and poor farm-ers. This will not only alleviate the income

level but also increase the productivity of

farmers in the region. The same will be im-

plemented to vendors, who will get vegeta-

bles a tad cheaper from AXOM AGRI.

Thus the two hands ofAXOM AGRI will

function simultaneously - one to supply veg-

etables (The Farmers club) from the farms

directly and the other (the Vendors club)

to sell it to the consumers.

The value proposition by AXOM AGRI:

It has been observed that a substantial farm

produce is wasted due to improper post-

harvest management and lack of proper

transportation and supply mechanism. Vegetables, in particular, need special attention while trans-

portation owing to their high perishability. Maintaining appropriate temperature and humidity in the

storage of vegetables is a key area of focus.

AXOM AGRIs USP is to increase value by maintaining the freshness of vegetables throughout the

supply chain by incorporating cost-effective refrigeration mechanism in all levels. And also reduce loss

by using proper transportation and storage methods.

Ego: I want to be in the Placement committee

AlterAlter EgoEgo: Why?

Ego: I want a job

AlterAlter Ego:Ego: Everyone wants a job. So shouldeveryone join Placement committee

Ego: No. Not everyone. Only RIGHT people

AlterAlter Ego:Ego: well who decides on RIGHT people

Ego Alter Ego

Ego: May be a bunch of RIGHT people

AlterAlter Ego:Ego: Then why don't these

right people form a Placement committee

on their own?

Ego: This is like asking why Sonia Gandhi is

not our PM

AlterAlter Ego:Ego: [No Answer]

Biswajit Bordoloi is a student of the Post Graduate Programme for Certificate in Entrepreneurship

Management (PGP-CEM)

Balchandra Kemkar

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What prompted Mr. Girish Hukkeri (GMP Class of

2006) to quit the cushy job of a senior sales man-

ager post MBA and venture into an entrepreneuri-

al journey? And that too form an organization that

enables early-stage entrepreneurs to realize their

dreams. GliMPse teams Rajeev Shahi caught up

with Mr. Girish Hukkeri, founder of embryoFund

(http://www.embryofund.com) to talk about en-

trepreneurshipexperiences, challenges and the

road ahead, and also his times at XLRI GMP .

Here are some edited excerpts:

Hi Girish. Firstly we thank you on behalf of

the entire batch. Could you please shareyour personal and professional experiences

prior to joining GMP?

In 1989, after finishing my engineer-

ing, I joined the IT sector which at

the time was still in its infancy. I

started as a software engineer and

eventually moved on to delivery as

well as sales and marketing man-

agement roles in IT: Senior Sales

Manager at Aveva and Area Manag-

er at EDS Technologies. Before join-ing GMP, I had the opportunity to work in various

leadership roles and I realized the importance

management education has in shaping ones

perspective.

What motivated you to leave your job and

venture into the risky proposition of Entre-

preneurship?

After spending some time in the industry, I

realized that I was restricting my skills in a regular

routine job and that my potential lay elsewhere.

The internet and mobile boom encouraged me tostart something on my own. Despite not having

management education, I set up a software

company with a friend. However, the venture did-

nt work out well.

Then, I got admission to the General Management

Program (GMP) at XLRI. The program helped me

to develop myself as a thinker and a manager

with multiple viewpoints. After completing

GMP, I took up a job to prepare myself finan-

cially. And at the right time, I founded Em-

bryofund. Embryofund is a way to vent out

myself and also to help out entrepreneurs like

me.

How did you conceptualize the idea of

Embryofund? Who are your target cus-

tomers?

I had been thinking of trying to start my own

venture, however, there were problems at

various stages while trying out the available

options. I also tried to seek help from friends

and acquaintances of mine.

However, I realized there was no

professional body to consult and

guide an entrepreneur. I saw this

problem of as an opportunity.

Through a professional consultant

body, I felt that I could share my

personal experiences and also use

my management acumen to guide

a budding businessman. And thatshow Embryofund happened.

What makes your company special?

What are the most important advantages

your customers get when working with

your company?

Embryofund is a company to consult and

encourage individuals looking to start their

own ventures. Now, entrepreneurship in itself

is a big risk and a company to promote that

risk is an even bigger risk. Thats the best and

the most special thing about this company.

My customers are those individuals who are

willing to break the bonds and fly, to take a

dip in deep waters rather than those waiting at

the shore for the water to subside. I provide

facilitation to my customers with life-sustaining

equipment when taking this dive into unknown

Embryofund Sowing Seeds of

Entrepreneurship GMP Alumni Interview - Girish Hukkeri(Class of 2006)

By Rajeev Shahi

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waters. I provide them with the necessary

framework employing various strategic consulting

methodologies as well as some from my personal

experience.

Did you start alone or you have some part-

ners? Was this idea with you even before you

joined GMP?

During the digital boom in India, I had tried out my

own start-up. However, it was not successful due to

a variety of reasons including a lack of holistic view.

GMP helped me mature as a person with a 360

degree viewpoint on a number of business and

management areas.

I interacted with world class faculty at XLRI and the

best of students in India. My confidence was

immensely boosted with this exposure. There was a

small entrepreneurship drive named Grab-On

started by BM and PMIR students in the campusand I could really relate myself to the same. This

idea was there with me in a very nascent stage

while at GMP. Once I got the opportunity to free

myself from financial worries, I did what my heart

always wanted to do.

What were the most difficult things to over-

come when starting a company? Finding an

idea? Making the first steps to transform the

idea in a real business? Getting your first cus-

tomer?

I think Confidence and Optimism are the two veryimportant qualities which are needed for stepping

into any kind of unknown area. Difficulties like

funds, support and guidance, recognition, custom-

ers are all conquered with these weapons. I believe

in Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

So, I am ready to face challenges and failures while

constantly striving to succeed and make a mark. My

first customer came my way much before I had

thought and things are on track by Gods grace.

However, I as mentioned earlier, I am ready for the

worst. So, my motivation levels are always very

high.

What do you like the most about being an

entrepreneur?

Not having to work from 9-6 and the freedom to be

my own boss. Also I get an opportunity to explore

various unconventional avenues which I might not

get enough time to

look at in a conven-

tional job.

What about the

legal part? Is it

difficult to comply

with the businessrules?

Starting a venture involves multiple interfaces with

the government. Many a times, some of us dont

proceed because of red-tape and various other

bureaucratic hindrances. However, I didnt have

to face much of a problem and I was satisfied if

not delighted with the speed of the turnaround

from them.

What would be your advice to GMPians who

are looking for entrepreneurship ventures?

Believe in yourself. In joining XLRI, you have

positioned yourself among the chosen few within

the country. XLRI and GMP in particular open up

many paths of wisdom for you to explore. So, take

a small step further and experience the freedom

of being your own master.

What role did GMP, XLRI play in shaping

your ideas, career and risk appetite?

I always had thought about undergoing formal

management education. Exposure to various

academic methods of doing a task helped me to

strengthen my basics which I could apply with my

instincts to reach a decision. I met the best

management gurus in the country and best of the

minds willing to go that extra mile all the time.

This encouraged and inspired me to shed all my

inhibitions and listen to my heart.

Is there anything you think, you did not get

a chance to do during your GMP days but

would advise the current and forthcoming

batches of GMPians to focus on?

Even though the GMP schedule is one of the most

hectic ones in India, try to participate in national

level management events where you are pitted

against the most competitive minds.

Message for current GMPians?

Believe in yourself and stretch yourself beyond

your own imagination!

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Belief-defying obstacle courses, man-made

and natural, belief inducing team building

exercises, imagination stimulating games, life

in the rural wilderness, a fierce unexpected

storm and tough decisions. These pretty

much form the outline of a part of the ad-

venture trip embarked upon by the students

ofXLRIs GMPbatch 2011-2012.

This compulsory trip, organized this year by

the Raymond Memorial Welfare Trust, is a

part of the General Management Pro-

gramme and is aimed at fostering team spir-

it, increasing familiarity and bonding be-

tween the relatively new faces in college,

bringing out the leaders the group, overcom-ing fears and instilling belief in oneself and to

get out there and take in whatever life in the

greenery and the earth has to offer.

Having arrived in the rustic outskirts of the

village Tumung, the group of around sixty

students set up camp with the aid of the

RMWT instructors and launched into a

host of adventure sports. The proverbial

lap of nature threw up a challenge or two

as teams of students tackled group tasks

that tested leadership skills and trust lev-

els within a team, imagination, spontanei-

ty through group tasks, the ability to

overcome apprehensions and fears as the

group egged each other on through in-

credible natural and artificial obstacle

courses. It didnt matter that age was not

quite on the side of many of the partici-

pants; the enthusiasm in the group was

infectious, energy rubbed off among themembers.

The nature-made challenges, however,

werent restricted to the obstacle course.

On the first night at camp incessant rains

Of team building, adventure trips and

unexpected challenges Kaustuv Dasgupta

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P A G E 1 0I S S U E 1

and cyclonic winds swept the camp relent-

lessly. Security and health concerns began

to crop up as some of the tents were ren-

dered unusable by natures fury.

The inhospitable

conditions tested

the batchs ability

to deal with unex-

pected crises.

Some enquiries

and a quick survey

revealed that

there was a gov-

ernment schoolbuilding in the

vicinity that could be used as temporary

shelter until an alternative could be figured

out. As there was some uncertainty about

availability of shelter for 60 adults, some of

the members volunteered to stay back in

the tents and thus help ease logistical is-

sues.

Conditions unfortunately did not improve

into the next day and the activities had to

be called off prematurely. However, the

truncated trip was not without its lessons

in management for the students.

The trip was

a first-hand

ex pe r i e n ce

in:

Realizing

what rural

India goes

t h r o u g h

when the

weather runswild

Working with what you have

Prioritization moving people with

health concerns to the temporary

shelter first

Work as a team, coordinate with each

other

When the going gets tough, it be-

comes all the more important for a

team to keep the bigger picture in

mind at all times and work towards a

best possible solution under the cir-

cumstances.

The importance of clear thinking

The adventure trip may not have fulfilled

its immediate purpose, but the students

did take away equally significant lessons

in management. The students learned

what it took to deal with a real situation

the hard way; something that cannot be

fully learnt in a classroom or from books!

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Technology predictions have not always been correct

and the above statements testify that! Salesforce.com

(NYSE: CRM) an enterprise cloud computing company,

best known for its ability to provide on-demand Custom-

er Relationship Management (CRM) software generated

revenues of US $1.657 billion in FY 2011, and has 6000

employees as of 2011. Within a year or two (following

Ellisons colourful extravagant declaims about the cloud),

Oracle today offers a range of on-demand cloud-enabled

products. Microsoft has taken its Office online, SAP has

put its heart and soul into SaaS (Software-as-a-

Service), and HP has moved on beyond infrastructure.

In more than one ways, cloud computing is the new

reality in the IT marketplace. While it may not be the

answer to everything, for instance the solution to the

troubled mans problems, it certainly does provide nu-

merous solutions and new perspectives for looking at on

-demand computing.

So, what exactly is this cloud-computing all about? This

question somehow never seems to fade-off. There are

umpteen numbers of definitions none of which have

been accepted universally. So, why add one more defini-

tion? Instead, lets start by asking a few basic questions

to reach to an understanding of cloud computing. Com-

panies across the globe have big ideas to streamline

their businesses and drive the sales revenues, operating

incomes, and profits through the roof. But to implement

these ideas, companies need to have the right technolo-

gy in place. So what do they do? They buy consumer

and business applications (like Oracle, SAP, Microsoft

and many more). These apps beyond doubt are expen-

sive. Besides, the licensing, annual support and mainte-

nance costs, they bring along with them a world of com-

plexity. Buying and installing these apps (at an en-

terprise level) is not an easy job. Therefore compa-

nies buy huge racks of application servers and stor-

age servers. To host these servers, companies need

office space, bandwidth and network. They also

need a lot of power and cooling to keep them run-

ning. Did you know that on an average, data centers

consume 40 times more power than the offices they

support? Add to this, a growing concern about envi-

ronment and sustainability, where rampant power

consumption certainly raises quite a few eye-brows.

Lets say, the data center is in place. Is the job over?

Certainly not! The companies need a huge software

stack which would run on these data centers. A

team of experts, to install, configure and maintain

them. They need development, testing, production

and failover environments, and personnel to monitor

them. And what if something goes wrong? Compa-

nies need to contact tech-support and they take all

the time in the world to respond. Suddenly, new

versions of the software come out and vendors stop

tech-support for older versions. Willingly, or un-

willingly companies must upgrade to newer versions.

Oh wait! What about the risks associated with the

upgrade?

This is the story about most of the big players, who

can afford to allocate millions to technology budgets.

What about SMEs (Small and medium enterprises)?

They stand nowhere. Its easy to visualize why CIOs

spend restless nights when they are asked to cut

down on tech-costs. With cloud-computing, organi-

zations do not have to worry about the above prob-

lems. All their apps would be hosted and operated

In the light of CloudVenkatesh S Iyer

THE PAST

There is no way that company exists in a year [Tom

Siebel (Founder, Siebel CRM Systems) in 2001, referring

to Salesforce.com]

The computer industry is the only industry that is

more fashion-driven than women's fashion. Maybe I'm

an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking

about. What is it? It's complete gibberish. It's insane.

When is this idiocy going to stop?[Larry Ellison (CEO

and Founder, Oracle Corp.) in 2008 referring to the term

cloud computing in Oracle OpenWorld 2008 speech]

THE PRESENT

A troubled man to his friend (an IT consultant):

My daughter smokes, my son is in jail and my wife

ran away with my girlfriend. Do you have any

advice for me?

IT consultant to the troubled man:Cloud.

Moral of the story: A good IT consultant is

always on duty.

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by a company which provides cloud-services. The employ-

ees, in the organization simply have to remote log-in to

the shared cloud-app, customize the app and start using

it. Their IT departments do not need to worry about soft-

ware upgrades, hardware failures, data center costs etc.

All of these headaches would belong to the cloud services

vendor. The data and the application itself are hosted

remotely. There is no need to install any software locallyexcepting an internet browser. Lets give a fancy name to

this new way of computingZero footprint IT.

To deepen our understanding of this concept lets take a

very simple example Gmail vs. Microsoft. With G-mail

would a company need primary mail servers, storage,

backup servers, failover servers, upgrades and technical

teams? - No. But with Microsoft exchange services the

company would need most of these overheads if not all.

Now, take this idea and extend it to business applications

such as CRM, HR management, etc., and the obvious

advantages of cloud-computing over conventional in-

house computing would be visible. When the idea of cloud

computing is taken from a consumer app. level (emails) to

a business app level (CRM, HR, Accounting etc.). it is

called enterprise cloud-computing.

With this basic understanding of what cloud-computing is,

lets attempt to answer the why cloud-computing ques-

tion. Imagine running a new business, and being up and

running with all the right apps, and support teams within a

few days or weeks. This can be unheard of in the tradi-

tional software world. But with the cloud-power this is

perfectly possible! The cloud apps cost less as the compa-

nies do not have to pay for the people, products and the

infrastructure facilities. Cloud-apps are also more scalable

and reliable. Why? They follow something called a multi -

tenancy architecture (this fancy term again deserves an

example). Imagine, a scenario where your company, a

nearby bank, and retail store next door, all use cloud ser-

vices from a single vendor. Multi-tenancy architecture in

this context would mean that they share a single highly

customizable app, and the vendor would not furnish these

users with their own separate copies of the same app.

What does this mean? Simple! Increased scalability.

Now lets talk money! How do you pay for all this cloud

power? Think of these payments as relatively predictable

monthly payments. When enterprises need more power,

they pay more and, they are free to cut down when they

need less. This is a huge advantage over traditional meth-od where application and storage servers once bought

cannot be returned back for the money paid earlier. What

does this mean? For readers, who are inclined towards

costing and financial jargons, here is the conclusion In a

public cloud delivery model the capital expenditure is con-

verted into operational expenditure. For all others

(including me) the conclusion is simple! Increased flexibil-

ity given the pay-as-you-goprovision.

No wonder why, three quarters of the firms with the

largest and most specialized operations are using cloud

computing either partially or fully. 70% of them plan to

expand to usage to cover more apps. This means that

they have figured out the best use to which they can

put the existing cloud services. So, how does an enter-

prise go about moving to cloud based IT operations. A

hasty step towards cloud adoption would mean several

IT failures and severe operational bottlenecks. The

enterprises must first look into themselves and identifywho they are. So it is important to recognize and un-

derstand the risks involved.

Cloud computing follows a relatively predictable adop-

tion cycle in the IT marketplace. It penetrates into the

market slowly, gets evaluated and is either accepted or

rejected by organizations. Whatever be the firm type,

some standard steps followed for adoption of cloud

computing are awareness (understand), interest (seek

opinion), evaluate (accept, or reject), try (test), adopt

(move) and finally the most important step for any

upgrade Adapt!

Enterprises must remember that the above mentioned

guidelines are directive in nature, and the adoption

decisions must be judgment-based rather than rule-

based. In many scenarios adoption might not be worth

the effort involved. In such cases, the enterprise can sit

back and relax!

As with any new technology there are certain key is-

sues that inhibit adoption of cloud computing. The most

obvious one is that of privacy. The regulatory compli-

ance policies also have a long way to go, in order to

allow for such data movement outside the organization

in a shared environment.

There are a multitude of topics which deserve a de-

tailed explanation; however, the whole purpose of this

article was to leave us with a fair understanding about

the dynamics of cloud-computing. So, the next time

someone talks about cloud computing, do not wonder

whether the data would be lost if it rains!

i. The quotations in the beginning of the article have been taken from www.techno-

pulse.com ii. References Gartner research on cloud computing. iii. References Facts,

figures and adoption stages have been taken from publication made by Marquis Research

LLC. (IT Leadership brief, 4-May 2010)

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Before you venture to read this article,

do as I say. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.

How do you feel? Did that feel like living? One of the

meanings of Breathe as per standard dictionary.com

is to live.

It struck me the other day when Hrithik Roshan

responds to Farhan Akthar (about how to live life and

be fearless) in recent Bollywood flick Zindagi Na Milegi

Dobara by saying BasSaas lethe raho. It just cant

get any simpler.

Breath is a potent tool that any living being possesses,

but it becomes that much more powerful in the case of

a human for his ability to observe. And when a human

keeps observing his breath every moment of his life, he

attains salvation. If you are surprised, then refer to the

books/teachings on how Buddha attained Nirvana.

Such is the power of being aware with your breath

each moment.

On a day to day basis we undergo a lot of stress;

professionally as well as personally. For example, too

much work on a Monday morning, big presentation

before a major client, traffic that is making you late for

a crucial meeting, emotional turmoil in relationships

et.al. But if you observe closely, it is our inability to

stay in the moment that makes things that much

stressful. The concept of life is very simple- stay in

present and experience the life to the fullest, rest falls

in the place. But how to stay in the present? It is pretty

simple, as Buddha first recognized observe your

breath each moment. It is the easiest way to be in

the present moment and hence relieve your mind

from being in the state of past or future. The mind

can exist in either, but cannot really accomplish

anything. If Buddhas teachings on breathing are

more on spiritual level; today the best of the

weight trainers and coaches across all sports

around the globe emphasize on focusing on breath

while playing or working out. I would like to quote

the saying by Perry Como (American Singer and

Television Personality) to emphasize the role breath

plays in ones success- Acting coaches in

Hollywood were always telling me to use my hands

and body more. But that was never me. I just

breathe and sometimes it doesn't look as if I'm

doing that.

Breath is the only thing that remains with you until

your last breath. So dont alienate it, keep

breathing and your every moment will be filled with

its own life.

PS: If you are interested in practicing meditation

which focuses on breathing, visit-http://

www.dhamma.org/. Also I will continue with my

endeavor to organize yoga sessions with Professor

Sarin; and make you breathe through pranayama.

Happy breathing!

How can you feel if youcant BREATHE!

HEALTHY MIND

Theres only one way to breathe right!

Naga Abhishek Godavarthy

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Oh! Another assignment! That was the unani-

mous sigh we let out when we heard that one

more group assignment was on its way and with

a heavy heart we started reading through the

instructions. But voila! To our surprise and rather

a pleasant one, it was not like those usual

assignments where we have to do loads of

number crunching or have to go through big fat

management books.

So what was it? Assignment simply read Socially

useful live project. Not a penny more, not a

penny less. And thus ten brains brimming with

creative ideas and hopes to make an impact on

society started brainstorming. After hours of

discussion which could at times fall under the

category called arguments, we decided upon

some ideas and after doing feasibility check,

zeroed on one. Finally consensus was reached!

Before I start talking about our project I would

like to mention a famous quote by Abraham

Lincoln. The quote reads, Give me six hours

to chop down a tree and I will spend the

first four sharpening the axe. In todays

world of Information Technology, computer is

that indispensible axe. And for the young

generation, computer literacy is an absolute

must. But where many of the villages are still

struggling for basic amenities such as sanitation

facilities, electricity and roads, computer

knowledge and internet access are still a distant

dream.

And thats where we decided to make our impact.

With the help of the NGO, SEEDS (Socio Econom-

ic and Education Development Society), we

reached out to XITE (Xavier Institute of Tribal

Education), Gamharia, around 20 km from

Jamshedpur city. At XITE, we started classes,

educating people on computer basics. There

were around 20 students, majority coming from

villages where there was no electricity, no

connectivity to mainstream city, no schools or

colleges nearby. Many had basic knowledge of

English and for many their highest level of

education was matriculation. Some had heard of

computers but had not got any opportunity to

learn or operate one. Apart from providing computer

education, we decided to setup computer centres in nearby

villages so that students can apply the knowledge and

make full use of what they have learnt.

Classes were scheduled every Sunday. Initially there were

some reservations from the students side but as we

showed them what computer is all about and what one can

do merely sitting in one place, everyone was excited and

by the end of that first session they were actually looking

forward to the next class.

The interest and happiness that was reflecting on their face

was so palpable that every Sunday we used to get up early

and with loads of enthusiasm used to go there to teach

them. As days passed, the number of assignments,

studies, quizzes tended to infinity and sleep tended to zero,

but our zeal to impart computer education remained intact.

So what was driving us and making us push our limits? To

travel for an hour on a dusty, bumpy road in scorching

heat just to reach there on time? It wasnt just the thought

of making an impact on society, but what was driving us

was the kind of joy these students displayed at the

prospect of learning. Now that I reflect on it I realise how

many things we take for granted. A good education, a

comfortable lifestyle, loving parents, helpful friends there

is so much in our life that we think is our basic right that

we tend to miss out on small pleasures of life.

Another experience I would specifically like to mention isthat of the only girl, who also happened to be the brightest

student of the batch. After completion of course, when we

asked them questions to brush up on their knowledge, she

was far ahead of the boys, answering most of questions

fluently. As we clapped for her, her eyes lit up and she said

that she would like to learn more and would ask other girls

Rendezvous with RealityShreya Kohojkar

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Anti-Alcoholism Drive - By Samarjit Mazumdar

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step - Lao Tzu

Picture this: A mining labourer whose family can barely make ends meet, more often than not shows up at home

drunk. Most of the days hard earned money gone in a trail of drunken stupor and up in smoke.

Alcoholism is one of the prime and deep-rooted issues in the mining belt of Jharkhand. Not only does it impact their

health directly, but it also has a long standing social impact by jeopardizing the moral values of the affected society.

So, as a part of the socially useful live project, our group collaborated with the NGO, SEEDS (Socio Economic and

Education Development Society) to help the alcohol addicts in the villages in Jadugoda Block of Jamshedpur district.

The group took the bull by its horns, and headed out to Jadugoda over a weekend with everyone in the group

buzzing with ideas to convince the villagers to give up alcohol. The bull won the first round though as the miners

didnt want to give up alcohol and didnt realize the evils of it - no amount of counseling could compel them to give

up alcohol. Their logic was simple and attitude aggressiveits our money, our health who are you to intervene?

Disappointed and a bit disheartened with the attitude of the villagers, the group played its last card and visited the

local police station to meet the inspector and convince the authorities to put a check on the rampant illegal bhattis

places where alcohol was sold illegitimately. With heavy hearts and no tangible signs of accomplishment, the group

decided to call it a day and started its journey back to XL. Things took an unexpected turn when we got a call from

one of the members of the local Mahilasamity of the village with a message of caution. Do not come to the village

till you hear from us again. This seemed to us like a matter of concern, but we came to know that the police raid in

the village had created a stir among the villagers and the situation was no longer conducive for us to make any

future visits. But wasnt this a sign of changes in the right direction? Werent we creating a positive impact?

Encouraged by this unanticipated success, we decided to re-visit the village after a week. This time, the group first

visited the police station, to convince the officers that it was imperative that they continued the raids on a regular

basis. Next, we met the Mukhia and the local administration, to take the initiative forward. The villagers genuinely

thanked the group for their efforts to drag the men out of the stupor that had completely engrossed their lives. As

we headed back to campus that evening, we took back with us a strong feeling of achievement, solace and the

satisfaction of having tried to do something worthwhile that would touch the lives of the people in the village and

make a positive difference to them in the long run.

The valiant group consisted of Abhijeet Baban Gavi, Amit Raj Singh, Gaurav Moolchandra Agarwal, Jalaj Chhalotre,

Ravi Kumar, Sandip Bhattacharya, Samarjit Mazumdar, Shashi Prakash, Sudhanshu Vardhan and Vineet Vishal.

spunk and desire to take along other girls with

her, especially in a culture where girls are still

restricted to household

chores.

As we were teaching them

computers they were in turn

teaching us how to valuethose small surprises of life.

And hence in the process

boundaries of assignment

faded and what remained

was a melting pot of experi-

ences generated out of inter-

actions with people from

different social, cultural and economic

backgrounds.

Weeks passed by. Students had picked up really

fast and could now handle computers on their

own. They were now well-versed with basic uses of com-

puter such as making documents, handling files and most

importantly browsing the

internet, their key to explore

outside world and tap into

vast knowledge pool. And

finally the day came when

we realised our mission of

setting up computer centres

at Sonaltand and Dhu-

naburu villages. The event

marked a new beginning for

those students as new doors

of knowledge opened up for

them. This event also contributed in increasing overall

awareness about computer education as students from

other villages also participated in the event. And as I

write the last sentence I hope the spark that we have

generated through this mission, will turn into a blaze

which will enlighten many more minds.

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On 2nd July, 2011, the habitually silent lawns in front of the GMP residence took on a different

look. The inviting artistic paraphernalia at

the entrance, the cheerful lighting, the

white drapery - all indicated that this was

not just another ordinary day. The GMP

banner proudly proclaimed the beginning

of a new year of experiential learning, of

interactions and friendships, of living-up

to the name of brand XLRI. The stage

was set for Prarambh the first official

get-together and the annual welcome

bash of the GMP batch.

The occasion brought together the GMP batch with the teaching faculty as well as some of the

non-teaching staff and a good number of GMP alumni, all of whom got the opportunity to infor-

mally interact and know each other better.

The ambience for the evening was set by a

heart-touching rendering of a Rabindranath

Tagore song. This was followed by an

address to the students by the Director and

the Dean. The event slowly picked up pace

and there were a number of individual

performances including skits, impromptu

musical renditions and quizzes. Theperformances brought to light the hitherto

unknown talents of the GMP batch and

made the overall experience an extremely

enjoyable and memorable one.

As the evening progressed, drinks flowed as fast and strongly as the conversation did. After

dinner, it was time to rock the dance floor and the stage was opened for one and all. The GMP

spirit took over and the night came alive as most of the students danced to the beats of lively

music and set their hearts free to revel in a feeling of pure ecstasy.

True to its name, Prarambh or commencement signified the beginning of an eventful

academic year and promised many more such evenings where the entire GMP batch couldforget the burgeoning pressures of assignments and exams and give in to the enticing call of

carefree enjoyment.

- Ipshita Ghosh

Whats up at GMP?

Prarambh 2011

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The Independence Day celebrations were

conducted in front of the Learning Centre, with

flag hoisting by the Director, Fr Abraham,

followed by an address by the General Secretary

and Prof. Santanu Gupta. XLRIs own band, Bo-

dhi tree performed a few patriotic songs to markthe occasion. After the celebrations, all the

GMPians headed back to the park in front of the

hostels, to carry out their own event to mark the

Independence day, a tree planting activity (an

idea by Prasanna Chandran - one of the CRs of

our batch), to recognize the day and to

remember it for generations to come, as a

symbol of our GMP Batch of 2011-12.

Hopefully the trees add more beauty and grace to the GMP community setting and make life more peaceful,

relaxing, and offer a rich inheritance for future generations. Wouldnt it be great to have the future GMP

batches, ten-twenty years down the line, doing their assignments or conducting their meetings sitting under

those very trees? Wishful thinking!!

These trees are lives representing our life at XLRIleaving an enduring legacy behind. We enjoyed planting

them and a few of us look out of our windows every couple of days - merely checking on how much they

have grown. There is an old Chinese proverb - The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second

best time is now." So true!! - Hrishikesh C

Independence DayTree Planting

Its a beautiful campus, with lush green football and

cricket grounds, inviting basket-ball and volley ball

courts, enticing tennis court, an irresistible table tennis

room and badminton court and much more. But, wait

a minute, all this a war-zone?! Yes, thats exactly whatthe scenic views turned into during the inter-collegiate

sports meet held from 4th to 7th August.

We invited one and all but, ahem, defeated one and

defeated all! We welcomed our guests, from XIMB,

IIM Lucknow, IIM Calcutta, with inviting verbiage but

bid farewell with celebratory XLRI mottoes. We made

our mark, yet again, in football, volleyball, tennis,

table-tennis, swimming, carom, badminton..you name it, and weve won it! And of course, we kept the

trophy back home. Our guests came with a competitive spirit but left only with the hope of performing

better the next time.

6 of our own GMPians not only participated but made us proud by winning gold's in the categories they

played for. GMP is a compact program which makes it even more difficult to eke out time from a 10 hour,

7-day schedule; but that didnt pull down the sports enthusiasts such as Achin Kishore and Jacob Zacharia,

who won gold medals for volley ball or Sunil Mohta and Rajat Ranjan, the carrom champions, or Somdeep

Deb and Ankana Mehra, who won gold in table tennis.

Thats the real sports spirit, no matter how hectic the terms are, the spirit to defeat and conquer will never

die! - Ankana Mehra

Sports MeetXaviers, IIMs

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XLRI has been a pioneer in many fields and

recently added one more feather to its cap - It

is the first b-school outside the US where a

student body has been formed for CSCMP -

Council of Supply Chain for Management Pro-

fessionals. A body which is synonymous withSupply Chain and can be called as the

Facebook of networking in the world of supply

chain for Management professionals.

The first roundtable was held in the month of July under the able guidance of Prof T.A.S.

Vijayraghavan and now the XLers are all set and ready to be a force to reckon with in the world of

supply chain. On 3rd August, Mr Neil Basu who heads CSCMP, India visited XLRI, Jamshedpur and

commended the efforts of XLers and appreciated the efforts of the GMPians in participating in this

drive which will help the world of Supply Chain world become smaller and more accessible.

Kumar Shreshtha

A Tryst with CSCMP

XLRI GMP is a One year

full time MBA Program for

executives with a minimum

of 5 years of experience.

The batch strength is 120.

Candidates have varied

backgrounds and excelled

in their respective fields.

Admission is through

GMAT/XAT scores, Essays

& Interviews.

Send us your suggestions to: glimpse@xlri.ac.in

Page 25

Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials in GliMPse are

those of the specific author and do not reflect the opinions of XLRI or any employee

thereof. We have made reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information

throughout this newsletter and XLRI is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the

information supplied by the students.

The GliMPSe Team

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