CBIT - Those were the days, when innocence still reigned! - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post no - 3.

Old CBIT Canteen!

Our CBIT MBA girls were a very bright lot. They were shocked at the way the canteen was run. They were particularly pained at the way the tea was being made. They exclaimed “oh my my, the cloth that they are straining the tea is very old. It might be carrying many germs”. Being MBA students they counseled the tea guy. They explained the process of making hygienic tea. The Tea guy was all ears. He appeared to be a very enthusiastic student to my eager beaver wannabee MBAs. Impressed by their own convincing skills and articulation of thoughts they gifted the tea person a new stainless steel tea strainer.

They were confident that hence forth only clean tea would be served and that the tea guy would be humble, grateful and appreciate their efforts. Next day They had the shock of their life. The tea boy was still using the old dirty cloth for straining tea. Indignant they demanded an answer “Oh madams, this is how it is done here. I can’t use the steel strainer”. Our MBA girl students learnt a valuable lesson. Change is very difficult and it is very difficult to convince people  to do what they don’t want to.

CBIT faculty was a gregarious lot. They came from varied backgrounds that included basic sciences, English, arts, engineering and management professionals like us. We were a closely bonded group that rooted for each other. We played many friendly cricket matches on Saturdays when there was no scheduled class work. The sheer number of faculty colleagues was a blessing in disguise and could be a pain in the back side too!

I remember talking to a colleague who was upset “what is the matter?” I enquired. “Oh nothing Anil Sir, I bought new footwear and my departmental colleagues demanded a party. And I gave a party” “So what” I exclaimed “you should be happy, you have done shanti (feeding the colleagues was politely called shanti)”  “what happiness” he retorted angrily “The footwear costed me Rs 300/- and the party set me back Rs 450/-“

During the summer vacation it is a rule in CBIT that at least one faculty from each department stay back so that skeletal staff is always available and to see that regular work is not hampered. It was my duty to man the station at the School of Management Studies (SMS). I received a phone call. It was Shyam Mohan Reddy, the Physical Director. He sounded harassed “Anil Sir, I received a communication from the principal's office. It is an invitation for a seminar on ‘Game Theory’. I simply don’t understand head or tail of ‘Game theory’; can you help me, please?”

I almost fell off the chair. I was roaring with laughter. I calmed down Shyam Mohan Reddy. I told him that Game theory is a part of Operations Management and told him not to worry. The Boy scouts from management department were coming to the rescue. I saved the day for the Physical Director who was at his wits end not knowing what to do with this mambo Jumbo called Game theory. 

Chaithanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) – a name to reckon with! - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post no - 2.

Chaithanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT) – a name to reckon with!

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January 1^st of 2000 came and went. Nothing new happened. No earth shattering events. The world did not end. I was not very sure whether Poornima was happy or sad!  It was business as usual. All of us slipped back into our own very mundane and regular work schedule. Class Preparation, classwork, assignments, tests, paper corrections, declaring the results and so on. Time was slipping away.

Chaithanya Bharathi institute of Technology, CBIT as it was popularly called was one of the first privately managed engineering colleges in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh. Due to its premier status it attracted bright students and equally bright and competent faculty. 

Located at Gandipet it was the dream destination of young engineering aspirants who wanted to carve themselves a name in the field of Engineering. As a well thought our strategy CBIT added Management education to the array of educational services that it provides. School of Management studies (SMS) as it was popularly called was established in the year 1996 and I was offered a faculty position at SMS in the year 1997.

CBIT alumni have excelled in many fields. Envious of their success one student from another engineering college had once commented “You CBIT GUYS! You are so many in California that the area that you reside should be called CBIT Avenue”.

Shekhar Kammula remains one of CBIT’s favorite son. A mechanical engineer by profession, Sekhar Kammula is an ace director who immortalized CBIT throughout the world with his movie “Happy days (2007)”.

CBIT’s principal at that time was Prof Ramachandra Reddy. Prof Ramachandra Reddy was a stickler for rules and behaviour. Impeccable and nattily dressed Prof Ramachandra Reddy would indulge in his daily routine that the students feared – the beat!

The beat would commence at 0940 hours and he along with some other faculty members, would slowly go around the campus and catch errant students who were bunking the classes. Under graduate students of B.Tech would run helter and skelter the minute they saw Prof Ramachandra Reddy. If they were caught, they had it. They were made to stand in front of the principal’s office, their ID card was confiscated and their parents would be called and informed about their ward’s behaviour.

But our Post graduate students of MBA were made of sterner stuff. They would retreat deeper and deeper into CBIT (CBIT’s campus was spread over 100 acres). But Prof Ramachandra Reddy had a very dogged determination. He would pursue them and it was a cat and a mouse game. One day when I was part of the beat, Prof Ramachandra Reddy cornered three or four students in their lair, the canteen.

Prof Ramachandra Reddy indignantly demanded “why the hell are you not in the class?” One of the Post Graduate girl students, Shyamala responds nonchalantly “I am a MBA student”. As if it is birth right of MBA students not to attend classes! The flippant answer caught Prof Ramachandra Reddy completely off guard. Of course the student was suitably counseled later on, but the sheer audacity of the answer blew my mind away. 

The Genesis - The seed that finally grew and matured - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post no - 1.

The Genesis (543)

I was always very fascinated by travelling. That was one of the reasons for picking up marketing as a specialization in MBA and later as a career. Marketing is a career that allows a person to travel. It enriches and broadens a person’s mind and makes him that much more adaptable and YES, knowledgeable too.

Oman Solar SystesmLLC, Azaiba, Muscat,Oman

Thus it was not surprising that I landed up in Oman Solar Systems LLC and spent a contract.  But due to strict rules that did not allow family visas at that point of time (in 1994) I had to return and settle down in India. After a three year stint in advertising, I gravitated to teaching in 1997 and I found my calling at Chaithanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, premier educational institute in Hyderabad.

I was married by then and had a son who was two and a half. I was very happy with teaching. I was well liked as a teacher, did research under Prof P. Narayana Reddy, Head of the Department, School of Management Studies, CBIT. I registered for PhD with Osmania University and Prof P. Narayana Reddy became my PhD guide. 

CBIT had a very vibrant academic climate and I was made the PRO of CBIT. Life was on a roll, literally.  Teaching was not paying well but it was a stress free, very different from the stressful marketing life that I had experienced for a decade before joining CBIT.

It was the end of a millennium and the entire world was buzzing with excitement. After all what was happening would happen only once in 1000 years. Yes the haunting fear that Y2K bug taking the world apart was lurking, but many in India were not bothered. Only the software guys were really worried but for the rest of us it was par for the course. Nothing to lose overnight sleep.

I think it was 26^th or 27^th of December 1999 and in walked two of my students from 1996-1998 batch of MBA, CBIT. Venkatesh and surprise of surprises, Poornima. Poornima lived in USA and had come to India to be with her parents. There was a big buzz in the USA that the world was going to end and Poornima wanted to spent the time (or what was left of it) with her parents.

I wanted to laugh but kept a straight face. The girl had travelled 14,000 Kilometres and who was I to argue with her! After some pleasantries my students suggested that we drive down to Chilkur Balaji Temple. 

Chilkur, Balaji Temple. 

For the uninitiated Chilkur Balaji temple’s reigning deity ‘Lord Venkateshwara’ is very popular in Hyderabad. He is called Visa Bhagwan. I is a belief that any one doing 11 pradakshinas in that temple would get   a visa and fly off to the dream destination - USA!

Yes we all did the mandatory pradakshinas. It was Poornima who blurted out “Sir you have done it now. You would go abroad”. “Oh No, Poornima” I said “there is no chance. There are not many chances for a teacher to go abroad. And I added “I don’t have a PhD”. Poornima was adamant.  She vigorously nodded her head “you are sure to go”. I left it at that.  I was totally nonplussed. I had nothing to say!

24th article published in HANS INDIA (22 November 2014) It is titled "Place Marketing - born in the USA"

If one wants to know about Place Marketing we need to look no further than the United States of America. America is full of interesting places and Americans are very adept at marketing these tourist attractions. 

Cemetery space selling: A hard working Indian in California had a dapper Anglo Saxon visitor. The visitor introduced himself and said that he was selling space. The Indian asked him about the details. The salesman said he was selling cemetery space. The Indian recoiled in horror. Death is a taboo for most people. 

The sales man said “Who will take care of you when you move away (see he is not using the word death, insurance sellers please note). You have to provide a decent burial for yourself. You can come for a site visit and see your eternal resting area yourself. We have an installment scheme too. You can use our service not only for the final burial but annually too. We can see to that Agarbattis (excuse me he said Agarbattis – this sales man has really done his homework) are lit on your Samadhi every year. You can have a floral service also.” 

The Indian was not all convinced. He tried brushing away the brash sales man by asking him to come again. As the sales man started to pick up his things he gave a broad smile and said “Our cemetery plots are according to Vaastu (a Hindu tradition of space design to promote harmony with natural forces). I can see that you are given a north east facing space at no extra cost.” The Indian almost fainted at the depth of the salesman’s knowledge.

Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco: The prison is on an island and the visitors have to take a ferry service to reach Alcatraz. Tourists assemble at the Embarcadero from where the ferry would take them to the island prison.

As the tourists are ushered into the ferry they are photographed against the Alcatraz background and as they troop out of the cubicle a ferry employee hands out a card and says "Your 2 (4 x 6) photographs will be available in the evening. If you want you to pick them up, they would cost $ 25. "

There is a federal law that says that all people leaving the shores of USA will have to be photographed. So the visitors leaving the shores of San Francisco shore anyhow have to be photographed. So why not make it into a business opportunity!

The total cost of taking the photographs and the prints may be $ 100 per day. Even if 4 families take the photographs per day the cost of the operation would be recovered. And on return many visitors do pick up photographs as keep sake of their visit to the Alcatraz.

The marketing of the island prison is very impressive. The visitors at Alcatraz are given audio commentary sets through which they can listen to the history of the prison. There are many cells in Alcatraz which are maintained in the same conditions as they were when the prison was operational. The famous escape attempt is demonstrated to the visitors in dramatic detail which includes the showing of the pock marks of the bullets on the prison walls.

Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz, California: The Mystery Spot is a tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misconceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misconceptions as we judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon.

As visitors move through the site, they try to adjust to the tilted environment. The effects of this adaptation are then exploited, especially within closed structures, so that visitors may feel as though gravity does not operate as it should within this Mystery Spot. Also, visitors may feel light-headed or dizzy due to the brain's attempt to adapt to the visual tilt.

The Mystery Spot owners promote the attraction with the liberal dispensing of free bumper stickers. The visitors of mystery spot do use these stickers on their cars. A great marketing ploy.  As a marketing teacher I was very impressed with the way the spot was marketed. There were many direction pointers (prominent arrows pointing out the way). The entrance ticket was quite costly but the tour was well organised. The teenage guides were perky, intelligent and had infectious bubbling enthusiasm. They had nice touches of weaving a mystery around the experiments – of a ball rolling up a gradient and visitors ability to stand in a tilt, defying gravity. There was a great souvenir shop where one could buy great memorabilia of one’s visit to the mystery spot.  

The Universal Studios, Los Angeles: The place that warrants the first attention is the entrance itself. At the entrance is a globe that has the world universal on it. Very true, movies are universal!

The next in line is the water world. Water world is a place about the size of four swimming pools. The visitors watch with unbelieving eyes as scenes from the famous movie “Water World” are enacted live. The entire show is well orchestrated and it is a visual delight to see a small aircraft land in water. The actors spray each other with liberal doses of water and suddenly they would turn and spray the audience too. The shocked audiences squirm with surprise but they get into the mood and enjoy.

The next attraction is not for the faint hearted. It is the house of horrors. It is REALLY the house of horrors. It is full of spooky lanes, dark lighting and skeletons and dummies dressed as dead people. The best part is a dead body twenty feet from the visitors. The dead dummy suddenly moves and starts racing towards them. This almost gives the visitors a heart attack. 

Children get very excited with Shrek – 4D. Shrek 4 D is a visual treat with lots of mechanical movement added to the three dimensional effects. Scents and smells are added, the seats move and the donkey in the movie suddenly spits and the spit falls on the shocked audience. Oh No, it is not the donkey’s spit, it is water jets spraying the audience. The jets are placed in the front seats and are timed to spray the audience on cue. 

The best part of the Universal Studio is the tram tour. These trams take the visitors on a studio visit. The visitors are shown the place from where Alfred Hitchcock wrote and directed his master pieces. The visitors are shown an air craft crash site that is minutely detailed.They are taken to a placid lake and suddenly without any warning a big shark comes out of the water with its jaws wide open. The same shark that was the star in the movie Jaws.  

The most exciting incident is the guide talking about special effects that can be created within a matter of seconds. And suddenly as if on cue the entire area starting flooding. Yes, flash floods in front of one’s eyes. The flood is very sudden and as fast as it comes the flood disappears. It is a very real surreal experience. 

The parting of the sea is shown dramatically (the parting of the red sea from the movie the Ten Commandments). The tram moves into the water and the water touches the feet of the visitors. The final element of suspense and drama is when the tram is taken into a dark tunnel. The guide dramatically announces that they are going to the see the biggest actor in Hollywood. When the guide’s voice fades the light is focused on King Kong – a very real looking dummy – the biggest star in Hollywood walking ponderously towards you.

Disconnect and a very Good book to read - "Everyone loves a good drought" by P. Sainath.

I am seeing this apparently very silly movie, Son of Satyamurthy where the hero is mopping over a very serious problem "how to pay his niece's yearly fees of Rs 2,00,00/-". What a silly issue. Shows the disconnect that we have got to. 

I beseech all my friends and students to read "Everyone loves a good drought" by P. Sainath. It is the best book that I have read. ALL SHOULD READ. YES A PDF IS AVAILABLE ON NET. But as a teacher, a writer myself and as an ethical person I recommend every one to buy and read a physical book. It will change your perspective and the way you look at life.