Visit to the Bangalore Airport as a Child

Teacher training programs were a bi-annual affair at the Lowry Memorial School. This meant some times going to the Corporation School near Shivaji Nagar as representative students and listen to some trainee teacher giving his or her lectures. This was an exciting affair as we got to travel to the distant school in the school bus and the experience of meeting students from other schools. One such exercise turned very awry and in an unexpected way. I think it was a Monday morning. We had come dressed for one such trip and all of us were cheerful but were suddenly informed that the exercise was cancelled and possibly postponed. We children were disappointed. Mr. Kelly was the head-master at that time. There was some uncetainity and I dont know how; where ; whence or why some of us were discussing visiting the Airport that too in cycles as a mark of some form of rebellion against the so-called act of the school that created disillusionment and melancholy in the boys. The cycles were veered through some aperture at the rear fence of the school and behold six of us were on three cycles and I was excited about seeing the Airport and an Airplane which I had not done before. The route taken was the NH4 to Aeroengine and then a left turn to the airport must be some 10 kilometers in all and with a sense of guilt of having taken an odd decision in a huff and I dont know myself to this day How I became a party to such an escapade. We were under the misguided impression that the classes were called off and any way a day time visit to the Airport and back would do no harm. I did see an Airplane on that day around 12:30 noon- not the full plane but was lifted above the level of the compound by my more enthusiastic cronies and got for a few seconds view of the nose of an aircraft. That was all. The team split at the airport and me and my class mate Manjunath from Kaggadasapura took a deviant route though the villages to reach back to the school. Majunath bore me so to say upto kaggadasapura and thereafter I got into the pillion of an ITI employee who was going in that direction for the Second shift in his motor-cycle. Thus ended my patially traumatic experience and visit to the airport and I was back home at around three in the evening. Next day the head-master rounded up all of us called the "airport bunch" and after some deliberations were whacked on our rear six times each - the pain of which I carry even to this day.

Basket Ball at the Lowry Memorial School

Baket Ball was introduced at the Lowry Memorial School somewhere in 1974. One evening it was inaguarated and as a small boy was a witness and thence started my pre-occupation with this game which would last for a considerable period of time. The court was first at a location nearer to the farm of the school and it was shifted later. Slowly I learnt to play this game with the terms "double dribble" , "move" and later "three seconds in the ring" and "Foul". I cannot forget the breaks between classes which were called recess at the school when many of us would land up on the court with a small ball to play during the fifteen minute break only to resume the game again during lunch time. What care-free and happy day's they were. Many of we students were indicted for loosing a Basket Ball once. This time a full-fleged Basket Ball. During the sports period we were given the ball by the P T Master and we played for an hour or so in the hot sun. The PT Master meanwhile having detatched from us was busy talking and chatting with some other lady teachers of the school so much so that he forgot about our class. Once the sports period was over the ball was left in the court itself only to be kicked around like a foot ball by some errant boys and when the PT Master came for the ball there were no signs of it and he had a tough time locating it and when he did so the ball had become worn out and damaged having been kicked without regard by many who got a sight of it. He was enraged and a full fledged enquiry created and I had to depose before the committe and asked the question "When was the last time you saw the ball...". I knew I was in no way in trouble because no-one asked me to secure the ball once the game was over. I do not know what came of all these procedures at last but they did give me jitters and confusion for a few days and fear of possibly being punished for some inadvertent mistake. Sports at Lowry Memorial School were a unique affair because more than often we played without much rules. This made the sporting activities even more amusing. At the end of the day at any sport players ran behind the ball not caring much about what the rule book said. Later I had some very formal Basket Ball coaching conducted by the ITI sports club for nearly a month and had the feel of the more formal aspects of the game. I used to play regularly for my semester at REC Calicut and also was close to representing the College. Some of the matches were won by our team because of a sizeable contribution of Baskets by me - This was heartening. Some times we lost miserably too.

ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY AT KARAIKUDI

I enrolled for a M.Phil course at the Alagappa University through one of its sourcing centers in Bangalore in the area of International Business and had some good learning experience largely having an oppurtunity to study Statistics a subject which I wanted to get some idea for long. Through the support center which  did  a professional job I got some theoretical support on the subjects in the course at the Jyoti Nivas College through contact sessions.


 What impressed me the most was my visit to the University itself having a difficult time at finding out where the place called Karaikudi existed and learned that it was two hours drive from Trichy. I booked into one of the delux bus from Bangalore to Trichy and thereafter took another bus to Karaikudi towards the eastern coast of India. My stay at karaikudi was not pleasant so to say and I found people and public less co-operative to an outsider by a more prevalent incisive behaviour. The University has an impressive main building and a long stretch of road with many departments on the either side. At the university I found the staff at many places curt and rude to my dismay. The evaluation process at the University is strict with certain slabs at the lower end of the scale and marks were  given only within this range. I came to know that the Hon. Home Minister of India Shri Chidambaram hails from this place. 


 I  have respect for this University and only hope that the University would focus on becoming more student friendly and Karaikudi more people friendly especially to an outsider and provide a more pleasing disposition for students who come to the place for learning.

TRIBUTE TO THE HAPLESS FOWL

AS I WALK THROUGH THE WINDING STREET,
OFT SEE WAGONS FILLED TO THE HILT,
FULL TO THE BRIM WITH THE HAPLESS FOWL,
AS VEHICLES MOVE AROUND IN A PROWL.


OH! YOU FOWL WITH A SORROWING FACE,
AND YOUR LEGS BOUND TIGHT,
SOMEWHERE YOU BEAM GOOD CHEER,
UNTAINTED BY ANY IMPENDING FEAR.

PEOPLE IN THE VICINITY KNOW,
THAT THERE ISNT MUCH TIME TO GO,
TAKEN TO SOME LOCAL SHOP,
TO BE SHRED LIKE A CROP.

YOU WERE BORN SOME-WHERE AS A CHICK,
HOW GOOD LIFE WAS IN THE FLOCK,
CRACKLING MERRILY WITH THOSE AROUND,
HOPPING UNTIL SOME FODDER IS FOUND.

YOUR TRIBE GIVES MAN-KIND THE EGG,
QUENCHING THE HUNGER OF MAN,
HUMANITY RAVISH YOUR LEG,
TEARING AS MUCH AS THEY CAN.

I SEE GUESTS HEAVE A SIGH,
YOUR DISHES COME PRICED VERY HIGH,
MANKIND BOIL , ROAST ,FLAME AND FRY,
IN THE BARGAIN SPENDING MANY A PIE.

BOTH ALIVE OR DEAD OH MY FOWL,
YOU TOUCH MANKIND SOUL,
SOMETIMES WHEN I EAT YOUR DISH,
AM FIT AS A FIDDLE AND TIRELESS AS A FISH.

OH FOWL AS YOU PEEP FROM YOUR CONFINES,
OF FEAR THERE ARE SOME SIGNS,
SOME WANDERING ONE WOULD ASK FOR YOUR MEAT,
SOME GUEST SOMEWHERE NEEDS A TREAT.

BEHOLD A HAND STRETCHES INTO YOUR ENCLOSURE,
YOU RESIST, SCREAM AND REFRAIN,
BUT NONE UNDERSTAND YOUR PAIN,
SOON BECOMING FLESH BONE AND FUR.

BUT FOWL TAKE YOUR CONSOLATION,
MANKIND OWES YOU MORE COMPASSION,
YOU LIVE AND DIE FOR THE THANKLESS MAN,
WHO WRONGS YOU IN ALL WAYS HE CAN,
BUT NOTE YOU FOWL WITHOUT YOUR FODDER,
FOOD PROBLEMS COULD MAKE THE WORLD SHUDDER,
FOR THERE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH GRAIN,
LEFT TO EASE MANKIND'S PAIN,
AND AS YOU LIVE AND MAKE SUPREME SACRIFICE,
NO ONE HEARING YOUR WAIL OR CRIES,
NOTE THAT MANKIND WOULD SOME DAY RECKON,
ALL THE GOOD YOU HAVE DONE,
AND A MONUMENT FOR YOU BUILD,
WITH THANKSGIVING AND REMORSE FILLED,
FOR HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR YOU,
MANY A ECONOMIC CRISIS WOULD HAVE POSED ANEW,
AND BY SUPPLYING FODDER TO THE HUNGRY MAN,
ENABLES HIS SPIRIT , VERVE AND LIFE-SPAN.

ISO 9000 STANDARDS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

So will it be written........and So will it be done......! is a monologue from the Pharaoh in the film
Ten Commandments and nothing reminds me more of this " refrain" than the ISO 9000 set of standards which somewhere suggests " Do what you write...and Write what you do". I went through an era when the entire aspect of ISO 9000 was as hot as a furnace and many organizations and personnel actively providing some kind of consultancy on this subject. I have seen ISO 9000 marketed and precisely the period under question could be the decade between 1990 and 2000.

I have seen ISO 9000 implemented in the Industrial sector by many consultants. Let me try to answer a fundamental question; Is ISO 9000 good? The answer is Yes -- but the problem is that ISo 9000 must be properly understood and administered without haste or confusion. It must not invade into work but must smoothly support work.

What is ISO 9000 afterall ? It is a set of 14 quality principles around which documents are created and maintained and audited periodically if the procedures spelt out are being adhered. It used to take some 08 months to prepare all the documents pertaining to quality and the agency would audit these documents and confer the iso 9000. An MR Management Representative would be responsible for maintenance and administration of these documents.

I have grevious concerns about an apparently lucid matter and its initiation into an organization and the plethora of manipulation and confusion it generates to only sometimes put the very smooth functioning of the organization into peril and situation aggravating into various forms of mis-directions within the organization leading to dangerous repercussions often. The pace, rapacity and misguided verve with which this work is undertaken and the satisfaction of having reached a mile-stone can sometimes be without sound merit.

Note that ISO is a process quality standard and the pivot around which this standard is implemented must be the fundamentals contributors to Quality. Many times this aspect is forgotten and the exercise undertaken with a focus on many other factors.

However When an organization decides to implement ISO 9000 let the following points be borne in mind so that the exercise creates long-term good and not some kind of temporary gratification that ends in confusion with the system being ultimately dismantled;

• Always build your ISO 9000 files slowly and steadily and never in a hurry
• Computerize ISO standards where-ever possible
• The certifying agencies must help organizations build a very sustaining ISO 9000 system and not just act as a watch dog.
• The certifying agencies must start from the most important quality drivers of a typical organization to the least important and ignore many aspects of the organization temporarily.
• Even if the files are not totally complete the certifying agency can still award the certificate
• Most of the documentation must have a bearing to the QUALITY POLICY created during ISO implementation.
• Whenever internal audits are done never give more than 03 non-conformities come what may.
• Never conduct internal audits too often
• Create a collective team to address non conformities
• Never fabricate documents. If some activity was to be conducted and could not be for any reason mention the reason.

Building Quality into an Education System

Education will be a key concern of many a parent as far as children are concerned but more than often parents make wrong decisions about education to the discouragement of the child and a possibilty of parent-child coflict at home. Very often the child is at the receiving end sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes not.

To the scourge of our educational system it may be pointed out that the education system per-se treats its receipients using a microscopic view of educaion in particular and life itself in general. That, we base our people decisions in Business organizations to a large extent to educational indices is fine but not completely incongruous. Well using such a format creates a system which might be working well but there is need to investigate if anything is amiss.

Many things are defanitely amiss if QUALITY is not maintained by an Educational enterprise. The fundamental mistake many time parents do with the process of education is to go with the brand of an institute- how foolhardy. Just because an institution is in existence for many many decades it must be good is the premise and this need not be true. Students simply drag on through these enterprises and get the education of experience and not the education of learning that they so eagerly desire. They might be better and skewed when they come out of the enterprise but have missed many things- they know: they feel: they comprehend and the dissappointment can last a generation.

How then can Quality be built into an educational process and what is quality? What is quality is largely what the student talks about the institute when he is out of it. What he talks depends on what he was looking for. But the index in all such situations is not the performing student but the student of an average kind who was not so good or not so bad but had crystal clear and lofty intentions from the institute and the question is Were they met! The average student is also called the reasonable individual and he is not highly motivated for anything but learning and is characterized by an above average attendance to the classes; good conduct and is in right company during his stay in the institute. The fact of the matter is that if an educational enterprise does not maintain and stand for quality it becomes a teaching shop and many a mediocre student will walk with laurels that he simply didnt deserve- he knows it very much to the possible dismay of the many who were and could have been the right choice. The system of education must always study the man it portrays to be its best and there could be nothing partisan or unequivocal.

No educational system anywhere in the world is of quality or strives to be so if it does not let students evaluate the faculty however erudite or qualified; I have seen serious confusion and mis direction on this front. The process of evaluation must be simple with possibility of one comment and the result says it all. The biggest mistake any educational institution however exalted does is not to have a semi-formal procedure for this purpose.The procedure can be dichotomous or trichotomous in its execution. Dichotomous means asking the student through a poll if the faculty is GOOD or BAD and adding a trichotomous would be to add an AVERAGE in between. This poll must be essentially conducted at the end of a session and not anytime in between the session. Student needs to study a faculty weeks together to get a right opinion. To prevent any form of manipulation in these procedures this test must be undertaken all of a sudden and with little or no prior intimation. Teaching and its various forms is the figure of an institute and it must be set right before anything else is attempted at. Whayt do we do with people who fail this test. Send and try the faculty at Administration and never ever let him in front of students. This rule must be followed as much as the situation permits.

The next step in the acievement of Quality is the so called Ground of the institute. Ground means the setting. The biggest problem in the setting of institutes is Co-education because it largely veers the imagination of students into not so imminent kind. If we could do away with co-education many of the ill on the floor of educational enterprises can be done away with. But the demand for education is so high such an approach would be far from practical and a co-educational institute must form the right kind of ground rules in the way the educational enterprise functions. For example full fledged uniform for men and women and at the same time strict rules regarding acculturisation and seating in the classes.

To make the ground well tuned the educational institute must be designed with some professional principles. It must have a garden and all the paraphrenalia that goes with education well placed and oriented. If proper planning is not done on this front adhocism will result which in turn creates confusion in the human populace. With appropriate effort a person must be able to move from one entity in the institute to another.

To make the ground progressive and give students the right verve in life all educational establishments must have a vision ; mission and operational statements. Nothing motivates any human being better than leadership. With a proper V M O statements the organization becomes well oriented and motivating. I have personally studied the vision and mission statements of various institutes and find them wanting in their fundamental content and context. These statements must have the capacity to fundamentally lead the student. They should be by the student; for the student and of the student.

The ground of an institute must be aligned vis-a-vis evaluation procedures. How to evaluate students ? It is in this context that a major confusion exhibits itself. Note that this question can best be answered by figure of the institute namely the teaching. If a faculty does not teach to the satisfaction of the student his evaluation is also likely to be erroneous. Assuming that the academician is doing a well informed job he must be given the autonomy of choosing his own methods of student evaluation and this procedure should not be questioned by administrative authorities by and large. The procedure must not only be fair but also must have subjective and objective content.

There is no doubt that the ground of an educational institute is better strengthened by high qualification and experience profile of its various staff and also the correct creation of organizational structures and designations. It is a collosal mistake if faculty are promoted solely based on qualifications and it must be a judicious combination of qualification, experience and the ability to teach. Acadamecians must concentrate on obtaining higher qualifications largely through a non-time bound procedure than strictly from a time bound one. But the greatest hindrance in creation of a good ground is the promotion of faculty based on academic qualifications alone to the exclusion of many other skills. This creates a wooden and non flexible structure to the disadvantage of the basic activity that builds spirit into the institution namely the teaching process. The economic heads of institutions where ever feasible must take multiple indices into account in their compensation procedures; age being one of them and so also the ability to teach and the academic and experiential components. Faculty must attend conferences too during the course of the year to get inputs on upcomig sectors and also the systems and procedures adopted by other institutes. I beleive at the end of the day any professor who is consistently performing as a teacher should never be designated and treated as anything below a Assistant Professor if not slightly more and this is the worst cut of all to the process of education and its stake holders.

The ground of an institute is propped by better IT infrastructure with control on its use and so is the high behavioral standards for all ; namely the students staff and support staff.

Together I think the world must look for creating the right kind of educational set-ups and systems for the many generations who would invariably embark upon the education process and remember as I read some where Education is for life and not just a passport to some kind of living.

LAYOUT FOR BMTC BUSES AT BUS-STOPS

BMTC would gradually become a key mode of transportation for the populace of Bangalore. How the growth of METRO (Namma Metro) would influence BMTC is to be seen. The services of BMTC is by and large good and professional but needs improvement during peak hours where responsiveness of the entire network is put to a test on a routine basis.

What should be the aim of BMTC ? Basically it must be two fold. One; no commuter must wait more than five minutes at any bus stop for a bus. He may not get a bus precisely to his destination but must get one that takes him logically to a nearest node from where he must get a connection bus. Two; he must get a seat in the bus to sit down within five minutes; This means zero standing in the buses as much as possible. Well these might be ideals but this is where the system should strive. Bangalore unlike or like many other cities has tremendous collective potential that can be unlocked in many ways.

I find basic indispline at the bus stops itself with the drivers of buses not very clear where to stop the bus at a bus stop. More than often more than one bus vy for a parking slot with commuters being confused in the bus stops. This needs to be managed. Some times BMTC buses try to over take each other at the bus stops.

This situation can be managed forthwith if lay-outs are drawn at the bus stops for three buses to park themselves at one time in a queueing fashion which means buses have to invariably move into the slots marked for them at the bus stops which would clearly create parking boundaries for the BMTC buses on the roads and commuters know precisely where the buses are likely to halt themselves; I think this discipline is long over due at most bus stops of the city.

The traffic police of the city are doing great service; but traffic jams need management. A proper statistical study must be conducted to identify the pattern of traffic jams and the places where they occur; the time of the day when they occur; reasons for occurrence; days in the week when the traffic jams are due and possible suggestions of some simple solutions that can be implemented and also long term remedies.Some kind of proactive remedies must be undertaken to manage jams.