CONNECTING THE DOTS & TRYING TO MAKE SENSE FROM IT

Let us start with science, about the creation and existence of our universe. 

The Big Bang theory explains how the universe got created from a single point by high density and temperature. The whole thing is believed to have exploded from the single point and thereafter it started expanding ever since. The expansion continues, still. 

NASA describes black hole as a space with such intense gravity that it even it pulls in the light into it. In the black hole, everything is squeezed into such a tiny space, into a single dot. 

The quantum Physics hypothesizes that ALL elementary particles of matter are closed loops of waveform, with intense energy residing in it. By this hypothesis, matter & energy are identified to be two forms of one itself. This is now getting promulgated as ‘unified theory’. The latest experiments on this at CERN & other labs had generated excitement to all science lovers, world over. 

Let us now dwell a while on the Indian spiritual explanation of the situation before the creation: 

Nasadiya Sukta explains the origin of universe (verse 19:129 of Rig Ved). It says;

“There was neither non-existence nor existence then. Neither the realm of space nor the sky beyond. There was neither death nor immortality, neither night nor day, none breathed, for it was windless, and there was absolutely nothing beyond. In to the void, the force of heat came into being”

It then asks, “what stirred, where, in whose protection?”

It doesn’t ascribe the stirring to the Gods, as it says elsewhere that even Gods came after the creation. 

The puranic Hindu cosmology view asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles.

The repeated (cyclic) creation, destruction & re-creation of universes is not asserted by science, yet. How do we explain the big bang theory and the black hole in the context of Hindu cosmology view? Or is it all an illusion (maya) of the mind and the sense organs? 

Isn’t creation, destruction & re-creation similar to birth, death and re-birth?  

Does it help connecting the dots? Aren’t we also part of the cycle? 

Does it confuse us? Or, does it endorses Heinrich Heins, when he says, “sleep is good, death is better of course, the best thing would have been never born at all?

YEAR END MUSING

The year 2023 is about to close. In many ways, it had been a critical year of the century for the Planet so far. 

By late 2019, Wuhan reported an extraordinary respiratory illness akin to SARS and China went about on a war footing to address it but without telling the world.  Spread it did, and took every nation unaware, as we watched how the governments combated it. It came to be legally known as Covid 19 (short form of Corona Virus Disease 2019) & the pandemic did have ‘thandav’ across the planet.  

As per World Health Organisation (WHO), as of date, globally, there have been 77,28,38,745 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 69,88,679 deaths. As I write this,  a total of 13,59,57,21,080 vaccine doses have been administered on the people. This had been one hell of an anti-pandemic endeavour for the world. The way vaccines got formulated underwent sea change, to the extent that the scientists who developed the Covid vaccine unconventionally, are declared as the Nobel Prize winners for the year 2023. 

As I write this, in this part of the world, another variant of Covid, JN.1, is now playing tricks. How far & how destructive this be, will be known only by the beginning quarter of the new year. 

Yes, the year 2020 & 2021 fully belonged to the Pandemic. The year 2022 went this way, that way and only by 2023 that the world relaxed. The new normals of life slowly started receding back but with abundant caution, and now, hybrid life is a gift of Covid 19 to mankind.

Personally, the year 2023 was a year of transition for me. It is when I decided to end my deep association with the  professional and social bodies that I was actively part of. Thus, my TiE Kerala, KMA & Rotary activities fully came to a standstill. What is now left is ISTD where again, my intense involvement had well reduced. Being in the thick of it all for more than a quarter century, I was afraid that I would display ‘withdrawal’ tendencies but the impact wasn’t as heavy and today one is very comfortable with the current state of affairs. My routine acts like teaching at CUSAT, keynote deliveries, mentoring, blogging etc. continued without any hitch in 2023. 

I may want to concentrate on two main things for me for the future; travel and writing. In the year 2023, my reading got doubled and so did my travelling; Hong Kong, Andamans Island, Kolkotta, Jaipur travels figured in the year. The disappointment was not visiting Chola/Pandya edifices in Tamil Nadu, though it was very well in the plans for 2023. One hopes, it should fructify in the year 2024.  

I am also hopeful to finish 2 books during the coming year, first one in English is 99 percent ready and the other already well formed in the mind. Procrastination being what it is, still keeping the fingers crossed 😌

I would like to hear from you about the year that was for you and your plans for the year in the anvil. 

Here is wishing you the very best of the season! You take care.

VRISCHIKOLSAVAM @ POORNATHRAYEESA TEMPLE, TRIPUNITHURA, COCHIN

By late November, each year, festival in temples of Kerala begins, mostly with the Guruvayur temple Ekadashi fest. And for close to 4 months thereafter, thousands of Hindu temples across in the state of Kerala will celebrate the festivities independently.

Tripunuthura Poornathrayeesa temple fest falls in December month of each year. This year, it began on the 9th of December and it will go on till 16th December, for 8 long days. Poornathrayeesa temple festival is one of major temple festivals in Kerala, something which goes on from the morning to the wee hours of the night every day.

On each day, by morning, evening and night; plethora of art, dance and musicals are performed here, Ottan Thullal, Kathakali, Dance, Musical concerts and of course, the Melams. Different types of Melams are performed for long hours within the temple precincts, Panchari melam, Thayamabaka, Nadaswaram and the like.

Poornathrayeesa temple’s main deity is Maha Vishnu, in the form of ‘Santana Gopala Murthy’ and it is one of the patron Gods of the erstwhile Kochi kings. Monarchy is long gone but the reverence and enthusiasm with which people of Tripunuthura conducts the festivities of this temple, even to this day, is something very noteworthy. Tens of thousands of people throng to the temple each day and they stay on the premises for long duration, enjoying firstly the melam, and then, the other art forms performed around.

On the first day itself, my wife and I made our visit to the temple to enjoy the morning ‘Panchari melam’. It was played by the renowned Artist, Padmasri Peruvanam Kuttan Marar and his team. It started at 7.30 hours and went on till noon, such a nonstop performance! All this happens in front of 10 plus caparisoned elephants. It was an enchanting visual. It was reverberating and overwhelming.

We are living in the Internet era with technology playing a huge role on the life of people. It has shrunk the time on planet and its beings. However, the how people had preserved their culture and carry it on, could be well experienced from festivals such as this

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ENTREPRENEURS

On 27/10/2013, I had an opportunity to moderate a conversation with Prof. Stephen Zhang, professor of Entrepreneurship & Strategy of Adelaide Business School, Australia, involving invited local entrepreneurs at Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME), Kalamassery, Kochi.

Prof. Zhang, an electronic engineer and a doctorate in management, is a simple human being, otherwise a brilliant thought leader, who has been adjudged as the top Research Professor of the year by his University for consecutive terms, in addition to being chosen among the top 2% Scientist of the world by Stanford University. He had done deep research in the psychology of entrepreneurs, uncertainty in entrepreneurship, psycho physics and gender balance in entrepreneurship

Speaking about the psychology of entrepreneurs, he said that research had proven that entrepreneurs have more self efficacy to transform increasing perception of uncertainty into exploration & opportunity identification.

He terms psycho physics as an area of significance future research to study the entrepreneurial bias and distortion of perception such as underestimating high probables end overestimating low probables.

In a significant study, his team’s research could identify that gender inclusivity is not just an equity issue but a business case. The finding is that a gender balanced team has much more chances of entrepreneurial success. It is not that one gender scores over the the other but gender balance definitely delivers better entrepreneurial outcomes.

The conversation took place in the presence of invited entrepreneurs from different fields such as technology, skill development, alternate learning, medical devices, forex etc. The audience also included the senior professors of XIME as well as student members of XIME Entrepreneurship club. The entrepreneurs had exchanged their views and shared their experiences with the professor some of which did coincide with the professor’s research findings.

It was a forenoon well spent, high in intellectual content, going deeper into understanding of the entrepreneurial psyche, all that happened in the calm and amiable institutional surrounding of XIME.

POLITICAL LEADERS BLOWING THE TRUMPET

Very often we see full page advertisements published by governments of States in newspapers across the nation, including even the vernacular dailies. The States of Delhi, Rajasthan, UP, Telangana & Punjab are most prominent among them. Staying in Kerala, one doesn’t know if our government publish such ads in newspapers outside Kerala?

It is a clear fact that a genuine reader hates advertisements in the newspaper. In fact he looks at it negatively. At worst, he would give it just a cursory glance, period. Even if some readers have a look at it, she wouldn’t bother. And it is also a fact is that no one reads the advertisement. Surely, an average newspaper reader is not bothered about the tall claims advertised by a State in the country with which he is simply not having any connection with.

All in all, the purpose of the advertisement is never served. Knowing this fully, the States waste so much of money on huge periodic advertisements on newspapers of other States whose readers never find a relevance in it.

The money saved by not blowing the trumpet in other State’s print media could be better utilised for the real welfare of the people of the State. For example, it could have saved a patient from death, it could have helped a family marry off its daughter, it would have helped build a home for homeless, it could have helped fill the empty stomach of the poverty-ridden, it could have helped many geriatrics to live better in old age homes……..

Who is bothered here? Remember, each of these States is spending additionally huge money (and machinery) in a big way in social media campaigns too. What do these political leaders of the State want? Sheer PUBLICITY, nothing else.

And most of the claims in the advertisement would have been just pronouncements with no further actions taken on it. Claims having no substance in it is being advertised by fame seeking political leaders in this ‘post truth’ world. The world had changed a lot, isn’t it ?

Other than helping the news baron’s financial status, these ads do not help any purpose.

10 COMMANDMENTS ON CREATING AN ECOSYSTEM TO CLOSE DEALS FAST & EFFICIENTLY

1. Train the sales team on attitude, responses, telephone / email / messaging etiquette and customer centricity

2. Slowly, steadily and continually indoctrinate a *winners mindset* in them

3. Create high learning quotient in your agents. Conduct product quiz regularly & incentivise product learning.

4. Automating your sales processes (CRM, SFA, Call centre software, Customer care solution etc) is a must BUT please do not complicate it for sales guys while entering it. Sales people enjoy winning cases than documenting them.

5. When an executive joins, she must be properly oriented through her JD, KRA and KPIs. W.r.t. KPIs, encourage her to do self reviews.

6. Do not fill up you customer / prospect database with incoherent, unintelligent data. Data must be accurate, continually updated and relevant, so that your agents are able to touch base the right contact at the right time.

7. Clean your customer data from time to time (people leave companies often) and add current data (name & coordinates of contacts) so that it is fresh and accurate

8. Feed the agent with appropriate domain based case studies and customer endorsements / references to help her close the deals.

9. Get your HR manager to come up with programs that create curiosity, excitement and positivity in your agents. Create a calendar of activities in advance for training & fun sessions. Have monthly colourful award / reward function for them.

10. The reviewing mentors & superiors must have continuous ‘one on one’ session with the agents periodically. Do reviews decently and positively. Keep negativity and criticisms out. Never hurt the self esteem of executives. Objective of the mentors must be to create a winner’s mindset in them.

KALPATHY RATHOLSAVAM 2023

All these years, one was only hearing and reading about Kalpathy Chariot Festival (Ratholsavam) but the urge to see it and experience it finally materialised this year. So, my wife & I, off we went to Kalpathy on the 16th November which was the crescendo day of the festivities. A good friend, Prof. (Dr) Rajeswari who is a resident of Kalpathy ‘Agraharam’ (the Tamil name of a traditional Brahmin village) played the role of a perfect host,

The Ratholsavam is similar to the famous Rathayatra, the annual chariot festival carrying the ‘vigraha’ of Lord Jagannath of Puri, Odisha (which gave rise to the English word, “Juggernaut”, meaning an overwhelming force). This is a unique festival, conducted in pure Vedic tradition by the migrant Tamil Brahmins (locally called, Bhattar / Pattar - പട്ടർ) who settled on the banks of Kalpathy river, a tributary of the river Nila or Bharathapuzha, during 14th century CE. The temple of Lord Shiva with consort Parvathy (addressed here as Viswanatha & Visalakshi) was consecrated sometime during 1425 CE. The progenies of migrant Brahmins from Thanjavur, Kumbakonam & Madurai, settled in 4 adjoining villages of Chathapuram, Govindarajapuram, Kalpathy & New Kalpathy; all come together in these days, carrying the Gods of their own village along with them, in hugely decorated wooden chariots. Thus the Lords; Siva with consort Parvathy, Ganesha, Vishnu & Subramanya move around Kalpathy and finally have their confluence in front of the Viswanatha temple on the last day. This, we experienced in its awesome beauty, milling with huge crowd (it is said that over a 100,000 people visit here on the last day)

It is a real sight watching the devotees pull the HUGE chariots. Men, women, children, old & young; all partake in it, singing devotional songs. The force required to pull the chariot is tremendous and while on move, the stability of the chariot needs to be keep, which can be managed only by experienced hands. All these happening with hundreds of thousand people moving around, with no untoward mishap all through these days, is a humongous task by itself.

Festivals like Kalpathy Ratholsavam manifests the legacy of the rich tradition and culture of the country and the state. Something that started 7 centuries ago, is still enacted in its pristine glory by the descendants who had significantly partaken in the progress of the country! Being there at the historic Ratholsavam, observing it with the underlying knowledge of our glorious past, was an experience in itself

A DAY @ STATE BANK INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP (SBIL), KOLKOTA.

Based on the invitation of the Dean of SBIL, Prof. Dr. N. Krishna Kumar to deliver a session on “Higher Leadership for Organisational Excellence” at this institute on the forenoon of 4th December, 2023 and also to partake in the Panel discussion with Dr Anil K Khandelwal, former CMD of Bank of Baroda & Shri. Arun K Jain, Sr. Vice President of SBI Capital, moderated by Dr KK by the same evening on the theme, ‘Leading in the age of disruption & transformation’.

The institute is located in the Fintech Zone of fast developing Newtown of Kolkata. In style, substance and size, SBIL is a huge edifice having all modern infrastructure to conduct multiple concurrent residential leadership programs not only for the senior managers of State Bank of India (SBI) but also for senior officers of other banks within and outside India.

The one that I lectured was an International Leadership Development Program for senior managers of multiple banks located in 5 different nations (Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Indonesia & India), a cohort of 30 officers attending it for a week. In fact the program started with my session. I had enjoyed delivering it and I hope the participants have had some good take-aways.

The panel discussion had a larger audience, in addition to the above cohorts, it was also physically attended by the close to 70 Dy. General Managers of SBI who were undergoing training here, plus close to 200 alumnus of SBIL attending in online mode from different parts of the world. The panel discussion was truly enriching with Dr Khandelwal leading it in his inimical style.

Having lectured in many similar institutions in the past, I observed SBIL to be far ahead of others, in terms of both content and delivery. Its top class infrastructure surely aids the knowledge dissemination in a big way. For me too, it was a new but pleasant experience.

Learning and development must be the key to growth and sustenance of any corporate. While this is a global understanding, it is not the way Indian corporates look at L&D. We see regular cuts being effected on L&D budgets of many companies. It is indeed heartening to see SBI standing as an exception to this.

I am very impressed by the care given to us by the multitasking Dean, Prof. N Krishna Kumar and the efficient, unassuming Director of the Institute, Shri. K.V Bangarraju, who is also a General Manager of SBI. With such committed professionals in the top, it is no wonder that SBIL is delivering world-class L&D programs to its stakeholders.