Learning beyond textbooks!

During my MBA days (2007-09), we went to a village named "Nuagadh" to participate in a "Disaster Mitigation Program", which was jointly organized Red Cross Society of India.

Wrote the below article based on my experience, which subsequently got published in one of the College Magazine. Was rummaging stuff on my old lappy today, and came across this write-up. Certainly refreshed my college memories...

We, a group of 48 students accompanied by Prof. Partho Sengupta and two officials of The Red Cross Society went to a village named Nuagadh near Puri, which was one of the worst affected areas in the 1999 Supercyclone.

Objectives of our visit:

1.      To gain first- hand knowledge of the initiatives taken by The Red Cross Society in educating the people of Nuagadh village about the nuances of disaster management tools and techniques.

2.      To have a better understanding of the technical and humane aspects of any disaster.

3.      To understand the step wise procedure of a disaster mitigation programme.

4.      To get real hands on experience of how people live in villages, their problems, their livelihood methods, etc.

5.      Interacting and encouraging them to hone their skills in disaster mitigation.

We started on a cold and foggy morning of 11^th Jan’09 at about 8 am from our hostel. But the weather failed to dampen our energy and spirit. In fact the weather was a perfect contrast to what we were feeling from within. Since this trip was going to be our first in our MBA lives, we were all fired up to make it a resounding success.

We picked up Partho Sir and the Red Cross officials on our way to the Red Cross Canteen in Bhubaneswar. After having a hearty breakfast of Puri sabzi, gulabjamun and refreshing cups of tea, we started our sojourn to the village of Nuagadh. One of the officials addressed us in the bus, outlining the salient points of the Disaster Mitigation Programme and how the visit would be enriching our lives as well as the lives of the natives of Nuagadh.

Super Cyclone of 1999 in Orissa

We reached Nuagadh at about 11.30 am. We were overwhelmed to receive a very warm welcome from the natives and Red Cross officials. They greeted us with bouquets n flowers. All of them were gathered in a disaster prevention shelter, which was a one storey building with facilities like tap water and toilets etc. First we were shown a video depicting some shots of the 1999 Supercyclone and the initiatives taken by Red Cross. The video was with a very mellifluous yet gut wrenching folk song in Oriya about the hazards faced by people during the cyclone.

After having refreshments of Biscuits and coffee, they introduced the volunteers of Nuagadh, who had undergone successful completion of Disaster Mitigation Training Programme. And from there onwards, they took over. We were quite astounded to meet such a spirited bunch of young people who had not only the confidence to give superb presentations but a very sound knowledge about the skills required during disaster mitigation. The flair with which they presented and explained to us,  even though they were armed with simple tools like chalk n blackboard, would have put any tech savvy MBA  graduate to shame! That just goes on to show the depth of talent and hidden potential of the youngsters in our villages. It’s high time India starts tapping into this huge reservoir of talent, if it truly wants to become a developed country.

First of all, a female volunteer showed and explained to us the map of their village, what do the different icons mean, what are the different routes and pathways etc and what is our exact position on the map.

Then a manual siren was shown to us, which is used to warn the people about any upcoming disaster and its use was demonstrated. Its sound waves carried up to 2 km.

They explained to us the importance of having records like how many adults, male and females, kids; handicapped, elderly people stay in which parts of the villages, and how to relocate them or to evacuate them to the disaster shelter in the fastest way possible.

Then the various life saving techniques were demonstrated by the volunteers. How to lift and carry an unconscious person who is double your weight from a one storey building was one of such techniques shown to us. First aid procedures like bandaging a broken skull or injury were demonstrated with quite theatrical proficiency. Artificial respiration, and how to bandage a broken arm were also shown.

Map showing Nuagadh vis-a-vis other places

A very novel comparative analysis was shown by one of the officials. The whole disaster mitigation programme was compared to a building, where the foundation stone was compared to The Red Cross Society without whose initiative and support , the whole programme wouldn’t have existed in the first place. The volunteers from the village were compared to the bricks. They are the ones who have to learn the skills and techniques and propagate it to the others. They are like the cells of our body, structural, fundamental and functional unit of life. The knowledge or the expertise is the cement that binds the bricks or the volunteers together. We found this comparison very thought provoking and it left a deep impact

on our minds.

Then we were divided into 6 groups. Each group was accompanied by a set of 3-4 volunteers and we started on our journey of exploring village life. Interacting with them while walking through the narrow lanes and by lanes of Nuagadh, we learned so much about them, that no book on Rural Management could have taught us ever! That was a very enriching moment for all of us, especially those who never had the opportunity to visit a village before. We also visited one of huts and saw the architectural marvel. Because of its very low entrance and high ceilings, the huts remain very cool in summer and warm and cozy in winters. They offered us “ber” or “Koli”(an Indian fruit grown in villages mostly) as a goodwill gesture. We walked though endless farms and fields and finally reached a small “Sukua” factory on the bank of River Devi. Sukua is basically a kind of Dried Fish, considered a delicacy for non-vegetarians. Its smelly, but once its cooked, tastes heavenly. Most of the villagers are employed in this factory. We also went inside the factory and saw the packaging of “Sukua”. It was kind of a small scale industry visit, very enlightening of course.

Then we returned to our base camp at around 3.45 pm, had a delayed but sumptuous lunch consisting of delicacies like Mushrooms, Gobi, Paneer, etc. Then we organized a small felicitation ceremony for the officials of Red Cross Society who made our visit possible and successful in every sense of the word. They were the connecting link between us and the villagers of Nuagadh.

While returning to our bus, we experienced a very poignant moment, when one of the volunteers named Kartik, a 12 years old boy who had lost his entire family in the Supercyclone, asked us, “Didi! When are you people coming back again?”. We could only reply with a smile, stating our uncertainty, but one thing is for sure, apart from the intellectual upgradation that we experienced, we also had profound spiritual enrichment. We will always treasure and cherish the precious memories of moments spend with some really genuine and warm people we have ever come across in our lives.

Gen Z and its ways...

Read a very good article in ET today, about the upsurge of a niche group of high performing and high maintenance young corporate executives. Extremely efficient, tech-savvy, practicing work life balance, seeking appreciation and recognition constantly. Its really heartening to know, we are gradually shifting towards a more holistic work culture and environment where laid back lifestyle is giving way to healthy competition.

While the article focused on the characteristic traits of such individuals and gave essential tips for their bosses on how to handle them, I would like to take this article one notch higher by discussing the challenges faced by such executives. While the challenges are manifold, lets deliberate on the first and foremost of them.

Resistance by Gen Y (Assuming this bunch is Gen Z) : Its basic human psychology. People resist change, be it any kind, good …bad…strange, whatever! They just find it hard to believe, that a week’s task can be done in 3 hours flat, provided you are willing to stretch yourself. And where is the fun in work, if you don’t stretch yourself. Only a person who has roamed in a parched desert can truly enjoy a chilled glass of water. That almost dead feeling in your body, when you hit the sack long after midnight, after a hard day of work is the most satisfying feeling in the whole world. Simply incomparable.

And this group of Gen Y, will always find some reason or the other to criticize you, however lame is the thing. When they don’t find any aspects of your work, to pull you down, they would resort to non-work categories. And its so tangent, sometimes it gets laughable! And laughing away their barbs, is the only solution to this. Some wise man has said, in some wise book, “If people are talking about you, that means, you are doing good in life.” J

Extracting the juice out of a day by including so many diverse activities comes easily to this group. Be it work or leisure, they have taken perfection to a new level altogether. With the focus of Arjuna, they march ahead towards their goal, which is not money, btw. Its something more spiritual, something really unattainable, if you go on to thrash out the actual meaning of the word. Taking your work to a level, that creates a benchmark. That’s actually the goal, maybe.

Was not planning to write something so serious on a Sunday, but yet again, I let the fingers do the talking, turning out to be an impulsive writer, after all! J

So Chetan Bhagat’s new book is out, “What young India wants?”. Its his first book in non-fiction genre, based on this essays. Looking forward to it. Was going through another article regarding the book launch. So many critics have castigated him on his broken grammar and what not! Arey baba, That’s how we talk, everyone cannot speak perfect Shakespearean English. Will it be believable, if I write, “My dear XYZ, the intention of this epistle is to….”, while “Hi XYZ, wanted to tell you through this letter….” Sounds so REAL!

Guys! Why can’t people just let him BE. Jealousy is ok, but up to a level.

He is hugely successful and popular because, he has managed to touch the pulse of the nation, of the youth, by coming up with stories that people can identify with, characters that have real shades of people in it, it can be anybody’s  story! What is so wrong with it, if he goes on to make some millions out of it. Writing is hard work, after all! And you know what, his so called “Intellectual” critics are only upset ‘coz their books aren’t doing that well, may be. Abstract books don’t have a successful history after all, unless you are an Ayn Rand or Paulo Coelho.

Anyways that’s it for now!

Cheers! J