CMS LIFE

Why TenderSURE needs to be completed ASAP

Last week, I was pretty bewildered by all the sudden frenzy, brouhaha and media attention to the TenderSURE project in the city. The dusty yellow barricades, heaps of debris and all the pipes stacked up had become a common sight to anyone commuting through the CBD of the city. One initially was bound to assume that it was a routine utilities maintenance operation or some kind of footpath relaying or road widening project. However, TenderSURE is much more than that. The Jana Urban Space Foundation (JanaUSP), which is spearheading this project along with several prominent citizens of the city, on its website, says this about the project: “Project Tender S.U.R.E. is all about getting the urban road right; about addressing the issues that have made Indian roads so notorious for their chaotic traffic , potholes, broken footpaths, overflowing drainage,poorly placed power transformers and their hanging, spaghetti tangle of electrical wiring and telecom fixtures. It's about breaking out of the never-ending cycle of temporary fixes that arise from inadequate design and poorly monitored construction efforts. It's about doing away with the ever growing budgetary expenditure on digging and repairing the same roads time and time again whilst never managing to actually enhance the quality of the infrastructure itself, nor the experiences of those who use it; It's about finally taking steps towards addressing the relationship between the quality condition of our streets, and the quality of our lives.”

One evening, after watching a Hollywood blockbuster at a multiplex on Cunningham Road, I experienced hell. It was pouring cats and dogs and it was an unexpected sudden downpour, the kind Bengaluru is famous for. The situation was that of utter chaos. The drains were clogged, the roads were flooded with at least a couple of feet of water, the traffic was noisy and unruly and not surprisingly, stationary. Pedestrians were all over the road due to absence of a navigable footpath on either side of the road, causing even more confusion and putting themselves in danger. The BMTC buses caused huge confusion as they stopped far away from the designated bus stops. It was a nightmare. Large parts of the width of Cunningham Road and surrounding areas have been cordoned off for work on the TenderSURE project. To the layman, all the dirt, dust, muck, piles of sand and towers of tiles and pipes made the situation worse that day. However, the point is, TenderSURE is the permanent solution to such a situation. Had the project been completed, hypothetically, that day, none of the above chaos would have happened. There would’ve been no water logging as the drainage system undergoes a total overhaul, the footpaths would have been wide and pedestrian-friendly enough to accommodate all those people who were risking their lives, the dedicated areas for parking and bus shelters would have cleared the confusion of both the drivers and commuters and the traffic would have moved smoothly. 

In such a situation, elements in the bureaucracy with vested interests trying to throw a spanner in the works of the project are condemnable. An interesting case in point here is, the auto-rickshaw driver (of the auto I hired to get back home that night) seemed to be more aware about TenderSURE than a lot of people. He was all praise for the project, in Kannada. A rough translation would be something of this sort: “Why don’t they complete this project sooner, Sir?! They must work day and night and use all available machinery and technology to finish the work. It will benefit everyone and make commuting through the central parts of the city a breeze. We get a lot of abuse from the people, but I hope once this project is completed with all the facilities, happier citizens will mean lesser abuse towards us.” When he could get the essence of the entire project and its effort in creating better urban spaces with the help of design and innovation to improve the standard of living of Bengalureans, why can’t the officials and bureaucracy get it? Unnecessarily creating controversies and objecting to aspects like the width of the footpath is trivial. The BBMP designs and all the hyped road widening projects haven’t worked even a single bit in easing the traffic situation in the city for all these years. 

TenderSURE will work and must be given a chance. It will be beneficial if it is scaled up and implemented in a lot more areas and cities across the country. Come mid-2015, if all goes well, we will see the first TenderSURE road operational and running. The first phase will be completed by end of 2015 after which the project will go for a review and taken forward from there. Indian cities have always lacked the required aesthetic design and planning and TenderSURE is an encouraging step towards working on creating better public spaces and better urban infrastructure. It might seem small-scale as of now, but the impact can be huge. The Prime Minister’s ‘100-Smart-cities’ programme can probably take a leaf or two out of this initiative. It is a great initiative by some of the top corporate biggies, entrepreneurs, organisations and civic experts of the city. When the citizens work for the city, the city works for them.

BOOK REVIEW: Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

First of all, I must admit I am not completely sure why I’m writing this review. It’s probably just to get my thoughts out and share my sorrows. Half of the English-language readers in this country (including the ones Bhagat claims to have initiated) have probably already finished reading the novel. A quarter are probably in the process and the rest are possibly either going to do so in the next couple of weeks or contemplating whether to bite the bullet.

For the sake of clarity, I’m a CB fan. He’s a wonderful human being, friendly and chilled out, ahead of the times, a crowd puller, a marketing mogul, a media darling, extremely intelligent and has his finger on the pulse of the youth of the country, A TRUE ROCKSTAR! Some of his earlier works, let’s face it, were super entertaining and fun to read. All the name-calling, slander and elitist ostracism was and continues to be ridiculous. Bhagat never claimed to be a literary genius with a penchant for vocabulary, grammar or for that matter, sense. He has always maintained a mass-appeal brand, is proud of it, bandies it about and that’s completely fine. If a Haider and Bang Bang can release on the same day and co-exist rather successfully, so can a Hosseini and Half Girlfriend. Just because Happy New Year is utter nonsense and both its comedy and action are highly idiotic, one cannot deny it being a movie or say it is not a product of filmmaking. It might not be a good movie (subjective) but it still is a film and looking at the collections, the people of the country love it. So to say Half Girlfriend is not a book or work of literature is equally foolish. It may not be a good book, but it still is very much literature (let’s ignore the tags, genres, sub-genres and categories) and millions of readers have read and loved it!

The first part of the book is set in St.Stephen’s, Delhi where many clichés are repeated and stereotypes pandered to. It is funny that the heroine wants to maintain distance and not get into a physical relationship only due to personal choice and not due to some kind of a class factor, as suggested in the synopsis. The significance of the title of the book also ends here. I expected it to have much more meaning and hold a strong theme running throughout the story. It was not so.

The rather weak storyline just dragged on and on at parts. It seemed like some parts were added to just increase the number of pages and thickness of the book. The plot itself plays out like a Bollywood movie word to word. No, it isn’t the fact that we have seen so many movies adapted from his books that makes this happen. It actually is like a Bollywood movie throughout. Scene to scene. One can even predict the locales, settings, props, and of course, the placement of songs. No wonder Mohit Suri and Ekta Kapoor pounced for the film rights even before the book released. The author throws in tips to learn better English, improve public speaking and even indulges in a little self-praise for teaching the non-English speaking youth of the country the language. Justified to an extent. Commercial compulsions have probably cost Bhagat a book that would have been a great example to have started a debate around the English elitism. However, if his interviews and talks are anything to go by, I am quite confused. On the one hand he trashes the English chauvinism of St.Stephen’s but is somehow fine with the scientific, mathematical and managerial chauvinism of the IITs and IIMs. So is he actually talking about the issue or playing to the gallery?

The plot twists are quite interesting. Especially towards the end, the story gathers some pace and some of the revelations Bhagat springs do take you by surprise. The second half of the movie… I mean, the book gets slightly more interesting and gets you hooked. At times the lack of detail and elaboration annoys you and at times, unnecessary details bore you to death. For example, on the one hand, a lot of social, economic and political issues of India are just mentioned abruptly. They don’t serve any purpose. If the objective is to throw light on some of these issues, an explanation in context is necessary. On the other hand, you are forced to overlook large chunks of information, at times entire paragraphs to skip the crappy and inconsequential details. This is especially true when streets and addresses in New York City are being talked about.

Having said that, Bhagat’s latest offering is disappointing. Was it the huge expectation? Was it the hype? Was it the marketing blitzkrieg? Maybe… But one thing is quite certain; it is easily his worst or second worst, I can’t choose between this and One Night at the Call Center. At the end of the day, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way. Extremely mediocre language is a given. Simple language is his style is what he claims, but wrong English? Filmy, filmy, filmy all the way! Predictable ending, which is also super-duper filmy. A dash of strong, sensible emotion and a pinch of humour here and there keep you going by shocking you and shaking you, but this is too little to salvage the rest of the book. Let there be no doubt it is a mega-bestseller and loads of people love it. Similarly, it is going to be a mega-blockbuster that will set cash registers at box offices across the country ringing. It’s the kind of movie that will easily romp to the 100Cr. mark, and with the right casting, direction and some great music, one can’t rule out 150Cr. or even more for that matter. Is it worth the money? Absolutely! At Rs. 176, 150, 120 or 99 (depending on where and when one buys it) the book does justice. It is not a bad read, just a very ordinary one with nothing captivating or unique to offer. But is it worth the time and effort spent on finishing the novel? I would seriously suggest you consider waiting for the movie, in case you haven’t already decided. It will be almost the same thing anyway. But wait! Wasn’t Chetan’s intention to make young India read? Not until your work offers something more than Bollywood, sir. 

Toastmasters International - 2nd Speech

Experience in CMS 

It was my first day in this college. I walked into the gate, extremely nervous, but excited. I wondered what it would be like. I hoped for an amazing day but was also prepared for a mediocre day. It was extremely intimidating to look around and find people in groups and small gangs chatting, laughing and looking very comfortable. I felt awkward until I found a few familiar faces –. Good morning Master toastmaster, evaluators, dear guests and my fellow toastmasters. I am going to talk about my experience in CMS so far.

Honestly, it has been nothing like I expected it to be. I have enjoyed these 1st few weeks a lot more than I anticipated. We started off with 2 weeks of a lengthy but useful orientation period. Some which I truly enjoyed and some not so much. However, it did help me make a smoother transition into college by the time regular classes began. It was during these 2 weeks that I got to know most of the class and spent a little time interacting and getting to know my classmates better – the ones that were present, at least. Once regular classes began, the focus shifted to subjects, teachers, assignments, deadlines, attendance and what not!

The one month of management and cultural fest team selections is the best experience one can go through. In terms of fun as well as learning, all the extra time that we spent in college was totally worth it! Then came the Fresher’s Day which was yet another superb experience. The entire class being a team and working towards victory really helped us in realizing the importance and power of unity and pride. I must say I truly enjoyed those evenings where we stayed back till late evening in college trying to finish our B-Plan. We racked our brains and exhausted our ideas and equally had our share of fun and laughter. Being media students our brain is not wired to come up with a ‘financial’ plan but none the less we had to! And oh boy! It was a tough task. We hate math for god’s sake!

Toastmasters is also a truly wonderful opportunity for me to get rid of my stage fear. The meets every Thursday never fail to surprise me, and hence I await them eagerly. The themes are fun, the speeches give me insights into my classmates and the interactivity helps everyone open up.

Coming to firsts… In CMS- oh no sorry, BMS... I wrote the 1st ever imposition in my life. It was the first time when watching a movie was actually a serious class. 1st time I discovered that 2 of my friends, at the peak of laughter can sound like donkeys who are suffocating and are about to die. It was the 1st time where nicknames like ‘KG kid’ and ‘Slumchild’ are considered prestigious. 1st time when “meet me after class” is scarier than any punishment. 1st time when taking attendance on a tab is the short-term ambition of everyone in class. 1sttime I made models using unimaginable materials including toilet paper. 1st time I took a selfie of the class, with the teacher, in the class. 1st time when intelligence, knowledge, performance and talent is given more importance than marks. 1st time when all the teachers are so friendly and approachable… the list is endless.

So dear classmates, here’s to many more firsts. Many more achievements. Much more learning and of course, a lot of fun. We’ve managed to stick together and do so much, but we still have a long way to go. There will be highs and lows but as long as we are there for each other, we can overcome every obstacle. So let us enjoy what we are doing and give it our best shot. Let’s make the best of all the time we have together during these 3 years. 

Over to the MC

Freshers' Day @ CMS

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” - Peter Drucker

Management and leadership skills are best learnt on the job and 1^st year students of Jain University – Center for Management Studies (CMS) learnt this when they organized their Freshers’ Day. The event was held at MLR Convention Centre, Brigade Millennium Campus, JP Nagar on the 28^th of July 2014.

The entire event was completely put together by the students, for the students. Right from the conceptualization, screening process, hospitality and logistics, inviting of judges and actual implementation on D-day, students got a first-hand experience of all the nitty-gritty’s that go into managing and organizing an event of a certain magnitude. Involvement of professors and college staff was minimal and it was a win-win situation.

The event began at 9 AM with the invocation song and lighting of the lamp. Thereafter, Center Head, Prof. Dinesh Nilkant addressed the batch calling it his ‘dream batch’ due to the varied talents and capabilities of the students from both the management and media sections. Before the inter-class competitions began, Chairman of Jain Group of Institutions Dr. Chenraj Roychand gave his words of wisdom to the Freshers present at the event.

The inter-class competitions conducted were Solo-singing, solo-dance, group-dance, business plan, business quiz and humorous speech. The participants from all the classes put up an amazing show of talent and knowledge. The CMS Bollywood dance team enthralled the audience with an energetic dance performance. The CMS Theatre club, ‘Thespiae’ also showcased a play that was loved by all. Musical performances by Mr. Dilip of the media studies department and also the CMS music team received wonderful appreciation too. The college newsletters and a ‘Toastmasters International’ newsletter were released by the Center Head and he congratulated the editorial teams on their efforts.

Saving the best for the last, the final few events of the day were the most awaited. Yash Bhandari, a BBA was selected as the 1^st year CMS Best Manager. The names of first-year students, who were selected for the Cultural Fest Team, were announced by CMS Cultural heads Zaid Siraj, Guru Datha and Sushmitha Singh. The first-years who made it onto the highly prestigious Management Fest Team were officially unveiled by Ronit Lahiri and Vetrivel Natarajan. Last, but not the least, BBA ‘C’ Section were announced the overall winners and took away the Freshers’ Day Trophy.

The experience of organizing a large event such as Freshers’ Day gives students a great amount of exposure.  The art of communication and negotiation with various stakeholders is mastered. The value of finances & funds is realized. The importance of time and punctuality is reinstated into students who are fresh out of school. A sense of professionalism and a corporate form of functioning automatically seeps into the working style of the young students and this is supremely advantageous. Lastly, it acts as a much-needed bridge for students to successfully make the transition from a protected school environment to a much more open and unguarded atmosphere of college life. This, not just in terms of a managerial perspective, but also in terms of an audience’s perspective, where a socio-cultural gathering of young and enthusiastic students raring to go, provides for an entertaining and educative experience like never before. Such an affair also lays a strong foundation for the many such events lined up throughout the year at CMS. Students are only going to build upon their knowledge and efforts, going forward in life.

Lesser Known Mysteries- Aug '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- July '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- June '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- May '14

“Prostitutes of God” - a Report

In 2008, Sarah Harris quit her job at the ‘The Independent on Sunday’ and came to India to work on a documentary showcasing religious prostitution in India. The documentary also covered the issue of child and sex trafficking. “One day, I walked into a meeting at an NGO,” she recalls, “and there were a group of women sitting there, who I assumed were prostitutes. But later, someone told me that they were actually devadasi or “servants of god”; religious prostitutes, and part of an ancient Hindu tradition. It was at that point my interest was piqued.”

In South India, a devadasi (Sanskrit: servant of deva (god) or Devi (goddess)) is a girl "dedicated" to worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. Traditionally devadasis had a high status in society. After marrying wealthy patrons, they spent their time honing their skills instead of becoming a housewife. They had children from their husbands who were also taught their skills of music or dance. Often their patrons had another wife who served them as housewife. After going through a dedication ceremony which "married" them to the fertility goddess Yellamma, they would act as temple care-takers: performing rituals in honour of their goddess, as well as dancing and playing music for the entertainment of wealthy locals. Over time, however, the tradition began to change, and the devadasi became less respected. “Many ended up becoming the mistress of a particular ‘patron’ - often a royal, or nobleman - as well as serving in the temple," says Harris, "and eventually, the connection with the temple became severed altogether. Today, although there are still many women called devadasi, and who have been dedicated to the goddess, a lot of them are essentially prostitutes.” During British rule in the Indian subcontinent, kings who were the patrons of temples and temple arts became powerless. As a result, devadasis were left without their traditional means of support and patronage. During colonial times, reformists worked towards outlawing the devadasi tradition on grounds that it supported prostitution. Colonial views on devadasis are hotly disputed by several groups and organizations in India and by western academics as the inability of the British to distinguish them from the petty girls who danced in the streets.

Recently the devadasi system has started to disappear, having been outlawed in all of India in 1988. However, it still exists in a robust form in some remote parts of South India. This is exactly what the documentary is trying to showcase.

In the documentary, various devadasis and prostitutes are shown. Sex workers also share their life stories and explain the circumstances that forced them to take up the particular profession. While we saw some sex workers who were very open and cool about the whole thing, we saw some who were not. There were a few women who believed they were doing nothing wrong by selling their body in order to earn a living. After all they were not educated, were from an uneducated background and had no means of earning a decent amount of money. There was this gay sex worker who was also very open about the fact.

Sarah also spoke to a cross-dressing man who loved to wear saris because he felt beautiful in them. He clearly stated that he was not ashamed at all and was quite happy with life except for 1 thing- he wanted a family. He wanted to be born a girl so that he could give birth and be a mother. He had adopted a kid and said he was very unlucky that God did not give him the fortune of being a female. He promised to educate his daughter and allow her the freedom to pursue a career of her choice.

At the end, we saw some old women who told Sarah that they were initially told that they would be servants of God and hence they obliged. Little did they know that that was an excuse for them to be trafficked and exploited. They however said that it earned them good money and they were able to feed their families, buy clothes and get a TV. In the end though, they regret their decision in life and are seen crying.

In the documentary, we clearly see how in rural areas of some parts of our country, certain practices are still followed even though they are against the law. It also shows all the challenges and difficulties these people have to face in day-to-day life. It shows how the caste system can lead to total oppression of some classes and how these people are forced to stick to performing only certain jobs that are considered menial. It shows how poverty and desperation can lead people to do things they never imagined. Finally, it shows how everyone exploits and uses the services of these people but when it comes to giving them basic human rights, respect and dignity, society shuns them. Education and awareness are essential components to bring about the end of the devadasi and sex-trafficking system.

In Conversation with Vivek Vinayak

Vivek Vinayak, an alumnus of CMS-JU, is doing wonders for himself in the Television news industry. He graduated from CMS as a Bachelor in Media Studies and is currently an anchor, news presenter and popular reporter for News9, an English news channel. Vivek completed his 10^th from Presidency School and completed his P.U in the science stream from Presidency P.U College. Thereafter he joined the BMS course at CMS-JU and has made a unique place for himself in the industry. I spoke to Vivek and interviewed him in between his extremely busy schedule (I managed to get only a 15 minute slot from him, that too on a Sunday!). Here are the excerpts:

Surya: What interested you about the media studies programme at CMS?

Vivek: I did very badly in my 2 years of PU College and realized that science was not my calling. As I researched more, I felt that media was the right fit for me and hence I decided to pursue the course. Things about the media like its unpredictability, a new challenge every day and things like that appealed to me greatly.

S: How was your college life at CMS and how did the BMS course help you achieve your goals?

V: I had a great time at CMS and I learnt a lot from the teachers and my classmates. All the extra activities and programs organized at college gave me many platforms to try out my interests. The USP of CMS is the restricted-freedom given to students to pursue their goals. It is extremely important to make use of this freedom in the right way. Some people who took advantage and misused the freedom regret it to date. I, however made sure that I used my time wisely and put in my fullest. I completely agree when the department tells us that BMS is a passion-driven course.

S: I heard you started working alongside college from the 1^st year itself? How did you manage that and how hard was it to juggle between college and work?

V: Yes, I started working from my 1^st year itself. The turning point was when a friend of mine and I won the Radio One college championship and we hosted our own radio show on 94.3 FM for about 8 months. It was at this point that I realized I was actually good at something and I wanted to learn more. I realized that I would only learn a lot more on the job and wanted to explore the industry. Therefore in the second year, I applied for a post at News9 and they wanted me to join full-time. I explained to them that I was a student and they thankfully understood. They took me in anyway and made me help out at the office, studio and on-ground as well. I loved my job and enjoyed it. While my friends were at movies, pubs and malls, I would be at an event- reporting it, or in the office scripting the next show. It’s all about your passion.

S: What are the opportunities and challenges one should keep in mind while pursuing the BMS course and aiming for a career in the industry?

V: The biggest opportunity is that it’s a vast field. Its size and reach is unimaginable and impact is huge. As long as you find the right fit, you are sorted! However, the opportunity comes with its own fallacy. Yes, the media is like an ocean, but the number of fish is too large for the ocean to handle. The number of aspirants for media jobs is huge and greatly outnumbers the jobs available. This trend is only growing stronger. Hence it becomes a threat. Unless you stand out, have a unique personality, grab every opportunity with both hands and put in your level best, it is impossible to make it in the industry. Finally, there is also definitely the luck factor- you need to be in the right place at the right time and know the right people.

S: Lastly, do you have any other words of advice for the current BMS students at CMS to excel?

V: Just enjoy yourselves guys! Have fun! By fun, I don’t mean your kind of ‘fun’. Believe me, I’ve been there. Make sure you attend classes and listen to your teachers. It makes a world of a difference! You don’t have to be a genius. Just give it your best and the department will support you no matter what! To be honest, less partying will give you a whole lot of time to do things that matter to you. Get as much experience and exposure as possible. Finally, as you are reading this interview, you must be telling yourself in the back of your head, “Please get going!”

I also spoke to Vivek’s friend and batchmate Dilip and he had this to say- “Vivek was very committed to his work and serious about his career. He was a backbencher along with me and we enjoyed a lot in college. He is very friendly and down-to-earth with a great sense of humour. He always makes it a point to spend time with us even though he has an extremely busy schedule. Also, Vivek was an excellent Toastmaster”.

I then spoke to the Head of the Media Department of CMS, Mr. Madhavan Shankaran. “Vivek was never a topper. He was very average when it came to academic performance, except in subjects like Radio and TV in which he excelled. However, when it came to practical work Vivek was the best ever. He was way above the rest of his batch. He had a pleasant charming personality and got along with everyone. He had this unique ability to gel with people from various walks of life and different backgrounds. This characteristic has helped him become a successful anchor and I am terribly proud of him”, said Mr. Madhavan S.

Lesser Known Mysteries- Apr '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- Mar '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- Feb '14

Lesser Known Mysteries- Jan '14