tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45735962546849888132024-03-05T10:44:21.077-08:00Rishi@IIMBRishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-65269588483383954132012-06-17T18:35:00.000-07:002012-06-17T18:35:04.934-07:00Dream New Dreams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Randy Pausch’s <em>The Last Lecture</em> was an amazingly positive combination of autobiography and life advice from a CMU professor terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. Captured both on film and as a book, it became an inspiration to thousands all over the world. The advice I liked the best was his emphasis on the importance of feedback, even negative feedback – Randy wrote that when someone gives you feedback, it’s a sign that they care for you, and you should get worried when you no longer get feedback, not by critical feedback. <br />
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Randy’s wife, Jai, figured in the video of <em>The Last Lecture</em> when Randy cut a cake in honour of her birthday. Now Jai Pausch has written her own book on Randy’s illness and life ahead. The really poignant and emotional parts are of course focused on discovering Randy’s illness, the ups and downs of his treatment, and the discovery that they had reached the end of the road. I found these parts extremely moving.<br />
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But <em>Dream New Dreams</em> is also very practical. How do you deal with the emotional trauma of your husband dying when you have 3 very small kids? How do you prioritise your time and activities? What do you tell the kids and when? And how do you re-build your life after the inevitable? Jai gives eminently actionable advice on how to address these issues.<br />
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To be honest, while I was really moved by the first part of the book, I found the last few chapters a bit of a drag. The flow was not as smooth, and the book became preachy at points. But, overall, a good read. <br />
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</div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-59338099281027353092012-03-18T09:40:00.001-07:002012-03-18T09:41:56.137-07:00In the Lion's Shadow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fariborz Mukhtari’s <em>In the Lion’s Shadow</em> is the heart-warming story of an Iranian diplomat, Abdol-Hossein Sardari, who saved the lives of hundreds of Iranian Jews during the Second World War in occupied France. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xRcL3G_hggVHW3zy254uzjOaZq-GpUSOMqDQ_6IKe7s1CSPew_2qZ1Vpy-HQpb0obL63hMBUNB-mw0VSUIZsRrysrKf4qjxjHw7kksg3fcahWGIiwYS_v1rWb_qEtKIGGb8HYjHqd130/s1600/in-the-lions-shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xRcL3G_hggVHW3zy254uzjOaZq-GpUSOMqDQ_6IKe7s1CSPew_2qZ1Vpy-HQpb0obL63hMBUNB-mw0VSUIZsRrysrKf4qjxjHw7kksg3fcahWGIiwYS_v1rWb_qEtKIGGb8HYjHqd130/s400/in-the-lions-shadow.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sardari charmed German officials (yes, that was possible!) with lavish parties, prepared detailed notes arguing that Iranian Jews were of Aryan descent, and used his diplomatic guile to protect Iranian Jews from being meted out the inhuman treatment to which other Jews were subjected. Mukhtari’s story comes with several insights into Iranian history, and is tinged with the anguish he feels regarding Iran’s failure to live up to the glory of its past. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A wonderfully moving book….</span></div></div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-79679564362168035322012-03-04T07:19:00.000-08:002012-03-04T07:19:52.043-08:00Mr. China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Many of us in India (and I am sure elsewhere in the world) have been mesmerized by the Chinese economic and industrial juggernaut. The external understanding of this process revolves around SEZs, FDI, and the Chinese government’s economic policies. <br />
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Tim Clissold’s <em>Mr. China</em> (Collins Business, 2004) suggests that the process of transformation of the Chinese economy was far less orderly and structured than it appears from outside. In particular, it highlights the role of foreign private equity in trying to consolidate and grow existing enterprises in China, and the huge challenges such an endeavour faced. <br />
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I found the parts that describe the change process from “factories” to “industrial enterprises” particularly insightful; they remind me of a HBS case we studied several years ago at IIMA on how a Soviet factory was managed. The book also highlights how important an institutional structure, rule of law, contract enforcement, and banking processes are for sustainable industrial development. These were clearly not in place in China till the late 1990s, though things have changed substantially now. In such an environment, private equity firms had to be as entrepreneurial as the firms they were funding!<br />
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Written in the style of a thriller, <em>Mr. China</em> is essential and fun reading for anyone interested in the growth of business enterprises in China.<br />
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</div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-23389231822893034482012-03-01T18:17:00.001-08:002012-03-01T20:19:31.827-08:00Upwardly Mobile<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Ranjini Manian is the founder of Global Adjustments, a Chennai-based professional services firm that helps foreign companies and expatriate managers adapt quickly to India. I have had the opportunity to hear her speak to a group of non-Indian managers, and she has a nice way of presenting Indian culture and dispelling the myths and mysteries regarding doing business in India.<br />
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In her latest book, <em>Upworldly Mobile</em> (Penguin Portfolio, 2011), Ranjini shifts her focus 180 degrees to provide advice as to how an Indian manager can be more effective in a global business environment. She covers a wide range of topics ranging from how to behave in meetings, to mobile and email etiquette, to communication skills. She emphasizes the need to retain one’s Indiannness, and at the same time reach out to the world. <br />
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This is a very practical book and will no doubt be of great help to Indians setting out into the global world of business. It’s infused with a spirit of pragmatism (in my cultural stereotyping, I see this as more like the Chinese!) but honestly, I found the tone a bit too gung-ho, and the advice an overly enthusiastic buy-in to the “flat world” philosophy. Worth a quick read though – it has some nice quotes from Gandhiji and Indira Gandhi among others, and the advice won’t do any harm.<br />
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</div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-13454882883414468072012-01-11T22:33:00.000-08:002012-01-11T22:33:18.602-08:00Books read in 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I read 33 thought-provoking books in 2011. Sharing the details with you in case any of you would like to read any of these. Do write to me if you want more details.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_JQN9Y6fQRsOWVlOWRjMzItMmQ2Ni00MmYwLTllZDgtODI5Y2FkZjlkYjg4">https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_JQN9Y6fQRsOWVlOWRjMzItMmQ2Ni00MmYwLTllZDgtODI5Y2FkZjlkYjg4</a></div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-67508808484327956732011-10-06T18:37:00.000-07:002011-10-06T18:37:06.269-07:00Brick by Red Brick...Institution Building at IIM Ahmedabad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Professor T.T. Ram Mohan of IIM Ahmedabad recently wrote a book titled Brick by Red Brick, focusing on the role of Ravi Matthai and Vikram Sarabhai in building IIM Ahmedabad. My recent column in Edu Tech magazine provides a review of this book and what I learnt from it:<br />
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</div>Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-14653601029408934192010-12-31T19:04:00.000-08:002010-12-31T19:04:51.545-08:00The Books I read in 2010Here's a list of the books I read during 2010, with my ratings. To be honest, I enjoyed reading all of them though I have given them different ratings. I hope to read more fiction during 2011.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-71399787704571381642010-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:002010-09-22T20:19:29.755-07:00Indian Design EdgeThis book written in 2008 by Darlie Koshy, then Director of India’s National Institute of Design makes an impassioned plea for a greater emphasis on design in India.<br />
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He makes the following important points:<br />
• Design thinking is more important than ever before.<br />
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• India needs to create a distinct design identity based on our culture, crafts and traditions. But this identity has to be relevant to modern times.<br />
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• Design has to be integrated with technology and the market. Design is an integral part of a brand strategy.<br />
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• Design has tremendous potential in the service / experience economy. Indian designers have not paid enough attention to the potential of design in this arena.<br />
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• India does not have a critical mass of designers. While the National Design Policy (2007) is a good first step, much needs to be done to make design a national movement.<br />
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Dr. Koshy provides useful insights into the transformation of NID during his tenure (2000-08). He set up new campuses at Gandhinagar and Bangalore, and expanded the number of programmes and intake. This will enable a comparison between the heritage campus at Paldi (Ahmedabad) and the new offshoots. This would enable competition, and a validation of different design paradigms.<br />
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The book has case studies of IndusTree, KAARU, new coinage developed by NID etc. These are useful in understanding how design and an Indian ethos can be coupled together effectively.<br />
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Overall though, the book left me worried. I had interacted with Ashoke Chatterjee, a former Director of NID, in the late 1990s. Even then he was talking about the Ahmedabad declaration on design (1979), and need for a national design policy. But it has taken such a long time even to get the design policy in place. Some of the new events started by Dr. Koshy like the CII-NID Design Summit, Businessworld-NID Design awards are valuable, but still a drop in the ocean. And the huge strides taken by other countries (I have some direct experience at least of the Korean efforts that Dr Koshy has documented in this book) show us up as very slow and fragmented. This story repeats itself in other domains as well. What a tragedy….Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-13795092300937913442010-08-28T23:38:00.000-07:002010-08-28T23:38:08.517-07:00Employees First, Customers SecondVineet Nayar's first-person account of the transformation of HCL Technologies certainly gives food for thought. While many companies talk about the importance of organizational knowledge and the need for managers to facilitate rather than control those who create value for customers, Vineet has explained the specific steps he took at HCLT to invert the pyramid. My favourites - posting the 360-degree feedback of the CEO on the intranet, and getting frontline associates to rate their managers on how they facilitate the customer value creation process. Vineet shows that companies can be run in a much more transparent manner without in any way diluting corporate performance; in fact, the greater openness can be a huge motivator for employees. This book is in the tradition of classics such as Ricardo Semler's <em>Maverick</em>, and is highly recommended.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-12770505020958220642009-11-22T02:11:00.001-08:002009-11-22T02:11:50.096-08:00The ProfessionalSubroto Bagchi’s new book <em>The Professional</em> is a useful addition to the universe of self-help books. Though a trifle preachy, its virtue is that it speaks direct and “as it is” without beating about the bush.<br />While the issues he has covered are quite comprehensive, there are a few points that I would add.<br />One important aspect of professionalism is respecting the work of others. I find in many organisations that technical people have a disdainful view of functions such as HR and Admin, and don’t realise or acknowledge that HR and Admin have an important role to play in providing the environment in which techies work. I am also amazed by the impolite way in which several of our “educated” and “professionally qualified” friends behave with people doing “manual” tasks. Some of the examples Subroto has given (Mahadeva, the customer service person in the Japanese store) hint at this, but I would have preferred a more direct reference.<br />Another important dimension is acknowledging the contribution of others. Many times, in a team context, the leader takes the credit for things that have been accomplished without acknowledging the contribution of his or her team. I would consider that distinctly unprofessional behaviour. A related issue is free-riding - for example, in R&D teams, many times the team leader’s name is routinely appended to all disclosures, patent applications, or papers written even though s/he may have made no identifiable contribution to the intellectual property created.<br />As a professional, one should value the professional contribution of others. I had an interesting experience a couple of years ago. I had given a talk on Strategic Management of Intellectual Property at a CII event. Shortly thereafter, a manager from the Bangalore R&D Centre of a leading MNC technology company came and invited me to give a similar talk as part of his company lecture series. I told him that I would be happy to, but also suggested that there should be a professional fee in return for the talk. I explained to him that in the same way that they would expect their knowledge to be paid for by their internal or external customers, it was only fair that they pay me in return for accessing my knowledge. I also told him that I would not negotiate on the quantum of money, but I was more interested in the principle involved. Being new to the company, he was not sure of the company’s policy, so he agreed to discuss this with his boss and get back. I was really amazed when he got back and told me that in the past they had not been paying academics for giving talks and that it would be difficult to change the “policy.”<br />Responding to calls/letters/emails is another area in which professionalism is lacking in India. While there is no doubt that a senior corporate executive would receive a number of unsolicited communications each day, and it may be physically impossible for him to personally respond to all of them, what surprises me is that most of them don’t have a system to deal with such communications.<br />On the subject of integrity, I am really glad that Subroto has emphasised the importance of having a clear Integrity Policy and walking the talk. A few years ago, a colleague (Prof Manohar Reddy) and I conducted a survey of the ethical attitudes of our students. While all such surveys have their limitations because of their dependence on self-reported responses, we found a consistent pattern over a few years. About 20% of our students see themselves as “aggressively ethical” – i.e. they would stand by their values and beliefs, and what is right, under any circumstances. At the other end of the spectrum, about 10% are totally ends-driven – they will do whatever it takes, including actions that would be considered unethical by others, to achieve their own goals. The interesting group is the big 70% in the middle. They will be shaped by their environment, go with the “hawa” and what the organisation says. This is the reason why a clear corporate code and integrity policy is so important.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-19364742002352254092009-10-13T18:47:00.000-07:002009-10-13T18:48:21.308-07:00The God MarketI got acquainted with Meera Nanda’s writing for the first time a few years ago when I read her fascinating piece in <em>Frontline</em> about the schizophrenia of Indian science – on the one hand, our scientists and engineers build missiles and nuclear power stations; on the other hand, many of them practice highly ritualistic forms of religion, and are captive to all manner of superstitions.<br />Meera Nanda’s new book – <em>The God Market: How Globalization is making India more Hindu</em> (Random House India, 2009) – is a thought-provoking addition to the contemporary literature that looks at where India is today, and that seeks to understand where it is headed. This book is firmly rooted in contemporary sociological perspectives on secularism and modernity, and this strong conceptual base provides a powerful lens to look at the growth of Hinduism in India.<br />Meera Nanda argues that the Indian middle class has grown more prosperous thanks to economic liberalisation, but, contrary to some of the dominant theories regarding secularism, has become more visibly and ritualistically religious. This growth in religiosity has gone along with a growth in jingoism, a sense that India’s time has come, and an attribution of India’s progress to the genius of the Hindu mind. Though the State remains officially secular, a sense of majoritarianism has crept in that attributes all good things to Hindu thought and culture. This majoritarian orientation does not, in Meera Nanda’s view, bode well for the future.<br />A useful contribution of this book is an attempt to document the growing nexus between the State (politicians, bureaucrats), organised religion (popular Hindu godmen) and big business. Meera Nanda identifies religious tourism, higher education and infrastructure as three domains in which the interests of these three actors coalesce.<br />It is difficult to disagree with much of what Meera Nanda says in this book. Though her data and evidence are not watertight, in aggregate they make a compelling case. And, we need to just look around us and reflect back to realise that the Nehruvian concept of secularism has take a severe beating and been replaced by a “Soft Hinduism” that pervades much of Indian society today. As the author observes, it is not as though every member of the (Hindu) Indian middle class has antipathy towards other communities and religions; but by failing to respond to the majoritarian viewpoint that has become dominant, we are more complicit than we realise.<br />This is fascinating book – it holds up a mirror to contemporary Indian society in a completely unique way.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-91941913375134649012009-10-02T09:58:00.000-07:002009-10-02T10:00:09.074-07:00Go Kiss the WorldIn his first book <em>The High Performance Entrepreneur</em>, Subroto wrote about the challenges of setting up an enterprise, based on his experience as a co-founder of MindTree. In <em>Go Kiss the World</em>, he goes a step further, relating his life story and drawing lessons from it for the young professional. <br />Subroto Bagchi is a romantic at heart and this rings loud and clear when he writes. When he advises professionals not to lose the child in them, the genuineness of his belief is reflected in the way he writes. Every step (and occasional mis-step) of his life so far has been at once a source of wonderment as of learning.<br />Starting from his modest childhood as the last child of an itinerant bureaucrat in Orissa, Subroto flowered into the corporate leader and entrepreneur that we know today. How did this evolution happen? Family figures played a role – he learnt the importance of dignity, tenacity and honesty from his parents. Frequent moves as a child gave him the curiosity to seek diverse experiences as well as the temperament to handle them. His early jobs taught him how to manage organisational politics (management trainee at DCM), influence and negotiate with people (sales at HCL and PSI), and coordinate across functions (sales coordinator’s role at Wipro). But clearly, Subroto has several innate traits such as leadership (Best NCC cadet at the national level in his school days), communication (an ability to make himself “memorable”), optimism and perseverance which have helped him achieve whatever he has. Above all, he obviously has the capacity to reflect on, and learn from his own actions, and to be perfectly honest with himself – in this book he has been quite candid about some of the failures in his life.<br />Subroto cautions high achievers against overplanning, and advocates placing tenacity over ambition. I suspect that this advice won’t have too many takers among today’s youth. In fact, this book seems to belong to an earlier era, not to the world of the internet, social networking, and seven figure salaries to graduating MBAs. But if Subroto’s aim is to make you stop and think, there is plenty of food for thought in his elegant and sometimes poetic narrative.<br />The only complaint I have about this book is that at times Subroto is not as objective and critical with his baby (MindTree) as he is with himself. Hopefully, that will be corrected in his future writings…Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-226599080283219922009-09-28T02:28:00.000-07:002009-09-28T02:30:03.673-07:00Reflections by IITiansThe current controversy about the salaries of IIT faculty has brought the IITs onto the headlines. But Ram Krishnaswamy’s labour of love <em>Reflections by IITians</em> (contact Ram at <a href="mailto:reflectionsbyiitians@gmail.com">reflectionsbyiitians@gmail.com</a>) raises much larger questions about our elite technology institutions.<br />Every contribution to this volume is by an IITian, predominantly from IIT Madras, but with a sprinkling of contributions from the other IITs thrown in. Almost every IITian who has contributed to this book has struggled to live up to the expectations of himself (except for one, all the contributors are men), his family, and society at large. Some have chosen the domain of research and the creation of knowledge to prove themselves, others entrepreneurship, and a good number are driven by social concerns. Not surprisingly, what does come out is that the IITians are an exceedingly talented bunch and there are few human endeavours in which they would fail to make a mark.<br />Would they have done just as well without the IIT education? It’s difficult to say. But what is clear is that the IITs taught them to work hard and work long hours, made them confident of solving analytical challenges, and developed leadership capabilities in those who sought out opportunities beyond the realm of academics. The IIT brand helped them gain entry into elite graduate and doctoral programs, and certification as professional engineers. What is equally clear is that most of them entered the IITs not because of any particular aptitude for engineering, but because they were good at Physics and Math and the IITs offered the best platform for their evolution, development, and career prospects.<br />One interesting takeaway from this book is on the differences between the IITs. In <em>An Eye for Excellence</em>, E.C. Subbarao applauds the science-based engineering curriculum of IIT Kanpur that created engineers with strong fundamental understanding of phenomena and excellent analytical capabilities. He implicitly admits the lack of “practical” engineering skill among IIT Kanpur engineers. Interestingly, according to the authors who studied at IIT Madras, in spite of the strong German influence and the rigorous workshop courses at IIT Madras, most IIT Madras engineers seem to have the same lack of practical engineering skills. It appears that the strong Indian cultural hierarchy that places the mind over the body dominates the Indian work ethic so strongly that there is little that the curriculum can do to overcome this. Of course, there are other interesting social forces that could be responsible for reinforcing this hierarchy, including the preponderance of Brahmins among IIT Madras faculty.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-28236659512474219072009-09-24T10:03:00.000-07:002009-09-24T10:08:44.545-07:00Advice to Board MembersI just finished reading Ram Charan's new book titled <em>Owning Up</em>. In this book, he explains 14 questions every board member needs to ask. I like his straightforward, unpretentious, and practical style, and this book stands up to the standards of <em>The Game Changer</em> (written with the CEO of P&G) and <em>Execution</em> (written with Larry Bossidy). I do, however, have some reservations about the applicability of his ideas in our largely promoter-driven companies. But that's a topic for another post some other day....Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-74779129158394900612009-09-20T02:44:00.001-07:002009-09-20T02:49:17.550-07:00The Boxwallah and the MiddlemanLooking for a relaxing sunday afternoon read? Check out Raj Chatterjee's <em>The Boxwallah and the Middleman.</em> This is a selection of the best "middles" written by Raj Chatterjee, a former ITC executive. Most of them reflect less complicated times, bringing back nostalgic memories of India in the 1970s and 1980s. (The "middle" itself is an endangered species as trivia and page 3 gossip take over most contemporary newspapers.) A "middle" is not profound but finds interesting ways of reflecting on contemporary life. Ideal for relaxation!Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573596254684988813.post-1933627660546094352009-09-20T02:42:00.001-07:002009-09-20T02:42:39.631-07:00The History of IIT KanpurThere's a recently published book on IIT Kanpur by Prof. EC Subbarao "An Eye for Excellence" that makes interesting reading. He identifies the Chemistry department, the Materials Science programme and Computer Science as major pioneering moves by IITK apart from the core engineering curriculum and the "culture" of the institute. If you go by his assessment (and he has some data to back up his arguments!), we studied there during IITK's least productive time! He has documented profiles of several of the outstanding departments, faculty, and alumni. Worth a quick read to understand IITK's contribution to science and engineering education in India.Rishikesha Krishnanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07450841047810068098noreply@blogger.com0