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FootprintsAs I constantly vagabond in search of better grounds, I will continue to leave my footprints here November 20 Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance Course at IIM-BangalorePosting this information on request:-
IIM-Bangalore is conducting an executive program on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance from Dec 5th to Dec 7th 2006 at IIM-B Campus. The programme provides a broad understanding of the framework and entrepreneurial approach to financing of enterprises and will focus on:
For interested participants, here is the Contact Information
Executive Education Coordinator
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076
Phone: 080 - 26582450 Extn.3264/26993264/3475
Fax: 080 - 26584004/26584050
Helpdesk: 080- 26493264
E-mail: edp@iimb.ernet.in
Website: http://www.iimb.ernet.in
Fees:
Residential 30000
Non Residential: 23000 October 26 The F.A.M.E VentureF.A.M.E India is a non-profit organization working with differently abled children. The executive director/program coordinator of F.A.M.E India was a part of my class at IIM-Bangalore’s management program for women entrepreneurs (MPWE 2006). I did not give much attention to the organization or the work that they do until this August when I met my friend(s) again at the F.A.M.E painting exhibition at Leela Galleria. The fact that I had some spare time (read as weekends & weekday evenings) and the intention to help a non-profit encouraged me to think about my contributions to F.A.M.E. Incidentally, one of the board members contacted me to help them promote the sale of Diwali Diyas painted by F.A.M.E children at my workplace. And I decided to go one step further to arrange a F.A.M.E India product stall for two days at my workplace to help their fund raising initiatives. (F.A.M.E is trying to expand and they totally depend on private donations to run and maintain the place.) I don’t intend to brag but making this happen was no easy task. Permissions from the HR, Admin and coordinating for dates were quite time consuming and annoying amidst bschool apps and work. Thanks to one of my close HR friends, I didn’t have to run around too much. The product stall cum sale happened on 17th and 18th of October and ended up being a huge success. Diwali Diyas, cards, pen-stands, t-shirts etc were available for sale in the campus. Diyas were sold out even before the cartons were opened and we ran out of stock in the first few hours of the sale itself. While F.A.M.E staff tried their best to replenish the stocks as soon as they can, most of my colleagues had to go empty-handed. Nevertheless, they did make some good money and I was happy that I could contribute to such a noble cause. I am looking forward to be an effective volunteer at F.A.M.E India. The whole process of organizing the stall gave me an immense satisfaction and this kinda job probably is what that keeps me ticking. On the other side, while talking to my colleagues I also realized how helpful such stalls could be for folks working in the IT industry, esp during the festive season. They are crunched for time b/c of crazy work schedules; they hate to spend time in traffic; they don’t mind spending few bucks extra if products they want are available right within the same ceiling as their workplace/residence; and they do support such non-profit organizations in whatever way they can. May be some of us can tap this and provide tailored services to such folks??? Please do check out this website: http://www.fameindia.org/ October 18 What am I upto?Last month has been one hell of a ride for me. Work, helping friends with their bschool apps, my own bschool apps, info sessions, work, some non profit work and planning for my upcoming India tour have kept me and are continuing to keep me really busy. The whole experience has accentuated my pathetic time management skills. At this point in time, I know I will fail miserably at the bschool unless some kinda damage control mechanism is in place. So the next few days will again be a test run of how well I can implement these damage control measures. I have three application deadlines coming up this Nov and I am determined to give them my best shot. Let us see how it goes... September 05 My take on Entrepreneurship and the Galleria experienceLast Friday I happened to attend, what I would call, an advertising campaign for a recent venture launched by two women entrepreneurs, one an alumnus of IIM-Cal and other a teacher with over 18 years of experience. The event was hosted by Oxford Bookstore at the Cha Bar at Leela Galleria. I wanted to check out the event partly because of my growing interest in entrepreneurship and partly because of my recent & wise decision to not stay at work on late Friday evenings stuck to the computer. Moreover I wanted to catch up with my professor who happens to be the official advisor to the promoters and this was obviously a nice chance to network and have another take on the whole entrepreneur thing.
So as always, I reached the place 15 minutes ahead of time in spite of the Bangalore peak hour traffic and again as always I was the only one at the Cha Bar on time along with the promoters. Being early to an event like this always has its own advantages. You get to talk to the important people around and make an ‘impression’. The fact that I didn’t make use of the opportunity is a different issue. However I did try and do some social service distributing pamphlets to the gathering while the technical glitches related to the projector and the laptop were being solved. The campaign was a technical presentation on the service followed by a demo. It started off one hour late as per the IST (Indian Stretchable Time) and lasted for an hour. I am not going to disclose the details of the service in this post as I am not expected to do so. But however what struck me was the simplicity of the idea and the belief the promoters had on their idea. Their idea or service tries to address a hidden need which most of the school going children and their parents currently have. The venture uses an existing technology backbone and an existing concept to deliver a service. What impressed me was the passion with which these two women have carried forward their idea from conceptualization to implementation stage and the conviction with which they presented their service to naïve audience.
That in a way summed up what I have always felt entrepreneurship was all about. It is about having ‘an unshakeable belief in oneself/one’s idea and an intense desire to see it through all odds’. It is just about conviction and passion. This definitely didn’t dawn on me on that Friday evening. It only accentuated what I had realized during my interactions with some almost-seasoned, some amateur and some wanna be women entrepreneurs in the last few months, thanks to IIM-Bangalore. During all those interactions, case studies discussions and business plan presentations, a successful entrepreneur clearly came across as a person with conviction and passion. I lacked both during the presentation and hence lost the game… August 23 The Squirrel n Me..It was one of those usual weekday mornings when the morning sun gleams through my windows and forces me to give him a front door entry. The morning sun invariably cheers me up and leaves me in high spirits throughout the day. So as most of the days I dragged myself out of the bed and opened my door to let the bright morning sun in. Few tall coconut trees from the neighborhood spread their long leaves into our compound and adorn the front view from my flat in the second floor. When I opened my door this morning something on one of those leaves caught my attention. What I earlier thought was a small lump turned out to be a squirrel perching really high on the spine of one of those long leaves of the coconut tree. It was probably the same squirrel which used to haunt my doorstep quite often looking out for a crumb or a piece of fruit. I was awestruck at its ability to make its way till nearly three-fourth the length of the tapering leaf axis (probably 1-2inch in width) which was constantly swaying b/c of the wind. Squirrels, according to me, are the sweetest among the rodents on earth and I take pleasure in watching them. This morning was no different. I gazed at the creature, appreciative of nature's gift of mobility to this rodent and went back to my chores, thinking that it was resting on the leaf and enjoying the gentle swing. Sometime later while taking a peek outside, I realized that the squirrel was still on the axis of the leaf trying to figure out a means to get off the leaf. I could see it turning around a fixed axis but unable to proceed an inch further from where it was . The wind was getting stronger. The joy and calmness that had earlier enveloped the squirrel had vanished and only a sense of desperation was visible. I tried to call few people to reach out for the rodent but a busy Wednesday morning hardly gives time for such activities to most Bangaloreans. A strong wind soon threw the squirrel off the tree. I am not even sure if the squirrel survived the 25 feet fall though I hope it did. I will soon know if it doesn’t visit me tomorrow. Nevertheless, this incident did leave me thinking. Quite often in life, I have been like this squirrel. I have unknowingly taken the wrong roads in a hurry and have been left stranded waiting for instances & situations to throw me off balance. Few times some concerned souls have helped me reach the ground safe. I have endured difficulties, learnt valuable lessons and have moved on anyway. But I so wish I had made use of my sixth sense to assess the roads before embarking on the journey. That would have saved me so much of energy and time... August 19 Changing the tag lineRegulars at my blog might notice the change in the tagline. Earlier it read – “As I reach higher grounds…..” Well, I have now changed the tagline to aptly reflect my situation J
Vagabonding - That’s precisely what I have been doing for sometime now. I wish I were vagabonding across geographic destinations; I would have at least had the chance to live my dream life. Unfortunately, I have been vagabonding in my mind and it, in turn has affected all my activities. My mind, as I remember, has always been unbridled but hasn’t wavered like this before. I have hardly been able to pursue an activity at hand, have forgotten the wildest of my aspirations and am ever waiting to test new realms as they come by.
So for now, I am “vagabonding in search of better grounds…”- grounds that will probably fit me, grounds that will hopefully restore harmony in my life, grounds that will reduce the endless restlessness I undergo everyday. I do not know when the search will end but I do hope I find my ground someday. July 28 Feeling Nice..It has been a lovely week at work. Not that everything went fine. Lots of things were going wrong and I tried my best to get things back on track. After a long time, I am experiencing this immense sense of satisfaction at work. I finally feel I have discovered what the term "job satisfaction" actually means to me. Man, it feels wonderful.. July 19 Trip to BijapurLast weekend, we (9 of us from the team) went on a trip to Bijapur to attend a friend’s (colleague too) reception. I badly wanted to be a part of the trip because of the history associated with Bijapur. And it turned out to be a decent experience in spite of the 24 hours we spent on bus-travel between Bangalore and Bijapur and my ill-health. We visited the city of fortresses on Saturday. After a delicious Masala dosa and chai from Kamat, we set out to explore the city. First visit was to Gol Gumbaz, a famous historical monument, built around 350 years back by Mohammad Adil Shahi. It is an architectural marvel and houses the tombstone of Mohammad Adil Shahi and his family. On reaching the dome of Gol Gumbaz one can experience a panoramic view of the whole city covered with ruined/old forts and monuments. There is a museum and a mosque that is attached to Gol Gumbaz. The mosque was apparently being used for prayers during Adil Shahi’s period. The museum holds some antique artifacts. We got to see some household articles, Persian carpets, armours, cannon balls, 5 feet swords, Sufi paintings etc from Adil Shahi’s era.
The second stop was Ibrahim Rosa (spelt Rouza in some places) and it houses the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shahi, another member from the Adil Shahi pedigree. Having decided to not hire a guide after our terrible experience at Gol Gumbaz, we started exploring the place on our own. We ended up taking pictures all around the place in many different poses. The place though undertaken by the archeological department still appears ruined except for the surrounding lawns.
We then moved on to see Gagan Mahal, yet another ruined monument, which used to house cultural events during Adil Shahi era. Final stop for the day was Malik Maidan which holds one of the biggest cannon structures preserved through the ages. The size of the structure and technology used to activate such a weapon left most of us overwhelmed. The real feast for the day was ofcourse the rich Khana at the reception, one of the best I have ever had. The Pani poorie and some of the sweets served will remain evergreen in all our memories.
Sunday’s agenda took an unexpected turn when the guys overslept. So the original plan to go to Badami was cancelled and we decided to explore some nearby places. Our first destination was a Shiv Mandir in the outskirts of Bijapur, a sculpture very similar to the one at Kemp fort Shiv Mandir in Bangalore. After a quick photo session and another quick visit to a Hanuman temple (a place frequented by our newly married friend), we proceeded to Almatti dam, 60 km from Bijapur. The dam site was a letdown with muddy water and dam gates that left us wondering if it would ever be open. But the snacks we had on the way to the dam view points were worth the visit for me. The damn also has a beautiful garden and an upcoming Stone Park with a small pond and boating facilities. Three of us went on to explore the upcoming park leaving the rest the gang that was interested in boating. The Stone Park appeared quite thematic for us. The sculptures that formed a human chain around a huge map of India, probably depicting people across the states and some carvings around the park depicting the life of people from rural India were truly amazing pieces of art. Finally exhausted and beaten down by the sun we headed off for a lunch. With no decent restaurants around and craving to taste food on a road side Dhaba, we got into one of those places where truck drivers and other rural people regularly hang out. I was all excited to try out a road side Dhaba for the first time ever and the experience turned out to be exhilarating. The food was awesome and the sweet lassi has no comparison. With a bus to catch at 8pm, we decided to head back to Bijapur and take a quick look at one last monument that we had left unvisited the previous day – the Barah (12) Kaman. Well the story goes like this- Mohammad Adil Shah’s son aspired to build a 12 storey structure that would eventually beat out the architectural splendor of Gol Gumbaz. The father not willing to let such a thing happen, defeated his son in a war and never let him realize his dream. Today the Barah Kaman remains with just the base floor and no ceiling. That completed our list of places to visit in Bijapur and we returned to Bangalore to start another hectic week at work. Breaking the SilenceIt has been close to 2 months since I have blogged. Well I have been lazy, depressed, gloomy and lost. But last weekend has been quite refreshing and now I have realized that it is time to gain the lost momentum. I plan to write few posts on leadership covering some topics that have been bothering me for sometime now. So do check the blog in the coming weeks. May 12 Kalpana Chawla - A LifeTouché movies and books hardly move me to tears. But "Kalpana Chawla - A Life" was altogether a different experience. So what was it in the book that elicited such emotions? Was it the fact that she was one of those few Indian women who break traditional barriers to reach for the stars (literally and otherwise)? Or was it that she perished while living her dreams? Or may be the abrupt end to a life that traveled beyond stars? Or a sense of loss even after 3 years? Or a helpless feeling when you come to terms with the power of fate? How else can one explain such a situation where few mins could have made a historic difference? While I am still wondering, I recommend this book to every Indian woman especially. The book and Kalpana Chawla's life stand testimony to the belief that one can reach for the stars someday if you have the desire to do so.
The book fails to quote the following words uttered by Kalpana Chawla - "The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it. Wishing you a great journey."
K.C – Truly an inspiration! |
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