Coming Full Circle

‘Two years ago, on this date, BBA Batch 2005-08 was inducted,’ said the Student Body President for the batch.

Two years of BBA – a short period, but the distance covered has been substantial.

I remember that day. The theme: apprehension. It was pouring rain, and I detested it. I criticized every glitch in the organization and every person that showed even the slightest flaw. Even people I have now come to respect tremendously. I sat in the auditorium, and I raised my hand when asked if Symbiosis had been my second choice. Actually, I had hesitated when raising my hand, only because I anticipated another question: How many of you did not want to come to Symbiosis? And I was wholly prepared to raise my hand high. However the question did not come and I was not able to make my utter disappointment and apathy manifest.

Two years later, I stand backstage, my heart welling with pride to be a part of this institute, to be with these people whom I have come to respect and love. Today, I am a different person, a better person. And the journey to this point has been challenging but exhilarating.

The transition has taken place on many facets. My ability to stand in front of an audience and speak, my ability to conduct a meeting and then two meetings after that all in one day, effective delegation – all skills honed during my time here. My thought process enhanced, new ideas and quick decisions come as easy as breathing in and out. Controlled communication, to say what is necessary and not let emotion take the lead, is one more quality to add to the list. And all this has been coupled with great friendships and wonderful memories.

It’s a great balancing act – balancing authority and responsibility. But I’m still standing, walking forward, right foot first. I stand less than a third of the distance away from coming full circle, from completing yet another cycle in my life.

And I have learnt so much…

Brainstorming On Web 2.0

There’s this magic in brainstorming. It’s my favourite way to work! The primary reason - the phenomenal exchange of ideas and knowledge that takes place.

I was sitting at a newsletter meeting recently, and we were stumped.

What the hell do we do about the Freshers Page? Last year we covered a similar event, in an obvious fashion. Repeating would mean monotony.
We could take pictures. We have to put pictures of the induction programme.
Alright, and what would we do with the pictures?
We could have a collage, interspersed with quotes from them. Oh wait, done that already. It’s just the second induction programme we’ve covered, and we’re stumped for ideas.
Okay, so how about we put the pictures in some sequence.
Wait, how about we put the pictures in a sequence, have a line describing the picture but telling one bit of a story. And we could make it humorous!

Bingo! We had it! And we arrived at this by mere conversation. Nothing else. Just pure cross-fertilization of ideas, each one building on the previous person’s thoughts and ideas.

That’s what Web 2.0 is all about, apparently. One of many definitions for this newly coined term, is that Web 2.0 ‘represents an important shift in the way digital information is created, shared, stored, distributed, and manipulated.’

Just familiarizing myself with this latest concept, I’ve realized that one element of Web 2.0 is an offshoot of brainstorming. Open source software. Linux, the most infamous example, Wikipedia following close behind, make use of this fantastic concept. Linux, for example, lets users download their software for free, and even allows users to access the program code. Users can then update the program and upload it back online! Wikipedia, working on similar lines, lets individuals edit the information. My first thought when I discovered this fact was what if someone uploads false information. Apparently there are so many ‘individuals’ monitoring the content, that any fallacious statement is immediately corrected.

It’s significance in the business world, especially, is tremendous. Cost savings are enormous and an organization’s relationship with its customer metamorphosed.

The brilliance behind this system is that every individual’s knowledge, thoughts and ideas are now tapped into. Every individual gets to contribute, dipping into their own knowledge bank, and uploading it onto the world wide web. Software improvements and information updates, all taken care of by individuals. Not a company, not an organization. But individuals.

And that is the power of Web 2.0 - where hundreds of millions of people are brainstorming on a single platform!

Battle Of The Sexes

My college had a unusual position in its Student Council. Ladies Representative. I grew up in Dubai - a Muslim city, however just as cosmopolitan and contemporary as New York. So to come across this title was unexpected. Even for India, as conservative as it is deemed to be.

My first thoughts? Which century do these people think we live in? We don’t face any inequalities anymore! Women are given equal opportunities and are equally capable at occupying positions of power.

This was my firm belief. I believed that when I walked into a room, no member of the male population looked down upon me, believing me to be inferior or incapable of competing at his level.

So why have such a position? It was simple - have a president and a vice president. If it is occupied by two males, great. And if it is occupied by two females, equally fantastic. I would not feel any less represented if male members of my class occupied these positions.

I later discovered that this position was created owing to a dearth of female leadership, forcing a woman to be involved in college politics. But I made a much more significant discovery as time passed.

A male leader was respected more than a female leader was.

Apparently being in possession of male genitalia was elemental in efficacious decision making.
Cynicism aside, there is some truth to the statement. I’ve observed that to get an office attendant to move, it needs to be a guy giving instructions. To be taken seriously by a faculty member, you need to be a guy. To convince a faculty member to change things, you need to be a guy. To be considered as a force to reckon with, you need to be a guy.

And I felt ashamed to reach a point where I had to admit to myself that this in fact is the environment I live in.

It boiled down to the relationship that was formed with each of these people. With female faculty, the male leader is adorable and flirtatious, hence influential. With office attendants, he is their buddy, hence influential. With the male population he is ‘the man’, hence influential. With the female population, he’s a guy, hence influential.

Consider a female in all these situations. The predominantly female faculty would not heed to special requests as the woman is neither adorable, flirtatious (thank God) or the embodiment of strength. With office attendants, she is unable to attain the ‘pal’ status. With the female population of the student body, she’s a bitch. And with the male population, a woman in power.
Okay, so I’m being petty. But think about it again. Am I really?

Let’s zoom out of the tiny sphere that is my world, and onto the global platform. A current issue - the future President of the United States of America. Hiliary Clinton is running for the position of the first female president of the USA as well as the most powerful woman in the world. Now that, is scary!

To demonstrate my point, note the number of articles that question Hiliary’s ability to occupy such a position. Let me reiterate. Articles exists that question her ability to occupy the position to begin with! Did anybody ever write an article questioning whether George W. Bush, being a man, was capable of running the country?

Example no.2: Segolene Royal. Sure, she lost out to Sarkozy. But during the race for presidency, the greatest cause for worry was Royal’s ability to run the country. Was she too soft? Was she capable of making a difference, pushing reform? Did she have the strength to push reform?

A fact that is noteworthy: Men are usually physically stronger than women.

This somehow, has mutated into the belief that men are stronger in character as well. And the translation is incredibly fallacious. Being able to lead a country into war has become tantamount to strong leadership.

Sigh.

It exists. In my world and in the international scenario, it exists in a significant way. It dictates presidential elections, the business world and perhaps even social circles and family life.

Maybe there’s no way to change it. Or maybe it will sort itself out eventually as women slowly gain footing in this Man’s World through education and increasing job opportunities. But change is sluggish. It is happening, but at snail’s pace.

Do not lose faith, however. It is happening. And you know it’s happening when out of three hundred students, the top ten scores in an examination were obtained by only the female population.

And they thought we didn’t have the ability to study.