Anuradha Sridharan

I have been hearing from quite a number of people about the relevance of management education. Why is there so much of hype and attention given to MBA? Is it justified? Does it give hollow confidence to callow students? I'm going to list down my answers to these questions. The following are my personal opinions and they might contradict with others. The world is in such a volatile state these days that unless and until you diversify, it is very difficult to survive in any industry. This volatility is very well exposed by the information technology industry's ups and downs in the past decade. The trends are changing. Times when our parents and relatives would work for a single organization throughout their career are gone. People are looking for a change these days. The risk taking abilities of people are also flourishing. Job hopping and industry hopping are no longer alien terms. In such changing times, a management degree gives the much needed fillip for youngsters to pursue ...

அம்மாவின் நீங்காத அரவணைப்பு தங்கை பாப்பாவின் புன்சிரிப்பு நெய் சாதத்தோடு பருப்பு கொடுப்பது பாட்டியின் பொறுப்பு தாத்தா கடை இனிப்பு தம்பியின் கண்களில் பூரிப்பு நண்பர்களின் விளையாட்டு அழைப்பு ஓடினான் போடாமல் செருப்பு யாரும் காட்டவில்லை வெறுப்பு எதற்கும் இல்லையே மறுப்பு வளர்ந்தான் மனதில் சினப்பு மேஜையில் புத்தகங்கள் குவிப்பு கண்டான் உலகின் செழிப்பு சொந்த அலுவலகத்தின் திறப்பு அழகியின் முகம் சிவப்பு அவளில்லாமல் அவனுள்ளம் தவிப்பு சென்ற பாதையில் குடிப்பு வாழ்க்கை ஆனதே இழப்பு தாயின் மடியில் பிறப்பு எமனின் கைகளில் இறப்பு நடுவில் வாழ்வதே சிறப்பு....

A memorable day it was. Third day of the third test match between India and Australia in Chennai. The day before, Sudha (my brother) and I were so desperate to go for the match. Thank God, both of us had study holidays during that time. So no need to bunk college. We departed from our home at 5.30 am. Reached the stadium at 6.45 am. To our shock, there was a huge crowd with the queue going far and far from our sight, waiting for the tickets and on top of that, not even a single girl in that queue. I walked slowly towards the end of the queue, uncertain of whether we would get the tickets. A policeman called me all of a sudden. I got so scared. "Is the cricket match only for men? Are women banned from this place? Why is this policeman calling me?", with puzzled looks, I walked upto him. He said, "There is a separate queue for women. You need not stand in this long queue". "Where is the queue?", I asked with a low tone. He pointed me towards the ticket cou...

"Ma, I'm leaving for coaching class", says the 13 year old Aravind. "Drink a glass of milk and leave. You had just come home from school", replies the mother. "No time, ma", he says taking his cycle and rushing towards his class. Such incidents have become a common sight these days. Open the newspaper, you see advertisements of different coaching institutes coxing to grind the brains of these young students with IIT-JEE, SAT and PMT entrance coaching classes. There was another unique ad that I happened to see recently. A small kid holding a thick management book with spectacles over his tiny eyes and the caption reads "Start early". Many students in 9th and 10th std are attending IIT-JEE classes apart from their regular classes at school. They are being forced by parents, relatives and neighbours to multitask all these classes and churn their little brains with almost every single concept of Physics and Chemistry. I say relatives and ne...

வானக்கூடையில் ஒரு கோடி பூசிதறல்கள் ஒரே ஒரு மலர்ந்த முகம் ஏ நிலவே !!! யாரை தேடி தேய்கிறாய் தேய்ந்து தேய்ந்து மிளிர்கிறாய் உன் அழகு ஆண்களை வசீகரிக்கிறது பெண்களை தலை குனிய வைக்கிறது உன்னை வர்ணிக்காதவர் பூவுலகில் இல்லை உன்னால் மயங்காதவர் எவ்வுலகிலும் இல்லை அழகின் சிகரம் நீ காதலின் தூது நீ விடா முயற்சியின் மூலாதாரம் நீ இன்ப குளிர்ச்சியின் ஜீவாதாரம் நீ உன் வரவு இல்லையெனில் உலகம் இருண்டு கிடக்கும் உயிர்கள் அமைதி இழக்கும் இத்தனை வலிமை உன்னிடம் ஆனால் ஏன் சிறு கலக்கம் யாரும் முழுமை இல்லையென உணர்த்த வந்த புதியவளே அடக்கத்தோடு இருப்பவளே ஏ நிலவே !!!

கடல் அலைகள் என்னை எழுப்பின முத்துக்கள் காத்திருப்பதை அறிவிப்பதற்காக இடி மேகங்கள் என்னை எழுப்பின மழைத்துளிகள் பொழிய காத்திருப்பதை அறிவிப்பதற்காக இதமான தென்றல் காற்று என்னை எழுப்பியது சங்கு பூக்கள் மலர்ந்ததை அறிவிப்பதற்காக புல்லாங்குழல் இசை என்னை எழுப்பியது நான் என்னை மறந்ததை அறிவிப்பதற்காக..... PS : Both these poems were taken from my boot camp training notes dated July 2002 :-) ..... Guess it's easy to find out who was the inspiration behind these poems.

பச்சை பசேல் புல்வெளி நான் மட்டும் தனியாக இனிய இசை என் செவிகளில் மிதமான தாளம் என் கால்களில் வானம் எனக்கு குடையாக பூமி தாய் மடியாக தனிமை எனக்கு துணையாக வாழ்வேன் நான் நானாக கவலைகள் மறந்து தவறுகள் துறந்து மகிழ்ச்சி ஒன்றே குறிக்கோளாய் வாழ்வேன் நான் நானாக பட்டாம்பூச்சிகள் வட்டமடிக்கட்டும் குயில்கள் கானம் படிக்கட்டும் ரோஜா முகம் மலரட்டும் நீரோடை வழி திறக்கட்டும் நீல நிற குறிஞ்சி பூக்கள் கம்பளம் விரிக்க மூங்கில் மரங்கள் புல்லாங்குழலாய் மாற இசைத்துக்கொண்டே வாழ்வேன் நான் நானாக........

"Leadership wisdom", the latest I read from Robin Sharma's works was an enriching experience. I have read his other books "The monk who sold his Ferrari", "Megaliving" and "Who will cry when you die?". He projects some basic concepts and then narrates them using stories or experiences in daily life. That's what makes his books more interesting and inspirational. Although some of the leadership rituals he portrays might sound idealistic, they are not impossible to implement. What should be the characteristics of a visionary leader, how one should treat his employees, what principles one need to focus on so that his subordinates accept him and most importantly, trust him - you get answers to all these questions and many more in Leadership Wisdom. Julian Mantle, the protogonist of this motivational story after quitting his high profile job of a lawyer goes to Himalayas and returns home with full of ancient wisdom taught by the sages of S...

A severe headache trying to break my head into pieces. Not sure which incident had caused me this pain. Rather I should say, several incidents that are happening in day-to-day life are disturbing me for the fact that things are not in my hand. Traffic jams - Is there a way to control them? Why can't people follow traffic rules? I feel like slapping every person driving a 2-wheeler and rushing through the traffic taking the pavement. Idiots, why you guys are in such a hurry? Is there any Formula-1 race happening everyday on Bangalore roads? I really support the message that Anniyan movie portrays. Only when there is a severe punishment like life sentence, people will obey the rules. Yesterday while travelling by bus, an old woman aged about 50 years was spitting paan all over the road. The government has not asked her to paint the road in red. With no regrets whatsover, she was happily doing that. I felt like blasting her but controlled my temper. I got down the bus when I noti...

This is a kind of a book which you would want to read it on a lazy Saturday afternoon after a heavy lunch. If you liked Five point someone (by the same author Chetan Bhagat), you would definitely like ONTCC. The book starts off with a stranger narrating the experiences to Chetan about six people who work at a call centre in Gurgaon. The whole story revolves around the incidents that happen in one particular night and how the lives of those six youngsters change after that. A very realistic story, I should say. The narration is fast paced, very interesting and ofcourse, unputdownable. But the most important thing that makes this book captivating is the style of writing, in simple English with no complex jargon. I would prefer to read a book without looking at the dictionary quite often. What I look for in fictional books is good time-pass and a gripping storyline, nothing else. For those of you who have similar interest like me, go and grab a copy of ONTCC. Chetan, Looking forwar...

A country rich with different cultures and heritages, My mind full of different thought processes. A country with enormous potential to become one of the powerful nations in the world I acknowledge the tremendous potential within me. Lots of confusions prevailing in Kashmir My head filled with so many whys and hows. A country possessing both good and evil My mind personifies two different personalities. Now I tag Akilesh (If at all, he writes sometime in the future!)