India's professional education: Are we Engineering a disaster?

My son now in 10th Std went for a foundation course for IIT-JEE while he was in 8th Std but gave it up after a year.

Many of his friends must be continuing it possibly on parental pressure. India has the largest workforce of engineers thanks to the proliferation of engineering colleges.

I met Arun, a Professor of Engineering while on my way to Chennai last week. He said Tamilnadu has about 500 or more engineering colleges of which only 100 may be of good quality.

When companies do recruitment of fresh engineering grads, they find only one-fifth of them are employable- the rest may not make it to their dream job and end up as clerks or in lowly paid jobs. The system of ranking of colleges by universities themselves has resulted in students and managements focussed on academic merits and not on practical knowledge or innovation, he said.

The IT boom, Y2K, offshore software development all led to a huge requirement of technical talent but now there seems to be an oversupply. This is the effect of Cobweb Theorem at work. Now upto 80,000 seats go vacant in Tamilnadu every year as neighbouring Kerala has also started self-financing colleges.

According to Cobweb theorem in economics, some industries such as education, plantation will attract more investors or participants based on current demand. But as more people start entering the industry, in course of time there will be oversupply or the industry prospects itself may diminish due to various factors. A new potential industry may have evolved by that time, but the pass-outs are not equipped for such a scenario.

Hence there is no reason why people should still run after engineering seats. It was heartening to meet Mr Vijayan Menon today morning on our return trip from Chennai, who has let his daughter to take a break after plus 2, do English orientation programmes and then decide future course of action next year. The other day we met Sucheta Pal, a leading Zumba fitness trainer in Chennai who quit a well-paid job at TCS to pursue her heart's passion- dance and fitness. The fact that her electrical and electronics engineering degree has gone waste or that her initial work in the engineering industry has gone waste did not deter her from plunging into a totally new career.

One of may old friends at college, who has now become an entrepreneur after doing his engineering degree asked me "why you also want your son to join the  engineering bandwagon?"  Surely, the engineers themselves are feeling engineering as a discipline is losing charm.

Earlier we had the screw driver technology- India colloborated with leading Japan, Korean, US firms to get technology and bring semi-knocked down (SKD) or completely knocked down (CKD) kits, assemble them and sell in their own brand.But now manufactures are getting the entire fabrication done in China which is the manufacturing hub of the world.

So why have such a huge engineering work force unless we are investing heavily in R&D that can be patented and sold abroad?. Arun said the sad part is that entrepreneurship is not promoted in the country. The techies who have bright ideas end up plodding all their lives in companies run by lesser educated people who can't understand the importance of technology.

He said there are lot of opportunities in the media industry which now lacks talent but awareness on this is lacking. Or in e-commerce and services sectors that requires a little of entrepreneurship and risk taking abilities.

That's why the title to this blog: Are we engineering a disaster? I remember people like Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who have campaigned for more funds for basic scientific research and more courses in basic science which is the need of the hour for India.

Tailpiece: In India, it is not uncommon for children to be forced into certain courses much to their dislike. My wife who had a passion for dance and home science ended up doing pharmacy but has now found her passion in Zumba and has become a qualified  instructor. Shouldn't we leave our children alone to pursue their passions or should we force something that appears to have good job potential?

Animal instinct in Rape-is it real?

There is a belief that animal instincts are base and man has evolved into higher realms of thought and spiritual thinking. Is there any basis for condemning rape as animal instinct and branding it in-human? Is there any evidence to show a male lion will pounce on the female without its consent or for that matter a dog. Zoologists have observed animals do have mating seasons when they tend to become aggressive. That's the time when males fight it out with each other to secure the company of females and not to hurt them.

On the other hand homo sapiens do not have a particular mating season and is fertile throughout the year.
I believe there are reasons to conclude rape is more a manly instinct and is not unique to animals. In many societies, there are not many opportunities for boys and girls to develop good friendship at a young age. We still have 'boys only' and 'girls only' school and even in co-ed schools like the one I studied, a boy talking talking to a girl was most often a taboo.

In the absence of healthy friendships between the sexes, both boys and girls could be overly influenced by half-baked knowledge of peers, pornographic books and videos, come to accept what ever is shared between friends. And they don't discuss this with knowledgeable persons or counsellors to verify whether what they have heard because that culture is alien to us.

If there are large number of rapes still happening after the Delhi incident and consequent punishment of offenders, there is something basically wrong with the way woman are seen and respected in Indian society.

That's why Amanda found it easier to travel alone in Pakistan than India or Bangladesh. In Indian buses, a woman is ever under threat of creeping fingers and lewd looks.(A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout, global adventures of a lady backpacker tourist)

I feel women and men do have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Strict laws alone can't prevent rapes- in Gulf countries the genitals of rapists are cut off in public and in the presence of the victim and in most cases in India-life imprisonment to death penalty awaits the sinners.

A more humane approach to healthier relationships would require a radical change in our thoughts and outlook. Boys should be told to have respect for girls-their feelings, security and independence. Girls should be made more bold and be ready to fight any attack on themselves and more importantly work towards healthier relationships in marriage.

If women are seen as mere sex objects, who's to be blamed? Man, provocative women or a male chauvinistic society. Can't we make women both bold and beautiful?

Tailpiece
A large number of rapes happen within marriages and victims are unable to speak out. Recently, the Delhi High Court ruled that there is no question of rape in a legitimised relationship and hence it won't entertain such cases. May be the court felt there could be an enormity of such cases and hence didn't want to put further strains on judiciary.

My first encounter with a freedom fighter: Gopalan Nair of Ulliyeri

Most of us were born after India attained Independence and hence not aware of the hardships freedom fighters had to undergo. I had only read about freedom struggle and the contribution of many who rallied behind Gandhiji to oust the British rulers.

Hence, it was a memorable experience for my family to be with the 94-year old Gandhian KN Gopalan Nair in Kozhikode. One of his sins, according to the British was his involvement in destroying a bridge in Ulliyeri, now an upcoming town in Kozhikode. The Briish rulers were using the bridge to transport coal from Wayanad forests which they got from burning the trees.

Now staying with his daughter Sarala, Gopalan Nair is bed-ridden and needs help to walk. I found that age may have withered his body but that hasn't weakened his mind. He continues to inspire the younger generation- school children, politicians, ministers and people from all walks of life drop in ocassionally to spend time with him, get inspired and learn first hand the hardships he had to undergo in Bellary jail while national leaders were imprisoned for taking part in Quit India struggle.

He continues to monitor developments in Indian politics but I couldn't discuss it with him as he needs to lie down more often and is comfortable talking while sitting. A true Gandhian, he wore only simple khadi clothes which he urged his wife also to follow.

His family members said he always fought against injustice and that was evident when he fell flat before a bus to protest against splashing muddy water at him and careless driving.

All the fighters involved in the Ulliyeri brdige episode are no more except Gopalan Nair. I wish our school and college students could meet up with such leaders and see, learn about people whom they may have read about only in text books. In Gopalan Nair, we have a true Gandhian who had the opportunity to meet Gandhi several times and lived and preached his ideals.

For him, being part of the Congress and freedom movement was an inspiration so much so he quit studies at school while several of his contemporaries may have remained on the sidelines and chose to lead uneventful lives.

As I sat before him, I was thinking if I were born at that time, would I have taken the risk and joined the freedom struggle or simply be on the sidelines.

The mark of a true leader is the vision and ability to take risks, suffer hardships and plunge headlong into it amidst uncertainties.

India is what it is because of their efforts and several challenges of slow economic growth we overcame post Independence. As we were about to leave, I was indeed touched when he asked when are you people coming next.  (I didn't want to take a photo of him in his present state, therefore only showing a citation from Mathrubhumi presented in his honour : Mahatmaji and Mathrubhumi 75 years

Why men fall into love, an exploration into its mysteries

I had written in an earlier blog post that I never believed in marriage. But much before that I was afraid of falling in love! I had a philosopher friend in Ajith during our PG days at Kerala University. He often quoted Osho Rajneesh and other gurus and said falling in love is like catching the tail of a leopard- you suffer even if you hold it or leave it. When you fall in love- if you marry then you still run into trouble or if you don't you suffer the pangs of separation.

In college days, I always delighted in watching pretty girls and wished some of them admired me but never wanted to fall in love. Yet, it was amusing to watch friends and classmates falling in love. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't escape that experience and suffered on that count for at least a few months when I knew it will not work out.

Is there any reason for men falling in love and what really happens after that? The phenomenon of love is still a mystery for many and literature, art,films,drama all explore various aspects of it and it never ends because there is an aura of mystery surrounding it every one may not grasp.

There is a biological reason behind it: Unless a man and woman fall in love and decide to stay together, there will not be offsprings and mankind will not sustain. Anthropologically speaking, the sustenance of mankind was related to the ability of people to fall in love and maintain a family life. Scientists say that a hormone called oxytocin is produced when two people fall in love- even gazing at some one can release this hormone or thinking about them. That is why couples who can't get intimate are given doses of synthetically produced oxytocin to stimulte the brain into falling in love.

So the next time you blame some one for falling into love, remember it is the powerful hormone oxytocin, a neuro transmitter in the brain that is doing the trick. Research into love has generated very interesting insights in this area:

- Men are naturally attracted to pretty women because they find in them a potential to give birth to a beautiful off spring.

-I remember an interesting cover story in Mirror magazine published from Mumbai (now closed down) long time back titled- Should you marry a pretty woman? It said probability of failures in marriage are more in pretty women than average women. I think it works this way- if the man who has married the pretty women is low in self esteem and turns out to be a bad partner- chances are that there are several others in line waiting to grab the treasure! A low self esteemed person is also likely to be more possessive and hence cause marital problems. It could happen in the case of a handsome man and an average woman also.

- It is also said that man can't hide the fact that they are in love: either they start singing, or show visible changes in body language, appearance or even announce unknowingly to those close to them. Here again, anthropology provides some clues: From ancient times, man's status was dependent on attracting the opposite sex and the fairer the better - this boosts his self esteem among his peers and establishes his masculinity. On the other hand women then and now had to be careful not to announce such things until it can be formalised. These days man need not show this kind of masculinity but may be it's a vestige of our hunter-gatherer days.

-Are Indians sex thirsty? I remember reading a provoking cover story in Sunday magazine long time back which said Indian men whether married or not were sex thirsty. There are several reasons why it could be true although the story evoked mixed response from the readers at that time. We are not a permissive society as in the west and hence it is quite natural for men to look for pleasures beyond their wives. Aligned to this is the question whether there can be platonic relationship between a man and women devoid of sex? There are still no clear answers to this- a woman still need to guess when a man shows closeness- whether it's intended for physical needs or just for friendship. That's one reason why daughters right from high school levels are often told to be cautious while dealing with the opposite sex.

- Is there an age to fall in love: Again there are no minimum or maximum age limits. I remember a friend of mine at school falling in love in fifth grade (10 years) with his classmate, sustaining it till college and eventually marrying and now possibly leading a happy life. On the other hand you can also find people like Digvijay Singh, an Indian minister falling in love with a much younger woman at the age of 67. And he has been charged with adultery.

- Love triangles and extra-marital affairs: Films, novels, dramas have all dealt with this theme in various ways that I don't want to analyse it here. However, marriage as an institution is a human creation and in pre-historic times it was likely that couples had multiple partners but as evolutionary changes took place for better upkeep of offspring, their growth and development- mankind had to stick to single partners and it has been legalised in many countries. But the urge to move out of the boundary and explore can't be contained that easily. It accentuates when either partner feels an inadequacy in the relationship and soon all problems begin to crop up. That's why psychologists say it's very important to retain romance.

- The jilted lovers: Again literature and cinema abounds in this- some times jilted lovers remain chronic bachelors all their suffering the pangs of a dream that didn't turn out to be true. Others who marry someone else also retain memories of their old sweet hearts that continue to haunt them. I remember several films where the dejected lover sings a song as his former sweet heart goes off with the bride groom after the wedding function.But the better option is for the dejected lover to be far away so that memories aren't evoked and make his present married life miserable.

As I have said before in my blog, Bhagwan Rajneesh has likened love to the ultimate Truth. When two people fall in love- that's truth, but thereafter when they start thinking in terms of marriage,caste-religion problems, live-in relationships or start getting worried on parental approval-reality sets in.
Often it is painfall for both the partners. Wishing all luck to lovers!

Zumba: The zest for health, beauty and happiness!

Haven't you heard the popular quote: If wealth is lost nothing is lost, if health is lost something is lost, if character is lost everything is lost. All round the world you find people running after wealth ignoring the the other two vital things and end up in a miserable state by middle age-- a rotund figure,bulging stomachs, weak muscles and skin texture. To compound it all you have several negative things popping up on your vital medical tests- cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides and it is the begining of all traumas that are going to affect them for the rest of their life.

Then people start trying out several things- dieting, exercise, hitting the gym, doing aerobics, or simply taking push-ups and dumb bells at home. These no doubt burn calories but may not be adding to your fitness. Unscientific dieting techniques can create several health and nutrition problems, add to stress and ultimately lead to more fat in your body.

Here comes Zumba!
Zumba, zumba, zumba, zumba,zumba, zumba, zumba ye, zumba aaaa....if this fast number you can see in YouTube makes you hit the floor and swing, then zumba is really for you. It combines aerobics, free style dance, rhythmic body movements, and no pressure to conform to any set basic rules. Dance, apart from being an artform is also useful for right-brain left brain co-ordination and attaining symmetry. Aerobics has already been proven to be best way to burn out calories and combine that with rigorous physical exertion, music and fun-- an enchanting cocktail.

I was not very enthusiastic when my wife Aswathy was keen to join for Zumba at The Floor September 2013. Our daughter Diyah was already there for ballet classes under Maria Roy.

No appreciable change was seen in the first few months but towards the sixth month people started noticing the change in her- our son Darshan's class teacher said your mom looks like your elder sister. Her photos on Facebook attracted hundreds of 'wovs' and the latest one 'High on Happiness with Zumba' was posted in The Floor FB page thanks to her Zumba mentor Arunima Gupta with more comments and likes pouring in. Not to be left out, Maria Roy,Arunima and Aswathy have been urging me to take to the Floor!

Seeing the new look Aswathy several skeptics of Zumba have now become zumba fans with several more likely to follow. One is our former neighbour, Jayasree, a bank manager who rushes from her busy office schedule to be at The Floor by 7.30 pm three days a week for the one-hour workout. Chubby Nitin, a student of catering at Wayanad has also hit the floor recently and is amazed by the change it brings. He says one hour at The Floor is equivalent to six to seven hours work out at the Gym. Jayasree who was quite scary of her poor dancing skills found that no body had the time to look into her faults, you just fall in line seeing what others do.

From early morning itself The Floor at Panampilly Nagar comes live with mentors Arunima, Govind, Poornima all creating a passion for men and women of all ages to be young, healthy, beautiful which all rubs on their character and outlook. In the mean time, just saw an FB post : Beauty catches the attention, but character catches the heart.

For all those interested in Zumba: The Floor, Canal Road, Panampilly Nagar is waiting for you. Contact info: Arunima Gupta 9747640575 or on Facebook: The Floor. Additionally, Aswathy Visweswaran, ZIN has now co-founded Beats 'n' Steps to promote Zumba fitness. You may contact her on aswathydiyah@gmail.com or Mob-9744954607

Apple: Perhaps the only brand that consumers own

Brand signifies value and that's one reason why people spend more to buy a branded product. You can think of Sony, Nike, Benz, Ford, Xerox..... In some cases like Surf, Xerox, the brand has become the commodity.

You could still get a quality stuff from an unbranded product but it is not assured. With a brand you are assured of quality.

Brand loyalty differs from brand to brand-- I have seen some people buy only Levis as none others are perceived to provide a better product in Jeans. But their loyalty will switch to a better product once an innovative product is launched in the market.

Until recently, brand loyalty was strong in newspapers but that too due to force of habit rather than lack of better offerings in the market.

Why is Apple different
Binu Alex, Director of Commodity Online Group in an offtrack column on Apple had explained the reasons why his day begins with Apple and ends with Apple. My son Darshan Sreekumar, wrote in my blog taking exception to some of the statements made in the Commodity Online article.It drew violent protests from some readers using iPhone and several other Apple products.

What was objectionable was my son's observation that most buyers bought iPhone to 'show off' that they are in the big league in society. His comparison with some of the better features of Android was met with the response, Android is a copy or a clone while Apple's operating system is original.

I intended to write this a follow up only to high light a couple of things which have been firmly established in management and marketing theory. The other day one of our family friends, Shaji Sir asked me why are people spending so much money on brands. I tried to briefly tell him why this is happening. For one thing brand denotes quality but an unbranded product can still give you quality stuff at a lower price but there is no assurance or guarantee in this regard.

A simple lesson in Marketing theory now well accepted in management circles points out the motivation to purchase a product by the consumer. It is dependent on four factors: One the real image of the consumer as perceived by him, the image that he wants to project in society, thirdly society's real view of the consumer and the image the consumer thinks the society has of him when he purchases a particular product.

From this it is quite clear that our choice of a product or brand is not just dependent on its utility but on the perceived value it can bring to us in society and attendent benefits that may accrue.

A CEO owning Mercedes Benz  and another owning Honda City are perceived differently by the society in terms of success, achievements, company profile, attitude, and several other factors.

Apple the brand consumers own
Now I come to postulate a theory that perhaps Apple may be the only product which is really loved and owned by the consumers. I think Apple has done a clever mix of psychology, superior design, technology features, innovations in such a way that a user ultimately becomes to much identified with the product. It is almost like two people falling in love-- lot of oxytoxins that create good feeling for the user is created even its logo, design and looks. In the case of most other brands, the ownership rests with the company and the company is owned by several share holders.

In the case of Apple, it is foremost owned by the consumers (although they may not own a share) who have really fell in love with it that even a criticism about the product can hurt its sentiments. It is just as when you are in love, you perceive your partner to be the paragon of ulitmate virtue and beauty, beyond compare. Apple brand owners are not all interested in a comparison with Android because for them Apple ios is beyond compare.

I still believe much of the marketing theory I outlined above with respect to a consumer's choice of a brand holds for Apple as well. No one can deny it.But the success of Apple is having created an intelligent, beautiful anbd innovative partner for its customers such that they have been hooked to it.

Problem parents create Problem children

A 5-year old girl tells her grandmother people marry to quarrel and fight. Shocked, the grandma calls up her daughter to check whether they fight in front of the children.

Playschool and KG teachers I've interacted with have told me several instances of bad behavior in children that can be attributed to unhappiness prevailing at home.

Dr A Nirmala, a leading child psychologist, in whose Shantiniketan School, my son Darshan had his early education, often said they sometimes got children at age 3 and above in a spoilt condition and faced an uphill task setting them right.

When I first became a parent I was apprehensive of living up to the role. My fears led to me read several books on child psychology and parenting.

Early childhood experiences can turn out to be bad or good depending on how each child perceives the problem later on and how parents, teachers, relatives and friends respond to it.

I was myself a subject of ridicule in early school days for my clumsy looks and below average academics compared to my intelligent brother. In Transactional Analysis terms, the Child in me was only having unedited feelings associated with " I am not Ok" for a long time. But I was able to overcome this without any professional help. May be it was the English language teachers who spotted my potential to write and some friends at college who saw my skills suited for the media industry that helped overcome the crisis.

Dr Sunita, a leading child psychiatrist who held a session at Diyah's Rajagiri Kindergarten emphasised the need for a good family atmosphere for the balanced development of a child. She said that atleast for dinner, all family members should sit together and share the day's concerns and feelings.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) , lack of concentration, poor interpersonal skills, bullying, stealing, several other childhood problems can be traced to excessive viewing of TV by parents, lack of intimacy between parents, quarrel some atmosphere at home, and lack of quality time parents give to children.

In these days of double income-1-2 kids families, parents are under pressure to advance their careers that they sometimes fail to give quality time to their children. So I was really happy to learn about Manu Kappan and Amrita who left high paying jobs in UK to give quality time for their daughter Rose, a friend of our daughter Diyah.

Diyah is herself struggling to overcome the trauma of 3-month separation from us when she was just one and a half years old as my wife was busy with her pharmacy business and we had to sent her to her mother's place seeing her only once or twice a week.

Even now when Diyah insists we should be with her where ever she goes and Aswathy gets irritated- I've a hard time convincing her it is not Diyah's fault but the unedited recordings in her Child that gives a feeling of fear, insecurity and inadequacy that plays again and again, needing positive strokes from time to time from us.

I don't know whether I am right in treating my children as friends but always with them as a guide. But will it rob them of the do's and don'ts that are staple recording in our Parent? (In every day psychological realm, it is the Super Ego).

I am no doubt indebted to Mr Hari Kartha (Amritha TV), renowned journalist,my first mentor and guide in the competitive media world, for an important parental lesson. His father was also a well-known journalist. Seeing a framed photo of his father in his home, I asked him how far was he an influence in selecting Journalism as a career. Hari said his father had only warned: "Never Son, never into Journalism." Then what was his contribution to you as a person? Hari said he did not inherit money or wealth from his father but only a set of good values to live by.

This conversation took place even before I had thought of marriage. But every time I spend time with my children, I get reminded of the importance of values. That's the most inexpensive gift you can give your children that can help them sail over the viccissitudes of life.