A Model of Higher Education

SOFT SYSTEMS APPROACH TO HIGHER EDUCATION

 

ROOT DEFINITION & CATWOE MODEL

 

By

 

VIKRAM KARVE

 

 

ROOT DEFINITION

 

The first step in Soft Systems Methodology ( SSM ) is to formulate the Root Definition of the System you are studying, analysing or designing.

 

A Root Definition is a structured description of a system. It is a clear statement of activities which take place (or might take place) in the organisation being studied.

 

A properly structured root definition comprises three elements [what, how, why] and is of the form: A System to do X, by (means of) Y, in order to achieve Z.

 

X – What the System does

Y – How it does it

Z – Why it is being done

 

The ‘what’ is the immediate aim of the system,

The ‘how’ is the means of achieving that aim,

The ‘why’ is the longer term aim of the purposeful activity.

 

CATWOE analysis helps in proper formulation of a Root Definition. CATWOE is a mnemonic which helps identify and categorize all stakeholders [people, processes, environment, entities] of the System being analysed for formulating the Root Definition.

 

 

CATWOE MODEL

 

C = CUSTOMERS OR CLIENTS

A = ACTORS OR AGENTS

T = TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

W =WELTANSCHAUUNG or WORLD VIEW

O = OWNERS

E = ENVIRONMENT

 

To elaborate a bit:

 

C:   The ‘customers of the system’ , clients or System Beneficiaries. In this context ‘customers’ means those who are on the receiving end of whatever it is that the system does. Is it clear from your definition of “C” as to who are the beneficiaries of the system?

 

A:   The ‘actors’, meaning those who would actually carry out the activities envisaged in the notional system being defined. Actors transform inputs into outputs.

 

T:   The ‘transformation process’. What does the system do to the inputs to convert them into the outputs?

 

W:   Weltanschauung – The ‘world view’ that lies behind the Root Definition; the perspective from which the Root Definition if formulated. Putting the system into its wider context can highlight the consequences of the overall system. For example the system may be in place to assist in making the world environmentally safer, and the consequences of system failure could be significant pollution.

 

O:   The ‘owner(s)’ – The person(s) who has commissioned the system and who has sufficient formal power over the system to stop it existing if they so wished (though they won’t usually want to do this).

 

E:   The ‘environmental constraints’. These include things such as ethical limits, regulations, financial constraints, resource limitations, limits set by terms of reference, and so on.

 

 

SYSTEM CHARACTERISATION

 

 

CATWOE Analysis yields a more elaborate all encompassing Root Definition of the form:

 

A System owned by O to do W by A by means of T given the constraints of E in order to achieve X for C.

 

[A briefer version of Root definition is of the form – " a T system in which A do W for C "]

 

Here is a CATWOE Model of a hypothetical Higher Education System [a University or a College]:

 

C – Students

A – Teachers

T – School Pass Outs are transformed into Graduates [Degree Holders]

W – Graduation [a Degree] is a means of assurance to potential employers that the Graduate [Degree Holder] possesses a specified standard of proficiency and skills in the domain of qualification.

O – The University or College Governing Body or Top Management

E – The Prescribed Educational, Academic Quality, Assessment and Accreditation Standards and Requirements.

 

Now this CATWOE Analysis may yield a Root Definition that this particular Higher Education Institution is a university owned system to award degrees to students (X) who successfully qualify assessment (Y) in accordance with prescribed standards in order to certify assurance (Z) to potential employers that the students possess the requisite proficiency, capabilities and skills.   

 

Is this Root Definition okay or is there something amiss?

 

Suppose we define Potential Employers [or Industry] as CUSTOMERS [C] and include students as ACTORS [A] along with teachers – won’t we then get a more apt Root Definition and consequently realise a better Educational System in keeping with current needs and ground reality?

 

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

 

 

At a recent alumni meet of a prestigious Engineering College I asked a few recently passed out alumni [who were working for a leading IT company for just over a year] as to how much of what was taught in his four year Engineering Degree Course in his college was useful in his work. They said: “Less than 5% (five percent)” – which means that his employer had to invest heavily [almost 95%] in his training and the rest he had to learn on the job.

 

Maybe the educational institution needs to introspect and have a relook at its CATWOE Model and reformulate its ROOT DEFINITION and restructure its curriculum and revitalize its pedagogic methodology to meet the challenges of current needs and envisage seamless integration of fresh BE and B. Tech. Engineering Graduates into the industry.

 

 

VIKRAM KARVE

 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

 

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

 

vikramkarve@sify.com

 

 

ALL MY PET DOGS

ALL MY PET DOGS

My Canine Companions

By

VIKRAM KARVE

I remember my first pet dog Goldie, a Cocker Spaniel, who was presented to us by our neighbour in Devlali in 1961, when I was just five.

We named him Goldie because of his colour and the tiny one month old pup remained my constant companion and loyal friend till he passed away in 1970.

Then we had Bruno, a cute cuddly Lhasa Apso, who disappeared, or maybe was stolen one day.

After that a black playful Dachshund Sherry entered our family.

I loved Sherry so much that I have named all my subsequent dogs Sherry.

In 1982 we were presented a lovable snow-white Lhasa Apso girl as a wedding gift. Of course we named her Sherry.

Ours was an arranged marriage and probably the only thing that was compatible was that we both loved dogs.

Today it is my favourite Doberman girl Sherry who illuminates every moment of our lives with happiness, joy and delight.

If you ask me “Why do people keep dogs?” I will ask you “Why do people have children?”

And remember, your children will grow up, and, one day, may go away from you, maybe for higher studies, or to pursue their careers, or just leave you because they want to stay separately; but your dog will never leave you and will loyally remain with you forever till death.

Of course, if you throw out your dog, or get rid of it, then it’s a different matter; but your dog won’t leave you of its own accord.

If you are thinking of getting a dog into your home, as a family member, remember you are making a commitment to that dog for its lifetime, probably even more than your own children.

And once the dog joins your family, invest your love and time to build a special bond that only a dog can offer, and you will both be happy you did.

You can take my word for it!

VIKRAM KARVE

PS: – Hey, do read about SHERRY

the story of my current pet  My Darling DobermanXRampur Hound Girl

BARAMATI – A Nostalgic Journey to My Roots

BARAMATI - An Oasis of Agriculture, Heritage and Education

By

VIKRAM KARVE

[I wrote this travelogue soon after we visited Baramati in December 2007. For nostalgic memories' sake, I am reposting this travelogue with a few pictures of this memorable trip to my birthplace.]

Maalya Varchi Devi

Baramati. My birthplace. Baramati – half a decade ago, the then dusty mofussil town in the back of beyond, where I was born on the 12th of September in 1956, which has now metamorphosed into a vibrant oasis of agriculture, education and industry.

We visited Baramati on Saturday, the 1st of December 2007 – a visit so memorable, so delightful, so enlightening, and so nostalgic that I must tell you about it.

It all started on the spur of the moment, when my 75-year-old mother, who is suffering from an advanced stage of Age Related Macular Degeneration [ARMD] of both her retinas and is fast losing what little remains of her eyesight, suggested we visit Baramati, so that we could see the memories of her childhood. I too was keen to see my birthplace, where I was born and spent some of my earlier holidays, evoking in me nostalgic memories of the fun and frolic, the hurda parties at my grandfather’s farm, and was especially keen to see the much-praised state-of-the-art campus of Vidya Pratishthan and its modern College of Engineering at Vidyanagari about which I had heard so much.

We started off from Pune in the morning at eight thirty in our dependable Santro, picking up an ex-Baramatikar Bipin Pole, who had so readily agreed to accompany and guide us along, hit Shankershet road, crossed Hadapsar, and turned right and sped towards Baramati via the Saswad, Jejuri, Morgaon route.

It is a smooth drive, and soon we were negotiating our way up the Dive Ghat, glancing at the once brimming with water, now dry, Mastani Lake or Talav, down below to our left, crossed Saswad [where we would stop on our way back to meet my uncle], and soon could see the majestic Jejuri Temple atop the peak straight ahead. Crossing Jejuri, a pleasant drive, and soon we saw the famous Ashtavinayak Morgaon Ganesh Temple [where we would all pray and pay our obeisance].

Ashtavinayak Morgaon Ganesh Temple

At Morgaon we turned left on our final leg towards Baramati, leaving the Indian Seamless Metal Tubes factory to our right and as we crossed Medad Fort to our left we started to get a feel of the transformation seeing the excellent quality broad roads.

As we approached the town I experienced a sense of déjà vu [I was visiting Baramati for the first time since the early nineteen sixties – after almost forty five years] as we approached Dr. Atul Pole’s dispensary opposite the then Shyam Talkies [now replaced by the modern and elegant Vidya Pratishtan Office Complex but the road is still known as Cinema Road]. It was almost noon; we’d covered the little over 100 kilometers distance in three hours.

Dr. Atul Pole [son of the illustrious “Pole Doctor”] and his charming wife were waiting for us with delicious upma and refreshing piping hot tea, and after refreshing ourselves we were off towards Vidyanagari, the campus of Vidya Pratishthan. Turning right on Bhigwan Road, past the canal, and the once narrow gauge [I remember traveling by the Daund – Baramati Toy Train] railway station adorned with its commemorative little steam engine as a remembrance of its heritage, we drove smoothly on the broad top quality road past the elegant court building and swanky well laid out colonies and soon reached Vidyanagari.

It’s a pleasure to drive on the smooth spacious traffic-free roads – the roads here are certainly better that the roads in Pune.

The moment you reach Vidyanagari you feel as if you have entered another world. Vidyanagari’s truly impressive pristine, lush green, verdant campus, echoing with elevating silence, engenders within you that unique sense of tranquility and academic ambiance which is a sine qua non of a genuine learning environment. The museum is truly inspiring and exquisite – you’ve got to see it to visualize how dazzling and awe-inspiring it is. I was overwhelmed with a wonderful feeling as we strolled leisurely through the scenic soothing green campus.

Outside it had the old-world charm of the beautiful serene university milieu of yesteryear; inside the facilities and infrastructure were most modernistic high-tech state-of-the-art. A lovely symbiosis of nature and technology indeed!

In the good old days premier residential engineering colleges like Roorkee, BENCO and even the earlier IITs were located in self-contained campuses far away from the hustle-bustle and distractions of city life in order to facilitate holistic learning – the Vidya Pratishthan’s College of Engineering at Vidyanagari has similar favorable environs and academic atmosphere conducive to peaceful undisturbed learning and all round development.

We walk past students in their smart college T-shirts, admiring the rambling playgrounds, the superb well-stocked library, the neat hostels and faculty quarters and the impressive VIIT building and reach the magnificent College of Engineering building where we enjoy a fruitful interaction with a most pleasant, knowledgeable and enthusiastic senior faculty member Prakash Gogte who tells us all about his premier institution. As we leave, I wonder whether someday I’ll be back in Baramati to be a part of this wonderful institution.

We now drive around the new parts of Baramati and arrive at the Maalya Varchi Devi temple and offer prayers. Then we drive back into the old part of Baramati, past the erstwhile Siddhaye hospital where I was born, down Station Road to my grandfather’s ancient majestic house which still stands strong. [My grandfather came to Baramati in the early 1920’s and his address was simple – KN Gokhale, BA. LL.B., Pleader, Station Road, Baramati].

My Grandfather’s House – Where I Was Born

Tears of nostalgia well up in my mother’s eyes as she goes around the ancient house – her childhood home. A school classmate and some acquaintances come to meet her and they are all so happy reminiscing and exchanging notes about their friends and families. Seeing the joy on my mother’s face I am glad we came to Baramati.

My Mother’s School Classmates

We see the important places nearby –the Siddheshwar temple, Bhuikot Fort [the earlier location of the court where my grandfather worked] and drive on the banks of the Karha river. It’s late afternoon now, and my mother has to be back home before dark owing to her vision deterioration, so we head back for Pune.

On the way back we visit my uncle LA Gokhale and his family at Saswad.

Bipin – our co-traveller, Atul Pole – our host, and my mother after Darshan

I’m glad we visited Baramati and witnessed the truly admirable breathtaking development and a marvelous transformation from the fleeting memories of the once dusty little mofussil town I had in my mind. I’m going to visit Baramati and rediscover more of my roots again and again – maybe next time by train via Daund.
I hope they start convenient fast trains from Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai so that Baramati is as easily accessible by rail as it is by road.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.


http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

vikramkarve@sify.com

vikramkarve@hotmail.com

PUNE WANDERLUST and APPETITE FOR A STROLL

ITCHY FEET HUNGRY STOMACH CURIOUS MIND

APPETITE FOR A STROLL

A Glorious Day in Pune

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Musings on the Art of Leisure from my delicious Foodie Adventures Book Appetite for a Stroll

Art of Loafing
Please tell me, Dear Reader: What is loafing?

Idling away your time on useless things?

Aimless Loitering?

Loitering! Sounds a bit derogatory, isn’t it?

Okay let’s say it is aimless wandering – Perfectly useless time spent in a perfectly useless manner!

Yes. That’s how I would like to define the art of loafing – spending perfectly useless time in a perfectly useless manner!

Foodwalking

And what, Dear Reader, is foodwalking?

Loitering, or rather walking, in search of good food. Not so aimless loitering!
That’s what I did once – long back. I loafed in Pune.

Foodwalked. In search of good food.

I spent a perfectly useless day in a perfectly useless manner – “Foodwalking in Pune”.

I still have fond nostalgic memories of that glorious day. Let me tell you about it.

A Glorious Day

It is a beautiful morning. I try to furtively slip out of my house unnoticed, but I am stopped in my tracks by my wife’s piercing voice, “Where are you going”?

“I don’t know?” I answer truthfully, and this adroit answer probably precludes the next question she is about to ask me, “What time are you coming back?” for she knows I will again truthfully answer, “I don’t know”.

It’s true – I really don’t know where I am going!

“Take the mobile with you,” she shouts, but I pretend not to hear and make myself scarce and disappear as fast as possible for I do not want the manacles of technology to ruin my day.

Dear fellow loafer – If you want to truly enjoy life beware of the technology trap!

It’s a bright day. I feel good.

Flush with a sense of carefree irresponsibility, I walk with a spring in my step. I am going to enjoy my leisure.

Should I turn left? Should I turn right? Should I cross the road and go straight ahead?

I am free. Free to go wherever I desire. Free to enjoy my day as I want.

True freedom – to be able to travel at will with no destination to reach, no task to complete, no deadlines to meet.

Just Loaf. Aimlessly. Timelessly. Pure Leisure.

Spend a perfectly useless day in a perfectly useless manner.

I see a bus. I stop it and hop in.

“Where do you want to go?” the conductor asks.

“Where does this bus go?” I ask.

“Pune Railway Station.”

“Okay. One ticket to Pune Railway Station,” I say holding out a tenner.

The conductor gives me an amused look and hands me a ticket and a rupee coin.

I sit down on a vacant window-seat.

I think interesting thoughts and enjoy the view through the window.

On these trips of mine I prefer travelling by bus and, of course, I love to walk on foot.

Driving my car on the terrible potholed, crowded and chaotic roads in the terrible traffic of Pune makes me go crazy, and, at my age, I dare not venture out too far on my scooter, lest I land up with broken bones in hospital or, worse, lifeless in Vaikunth or Kailas crematoriums!

That’s what I sometimes do on these glorious trips of mine. Just jump into the first bus that comes along and let it take you wherever it goes.

Just go where life leads you.

Last time I landed up in the heart of Pune near Shaniwar Wada.

In Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi loafing is even more exciting, as there are so many more routes and choices, trains, buses, walks, and you can serendipitously explore so many novel and exotic places you would not dream of going to in normal course.

The bus reaches the Pune Railway Station. It’s been a smooth ride.

Anonymity
I get down and admire the magnificent heritage stone building of Pune Railway Station. I stand in the porch and look inside. Trains, crowds, announcements, horns, cacophony, and chaos – I love the “railway” atmosphere.

On impulse, I enter, and stroll on the platform, panning my gaze all over, and stopping once in a while to feast my eyes on any attractive object that arrests my attention.

“Want a seat?” a porter asks.

“No,” I say.

“Where are you going?” he pursues.

“Nowhere,” I say.

“Waiting for someone,” he asks, probably in anticipation of porterage.

“No,” I say.

He stares at me for a moment and walks off with a look of perplexed dejection.

I look around. Everyone is waiting to go somewhere, or for someone. I am waiting to go nowhere, and for nobody.

So I walk out of the station and head for Shiv Kailash Milk Bar bang opposite on the other side of the road.

If you arrive at Pune by train on a hot morning, never make the blunder of heading for the rickshaw stand. You’ll get all stressed up waiting in the never-ending queue and haggling with the rickshawallas trying to con you.

Just cross the road to Shiv Kailash, sit under the shade on one of the stainless steel stools placed on the pavement, invigorate yourself with a tall glass of cool refreshing lassi (which is guaranteed to banish the depleting effects of the tiresome train journey) and tell the waiter to hail a rickshaw from the many hanging around.

This is what I have been doing for so many years, during my numerous homecomings, since the days when Pune was called Poona.

Shiv Kailash serves the best lassi in Pune. It’s almost as good as the one at Pehelwan at the end on Lanka near BHU in Varanasi. The lassi freshly made in front of you topped off with a generous dollop of soft fresh cream. The sumptuous fulfilling soothing lassi is thick, lip-smacking, nourishing, and gives me a heavenly feeling.

I sip slowly, relishing every mouthful, almost eating the delectable fluid after letting it perambulate on my tongue, as I watch the world go about its business outside.

People come in a jiffy; gulp their glasses of lassi down the hatch in a hurry, and rush away, while I blissfully savour each and every drop of the delicious creamy lassi.

I walk leisurely towards Camp. Past Mira College, GPO, Zero Milestone, Police Headquarters, Nehru Memorial Hall, where I cross the Moledina Road admiring the imposing Lal Deval Synagogue, and turn left, past the place imperial Dorabjee Store Building used to be once. Now there is a huge shopping complex and a glitzy mall opposite. I reminisce. West End, New Empire, all the adorable landmarks gone.

Now there are Malls and modern places like Landmark. Landmark – you know it don’t you?

Landmark is Pune’s swanky new music-cum-book store. Like Crossword – giving competition to the grand old Manney’s, International, Popular, TBS and the bookshops at Appa Balwant Chowk.

I walk in. The place is swarming with chic salesgirls and sales-boys. No one pays any attention to me. Maybe I blend well with the surroundings.

I realize the tremendous advantages of obscurity and the benefits of anonymity.

Had I been a successful person, rich and famous, or someone with a striking personality, people would notice me and I doubt I would have been able to enjoy myself with such carefree abandon.

Only non-achievers like me can truly enjoy a life of carefree irresponsibility and the unadulterated joys of genuine leisure.

I roam around the ground floor music section. There are no music stations where you can listen to music like they have in Rhythm House and Planet-M in Mumbai. So I go the first floor bookstore. It’s spacious, neatly laid-out and looks impressive.

Browsing

The books are arranged subject-wise, clearly visible from anywhere. There are cushioned stools to sit and browse and also two long sofas below the huge tinted windows towards the far side.

I start from the left side. Food, Philosophy, Self-Help, Travel, Coffee Table, Erotica, Classics, Fiction, Computers, Children, Indian Writing there are books on every topic you can think of.

The tranquil ambiance is so soothing and conducive that I browse to my hearts content, loosing myself into that wonderful state of timelessness I experience sometimes when I am totally immersed into doing something I love.

By the time I leave Landmark, cerebrally satiated, it is almost three in the afternoon, I am hungry, and in desperate need of gastronomic satiation. So I walk past Manney’s, West End, turn right on Main Street, cross Aurora Towers, turn right, walk past ABN Amro Bank, and turn left on Dastur Meher Road, a walk leisurely towards Sarbatwala Chowk till I reach Dorabjee and Sons.

A Leisurely Meal

I dive in through the low entrance and look around. The eatery is crowded, with noisy families bashing away regardless greedily devouring the heaps food before them. The mouth-watering aroma, and the sight of the appetizing food, creates in me such ravenous pangs of hunger that I quickly sit on the only vacant table and order a Mutton Biryani the signature dish of Dorabjee.

As is the hallmark of specialty cuisine restaurants the menu is select just a few choice dishes a single page. There’s Sali, Curry, Masala and Biryani in Mutton and Chicken; Kheema, Brain, Eggs, and combinations thereof, cutlets in gravy, and a few Veg dishes, for appearance sake. On Sundays, you can have Dhansak, maybe on your way to the races in the season.

Pune may have changed but heritage institutions like Dorabjee still preserve the flavour of yesteryear Pune.

I spoon some Biryani onto my tongue, seal my lips, close my eyes, turn my senses inwards with full consciousness to imbibe and savour the unique medley of juices released by the succulent piece of mutton, the bitterish-sweet taste of the slightly burnt crisp fried onions, and the spicy flavoursome rice. It is superlative delicious authentic cuisine at its best. Dorabjee serves the best heritage mutton biryani in Pune – no doubt about it. [Blue Nile and Good Luck are nearly as good].

The fervent atmosphere of the place and exquisite quality of the food is such that one eats enthusiastically, with wholehearted zest and gusto; not apologetically and self-consciously, as one tends to do, trying to be prim and proper, in highfalutin restaurants.

At Dorabjee, you can enjoy every morsel of your food with passionate ardour.

And as I reach blissful satiety I realize that a well-filled stomach radiates a kind of spiritual happiness.

The Art of Leisure
The ideal way to end this rich spicy repast is to cool it off with a Falooda.

So I walk down Sachapir Street, cross Main Street, and head for Badshah on East Street to down a deliciously sweet and chilled Rose flavored Royal Falooda.

And then to Kayani, down East Street, to pick up some Shrewsbury Biscuits and Chocolate Walnut Cake.

I stand outside Kayani, wondering what to do. Maybe I can go to Manney’s and browse some more. If Landmark has got the ambiance, Manney’s got the books!

And then just loiter down Main Street admiring pretty looking things, till I am tired and hungry.

Maybe I will have some sandwiches, a roll and cold coffee at Marzorin. Or pastries and a softy at Pasteurs.

Or a Burger at Burger King, or a Chopsuey at East End, down East Street.

Maybe Kathi Rolls at Olympia, Chicken Masala at George, Chana Bhatura at Monafood, Sev Barfi at Bhavnagri, Wafers at Budhani, or Sizzlers at The Place next to Manneys, or one more Biryani at Blue Nile near the GPO.

The possibilities are endless!

Or should I see the movie at Victory opposite, or at West End nearby?

Maybe I’ll jump into the first bus I see and let it take me wherever it goes.

How about going for a long walk on Laxmi road into the heart of town?

Or an idyll beside the river in Bund Garden, or Saras Baug, or Sambhaji Park?

Or maybe I will just head home.

Oh, yes indeed, the possibilities are truly endless!

I am free to do whatever I choose to do!

I can loaf to my heart’s content!

To continue to spend a perfectly useless day in a perfectly useless manner!

Relish moments of perfect leisure.

You can take my word for it, dear reader.

There is nothing you will enjoy more than loafing.

It is only when you cease to do the things you have to do, and do the things you like to do, and you want to do, that you achieve the highest value of your time.

The freedom to enjoy life is the ultimate reward.

Why should you defer happiness waiting for some elusive abstract rewards?

What reward could be greater than a life enjoyed as it is lived?

If you do not find happiness as you are, where you are, here and now, you will never find it.

There is always plenty in life right now to enjoy for one who is determined to enjoy it.

The feast of life is before you.

Do you have the appetite to enjoy the feast of life?

So my dear friend, discover the art of loafing, and you will redeem the art of living from the business of living.

The Art of Travelling, The Art of Happiness, The Art of Eating, The Art of Living, The Art of Loafing, The Art of Leisure – all inextricably intertwined, isn’t it?

Dear Reader, do tell us about your glorious carefree leisurely loafing experiences in your favourite city too!

I’ll end with a recap on how to realize the highest value of your time: “It is only when you cease to do the things you have to do, and do the things you like to do and you want to do, that you achieve the highest value of your time”

Liked this article?

Want to read more such musings, recipes and go on food-walks with me?

Do you have an Appetite for a Stroll?

Dear Reader, why don’t you get a copy of Appetite for a Stroll by just clicking the links below?

http://www.indiaplaza.in/finalpage.aspx?storename=books&sku=9788190690096&ct=2

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

vikramkarve@sify.com

APPETITE FOR A STROLL – Art of Eating

FOOD – HOW TO EAT IT

ART OF EATING

By

VIKRAM KARVE

[An essay on the Art of Eating – one of my earliest foodie blog posts on Sulekha which appears in my book  Appetite for a Stroll along with my other foodie writings]

THE ART OF EATING

Are you in the habit of “grabbing a bite”?

Do you ever eat in the office while continuing to work or just skip meals altogether?

Do you multitask while eating?

Do you have power breakfasts, working lunches and business dinners?

Do you eat fast and hurriedly, finish meals well ahead of everyone else and eat in bigger bites without savoring the taste of food?

Can you vividly recall the taste of all the dishes you ate for dinner yesterday night?

Do you want to master the Art of Eating and enjoy your food?

Remember, there is no love greater than the love of eating – so read on, learn and try to master the Art of Eating!

Good food must be savored delicately; slowly, attentively and respectfully; in a befitting manner, with finesse and technique, with relish and appreciation and you will experience true gustatory delight.

That’s essence of the Art of Eating.

It is sacrilege to eat in a ravenous and rapacious manner.

Never eat when tired, angry, worried, tense, hurried, and at mealtimes refuse to think or talk about unpleasant subjects.

It is best to eat alone, mindfully, with yourself, in glorious solitude, in a calm, serene, conducive and unhurried environment.

If you must have company, you must always eat with friendly, relaxed and tranquil people who love food and whose company you enjoy; never eat with “toxic”, “harried” or “stressed-out” people or in a tense or hurried atmosphere.

If you want to do full justice to good food, you must build up an appetite for it – merely being hungry is not enough.

And the first step towards building up an appetite for good food is to think about it – simulated imaginative gustatory visualization to stimulate and prepare yourself for the sumptuous indulgence.

An important thing we were taught at boarding school was to read the menu and prepare for the meal by beginning to imagine relishing each and every dish, from soup to pudding, in our mind’s eye.

Remember: First plan your “eat” and then eat your “plan”.

It’s true. I eat my food twice.

First in my mind’s eye – imagining, visualizing, “vicariously tasting”, fantasizing, strategizing on how I am going to savor and relish the dish to my utmost pleasure and satisfaction till my mouth waters and I desperately yearn to eat it.

And then I do the honours – actually go ahead and physically eat it and enjoy the delightful experience.

Eating is not a gustatory experience alone; it is visual and olfactory as well.

Food must look good, smell good, taste good and, most importantly, make you feel good.

The Art of Eating – a Holistic, Multidimensional experience, encompassing all domains of your inner being.

Eat in silence. Mindfully. With full awareness.

Savour the aroma, delicately place the food on your tongue, chew slowly and experience the variety of flavours as the permeate your taste buds, fully aware and sense the nourishment as the food dissolves and sinks deep within you.

Chew your food to a pulp or milky liquid until it practically swallows itself.

Never mix food and drink – alcohol dulls the taste buds, and olfactory sensation, and encumbers the unmitigated enjoyment of good food.

You must always close your eyes during the process of eating.

When you eat, you must eat; nothing else, no seeing, no hearing, no talking. No multitasking. That’s right – never multi-task while eating.

Just eat! Focus all your senses on your food, eat mindfully, meditatively, and you will attain a state of delightful bliss and happiness.

It’s simple. Create a positive eating atmosphere, honour your taste buds, respect your food and eat it in a proper state of mind, with love, zest, awareness and genuine appreciation and it will transport you to a state of bliss and happiness.

Remember: There is no love greater than the love of eating!

In a nutshell, this is the “Art of Eating“.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

http://www.indiaplaza.in/finalpage.aspx?storename=books&sku=9788190690096&ct=2

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

Appetite for a Stroll

vikramkarve@sify.com

vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

A Soul Stirring Dinner

MOUTHWATERING MEMORIES

 

A SOUL STIRRING EVENING

 

By

 

VIKRAM KARVE

 

[Mouth-watering Memories of a Yummy Foodie Date]  

 

 

Falling in love?

 

Wondering where to go on that crucial Foodie First Date in Pune?

 

Try “Soul”.

 

We had a truly soul stirring evening at Soul on a warm Sunday evening last summer. Let me tell you about it.

 

It’s easy to get to Soul – just drive down North Main Road in Koregaon Park and turn into ABC Farms to your left, let the valet park your car and walk straight ahead into the lovely ambience of Soul.

 

The surroundings are green, natural, with trees – wonder why they’ve put a cover over the top of the dining area – dining under the clear night sky is much more pleasurable and romantic.

 

You may find the place full, like we did, even though we reached as early as eight.

 

There is a mini golf course to keep you occupied while you wait for your table, or you can sit at the impressive well stocked bar, like I did, sipping deliciously soothing “mocktail” Virgin Pina Colada. I am sure I would have sampled something more potent and exciting from their ample cocktail repertoire in my heyday!

 

I look around the truly contrasting cosmopolitan crowd – young “table-for-two” lovey-dovey couples having a tender romantic candle-lit dinner, a boisterous group celebrating a birthday, lively friends spiritedly wining and animatedly dining and happy families thoroughly enjoying themselves.

 

The ambience is wonderfully friendly and relaxing – generous use of wood, wrought iron chairs, candle-lit tables – a rather alluring charming atmosphere in natural verdant surroundings.

 

Soon we sit comfortably at a table, and as if on cue, the music starts – one of my favourite golden oldies.

 

I listen with rapt attention, lose myself in the nostalgic music, feel rejuvenated, and as the song ends I realize that my vivacious “date” has already ordered Soul Kebab, Rogan Josh, Chicken Makhani and Naan.

 

I browse through the tempting Italian delicacies on the menu and look at her in mute supplication, but the lovely young lady sitting opposite me is not moved and closes the issue in her typical peremptory manner “My friend told me that the Soul Kebab and Indian dishes are good here!” Period!

 

 

The Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken [Chicken Makhani] and Naan arrive.

 

“Rogan Josh must always be eaten with rice!” I affirm to my foodie companion.

 

She looks at me curiously, and orders steamed rice, and while it arrives, I dig into the Butter Chicken.

 

The Butter Chicken looks good and tastes good.

 

This preparation is in the same league as the celebrated Butter Chicken I’ve relished at the famous original Moti Mahal of Daryaganj and at Gaylord in Churchgate.

 

The soft Naan drenched in the lip-smacking creamy gravy scintillates my taste buds.

 

She wants a Roomali Roti. “Sorry,” says the waiter, “No Roomali Roti, only Roti and Naan, there is a shortage of staff.”

 

She frowns in disbelief. A pity! A real pity for a posh restaurant; but at least they are honest about it! 

 

I look at the Rogan Josh. I am disappointed. It doesn’t look like Rogan Josh, so I ask the waiter whether he’s brought Mutton Masala or some other mutton curry dish instead, maybe, owing to shortage of staff, but he confirms that the thick greenish brown gravy with rather muddy coloured chunks of meat is indeed “Rogan Josh”.

 

Authentic Rogan Josh is the most visually appealing, passionately tempting and appetizing dish which makes your mouth water and entices you to eat it. I feel it is vital that food must look good, for we “eat” our food twice – first we eat with our eyes, then with our tongues.

 

I taste the gravy – yes, distinctive taste of pure ghee is clearly discernible and this locally improvised version of Rogan Josh seems quite tasty, the mutton is well cooked and succulent, a decent passable mutton dish, certainly not superb.

 

We eat our meal slowly, enjoying the delightful music. 

 

It is “open mike” night and spontaneous spur-of-the-moment singers from the diners, egged on by active participation from one and all, enliven, and almost electrify, the atmosphere.

 

It’s good, real good, a truly unforgettable soul-stirring dining experience.

 

 

I’m glad we visited Soul.

 

It’s good, real good; we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, good reasonably priced food, invigorating music, breathtaking ambience, a truly unforgettable soul-stirring dining experience.

 

Dear Reader, if you enjoyed reading this, and want to relish more such delicious foodie adventures, do read APPETITE FOR A STROLL:

 

http://www.indiaplaza.in/finalpage.aspx?storename=books&sku=9788190690096&ct=2

 

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

 

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

 

Happy Eating.

 

 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

 

 

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

 

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

 

vikramkarve@sify.com

YESMANSHIP and DECISION MANAGEMENT

YES MEN,  EGO MASSAGE,  SYCOPHANCY,  GROUPTHINK

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Tradition has it that conflict is bad; it is something to be avoided.

The culture of many organizations implies explicitly or implicitly that conflict should be suppressed and eliminated. It is common for managers to perceive intra-organizational conflict as being dysfunctional for the achievement of organizational goals. Most of us still cling to the idea that good managers resolve conflict.

Current thinking disputes this view. In the absence of conflicting opinions, harmonious tranquil work groups are prone to becoming static, apathetic and unresponsive to pressures for change and innovation. They also risk the danger of becoming so self-satisfied, that dissenting views – which may offer important alternative information – are totally shut out. In short, they fall victims to a syndrome called “GROUPTHINK”

In a study of public policy decision fiascos, I.L Janis identified “GROUPTHINK” as a major cause of poor decision making. As he describes it, ‘groupthink’ occurs when decision makers who work closely together develop a high degree of solidarity that clouds their vision, leading them to suppress conflicting views and negative feelings about proposals, consciously or unconsciously.

A manifestation of the groupthink phenomenon is the staggering irrationality which can beset the thinking of the otherwise highly competent, intelligent, conscientious individuals when they begin acting as a group or team.

EFFECT AND SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK

The net effect on the group is that it overestimates its power and morality, it creates pressures for uniformity and conformance, and its members become close-minded, living in ivory towers. Some manifestations are the illusions of invulnerability and the encouragement to take great risks and to ignore the ethical or moral aspects of their decisions and actions.

This author has witnessed close-mindedness on the part of several managers which then permeated their teams. One project manager took this to the extreme and in effect defined his environment as consisting of two kinds of people, either “friends” or “enemies” – The “you are either for me or you are against me” syndrome.

The friends were people who completely agreed with his favoured solutions and supported his project. All others were enemies.

Soon his entire project team was echoing similar sentiments having fallen victim to “GROUPTHINK”, resulting in unbending positions, heated arguments and subsequent lack of respect for anyone who disagreed with them; the ultimate consequences can easily be guessed.

The symptoms of groupthink include:

(i) An illusion of invulnerability that becomes shared by most members of the group.

(ii) Collective attempts to ignore or rationalize away items of information which might otherwise lead the group to reconsider shaky but cherished assumptions.

(iii) An unquestioned belief in the group’s inherent morality, thus enabling members to overlook the ethical consequences of their decisions.

(iv) Stereotyping the dissenters as either too evil for negotiation or too stupid and feeble to merit consideration.

(v) A shared illusion of unanimity in a majority viewpoint, augmented by the false assumption that silence means consent.

(vi) Self-appointed “mind-guards” to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decision.

Not very surprisingly it has been suggested that individuals most susceptible to groupthink will tend to be people fearful of disapproval and rejection. Conversely, an outspoken individualist who freely airs his views and opinions, if trapped in a groupthink situation, runs the risk of being ejected by his colleagues if he fails to hold his tongue.

GROUPTHINK SITUATIONS

THE DOMINANT LEADER

Firstly, because the CEO [or the “Boss”] dispenses all favours, his biggest problem is to avoid being treated like God. Secondly, the “Boss” must avoid thinking that he is God.

Indeed, in many organizations, it is not easy to contradict or argue too vigorously with the boss.

Even when managers feel that they know more than a superior, they may suppress doubts because of career considerations.

Fear, respect for authority, and even admiration may make sceptics hesitate when confronted with a confident CEO or dominating superior. This is less of a problem if the leader acts in the organization’s interests, possesses requisite soft skills, and has strong ethics and cognitive capabilities to make decisions.

However, if a leader does not force serious questioning, he or she will sometimes make mistakes and errors of judgement. Colleagues will become “yes-men”, and groupthink will take over decision making. And the dominant CEO may not discover his or her mistakes because fearful employees withhold information.

What can lower-level managers do about the boss who has lost touch with reality and seems to be driving the organization in the wrong direction?

One can adopt three different strategies:

(i) “Exit” (Leave the organization)
(ii) “Voice” (attempt to force changes from within)
(ii) “Loyalty” (accept things the way they are)

Each individual can evaluate the risks and benefits of each strategy.

However, if the organization is really on the wrong track, true loyalty requires an attempt to communicate one’s reservations and concerns to the leader.

How can a confident, independent CEO avoid the pitfalls and temptations of absolute power? The obvious (but difficult) answer is to make sure that power is never absolute, and surround oneself with other confident, independent people, and encourage dissension and debate on every decision.

In his autobiography ‘A Soldier’s Story’ General ON Bradley has exemplified this aspect in the decision-making style of General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff of the US Army in World War II, a dominant leader who was instrumental in the Allied Victory owing to his resolute management of the entire war effort. “Gentlemen, I am disappointed in you. You haven’t yet disagreed with a single decision I have made,” he told his staff after one week in office. “When you carry a paper in here, I want you to give me every reason you can think of as to why I should not approve it. If, in spite of your objections, my decision is still to go ahead, then I’ll know I am right.”

Rather than search for views that might reinforce his own, a CEO should seek contrary opinions to avoid groupthink. Some suggest using devil’s advocates for all major decisions by assigning some individuals in all groups and teams to argue against the dominant view.

PARALLEL POWER


This is a “groupthink” situation in which individuals or groups low in the hierarchy are powerful enough to do what they want, even when contrary to organizational objectives. Such power may be based on specialized expertise or privileged access to information. Parallel power can lead to groupthink in two ways.

Firstly, senior managers may accept ideas from lower-level managers that are not necessarily in the organizational interest, either because they have insufficient information to ask the right questions, or because opposition would not seem legitimate.

Secondly, top managers may make decisions without all the necessary information because subordinates do not provide it due to vested interests arising from misplaced loyalties to a limited function, department or team, rather than to the organization as a whole.

Such situations can be mitigated by ensuring that managers rotate between different units and positions.

NATURAL UNANIMITY

When everyone in power instinctively shares the same opinion on an issue, the wise manager should be wary. Natural unanimity groupthink results in an inward-looking organization detached from its environment.

Escape from this predicament almost certainly requires a fresh perspective that can come only from outside, by hiring new managers or appointing outside consultants.

A CEO may lay overemphasis on staff – line cooperation in the belief that the easiest way to ensure implementation is to recommend only those actions that the line managers agree with. But this is not necessarily useful to an organization and may lead to mutual admiration and, ultimately, ‘natural unanimity groupthink’.

The effectiveness of staff – line dichotomy depends on maintaining a certain tension between the staff and the line managers. When the tension disappears, the staff may not be doing its job.

CONCLUSION

The key element in any strategy for avoiding groupthink is to instil checks and balances into the system. Formally, this can be achieved through cross-functional teams, staff advisers, external consultants, or procedures like “devil’s advocacy”.

Informally, managers must learn to tolerate dissidence, criticism, contrary opinions, discussion, brainstorming and debate and encourage their colleagues to express doubts about proposals. Propositions from various parts of the organization need to be treated transparently, equitably, and consistently, to avoid groupthink.

In a nutshell, for effective decision making, steer clear of yes-men, ego-massage, sycophancy and groupthink.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

mailto:vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

dating mating game

DATING MATING GAME

 

[Short Fiction – A Love Story]

 

By

 

VIKRAM KARVE

 

I am busy working in my office on the morning of the First of April when my cell phone rings. It is Sudha, my next door neighbour, so I take the call. 

 

“Vijay, you lucky dog, your life is made,” Sudha says excitedly.

 

“Lucky Dog? Please, Sudha, I am busy,” I say, a trifle irritated.

 

“Don’t switch off your cell phone,” Sudha says, “you are going to get a very important phone call.”

 

“Important call?”

 

“From the hottest and most eligible woman in town,” Sudha says with exuberance, “She’s fallen head over heels for you, Vijay. She wants to date you.”

 

“Date me? Who’s this?”

 

“My boss.”

 

“Your boss?”

 

“Come on, Vijay, I told you, didn’t I, about the chic Miss Hoity Toity who joined last week…”

 

Suddenly it dawns on me and I say to Sudha, “Happy April Fools Day…”

 

“Hey, seriously, I swear it is not an April Fools’ Day prank. She is really going to ring you up…she desperately wants to meet you…”

 

“Desperately wants to meet me? I don’t even know her…haven’t even seen her…”

 

“But she’s seen you…”

 

“Seen me…where…?”

 

“Jogging around the Oval Maidan…I think she is stalking you…”

 

“Stalking me…?”

 

“She knows everything…your routine…where you stay…that you are my neighbour…so she called me to her office and asked for your mobile number.”

 

“I’ve told you not to give my number to anyone…”

 

“I told her…but she said it was very urgent…I think she wants to come over in the evening…”

 

“This evening…?… I am switching off my mobile…”

 

“No you don’t…You’ll like her…she is your type…”

 

“My Type?… What do you mean?…Sudha please…”

 

“Bye, Vijay…I don’t want to keep your mobile busy…She’ll be calling any time now…Remember, her name is Nisha…All the Best…” Sudha cuts off the phone.

 

As I wait for the mysterious lady’s call, let me tell you’re a bit about Sudha. 

 

Ever since she dumped me and married that suave, slimy, effeminate, ingratiating sissy Suhas, Sudha probably felt so guilt ridden that she had taken upon herself the responsibility for getting me married.

 

Sudha was my neighbour, the girl next door; my childhood friend, playmate, classmate, soul-mate, confidante and constant companion. I assumed we would get married but she suddenly fell for Suhas who she met at a training seminar.

 

I hated Suhas – he was one of those glib, smooth-talking, street-smart, slick characters that adorn the corporate world – a clean-shaven, soft-spoken, genteel, elegantly groomed metrosexual type with an almost feminine voice and carefully cultivated mannerisms as if he had been trained in a finishing school.

 

At first, I was devastated and could not understand why Sudha had betrayed me, but when Sudha gently explained to me that she always saw me as a friend and never as a husband, I understood and maintained cordial relations with her, though I loathed her husband who had shamelessly moved into her spacious apartment after relocating from Delhi to Mumbai.

 

Probably Sudha thought I had remained unmarried because of her (which may have been true to an extent) so in order to allay her guilt conscience she kept on setting up dates for me hoping for the best.

 

The ring of my cell-phone interrupts my train of thoughts.

 

“Mr. Vijay…?” asks a sweet mellifluous feminine voice.

 

“Yes,” I say my heartbeat slightly increasing.

 

“Nisha here,” she says, “Is it a good time to talk.”

 

“Of course,” I say.

 

“I want to meet you…Is it okay if I come over to your place this evening…”

 

My My My! She comes to the point pretty fast isn’t it?

 

“Today evening…?” I blurt out a bit incredulous.

 

“It’s a bit urgent,” she says.

 

“Sure. You are most welcome,” I stammer recovering my wits.

 

“Six-thirty…before you go for your jog…or later after you return…or maybe we can meet up at the Oval…”

 

I am truly stunned… this Nisha is indeed stalking me…meet up at the Oval…as brazen as that… I have never experienced such blatant propositioning…Tocsins sound in my brain…

 

“Mr. Vijay…” I hear Nisha’s soft voice in the cell-phone earpiece.

 

“Yes, Yes, six-thirty is absolutely fine…I’ll wait for you in my house…you know the place…” I stutter recovering my wits.

 

“Yes, I know your place,” Nisha says, “I’ll be there at six-thirty,” and she disconnects.

 

I go home early, shower, deodorize, groom, titivate, put on my best shirt and wait in eager anticipation for this mysterious woman who is coming onto me so heavily.

 

Precisely at six-fifteen the bell rings. 

 

I open the door.

 

“Hi, I’m Nisha,” the stunningly attractive woman in front of me says.

 

Sudha was right…Nisha is certainly very hot… oh yes, Nisha is indeed my type of woman.

 

“I’m sorry I’m a bit early, but I noticed you were in, saw your car below…”she says.

 

‘Noticed I was in’… My, My…She knows my car…about my daily jogs on the Oval…my routine…everything…she’s really hot on my trail…isn’t she?

 

I look at her. She comes closer towards me.

 

She looks and smells natural. No attempt to camouflage her raw steamy physical self behind a synthetic mask of make-up and artificial deodorants.

 

Her persona is tantalizingly inviting and temptingly desirable; her tight-fitting pink T-shirt tucked into hip hugging dark blue jeans accentuate the curves of her exquisite body and she radiates a captivating aura, an extraordinary magnetic attraction, I have never experienced before.

 

I cannot take my eyes off her, her gorgeous face, her beautiful eyes, her lush skin, so I feast my eyes on her, let my eyes travel all over her shapely body.

 

The frank admiration in my eyes wins a smile. She lets her eyes hold mine.

 

 “Aren’t you going to ask me to come in?” she smiles as if reading my mind.

 

“Oh, yes, sorry, please come in,” I say, embarrassed at having eyed her so openly.

 

I guide her to the sofa and sit as near her as politely possible.

 

We sit on the sofa. She looks terribly attractive, very very desirable.

 

Our closeness envelops us in a stimulating kind of intimacy.

 

Overwhelmed by passion I inch towards her.

 

She too comes closer.

 

I sense the beginnings of an experience I have dreamt about in my fantasies.

  

“Actually, I have come for mating,” she says.

 

“Mating…?” I exclaim instinctively, totally shocked, stunned beyond belief.

 

I look at her tremendously excited, yet frightened, baffled, perplexed, wondering what to do, how to make my move, as the improbability of the situation makes me slightly incredulous and bewildered

 

I notice her eyes search the drawing room, then she looks at the bedroom door, and asks, “Where is your daughter?”

 

“Daughter? I’m not married,” I say, completely taken aback.

 

“I know,” she says, “I’m talking about your lovely dog…or rather, bitch…” she laughs tongue-in-cheek.

 

“I’ve locked her inside. She is not very friendly.”

 

“I know. Hounds do not like strangers…but don’t worry…soon I won’t be a stranger…” Nisha says, gets up and begins walking towards the closed bedroom door.

 

“Please,” I say anxiously, “Angel is very ferocious and aggressive.”

 

“Angel…what a lovely name,” Nisha says, “I have been seeing you two jogging and playing at the Oval. That’s why I have come here…to see your beautiful hound Angel…” and then she opens the door.

 

Angel looks suspiciously as Nisha enters the bedroom and as she extends her hand towards her to pat her on the head, Angel growls at Nisha menacingly, her tail becomes stiff, and the hackles on her back stiffen, since, like most Caravan Hounds, she does not like to be touched or handled by anyone other than me, her master.

 

“Please…please…” I plead to Nisha, but she moves ahead undaunted and caresses Angel’s neck and suddenly there is a noticeable metamorphosis in the hound’s body language as the dog recognizes the true dog lover. All of a sudden Angel licks Nisha’s hand, wags her tail and jumps lovingly at Nisha who embraces her.

 

I am really surprised at the way Nisha is hugging and caressing Angel as not even the most ardent of dog lovers would dare to fondle and take liberties with a ferocious Caravan Hound.

 

“She’s ideal for Bruno. They’ll love each other,” Nisha says cuddling Angel.

 

“Bruno?”

 

“My handsome boy… I was desperately looking for a mate for Bruno…and then I saw her…they’re ideally suited…a perfect made for each other couple.”

 

“You’ve got a hound?”

 

“A Mudhol.”

 

“Mudhol?”

 

“Exactly like her.”

 

“But Angel is a Caravan Hound.”

 

“It’s the same…a Caravan Hound is the same as a Mudhol Hound …in fact, the actual name is Mudhol…”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“Bet?”

 

“Okay.”

 

 “Dinner at the place of my choice.”

 

 “Done.”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Where?”

 

“To my place.”

 

“To your place?”

 

“To meet Bruno…doesn’t Angel want to see him?”

 

“Of course… me too.”

 

And so, the three of us, Nisha, Angel and I, drove down to Nisha’s home on Malabar Hill. The moment we opened the door Bruno rushed to welcome Nisha…then gave Angel a tentative look…for an instant both the hounds stared menacingly at each other…Bruno gave a low growl…then extended his nose to scent…Angel melted…it was love at first sight.

 

Nisha won the bet…we surfed the internet…cross checked in libraries…she was right… Mudhol Hound is the same as Caravan Hound…but not the same as a Rampur, Rajapalyam or  Chippiparai Hound.

 

But that’s another story.

 

Here is what happened to our “Dating and Mating Story”.

 

1.  

Angel and Bruno had a successful mating and Nisha and Bruno would visit my pregnant girl every day, and then, on D-Day,  Nisha stayed through the night to egg on Angel in her whelping.

 

Angel gave birth to four cute little puppies, and every day the “doggie” parents and “human” grandparents would spend hours doting on the little ones.

 

Since Nisha and I could not agree as to who should take which puppy we solved the problem by getting married – strictly a marriage of convenience – but Sudha, her aim achieved, tells me that Nisha and I are the most rocking couple madly in love.

 

And so now we all live together as one big happy family – ours, theirs, mine and hers. 

 

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

http://www.ryze.com/go/karve

Maharshi Karve Birth Anniversary

Today, the 18th of April, is the birth anniversary of Maharshi Karve. 
I offer my humble tribute to the great man by posting below the story of his life and times, his work, his struggles, his triumphs and trust all of us will draw inspiration from his dedication, sacrifices and achievements.

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve

Biographical Literature on the Story of his Life and Work

by 

VIKRAM WAMAN KARVE 

In my own small way I wish to present a review of biographical literature on Maharshi Karve in order to enable readers, especially the students and alumni of educational institutions who owe their very genesis to Maharshi Karve like the SNDT University and the numerous and multifarious women’s schools and colleges under the aegis of the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha, get an insight into the life and work of this great social reformer whose ceaseless efforts played a cardinal role in transforming the destiny of the Indian woman.  

 

I have before me three books on Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve:

 

(i) His autobiography titled ‘Looking Back’ published in 1936.

 

(ii) Maharshi Karve by Ganesh L. Chandavarkar published in 1958 by Popular Prakashan Bombay (Mumbai)

 

(iii) Maharshi Karve – His 105 Years published on 18 April 1963 ( His 106th birth anniversary) by Hingne Stree Shiksan Samstha Poona (Pune) 

 

Allow me to tell you, Dear Reader, a bit about these books which describe the life and times of Maharshi Karve and tell us about the monumental pioneering work of one of the foremost social and educational reformers of India.

 

LOOKING BACK by Dhondo Keshav Karve – Autobiography

 

It would be apt to start with his autobiography – Looking Back, and let Maharshi Karve describe his life and work from his own point of view in his simple yet fascinating style.

I am placing below a Book Review of his autobiography (which I had reviewed a few years ago) for your perusal:

 

 

Book Review of The Autobiography of Maharshi Karve: “Looking Back” by  Dhondo Keshav Karve (1936)

 

 

Dear Reader, you must be wondering why I am reviewing an autobiography written in 1936.

Well, sometime back, for six years of my life, I stayed in a magnificent building called Empress Court on Maharshi Karve Road in Mumbai.

I share the same surname [ Karve ] as the author of this autobiography.

Also, I happen to be the great grandson of Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.

But, beyond that, compared to him I am a nobody – not even a pygmy.

 

Maharshi Karve clearly knew his goal, persisted ceaselessly throughout his life with missionary zeal and transformed the destiny of the Indian Woman.

The first university for women in India  -  The SNDT University and educational institutions for women covering the entire spectrum ranging from pre-primary schools to post-graduate, engineering, vocational and professional colleges bear eloquent testimony to his indomitable spirit, untiring perseverance and determined efforts.

 

In his preface, Frederick J Gould, renowned rationalist and lecturer on Ethics, writes that “the narrative is a parable of his career” – a most apt description of the autobiography. The author tells his life-story in a simple straightforward manner, with remarkable candour and humility; resulting in a narrative which is friendly, interesting and readable.

 

Autobiographies are sometimes voluminous tomes, but this a small book, 200 pages, and a very easy comfortable enjoyable read that makes it almost unputdownable.

Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve writes a crisp, flowing narrative of his life, interspersed with his views and anecdotes, in simple, straightforward style which facilitates the reader to visualize through the author’s eyes the places, period, people and events pertaining to his life and times and the trials and tribulations he faced and struggled to conquer.

 

Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve was born on 18th of April 1858. In the first few chapters he writes about Murud, his native place in Konkan, Maharashtra, his ancestry and his early life– the description is so vivid that you can clearly “see” through the author’s eye.

 

His struggle to appear in the public service examination (walking 110 miles in torrential rain and difficult terrain to Satara) and his shattering disappointment at not being allowed to appear for the examination (because “he looked too young”) make poignant reading.

 

“Many undreamt of things have happened in my life and given a different turn to my career” he writes, and then goes on to describe his high school and, later, college education at The Wilson College Bombay (Mumbai) narrating various incidents that convinced him of the role of destiny and serendipity in shaping his life and career as a teacher and then Professor of Mathematics.

 

He married at the age of fourteen but began his marital life at the age of twenty! This was the custom of those days. Let’s read the author’s own words on his domestic life: “… I was married at the age of fourteen and my wife was then eight. Her family lived very near to ours and we knew each other very well and had often played together. However after marriage we had to forget our old relation as playmates and to behave as strangers, often looking toward each other but never standing together to exchange words…. We had to communicate with each other through my sister…… My marital life began under the parental roof at Murud when I was twenty…” Their domestic bliss was short lived as his wife died after a few years leaving behind a son… “Thus ended the first part of my domestic life”… he concludes in crisp witty style.

 

An incident highlighting the plight of a widow left an indelible impression on him and germinated in him the idea of widow remarriage. 

He married Godubai, who was widowed when she was only eight years old, was a sister of his friend Mr. Joshi, and now twenty three was studying at Pandita Ramabai’s Sharada Sadan as its first widow student.

 

Let’s read in the author’s own words how he asked for her hand in marriage to her father – “I told him…..I had made up my mind to marry a widow. He sat silent for a minute and then hinted that there was no need to go in search of such a bride”.

 

He describes in detail the ostracism he faced from some orthodox quarters and systematically enunciates his life work – his organization of the Widow Marriage Association, Hindu Widows Home, Mahila Vidyalaya, Nishkama Karma Math, and other institutions, culminating in the birth of the first Indian Women’s University (SNDT University).

 

The trials and tribulations he faced in his life-work of emancipation of education of women (widows in particular) and how he overcame them by his persistent steadfast endeavours and indomitable spirit makes illuminating reading and underlines the fact that Dr. DK Karve was no arm-chair social reformer but a person devoted to achieve his dreams on the ground in reality.

 

These chapters form the meat of the book and make compelling reading. His dedication and meticulousness is evident in the appendices where he has given date-wise details of his engagements and subscriptions down to the paisa for his educational institutions from various places he visited around the world to propagate their cause.

 

He then describes his world tour, at the ripe age of 71, to meet eminent educationists to propagate the cause of the Women’s University, his later domestic life and ends with a few of his views and ideas for posterity. At the end of the book, concluding his autobiography, he writes: “Here ends the story of my life. I hope this simple story will serve some useful purpose”.

 

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve wrote this book in 1936. He lived on till the 9th of November 1962, achieving so much more on the way, and was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters ( D.Litt.) by the famous and prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1942, followed by University of Poona [Pune] in 1951, SNDT Women’s University in 1955, and the LL.D. by Bombay [Mumbai] University in 1957.

 

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve received the Padma Vibhushan in 1955 and the India’s highest honour the “Bharat Ratna” in 1958, a fitting tribute on his centenary at the glorious age of 100.

 

It is an engrossing and illuminating autobiography, written in simple witty readable storytelling style, and it clearly brings out the mammoth contribution of Maharshi Karve and the trials and tribulations he faced.

 

Epilogue

 

I (the reviewer) was born in 1956, and have fleeting memories of Maharshi Karve, during our visits to Hingne Stree Sikshan Samstha in 1961-62, as a small boy of 5 or 6 can. My mother tells me that I featured in a Films Division documentary on him during his centenary celebrations in 1958 (I must have been barely two, maybe one and a half years old) and there is a photograph of him and his great grand children in which I feature. 

It is from some old timers and other people and mainly from books that I learn of his pioneering work in transforming the destiny of the Indian Woman and I thought I should share this.

 

I have written this book review with the hope that some of us, particularly the students and alumni of SNDT University, Cummins College of Engineering for Women, SOFT, Karve Institute of Social Sciences and other educational institutions who owe their very genesis and existence to Maharshi Karve, are motivated to read about his stellar pioneering work and draw inspiration from his autobiography.

 

 

Reviews of two biographical books on Maharshi Karve

 

As I have mentioned earlier, two other good books pertaining to the life of Maharshi Karve which I have read are:

 

Maharshi Karve by Ganesh L. Chandavarkar, Popular Prakashan (1958)

 

And

 

Maharshi Karve – His 105 years, Hingne Stree Shikshan Samstha (1963).

 

 

 

The biography ‘Maharshi Karve by Ganesh L. Chandavarkar’ was commissioned and published by the Dr. DK Karve Centenary Celebrations Committee on 18th April 1958 the birth-centenary of Dr. DK Karve.
 
(Thousands attended the main function on 18th April 1958 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai which was addressed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister).

 

The author, GL Chandavarkar, then Principal of Ram Mohan English school, has extensively researched the life of Dr. DK Karve, by personal interaction with the great man himself, reminiscences of his Professors, colleagues and students, and his two writings Looking back and Atma-Vritta.

 

The author acknowledges with humility: “This is the story of the life of a simple man who has risen to greatness without being aware of it in the least. It is being told by one who can make no claim to being a writer” – and then he lucidly narrates the story of Maharshi Karve’s life in four parts comprising twenty four chapters in simple narrative style.

 

Part I, comprising eight chapters, covers the early life of Dhondo Keshav Karve, from his birth to the defining moment in his life – his remarriage to Godubai who was widowed at the age of eight, within three months of her marriage, even before she knew what it was to be a wife. 

The first chapter vividly depicts the life and culture of Murud and Konkan in a brilliantly picturesque manner and is a fascinating read. The narrative then moves in a systematic manner encompassing the salient aspects of Maharshi Karve’s life till his birth centenary in 1958. 

The biographer comprehensively cover Maharshi Karve’s marital and work life, but does not throw much light on his relationships with his four illustrious sons, who were well-known in their own respective fields of work.  

 

The author avoids pontification and writes in friendly storytelling style which makes the book very interesting and readable, making it suitable for the young and old alike. 

I feel an epilogue covering the remaining years of his life would make the biography more complete.

 

There is a reference index at the end and I found this book to be quite a definitive biography which could serve as a source for knowledge and inspiration to readers interested in the life and work of Maharshi Karve.
 
The 233 page book was published by Popular Book Depot Mumbai in 1958 and I picked up a copy priced at rupees forty at the International Book Service at Deccan Gymkhana in Pune a few years ago. 

 

 

 

Maharshi Karve – His 105 Years, published on his 106th birth anniversary, is a pictorial album depicting the life and activities of Maharshi Karve. 

In today’s parlance it may be called a ‘coffee table’ book, but it is a memorable reference book of lasting souvenir value which is a must for every library. 

The chronologically arranged sketches, photographs and captions tell Maharshi Karve’s life-story in a seamless manner. There are photographs of historical, heritage and sentimental value highlighting important milestones in his life and work.
 
[If you want to see my picture, turn to page 98 and have a look at the small boy holding Maharshi Karve’s hands and looking at the camera. I may have been just one and a half years old then and barely able to stand!].

 

This book is indeed a ‘collector’s item’ and was priced at a princely sum of rupees ten at the time of publication.

 

If you wish to learn more about Maharshi Karve and draw inspiration from his life and work, do read these three books. 

And please do let us know if you come across literature on the life and work of Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.

 

 

 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this book review article.

 

vikramkarve@sify.com 

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK

DON’T DRINK WHEN YOU NEED A DRINK

[Food for Thought]

By

VIKRAM KARVE

One evening a friend of mine landed up at my place and said, “I’ve had a really hard day at work. I need a drink.”

“I’ll get you a cup of tea,” I said.

“Tea…?” he exclaimed astounded, “haven’t you got some whiskey or something…I told you I’m feeling terrible…everything went wrong today…I desperately need a drink…”

“I know you are dying for a drink, craving, yearning, thirsting for that “soothing” sip of alcohol. That’s why you shouldn’t drink now. Never drink when you need a drink,” I said.

My friend pleaded, I didn’t budge, gave him a cup of tea, which he drank with great reluctance, and then he walked off in a huff, calling me all sorts of names, a miser, a “good for nothing” friend, but I knew I had done the right thing.

Don’t drink when you need a drink.

Sounds funny isn’t it?

Let me try to elucidate.

Never drink when you need a drink.

Don’t touch the bottle when you are feeling any negative emotion, for the bottle will “unbottle” and release your pent up negative emotions and make you feel even more miserable and also spoil the mood of all those around you.

Let me tell you something I have observed in real life. If you want to know the true character of a man get him drunk and what is hidden inside him will come out and his true inner self will be revealed.

That’s what alcohol does, isn’t it? Reduces inhibitions, makes you more expansive, expressive, loosens you up, and amplifies releases and brings out your inner emotions, talents, passions, sentiments.

That’s why some persons become more creative after a drink or two – as the music, the poetry, the creativity hidden within you is unleashed – if you are happy inside you start outwardly physically expressing your happiness by laughing, cheer and bonhomie, you may even articulate your secret unexpressed love, become amorous, romantic, try to realize your hidden desires and reveal without compunctions your inner secrets which you otherwise wouldn’t disclose.

But the converse is also true. By reducing inhibitions alcohol may bring out the worst in you and pent up negative emotions like anger, envy, dejection, despondency, frustration may also be unleashed resulting in undesirable consequences. Have you noticed how some people get violent, argumentative, rude or even melancholic, moody, sullen, depressed, unsociable after a few drinks?

Dear Reader, in my opinion, the best thing is not to have a drink at all, but if you must have a drink please do make sure that you are feeling positive, peaceful and happy inside and you don’t desperately “need” that drink.

Never drink when you need a drink.

Do you agree? What is your experience?

Please do comment and give us your views.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

vikramkarve@sify.com