The 1st best day as an XIMBian

Intended or unintended our Director has made an awesome thing for us. We compulsorily have to make a 3day village trip. We were a little apprehensive on what it would be like. We reached here in our college sponsored tavera to this place Khandapada in Nayagarh taluk of Orissa.

We had a warm welcome from the NGO person who made us feel at home. A traditional big house the office of the NGO has become our own palace. A couple of bedrooms, a kitchen completely at the disposal of we five guys. Our stay started with an awesome tea followed by a traditional roadside village restaurant.

Our village exposure of the day is to visit the nearby elementary school and get a mini tour of the school for an hour. That’s it. We are back in our palace playing 29, cooking maggi & making coffee. The climate is as cool for us to have a warm feeling in us in months amidst our B-school bullying with assignments, quizzes etc.

The coolest thing is the evening walk after the power cut. The total darkness walking clueless of where to go what to do is actually like flying feeling light of unloading all MBA worries. Sitting in the stands of the upcoming sports ground close to the forest is simply mesmerizing. The look of clear flowery sky, the feel of being embraced by Mother Nature virtually far from civilization makes the evening of our lives.

It’s not that we are totally free now. We have 3 quizzes and 2 presentations this week. Nevertheless we are determined not to be cowed down by these dementors. We are all set to take the day to the next level by making some revenue to the hurt airline tycoon.

It’s Our Culture PERIOD

Well long time, and yeah I hate to come back with a serious post. Nevertheless this is something that’s nagging me for quite sometime. Now in the wake of Carnivel De Vogue and blind date as part of Xpressions'11 it makes more sense for me to write it.

The primary cause for this post is ‘Conclave’, the opening event of XPressions’11. The topic of discussion was ‘Is Gen Y as broad minded as it proclaims to be?’ One a veteran marketer consultant and the other the head of Nasscom it was the best talk session I attended in XIMB till date. Conclave has stimulated a lot of things that were dormant in the back of my mind. The primary one as you would have guessed the culture factor.

The definition that was said about broad mindedness is ‘Accepting it when others are right’. The one I understood from the talk is adapt to the right things in others. There was also stress on preserving our cultural practices that are good and have a good understanding of why we follow certain practices.

Well to come to the point. I have often been into this argument especially with my roommate and a couple of other friends here. Dates, live-ins the way people dress, he always has something to complain that things are not right. When I get pissed I get into the argument saying what’s wrong dude? The first thing is that’s not our culture.

I had tried in vain to reason with him only to be snubbed at with the line, ‘That’s not our culture Period’. Hmmm… well I must honestly admit that I have no clear idea of what one means by the word ‘Culture’. With my understanding of culture it’s the way of life that has been devised with certain values as believed by a majority or the powerful elite of the society.

If I may say so, I believe ‘Sati’ system was once part of our culture, so is untouchability. So, now my dear friend(s) do you want your girlfriend/wife to die with you? And girls, those of you who proclaim to be the last guardians of our culture, are you ready?

To add to it, will you ask your friends who are of culturally inferior castes not to eat from your plate, let alone not to touch you. Firstly, can you make out the difference?

Over the years the right kind of questions asked, the reasoning and broad mindedness of great people have brought in a change in the society for the greater good. It is the reasoning of what’s good and what’s bad makes us humans the most intelligent of all species (supposedly :p). Hence I suggest you remain human and accept change for good.

Now with genetics, we are in a world where even things made by God are bound to change. Culture is after all man made, it’s neither sanctimonious nor is solid.