Serial Entrepreneurs Anyone?

Mr. Sanjay Gupta
Credit: YIFP

Dr. Venkat Srinivasan
Credit: YIFP

On Friday morning, we had a guest session with two speakers: Dr. Venkat Srinivasan and Mr. Sanjay Gupta. Their session's main takeaways were do what you like to do, trust your gut and then "make your luck". Venkat is the founder of several companies including English Helper, Rage Frameworks, Brightleaf Corporation, Corporate Fundamentals, and eCredit. Mr. Sanajay Gupta is currently the CEO Global at English Helper. He has had a long stint at American Express, where he served in several leadership positions. He has also held senior positions at Motorola and Pepsico in India. Currently, he also serves as Director of Bharti AXA Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd., School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL), and other companies. He is on the Advisory Boards of organizations including Schneider Electric India and Acumen Fund. Sanjay is deeply committed to the development sector and is a Trustee at Charities Aid Foundation (India), Udayan Care, and Mobile Creches. Sanjay is guest faculty at Duke Corporate Education. (Source: English Helper Board and Advisors)

It was very interesting to know about Dr. Srinivasan's journey from a school in Delhi run by Delhi Tamil Association to University of Cincinnati and then from an academician to an entrepreneur.

Antidote to Cynicism: Shaheen Mistri

Credit: Careers 360

"To give each child the chance to be where you and I are today" This statement by Ms. Shaheen Mistri, CEO Teach for India, resonated with me because it is the main reason why I want to work for social development. I believe that an accident of birth should not be an obstacle to any individual's progress regardless of age, gender, race or religion. 

At the guest session at YIFP, Shaheen shared her life story in term of significant numbers. She was 12 when she found her calling by seeing the disparity in children's conditions in Indonesia. Shaheen spent her first 18 years outside India and spent every sumemr after age 12 as a volunteer with children's organisations. She quit college after first year in US and came to India to study at St. Xaviers where Akanksha Foundation was born in 1991. She saw slum kids who needed education and college students who had too much time on their hands and decided to bring the two together. Then arose the need for space. She knocked on the doors of 20 well-to-do, convent schools to hold classes in second shift; all refused except the last where she told Father that "My life is in your hands." She didn't want to give him the chance to change his mind, so she told him that classes would begin the next day. Then came the scrambling. She somehow got the students and pleaded with her friends to volunteer until she could find teachers. You can read more about the founding of Akanksha in this article by Anahita Mukherjee. The beginning of her story is simple and endearing but when you look at her, you see the courage and perseverance that has got her where she is today. 

When she moved on from Akanksha Foundation, it was successfully running many centers for education and was involved in municipal schools too. She said that she shifted to Teach For India because her vision became larger. From "To give a little love, have a little hope, make this world a little better", it has enlarged to "One day all children will attain excellent education". But, this was not objective enough for her. So now her revised goal is to ensure excellent education for every child in India in the next 50 years. She knows that TFI fellows alone cannot reach so many students, but she believes that TFI alumni will change the world of education. Her model aims to produce leaders in every walk of life who are passionate about solving the problem of educating the 320 million children in India. 

As a country, we are facing a crisis if nothing is done for provision of education for our young demographic. She also said that as priveleged individuals, "there is a moral obligation to give back to society". This is another of her statements which echoes my sentiments. I feel greatly blessed to have a mother who is a professor and who gave me the best educational opportunities possible. But I was lucky, my maid's children are not. How am I not responsible for ensuring that some day they have a chance too? I agree with Shaheen when she says that let us give them those choices, what they do with those choices is upto them. I believe that every individual must have options and the freedom to choose must never be taken away. 

TFI Fellow Prakhar Bhartiya with students 
Credit: Careers 360

India's formal system of education however, believes in fitting everyone to a mold. Because of this, when a farmer's child goes to school, he is taught mud is dirty. Our pedagogy is such that an average graduate is unemployable and he can't take up his father's trade either because he has a degree. I really appreciated Shaheen's answer when I asked her how does she handle this issue. She said TFI Fellows don't just teach English and science, they develop the children's values and mindsets, nurture their aspirations and show them alternate pathways to success. It is too early to comment whether TFI is meeting its goals, but I think they are doing a great job. Developing children as individuals is essential if India is going to utilise the youth benefit which is touted so much in the media. 

Shaheen's story has recieved a lot of attention in media but she has remained down-to-earth. She can inspire a room of cynics and give the idealists another reason to plough on. One of the idealists among Young India Fellows said "Looking at her, you can tell she's gone through the whole shit". The miracle of Shaheen Mistri is that she makes the  lofty aim believable.

P.S. Applications for Teach for India Fellowship 2013 are open. Please spread the message. To apply check: http://www.teachforindia.org/

Click here to read about the other guest lectures at YIFP: first woman US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and the founder of satellite TV as we know it, Kay Koplovitz

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Madeleine Albright : How did she do it?

( Credit: TED )

"There is a place for mediocre men in this world but not for mediocre women" said Madeleine Albright, first woman US Secretary of State in a guest session at YIFP. She said that women are expected to be outstanding in the professional world. They have to prove that they can do it. Men don't have to. This is the real-life experience of a woman, who was born in Czechoslovakia, lived in England and Yugoslavia and finally became an American citizen. The word inspiring is too insipid for her journey, it is astonishing.


Her father was a Czech Jewish diplomat. Adolf Hitler's actions forced the family out of their homeland and they lived in England during World War II. After the Nazis lost, the family could return to Prague and then moved to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. They had to leave again due to the Communist regime of Czechoslovakia. Then, the family sought political asylum in United States. Ms. Albright was eleven at that time. Nobody could have foretold that the foreign girl who came to New York in 1948 will be US Secretary of State in 1997. Her appointment as the Secretary of State marks a moment in US history not just because she was a woman but that she outshone the tags of both 'foreigner' and 'woman'. It is not an easy thing to do in a country which has still not had a woman President even after more than 230 years of Independence. 


In the session, I asked her what were the choice and obstacles in her journey. She said that she gave preference to her three daughters over her PhD which has resulted in a ten year gap between her career age and her chronological age. She also said that it was often women who were more judgmental of her. Every woman makes a choice between personal and professional life. And women make others, who have made a different choice from their own, feel guilty. The middle name of every woman is guilt. She also reiterated her iconic statement "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women". 


Before becoming Secretary Albright, she served as the US representative to the United Nations for four years. When asked about her time at the UN, she said it is interesting to see how the international community functions. She also said that often decisions were not taken until the US participated in the discussion. In matters of intervening in other nations’ problems, US is in the position of “damned if we do, damned if we don’t”. “We are indispensable”. Because of human rights violation by leaders towards their populations, the US feels responsible to act in the interest of the people’s rights. 

(Credit: All Things Green)

Dr. Albright is known for her serious face and also her 'brooch diplomacy'. In one of her interviews, it was mentioned that the serious facade is considered gravitas for men, for women, it is just gloomy. As a woman in this world, she uses costume jewellery very effectively. The pin on her blazer reflects her mood and hence the mood of the meeting. If the slow pace of talks bothered her, the pin would have crabs or turtles. When things were going smoothly, it was balloons, butterflies and flowers. In one meeting with Yasser Arafat, her left lapel had a large wasp and he was visibly perturbed. Her collection of pins is now a museum exhibit. ( Source: Oneindia news )To our session, she wore a large multihued square slab which she said depicted the diversity and layers in India. 


During the session, one fellow who grew up in the US mentioned that she saw Secretary Albright on TV and wanted to be her. Another said that he first saw Secretary Albright on TV when she was imposing sanctions on India in 1998 after the nuclear test. Such is the varied life of a foreign policy specialist. Her story is yet another inspiration for Young India Fellows, one which is fodder for dreams that don't let you sleep.


For my previous posts about Kay Koplovitz's guest session or Young India Fellowship, click the link and scroll down http://lekhika-devu.blogspot.in/search/label/YIFP

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History and Confusion of World Cinema

The day was dedicated to world cinema by Prof. Rashmi Doraiswamy from Academy of Third World Studies at Jamia Milia Islamia and Kaushik Bhowmik, senior vice President at Osian. Kaushik talked about the evolution of cinema while Prof. Rashmi explained German Expressionism and Soviet cinema. 

How did moving images become the feature films of today?

Kay Koplovitz : Inspiration Personified

Leadership requires authenticity. This was said by Kay Koplovitz during a guest session at YIFP today morning. Kay inspired the students by talking about her life journey. Can you imagine life without any sports on TV? She's the visionary who started sports television as we know it today by negotiating the first cable contracts  for Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the US Tennis Open and many others (from http://koplovitz.com/About.html ). She was the first woman in the world to head a cable network when she founded USA Networks in 1977. She is now a venture capitalist and motivational speaker on topics like leadership and entrepreneurship. To know more about this enchanting lady, check out the website of her media advisory and investment firm, Koplovitz & Co. http://koplovitz.com

When asked about how being a woman had affected her professional journey, she said that if you think of yourself as an equal with dignity, you are treated that way. She excelled in a sector which was completely male-dominated. When you see barriers and can't work around them, know when to move on so that your growth is not stifled. In her experience, women tend to not take credit for their achievements. E.g. A woman who was pitching a biomedical device to a roomful of VCs talked about her project, her team etc. but did not mention that she's a physician and an astronaut.

First Week at YIF: People

YIFP aims to groom a batch of 100 fellows each year. The batch of 2012-13 is an amalgamation of engineering with arts, finance and management. Not to forget that we have 3 lawyers too, out to which only one can defend us in court. Talking of defence, we have one guy with an Indian Air Force background too.

When I think of large groups of new people I've met, college comes to mind first. That was an enormous bunch with individual diversity but homogenity in academic choice. Next was Jagriti Yatra, which had 400 incredibly motivated development enthusiasts. The diversity there was amazing - people from all kinds of educational and professional backgrounds, rural and urban areas and also regional and international diversity. In contrast, YIFP has students from great educational institutions of India with hometowns ranging from Meghalaya to Kerala. Most, including me, are urban creatures though a few have strong ties to their rural backgrounds. The common thread here is that they are special. Whether a psychology graduate from Christ University or a mechanical engineer from an IIT, they stand apart from their peers in some way to "reach for the stars".

In the process of knowing who these people are, today was a milestone. We wrote a document called 'Initial Vision' for Dwight's Leadership class which was about our lives so far, what kind of leaders we want to be and strengths and weaknesses.

First Week at YIF: Schooling

First week at YIF was a hectic, breathless immersion into the routine of YIFP. Classes from 9 to 7, introductions to everyone around and settling in with new roommates.

News: Class only from 10-12 tomorrow. Result: A couple of girls dancing in the class and a few disbelieving faces. Though ultimately, they managed to have another class from 12 to 1. And for half the batch, i.e. Section B of Sociology, video lecture from 5 to 7 too. Did that give you a good picture of our lives?

Christmas Poem for Joshua

There’s a wreath of holly on my door

A big bright star and balloons galore;

There’s tinsel and glow-balls all around,

Streamers & flickering lights abound.

A decorated fir tree in the hall

Surrounded by gifts for one and all;

A crib on the teapoy tells the story

Of shepherds and wise-men meeting Joseph & Mary.

There’s a happy feeling in the air

And I smile as I close my eyes in prayer

I join my friends and family as they sing,

‘Happy Birthday dear Jesus, our Saviour, our King’.

Written by Saby John

Informative auto ride

Like a quintessential backpacker, I tend to talk to whoever seems responsive to learn more about the place I am in. Today's chat was with an autowallah in Ahmedabad. He's a 58 year old native resident of Ahmedabad. His Muslim identity could be seen in his beard and skull cap. I amn't being judgemental, just thankful that communal harmony prevails in Gujarat and people are free to follow their customs.
 Many autowallahs don't own their vehicles, they rent them on daily basis. So if they are not well, no costs and no income that day. I discovered that in Ahmedabad the daily rent for an auto is 150 while in Mumbai, it is 300 as Mumbai fares are higher. Mumbai certainly has higher costs of living.

This model is also followed by some cab companies where the cab driver can rent a car for the day. It appears quite a unique business model which works well in this particular service industry. Previously, I'd heard of this for cycle rickshaw pullers in Jabalpur. Though being a less vocal and mostly illiterate community, economic relations are hugely biased in favour of lenders in their case.

This was a short ramble on today's journey. I had this conversation while coming back from SEWA. The post about SEWA will go up under NGO section.

Shikshalaya and How Agrini Works?

Shikshalaya is the second project of Agrini. I had written about the aanganwadi project earlier. The video accurately captures how Shikshalaya started and its current functioning. Gourav is planning to implement the aaganwadi programme in Darasi Kala too, the village where Shikshalaya is operating. However, all extension plans and new programmes are dependent upon availability of manpower.

Agrini has only Gourav as a full time staff. All others are volunteers. He supports himself through Youth Collective Fellowship. Some of the volunteers are students while others are working professionals. An enthusiastic volunteer is a village health worker who likes his job even though he is qualified for much more with a Ph.D. in Social Work.

The materials required for Agrini's projects have been collected in the villages itself. The space is usually given by the gram panchayat. The way this collection happens is interesting. For example, there is no provision by the Govt. to install electricity in aanganwadi buildings. How they came up with such an atrocious plan while approving aanganwadi buildings is beyond me, but fact remains. Now how will the computer, needed for multimedia content, work? The power line was taken from a buffalo-shed (bhains ka tabela) next door and Agrini pays for this electricity. In Shikshalaya's resource centre, the books came from a discontinued community library. The 3 computers were contributed in a piecemeal fashion where somebody gave a CPU, another a monitor and so on. 

Agrini started in 2009 and is a good example of what the youth of this country are creating. Gourav Jaiswal is originally from Seoni. While the organisation is small, it is heartening to see that somebody returned to their town to help improve it. In terms of organisation structure, it matches Bakul Foundation of Bhubaneswar, which defines itself as a movement for volunteerism. Bakul's story will be up next on this blog. 

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