Excellent Professor of Dr Mandi
Dev Bhattacharya Award Nov 4, 2018 Acceptance Speech
Respected all the NITIANs, Namashkars to you all !
Respected Director NITIE, and Chair person NITIE Allumni association, and Dean Academics, and all my beloved faculty colleagues, NITIE allumni, and my beloved students,
I feel extreemly happy to receive this illustrious award for excellence in teaching. I love this award for two reasons. One, it is given by allumni, that is special, and Two, it is my colleagues who picked up my name for this award . It is NITIE parivar who are precious to me.
I accept this award in all humility, on behalf of all my students current and past, many of my colleagues who help me to achieve this accolades, and my family especially my mother whose contribution is immense in my development, and my beloved wife who supports me in all my endeavors .
I was searching my begining where this award started with.
1. Jai Bhaolo NITIE khao.. Jai !
2. Baechao Baecho Seekhao !
Baech Baech Kae Seekhao !
3. Sab kho Kana .. Sab kho Roj Gaar ! Sab kho Shikshan !
Sab kho Saksham - Sahi Sahi , Sab kho Kalyaan !
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I envy you all. You students are No. of times Powerful than me..and every one of you is powerful.
Do you know why ?
You have gadgets . Technological, Affordable, Speedier, Sophisticated .. and Cheaper,
Are you aware of this POWER ! .. If u re aware, then r u using it ? For what .. Are you first using for SWAYATHA - SELF RELIANCE !
Are you using it help others ? Are you mis using it for none of it ! These are questions I work on ! Hence, People and your college calls me like this.
Let me share my experience on how it can be used ?
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I m reflecting on what is that I have done ! Why I am given a award ! That too by my own allumni and my own institution !
Academics who wrote books are invited to speak on their books and research work.
Profs who write articles are invited to speak on their writings . But my case is different .
I am a fugitive. I m DEVIANT ACADEMIC !
I m often called NON CONFIRMIST ! I am FUGUTIVE !
Have you seen me ! Am I not looking that way ! My look is different !.. A topi, No Tie !
I utter slogans like a politician - Of course, relevant slogans ! Baecho.. Seekhao..
My vision , My work and my style are different from usual academics !
I distanced myself from the academics ..
You conferred me an award, for What I have done. Not for confirming but for deviating !
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I m here before you ..for my work I have done.. I have done Mandi and Maha Mandi and Student Startups etc.
I m here for Soacho, Baecho, Baecho, Seekho !
I m here for my slogan.. Shikshana Cha Karcha, Sikshan Mae, Shikshana Sae, Shikshana kae liyae kamana !
Make students to sell Rs 1000 merchandise, and earn Rs 100 for a day. This is nutshell Mandi.. Around Rs 2 Crore worth merchandise was sold.. Around 20,000 students done this so far.
My work was, is and will be..
One student, One day, One Hundread rupees earning
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Very TINY thing, All through.... Things that stands out are ...
1, I have done are VERY LITTLE things .. So little that they are u all will laugh at . Helping one student, and day.. I m too little person ! I work at atomic level I work.. not higher level..
2, I never PLANNED what I did.. What I m known for Becho.. Bechoo was not what I intended.. I m not a marketing professor even.. ...... STUDENT - SELLING was not that I m trained and I m supposed to teach !
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Done things in DESPARATION
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Done not because Harvard has done, Stanford had done. NO.. Not for that.
Not done any research, Not any publications, Not listened to anybody else has done, Not a GOI project, Not to get any faculty promotion, Not for foreign tour I got due to it..
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DESPARATION WAS THE REASONS.. MANY THINGS BUT THREE Ds..
- Students are
DEJECTED /
AEISHT / OF WHAT THEY ARE STUDYING x
Come with liking
- Students are becoming more
and more DEPENDENTS / NIRBAR HOTA HAI X Come to become independent
- Students are
DEBT BURDENED / RUNA GRASTH hota hai X RUNA VIMUKTHI KE LIYA
I was teaching in national institute... was excellent place, well paid job, excellent students.. No problems !
It is great place. My life interest was teaching . What I quickly witnessed was ..
I witnessed that my students are dieing of Suffering, Paining, Fearing, Bleeding, Shaking, It is most pitiable state !
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It is not age problem. it is not calamity ,, It is all and all the students are suffering of it the same way !
If it is desease one can understand.. If one dies one can understand !
What I was teaching was the MANAGEMENT subject .. Great theories...Do you know what is the purspoe of subject of M A N A G E M E N T ! .. that I teach ?
People surprise when I utter these jargaon !.. Inspirational Leadership, Value Creation, Problem Solving, Innovation , Change management in the class room... Very Interesting to talk and listen..
What I was teaching high powered Jargan ! ... Inspirational Leadership, Wealth / Value Creation, Problem Solving, Innovation , Innovation, Change management in the class room...
I quickly realized that I was elegant theories of management , great to listen but no use to the listeners and learners at all. In reality, they are 3 Ds.. Dejected, Dependents , Debt Burdened
Lot of people say Management subject is fiction, it is all Gas ! Fiction !
and not making any difference in their living. Not even 1 % impact it is making on their lives.
My great management knowledge has no solutions to the problems the students are facing. Big mismatch of what I was teaching and their relevance .
Great minds are the students..Great is the place Mumbai, Great are my colleggues, Great, Great .. Some where something wrong..
It is not only in my case, but across all faculty, all colleges across the globe.
This is the turning point to be my work for my life . my life mission
It struck me if I am teaching students so great things , then how come so called great things, if they are learning have no impact on the students ?
How come out of so many students, at least few of them are not able to find SOLUTIONS for their problems . It is big mismatch ..
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I felt I am USELESS and EMPTY. It was UGLY .. Such intelligent students, great theories, great institution, great teacher like, me still .. and how come this can happen ? Other less intelegent students, and other less prominent colleges we can understand .
Suddenly , I DISCOVERED that ..College education is turning students as ..
- Dependents , NIRBAR. Most youthful students are becoming at the mercy of the system - Govt, Parents, Society ,
THREE problems I could see ..
Fear of Future ! Present - Pain ! Burden of Past !
Bavishya ka Bhay, Varthaman ka Badha, Booth ka Peeda !
- Debtors.. Students are taking BIG loans for their education. Loans are making them VULNERABLE, People with NO SELF..They got in to the mode of SLAVERY MINDSET..
For me it look as if it is like Child Mari ages .. !
It was UGLY for me to see such youth turning in
battalions of dependents . I cannot imagine most youthful person becoming debtors and becomes a toy in the hands of the others ..Surrenders to others and accept any work that pays them to repay the loans . In my view they are loosing their DIGNITY.. Vyakthi ka Garima is gone to winds ... in one stoke with the STUDENT LOANS that they are taking .
DEBT ANNIHILATES A YOUNG PERSON's SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF RESPECT. One looses ones SELF becoming a debtor at that age.. which is the CORE of a young person !
See.. How a great professor of management who teaches great theories is 100 % HELPLESS !
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Surprising.. This problem is not known to most professors !
They never spent time on this .. They spent solving industry problems . Creating new knowledge for solving the problems of tomorrow and years to come .. It is might be good work . I cannot comment on it . But surely today issues must be addressed ..!
It is not written and discussed ! Even if the faculty and academics know of it , they will act as if they dont know of it !
It is not peculiar for me alone. Others also SEE it. But rarely SIGHT IT !
Yes..Reaoson is different. My making is different. I was a tailor turned professor. I m not a IAS officer son, I m not VCs son, I am not Milionaires Lakhotias son, I am a tailors child. Daily wage work I used to do and study all my life. I got govt Schalorships for fees concessions. But to come to a urban set up like SURYAPET, HYDERABAD I dont have money. My parents do have money, I have to support my self, So, I used to railoring.. Every day, Rs 100 is my GOAL !
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I was desperate to be useful to my students . I felt that I should start doing something in this regard..
My objective is not big. and gigantic. It is tiny . even for one student, for one day and for one thing being relevant for my students was my GOAL . ambition,,.
I was desperate to be useful to atleast one student, one day for one hundread rupee, a bit of learning used to my students .
I m desparate to act.. Im interested in ACTING.. I do my own way . I dont not boarrow / copy ... I do not depend on research solutions . I do not wait for the policy solutions.. I need no fund needed solutions .
I was m no more as professor to help my students But as a common man.
My interest was not solving global and national academic issues.. I may not be able to address such gigantic issue.. I m small professor. I could not think anything else rather than my own sheer response.. immediately . It is easy to do .. so ..
But I am sure event without my great management knowledge can solve problem here and now ..
What before me is ..My students, my class and my course was the problem I m eager to work on !
Suddenly it struck me.. I have solution which I can do .. I have not thought and I have done no research.. I have not consulted any body else . It is me alone and my students .
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Students have energy, creativity, dedication. If asked they do give time and commitment.
Problems are shown to them and they work on and find solutions . Amazing solutions .
Industry give problems, Teachers give their problems, NGOs and society give problems .
Students use their INNOVATION to solve the problems !
Students work on to solve others problems !
They get immensely benefited intellectually, academically !
It is the teachers, industry and society which will get benefited of the work students do !
Students are made to remain as they bleed and pain and fear !. They suffer ! and They die !
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That was beginning .. I can do something . Felt good.
It lead to something. Student Loans.... Ugly . Victim and perpetrator also ..
Idea came to me. I can do something at my level. i need no support outside .
I can do for a day . I did not wait for a day . I said go.. Give you something to do .... and go.. you do .. you will came out of the problem . Got the Mantra !
It became popular.. several times done ... People are seeing me as something I came from heaven..
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PROBLEM IS DIFFICULT .. and Tough..
But the solution is so SIMPLE.. The idea of the solution was ....
Aaj ka pocket money, Aaj ka padai se, Aaj hee kamana !
Aaj ka roti, Aaj ka padai se, Aaj hee kamana ! !
Aaj ka Padai ka Fees, Aaj ka padai se, Aaj hee kamana !!!
It excited me. Immediately I acted on it. They have done.. First time, 200 students have done. Now hundredas / thousands of students do this . They are doing for the last 15 yrs .
I gave tiny amount of learning toys to my students . I asked them to sell by apply their learning and also earn in the process.. they have done. they are doing for the 15 yrs in row. They never stopped. . Students sell the toys and learn and also earn their one rupee .. first dollar in their life !
They discovered the PATH in this process !
The question that came up in my mind is.. If it is so simple process so many students to realise why not it should be done on more and more students ?
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People see me as if I discended from heaven ! I feel puzzled/ embrassed initially. But it continued .
I started thinking... if you can become angel for doing such a small things, it is an opporutnity for u to do more and more.. and become a SUPER ANGEL !
It lead me to do next step .. doing more of it.. doing at many places and many students ..
Simple thing I have done.. Why not ask other faculty also to do !
I go there and talk to other faculty, deans, directors , VCs, . they dont even belive.. colleges are not mant for this ..
Dont you know that students are not supposed to do .?
I said.. Is it.. I dont know.
But students are not capable to do, they dont have conduct , they dont participate. I sadi how do u know it .. They say they are like that .. I said I had different experience ..They are enjoying .. They are happy to do it . Big dialogue !
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I learned something from this conversations. I used that .I told.. Why dont you accept me as guarantor.. I sign all your papers, I take the risk. You save rules .. This time I spoke their language. They cannot throw me out of the window. After lot of deliberations, colleges approved of Mandi .
Not that they are convinced of my work. I thought they are they are just wanted to get rid of me. Give approval. Anyhow, it wont work , Soon he will understand . awaiting an opportunity when it
So for the last 15 yrs. I sign every time that I am responsible for the Mandi. Colleges allow me to do Mandi . None of the faculty took the responsibility for Mandi so far. None of the faculty confident to take the responsibility. They dont believe this is the way to do . They dont believe this can happen.
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I found the way to encourage my students to do the Mandi learning job efficiently and effectively .
I worked hard along with my students to come up with the ideas / rules and regulations / training / culture, / slogans how to make the students to pay back, sell well, feel comfortable, learn and earn..
It worked.. As it worked I got excited.. and . My students got much more excited.
My students became teachers for me more than I m a teacher to them .I learnt from them more than what I taught them. Most students are great teachers ! I bend my head as token respect to all of them.
Colleges and administration still believe that Mandi wont work. Where as I could see it is working .I wanted to do more. Continue to do another college and another student cohort, Every time it became successful . More successful it became, more confident I became. But the colleges and other faculty became more reluctant to support this.
In reality, what I understand is that. they are hoping that Mandi will collapse some time or other ! ..
They keep saying to me, you are lucky, hence it is working. Next year , you do mandi again, it will collapse. However, It wont and goes up again. So they are getting frustrated in their thinking.
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Finally , I feel, time has come for Mandi to become a separate system so that this reluctant approval system is no more valid ?
Why not you create separate pedagogical model of Mandi learning model created ! So that negative comments and pull downs will not be there .
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Their problem is simple .. Students do have problems and their problems are simple ones ..
- Pocket money,
- Daily living,
- Funding their college fee,
- Repayment of student loan etc.
Why not you learn in such a way that you solve these problems as you learn ? You also create some value as you work on the problems !
Let me modify the learning as part of my course leaning. Let us start with little earning along with learning. . It is learning and automatically learning !
You can become free from LOAN ! Your regain your self respect ! You can become independent as much as you will be earn ! You need not wait for your future employment to help you to pay loan !
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What I have done is out of desperation ......( Nirasha and Maayushi ) Not that I have planned !
What I have done is a a manner that they become VIABLE ! ..
Sukshamata
Certain things pained me....
I witnessed that Learning was PAIN / MISERY for the students.
Learning turned them DEBTORS ( dendaar ) .. and they lost their SELF and became life long slaves .. Nirbaratha
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Earning made out of learning has real value to a student.
Little EARNING made by student out of LEARNING is much more USEFUL than otherwise. The Earning has two uses .. ECONOMIC benefit and INTELLECTUAL impact . Every student can do this. Mandi micro selling, and Micro business has shown this to the world that it works to every student and every subject and every college .
Always entrepreneurial learning is far better than conventional SPENDING education !
It is a questions to the whole academics.. why not this way it can happen ..
Every body can learn . and earn ..
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Professors often used to say ' Poor and Rural Students are not LEARNING WORTHY'.. Learning Layak nahi !
Whenever I hear this, earlier I used to argue with them . Now, Dont.. After the Mandi and Students enterprises I dont argue. I tell them ..
Should teachers tell the poor / rural / uneducated students ...they are not learning worthy ?
Teachers say .. Students dont have AUKAAT !
Or the poor , rural, uneducated students tell the professors back 'YOU are not TEACHING WORTHY ?
Why not you change SCRIPT ?.. Is it not RIGHT to do so ?
Who tell you to deliver this VERDICT ? How useful this verdict is ? What change it is making ? Please note that .. Others also have equal right to give a VERDICT on you ..
Your are not STUDENT WORTHY to teach ? Please note who is paying for whom. It is the students who are paying for the teachers .. Not the teachers who are paying for the students ! One can infer who has the real right to give VERDICT ?
Just because, you dont know how to teach others and blame them ? Fault lies with you and not with them . Why dont you fix the problem ? Why dont you develop a system of leaning where everybody automatically learns ..?
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College are funny places ..
In the name of
enriching the students , colleges make their students
impoverished !
In the name of
Liberate the students they make them
They take for sure, but if they return is doubtful !
They take more and , if they give is doubtful !
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Colleges waste .. waste.. lots and lots of
'Released Potential of Students' continuously as part of learning !
Student Potential that is released is not Not harnessed .. drained as W A S T E ! ! It is billions and billions !
- Do you know how much is this wealth and treasure ! .
- Do you know what it is this treasure is ..!
- Do you know why it is drained out !
- Do you know how and what are the methods to harness this power !
It is like SOLAR power wasted ! It is like Wind Power wasted ! It is like Rain Water Power Wasted!
It is Student Events , Examinations , Quiz tests , Assignments , Projects , Reports , Practicums, etc. !
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While I was struggling with the academics for Mandi and Student Startups .. I told few things to the Academics ..
1. Academics system is UNJUST on several grounds .....
You created MOST PAINFUL process of Learning ..
You created MOST WASTEFUL process of Learning.. Ocean of student potential is getting wasted .
You created EXCLUSIVE system of Education system where Less educated, poor, and rural kept out.
You turnout after prolonged educational process, INCOMPETENT, INCOMPLETE, , UNDESIRABLE NON FUNCTIONING Youth in to the society
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Mandi is designed not only FOR the Students .. but also BY the students and OF the students !
Mandi is completely done by the students . They plan everything the inventory , training, locations, chief guest, inauguration, distribution of inventory, ethics, Safety and security of the mandi participants, learning and reflections etc.
Students teach to their friends, and their teachers toooo !
Students owning their own learning is the ultimate thing here !
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Mandi is SELF financed, and Self Reliant model of learning . Academics do not give single pie to conduct Mandi. Sponsorships , Margins are the revenues to the program
Teaching has 100 % reversed to be Learning oriented system
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Mandi method of learning primarily depends on TRADING as pedagogy . Conventionally ART ad CRAFT are the two modes which are tried . Never TRADING is tried as pedagogy .
Mandi is Pedagogically modification is simple road side system of footpath based selling. It denotes that such a simple system can be injected in to so called puristic learning system.
Keeping in view the level of maturity of the students , type of subject that is learned, given context where the college is working .. TRADING can be wonderful pedagogy for UG and PG levels .
This simple trading system can be done by any body and everybody. It does not need one to be elite and highly educated. In reality, poor, rural, and peedith can be best do this and avail it as the system of learning . This we consider as one of the strategies to open up education to poor and rural folks !
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Students are encouraged that anyhow you people go round the city. Why dont you carry the merchandise as you go round the streets ? Anyhow you dont loose anything if you could sell or not ! If you sell it is learning, if you dont sell it is again learning why and how to sell ?
