Throwback to IIM Bangalore days

20th June has always been a special day for me. It's the day I started my PGP at IIM Bangalore 8 years back -- that is on 20th June 2011. On this day, my roller coaster ride for 2 years began. Why did I do my MBA in the first place? There were many reasons for the same. A sense of achievement, an experience of being in one of the top institutes , career growth to name a few. Did I achieve what I wanted? There are multiple times in the year when I reflect upon this question but on days like this, I reflect even more. It's been 6 years since I have graduated from IIMB. Now I look at my post MBA life in a different perspective. I now no longer constantly think about if my career growth is at right pace, has the MBA really accelerated my career etc. Instead I am happy about some of the amazing things that the MBA from IIM has given me.

Looking back at the 2-year PGP , I feel the learnings that it gave were tremendous. It was not just about knowing the subject matter from the best of the professors. It was not just about grades. Competing with the best of best wherein in one quiz you would be at the top and in the next one barely average and managing to survive this sinusoid of grades was a task in itself. Mind you , almost everyone at IIMB have been toppers at their respective colleges or from the top undergrad colleges. Getting an average score on quiz is not easy for most of the people to accept in the first place. But going through this grind is very similar to what life would offer. Sometimes we do well , sometimes we don't. The key takeaway is that as Raj Kapoor said, the show must go on. We must continue working hard. We must move on. IIM Bangalore taught me this- it gave a boost to my existing fighter spirit. You got to work hard and better every single day. And when I meet my friends even now, I see the same spirit around.

It has given me an amazing network of people. People who came from varied parts of India, varied socio economic strata, but brought together in one campus due to sheer merit.People who are not only brilliant in their respective fields but also in a lot of other stuff. In the recent alumni meet, I met alumni who along with managing their demanding careers were into things like starting schools in their villages, doing stage shows,writing books etc. As a part of Women in IIM group, I am equally amazed at the stories of how women have managed careers, families, juggling the two and yet managing to live their dreams.

When I graduated 6 years back, all I thought of is Husshh! The quiz saga and non stop exam saga is over. The only thing I thought I would miss is the hostel and my room. Now looking back, I think those 2 PGP years at IIM B were the best learning and fun years of my life. I not only miss my room and the campus but so many memories in which the quizzes and exams seem so trivial.

Miss you, IIMB!

My old post on IIMB here - http://dsaidso.blogspot.com/search/label/IIM?m=1

-Dhanashree

#SavetheDoctors

Neena is a working professional in her 40s. She has a very demanding job. She regularly suffers from cough, cold, bad throat. For that her remedy is to pop pills, some of them antibiotics on her own. Last month, she had a very severe case of throat infection. It was not getting better by those pills. Finally she visited the doctor. The doctor asked her the medical history. She mentioned that she had taken antibiotics on her own. The doctor prescribed some other medicines. Neena took few weeks to recover. It was a bit longer than expected for her age and condition.. Who does Neena blame for this? The doctor ? Can she ignore the fact that this random pill popping may have caused her body to become antibiotic resistant? Can she ignore the fact that the stresses of her job may have lowered her immunity?

Sharmaji is in his late 60s . He has diabetes and BP. His philosophy of life is you live only once and hence 'ji bhar ke
Kha lo' .Sharmaji doesn't believe in restricting sugar intake. If sugar increases , there is always insulin . He has been doing this for last 5-7 years. Last month he developed a foot infection and his foot had to be amputated and a Jaipur foot installed in its place. According to him, it was the doctors fault of not being able to prevent the amputation. What about the fact he did not follow the diet that the doctor had given? How regular was he in his medicines?

Mr & Mrs Joshi recently went on a Europe trip costing many lakhs of rupees. On coming back Mr Joshi was feeling very fatigued for a few days. The doctor recommended some tests worth Rs 15,000. When the results came, they looked all fine. The doctor then recommended some more tests. To this, Mr Joshi's reaction was the fact that " Doctor just recommends unnecessary tests. He is just a loot and has some setting with the lab people"
My question is how qualified is Mr Joshi to declare a test is unnecessary? If the report is good , the test becomes unnecessary? And what if the doctors hadn't recommended that test , and it would have turned negative later? Mr Joshi would have blamed the doctor for not recommending the test. A person who can spend lakhs of money on travel suddenly feels a healthcare checkup expense as unnecessary? Most people want 5 star treatment and facilities in a hospital and the cost should be peanuts. That will never happen. We do not go to Starbucks expecting the cost as well as the taste of a filter coffee. Similar logic should apply.

The point I want to make here is that it is very easy to blame doctors. While there might be cases of neglect by doctors, that does not mean they are always wrong and by any means does not justify physical violence against them. Each patient is different- his age, his family history, his immunity etc. How he responds to treatment depends on his body and not the treatment alone. What works for one person may not work for other. Hence before comparing two people and doctors, one must remember the uniqueness of each immune system.

 I have myself had many extremely positive experiences with doctors who have gone out of their way to treat me and my family. Hence in the light of what happened in Bengal a few days back, I thought I should write something on this issue and help in #Savethedoctors movement.

- Dhanashree

P.S the examples here are fictional inspired by similar real life stories

आजी

"काहीतरी बोलूया " ही माझ्या लेकीची नेहमीची मागणी .  मी इतकी बडबडी आहे, पण तो रेकॉर्ड आता माझ्या मुलीने तोडला आहे. एकतर फक्त तिने बोलले पाहिजे किंवा फक्त तिच्याशी लोकांनी बोलले पाहिजे हा अट्टाहास. रात्री झोपताना माझ्याकडून कुठली गोष्ट ऐकायची आणि बाबाकडून कुठली हे तिच्या मनात पक्क ठरलेलं . अशा माझ्या अनेक गोष्टींपैकी तिची आवडती गोष्ट म्हणजे सरस्वती आजीची गोष्ट . सरस्वती आजी म्हणजे माझी आजी, मी तिला आजीच म्हणायचे, लोक तिला ताई आजी म्हणायचे. स्वराने तुझ्या आजीचे नाव काय असे मला विचारले आणि तिचे नाव सरस्वती असे सांगितल्यावर ती स्वरासाठी सरस्वती आजी झाली.  आजी मुळात मालवणी बोलायची आणि आमच्याशी मालवणी मिश्रित मराठी किंवा मराठी मिश्रित मालवणी. मालवणी भाषा ही  कोकणी आणि मराठी या  दोन भाषांच्या मधली भाषा म्हणायला हरकत नाही. मधली म्हटलं कारण ती थोडीफार मराठी आणि थोडीफार कोकणी सारखी वाटते. मालवणी बद्दल लिहिण्याचं कारण हे - माझी आजी काही मालवणी म्हणी सांगायची ज्याचा या काळातसुद्धा उपयोग पडतो, अर्थ लागू होतो.               रोजच्या व्यवहारात त्याची आठवण नेहमी येते.

 स्वराला जेव्हा सरस्वती आजीच्या गोष्टी ऐकायच्या असतात तेव्हा मी तिला आमचे रोजचे किस्से तर सांगतेच, त्याचबरोबर या म्हणीसुद्धा सांगते. एका दिवशी एक  म्हण आणि त्याचं उदाहरण अशी साधारण आमची गोष्ट असते.  तिला गोष्ट सांगताना  नेहमी असं वाटतं कुठेतरी हे लिहून काढावं . पण आजीच्या इतक्या आठवणी भरून येतात की लिहिणं काही होत नाही. एक  लिहायला घेतलं कि दहा गोष्टी आठवतात , आठवणीत, जुन्या काळात जाऊन, आजी नाही याचं  दुःख होतं  आणि मग लिहायला जमत नाही.  पण आज ठरवलंच या लिखाणाला सुरुवात करायची. या विषयावर किती सातत्याने लिखाण होईल हे माहित नाही पण आज सुरुवात करतेय.

आजीला कुठलीही गोष्ट फुकट गेलेली आवडायची नाही. याचा अर्थ ती कंजूस होती असा नसून ती व्यवहारी होती असा आहे. उदाहरणार्थ - लहान असताना माझ्याकडे भरपूर खेळणी आणि कंपासबॉक्स होते. मला या दोन्ही गोष्टींची आवड. एवढ्या वस्तू असूनसुद्धा मी अजून त्यात काय नवीन दिसलं तर मला हवं  असायचं .. एकदा तर मी business हा खेळ घरी असताना अजून एक वेगळ्या पॅकिंग मध्ये business दिसला म्हणून घेण्याचा हट्ट धरला. शाळेच्या result  नंतर मला आजोळहून गिफ्ट असायचं. त्याप्रमाणे  मी माझ्या आजोबांना  business घ्या  असं सांगितलं . घरी आल्यावर आजीने " घरी एक खेळ असताना दुसरा कशाला?" असं थोड्याफार रागातच विचारलं. एकसारखेच दोन खेळ, फक्त थोडेफार वेगळे दिसतात म्हणून घ्यायचे हे तिला पटतच नव्हतं. मी मात्र नवीन आणलेल्या खेळाबद्दल आजी बोलल्याने हिरमुसून बसले होते. मग थोड्यावेळाने आजीने माझ्या जवळ येऊन माझी समजूत काढली .ती म्हणाली" अगो धनु, अशे पैशे फुकट घालयणात नाय. आपल्याकडे पैसे नसले तर आपणाक कोणी विचारुचो नाय. बरा असताना सगळे येतीत पण गरज असताना कोण्णेक धावून येवचो नाय"  तेव्हा हे ऐकताना फारच old-fashioned वाटत होतं . एक खेळ  घेतल्याने काय येवढं बिघडणार आहे असं वाटायचं . त्यावर आजीचं म्हणणं एक खेळ घेण्याबद्दल नसून या वृत्तीबद्दल होतं‌‌ असं ती म्हणाली. तिचं अजून एक म्हणणं होतं ते म्हणजे असे फुकट पैसे घालवण्यापेक्षा गोरगरिबांना मदत करावी.

माझी आजी २००६ साली गेली. आता तिला जाऊन बरीच वर्ष  झालीत.  आता मात्र एवढ्या वर्षात आजीचं बोलणं १००% पटलं. पैशाची चणचण कधीच भासली नाही पण  आपली  आर्थिक आणि सामाजिक स्थिती कळल्यावर लोकांच्या वागण्यात बदल होतो हे लक्षात आलं. "खर्च करायला काय झालं, पैसे तर येतच राहणार" असं म्हणून स्वत:चे पैसे राखून दुसऱ्याला चढवणारे आणि खर्चात पाडणारे भेटले, की आजीच्या शिकवणीची आठवण येते.
आपल्याकडे सगळं असताना लोक कसे वागतात आणि आपल्याला गरज असताना लोक कशी पाठ फिरवतात याचा अनुभव घेतला.  आपल्याला गरज नसताना, सगळं छान चालू असताना  सगळेच येतात. त्यातले जे कठीण प्रसंगात येतात आणि आपल्या पाठीशी उभे राहतात , तेच खरे आपले. याचा मला प्रत्यय अगदी सारखा येतो आणि आजीची आणि तिच्या असंख्य म्हणींची आठवण झाल्याशिवाय राहत नाही.

आज पुलंचा स्मृतिदिन. पु ल सुद्धा म्हणाले होते " मोठेपणी श्रीमंत हॉटेलात पार्ट्या देणाऱ्या मित्रापेक्षा लहानपणी न मागता हातावर खोबऱ्याची  वडी देणारी म्हातारी आयुष्यभर आठवत असते."

-धनश्री