Yatra - Flagging Off

 I stood with an empty cup in my hand waiting for the guy beside me filling his cup with tea. He filled his cup, gave me the filled cup, took my empty cup, filled it and just walked away.

It was for him a transaction not worth thinking about. It was for me, a small gesture that set the tone for the day at the TISS campus.

The registration desk reminded me of my days in college, young energetic guys running around,  - collecting and sorting luggage, registering participants, serving food, managing the stage - basically, running the entire show.

450 people, 14 roles models, 9000KM, 1 Train - Jagrithi Yatra

Soon people were shouting out letters from A to V in the registration hall, resembling a market. In a couple of minutes though the Yatris had begun to come up with various tricks..processes…methods… to sort themselves into the 22  pre assigned groups.

Sitting together in the groups turned out to be more than an ice breaker. Two student politicians, couple of grads who had paused their student careers to volunteer for teaching initiatives, one studying English literature, a person who had designed a low cost AC for Indian conditions, a lawyer, a clarinet player, a guy who was pursuing a research fellowship in the area of rural development, students studying mechanical engineering, and a few software engineers formed the team. There were in the group a couple of people who had started and were running their own enterprises, a few more who were considering starting one, but many others who were truly confused with what (and why) they really wanted to do in life. The seriousness and the passion with which each of the persons presented their ideas and views on life really surprised me.

After a sumptuous lunch and a brief presentation of the history of the Yatra, it was time for our first role model to address us.  A "Flow Logic " diagram depicted the coding system used in the complex supply chain operations (and short time targets) of the Mumbai Dabbawala was flashed on big screen. The Dabbawala Raghunathji  admitted that he did not create the "complex" diagram, instead it was made by the MBA students who came to study them. And he was not hesitant to add that the Dabbawala was indeed puzzled as to why a diagram was necessary, why was there a need to 'intellectualize' their operations. It was also good to learn that the Dabbawalas worked on a equal profit sharing model, all partners in the organization. The presentation for me raised important questions on the need of technology, its adaptation and use in a real world problem.

The train was flagged off from the station in the evening at 11:30.

First Stop - SELCO