From LEEDS, taking stock

It’s been about a week and a half since I’ve come to the U.K.
I had always deliberated traveling abroad. The idea was fascinating, n I know for some it just isn’t. What can I study? the opportunities, the experience, the interactions etc. basically how can I jus get out and c wt the rest of it looks like. And before I had much time to consider the option of making this trip, I was already making it. No time to think “well, how’s it gonna be ??”.
Wicked ! ain it?

Anyways, its not without expectations that I came around. And, I must say it’s been pleasant tending on chilly (pun intended) so far.
I wouldn wanna elaborate on whats gone on cuz it would not make a fun read.
All I’d say is that coming abroad to study, specially the circumstances that I have in (as an exchange student) is invigorating.
Whatever traveling for pleasure might be, this definitely isn’t.
One can simply take out a lot of the allure and substitute it with pragmatism.
You gotta do your own chores. Not every one is rich. The proportion of fools don’t change. Language (atleast the accent) does, again with every 5 miles. Loads of friendly blokes around. Culture, may I suggest those harping about the lack of it, I’ll have to check on America(greedy am I not). Services expensive products cheap so on and so forth.
K now incase all ya wonderin why such positivity, bloody anglophile and the rest of it slung, Leeds is a student town with a massive international student population from across the world. Perhaps, the reason it is so lively and friendly.
Education, sports and clubbing/pubbing - top notch in this part of the world and whoever tells me we’re getting there I think we’re jus being too lazy about it. These folks are grown ups in these regards and they know it. I got the opportunity to meet the coordinator of the youth Common wealth Games,Pune. She was around to partner with the sports faculty of the Uni cuz its super .I’ll save my comments on that for the future.

Kai, so my opinion of 12 days might be biased, but who gives a shit anyways.

All said and done, there is plenty that I’d miss eventually. At the same time I hope the dip isn round the corner.

“Cheers”

GOD's a "Tripster"

We’ve all come across people who take immense pleasure in another’s misery. The one’s who don’t believe in old fashioned fun where every one has a laugh together, not at someone’s expense. It’s a pity however that today wit is equated to how well you can take some one’s ass. We all have it in us. I’ve been as guilty as I’ve been victmised. To put it in casual terminology, trippin on each other, sometimes taking it to the extent where it is fun no more.

Now may I get to the point of this post, GOD yes GOD if there is any, is one helluva “tripster”.GOD created the universe and he created it to trip on something cuz he considered himself too sacred, too correct. He obviously does not have a sense of humour. Worst still, even we do not have a sense of humour about him. How many of us dare to challenge GOD or challenge our own beliefs about him ? Not many. The ones who do, hate him or the concept of him, and I know a few and it is more because GOD tripped on their misery hard enough or long enough.

Every now and then shit happens. Stuff we can’t explain in totality, and you know there is a lot of something involved that is beyond you. Some like to call that luck, some destiny and some “the will of the almighty” when infact its just "shit". I say, don’t be a GOD hater, but I also say don be over obsessed with the damn concept, it just allows HIM to become more haughty and sadistic. He’ll trip on you till you start hating his guts.

It’s like this, if you put your ass on the line someone’s gonna take it. Those who don’t have a problem wit that are truly GOD’s children. The rest of us are either pretending or are too self aware, GOD din blind us enough I guess. RESPECT.

The Paradox of Value and Art

We’ve all heard long drawn debates on the price demanded by designers for their clothes. In my opinion it is unfair to single out this genre of creativity on its financial countenance.
The other day in a television interview Delhi based fashion designer, Rina Dhaka was volleying questions on why her prices are as high as they are. What I do not understand is, why does she need to justify this to a populist media man who does not understand any fashion and is lousier at doing some research on it?(not that I think she’s any good, I really don understand fashion dat well). That is another topic of debate. What I’m trying to focus on is the concept of “value and art”.

In management education we are made familiar with the concept of customer delivered value. In a nutshell, customer delivered value is the sum total of value that the customer derives out of buying a product .Product offering carries Financial, social, self esteem value. Financial value is the price that the customer pays for the item in terms of money.
Social and self esteem values are more abstract concepts which are difficult to quantify but are more often than not the ones that differentiate one product offering from another.

When we talk of paintings, sculptures, ornate stones etc. questions about their prices are not raised. Common perception about these things is that they are artistic and so the premium on price is justified. This perception is what makes them seem different from a designer garb. This is simply because clothing is a daily use item and a painting buy is more occasional.

We are so used to haggling for clothes in India that a rather complex but open mind would be the only exclusion from this non-acknowledging social order, pronounced insane by us to indulge in designer clothing. This, I feel is the reason why our fashion industry stumbles every time an international leap is close at hand. Paradox of an Indian artist that is, maybe someone could explain all this better.