Monday 28 October 2019

B-Plan Finalists: Selected by the Contestants

Ever heard of the contestants selecting the finalists of a Contest? Audience-based polls are done in many contests both on-line as well as face-to-face. But we let the contestants decide their own finalists. Some of you may say that such choices will always be biased. Because every contestant wants to win, every contestant feels he/she is the best. Therefore, can such assessment be kept objective and fair? How? Read on.
Finals of the Annual Business Plan Contest of the course that I teach will be held shortly. We had 25 teams presenting their B-Plans to a class of 75 PGDM students undergoing the course 'Entrepreneurship and Startup Management'. We had to select eight finalist teams out of 25 teams. This year, we used 'peer assessment' technique to get the contestant's assessment of all other teams. In addition, an inter-disciplinary team of faculty evaluated each of the B-Plans. Each team had to follow a template and were assessed on both the written B-Plan as well as their presentation in the class. After every presentation, the anonymous assessment by each of the remaining 24 teams (n-1) was recorded. The faculty made their independent assessment. 
On completion of all the presentations, the data was collated to determine the eight finalists. There was a strong correlation between peer assessment and faculty evaluation. Out of eight finalists, seven choices were identical. The choice of eighth finalist differed because peer assessment did not include hard-copy evaluation, which was done only by the faculty. So, what is the lesson in this mode of assessment? If the contestants are given a well-defined template and asked to do a dispassionate and objective assessment, they will be honest. Trust your students, they will deliver! Statistical randomness may still be there in peer assessment, but it gets evened out.
It was a fulfilling experiment by Ghumakkad as a teacher. In turn, it empowered my students to be fair and honest judges of their peers' performance. Of course, the corporate world uses peer reviews in the 360 degree employee performance measurement. Ghumakkad thus brought another facet of real life into the classroom!

Talking of bringing realism into the classroom, you may like to browse some of our earlier stories linked below:
Teacher 10 on 10: Teachers expect their students to score 10 out of 10. But are the teachers also 10 on 10?

Bringing Realism into the Classroom: What do the students want?

Making Classroom a Fun Place: How to make your class interesting?

Congratulations to the entire PGDM Class of 2020 at VVISM, Hyderabad for a job well done. We wish all the best to the finalists listed below in alphabetical order of their Startup names:

  1. Diabilicious
  2. Earn My Bread
  3. Eat Me Up
  4. Eco Pencils
  5. E-Purohit
  6. Maid in India
  7. My Bus
  8. Petals

The Finalists have more work to do. Get on with it!


Special thanks to Dr Ritu Bihani and Prof KV Lakshman for their assistance in selecting the finalists.

Learning never ends!

     -   Harsh-the-teacher-cum-Ghumakkad/28th Oct 2019
#startups #businessplans #Bplancontest #pgdm #mba #vvism1 #vishwavishwani #peerassessment #studentsasjudges #trust #statisticalcorrelation #finalists #reallife #classroom #realism #learningbydoing #360degreereview #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Monday 21 October 2019

World Creativity and Innovation Day

Can you learn to be creative?
And innovative?
Who can teach you creativity and innovation?
Schools, colleges?
Nature also teaches you creativity!

How?
Look at this picture taken in Jaipur the Pink City, India where Nature painted the sky pink at dawn!


Or, this wild grass twirling in a creative pattern?
Or, a raindrop perched on a leaf and teach us about entrepreneurship. 


Or, the morning mist which has a life lesson for all of us!
Nature is our best teacher.

Here is wishing all our readers a very happy WCID- World Creativity and Innovation Day. May you be more creative and innovative in whatever you do. Be it technology, business, education, healthcare, entertainment or any other field of human endeavour- we need to be innovative in all three aspects. Namely, Innovation in:

  1. Thinking
  2. Doing and
  3. Sustaining
Here are the links to some of the earlier stories on creativity and innovation in India which may be of interest to the readers:






Feel free to reach me for any query.
Press on and be creative!

Thanks for browsing

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 21st April 2019
        hbindia@gmail.com

#wcid #creativity #innovation #thinking #doing #sustaining #nature #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Monday 7 October 2019

Cypress Vine Winner KBG-26

Tiny red flower like a trumpet.
Five pointed petals.
Yes, that's Cypress Vine also known as morning glory, cardinal creeper, cardinal vine, star glory or hummingbird vine. In southern India, it is called mayir manikkam in Tamil: மயில் மாணிக்கம். As Kausalya Govindan explained "Mayir means hair and manickam is ruby. So the name is based on the appearance of leaves and colour of flowers".
In Malayalam, it is called ākāśamulla. In Assamese it is known as Kunjalata (কুঞ্জলতা), while in the Marathi language it is known as Ganesh Vel. Thanks Parag Sharma, Shekhar Sawant and Nilima Paroolkar for your inputs. It's scientific name is Ipomoea quamoclit.


It is native from northern South America north to Mexico. It has also naturalised to regions like India. It is annual or perennial vine. It flowers during August to December in temperate climates. We reproduce the Contest pictures taken in our garden in Secunderabad India. The flower comes in three colours red, pink and white. However, our garden has only the red coloured flowers.




Seedlings must always be kept moist. They require full Sun for good growth. This vine is one of the best plants for attracting hummingbirds, and is a vigorous grower. It doesn't require any fertilizer and gives blooms without much care. Readers may refer Wikipedia for more details.

We thank all the readers who sent their responses. Despite a month's gap, KBG-26 saw enthusiastic participation with more than 200 responses out of which we had 20 correct entries. Quite a few entries came from US time zone as well. Special thanks to them. The first correct answer came within a few seconds!
The Winners of KBG-26 are as follows:
  1. Narender Soni, MSc (Bio Sciences), works with Ministry of Finance, Govt of India. Lives in Gurgaon.
  2. Aayushi Kasliwal, MBA(Fin), Entrepreneur, Indore
  3. Praneetha Mudholkar, MBA, Faculty@VVISM Hyderabad and keen traveller

Our congratulations to all of them.
Our special thanks to Dr Chitra Shanker for her continued research guidance.

Stay connected for the next edition of KBG-27.

Thanks for browsing

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad

We also thank Ramya Sriram for logo design.
#kbg #kaunbanegaghumakkad #contest26 #onlinecontest #travellers #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #knowyourenvironment #wanderers #photowalks #learningfromnature #plants #environment #nature #wildflowers #vine #powerofobservation #learningfromplants #funwatchingflowers

Sunday 6 October 2019

Seen this Vine? KBG-26

KBG- your favourite Kaun Banega Ghumakkad is back!
After a month's gap, KBG-26 is here.

You must have seen this vine! Just name it.


Two more pictures to give you clues.





You may crib that the picture of the flowers is not clear. But it is on purpose. Otherwise, Google will give you the answer!

As in the past, first three winners will be announced in the next post. So, whatever be your channel- this blog, FB, mail, Insta, WA or Twitter, send your response fast.

Happy hunting!

   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 6th October 2019
#kbg #kaunbanegaghumakkad #contest26 #onlinecontest #travellers #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #knowyourenvironment #wanderers #photowalks #learningfromnature #plants #environment #nature #wildflowers #vine #powerofobservation #learningfromplants #funwatchingflowers

Tuesday 1 October 2019

Boghata Waterfalls The Niagara of Telangana

Waterfalls attract people.
Why?
Because you like to hear the roar!
Or, simply admire the view.
Feel the adrenaline rush.
Take a dip in the pool below.
Get drenched in its foam.
Take pictures.
Show it to your children, or grandchildren.
Love the flowing water!
It is very romantic!
Feel it's power and the energy!
Or, may be all of it!

Boghata is one such waterfall. Not very high, not very fierce yet pretty attractive. Ghumakkad went there last week. It is located about 270 kms from Secunderabad on NH-163 on the Cheekupally stream in Koyaveerapuram G, Wazeedu Mandal in Mulugu district. The Bogatha waterfall has been witnessing a steady rise in tourist footfall ever since a high-level bridge across Godavari river near Eturunagaram was thrown open three years ago. See the map below.

We had halted at Laknavaram Lake the previous night. The drive from Mulugu onwards to the east goes through dense forest for almost 30 kms. Very scenic drive indeed. But we needed to take a bite first. Highway eateries are always safe. However, this time we didn't factor the Telangana chillies! Pictures for you.





Feel the dense forest through a 30-sec video shot from our moving car.

NH-163 then crosses Godavari River. 




Cross the river with Ghumakkad's video clip.










Get a feel of the bumpy ride from the parking lot to the Waterfall!

And then the Waterfall came in sight! What a view? See for yourself.


Am reminded of Bob Ross' words on a waterfall. A PQ- picturesque quote for you.



Feel the roar in a 50-sec video below.


Time for photo-op! Here are three PQs- picturesque quotes on waterfall with our pictures.





Before leaving Hyderabad, I had asked some of my students who had been there. One of the girls had dissuaded us not to visit the Waterfall since 'they were not allowed to enter the water'! Now, being on-the-spot we could understand her disappointment. When the flow becomes dangerous, the forest department stops entry into the water. For everyone's safety! As you can see in the pictures below, we were luckier. Flow was not as strong. We could take a dip!


A pagoda has been constructed at a safe height for the visitors. A neat and clean change room has also been provided nearby.


As Neeta and I were walking on the uneven embankment, CP shot this picture. Neeta composed the couplet for this picture.
कौन किसको सहारा दे, इससे मतलब नहीं 
पर सहारे के बिना ज़िन्दगी भी तो नहीं 


Had it not been for the long drive ahead of us back to Hyderabad, probably we would have explored the nearby hills and the forest. See the map below.

But it was time to leave. One last selfie!

We got back to the parking lot in the e-rickshaw with happiness writ large on our faces.


Back to the highway with cattle to give us company! Pleasure of driving on Indian highways.


We had to transit through Warangal on our return leg. Those who prefer vegetarian food on long drives, Annapoorna Food Court in Warangal is a decent choice. Dal and Roti were superb but time taken for service needs improvement. Don't try ordering any dish from the menu card. All items may not be ready.
After lunch, we got onto the bypass road to escape the noon city traffic.

Is our life not like a waterfall? We close with another PQ on this theme for you.

If you missed browsing the story on Laknavaram lake, click here.

Thanks for browsing. Do share your experience if you have been to these places.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 1st Oct 2019
#boghatawaterfall #laknavaramlake #telangana #hking #navyveterans #grandparents #pagoda #swimming #getaway #hyderabad #telanganatourism #waterfall #forests #camping #ghumakkadHB #ghumakkadharsh #waterbody #nature #mulugudistrict #indiatourism #kaktiyadynasty #roar #PQs #picturesquequotes #romance