The Master
This part of my life I call it lucky time, as I am lucky and grateful to write few lines about people whom I say GREAT ! (I generally dont use this word GREAT for every thing). This is one of the posts which I mentioned before vacation ! Its merely an other post for the readers but for myself, its The Most waited ! Ofcourse I myself delayed writing this all these days. Its few lines about the one of the few most respected persons of VITBS, our beloved ASOKUMAR Sir. (I've doubt if its Asok Kumar or Asokumar, hence mentioned xctly what is in his name plate infront of his cabin).
Incomparable to any of the MASTERs I mention(ed) in previous or future posts of mine, ASOK Sir (we affectinately address him so) is a wonderful resource. We do have good, better, n few best resources here, where as he indeed is termed as 'cornerstone of VITBS' , by many !! VITBS and its MBA students are lucky to get him.
The very first thought any one would get when u hear or utter ASOK sir is IIMA 1984 batch. :) Earlier during our MBA we had 3 faculty including the Ex.Director. I dont know who is Asok sir almost till end of my trimester1.One day a friend of mine showed me, him. An year later,I was lucky enough to sit in his class during my T4 for the course Entrepreneurship. Not boasting, but I always wanted to write lots abt him, infact after I finish his class every day, I wanted to blog it. But could not do it :( This might sound hype for a person who dont knew who is Asok sir or who got screwed by him, at any time. But lemme tell you, he is the luckiest who ever got screwed !!
Why does one like him to this extent? The day 1 I saw him in class, I liked his simplicity. His communication and frankness. His voice can be commanding but he need not use it. He doesn't beat around the bush, he doesn't confuse us, he listens to our idea completely and corrects us, if ncsry. He insists you for a response. He encourages you alot.
He smiles to the student who disturbs the class, that's a whip for such guys. Such student would never dare to disturb class again. He cant tolerate the silence and indiscipline. One day he left the class as none of us responded for his questions :(
The home work he has done for the course planning is splendid. The mrng I received the group email,I was speechless.I really wonder a Professor at this stage, considering each and every small issue and preparing a course plan, added to that ...the plan was so well designed. (I am not simply scribbling guys) He wants us to think n behave like real entrepreneurs. He wants to give us the real picture of the REAL world. He allotted some 15-20 varieties of businesses any one can step in and advised us to make business plans for those. He dint stop with advicing but walked with us. He led us, he made us bring the plan out in the class, discuss the possibilities and impossibilites of it, pros and cons of it and feasibility n flexibility too, with a counter team. Hats-off sir!
If you say,you gonna set up industry in Vellore, thats not enough!! U r in Asok sir's class.U got to answer Why n Where in Vellore, How u decide Vellore is correct place??? While answering these questions, thats the tough time for you. U may see him like a ghost, demon etc but believe me unknowingly, with out ur knowledge u will land in safe place by answering his all questions. 'Wonder ful, I cud do it.how did i do?' would be your reaction once u answer him. Then look at him again, u will find Asok sir..not a demon or ghost !! Esplly for this reason many people hate him or atleast assume they hate him, but trust me HE IS WONDERFUL ! I am running short of words and hence using the same wonderful again n again :P
"You start doing business with saline water or sea water in Chennai, I am ok. U bottle it and sell, I have no problem. But justify how you will do that", says Asok Sir. This is just a bit of him !
He has the command in subject and the confidence in what he teaches. Infact He doesn't teach us anything, he shares and explains his and others' experiences, real time events of business!
He is a versatile genius, I can say !! Another small example where he brings your entire MBA in your Biz plan.
He starts with Entrepreneurship subject, wil ask you about the marketing of your product and why n where they are applicable, if Porter's 5 force analysis is valid for that product or not. By the time u realize Kotler and Porter are 2 different guys(:P), Sir may ask you-How can you say this is the right market? How can you say such Positioning and Targeting is correct?
If your answer is-'I conducted a survey', then you wil get in return..
"Where did u conduct survey, What is the questionnaire and who are the audience? What is the Research methodology, if you do so? Did u apply chi square test or anova? And What are the financial resources you have? Angel investors or VentureCapitalists?
If its innovative business how do you think VC trust you? Did u make an assumption of the budget? What are the budget allocations? If already existing company, where is your Balance sheet and P&L?
Why are you showing Profit in Red letters in your excel sheet? Do u indirectly say they are inflated profits? Should I infer so?"
Does your company manufacture or outsource? Is yours a B2B or B2C marketing? You are saying B2B and your team mate is saying B2C, whom shud I believe? Did u both fight with each other? And what is the workforce of your company? Do u strictly follow labor policies and wage policies? If u involve female staff do you have separate cabins and facilities for women?
Looks like you are importing the machinery.Whats the import duty? What would you do if its under repair? Who is the back up resource for handling such machines? Is he properly qualified? Do u have a process document? If so, show it? When was it updated last time? Who are the authorized people to approve it?
Do you really think Vellore is best place to sell swetters? If you are registering company in Vellore,why your address in the assignment shows pin code of Mumbai?
and lots and lots to say his words... Hufff... tell me , didnt u c ur 2 yr MBA in the previous para? I guess U all went in to trance assuming yourself in Sir's class. Come back guys !! :)
Also he is Behavioral observer by nature,watches your attitude.The way u talk,walk and speak ! He can judge you by the way u drag the sandals while walking, the way u take the assignment or by the way u fidget ! He is the wrong person to be lenient with. And one should not be so.
He owned a company in the past I believe, I am not sure but when v listen to his class I felt so.Especially the Risk Assessment, he starts saying how and where it starts,"The land has to be OK ed by VRO, Banks have to provide you loan, then comes the surveyor, then the registration, blue print, town planning, elec supply, water supply, labor, CT inspection , partners etc etc, and what about the Govt officials and bureaucrats if you are doing the biz in India? Every person want to get bribe and share of the bribe for his officials to show the meherbani" (its a hindi word)! Oh my god. If he is in this flow, he hardly stops to breathe.
The other day he was just telling an institute name which Govt office we can get the data for population of the region, and from there he listed 20-30 insts, names and locations in 5mins :O God ! He's soo brainy !
Given any subject he is The Master. His brain must be in a museum!! Awesome person.
When I shared this happiness of getting a great prof to teach us with my frnd/senior in IIM B, he said 'We know him. He is the visiting faculty for the Entrepreneurship cell,IIM B'lore', I was surprised!! Sir, hats off to you!!
All these kept apart, he is very cool. When you go and speak personally u can find real him. His genuine smile is a great relief for any one. To be true I interacted very less with him. I could not take Sales & Distribution in T5, but couple of guys took two of his subjects in T5, SDM and International Shipping !?!(correct me if course name is wrong) All this is just what I saw in class n in campus. Some people who interacted more can say more about the MASTER! His other students like Anuj, Baali, Babu etc guys who pursued more than one subject under him, could explain much better than this I believe. Ever after that, when I hear a word IIM, Asok sir flashes first.. in my mind!! Its reverse now :)
I remember the day when Rajan had put up a status in FB about Sir on september 5,happy teachers day to ASHOK KUMAR SIR...he is one man army:))...i hav never seen such a genius in my life.. (Sorry rajan, copied wit out permission :P)
Thats indeed TRUE ! Many ppl would love to opt for Asok Sir rather than asking what subject he is teaching. Because they all know He is Ulaganyagan (tamil synonym for Universal star) kind of ! He is all rounder!
I guess this already touched so many and thats what was the huge response for the course BPR. When it was in proposal 'Asok Sir may take up the course and how many are interested', 80+ nominations came in no time its put up in FB !! We proudly say, 'Dats the power of Asok Sir:D'. Unfortunately its not been listed :(
If you are never his student then I am so sorry for you.
If you guys remember the small case let we did in entrepreneurship course, Venkateswara hatcheries... its none other than our own Prof, itseems ! Proud to have such innovator among us, walking and talking to us !!
I feel so much relieved as I cud pen down what I've waited for but sad that I am not able to put more.Its not exaggerating if I say, given a chance for every student, and given chance to all of his students of other courses also to tell me to write a blogpost, no doubt u can call it "blogVADGEETHA" !! Its true. In short, He is Superb teacher ! He is very intelligent. Sorry, Intelligent^50 !
If Asok Sir is a book, my blogpost about him is an excerpt !! మీరు మహానుభావులు..Sir !(..in my mother tongue telugu, I worte... U r a Great person)
Its all the token of love and affection and respect, we , 2010-2012 MBA students have for him ! Thank u Sir.
Thank u all for reading, esplly the hardcore fans!!
(Feel free to share, if you like it)
always the same,
Satya Prakash.M
>>(I wish i had a better pic close up)
The very first thought any one would get when u hear or utter ASOK sir is IIMA 1984 batch. :) Earlier during our MBA we had 3 faculty including the Ex.Director. I dont know who is Asok sir almost till end of my trimester1.One day a friend of mine showed me, him. An year later,I was lucky enough to sit in his class during my T4 for the course Entrepreneurship. Not boasting, but I always wanted to write lots abt him, infact after I finish his class every day, I wanted to blog it. But could not do it :( This might sound hype for a person who dont knew who is Asok sir or who got screwed by him, at any time. But lemme tell you, he is the luckiest who ever got screwed !!
Why does one like him to this extent? The day 1 I saw him in class, I liked his simplicity. His communication and frankness. His voice can be commanding but he need not use it. He doesn't beat around the bush, he doesn't confuse us, he listens to our idea completely and corrects us, if ncsry. He insists you for a response. He encourages you alot.
He smiles to the student who disturbs the class, that's a whip for such guys. Such student would never dare to disturb class again. He cant tolerate the silence and indiscipline. One day he left the class as none of us responded for his questions :(
The home work he has done for the course planning is splendid. The mrng I received the group email,I was speechless.I really wonder a Professor at this stage, considering each and every small issue and preparing a course plan, added to that ...the plan was so well designed. (I am not simply scribbling guys) He wants us to think n behave like real entrepreneurs. He wants to give us the real picture of the REAL world. He allotted some 15-20 varieties of businesses any one can step in and advised us to make business plans for those. He dint stop with advicing but walked with us. He led us, he made us bring the plan out in the class, discuss the possibilities and impossibilites of it, pros and cons of it and feasibility n flexibility too, with a counter team. Hats-off sir!
If you say,you gonna set up industry in Vellore, thats not enough!! U r in Asok sir's class.U got to answer Why n Where in Vellore, How u decide Vellore is correct place??? While answering these questions, thats the tough time for you. U may see him like a ghost, demon etc but believe me unknowingly, with out ur knowledge u will land in safe place by answering his all questions. 'Wonder ful, I cud do it.how did i do?' would be your reaction once u answer him. Then look at him again, u will find Asok sir..not a demon or ghost !! Esplly for this reason many people hate him or atleast assume they hate him, but trust me HE IS WONDERFUL ! I am running short of words and hence using the same wonderful again n again :P
"You start doing business with saline water or sea water in Chennai, I am ok. U bottle it and sell, I have no problem. But justify how you will do that", says Asok Sir. This is just a bit of him !
He has the command in subject and the confidence in what he teaches. Infact He doesn't teach us anything, he shares and explains his and others' experiences, real time events of business!
He is a versatile genius, I can say !! Another small example where he brings your entire MBA in your Biz plan.
He starts with Entrepreneurship subject, wil ask you about the marketing of your product and why n where they are applicable, if Porter's 5 force analysis is valid for that product or not. By the time u realize Kotler and Porter are 2 different guys(:P), Sir may ask you-How can you say this is the right market? How can you say such Positioning and Targeting is correct?
If your answer is-'I conducted a survey', then you wil get in return..
"Where did u conduct survey, What is the questionnaire and who are the audience? What is the Research methodology, if you do so? Did u apply chi square test or anova? And What are the financial resources you have? Angel investors or VentureCapitalists?
If its innovative business how do you think VC trust you? Did u make an assumption of the budget? What are the budget allocations? If already existing company, where is your Balance sheet and P&L?
Why are you showing Profit in Red letters in your excel sheet? Do u indirectly say they are inflated profits? Should I infer so?"
Does your company manufacture or outsource? Is yours a B2B or B2C marketing? You are saying B2B and your team mate is saying B2C, whom shud I believe? Did u both fight with each other? And what is the workforce of your company? Do u strictly follow labor policies and wage policies? If u involve female staff do you have separate cabins and facilities for women?
Looks like you are importing the machinery.Whats the import duty? What would you do if its under repair? Who is the back up resource for handling such machines? Is he properly qualified? Do u have a process document? If so, show it? When was it updated last time? Who are the authorized people to approve it?
Do you really think Vellore is best place to sell swetters? If you are registering company in Vellore,why your address in the assignment shows pin code of Mumbai?
and lots and lots to say his words... Hufff... tell me , didnt u c ur 2 yr MBA in the previous para? I guess U all went in to trance assuming yourself in Sir's class. Come back guys !! :)
Also he is Behavioral observer by nature,watches your attitude.The way u talk,walk and speak ! He can judge you by the way u drag the sandals while walking, the way u take the assignment or by the way u fidget ! He is the wrong person to be lenient with. And one should not be so.
He owned a company in the past I believe, I am not sure but when v listen to his class I felt so.Especially the Risk Assessment, he starts saying how and where it starts,"The land has to be OK ed by VRO, Banks have to provide you loan, then comes the surveyor, then the registration, blue print, town planning, elec supply, water supply, labor, CT inspection , partners etc etc, and what about the Govt officials and bureaucrats if you are doing the biz in India? Every person want to get bribe and share of the bribe for his officials to show the meherbani" (its a hindi word)! Oh my god. If he is in this flow, he hardly stops to breathe.
The other day he was just telling an institute name which Govt office we can get the data for population of the region, and from there he listed 20-30 insts, names and locations in 5mins :O God ! He's soo brainy !
Given any subject he is The Master. His brain must be in a museum!! Awesome person.
When I shared this happiness of getting a great prof to teach us with my frnd/senior in IIM B, he said 'We know him. He is the visiting faculty for the Entrepreneurship cell,IIM B'lore', I was surprised!! Sir, hats off to you!!
All these kept apart, he is very cool. When you go and speak personally u can find real him. His genuine smile is a great relief for any one. To be true I interacted very less with him. I could not take Sales & Distribution in T5, but couple of guys took two of his subjects in T5, SDM and International Shipping !?!(correct me if course name is wrong) All this is just what I saw in class n in campus. Some people who interacted more can say more about the MASTER! His other students like Anuj, Baali, Babu etc guys who pursued more than one subject under him, could explain much better than this I believe. Ever after that, when I hear a word IIM, Asok sir flashes first.. in my mind!! Its reverse now :)
I remember the day when Rajan had put up a status in FB about Sir on september 5,happy teachers day to ASHOK KUMAR SIR...he is one man army:))...i hav never seen such a genius in my life.. (Sorry rajan, copied wit out permission :P)
Thats indeed TRUE ! Many ppl would love to opt for Asok Sir rather than asking what subject he is teaching. Because they all know He is Ulaganyagan (tamil synonym for Universal star) kind of ! He is all rounder!
I guess this already touched so many and thats what was the huge response for the course BPR. When it was in proposal 'Asok Sir may take up the course and how many are interested', 80+ nominations came in no time its put up in FB !! We proudly say, 'Dats the power of Asok Sir:D'. Unfortunately its not been listed :(
If you are never his student then I am so sorry for you.
If you guys remember the small case let we did in entrepreneurship course, Venkateswara hatcheries... its none other than our own Prof, itseems ! Proud to have such innovator among us, walking and talking to us !!
I feel so much relieved as I cud pen down what I've waited for but sad that I am not able to put more.Its not exaggerating if I say, given a chance for every student, and given chance to all of his students of other courses also to tell me to write a blogpost, no doubt u can call it "blogVADGEETHA" !! Its true. In short, He is Superb teacher ! He is very intelligent. Sorry, Intelligent^50 !
If Asok Sir is a book, my blogpost about him is an excerpt !! మీరు మహానుభావులు..Sir !(..in my mother tongue telugu, I worte... U r a Great person)
Its all the token of love and affection and respect, we , 2010-2012 MBA students have for him ! Thank u Sir.
Thank u all for reading, esplly the hardcore fans!!
(Feel free to share, if you like it)
always the same,
Satya Prakash.M
hope U'll add a Reaction as "1000 likes". It's grt to read SP. Sorry for your other blogs, but it's the best out of You. Thanks for putting the admiration in words.
ReplyDeleteI like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework or assignments and Ashok sir is lyk dis only, i studied 3 trimester under him and feels very proud to be a student of ashok sir. As usual your blog is extremely good but sorry to say satya, words are not enough to describe the excellence of Ashok sir....
ReplyDeletei proud to say i m a student of asok sir.....i m taken two sub(sdm and ent).really he is biz Google....
ReplyDeleteAsokumar sir is indeed the corner stone of VITBS, a teacher with knowledge and humbleness.. guess he believes in the philosophy 'Practice what you preach'. A true synonym to Professor....
ReplyDeleteHats off to your blog Satya.. splendid as always:)
Reading ur blog,I started recalling my Chemistry sir VIJAY MOHAN(+2).He is also such a personality.
ReplyDeleteKeep rocking.
Regards to ur ASOK sir from my side.
A teacher tells,
Average teacher explains,
Good teacher demonstrates,
Great teacher inspires!!!
A wonderful memoir about a wonderful person :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's few ppl like him who make all the difference in our lives :-)
Yet another extraordinary post from you about an extraordinary person Satya !! :)
ReplyDeleteI was back to my SAC and SFI classes... When I listen to others' presentations in his classes.., I used to feel sorry and terrified when he bombards the questions.., but during my group's presentations.., I have always felt such attack is very much necessary ! He will somehow bring out the actual answer which he expects.., he had always patiently taught /explained / corrected everything needed for an MBA grad.. Asok Sir will always be remembered and the days with him will also be cherished by every one of us.. Hats-off to him and to you too Satya.., specially to have recalled his own words ! :)
Wonderful post.., keep writing Satya ! :)
Asok Sir always treat students as what they ought to be and Sir always help them to become what they are capable of becoming....
ReplyDeleteAwesome Satya... m speechless !!! :)
he's d 1 wid brains in vitbs/vit...a real talented brain..
ReplyDelete