Crucibles E-zine 7

THE METRO MAN OF

INDIA

Dr. E. Sreedharan

THE TALK SHOW

QUEEN

Oprah Winfrey

COVER STORY FILES BANKRUPTCY

TRAIT OF GREAT

LEADERS:

WHY SHOULD ONE DO AN

MBA

DESTINY LIFE

AISEC HYDERABAD

CONTENTS

www.iipmcrucibles.net [email protected]

IIPM-Crucibles E-Zin 15/2/2012 Vol. 7

http://www.iipmcrucibles.net/

If we lived in a world where success repeats success then the degree

of success to be achieved would be the challenge. Where as if success

perpetuates a comfort zone that tries to repeat itself then it

produces mediocre results and eventually failure. Success sometimes

brings in complacency that paves way for timidity, low risk appetite

and every bump on the road seems like a hiccup that will sort itself out. In success lies the

road map of failure. Careful attention to hiccups will be a protection against failure. Eastman

Kodak filing for bankruptcy is a case in point. The cover issue of January will try and capture

some moments of this iconic Company.

Lauren Mathys, founder of Bluecrest Consulting visited campus from

Geneva to deliver a session with our students. Lauren was one of the

first to complete the Blue Ocean Strategy qualification process under

the supervision of INSEAD Professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne,

authors of the best-selling business book Blue Ocean Strategy. Also

one of first to qualify for delivery of courses using the BOS

Simulation tool developed by expert computer simulators at StratX.

If we were to draw a parallel of being successful from Blue Ocean

concept then one of the techniques is to look beyond the immediate.

Kodak missed out on catching up with technology unleashing its scope.

To stay relevant and not be reminiscent, one has to embrace failure, march ahead and deal

with the situation.



Prof. Shirani Nayar

Dean Academics

IIPM- Hyderabad

[email protected]

From the Desk


From the Editors desk If it was only success which everyone would have craved for, then the word satisfaction

would have never been discovered, and the journey and the path were never counted as a

memory.

Crucibles over a month this New Year has discussed a variety of topics in its weekly meeting

and one which I would like to mark here is screening of Steve Jobs movie by BBC world.

Hours and days of discussions, and this magazine is the final implementation with all new

and different perspective. With the changing technology innovation is a very important

aspect without which the world looks and sounds monotonous. The next edition of E-Zine

will be a product of a different technology and our innovation put together.

It was a pleasure writing on behalf of my team.

Happy Reading.

G P Manisha

Head –Editorial

IIPM Crucibles

Team E-Zine:

Praveen Paul Vamsi Tarun N. Susmitha Dilip Muralidhar Jyothirmayee Swathi

Dev Prakash Varun S.





THE METRO MAN OF INDIA

Vamsi Tarun SS/PGP/IIPM/2011-13

[email protected]




Delhi metro director Dr. Elattuvalapil

Sreedharan, widely hailed as the Metro Man

of India, is responsible for single-handedly

rewriting the country’s urban transport story.

Dr. E Sreedharan was born on june12, 1932 in

Palkkad district, Kerala. He studied at The

Victoria College in Palakkad and then

graduated as a civil engineer from the

Government Engineering College, Kakinada.

After a short stint as a lecturer in Civil

engineering at the Kerala Polytechnic College

in Kozhikode and a year as an apprentice at

the Bombay Port Trust. He joined the Indian

railways through a nation-wide selection

procedure. His first assignment was with the

Southern Railway in the capacity of a

Probationary Assistant engineer. During his

long association with the Indian railways, Dr.

Sreedharan garnered considerable reputation

as someone capable of taking up and

succeeding in difficult and daunting projects.

The speedy restoration of the Pamban Bridge

(1963), which connects Rameswaram to

Mainland Tamil Nadu, stands out among a

host of stunning engineering feats that

collectively attest his impeccable credentials.

This exceptional achievement earned him the

prestigious Railway Minister’s Award in 1963.

In 1970 he was appointed as the Deputy Chief

engineer for design, planning and

implementation of the Calcutta Metro, the

first-ever metro project in India.

Dr. Sreedharan retired from the Indian

Railways in 1990; thereafter he was appointed

the CMD of Konkan Railway. The project, he

was associated with, was not only unique but

quite challenging. The total project covered

760km

and had over 150 bridges. It had 93 tunnels

along the length of 82km and involved tunneling

through soft soil. Under his able leadership, the

project was completed within seven years,

which was an achievement, widely considered

as exceptional, given the difficulties and the

challenges involved.

Dr. Sreedharan joined the Delhi Metro Rail

Corporation (DMRC) on November 5th 1997 as

the first managing director. Since then, he has

been instrumental in ensuring the timely

completion of all the scheduled construction

works. As the train network expanded across

the National Capital Region (NCR) to cover

about 190 km. Dr. Sreedharan’s name became

prominent with the Delhi Metro. The media was

prompt naming and popularizing him as the

‘Metro Man’. He has received many laurels and

awards because of his work performance,

Including the Prestigious Padma Vibhushan

(2008), Padma Sri (2001), and Chevalier de la

Legion d’honneur by the French Government in

2005. He was even approached by the Pakistan

Government for the execution of the Lahore

Metro Plan.

The significance of his expertise can be

highlighted from the fact that, over the 14 long

years of his service as DMRC chief, Dr.

Sreedharan was offered four service extensions

by the Delhi Government and was finally

granted retirement on his own demand on 31

December 2011. Dr. Sreedharan handed over

the charge to the new Metro chief Dr. Mangu

Singh, a colleague for many years. Thus, the last

day of the year 2011 marked the last day of Dr.

Sreedharan’s long and fruitful professional

career.




The TALK SHOW

QUEEN



Few days back when I was searching for a topic for

my ex-com presentation I came across a great

entrepreneur, philanthropist, producer, actress

and well known for her talk shows. Oprah Winfrey,

an afro American – who faced many hurdles in her

childhood, yet success, is what she has always

achieved. She was ranked as richest afro American

of the 20th century. My increasing curiosity

motivated me to learn more about her, who now is

my role model.

CHILDHOOD:

Winfrey was born in 1954 on a farm in Kosciusko,

Mississippi. Her unmarried parents drifted apart

and moved elsewhere shortly after her birth,

leaving her in the care of her maternal

grandmother, under whom she learned to read by

the age of 2, and to speak by the age of 3. She was

often invited to recite poetry at social clubs and

church teas, where they referred to her as "the

little speaker."

Her world changed to the worse at age six, when

she was sent to Milwaukee to live with her mother,

who had found work as a housemaid. From the age

9 to 13 she was sexually abused. Confused,

ashamed, guilt-ridden and afraid to tell anyone

what was being done to her, Winfrey began to act

out. Her increasing belligerence and delinquency

proved too much for her mother to handle. She

tried to put Winfrey in a detention center, but the

institution didn't have enough beds, so instead she

sent her to live with her father in Nashville,

Tennessee. A strict disciplinarian, Winfrey's father

changed the course of her life. "My father turned

my life around by insisting that I should be more

than I was and by believing I could be more,"

Winfrey told Good Housekeeping magazine. "His

love of learning showed me the way."

EARLY YEARS:

At age 17, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black

Tennessee beauty pageant and was offered an on-

air job at WVOL, a radio station serving the Afro-

American community in Nashville; she also won a

full scholarship to Tennessee State University,

where she majored in Speech Communications and

Performing Arts. Oprah continued to work at

WVOL in her first years of college, but her

broadcasting career was already taking off. She left

school and signed on with a local television station

as a reporter and anchor.

In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV

News as a co-anchor. There, she co-hosted her first

talk show, People Are Talking, while continuing to

serve as anchor and news reporter. In January

1984, she was invited to Chicago to host a faltering

half-hour morning program on WLS-TV. In less

than a year, she turned AM Chicago into the

hottest show in town. The format was soon

expanded to an hour, and in September 1985 it

was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. It has

remained the number one talk show for 18

seasons, has won dozens of Emmys, and is seen by

an estimated 30 million viewers a week in the

United States and is broadcast internationally in

111 countries.

Entertainment Entrepreneur:

Not contented to work for someone else; in 1988,

Oprah started her own production facility, Harpo

Studios (in case you hadn't noticed, that's "Oprah"

spelled backwards, not a Marx Brothers

reference). Since then, it has grown into Harpo,

Inc., which employs around 250 full-time people in

television and film production, magazine

publishing, and online media. She is also co-

founder of Oxygen Media, which operates the




Oxygen Network, a cable network for women

reaching more than 54 million viewers.

Movies:

In 1985 Oprah gave a breakout performance as

"Sofia" in Stephen Spielberg's The Color Purple,

garnering both Golden Globe and Oscar

nominations. She has also acted in several made-

for-TV movies. In 1990, she started Harpo Films to

work on projects based on contemporary and

classic literature, such as 1998's Beloved, based on

Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and

co-starring Oprah and Danny Glover. Harpo has a

long-term deal with ABC to produce the "Oprah

Winfrey Presents" telefilms.

Philanthropy:

In 1987 Oprah created The Oprah Winfrey

Foundation "to support the education and

empowerment of women, children and families in

the United States and around the world." The

charity has awarded millions of dollars to

organizations throughout the world to improve

education and health care. In 1997 she founded

Oprah's Angel Network to inspire people to make

a difference in the lives of others. So far the group

has raised $27 million almost entirely from

audience donations.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

- South Africa is a girls-only boarding school that

officially opened in January 2007 in Henley on

Klip near Meyerton, south of Johannesburg,South

Africa. It was started by Oprah Winfrey to provide

educational and leadership opportunities for

academically gifted girls from impoverished

backgrounds in South Africa.

VISIT TO INDIA:

The 57-year-old, who came to India for a shoot for

her new series 'Next Chapter', stayed for five days

and visited Vrindavan, Agra as well as The Jaipur

Literature Festival.

Winfrey Tweeted - "Great to travel, but even

greater to be back in beautiful USA. India

experience was Awesome. Expands your

humanity,"

“You cannot see India in one week, or two weeks.

It is complex. It is the greatest show on earth,” she

told in one interview.

Winfrey also visited slums in south Mumbai as part

of research for her show.

“Oprah is all about two things: living a great life for

you and making a difference in the world. She

seems to have mastered both”.

References:

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0

bio-1

http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrep

reneurs/p/oprahwinfrey.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#.27O

prahfication.27

Susmitha Chowdary

SS/PGP/ISBE/2011-13

nsusmithachowdary@g

mail.com



http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1

http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/oprahwinfrey.htm

http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/oprahwinfrey.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#.27Oprahfication.27

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#.27Oprahfication.27


town. The format was soon expanded to an

hour, and in September 1985 it was

renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. It has

remained the number one talk show for 18

seasons, has won dozens of Emmys, and is

seen by an estimated 30 million viewers a

week in the United States and is broadcast

internationally in 111 countries.

Entertainment Entrepreneur:

Not content to work for somoeone else, in

1988, Oprah founded her own production

facility, Harpo Studios (in case you hadn't

noticed, that's "Oprah" spelled backwards,

not a Marx Brothers reference). Since then,

it has grown into Harpo, Inc., which employs

around 250 full-time people in television

and film production, magazine publishing,

and online media. She is also co-founder of

Oxygen Media, which operates the Oxygen

Network, a cable network for women

reaching more than 54 million viewers.

Movies:

In 1985 Oprah gave a breakout performance

as "Sofia" in Stephen Spielberg's The Color

Purple, garnering both Golden Globe and

Oscar nominations. She has also acted in

several made-for-TV movies. In 1990, she

founded Harpo Films to work on projects

based on contemporary and classic

literature, such as 1998's Beloved, based on

Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

and co-starring Oprah and Danny Glover.

Harpo has a long-term

deal with ABC to produce the "Oprah Winfrey

Presents" telefilms.

Philanthropy:

In 1987 Oprah created The Oprah Winfrey

Foundation "to support the education and

empowerment of women, children and families

in the United States and around the world." The

charity has awarded millions of dollars to

organizations throughout the world to improve

education and health care. In 1997 she founded

Oprah's Angel Network to inspire people to

make a difference in the lives of others. So far

the group has raised $27 million almost entirely

from audience donations.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for

Girls - South Africa is a girls-only boarding

school that officially opened in January 2007

in Henley on Klip near Meyerton, south

of Johannesburg,South Africa It was founded

by Oprah Winfrey to provide educational and

leadership opportunities for academically gifted

girls from impoverished backgrounds in South

Africa.

VISIT TO INDIA:

The 57-year-old, who came to India to shoot a

for her new series 'Next Chapter', stayed for five

days and visited Vrindavan, Agra as well as the

Jaipur Literature Festival.

"Great to travel, but even greater to be back in beautiful

USA. India experience was Awesome. Expands your

humanity," Winfrey wrote on her Twitter page.

“You cannot see India in one week, or two weeks. It is

complex. It is the greatest show on earth,” she told in

one interview.

Winfrey also visited slums in south Mumbai as part of


Files Bankruptcy

stated that "shortly there will be introduced a

new sensitive film which it is believed will prove

an economical and convenient substitute for

glass dry plates both for outdoor and studio

work." The system of photography using roll

holders was immediately successful.

Mr. George Eastman started his career as an

office boy, when he was just 14 years old. The

youngest of three children, Eastman struggled

to make a living and to support his family. The

Waterville, Utica, born boy had always been

inquisitive for knowledge. His hard work

‘Kodak’ is the synonym for everything related to

photography. More than a century Kodak ruled

the photography world. The thin film developed

by Mr. George Eastman revolutionized the

industry. At a time when the cameras were of

huge sizes, his invention reduced the size the

cameras. Kodak made the dream of hand held

camera a reality. Throughout the 21st century,

Kodak held a dominant position in the film

technology and in 1976 the company held 96 %

of market share in the American markets. The

first film advertisements of Kodak, in 1885


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_school

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_school

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_on_Klip

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyerton,_Gauteng

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa



complicated process.

If financial recession was the cause of

bankruptcy for GM, failure to adapt to the

new technologies of the digital world made

Kodak an ailing company. The case of Kodak

reminds us about the necessity of continuous

innovation.

Innovation gives a firm its own advantages to

command the market. But if the innovation

becomes obsolete by another new

innovations? Kodak reminds us all not to

innovate, but to innovate continuously and

consistently. It’s difficult to reach the top

most position, but it’s equally hard to retain

that position for a prolonged period. If the

advent of Japanese cars with better quality

rippled the sales of GM, in US, the Japanese

digital technology in photography made

Kodak to file for chapter 11 bankruptcies. Will

the Rochester, born photographic film maker

become a history? Let’s hope that we

management enthusiasts won’t learn another

case study of failed company called KODAK in

B-Schools..!!

fetched him a job as an insurance sales agent

in the same company where he worked as an

office assistant. Remember the age old

saying? “Necessity is the mother of all

inventions”. When Eastman was 24, he made

plans for a vacation to Santo Domingo. When

a co-worker suggested he make a record of

the trip, Eastman bought a photographic

outfit with all the paraphernalia of the wet

plate days. The camera was as big as a

microwave oven and needed a heavy tripod.

And he carried a tent so that he could spread

photographic emulsion on glass plates before

exposing them, and develop the exposed

plates before they dried out. There were

chemicals, glass tanks, a heavy plate holder,

and a jug of water. The complete outfit "was

a pack-horse load," as he described it.

Learning how to use it to take pictures cost

$5.Eastman did not make the Santo Domingo

trip. But he did become completely absorbed

in photography and sought to simplify the

Praveen Paul

SS/UGP/IIPM/2010-13

[email protected]



IIPM CRUCIBLES E-Zine Vol.7


TRAIT OF GREAT LEADERS:

The Power of Individual Brilliance

Who is a Leader?

“A leader is born and not made. A leader is the one who leads by example. A leader is the one who has the ability to make people better and effective by showing empathy. A leader is someone who has a strong vision and he stands by it forever… A leader is someone who is proactive and foresees the change…”And this list goes on… Almost thousands of such lines I have heard and read while looking up for traits of great leaders.

Over the years, I have experienced that people don’t consider an individual as a leader unless he/she has achieved something for the benefit of others, or trained & mentored his/her subordinates well as his successors, or explored the hidden potential in people; or has worked for the overall benefit of the country or company at large. Are traits of leaders only visible in an individual who manages people? I wonder.




Characteristics Of A Leader:

The concept of leadership has evolved from the ancient times and qualities of a good leader have been outlined ever since. In fact, it started evolving from the famous Indian mythological epic ‘Mahabharata’. I could recall, in one of my training sessions that I delivered to the participants on a topic- 21st Century global leadership, I took a lot of reference from the historic mythological epic of Mahabharata. Today, a lot of companies have adopted some styles of leadership (depicted by Lord Krisna) like: Participative, authoritative, directive and so on… also, a lot of management experts have described Lord Krishna as the Greatest Crisis Manager ever. In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna used different styles of leadership (that I shared in the previous line) for different characters. What are your views on this reference to Mahabharata for describing leadership styles and leadership traits of Krishna?

As a result, the outcome was what he wanted. Since then, we have been talking about styles of leadership, and which one to develop and adopt has remained a challenge. I would like to quote an example here: When we talk about Arjuna (a famous character in Mahabharata), we think about him as one of the greatest archers (Dhanurdhars) in his era. But, you would hardly say he was a great leader!!! Would you? In the fratricidal war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the Mahabharata, the latter was more concerned about the brilliance of Arjuna than anyone else as he was known to everyone for his virtuosity. Do we conclude that Arjuna did not have the qualities of a leader? The debate continues.

Qualities Of A Leader:

Now the story starts… If you could recall, Arjuna was the only one in team of Pandavas who had known- how to enter and exit the so called ‘Chakravyuh’(a well known plot at the battle field developed by Guru Dhrona). Arjuna was considered then, as the only warrior who could defeat any enemy or opponent single handedly. Although, Arjuna had the support of world’s best charioteer and blessings of his mentor, Lord Krishna, yet it was due to his sheer competence that he fought better than the others. Besides, I would call this Arjuna’s individual brilliance that he developed better than others due to his focus, passion and determination, ever since his childhood. So, is individual brilliance one of the qualities of a great leader?

Despite all this, still Arjuna is remembered as a great Archer, but not a great Leader. And why would he be? He never guided anyone. He literally crumbled & shivered on the eve of the biggest battle of his life. He had a flickering mind and therefore lost his vision (or Karma)…With so many odds who would call him a leader!

Effective Leaders’ Traits: Leadership in 21st Century

This very concept encouraged me to rethink and redefine one of the facets of leadership in today’s era. Arjuna wanted to be the best archer in the universe; and he became that. He was the biggest asset for the Pandavas and everyone in the army heavily relied on his skills. It was his individual brilliance that gave more confidence to the rest of his brothers to fight better at the battle field. Also, it was his sheer presence which became a nightmare for all other major leaders in the Kauravas. What would you call this? In my words, a great leader is the one who builds trust, confidence and provokes the fighting spirits in every soldier and warrior; fighting for his side. And Arjuna is a personification of the same… A great leader.




But was he an Effective Leader?

Welcome to the 21st Century…The concept of leadership is one of the most talked about topics. Today, the irony is, we have more books on leadership than actual leaders in the world. And if I talk about the Business world today, every company is in search of an effective Leader who can transform their business and lead from the front by setting new benchmarks. The concept of leadership is filled with prejudice! People have stopped thinking differently and yet trying to conjure world-class leaders. Believe me- It will always remain as one of the biggest challenges for any company or even a country.

Ideally, it’s high time to change the notion and add one more facet to the term called ‘Leadership’. You just can’t find all the leadership qualities in an individual. However, one having a few of them would certainly bring the difference.

Characteristics of an Effective Leader: Why is individual Brilliance a Trait of an Effective Leader?

Metaphorically, to me, the reincarnation of Arjuna in the 21th century is in form of the Legendary Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. We all love him. Don’t we? In India, over a billion hearts throb for him and eagerly wait to see him reaching new heights in the form of new records. His achievements make up feel as if we have achieved something in life. A century from his bat, in any form of the game, brings happiness to every citizen of the country and makes his/her day special.

Sachin could be termed as the modern day Arjuna in the cricket battle field, who is feared by his opponents due to his genius and ability to change the course of the game single handedly. But let’s not forget that like a war, the game of cricket is also a team game. Arjuna had a unique arrow in his quiver for every situation; likewise, Sachin Tendulkar has every shot in his armory and can tackle any bowling (refer to his track record statistics).

Despite all this, still we speak about Sourav Ganguly and Ms Dhoni as India’s most successful captains and best of the leaders in their respective field. But the fact is both of them have been wonderful cricketers, but couldn’t become the legends of the game. And most importantly, more people started playing the game to become the next Tendulkar (I don’t need the figures for this…Even I was one of them). That’s the power of influence to the game by developing unparalleled skills, in the last 22 years. Would you think Sourav Ganguly or MS Dhoni are successful leaders?




What Makes A Leader?

You may call me a big Tendulkar fan, but the question is what made me that? It’s his true leadership ability of unleashing his potential better than others and showing the world his undying passion (I call it love) for the game…A leader always passes on the baton by showing the correct path, before he steps down. If he himself has not made it to the top then how could he expect others to redefine it or go beyond! A mere motivation through some words of encouragement or pep talk doesn’t help all the time! Contrary, if someone has reached to the level where others haven’t before, it can surely become a source of inspiration and a strong reason for many to go the extra mile surpassing all the odds.

Conclusion on Traits of A Good Leader

We need to think beyond the convention and

embrace the concept of individual excellence or

individual brilliance as the new form of

leadership in this fast changing world. From the

organization viewpoint, a company should always encourage individual brilliance; rather than only encouraging so called Team Performance or Group Work. We say equal contribution by every team member is imperative for organizational success; however the question you need to answer is – Can every recognized batsman in the team score a 50 in every match? Of course not! But individual brilliance of a batsman can make a huge difference and compensate the same.

A true leader is the one who shows the world what e alone is capable of. And when he excels in his course of action by setting new benchmarks then eventually he will have followers or admirers even if he is not directly helping any of them.

A simple lesson- Competing against your own self and reaching where others can only dream of is a key trait of an influential leader.

So what do you think are the traits of a

great leader?

Prof. Kaushik Das

Asst.V.P. S.M.G. (Placements)

IIPM- Ahmedabad

[email protected]




Why should one do an



I would say don't do an MBA if you don't know what it means to you, if you don't know how it adds value to you / your career, if you think it's just a big bait to fish out a well paying job.

No, that's not it! Why do you think companies would want to hire MBAs? They want your ability to see the bigger picture in aspects concerning the company. They want you to analyze where they stand, what they are capable of, where they can get to, how soon they can get there, why certain things do not happen the way they should, and what is to be done to make them happen. In short, they want you to lead the way. Now you may think that this is not a real world situation and all jobs don't throw this kind of experience.

You need to go in there with a perspective. Well, this applies to anything you do. But your ability to see the big picture is the very crux

of this two year rigorous course. It's not just your content, but how you present it, how you can make people relate to it, not just about numbers, but how you apprehend them, not about selling products or services, but selling yourself.

But my point is not whether or not you should do an MBA, but if you are doing it, you better know why you should do so, and then do it well. And this again holds true for anything you do.

Dilip Muralidhar

SS/PGP/ISBE/2011-13

[email protected]





Few days back while sifting through my books I

spotted a yellowish looking paper with very

small print on it. On a closer look I realized that

it was a short story I had written back in year

2003. Rather it had been a product of a very

boring and uneventful day at office. I had really

liked it then and shared it only with some close

friends. But as it is usual of me I lost the only

print-out I had taken of the story and soon

forgot all about it. I somehow never tried my

hand at story writing again. In these days of

retrospection it’s great to have found that

story…

Here is finally the ‘Destined Fate’

And after the long wait finally the time

came for executing her duty once again. It

was usually a simple task but the old

woman clung to those few breaths with all

her might, making it terribly difficult for D

this time. D had always been proud of her

capacities and seeing them thus

challenged by a frail dying old woman

made her furious. Sometime back the old

woman had pushed her out and she had

no choice but to succumb to the act. In

hearts of their hearts both knew D was

invincible but that knowledge did not

deter the latter’s resistance.




D decided to let the old woman have her way

for some time. Maybe that would make her

realize the inevitable destiny. Thinking thus, out

she flew through the window and began

witnessing the scenes of daily life. Aimlessly

floating and contemplating D came to an open

window which revealed a very cozy and lively

room. Peeping inside the window D caught sight

of a beautiful young girl lying on a

sofa…probably deep asleep…The girl M was

absolutely still, like death itself…how peacefully

she slept. D looked at her for some time but

there was no movement in M’s body. Suddenly

D got a wicked idea. She quietly glided in the

room and spread her frozen limbs in M’s

youthful body, thus turning her into cold

marble. D knew very well it was an offence for

which she would surely be punished but the

temptation of doing the unexpected was too

much o resist. M was as motionless as

before…but there was a drastic difference

now….Now she was dead. Lying still as a statue

she had invited death to reside in her.

After some time another young girl K barged in

the room. Sitting on the edge of the sofa next to

M she began chatting. Getting no response she

touched M on her forehead and instantly a chill

ran down her spine. Taking courage she tried in

vain to locate latter’s pulse and heart beat. The

sudden shock of her friend’s untimely death

brought a terrible shriek from her and she

began to cry hysterically.

All this hue and cry woke D up who had

gone off to sleep in M’s body. As soon as D

saw K she realized her mistake and was

scared to see a friend weeping and wailing

over what had not been ordained…what

was just a whim…what was not true…M has

a long life ahead. D had to leave before it

was too late. Noiselessly she escaped M’s

body and flew out of the open window.

Suddenly there was a movement in M’s

body ..as if she was getting up from a deep

sleep. She opened her eyes and saw a

white faced and terribly shaken K. She put

her hands on K's shoulder and tried taking

her hand but the latter had already run out

of the room…out of the house...out on the

road. Running frantically with fear written

all over her face K could hardly see a pick-

up van which ran over her ending all her

fears and worries forever;

On the other side D had won the battle.

The old woman had finally given up. The

ultimate look of defeat and surrender on

her victim’s face elated D. she calmly

resided in latter’s bosy. After her much

awaited victory D had to immediately reach

the road T for her next assignment. As D

reached the place she saw K running madly

in the middle of the road. It was not with a

triumphant smile but a very heavy heart

that D spread her limbs in K as the kick-up

van crushed the latter’s body.

Priyanka Kaul

SS/UGP/IIPM/2010-13

[email protected]




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Crucibles E-zine 7

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Transcript of Crucibles E-zine 7