Bharatiya Content and Pedagogy in Commerce and Management Curriculum

Recently had the opportunity to give two lectures during the Refresher Programme in Commerce and Management for the College / University teachers organised  jointly by School of Management Studies, Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon and the UGC – Human Resource Development Centre, Savitribai Phule Pune University

Like I have mentioned in the presentation, my background is essentially through Macaully's education system and the presentations are a result of recent learnings that I have not dug deep into. Your suggestions to make these presentations more rooted in Bharatiya thought will be much appreciated. Don't forget to provide references wherever possible. 

Do hope these presentations will ignite your attention to these topics even if it starts with finding mistakes and starting a debate. Best Wishes!

Thank you to Dr Ramesh J Sardar for giving me the opportunity 

Bengaluru Dosey Dictionary !

 The amount of time Bengaluru will remain the Start up capital of the world is anybody's guess. Bengaluru is also the dosey capital of the world, a well earned tag that will take many decades to replace. There are many restaurants which have been making dosey for over 60-70 years in Bengaluru. 

First, why the spelling. There are many variations in how this south Indian crepe  is called. Dosai or sometimes even thosai is how it is called in Tamil. Dosey is how it is pronounced in Kannada. Wherever this dish is not native to the place whether it is North, West or East India, it has assumed the name 'Dosa' or 'Dosha'. This is sad. How the North Indians of Bangalore have transformed this city into Hindi speaking country in just 3 decades is another delicate matter which is best brushed under the carpet. 

To help you choose a Dosey in Bengaluru, I have tried to list the varieties and give you an idea of what exactly it is. Some outlets serve both Chutney and Sambar with Dosey, however the best restaurants serve coconut chutney and a few serve both coconut and red chillies chutney. 

Masala Dosey - This is the most common one with potato filling making it a masala Dosey. Generally it is a treat, so best is to go for the Benne ( butter)  Masala Dosey even if you can ask for regular, which is made with cooking oil and is slightly cheaper.

Mysore Masala Dosey : This is rarely found in Bengaluru or Mysore with this name. Most restaurants add red chutney on the dosey without calling it mysore masala. In the rest of India Mysore Masala refers to the masala dosa which has red chutney on the inside of the dosa.  

As I am not fond of garlic, I usually request my masala dosey without 'red chutney' except in the few restaurants that I know don't add garlic. It is usually with garlic. 

Set Dosey - This is a plate with two or three small thick dosey. Usually served with Chutney and Saag ( mixed vegetable gravy) 

Khali Dosey - This is the closest to the Tamilnadu Dosai . Much like homemade dosey, it has less oil and is soft, not crisp. Many prefer this simple home style. 'Khali' means empty and is generally confused with plain dosey. 'Sada' dosey is generally the same as Khali. 

Plain Dosey - This is a masala dosey without the potato filling and the red chutney ( some guys do add the red chutney though). As it is without the potato it is called 'plain' however it is thin and crisp like the masala dosey.

Set Masala Dosey - This is not found in Bengaluru, though it might come to Bengaluru soon considering that it is very popular in Mysore. It is two small Masala Doseys instead of one big one. 

Onion Dosey - Onion Plain and Onion Masala are both popular. The only difference being the finely chopped onions as a filling

Open Dosey - This is a masala dosey that is flat out open. It is served as a flat dosey that is soft with the potato curry, pudi and a generous helping of benne ( butter) sitting in the middle of the dosey. This variant is really the one you want to try after the masala dosey.....worth it.

Paper Dosey - It is the ultra crisp variant sold mostly in fancy restaurants. In Bengaluru, not a popular variant.

Mulbagal Dosey - Mulbagal is a town in Kolar district close to Bengaluru and this dosey is gaining popularity for its novelty value. It is a regular masala dosey which has really crisp edges as it is made on an edge raised tawa where the batter is spread on the edges also. This is usually available with Butter or ghee and with or without Pudi ( powder) 

Davangere Benne Dosey - This is different from other doseys as it is made with a huge quantity of fresh white butter. Usually the chutney is spicy and the potato curry is made without using turmeric so it looks like white curry. The potato curry is served along with the dosey not inside the dosey like in typical masala doseys. Davangere dosey is also available as set dosey or khali dosey. 

Pudi is a spicy powder made with some lentils and spices. Many restaurants offer it as a variant or add-on for different doseys. 

Rava Dosey is not made with rice and urad dal ( split black gram) but with rava ( semolina). The onion rava dosey, rava masala dosey and plain rava dosey are popular options. Served with chutney and sambhar just like other doseys 

Neer Dosey - This is an import from coastal Karnataka. Made mostly of rice flour, this is a soft and fluffy dosey. Usually served with a Chutney ( savory) and either a sweet chutney ( made with coconut and Jaggery) or coconut milk ( sweetened) 

Ragi Dosey - This is a common dosey in Karnataka homes as it is quick to make with finger millet flour and yogurt and no waiting for fermentation and grinding issues. Except for the taste and dark grey colour it is like a regular dasey. Popular for its health benefits.

There is a range of fusion Doseys that are quite popular, however, for me the traditional doseys taste better. Some of the more popular fusion doseys in bengaluru include 

Cheese Dosey - quite popular 

Paneer Dosey 

Spring Dosey - I had this at a Kamat in Hyderabad - filled veg noodles in a crisp dosey - It was actually nice

Important : To enjoy a dosey in bengaluru don't worry too much about calories from the Benne ( butter) or Thuppa ( ghee). Recent studies indicate we must have more good fat and less complex carbs than we think as ideal. So welcome to the really competitive world of dosey in Bengaluru. 

One important warning: Never have Dosey in any of the five star hotels in Bengaluru - they are very far from the real thing and do no justice to the dish at all. 

Let me know in the comments below how your Dosey chomping experience in Bengaluru was and if I have missed any popular type of dosey you enjoy. Look forward to your posting pictures of doseys in Bengaluru in the comments box below.

Reconstructed not reconstituted foods - Investment in research to mimic natural products is that CSR or anti social?

 Reconstituted foods are common knowledge. Potato flakes used to make potato pancakes or egg powder used to make omelette is most common. Freeze drying food products only to reconstitute them by adding water is one of the great technological inventions to prolong the life of food substances. That is not the topic of this article. Reconstituted food is a common food industry/nutrition expression and so I had to call the subject of this article 'Reconstructed foods'.

In the recent years food  manufacturers have spent a great deal of money on research and technology to reconstruct food so as to make it look like it was made using a traditional natural process.

Milk

 If your child does not know about cows and buffalos and feels that milk is made in the factory, is that wrong? Long gone are the days when fresh milk was pasteurised and packed in bottles and sold. Today milk is made using milk powder and other ingredients with a variety of options in fat, SNF combinations. Many customers are aware of this and some new competitors are selling fresh milk at high prices while most dairies are producing milk in factories using milk powder ( shelf life of 18+ months) 

Potato Chips

When I mentioned that the big brands of perfectly shaped potato wafers are made from potato powder in factories and not by slicing potatoes, one of my good friends was quite surprised. The MNC's have spent so much money on developing the perfect shape to replicate the fried thin slice of potato using potato powder that it is really a great case in visual food design and engineering. While the many articles about how these chips were designed provide the rationale of strength etc, the real objective must have been also to keep it as close to the chip from a real potato so that customers don't know the difference and they don't know and by the time you are addicted and come to know of the difference, you don't care!  Potato chips design story

Corn Flakes 

Originally corn flakes were made with corn grits going under heavy rollers to make thin flakes. In India, I think Mohun Meakin still makes it this way. Most large brands make these flakes using flour ( except the classic variety which is consumed by the old)  and they could have provided them any shape, but they chose to shape them close to the original. The thickness and taste are quite different so customers can easily tell, except those who have never tried the thin flakes ! 

Pulpy Orange Juice

Using citric acid and other chemical ingredients to make orange juice is  common, however to add pulp made in a factory that resembles pulp from the actual fruit takes corporate innovation and R&D to another level. 

I find this type of food made in the factory that has the form of the traditional natural products is not good for society at large. To keep this short and since it is fairly obvious I have not gone in to the nutritional aspects or R&D spends to develop such foods. 

Did you know milk is made from powder? potato chips from potato powder? Corn flakes from corn flour + and the pulp in orange juice in a factory? Do you you know any other products that customers assume to be something and they are not? Do let me know. The passing off as natural products is the new investment in R&D 

Indian Knowledge systems in Commerce and management higher education curriculum

My sincere gratitude to Karnataka Rajya Mahavidyalaya Shikshak Sangha for giving me the opportunity to deliver an invited talk at the recent conference. With such a long history of commerce     ( some 4000 years) and of corporate and other organizations, apart from contemporary management practices unique to India, bringing Indian knowledge into higher education calls for research, consolidating and curating available content. 

IKS in Commerce and management , NEP 2020

From Teacher to Guru - The transformation expected in NEP2020

NEP 2020 - The new role of teachers as gurus

National Education Policy 2020 - Role of teachers in bringing IKS into the classroom 

Donate for classroom libraries at Gauribidanur and Manchenahalli Rural Karnataka

 https://donateabook.org.in/product/child-education-classroom-libraries-karnataka/

Integrating/Assimilating/Harmonizing....the correct expression is based on your paradigm! Indian Knowledge in Commerce and Management courses at high school level - My talk at Punjab University on 10th of July 2022

The two faces of the gig economy....killing!

 

The pandemic threw open another interesting dimension of the gig world of work. The greatest motivation for people to do a gig is the flexibility.....and the flip side of this flexibility came as quite a surprise during the pandemic, even as it should have been quite obvious.

The world of gigs is different from the world of employment and that of business ( business as in trading, manufacturing, and most types services except gigs). It is the flexibility at so many levels and on many dimensions such as timing, components/ composition/  job-mix of the gig, type of relationship, differential pricing etc that makes gigs attractive to many professionals. The pandemic brought the flexibility in association and disassociation to the fore. The convenience of easy separation and no such thing as terminal 

benefits was used by all those who give work. The world has a great respect for startup entrepreneurs, managers and officials, businessmen of all types, but the gigapreneur is both a pariah and saviour at the same time. During the pandemic the pariah didn't deserve even the crumbs as he had chosen the insecure path. Now at the end of the pandemic, while many professionals after enjoying the WFH experience want work in the gig economy, it is a decision one must make with caution. One pandemic can dry up savings made over 30 yrs of doing gigs as living off savings and a few big sudden expenses can throw any giger off balance.

 Explaining what you do to all those who wish you well and want to see you secure, and those who want to understand what you do or those who want to understand 

why someone would choose to do such unstable work if they were even reasonably competent is another difficult aspect which even those who are economically well off have to endure....and it is difficult not to care!

To gig or not to gig that is the question. The answer is entirely a personal choice with strong social repercussions. 

As for me, I just say that I have retired!

Wholesome Businesses - Going beyond triple bottom line and Stakeholder theory !

 Bholaram & Sons is a small one dish eatery in the by lanes of Ujjain, India that has survived continuously from 1924. There are many reviews of the restaurant( if we can call it one!). The list of fortune 500 companies is well known to undergo changes all the time. One study indicated that 90% of the firms that made it to the list in 1955 do not exist today.  "In 2020, the average lifespan of a company on Standard and Poor's 500 Index was just over 21 years, compared with 32 years in 1965. There is a clear long-term trend of declining corporate longevity with regards to companies on the S&P 500 Index, with this expected to fall even further throughout the 2020s"D.Clark. This is after professional strategic management, business continuity planning, product and process innovation and so many more strategies, not to mention doing the right thing of considering all the stake holders. 

Bholaram & Sons has been serving only Poori (fried wheat bread) and Sabji ( vegetable curry) from 1924. Everyone in town knows the address. There are so many reviews on YouTube, TripAdvisor and other spaces on the web. Is there a secret for business longevity? Why do monoliths die or fade away? Many explain the phenomenon with Schumpeter's  'creative destruction' as the raison d'être. The number of variations or innovations in Poori and Sabji over the last century are just too many to count. It is interesting that despite of all the innovations around the same product, this eatery thrives. 

Most companies understand sustainability as the sustainability of the firm/business, whereas sustainability of mankind goes far beyond keeping stake holders happy. Customer satisfaction or delight is limited by the knowledge and previous experience of the consumer and is a function of the expectations. Similarly employee engagement and retention, shareholder value,  superlative supplier relationships are all limited concepts because they are measured on the basis of some comparison with other businesses. 

The new normal post covid19 world calls for 'wholesome business' and hopefully educated customers who choose to do business only with wholesome firms. The role of business in society, the relationships between business and society, business and politics/governance, business and customers is not ideal today from any standpoint. Business, which is blinkered on profits, is exerting undue influence on every aspect of our lives. Undue influence is a understatement, however, I could not find a stronger expression. This is making mankind and earth unsustainable in the long run. 

Wholesome business is that which goes beyond triple bottom line and stakeholders into the domain of wholesomeness. Wholesome is not only about health and wellness, it is also about wellbeing of mind and spirit, respect for the law, ethical thought and behavior, and sustainability of mankind and the universe.  

Customer satisfaction is not enough, businesses need to provide products and services that are not harmful to the health and wellness of the individual and the world. Customers prefer whitest of paper, does that permit using chlorine that will inundate farms beyond the paper factory? How fair is it to provide 500% of recommended daily intake of sugar in a 200ml drink? 

Similarly, just take home salary is not a good measure of a wholesome employer. It should cover aspects like work-life balance, terminal and retirement benefits, wholesome working conditions. 

Even shareholders are not sharks, dividend and market capitalization ( really speculative notional value most times) need to be expanded to include other wholesome indices of the wholesome use of investment. 

Just my thoughts on the necessary post covid changes needed in business. I am a romantic, which is essential to be a disruptive innovator :) and be rarely understood! 

  The change in mind-set this calls for is great, however, every start up gives me hope. The number of social enterprises is increasing everyday and that is a good sign. When will we have a global corporation that is a social enterprise?

Anyone interested in expanding this idea into a journal article or think such a potential exists please do write in.

As always, your comments are what I eagerly look forward to. 

My review of 1924 restaurant Bhola Guru and Sons, Ujjain

 https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g679024-d15097412-r823709772-Bhola_Guru_Sons-Ujjain_Ujjain_District_Madhya_Pradesh.html?m=19905

My review in TripAdvisor