National Institute of Construction Management And Research

PERCEPTion perception and reality

are two different
things. Our Perception
is the REALITY

NICMAR’s Newsletter | February 2019

Edition 3

*
Dear Students,

It is a matter of pride to present the latest edition of

NICMAR’s student-driven newsletter, Edition 3 of
‘Perception’. Evolving from one to the other, all three at a GLANCE
editions have presented rich content and creative ideas
that have got better and brighter with every new edition.

#rewire
Constructing upon the finely crafted sections, this one

04
grows to present creative concepts, thought-provoking
articles and is a step forward to connect better with its
readership while establishing a lasting mark on the CRIP
sector.

#reflect
16
With active involvement from faculty members and
students, Edition 3 has some finely written informative
and instrumental pieces of work. As with earlier ones, this
edition beautifully weaves around the nostalgic accounts
of student life at NICMAR and the enriched experiences
gained in it. With innovative sections built around an
#record
18
experimental theme, each offers something new to read
and makes an effort to uniquely capture the readers
interest. From industry trends to light hearted anecdotes
and monologues, a melange of expressions is created.

#rewind
20
I appreciate and thank the editorial team for minutely
crafted details, apt statistics and the elegant design
work which has altogether made this edition, a
wonderfully pleasant read. Hope this edition is liked by

#realize
all and expecting many such initiatives in the future. The

24
initiative for me is the creativity unleashed at its best! Let
one ‘Perception’ lead to multiple positive and beautiful
‘Perceptions’!!

#review
31
Dr. Kirti Rajhans
Head, Student Activities
NICMAR Pune

#refresh
the Team
Dr. Kirti Rajhans
34
Head, Student Activities
Rohan Mundra
Editor-in-chief and Creative Editor

for suggestions or contributions

to the next edition, contact us at
nicmar.newsletter@gmail.com
 evolution
Perception Perception Perception

CRIP sector CRIP sector CRIP sector

Issue 1 | September 2017 Issue 2 | March 2018 Issue 3 | February 2019

With the first issue Bridging the gap between With an emphasis on
showcasing few of the industry and the industry trends, and inclusion
the student activities at knowledge base this of interesting sector news,
NICMAR Pune, evolution publication can offer, this change remains the only
was eminent. oppurtunity extended. constant.

from the
Editor’s Desk

Taking a hiatus of almost a year, we went back to our drawing boards to

understand how Perception could develop. With the content growing further in
the second edition, we felt it was time for this edition to analyze the delivery
of the said content (design) and the connect it could potentially build with its
readership. From minor tweaks to the page layout to formulating sector specific
relevant articles, the team has tried to understand what works best and what
shall keep the audience at large informed.

With these transformations, we have evolved dramatically from where the first
edition stood and where this edition has reached. Today, with several broad
sections, it gives me tremendous delight in presenting to you a slightly better
Edition 3.

Building on the introduction of sections titled with the prefix ‘re-’, this edition
establishes two distinct sections in the form of ‘#Record’ - a conversation with
industry professionals and ‘#Reflect’, a space for one to express their opinions
on several facets of the CRIP sector.

It has been a wonderful time creating this piece of work, which I would definitely
look back to for years to come. I am grateful to all the faculty members, students
and staff members who contributed to this newsletter. Hoping that this edition
is liked by the readers, and Perception keeps evolving, with several more
interesting and enthusiastic pieces of fine literature, helping connect with the
readership while serving the NICMAR academia for generations. Happy reading!

Rohan Mundra
Editor-in-chief and Creative Editor
in this
ISSUE

16

07

26
04-06 Corporate Leadership in the 21st Century
07-09 Advent of Robotics

34
10-11 Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process
12-13 The Future of Construction Management Softwares

16 The Workplace Renaissance

18 In Conversation with

& a lot
20-21 The Knight in Shining Armour
22 Summer Times
23 The Picturesque Journey

more
24-25 The Knowledge Economy
26-27 The Antisocial Media so far
28 The Wrong Right

34 For the People, By the People

35 The Millennial Vexation
 04-13
#REWIRE
the latest trends,
in a different way

04-06 Corporate Leadership in the 21st Century

07-09 Advent of Robotics
10-11 Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process
12-13 The Future of Construction Management
Softwares

T
hough it sounds quite obvious,
the term leadership is multi-
layered and the concept of
leadership is multi-dimensional.
Everyone has their own definition or
idea of leadership. Generally, a good
leader is expected to have exceptional
persuasive and assertive communication
skills, a high self-esteem and confidence,
effective interpersonal skills, sound
decision making skills, negotiation and
motivational skills, analytical skills and
all the other essential managerial skills.
However, scholars have come up with
their own theories of leadership in their
CORPORATE attempt to describe the most effective
approach to leadership. The theories like
LEADERSHIP the great man theory, trait theory, style
theory, situational theory, transactional
in the theory, transformational theory, leader-
21 Century
st member exchange theory and servant
leadership theory endeavor to describe
and prescribe the most effective leadership
behaviour(s). Despite making a significant
Dr. Amit C. Hiray contribution to the leadership research,
Assistant Professor all these studies, in my view only add up
NICMAR Pune to the layman’s confusion regarding the
very concept of leadership, and therefore their leader’s personality. If the leader is
still many fail to understand what
leadership actually constitutes or which
approach to leadership is most effective
in dynamic situations. Can we have a
holistic leadership framework which can
help the leaders to efficiently deal with the essential attributes which one expects
the new-age challenges? What needs
to be done by the corporate leaders for
climbing the leadership ladder from John
Maxwell’s position level to the ultimate
pinnacle level?
Leadership is one of the major areas of strengths and a systematic plan of action
research in management education today. to overcome the weaknesses. With effective
Leadership training is a billion dollar
industry worldwide. There is a strong need
felt among the corporate professionals for
effective leadership as it is considered as
a vital key to success in today’s corporate
world of uncertainties. People are curious
to know that one best approach which can
make them an excellent leader overnight
and resolve all their problems. With the
growing complexities of the business
activities and interpersonal relationships,
rapid change in each area of functioning;
be it operation methods or technology,
cross-cultural nature of the working
groups, ever-widening scope of business,
stiff competition, sustainability issues,
changing market dynamics and the need for
calculated and fruitful decisions at various
levels, leadership has become a challenging
role today. This article briefly tries to
explore the major leadership challenges
in the 21st century and deliberates on the
appropriate styles to be adopted by the
leaders.
Leadership begins with self-leadership.
By and large, a team is a reflection of
assertive, the team is assertive; if the leader
is indifferent, the team too is indifferent.
Dee Hock, Founder of VISA asserts that
one should spend 40% of one’s time on
self-leadership. It refers to working on
of their team members. It requires an
objective self-assessment of our own
strengths and weaknesses, self-reflection
to realize what we have done and what we
can do, self-regulation of emotions, stress
and time, an honest attempt to utilize the

04 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3


“Leadership is to have
inspired and energized
followers; the people
who not only believe
in your vision but also
wholeheartedly contribute
to achieving it.”
Prof. Lloyd Baird
self-leadership, the leader is in an ideal
position to lead others.
According to Warren Bennis, a pioneer
of the contemporary leadership studies,
leadership is to have inspired and energized
followers; the people who not only believe
in your vision but also wholeheartedly
contribute to achieving it. Therefore, the
most vital aspect of leadership is what
vision the leader has for their organisation;
how they can lead their team towards that
vision; and most importantly how they
motivate their team to achieve the vision.
Usually, people are motivated when they
are convinced of the tangible and intangible
benefits of achieving the vision. The
vision is pursued collectively by the whole
organisation as a cohesive unit, if they
believe in it completely. This is the leader’s
responsibility to ensure that the vision is
05 | NICMAR, Pune
clearly communicated, a path of action
to achieve it is vividly laid out and the
team members are convinced of the
favourable outcome to them and thereby
their organisation. Achieving the vision
requires a concrete time-bound plan and
its systematic execution under the leader’s
guidance.
Prof. Lloyd Baird from Boston
University asserts that leadership is about
influencing people positively so as to
motivate them to achieve the collective
vision of the organisation. Influencing
requires the leader to be empathetic. There
are two types of empathy, viz. cognitive
empathy and emotional empathy. Positive
influence is not possible unless there is a
rapport between the leader and their team.
Cognitive empathy refers to understanding
the thinking style, views, opinions, ideas,
abilities and knowledge level of the team
members. It implies respecting the views
of others even when you differ in opinion.
abilities and knowledge level of the team
members. It implies respecting the views
of others even when you differ in opinion.
Respecting does not mean accepting
or getting influenced by their views, it
just means you respect their perspective
without taking it personally. Unfortunately
today, difference of opinion is taken
otherwise and different views many times
are made to stand opposite each other
unnecessarily. The leader with cognitive
empathy gives ample opportunity to their
team members to voice their opinions and
respects the same. This helps in creating
a congenial work environment with
motivated employees. On the other hand,
emotional empathy refers to being aware of
the mindset, attitude and emotional states
of the team members. People have
different temperaments and a leader with
emotional empathy knows exactly how to
communicate with people considering their
emotional states. Leadership expert Daniel
Goleman says, “Emotional Intelligence is
twice as important as technical skills or
Intelligence Quotient needed for the 21st
century leader.” His research has proved
that the most successful leaders today
have a very high Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence includes the leader’s
awareness of their own emotional state,
ability to manage own emotions and stress,
self-motivation, ability to understand the
emotions and feelings of others and having
the social skill to manage others’ emotions
and stress. It does not mean the leader
should get carried away by the emotions
of their team members but implies that
they make a good use of the knowledge of
the team members’ emotional states for
effective interpersonal communication.
The cross-cultural nature of the human
resource today also leads to various
interpersonal conflicts among the team
members. Frank James rightly says “Every
organisation is political, you cannot escape
politics”. This is because people have
different personalities, attitudes, work
styles, ways of thinking, approaches to
work, egos and abilities, all of which are
responsible for interpersonal conflicts in
organisations. Every organisation has a
combination of people that are performers
and non-performers. According to Prof.
Mark de Rond from the University of
Cambridge, author of the book ‘There is
an I in Team’, “Teams composed of high-
performing individuals are naturally
subject to contradictory tension, such
perception | Edition 3
as cooperation and rivalry”. The non-
performers naturally find it difficult to digest
the success of others who perform well. This
leads them to indulge in negative criticism
of the performers, spreading rumours
about them, tarnishing their image,
gossiping about them, and creating hurdles
in their way etc. So, though it appears that
an organisation is functioning as a team,
it actually works in fragmented groups
that carry prejudice for one another. This
asks for the leader to be aware of internal
conflicts and they should try to positively
resolve such conflicts for creating a sense
of unity among the team members. There
should be clear communication between
the leader and their team regarding roles
and responsibilities, authority lines, ground
rules, code of discipline, and organisational
policies etc. The non-performers should be
identified and given an equal opportunity to
prove themselves by giving them important
responsibilities in collaboration with the
performing ones. Their training needs
should be recognised and attempts should
be accordingly made to improve their skills
and abilities through in-house or outdoor
training programmes so that they too
would start significantly contributing to the
growth of the organisation. Leaders need
to be completely unbiased while resolving
internal conflicts. Team building is an
essential skill that the 21st century leaders
need.
Coping with change is also a major
21st century challenge before the leaders.
According to Prof. John Kotter from the
Harvard Business School, “leadership is all
about coping with change”. Are the leaders
ready to abandon the past? Can they easily
give up the old ways of functioning and
06 | NICMAR, Pune
embrace the new-age approaches? This
century is a century of rapid change in
every sphere of life. The 21st century leader
should be able to anticipate change. They
should be proactive enough to make the
necessary decisions by which the change
could be coped with. We have the recent
examples of Nokia, Blackberry, Kodak and
many such companies that could not read
the change and hence paid a huge price
for the same. The visionary leadership also
refers to being able to envision the change
and having the ability to adapt to the
change. It also involves helping the team
members cope with the change smoothly.
The leader needs to be flexible in changing
the style of work, methods and techniques,
even their own attitude and thinking style
in order to adapt to the change and not
only sustain in the market competition but
also lead the organisation on the path of
perpetual growth and glory. What matters
is the leader’s openness and awareness.
Who are the people around you?; how are
you exploring new information?; is your
network of people diverse?, are some crucial
questions to be answered by the new-age
leaders. They need to constantlyupdate
themselves with the current advancements
in their domain of work as well as in other
related domains. Although there have
been numerous theories of leadership
propounded by many scholars, the 21st
century leadership requires a dynamic
and integrative approach. Not one
particular style but the leader has to use
different styles on different occasions
based on their circumstances. This is the
real mantra for success in today’s rapidly
changing and dynamic corporate world.
More than charismatic and pragmatic
leadership, we need transformational
“Leadership is to have
inspired and energized
followers; the people
who not only believe
in your vision but also
wholeheartedly contribute
to achieving it.”
Prof. Lloyd Baird
leadership which is task as well as people
oriented. Transformational leaders
attempt to transform every domain of
organisational functioning be it activities or
people. They are open for change and know
how to keep pace with the changing times
and trends.
The compelling leadership question
today can be positively answered if the
leaders try to understand the new-age
challenges and accordingly deal with them
with flexibility and openness. To conclude,
leadership is a continuous process of
learning and growth and therefore needs to
be dynamic. There are many complex issues
that the organisations today are facing.
Multi-faceted issues can be solved only
through multi-dimensional leadership. The
21st century leaders need to envision and
identify challenges, prepare a concrete plan
and creative strategy for each challenge,
execute along with their team and be in
the constant process of self-evaluation,
learning and thereby growth.
perception | Edition 3
#inNUMBERS
T
he days are not so far when
Skynet, the fictional artificial
intelligence which reigned over
the entire world as in the sci-
fi thriller Terminator becomes a reality,
looking at the recently unveiled Google
Duplex Technology (at Google’s annual I/O
Conference). It might be as devastating as a
fictional 20th Century cult hit, and we may
surrender the entire world, but most of our
ADVENT of jobs is it stake. The regular conversation
ROBOTICS
rounding the corridors of technology is
how quickly we shall become expendable
and thus result in being replaced by
robots. But, the debate has slightly echoed
these same corridors more often than
Sanjay G
ACM31 required, for we, the same humans have
NICMAR Pune acknowledged the fact that robots shall be
the probabilistic future. Popular billionaire
and philanthropist Bill Gates believes that
governments should tax companies’ use
of robotic technologies, as a way to at least
temporarily slow the spread of automation
and to fund other types of employment.
Here, robots do not generally mean mere
androids and humanoids, but automation.
So, let us go back to where it all started. It
was a crane-like design that used Meccano
parts and was powered by a single electric
motor. It had five axes of movement,
including a grab and grab rotation. The
robot was automated using paper tape
with punches in it to energize solenoids.
This would create movement in the control
levers. This first robot could stack wooden
blocks in patterns programmed by the
paper tape. George Devol placed the first
industrial robot patent in 1954 and this
robot was able to transfer objects from one
point to another with a maximum range
of 12 feet thus founding ‘Unimation’, in
a company to build this very robot and
coined the term “Universal Automation.”
Unimation manufactured UNIMATE
in 1962, which was the first robot to be
07 | NICMAR, Pune
295
Japan has 295 robots per
10000 manufacturing worker,
the highest in the world
implemented by a major manufacturer.
General Motors began using it in their
New Jersey plant that same year. In 1969,
Victor Scheinman invented the Stanford
arm at Stanford University, which was an
all-electric 6-axis articulated robot.
This new technological advancement
opened the possibility for manufacturers
to use robots in assembly and welding
tasks. Scheinman later sold his designs to
Unimation, which then developed them
alongside General Motors leading to
exponential growth of industrial robots.
This was the point when Unimation realised
that robots were the ultimate future.
But, will automation increase
productivity? Prodigy of our time, Elon
Musk recently said, “Yes, excessive
automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be
precise, my mistake. Humans are under-
rated.” Musk shared his experience of what
happened in his Tesla factory and that
he had directed Tesla to adopt advanced
automation as the assembly line for
Tesla’s new sedan, the Model 3 electric
car. But while writing this piece, Tesla has
been constantly failing to meet stipulated
deadlines, leaving customers waiting
and stakeholders worried. He has also
stated that instead of speeding up Model
3 production, the robots slowed it down
for the complex network of conveyor belts
regularly stopped working thus leading
the team had to get rid of the entire setup.
General Motors (GM) encountered a similar
incident in their automation efforts during
the early 1980’s. At the time, GM was being
led by chairman and CEO Roger Smith
and faced rising competition from fellow
competitor Toyota amongst several other
foreign carmakers. Smith had a vision for a
‘Lights Out’ car factory where robots would
do bulk of the work, allowing GM to produce
cars more efficiently than any market
perception | Edition 3
competition. Over the course, GM spent
billions of dollars on advanced robotics,
but leading to no sight of any return on that
investment. Robots were supposed to allow
production of more cars with fewer workers,
but one ironic consequence of over-
automation was that it did require more
workers. In comparison, GM’s Hamtramck
plant had 5000+ human workers on its
payroll in the during this period whereas a
nearby Ford plant had 3700 workers with
fewer robots in the play. All of this while the
Ford plant was outproducing Hamtramck
by a wide margin.
Moving to the sector that matters
most to the present readership, the
Construction sector is yet not heavily
influenced by automation, though a shift
in the recent past has said otherwise. The
mining and construction industries are
amongst the top industries in countries
like Australia, China, India, Malaysia, and
Vietnam and with a growing urbanization
coupled with wide availability of natural
resources in these regions, the mining
and construction companies have started
using automated equipment, operating
software and communication systems
to connect and operate on site. The
problems associated with construction
work such as the decreasing quality of
08 | NICMAR, Pune
work, labour shortages, safety of labour
and working conditions of project can be
improved by new innovative technologies
such as automation which has the
potential to improve the quality, safety and
productivity of the construction industry.
The construction sector involves
working in tough conditions requiring such
automations for increased safety of workers
and thus can be used in places which the
humans cannot conquer. The primary idea,
in this case, is that construction workers
should mainly focus on tasks where their
presence is necessary, while robots can take
over the charge in cases where extraordinary
strength and speed is essential. There is a
strong need for combining the presence
and usage of robots to humans in a way that
they supplement each other. One of the
most important advantages of using robots
within construction is the minimization of
mistakes for they can guarantee accuracy
by locking human errors completely out of
the construction process. This applies both
to the job on site and on the scheduling
and planning of the entire process because
fewer mistakes shall result in fewer delays
and repair activities thus leading on to a
positive impact on the entire budget of the
project. While adequate safety measures
are followed on most construction projects,
we see accidents happening time and
again. Thus, considering workplace safety,
some of the most dangerous tasks on site
operation can be conducted automatically
and with higher accuracy. If one analyses
the factors affecting labour productivity in a
construction site fatigue, one would realize
that monotony will be one of the major
reasons, which can change dramatically if
the robotic machinery gets incorporated
into the construction process.
Acquiring the right machinery is one
thing while having someone that knows how
to handle it, though, is something different.
A noticeable amount of time and money
is always required for companies to train
their employees on using new-age cutting-
edge technology, but it is an element that
should become a long-term investment,
given the impact that robots can have on
the management of a construction project.
Semi-automated Mason, or SAM as it is
fondly titled by its makers, the New York-
based Construction Robotics, can lay 3,000
bricks a day, while a human’s average is
500. The robot is made up of a conveyor
belt, a robotic arm and a concrete pump
while a human is needed to load up SAM
with bricks. The machine’s nozzle covers
a brick in concrete before the robotic arm
Acquiring the right
machinery is one thing
while having someone
that knows how to handle
it, though, is something
different.
perception | Edition 3
 Savings 29% Labour Cost Reduction
12% 05%
14%
Equipment Cost Increase
Contractor’s Profit Increase
12% Increase in Savings when
using SAM

Cost Estimations according to a report The biggest challenge lies

savings released by Construction Robotics.
in the effort to combine
when using the co-habitation presence
SAM of humans and robots in
a way that shall provide a
perfect balance between
both, resulting in a
productive collaboration.

puts it in place wile a second human hand is Construction is the advent and usage of 3D watching watched the cult motion picture,
needed to smooth over the applied concrete printers, for they have made painted the ‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’ where
before the robot places more bricks. SAM news world red with their ability in printing Charlie, the little boy gets to visit Willi
has already been deployed at several everything from food to artificial organs. Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Here, Charlie’s
construction sites across the USA, a live Recently, this technology is moving onto father works at the local toothpaste factory
example of the true advent of such robotic something big, this technology is getting attaching caps where he works for gruelling
technologies. equipped to print buildings. A team of hours with terrible pay. He was replaced
researchers from MIT Mediated Matter by an automated machine leaving him
If SAM has eased brick laying by Group designed a robotic platform that jobless. In the end, Charlie’s father ended
a frog, then research on autonomous can 3D print architecture. The automated up in the same factory supplying food,
advancements is abundant, more recently platform, called Digital Construction gaining a better job as the man fixing the
in the space of driverless cars. In this rat Platform (DCP), recently printed an entire machine that replaced him and resulting in
race, almost every car manufacturer’s 167 square meter building in just 13.5 an exponential increase in his pay.
dream is to develop an autonomy level hours. The DCP is a mobile platform that
5 car which is not just safe, but the only can print as it moves along, enabling it to It is obvious that the future of robotics in
option that users should resort to in the create structures of any width and length construction looks very bright. The biggest
future. The linkage of this technology to the with vertical reach being the only limitation. challenge lies in the effort to combine the
Construction space is far more prevalent Unlike traditional building methods that co-habitation presence of humans and
than one might perceive, for autonomous are restricted by materials such as steel robots in a way that shall provide a perfect
trucks are rendering immense contribution beams or wood planks, the DCP can create balance between both, resulting in a
in easing work. Proving to be a serious game- buildings in any shape or form. productive collaboration. Robots are likely
changer in the upcoming years, their use to take over mundane tasks, while the tasks
allows for higher productivity on site and With such new technologies coming that require creativity, problem-solving,
lower operating costs while also resulting in entering the market, should we humans decision-making or people skills should
increased safety for people working on site. fear losing our jobs? I would like to give an always remain the domain of humans,
example of how one should investigate this for who are we if not beings. Handmade
Another hot subject in the field of situation. Most would have experienced articles are always precious.

SAM
Semi- Robotic Arm
Automated
Mason

knowing the workings, 3

brick by brick

A bricklayer laods SAM with a steady

1 feed of brick and mortar.

The robotic arm takes the brick and 2

2 spreads mortar along its surface. The
arm then lays the brick before repeating
the process and moving forward.
1
Another bricklayer follows cleaning up
3 excess mortar from the joints. Mortar
Brick Feed Nozzle

09 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
IN THE
HIRING PROCESS
– the story unfolding

Dr. Soumi Rai

Associate Professor
NICMAR Pune

I
t is said First Impressions matter
when you give an interview. An adage
that has been carried on through the
years becoming an essential part of the
personality grooming process and interview
tips given to a prospective candidate.

But what if it no longer matters when

there is no Interviewer. Sorry I don’t mean
you would be talking into empty space or
meeting up a ghost but what I mean by
‘No Interviewer” is absence of a human
interviewer who would actually notice and
be impacted by ‘First Impression’.

So what are we talking about then, how

can an Interview happen without human
interface? Not so long ago this did not
seem a possibility, seemed more like an
imaginative scenario from a Sci-fi flick.
But for those who think that this is still a
long way off, it’s time to open your eyes and
welcome the evolving presence of Artificial
Intelligence or AI into our daily lives.

As Jean-Paul Aegon the CEO of L’Oreal

insists, ‘Digital is not the cherry on the cake,
revealing statistics on how it is the cake’.

recruiters feel about AI Machine learning or augmented

machine and digital learning industry is
96% believe Artificial Intelligence can
greatly enhance Talent Acquisition
predicted to reach $47 billion by 2020 in an
article by HR Dive. This is a diligent worker

14 HRS is the average amount of time per week

lost to manually completing tasks
that has no emotional issues. It can work
non-stop and give you accurate predictions
based on churning huge amounts of past
COST OF NOT AUTOMATING data, success ratios and predicted behavior
patterns. It can run thousands of algorithms

41% lower
productivity 17% poor candidate
experience 35% higher
costs
without any issues of reduced performance
or monotony; that is without breaking a
sweat in literal parlance.
IS AI A THREAT ? Summarizing her experience with

60% say AI does

not make them
nervous
33% expect to do more
human tasks
augmented by AI
7% think a
robot could
do their job
Hirevue, an on demand video interview
platform for job seekers, one of the
prospective candidate notes that she was
just not prepared to give an interview

10 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 according to client requirements thus which could read casino players energy
rooting out human bias and improving levels and heartbeat levels to predict a win
the diversity talent pool. The team works or loss. The movie made years ago seemed
with professional industrial psychologists to have an idea what A.I. today would
to enable creation of interview questions represent. On the real side there is actually
framed as per industry standards. The a video interview bot named ‘Gecko’
company has been successful in using this (https://gecko.ai/).
technology to service major clients like
Unilever, who have seen an improvement AI is gradually taking over major areas
of 16% in the diversity of their talent pool of the hiring process. From simple tasks
by using Hirevue. like short listing candidates, lining them up
“Digital is not the cherry for interviews, tweaking job descriptions
on the cake, it is the cake” Another A.I. recruiting tool, named Mya to remove any bias to complex tasks like
Jean-Paul Aegon, CEO, L’Oreal does seamless candidate interaction based analyzing candidate personality, their
on a preprogrammed assessment model. behavior patterns and interest levels for
From asking basic questions to assessment informed augmented decision making. It is
that seemed like talking into the void. All criteria oriented questions, the experience allowing companies to engage better with
the nuances of an Interview process and is so seamless that 73% interviewed passive candidates, cutting down hire-time,
preparation seemed irrelevant as there candidates didn’t even know that they had allowing for more real-time skill testing
was no human interaction, so things like interacted with a Bot and not a human and evaluation while at the same time
small talk, body language cues etc. did not being. leading to substantial savings in costs by
make any sense. Chat bots more prevalent improving quality of hire leading to higher
in managing customer interaction and Other such tools like Arya and Entelo, engagement and retention.
collating user experience are steadily integrate candidates’ social media data for
entering the HR space. background screening and to check their It is estimated that in the developed
suitability for open positions within a very nations, already 38% recruiters are using
Interestingly a domain that prided itself short time span. A.I. tools and 62% intend to do so by 2018.
in human interaction is shifting towards India is not far behind in this evolving arena.
AI as a reliable source of hiring given the So what would all this mean for a Bot and chatbots are steadily disrupting
efficiency and smartness. Using AI tools prospective candidate? It means you traditional HR systems. Companies like
companies are able to cut down hiring cannot really fake the Interview by Skillate and Belong are already servicing
timelines to days from weeks, with the sounding too excited about a job profile top MNCs’ in this domain, a clientele that
added benefit of finding the right matching or during salary discussions. The A.I. tools is growing rapidly due to the lure of saving
profiles of candidates from the heaps of use facial recognition technology and are time and cost in an otherwise expensive
resumes coming their way. programmed to record participant energy human bias laced hiring process.
levels, their reaction times and also their
A report by PwC outlines AI into three speech and audio patterns to eliminate fake So who knows maybe your next
platforms. Assisted Intelligence that exists applicants. And unlike mobile interviews, interview is with the beautiful Russian
today, helping humans improve upon time you can’t even get a friend to answer Bot – ‘Vera’ created by Stafroy, a startup
consuming repetitive tasks and providing your questions or look away into your from Russia who can interview hundreds
assisted intelligence through chat bots or mobile device to get the answer. These of applicants at the same time using both
assisted services that help humans choose intelligent hiring tools know how to detect video and phone interviews. That would be
better based on previous preferences. eye movement too. The movie Ocean’s 13 an interesting experience and impressive
Augmented Intelligence, the emerging depicted a similar machine called ‘Gecko’ too.
area combines the unique traits of man
and machine for joint decision making to
enable things which may not be envisioned.

FUTURE
However the future will belong to
Autonomous Intelligence where machines
take decisions on their own by reaching out
to the subconscious level of human beings
for information.

In a an interview with CNBC, Kevin

Parker the CEO of Hirevue outlines how
it eliminates human bias in an interview
process, something HR has been trying
to do for years to deal with issues like
Stereotyping or Ethnic Profiling. Hirevue
assess video interviews by giving each
video a score on more than 250,000 data
points, including audio, tonality and speech
patterns that can be further customized

11 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3


H
aving identified the
opportunities in the multi-
million dollar worth
construction industry, several
start-ups have developed technologies to
aid construction projects to run smoothly.
Investors are lining up to invest in
technology. Despite the variety of tools
available, Indian construction giants have
proceeded cautiously. According to a report
by PWC on Engineering and Construction
Trends, growing economies such as India,
the future of Korea and China have spent the last decade
building up cash positions and internal
CONSTRUCTION expertise and are now looking outwards
MANAGEMENT
and seeking to compete with global players.
These firms’ expansion efforts could require
SOFTWARES
more than just the financial means to build
up critical capabilities.
This is where technology plays an
important role to be at par with the big
Khyati Velkar
REUIM9 players. Construction management
NICMAR Pune software helps construction companies
manage all the details, including the
Material Take Off (MTO), estimating,
project management, cost control, and
assessing the construction risks. The
financial visibility feature of the software
helps in budgeting and cost control that
calculates the cost of the project.
According to a report by Global
Construction Project Management
Software, market size was 1030 million US$
and it is expected to reach 2000 million
US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of
9.9% during 2018-2025. Andrew Skudder,
CEO, Construction Computer Software
says “It is hard to follow the speed of the
development of technology. The material
and equipment, the design methods,
12 | NICMAR, Pune
“People know how to build
the way they know how
to build. And it is hard to
convince most of them to
do things any other way.”
James Benham, CEO, JBKnowledge
engineering solutions and the whole
system are changing through technological
development. Companies must adopt
themselves to these new technological
changes amazingly fast.”
So what’s next for the construction
sector? Cloud computing and Internet of
Things (IoT) are two key concepts that will
drive innovation and development within
the construction software industry in the
foreseeable future. This innovation will
lead to greater digitization of construction
processes.
The industry has been slow to adopt
advanced analytics. “People know how
to build the way they know how to
build,” says James Benham, the CEO of
JBKnowledge, a software and consulting
firm that conducts an annual global survey
on construction technology. “And it is hard
to convince most of them to do things
any other way.” Issues faced on site such
as labour shortage and a desire to boost
the industry’s low productivity rates are
compelling some firms to invest in data
science. Advocates of data science say that
the trend has the potential to eventually
transform the $13 trillion sector. Benham
estimates that about 20 construction firms
in the US have launched some kind of data
science initiative in recent years.
Suffolk is one of these pioneers. In 2017,
it appointed a McKinsey management
consultant named Jit Kee Chin as its
first chief data officer in the role that the
company describes as “leveraging big data
and advanced analytics to improve the
core business.” Suffolk is also writing an
algorithm that would analyse information
perception | Edition 3
from a variety of sources, including 10 years
of scheduling data from its archives, and
forecast project delays—information that
could be communicated to building owners
and subcontractors. Suffolk is also looking
at ways to utilize data from IoT sensors
to increase efficiency. One such idea is to
track the location of its concrete suppliers’
trucks so that workers are ready to pour the
concrete as soon as the trucks arrive.
A 2017 McKinsey report says
construction firms could boost productivity
by as much as 50 percent through real-time
analysis of data. “The industry desperately
needs this type of capability,” says Benham
of JBKnowledge. “It can help people make
better decisions and shave weeks to months
off their project schedules.” Brickschain, a
construction management company, will
be using technology by ULedger to bring
the level of transparency and efficiency of
blockchain to the world of construction.
The blockchain-based construction
management company seeks to cut down
on expenses, time and the oversights in the
current property and asset management
process.
Coupling blockchain with existing
construction management software, it is
hoped that the collaboration will slash costs,
risk and improve underlying asset values.
CEO of ULedger, John McIver highlighted
the determination by construction
companies to innovate “Construction is an
industry that can see a multitude of benefits
from blockchain technology, as it can
help solve many of the challenges around
sustainability during and after construction.
By integrating ULedger, Brickschain will be
able to help disintermediate the creation
Construction companies do not
and maintenance of buildings, while have to seek out the most cutting edge
empowering people in the industry to technology to benefit from productivity
easily and securely manage their facilities,
growth. Technological solutions that can
buildings, and projects.” restructure administration and ease the
burden of routine management tasks can
Bassem Hamdy, CEO of Brickschain, pay off in surprisingly ways.
stated the reliability of the construction
world to be bold in their developments
“Construction is a fearless industry. Whether Getting those
it is a skyscraper or a family home, we take
concepts and make them a physical reality.” #FACTS right
However, the truth of a project’s status–
from how much has been completed, to 100 Construction Companies
were subjected through a survey
what still needs to be done– has to this day
to learn how software affects
been elusive in the construction industry. their business.
In its 2017 Global Construction Survey Note: The below survey was conducted by Capterra and
Procore and all findings listed are credited to their study.
of project owners, KPMG sums up a
major contributing factor — old-fashioned
management tools that are no longer
adequate for the job: “For most owners and
contractors, project governance, risk and
controls remain static, manual and paper-
based activities that do not report events 48%
in real time. And over time, these controls
have become ever more complex and
lengthy, to the extent that they bombard
users with too much information and
52%
too many tasks, so that project managers
struggle to make sense of the data to make
meaningful decisions.”
Of the surveyed, 52% companies use
Conservative construction companies Construction Softwares.
are left with no choice but to adapt. In
order to remain competitive, they must
move away from traditional pen-and- of software users spend
paper management models in favour of
increasingly easy-to-use construction
94% more than 2 hours a day
managing projects on
their mobile devices.
management software and hardware.
According to a McKinsey Global Institute
report, “Reinventing Construction through
Respondents who
a Productivity Revolution,” just a 1.8%
increase in overall construction sector
used an andriod
mobile device.
62%
productivity through the adoption of new
technology could increase its market value
by $1.6 trillion.
37%
of managers
waste 2+ hours
documenting
projects without
software
21%
“Construction is a fearless
industry. Whether it is a
79%
skyscraper or a family
home, we take concepts
and make them a physical Of the surveyed, 79% expressed
that due to the usage of software,
reality.” their project completion time has
Bassem Hamdy, CEO, Brickchain decreased.
 The 6th Annual Academic Conclave was organized by National Institute of Construction
Management and Research, Pune on the theme, ‘Entrepreneurship and Management in
Construction: Opportunities and Challenges’ on 27th October 2018. This edition, just
like its predecessors, was a platform to facilitate the student fraternity to have a broader
outlook towards the industry by interacting with experts from various Construction, Real
Estate, Infrastructure and Project Engineering (CRIP) Industry.

The theme for this year’s Academic Conclave, focused on the topic of the day,
Mrs. Minimol Korulla ‘Entrepreneurship and Management in Construction: Opportunities and Challenges’
Vice President proved to enhance the conceptual knowledge of those who participated regarding
Maccaferri Environmental Solutions entrepreneurship and managerial skills needed/present in the construction industry
through real-life scenarios and how to tackle them. Also, the students got an insight on
Mrs. Anita Lukose
Innovation & Value Management Enabler the hurdles and challenges faced by the mavens from the industry. With several reputed
Atina Systems industry professionals donning the Conclave earlier, this year’s panel enhanced the legacy
by being comprised of Mrs. Minimol Korulla, Vice President, Maccaferri Environmental
Mr. Vinit Dungarwal Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Mrs. Anita Lukose, Innovation & Value Management Enabler, Atina
Director
AMs Project Consultants Systems, Former AGM – Sobha Ltd, Bangalore, Mr. Vinit Dungarwal, Director – AMs
Project Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Tiru Kulkarni, President Geo Synthetics Division,
Mr. Tiru Kulkarni Garware Wall Ropes Ltd., Mr. Yatin Jog, Director – Paradigm Building Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
President
Geo Synthetics Division
Garware Wall Ropes The day’s proceedings began with an inaugural address by Dr. M.G. Koregaonkar,
Director General, NICMAR. Dr. Koregaonkar spoke about the various challenges faced
Mr. Yatin Jog by today’s construction industry and how it impacts the economy of the country while
Director
Paradigm Building Solutions asking the students to make use of such opportunities in better equipping with what the
real-world challenges might become tomorrow.

The first speaker for the 6th Annual Academic Conclave was Mrs. Minimol Korulla, Vice
President, Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Mrs. Korulla spoke extensively
on the several challenges she has faced in her illustrious professional life and the various
opportunities she could turn them into. Using her experience and expertise in the field of
Disaster Management, she delivered anecdotes on how to tackle certain issues that one
might be plagued with when on field.

The second speaker for the day was Mr. Vinit Dungarwal, Director – AMS Project
Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and also a proud NICMARian himself. Mr. Dungarwal spoke about
the difficulties and opportunities that one faces being an entrepreneur and how he tried
to overcome some of them through his early years. He also shared his experiences of
being a NICMARian and how it helped in establishing his firm and becoming a better
entrepreneur.

14 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 The post-lunch session of the conclave started off with an address by Mrs. Anita
Lukose, Innovation & Value Management Enabler, Atina Systems, Former AGM – Sobha
Ltd, Bangalore. Having such a wide knowledge on real-world problems and having grown
through them, she spoke about the different hurdles a construction project manager can
face at different levels of project. Mrs. Lukose also touched upon the subject of Value
Engineering and shared her views while stating the importance it held in the ever-growing
CRIP sector.

The last address for this year’s Conclave was delivered by Mr. Tiru Kulkarni,
President Geo Synthetics Division, Garware Wall Ropes Ltd. Mr. Kulkarni spoke about
Entrepreneurship, Intraprenuership and his journey in construction industry. He also
shared his views on major challenges observed in team management and stakeholder
management which opened the participating crowd to think beyond the scope of the
theme for the Conclave.

After the individual speaker sessions, the eminent speakers and the students were
joined by Mr. Yatin Jog, Director, Paradigm Building Solutions Pvt. Ltd. who joined
them for the evening. The Speakers along with Mr. Jog engaged in an enthralling panel
discussion, in which both the participating students and faculty members tossed several
questions towards the expert panel of speakers. They used their experience and gave
real life instances while answering and thus educating the audience at large. As an end
to a perspicacious session, the Vote of Thanks for the evening was delivered by Dr. Kirti
Rajhans, Head, Student Activities who thanked the guest speakers for giving an insightful
session while sharing their knowledge and time with the entire NICMAR fraternity.

The 6th Annual Academic Conclave was an enriching experience for all those associated
with it, be it the students, the faculty members or even the Guest speakers who chaired
the event. The event was a powerhouse in which various new aspects regarding the CRIP
industry were shared amongst like-minded people. It was an amalgamation of knowledge,

#RECAPac curiosity and experience. The event shall always serve as a milestone to the future history
of NICMAR Pune.

#REFLECT
opinions, but of
the CRIP kind
T
he 21st-century co-working
revolution has ushered in a
new era of dynamic and flexible
work environments, gradually
shifting away from the more mundane
‘cubicle’ floor plan. With the growing
need to redefine work culture and the
evident start-up boom, the demand for
such spaces is ever increasing.
A brief look into the evolution of
workspaces will shed some light on how
these co- working spaces challenged the
conventions of what an office environment
was imagined to be. By the turn of the
20th century, the earliest modern offices
emphasized on efficiency which reflected
in the adoption of rigid and regimented
office layouts where workers sat at
endless rows of desks while managers
located in perimeter offices could keep a
watch. These open plan offices followed
the principles of a methodology called
“Taylorism” created by a mechanical
engineer, Frank Taylor, who sought to
maximize industrial efficiency. However,
this approach was criticized for lacking
consideration of human and social
elements as it exclusively focused on
16 | NICMAR, Pune
WORKPLACE
the
Renaissance
Tanya Sachan
REIUM10
NICMAR Pune
04-07
ensuring that employers gained maximum advocated a more socially democratic
productivity from their staff. layout eventually leading to a great degree
of human interaction and engagement as
With the advent of electric lighting, opposed to regimented Taylorism. This
air conditioning systems and improved concept gained popularity in Northern
communication systems, large Europe after which it began to spread
skyscrapers began cropping up in cities; around the world and formed the stepping
designed to accommodate numerous stone of modern office design.
companies. The birth of steel frame
construction & the lift brought to light The Burolandschaft gave way to the
a fresh perspective on workspaces & Action Office which included a variety
heralded the growth of office design of alternate work settings for staff,
as a discipline in itself. This stage in increased freedom of movement & a
evolution was visible in the Johnson Wax greater degree of privacy. Characterized
Company’s open plan office design by by rows of modular furniture, there was
Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939. Primarily an increased emphasis on meeting rooms
designed to increase productivity, this and individual workstations being more
office, a double-height space featuring a enclosed. However, this layout lacked a
forest of tree-like columns with skylights general sense of openness and led to less
letting in diffused light from above the interaction as staff became less visible to
canopies of the lily pad shaped concrete each other.
tops- provided a feeling of openness,
far from the restraining nature of the This layout evolved into the famous
erstwhile rigid office space. ‘Cubicle farm’ in the 1980s, which
can perhaps be seen as a step back
After the great depression and World to Taylorism, where offices basically
War II, the 1960’s gave birth to the comprised of open floor plans with cheap
German concept of “Burolandschaft” but effective modular cubicles stacked
translating to “office landscape”, which one after the other in neat rows, almost
perception | Edition 3

Workspaces have gone
beyond the desk and
chair, to instill leisure,
recreational and break out
spaces, bringing along
with it the concept of
the plug and play setting
which does not restrict
you to a fixed desk.
like pigeon holes for workers, turning the
office space into a dull environment more
than ever before.
However, with technology came
increased mobility- a game changer for
office design. With cubicles being done
away with, office design has become more
holistic and human-centric. Workspaces
have gone beyond the desk and chair, to
instill leisure, recreational and break out
The ripples of this co-working space
revolution can be felt far and wide across
the Commercial Real Estate Sector In India.
6 amazing
coworking
With approximately 13.5 million square
feet of commercial real estate dedicated to statistics
co-working spaces throughout Indian cities
which accounts for 40% of office real estate,
40%
of the workforce will
there are close to 200 co-working players,
be freelancers, temps,
independent contractors
Regus, Wework and CoWrks being some and solopreneurs by 2020
of the bigger ones, running an estimated
400 shared workspaces across the country
today, compared with just Regus and a few
local players in 2010 running less than 30
such centers.
According to a CBRE South Asia report,
India is leading the growth of flexible
office spaces across Asia-Pacific region
as the overall stock of co-working spaces
across seven key cities of the country has
increased to 15 million sq ft. More than 80% 70%
reported they felt healthier
of the leasing by flexible space operators than they did working in a
traditional office setting
was witnessed in the top three cities of
Delhi-NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai,
with the demand for co-working spaces
not just restricted to startups but also
established corporates looking to capitalize
on the flexibility these workspaces offer,
especially suited for organizations which
work on project basis requiring constantly 64%
of workers are better able
altering office space demand, since they to complete their work
are not locked by a long term lease, hence on time

spaces, bringing along with it the concept allowing them to grow or downsize easily.
of the plug and play setting which does not Companies are known to have saved
restrict you to a fixed desk. The boundaries anywhere between 20-30 percent of the
of a workplace have now expanded right costs by opting for a co-working space over
up to the threshold of a home. The focus a traditional office setup. They not only
has shifted largely on the comfort and save on operational costs but also save on
wellbeing of employees as companies are
beginning to realize how important the
time and money needed for acquiring and
fitting out a new office premise.
68%
said they were able
to focus better while
work environment is as a tool for retaining coworking
the very best talent in a competitive Although many major Indian companies
marketplace. still prefer the conventional work style
and office layout, ANAROCK Property
Today, the co-working space is consultants estimates that by 2020, the
proliferating with a rising number of players. demand for co-working spaces will surpass
In India, with its booming economy, the idea that of traditional office spaces- a trend that
of co-working spaces has resonated with reflects on the great shift in the perception
the enormous young and entrepreneurial of the workplace, as one that transcends the
workforce’s fresh perspective on confines of the archaic cubicle, to a more
what the office should be - a balance liberal way of working without losing out
between work, play and entertainment. on efficiency.
60%
are more relaxed
at home since
coworking

90%
said they felt
more confident
when coworking
 18-19
#RECORD
a tête-à-tête with
industry professionals
in conversation with
THOMMEN
OLLAPALLY
Executive Director
Nandi Housing Pvt Ltd
Kartik Mudlapur speaks to the Executive
Director of Nandi Housing Pvt Ltd, a
Bengaluru-based Real Estate firm on the
trends that govern the present market
1. What keeps you, as a company,
motivated to work continuously
and deliver the best?
Why do you do what you do? What
is the purpose of existence? I think it
comes back to questions like that. It’s
not money. I do not live to make money,
or to get rich. In many ways, it’s a fairly
spiritual organization. The Bhagavad
Gita talks about doing something purely
for the sake of that thing. That said,
we derive a lot of joy from what we
do. Creating Sacred Spaces has a lot
of meaning. We want to help people
maximize their full potential. You build
a home where someone feels safe and
secure, where they find maximum
room for self-expression, and create
a sense of belonging to a wonderful
community. The world is a scary place.
We constantly ask ourselves how we
can be an organization which provides
places where people live joyous lives, by
the virtue of which they can be a source
of positivity in the world. We need to
fight the good fight; be a source of good.
Especially in this business where you
buy a home, and if you get cheated,
you lose trust in humanity. It is a huge
responsibility on our part.
18 | NICMAR, Pune
2. You have been in this sector for
a good part of four decades. What
is the one fundamental change that
you have noticed over time?
One change that I have noticed
is that, in the past, a good product
sold itself. There was no need for any
advertisement. Now the market has
changed dramatically. People fall for
slick marketing packages. For us, it is
a big challenge to find our voice in the
market. But it is exciting. It helps us to
re-invent ourselves.
3. With Bangalore being touted
as the Silicon Valley of India, how
much has this city transformed
from what it was 30 years back?
Dramatically. Of course there are
problems like traffic, flooding etc. Many
people will focus on that. But there is
a lot of exciting things happening on
the side of tech and art. We are very
much involved in art with Shunya.
It’s a big part of us. From there, I get
a really exciting view of the kind of
artistic experiences in the city. There is a
massive transformation going on, which
has got its own upsides and downsides.
It’s a battle of good and evil.
Transformations can go either way and
we need to constantly ask ourselves how
the transformation is moving the society
in the right direction.
4. With the bubbling Start-up
scenario, this decade has also
brought in the inflow of the
millennial crowd to the corporate
space. How crucial is this with the
changing Real Estate market?
It’s huge. The inflow of 20 year olds
into the market is unprecedented. When
we look at our customers as well, most of
them are in their mid-20s or early 30s.
Especially in Bangalore. For most real
estate companies, the typical market is
young, IT professionals who are recently
married. 20 years ago, someone at 24
wouldn’t have dreamt of buying a home
at such young age.
5. With so many technologies being
developed in the recent times,
how competent do you think the
construction industry is to cope up
with them, and to adopt them as
well?
Technology is definitely important.
There is always some superficial stuff
perception | Edition 3

Technology
should create
more space
for human
interaction, not
suck you out of
reality.
which comes and goes, but there are also
some fundamental advancements which
are very crucial. AI is one such thing for
the future and we need to watch where it
goes. We, as a company, are still figuring
it out. One of our residents at Citadel
has developed an app for the society. It
is basically a QR code based software
for visitors’ management, entry-exit log,
maintenance, bulletin etc. We also feel
strongly about the nature. So, we are
integrating the app with a feature where
we put QR codes next to the plants in the
society. Scanning it will take you to back to
the story or an audio clip of that plant.
What I feel is technology should create
more space for human interaction, not
suck you out of reality. For some people
4 hours on Facebook is enhancement.
Not for me. Tech gives me 4 hours more
to play the guitar, read a book, and spend
some time in the nature. That kind of tech
I value.
6. We are seeing a lot of attention
being given to the real estate sector
with initiatives like ‘Affordable
housing’ and ‘Housing for all’. How
much of a change has it brought at
the ground level and how has Nandi
housing adopted to these reforms?
We are most suited for this sector.
We are in the sweet spot. But it is not
that simple. The economics are a huge
challenge. Government is making things
easier through different subsidies. It has
started to become viable. It is still early
days. As far as we are concerned, we will
wait a little longer before jumping into it. It
is definitely a huge need, and hopefully will
bring a lot of change.
7. As a developer, what is the
greatest challenge you face in the
construction sector?
I would say, lack of transparency and
bad documentation. You can get a suit
filed by somebody’s somebody. A person
from 50 years ago can come back and
haunt you. It’s a real challenge. But I am
optimistic and hopeful that some measures
will come up to improve transparency and
straighten things up. There are already
measures to improve regulatory process,
which is again a huge concern.
8. Comparing the Real Estate sector
to that of the developed countries,
where do you think we stand today?
We are, as I said, really behind in
terms of regulatory process. Corruption
I’d imagine is everywhere, but much more
here. Legal infrastructure is a big challenge
here. Cases move much faster in other
countries. In India, it doesn’t matter if
you have a good case or not. Once you are
in court, you are stuck. As a developer, if
your land is stuck in court, you can’t do
much. Also, construction technology needs
to improve. But I don’t think we are far
behind.
9. What do you think is the one
factor that sets Nandi Housing apart
from any other company in this
space?
At a basic level, real estate industry
has some fundamental flaws. Most firms
are just worried about fulfilling the basic
criteria, and then they are good. They
miss the holistic perspective that they
are building someone’s home; the place
where they spend majority of their lives.
Their lives are shaped, their children grow
up here. That ‘Lived experience’ angle is
not looked at. We, at Nandi, are careful.
We curate the community, we meet every
single buyer and see if they are proper
Nandi Retreat is an upcoming
Residential Development off
Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru.
for the community and we don’t sell
to investors. Providing the best living
experience is our main aim.
10. What quality do you think the
young professionals like us should
possess to have a successful career?
How do you define success? I think
you start there. I think the biggest choice
is between money and satisfaction.
Often, most people choose money. You
need to decide what you are looking for.
Personally, I feel loving what you do is
the best way to success. It’s not easy to
find something you love. But that’s partly
because of all the conditioning. You are
told that this is the path to success. But
is it YOUR path to success? When the
answer comes from within, it is the most
sustainable path to long term success.
Maybe initially you may not get top
placement offers. But if it is something
that you really enjoy, you get your returns
that are not measurable by society, but are
experienced by you which makes it worth
it.
11. Finally, how would you define
yourself outside of being the
Executive Director of Nandi Housing
Pvt. Ltd?
As a seeker, and an instrument of
positivity in the world. Outside Nandi
Housing, Shunya is a big part of my world.
The reason I feel passionate about it is, art
is a world where money is scarce. Often
I meet people who really have passion
for what they do. You know money is not
there, so it’s not what’s driving them. And
it’s unfortunate. I feel, as a society, we need
to reallocate resources. These people need
to be rewarded as much as anybody and
I want to help as much as possible. I have
the privilege to meet other seekers who
are looking for something real, meaningful
and long-lasting.
 20-23
#REWIND
unforgettable moments,
everlasting memories
“
When Gotham went in distress,
the Bat Signal was immediately
put into effect. Similarly, for
no connection to the above
statement, whenever the famed walls of
ACM31 Section 1 were experiencing a
turmoil, the CR signage was more than
lit up, not to my pride, but to the joy of
my fellow classmates who wished to put
me through what they thought was my
pleasure, but was in reality, not. Or maybe
it was.
I had never risen to handling
responsibilities of a rough tough bunch
till when on one rainy morning, I heard
my name being chanted, disturbing my
favourite part of the day, sleeping in class.
Yes, I was known to have this skill of either
being too loud for my class or to sleep
through anything that was too loud from
the other side. And with such traits, one
always knows he or she can depend upon
‘responsibilities’ to the boring and sincere
student of the class. But well, a prankster
is always the last to know when he is
being subjected to one. Moments I cannot
recollect passed, cheers all around elated
the mood and low and behold, I was now
the Class Representative of these famed
walls. To one who congratulated me on this
the tiny victory, I was his Knight in Shining
Armour. Hope now rest on my shoulders,
CHRONICLES
CR
or so I was being led to believe.
of a And the ride began. The ever so fun ride
of always being at everyone’s beck and call.
Being the lad who saved the class from
what could have been catastrophe through
an extra couple of minutes of lecture or
the
KNIGHT in
SHINING
ARMOUR
a brief monologue by Ron Saji George
(CR, ACM31 Section 1, NICMAR Pune)
capturing his experience of serving this
illustrious position
simplest of submissions. All this, that
according to my previous lack of interest
in, was the duties and work mannerisms of
the one I had misjudged as ‘boring’. I now
believe the lack of any realistic experience
in handling such responsibilities before
was what made this short stint the most
memorable of times here at NICMAR for
me.
One of the highlight moments of the
past 20 months was participating in
Chakraview. From running around getting
interested folks in actually getting up on
gloomy Saturday and Sunday mornings
to ride the section flag high to randomly
bursting out in some mumble jumble of
trying to spark a bit of interest while always
being on the lookout for something more to
do. After almost 15 months since we took
part in our first competition as a class, it
is still a joy to see my classmates hopping
around the campus wearing grey hoodies
reading the words of ‘Regnus’, the team
name we came up for this competition.
We did not win Chakraview, the
competition, but what we won was being
as a team, always being together and being
united. Getting together every evening
and taking into account earth shattering
strategies to better our chances of victory
was better than victory itself and shall
always remain so. But what we truly won
was a couple of months later, it was the
inter-class cultural competition in the form
of Reverbz. And yes, we did slay it. After
days of deliberation, constant practice and
feverish excitement, we performed for 2
whole evenings, winning one show after

“The baffling part is
not standing there but
the several illogically
inaccurate things I have
mumbled around to get
the same rag tag bunch of
my friends out of the mess
they could have been in.”
Winners of Reverbz 2018, ACM31 Section
1. Yes, it was us. I felt proud, I felt honoured
to go up and collect the trophy, all along
knowing that I have done nothing much
but merely represent the best group of
individuals there ever was.
20 months down this amazing journey,
what still baffles me is how I have stood time
and again in front of those to answer on why
my class was experiencing exceptionally
low attendance. The baffling part is not
standing there but the several illogically
inaccurate things I have mumbled around
to get the same rag tag bunch of my friends
out of the mess they could have been in,
knowing very well that my soft pity face was
definitely not going to do wonders here.
But hey ho, wonders did happen and to my
happiness, more often than I could wish for.
The family that studies together, stays
together. The lot of ACM31 Section 1
celebrating traditional day at the Institute.
Note: The above article has been
compiled by Rohan Mundra on
behalf of Ron Saji George.
21 | NICMAR, Pune
The times I was caught mumbling away class did not matter too much anymore. We
things in my native language has now lost remained the same, and now, months later,
count, but what has not lost touch is how are still the same, a quirky bunch of guys
much everyone enjoyed when I used to do still associated with the high-flying colours
it. I have heard how several of my peers, of section 1.
the other Class Representatives have had to
run around for arranging notes or getting Communicating has been a big part of
everything sorted in what has been the best my portfolio of duties (such heavy words to
tool ever for CRkind, Google Drive. But describe the menial tasks assigned!). From
none of these became my day-to-day duties racing around during fests carrying event
(Thank God!) as my Co-CR, and my true specific details to wandering the corridors
Knight in Shining Armour, Brinda Mathew with tons of assignments, it all involved
was always there to do the actual laborious interacting with several others and knowing
work. Whenever any work was anywhere a bit more about them, be it however small.
close to becoming a headache for me,
there she was sweeping it away from me,
I have met so many whom I would have
never nodded a ‘hello’ to. Have rejoiced
not to lighten my burden, but because she in so many celebrations of those, whom
knew better than to entrust such shoulder- I would have never congratulated if they
bearing responsibilities on me. did not mean anything. All of this because
being here, doing this made me more than I
There is no one particular episode that ever could be. I now realize wherever I am,
shines as a true highlight to my tenure as whichever city I am thrown in, there shall
almost each and every day had something always be someone there whom I know.
different to handle to. From gathering
students for a task related to an event (to Writing all of this in a certain number of
those who think it is easy, it is not when you words is next to impossible for squeezing
are up against a nice warm Sunday morning in everything of the past 20 months into
and a not-so-delightful breakfast spread) to 2 pages is something I possibly cannot do.
seeing a member of my class, my family get From everything mentioned to a lot more
placed, it was an eventful and fruitful ride, missed out, handling the quirks of this
and a complete one. position has been a true revelation, and
one I shall always remain thankful for. Is it
One particular event that can truly prestigious being a Class Representative? I
portray the unity and friendship we do not know. But if someone asked me if I
became accustomed to was when during would like to ever do it again, the answer
a rainy afternoon we came to know that would definitely be a yes, given that I get the
entering into trimester V, we won’t be the same rough tough bunch of homies to call
same proud members of the same section mine. A big thank you to all those believed
”
1. Based on the subject electives we chose in me and bore my antics for so long. It has
a while back, we were being distributed been an amazing journey to what
and shuffled all across. Did it break us? In became more than 4 walls and
a way, yes. But we had been together for shall remain so, a small home
such a long time that sitting in the same called ACM Section 1.
perception | Edition 3
 SUMMER
times
a brief monolugue by Karthik Mudlapur
(ACM31, NICMAR Pune) enveloping his
Summer Internship experience
We were assigned various
responsibilities during these 8 weeks.
In the first few days, we were at the site
learning the organization’s construction
methodologies. As fast-paced and chaotic
as every site can become, we were fortunate
to find a very helpful site execution team
who took personal interest in teaching
every activity that progressed throughout
suggestions were received by the Executive
Director, the Project Manager, the HR team
and the execution team. Having decades
of experience, their openness to receive
suggestions from post-graduation students
and to take our ideas competent enough
so as to adopt them is a testimony to their
willingness to improve constantly.

“
As part of the curriculum at
NICMAR, all students are
required to undertake a brief
internship stint of 8-10 weeks
during summer. For this, my friends
and I got an opportunity for the same at
Nandi Housing Pvt Ltd. It is a Bengaluru-
based Real Estate organization engaged
in housing and property development.
The project we NICMARians were tasked
with was titled ‘Nandi Citadel’- a low rise
apartment development consisting of 600+
units spread across 12 acres of land.
Through my early days at this
organization, one key aspect became
increasingly clear. This company was
heavily invested even in the intricate of
details. One example was the uniqueness of
the project I was aligned with. The exterior
stone cladding used and chosen not only
enhanced the aesthetics of the building, but
also reduced the temperature inside these
built structures. This decision would land
the project to not only be pleasing to the eye
but also would insulate the living spaces
from harsh summers. Amongst others, the
technical stand-outs of the projects were
the site. Encapsulating more than we In a span of these two months, we
could, we also covered Quality Assurance were given enough room to work through
and Quality Control on the precast slab that some very different and challenging tasks.
were being cast at site, while enveloping The amount of exposure to contrasting
all that we had observed in a report. With activities has given us a broader picture of
some exposure on the field, we were then distinct angles of a construction project, the
asked to work at the headquarters for a few challenges and the ways to approach them
days, where we carried out various market so as to finally arrive at a solution. We were
researches and comparative studies for in- truly given the opportunity to practically
progress projects. Following this, we also apply the educative knowledge we had
completed a small assignment of trying to gained at NICMAR.
solve the required parking in one of Nandi’s
commercial complexes. As a part of an activity for the Institute’s
newsletter, I was fortunate enough to
Extending on how supportive and interview the dynamic Executive Director
helpful the organization is, they gave as of Nandi Housing, Mr. Thommen Ollapally
an opportunity through an assignment and get his views on the Real Estate
to better understand the workings of an sector. In my opinion, the interview was
organization of this scale. The task given was an inspiring experience and gave me an
to come up with our own suggestions that insight into the perception and motto of the
the organization could adopt to improve its company in creating ‘Sacred Spaces’ for the
functioning and process. Having worked in ultimate living experience.
various departments by now (though for
hardly a few days in each), the solutions To sum it up, I am truly privileged to have
that we as a team came up included done my internship at Nandi Housing Pvt.
adoption of MS Project (the basics of which Ltd. and I am ever so thankful to NICMAR,
we taught the engineers at site), using ABC my Summer Internship Committee and to
analysis for better inventory management, the entire family of Nandi Housing for this
team building activities, adoption of wonderful opportunity. This brief stint has

the use of RC walls for construction which
decreases the built layout while increasing
usable space, precast slabs for faster
construction and plastic formworks which
were more durable.
”
various safety measures, toolbox meetings taught me depths of the real world while
amongst other similar suggestions. extending my grasp on the
functioning and professonalism
The most striking thing about this of a leading Real Estate
particular task was how enthusiastically our organization.

The students of NICMAR Pune celebrating

their time with the team of Nandi Housing
for getting a golden opportunity to intern at
the organization for a brief period during the
summer of 2018.

22 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 Always on the look out for something
spectacular to capture, the gang of Official
Photographers 2017-18 framing those
unforgettable memories for us forever.
the
Picturesque
JOURNEY
a look back on Vivek Nukula’s
(PEM13, NICMAR Pune) journey being an
Official Photographer
“
Isn’t one the most fortunate
times when one gets to do
whatever makes him happy
while being acknowledged by the
masses and also get paid for it? Well,
strike the third one off because when an
opportunity giving the first 2 comes your
way, you know the third won’t matter.
After a hiatus of 2 years, I returned to the
tiring world of sitting in classes, doing
assignments and what not! Udbhav 2017
happened, my passion of clicking away
shots on my pet DSLR paid off and before
I knew it, I was entering into the world of
being more than I had asked for, and all
thanks to those who recognized my small
hobby and gave me a chance to do more.
Fast forward, I was amongst a group of 5
individuals who were tasked with the Earth-
shattering work of capturing memories.
Sounds heavy? It was. When you know you
have the ardous task of not just clicking
away random shots (which I still believe is
what I did during my tenure), but actually
recording moments of joy, elation, pride,
hard work and everything that could ever
happen in a post-graduation institute, you
become nervous, or at least I did. And this this group has been a thorough joy. From
was what we did for a whole year. the various outings we have entailed (in
the name of strategizing), to the late night
From getting in between thick crowds, slumber meetups we had, it never felt
to getting on top of the guard’s cabin, we anything more than a bunch of kids playing
have done everything to get that one special around with some very expensive equipment
shot that if it can, should mesmerize the (well, that was the grown-up part).
audience, the ones who care about. Be it
festivals of whomsoever, we were there from If learning Project Management while
even when the crowd did not know they sitting in classes felt a bit short, this
would be celebrating it. When on wintery experience made it up more than I could
mornings the better half of NICMAR were have asked for. From team meetings, to
sleeping away, I remember being called in to assigning spaces and times during events
capture a cycle rally that was being hosted. to each, to even meeting deadline for
And the story wasn’t much different during when some shots required a bit of work,
event times. From Udbhav which started it it was a full circle. This short ride back
all, to Technikala 2018, the biggest event down memory lane can never be complete
we captured, the ride was truly a fun one. without my comrades, my gang of guys who
made me feel proud of being in this elite
Ironic that this publication is titled group. My co-photographers Anubhav,
Perception, for ours was truly unique. Anurag, Shrey along with our one and only
When you see things not just for your own Videographer, Tushar have always been
joy, and couple that with capturing those my great friends and truly amazing at their
odd-ball moments forever, your perception work. Without these lads, I do not know if
changes. Ours was anything but ordinary. the journey would have been this fulfilling.
We were not just observing things for And yes, members of Student Council 2017-
our sake, but for everyone to feel those 18 have always held our back, being the
happenings forever with just a mere click. best support we guys could have asked for.
I cannot even remember the times when a
”
simple click brought such a wide smile to To those wielding a camera and looking
the beholder. Most times, we felt important far beyond the horizon
when many kept their amateur cameras wondering if it is worth a shot, it
aside, and we were brought in to be the definitely is. Give it a shot and I
professionals in-charge. It wasn’t for they bet you will never look back!
were any good, it was because they trusted
us in knowing better.
Was it all work and no fun? Absolutely
not! On the contrary, it was always fun and
never work. To the statement I started this capturing
moments
article off with, how can anyone not love and
have fun with something he passionately
follows? For me, and for us, being a part of
framing
memories
 24-28
#REALIZE
relevant and thought-provoking,
a corner to break boundaries

24-25 The Knowledge Economy

26-27 The Antisocial Media so far
28 The Wrong Right

Ah, I am Literate! Has anyone ever economy has been confused with that of
gotten up from a slumber to realize that the digital age, but no, it is the knowledge
being educated, or being literate to a certain
economy. An economy in which the leading
degree of acceptance is a boon? How often role performs creative, intellectual work,
do we appreciate being on the better side but a simple working force has acquired
of a community which still comprises of properties of human capital. Moreover, if
an ever-growing population of uneducated the knowledge is considered to be a source
the individuals? Should we start recognizing thisof collecting of human capital, the education

Knowledge characteristic that we might have started to

relate to being innate with our upbringing?
- is its main method. But if we understand
that our minds, our developed thinking is

Economy the primary tool in exceling over others, are

The importance of education or being we justifying a comparison or competition
literate in the modern world we presently if we are negating or downsizing our role in
live in is increasing as the most serious the expansion of an uneducated society?
factor in the formation of a new quality
of economy and society starts getting Given the new requirements, a modern
rationalized. Its role is constantly growing strategic doctrine of progress of developed
along with the growing influence of us, the countries is based on the concept of human
human capital. Whenever we are being capital and the knowledge economy:
Parasuram Ayitapu quantified, compared with peers, is it point competitiveness of the country today is
ACM31 of truly understanding how important the determined not only by the presence of
NICMAR Pune
role of our educative backgrounds has rich natural resources, but primarily by
played into placing us where we are in our the human factor, by the ability to create
lives? But why should only a ‘comparison’ and develop high technologies, to provide
entail such awakening? fundamentally new technological level
of production, to adapt to the rapidly
The era we live in, the new economy is changing information environment, to be
coming as a replacement to the industrial competitive in the labour market and, as a
economy and at several times, this result, to have higher incomes. It is no mere

Illiteracy Crisis of India More than More than Drastic inrease of More than

With an alarming increase in illiteracy rates

across India, the government has tried
implementing several measures to tackle
280
million Indians are
illiterate
37%
of the world’s
illiterate population is
6
times in illiteracy
rate in India since
92%
of government
schools are yet to
this. The Constitution of India has taken into constituted by Indians the British period implement RTE act
consideration the importance of literacy in
the growth of our country, has introduced
numerous provisions take care of the rights of
the individuals.

Source: www.oxfamindia.org/
featuredstories/10-facts-illiteracy-india-you- China constitute’s only India’s rank is More than More than

11% 123 40% 6

must-know
The mentioned numbers throw a much-needed
light into the state our country is in presently.
of the world’s illiterate out of 135 in female of adult’s are illiterate, million children are
Considering the title of ‘developing’, we are way literacy rates behind world average still out-of-school
behind China, one of our leading competitors in of 24%
attaining lesser illiteracy rates.

24 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

coincidence that informative bulletins menial of jobs taken up by individuals are on one side we personally know large
speak of US and China in terms of those who have the calibre and knowledge factions of this very society who constitute
technological prowess, advancements and to understand and use basic technology at of beings who do not choose to lead a
scale of operations. We do not quantify their peril. But here, we find hoards of so- downtrodden life, but are forced to. Forced
the ’potential’ of a country by its mineral called millennials to not being adept in using not by compulsion of mankind, but forced
resources anymore, but by the capital it is what one can only call primitive technology, by the will to live and survive.
investing through its society. If this be case, the mobile phone. We all know these facts,
should unemployability be taken as a force we know what ensues in places we might My request to all reading this is to
denying the supreme status of world power? have ended up in, if born differently. But acknowledge enough the streets you roam,
do we just know them subconsciously? This the activities you do or the tasks you get
For this, we need to understand the short piece has mentioned of education, done. In someway or the other, we all can
corelating evidence between education and literary and its impact on employment or serve in developing our motherland, our
employment while also keeping in mind the lack of both while also comparing things community and our society if we believed
that while we can push a horse towards between a fully developed nation and of a in the greater good of our kind. We must
a pond, we cannot force feed it to drink developing one. The primary focus here is start recognizing the potential that we, as
water. Similarly, by creating a higher rate to make you understand that somewhere a collective group can possess if we start
of literacy are we scared of ending up unknowingly we as ‘ideal’ members of the appreciating education and extending the
with higher the number of unemployed society are failing it. How you may ask! basics of this to those underprivileged.
or is it a perception we may have created It is not enough to vocally promote one’s
to deny that if analysed thoroughly, the When we walk with our heads held high, alignment to social groups, but the lesser
numbers might start scripting a narration are we so doing to announce the pride we unknown steps one takes into denying that
where spreading literacy results in a better keep in ourselves or to shun away the ones there is no connection between the illiterate
employment ratio. we ‘unknowingly’ do not want to think youngster who served you in a restaurant
about? By showing support to groups who and the new capital of the modern economy,
Take for example US, where even the imbibe literacy, are we doing enough when us as a collective force.

We must acknowledge the importance

of education to our lives and work
towards building the new economy.

World at a Glance
The growing trend of illiteracy
More than Children whose parents More than paints a distressful picture in

12% 780
have low literacy levels understanding how the world is
have a grappling with this phenomenon.

of the world’s population
is considered functionally
illiterate, with only basic or
below-basic literacy levels in
their native language
72%
million people
worldwide still cannot
chance of being at the read or write with this
lowest reading levels number increasing at a
themselves steady pace
With almost 800 million still
being unable to comprehend,
read or write basic language or
indulge in ‘education’, the steady
pace of this growth is increasing
with time.
Source: www.
cultivateworldliteracy.com
The above mentioned numbers/
facts have been aggregated by
UIS in 2014 and thus may have
changed over time.

25 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 the
ANTISOCIAL
MEDIA so far
Would you ever celebrate
your friend’s wedding while
grieving for the death of your
close relative?
Would you ever exaggerate
the happenings of your life to
your cousin who is a mess and
fighting crippling depression?
Would you ever reveal your
past to strangers/known faces
even if you do not want to or,
after a second thought?
How about living up to other’s
standards? Would you?
These questions sound completely
absurd to be true. Guess what! Not only
do we subscribe to such insane behavior
but also, aptly promote the same in a
world-wide arena collectively called the
‘Social Media’. Like every other invention
that saw the dawn of civilization because
of a mistake (and had to be used for an
undeniable reason), social media is that
invention used by our society for an obvious
reason; yet to be explored and constantly
refined for a better use (application update
woes and new security features), poised to
26 | NICMAR, Pune
Santiswarup Mishra
ACM32
NICMAR Pune
resemble reality. There have been scenes in synthetics at play which are for bolstering
Hollywood sci-fi flicks like ‘Altered Carbon’ your survival mechanism. Science
in which, a person pays to live a substitute substantiates [Trevor Haynes (2018, May
reality. We do that every day, in fact, every 1) Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A
other minute. Netizens experience an battle for your time] similarity between a
epiphany when they fathom out how their drug addict’s craving for that line of white
personality changes abruptly after escaping powder and social media users craving for
to one after logging onto any one of these that notification bell to give out a pocket-
customized realities. This sudden change in buzz. When snippets of nose candy cost at
behavior, as indicated by a modification of least INR 8500 a gram in some dark alleys,
truth, is what I am trying to discuss further. cheap high of social media is here to stay
for a long haul. In a nutshell, a gush of
Reality is the state of things as they happiness through any source of instant
exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional gratification is always welcomed.
idea of them. While the alternate reality is
built upon the foundation of a heuristically We have applications, icons and buttons
collective conscience which sums up to to experience happiness. What about
define reality at that moment to a particular embarrassment, sorrow, remorse and pain?
array of subjects who are convoluted to Pain which demands to be felt, shared to be
it. Reality is dynamic, parallel, forever abated does not have the share icon. How
changing, customizable, persuasive, advanced do we and our technology have
misleading and, most importantly requires to get for addressing these needs? It is sad
a finesse to apprehend, reconcile and act to notice that people having an emotional
accordingly; sometimes, half-way pursuit breakdown, suffering, even having a foul
to reality may lead to dangerous forms of mood is socially unacceptable; a taboo. You
the existential crisis which, I am now used do not agree? Try posting ‘I am sad’ on your
to. So, what is the easy way? I don’t know.
I vaguely ask myself a simple question; “Is
it going to matter to me/anyone after 5/10
years?” at every cul-de-sac. Or ask for an
opinion of people who are not related to it.
Ever wondered why do we feel elated
when we go back to those forever scrolling
screens which we keep minimized to
provide self-assurance of being productive?
When asked, people tend to have their
own reasons. Technically, the reason
is a concoction of ‘feel good’ cerebrum
perception | Edition 3
Facebook wall and watch how you shall be
shelled with comments lacking genuine
concern, messages warning you to not
create a scene and calls giving you bogus
assurances of hope and bliss, without even
knowing the reason for your sadness.
To begin with, if trolls are the juggernauts
of trouble and controversy, then memes are
their weapon. Trolls are low-life scoundrels,
couch-potatoes who subtly portray a I-do-
not-care persona while in fact, they are
the most bothered ones on anything and
everything that comes at their proximity
and thus use their weapon - memes,
which is a desperate attempt at humor
while deceiving their misery at expressing
themselves. They feed on attention and
breed due to social validation. They attack
their governments, sects, cults and, the
list does not end with their close friends
and relatives. On the off-chance that you
characterize to be an individual who will, in
general, flee from a significant discussion,
think of images or drifting vocabularies
frequently in this way, rerouting the
purpose of the conversation in thin air while
leaving them amazed with a stereotyped
humorous individual/circumstance/idea
at that point, you my companion, are a
troll and there is nothing to be proud of.
We now live in a period where several
think that nothing causes more pain and
suffering to an individual than seeing his
friends or relatives succeed or even have
a happy life leaving only but jealousy,
envy; zero-sum. And that chuckling,
mocking emoji (emoticon) we so often
use? Apart from being the word of the
year in the Oxford English Dictionary,
which best reflects the ethos, mood, and
preoccupations of 2015, the ‘Tears of Joy’
emoji is misunderstood and could be
termed as by far the most inappropriately
used. Every chat group, forums, personal
chats, Facebook timelines, even opinion
boards; you name it, they have it. Out of
all emoji, this one is the most overused and
therefore most frequently misused emoji
Total Population Internet Users Social Media Users
7.593
BILLION
4.021
BILLION
3.196
Urbanization: Penetration: Penetration:
55% 53%
27 | NICMAR, Pune
worldwide. It is used to express delight to and videos, job-scams, online-transaction
human suffering. frauds, false-positive advertisements, viral
personalities for their peculiarity, obsessive
The inappropriate use of it means that regionalism of the Internet and an ocean
they are being used to remind us that they of users who are yet to understand and
are winning or have found success or joy in comprehend the use of internet. With all of
our dismay or bad luck, which is rude. If the the positives that this entrant has brought
keypad offers you with the best of humor along with it to the Industry, should we
and emotions, why would you choose the blame it for the negatives that would have
extremes of them? Either we express the anyway plagued the world, for Murphy’s law
‘Tears of Joy’ emoji at inferior individuals stands valid to Jio’s unforeseen effects as
or situations, because we feel a joy at feeling “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”.
superior to them or we humans really do
not understand the use of emoji like we do It shall be a harrowing experience
not understand the moral responsibility of to come across an ever-happy-on-
not hurting others. social-media person being sorrowful in
reality when he/she peels down the self-
The #-tag: awareness-onion by scrolling through
When I was 11, I had no clue what the the course of his/her actions in front of a
use of ‘#’ was on my telephone. Like to psychiatrist. But in today’s world, it might
many others, it was insignificant to me. In be true and right around the corner. It
actuality, they were used for flash messaging would be pleasant knowing that the person
IVRS to check pre-paid balance, subscribe can attain liberation from unreasonable
to add-on services, and several other service behavior and actions which shall bring
related works and at a later stage of life, as success to their life; liberation from
a syntax for coding. Now, it is a mandatory meme-scavenging, obsessive emoji usage,
syntax for virtual profiling in just about compulsive and impulsive behavior, etc.
everything we do in the form of texts, Social media is heavily funded for exploiting
photos, videos, and documents. In recent its users by channeling a person’s attention
days, an important phenomenon (and long- from pictures of his/her friends and
pending) was brought to the surface with celebrities to e-commerce sites to induce
the use of ‘#’, the #metoo movement. One compulsive buying. Leaving this space with
should wonder if this very phenomenon no boundaries, and closing this brief ‘rant’,
gained traction and worldwide support to one final question to all. If social media is a
the scale it did due to the rendition of it mask for Capitalism for some corporates, is
bring made viral with the use of ‘#’. Here, this the legal version of phishing approved
the ‘#’ became the carrier of awareness by our law and are we, the unaware society
and reason using a platform like Twitter. A yet to realize that we are the products in the
barrage of allegations has since come into social-networking business.
light/resurfaced whose repercussions are
still in flux. It is surprising how impactful
a character has become in this modern
age, and how powerful it further can
become through our existence and beyond.
Reliance Jio earned its blue ocean and
boosted the digitization of India. One can Note: This article is an excerpt of a master
say that it has further fueled a mess that we article titled the same. This rendition has
been heavily downsized in terms of content
were slowly entering for years now, rumor- coverage for better readership. To read the
driven mass hysteria, clickbait articles complete article, please contact the author.
Unique Media Users Mobile Social Users
With here there and everywhere surrounded
by Social Media, some key statistics of how
digital the world has become. The numbers
are aggregated as on January 2018.
BILLION
5.135
BILLION
2.958
BILLION
Penetration: Penetration:
42% 68% 39% Digital around the World
perception | Edition 3

the
Wrong
Right
Pezheri Amrita
ACM32
NICMAR Pune
We humans, as a whole, have the power
to construct or deconstruct in massive
measures. We are one of the most developed
species and have abundant resources to
utilise. Are these advancements in the right
direction? Is humanity moving forward in
the right path?
The concept of being right or wrong in
a situation is a matter of perception. One
person’s right maybe another person’s
wrong. While some people believe that
being right or wrong is subjective, others
beg to differ. They believe that there are
a set of fixed rights and wrongs no matter
what. We humans tend to accept and adapt
to concepts that are the more convenient
for us in that particular situation. We might
choose one option at a time and another
when the external factors change.
Though we have achieved all time highs
in the fields of technology, healthcare,
safety and so on, it is still a moot point as to
whether these heights are for right causes or
not. In the field of science and technology,
we beings have immensely advanced
to greater heights. We have invented
extremely advanced nuclear missiles which
highlights the technological prowess of the
motherland he/she is associated with. But
the sole purpose of the existence of this
piece of tech is not just for display! The
amount of destruction that can be caused by
this invention itself paints a darker picture.
Numerous advancements have been
made in the field of medical science which
has cured millions. What has this led to?
We now have a population that is highly
dependent on medicines and have indulged
ourselves neck deep into the saying -
“Prevention is better than cure”, that we
28 | NICMAR, Pune
thrive on antibiotic resistance. The second Humanity is built upon virtues and
we sense even the smallest of ailments, morals. They define the human being
we are up and about to the doctor who that we are and are also the most decisive
prescribes us with a long list of medicines. factors of our actions. Every one of us has
Humans have become so dependent on at some point heard an elder cribbing about
these medicines that our immunity levels how the current generation has no morals.
are immensely degraded. We have become Contrary to that popular comment, we
so obsessed in making ourselves perfect, are a generation that believes in lending
that plastic surgeries and augmentation a helping hand. We have various NGOs
surgeries have turned into priorities. We and charitable trusts that have made the
have reached that point where we won’t helping of the needy, their sole motto.
even hesitate to modify the very making of
our body beyond all limits. If we analyse Rather than contemplating on whether
from one perspective, plastic surgeries our motion is in the right or wrong
help boost a person’s morale and makes direction, it would be better to say that
him more confident in his skin. But if we we humans are evolving to adapt to our
look from another angle, these surgeries circumstances. We use our logical thinking
immensely damage the body. to decide our course of action and it may or
may not vary depending upon the external
The world has become a much smaller environment and our mindset at that
place today, as we are able to connect particular time. Rather than approaching
with with those far and beyond with just a upon a conclusion as to whether we are
single tap. We have come a long way from in the right direction or wrong, it would
the days when we could not communicate be better to say that we humans choose
at all to present times when we can easily the best option, that satisfies our needs,
talk to people all around the world or even after contemplation and always choose for
video call. As amazing as this sounds, the betterment rather than right or wrong.
reality is that humans have become more
isolated than ever. The whole network that
was intended for bringing people closer
has become the reason for detachment.
Humans are withdrawing from the concept
of a society and interaction with the nature.
Globalisation has enabled us to be able to
study the various cultures across different
countries. We learn practices followed by To succeed, jump
others in their respective countries and
incorporate them in our lives depending
as quickly on
upon our needs. We have also been able to opportunities as
develop ourselves by learning the diverse
linguistics that rule this planet enabling us you do at
to communicate better. The better part of
globalisation is how the entire planet has
conclusions.
become a single family that understands and Benjamin Franklin
tries to embrace the several unique cultures
and practices present. On the downside, we
tend to accept practices that suit our needs
alone. We do not realise the importance of
it or it’s backstory. After all, our ancestors
were not completely wrong. Certainly, we
had to bring a stop to traditions which
though backed by religious testaments,
still stood against the very fabric of one’s
right of existence. But often, especially here
in India, we try to adopt completely as the
western culture dictates thereby forgetting
what is inherently right or wrong for us.
Often the adopted cultures may not suit our
situations. It may seem as though they are
much more convenient but in reality, they
can tend to hamper the natural way of life
we were meant to be living.
perception | Edition 3
 NICMAR Pune organized its annual intra-college cultural fest, ‘Reverbz’ on 14th,
15th and 16th December 2018, taking the event a day further than before. The cultural
extravaganza garnered enthusiastic participation from students of all courses and batches.
To those unfamiliar with this yearly fest, the event is a platform to break free from the
mundane academic curriculum while also allowing the students to showcase their sporty,
cultural and artistic skills through several events focusing on the sports, cultural and a
casual corner titled informals.

Reverbz 2018 began with a remarkable opening ceremony hosting a special fire
performance followed quickly by flagging of the competition amongst classes with the first
event of the fest, Rhythmic Squad. It began with a special performance by members of the
senior batch followed by various teams competing to be the ultimate singing sensations.
While most of the classic crowd-pleasing events were taken forth, several new exciting
additions were introduced to keep the audience enthused. In cultural, various new
events like Two-to-tango: a dance competition in which two participants from each team
would perform but they were separated by a partition to evaluate them based on their
synchronization, Tableau, Beat the Street - group dance performance, Panache - Fashion
show were introduced.

This fest was not only about dance or music but also widened the scope by enveloping
within itself various sports and informal events that left the supportive crowd wanting for
more. In sports events like Neon Table Tennis, Mixed Gender Futsal - a variant of football
played in a court smaller to that of a Football pitch, FIFA - a football simulation video
game and Gully cricket were hosted. In addition, various interesting events like Mock
the Voice, Mad Ads, Graffiti were introduced to break open from the usuals and offer
NICMARians to think beyond the box.

With cold wintery evenings acting as the perfect host for performers to light the stage
on fire with electric and mesmering acts, the events were spectacular leaving the crowd
speechless. Participants from all the teams came forward with zeal to showcase their
talents on the stage. The end of this cultural extravaganza was marked by an Open Mic
event followed by the last event of Reverbz 2018, Panache where every participating team
walked the ramp with style and glamour to be adjudged as the style icons of NICMAR
Pune. Concluding the event, PGP-PEM 14th Batch Section 3 were adjudged the best and
won the rolling champions trophy of Reverbz 2018.

#RECAPreverbz
29 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3
 30-32
#REVIEW
our perception,
our reVIEW
Metropolis
1927
Hopping from one movie to another,
Sanjay G (ACM31, NICMAR Pune) has a wide
knowledge base of the best to suggest.
Metropolis is one of the greatest films
ever made. Period. Is it my love for motion
pictures stating this or my background as
a Civil Engineer coupled with my thirst for
technological breakthroughs? Maybe both.
With an average of 600 Hollywood
movies produced every year and Indian
cinema as a whole producing 1800 to
2000 movies every year, only certain
movies succeed in creating an impact on
the audience during their era of reign.
With the current technology at hand,
CGI, production design, amongst several
other areas are exponentially improving in
helping the director achieve and transcript
his vision right on screen. Metropolis,
a german science-fiction drama motion
picture, directed by Fritz Lang in 1927 is
based on the novel Metropolis (1925) by
Thea von Harbou. The silent, black and
white film is a master piece, way ahead of its
time, directed with caveman equipment’s
when compared to the technology at avail
today and is considered as the pinnacle
of science-fiction films, which laid the
foundation of modern-day films.
“How can a movie be so futuristic, and
that being over 90 years old?” is what you
feel when you entail this experience. The
movie was a cinematic marvel right from
screen-play, camera work, special effects
30 | NICMAR, Pune
and in almost every department there
ever is. The set designs are anything but
spectacular. The city shots of Metropolis
were a combination of both two- and three-
dimensional elements, consisting of matte
drawings and paintings, flat wooden relief
models, and three-dimensional models
scaled to 1/16th of the simulated heights.
The set designers first created a number
of concept drawings for the imagined city
of Metropolis, following a plan for the
city to be divided into several sections.
The emphasis was on the verticality of the
structures, intersected by roadway systems
and aircraft. The dominating architectural
feature is the so-called New Tower of Babel,
the largest building located centrally in the
city. Surprisingly, this building, like most of
the structures in the film, is a model.
The plot of the story is based on a
future era, where the society is primarily
of two classes – the workers who live in the
underground below the machine level and
the rich who live on the surface. The story
revolves around a rich, young lad, Freder
who plays around in a leisure garden, run
by his father, John Fredersen, the City
Master. The workers are portrayed merely
as robots who do their routine works
making sure the city and life in Metropolis
is operational. The condition of these
workers is aptly shown in one scene where
men can be seen being carried away in
stretchers after having been injured while
rest of the workers keep right on working
as lifeless machines, hardly even noticing.
Freder worries about what would happen
if the huge number of workers turn against
his father given the conditions under which
they lie and work.
The leading lady, Maria is the mediator
between the working class and the ruling
class. Fredersen orders Rotwang, a mad
scientist to give Maria’s likeness to a robot,
so that it can ruin her reputation among
the workers to prevent any rebellion.
Coming back to elements which made
this experience a masterpiece, the sets are
stunning, and leaves you wondering that
with the details dissected 90 years to the
date, how were they still able to achieve
this ground-breaking advancement. The
case with silent cinema classics, the respect
and admiration you start developing by
watching it over time, will widely excel the
enjoyment aspect.
Time and again, we have argued on
which motion picture bags the bragging
rights on being crowned as the best of the
lot till date, starting from the first Star Wars,
to the recent Avatar which all have pleasing
visuals, great VFX and time. But for me,
Metropolis stands out to be a landmark film
which will be celebrated for years to come.
So many films get its fullest recognition only
after its time and this is one such movie.
For a change from whatever we call chilling
nowadays, one should tune in to this 1920’s
classic (and definitely a cult) and watch it
at least once, knowing that it is developed
9 decades back. To many from the Civil and
Architectural background, give it a shot and
perhaps the silent treatment shall go far
beyond the screen, leaving you speechless.
“
On a scale of 1 to
10, this movie is
9 decades old.
perception | Edition 3
SimCity: decides where to place three development
zones, infrastructures and the various
also has to provide infrastructure services
like power plants, landmarks, public

Buildit
types of buildings while also setting up services while boosting population with
the tax rate, the budget, and social policy. parks and education. In short, to take on
With no specified winning condition, you fun challenges to shape (and reshape) the
can maximize population and profitability, society. Having a seashore and beach in
re-creation of real-life locations, achieve the city is like icing on the cake. Expand
an aesthetic design or unleash natural the city along the beach and a marina,
disasters. These are amongst the many waterpark, and luxury beachfront, building
A classic review of yet another classic
game by our in-house expert gamer, possible goals while playing a SimCity game. a Tokyo-style neighborhood and unlocking
Kunal Gajjar (ACM31, NICMAR Pune). exclusive landmarks like the Eiffel Tower
The latest part of SimCity franchise is and Statue of Liberty just keeps adding to
SimCity: BuildIt. It is a Town-Building the never-ending happy ride. With change
simulation mobile game developed by EA in time, discover different technologies.
Maxis and published by Electronic Arts and There is always something new and exciting
Being an engineer, and being socially available for Android and iOS. to make your city unique.
available goes hand in hand where one
realizes one cannot ace the master game of Introduction: Multiplayer mode and Victory:
being social, thus being one amongst the lot, Tasked as the mayor of SimCity, To all fans of Clash of Clans reading this
a lot of us resort to more commoner things, progressively developing the city of your and searching for another addictive game,
or in my case, to play games. Investing your dream is the major goal of this game. The things like competing in real-time PvP
time in a useful game which can improvise game starts with 25,000 simoleons and with Club Wars, where one can strategize
your skills is can prove essential but is 50 SimCash on hand and as the mayor of with members of the Mayor’s Club and
largely overlooked due to the scarcity of the city, you are responsible for countless declare war on other cities will be more
knowledge and information regarding tasks from building the first residency to than familiar. By unleashing crazy disasters
such games. Being in the construction putting together a solid sewage and waste like the Disco Twister and Plant Monster,
sector, there are several simulator games management system. Every decision is one can do heavy damage. For winning
which include different platforms such as yours as your city gets larger and more each battle, earn different disaster cards,
Construction Simulator Pro 2017, SimCity: convoluted. You need to consider every SimCash, and other valuables to use in
Buildit, Bridge construction simulator single detail and make smart moves and further battles or to improve your city.
amongst others, but few are as known and decisions to keep your citizens happy and Complete weekly challenges and climb the
developed with good graphics. The SimCity your skyline growing. It also includes ranks to advance through Leagues. Become
franchise is one of them. different options like trade, chat, compete, a top Mayor and get rewards that can
and join clubs with fellow peers and friends. upgrade and beautify your city.
SimCity:
SimCity is an open-ended city-building The Imaginative Journey: Mayor’s Club is a wonderful opportunity
video game series since 1989. In the The journey from a single residential to trade supplies with other members
SimCity games, Developing the city from building to skyscrapers, parks, landmarks, and chat about strategies and available
undeveloped land is the main challenging factories and much more with strategically resources. Collaborate with other players to
task which include infrastructures placing the buildings to keep taxes flowing help someone complete their personal goal
like roads, bridges, electricity plants, and your city growing is wonderful to while getting support whenever needed
landmarks, public services for example say the least. Being a techno-manager, for it is a two-way street. Build big, work
schools, parks, hospitals, police station, solving real-life issues like traffic, fires, and together, lead other Mayors, and watch
fire stations and many more. The player pollution becomes a real challenge. One your city come to life!

#
eat
sleep
gaming
repeat

31 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 the
FOUNTAINHEAD
by
AYN
RAND

An avid reader, Mathew Roy

(ACM31, NICMAR Pune) is back with
another definitive book review.

In an effort to understand the many in the novel will give you an impression of author is the narrator and the language used
pundits who worship the writings of Ayn America’s prosperity and economic boom; in the novel is sophisticated, professional
Rand, I ventured upon giving her novel especially in the building construction and flawless. The dominating theme of
‘The Fountainhead’ a read. I am glad I gave industry. The society described in the novel the novel is Individuality and Objectivism.
it a read and it serves as a good reminder is modern, comprising glamorous people Love is a sub-theme of the novel. Ayn
that we should all be reading things that who waste a lot of money in socializing Rand along with being a great writer, was a
come from different perspectives than our and partying just to flaunt their prosperity, brilliant philosopher and her philosophies
own preconceived biases. status and power. The society boycotts form the basis of this novel and many of her
anyone who is not like them or doesn’t want other novels.
Meet Howard Roark, the protagonist, to become like them and it empowers the
the fountainhead of creativity and sycophants. The print media (newspapers) My Thoughts:
innovation. Howard is an excellent and has been shown very powerful in the The Fountainhead is a great stimulant to
ingenious architect who wants to design story. You will see newspapers making or the mind. A remarkable book by Ayn Rand,
buildings that reflect novelty: architecture breaking people’s career and reputation in it is a defence of the individual creative
as it should be and not as it has been. His society throughout the novel. spirit. It will make you contemplate about
fellow architects (both novice and pros); ideologies like Collectivism, Individualism,
however, believe in copying existing Writing Style: Altruism amongst several others. It will
designs. They shun anyone who challenges This is a character-driven story, enlighten you about the human parasites/
the old or the stereotype and; therefore, so characters and their individual life second-handers. Also, the book unmasks
do everything in their reach to destroy rule the plot of the story. Ayn Rand’s those who are hell bent on killing the spirit
Howard. Howard, ruled by a relentless characterization is well thought and of individualism (and expressionism)
passion for his vocation, his conviction and
developed. Howard Roark has been and want to empower mediocrity because
adamancy, stands alone against the entire described as the idealist, and he remains individualism promotes the genius of the
gang and lives through the fight between that throughout the novel. The other three human mind and mediocrity kills that
Collectivism and Objectivism. Which characters in the novel - Peter Keating, genius. The only flipside of the novel is
ideology/philosophy wins in the end is Ellsworth Toohey and Gail Wynand its length. It’s too long for the content it
something that the reader follows in this represent the realistic shades of human is putting forth and is a true test of your
novel. nature. Another character, Dominique patience. It is like you are reading the
Francon is peculiar and difficult to fathom! lifetimes of five different characters which
Social/Historical Context: This is a third person narrative combined might seem to break the natural flow of
The novel presents America as it was in with conversations between the characters, the story at times. For all Architects on the
the mid-20th century. The times described and thus can entail a bit of confusion. The block, this one is a must read.

32 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3

 Chakraview, one of the most popular annual Intra-College events of NICMAR Pune,
saw teams from all the courses and sections competing against each other vigorously and
enthusiastically to emerge as Champions and win the prestigious Chakraview Rolling
Trophy in its 2018 edition. Chakraview 2018 was a mélange of several different events
spread across genres like Technical, Business, Literary and Design where students of
NICMAR Pune were tested on various facets of technicality, managerial and artistic
prowess.

The various technical events included Paper Presentation: presenting a study, Technical
quiz, Poster presentation and Techno war: a pure technical debate where 3 participants
formed a team out of which one was the adjudicator. The Business domain comprised
of events like Caso de study (case study analysis), Business plan, Market Rural India
(marketing products from rural India) and AD Selfie (creating unique advertisement for
products). In addition to these, there were various Literary events such as Identity, War of
Words, Jest A Minute (JAM) and a design event in the form of The Futurist.

To make CHAKRAVIEW 2018 more interesting and enthusiastic, various tasks like
Mannequin Challenge, where every section had to take a video of their entire class standing
as a mannequin for a given duration; Slogan Task where every section had to come up
with an interesting slogan for their class, and Photo Challenge where every section had
to click a photo of their entire class with a unique pose and post it on the MIRAGE club’s
official Instagram account and the class with maximum number of likes won. These tasks
created hype about Chakraview among the students.

The cherry on the icing was an amazing cultural night by the students of Dance and
Music Club of NICMAR, Pune and Prize distribution was done by Dr. Kirti Rajhans,
head of student activities. The 32nd batch of ACM section 4 emerged as the winners of
CHAKRAVIEW 2018.

#RECAPchakraview
33 | NICMAR, Pune perception | Edition 3
 34-35
#REFRESH
something, anything
and everything
For the
people,
by the
people
Khyati Velkar
REUIM9
NICMAR Pune
As both an overarching idea and a
hands on approach for improving a city,
Placemaking inspires people to collectively
reinvent and reimagine public spaces as
the heart of a community. It refers to a
collaborative process by which society
can shape its public realm. It supports
the people and the connection they share.
At its center, the placemaking process
has community based participation that
capitilizes on a localities’ assets and
potential to create spaces that contribute to
happiness and well-being.
According to an article by the Indian
Express last year, The Pune Smart City
Development Corporation Ltd (PSCDCL)
would soon launch its pilot ‘placemaking
sites’ initiatives on different themes, as
part of the smart city development. These
spaces are to be designed for the creatively
inclined by providing them a platform to
experiment with various mediums, such as
painting, sculpture, dance, drama, music,
etc. It will have a solar panel seating, smart
box, semi-covered multi-purpose pavilion
— which can be used for workshops and
training sessions, open forum discussions,
presentations and an amphitheatre.
Although placemaking is not a new idea,
it gained traction during the 1960’s and
was made popular by Jane Jacobs. She
introduced ground breaking ideas about
how cities could be designed for people
instead of cars. Her work focussed on the
cultural importance of lively public spaces.
Jacobs encouraged everyday citizens to
take ownership of streets through the
now-famous idea of “eyes on the street,”
Applying the wisdom of these (and other)
urban pioneers, since 1975 different cities
across the world have gradually developed
a comprehensive placemaking approach.
Unfortunately, the rigid planning
processes of the 20th century have become
so institutionalized that community
stakeholders rarely have the chance to
voice their own ideas and aspirations
about the places they inhabit. Placemaking
can break down these silos by showing
planners, designers, and engineers the
value of moving beyond the narrow focus
of their own professions, disciplines,
agendas. Experience has shown us that
when developers and planners welcome
this kind of grassroots involvement, they
spare themselves a lot of headaches.
Common problems like traffic-dominated
streets, little-used parks, and isolated or
underperforming development projects
can be addressed - or altogether avoided-
by embracing a model of Placemaking that
views a place in its entirety, rather than
zeroing in on isolated components.
what if we
made our
cities around
people?
But using “Placemaking” in reference
to a process that isn’t really rooted in
public participation dilutes its potential
value. Making a place is not the same as
constructing a building, designing a plaza,
or developing a commercial zone. As more
communities engage in Placemaking and
more professionals come to call their work
“Placemaking,” it is important to preserve
the meaning and integrity of the process. A
great public space cannot be measured by
its physical attributes alone; it must also
serve people as a vital community resource
in which function always trumps form.
When people of all ages, abilities, and socio-
economic backgrounds can not only access
and enjoy a place, but also play a key role
in its identity, creation, and maintenance,
that is when we see genuine Placemaking
in action.
In evaluating thousands of public
spaces around the world, Project for Public
Spaces has found that for a project to be
truly successful, they generally share the
following four qualities: they are accessible;
people are engaged in activities there;
the space is comfortable and has a good
image; and finally, it is a sociable place:
one where people meet each other and take
people when they come to visit. While the
PSCDCL’s proposal is a welcome move,
it must take into account the vision that
the citizens see for their city to make it
successful.

the
Millennial
Vexation
Shreyas Kattishetti
ACM31
NICMAR Pune
Marcus Aurelius said, “Very little is
needed to make a happy life; it is all within
yourself, in your way of thinking”. In today’s
world, the intellectual understanding of
what happiness is has become an absolute
mystery. Particularly in the Millennials.
MILLENNIALS!? Well, generations have
been categorically been divided into
different sections based on the era in which
people were/are born. It all started with the
Baby Boomers – born in between 1944 &
1964, followed by Gen X – born in between
1965 & 1979. Then came the ultimate
legends; The Millennials – born in between
1980 & 1996. Now that the concept of
generational classification is clear, why are
the millennials in a vexation?
Millennials today are in the age range
of 22 to 38 approximately. Ours (ours,
because I am a millennial as well as you
are) is a generation which was a victim of a
rapid change. Change in what? Everything.
Simon Sinek has beautifully categorized
the change into four characteristics:
Parenting, Technology, Impatience and
Environment. Let us got through each of
these and see what can be done.
Consider Parenting, the reward-based
upbringing has induced an urge for a reward
in everything; success or failure. If there is
no reward, there’s simply no motivation at
all. There is a little difference in a child and
lab rat. The child has been time and again
told that there is no one better than you and
you can achieve anything in life. This leads
to a perception that turns the child into a
stubborn narcissist. The fact that parents
started comparing their child with others
induced a sense of profound responsibility
and burden. And once left into the
corporate jungle of immense competition
and targets, the child is devastated. Because
there are actually far better people and
failure has no reward. And to add to all of
it, the neighbour’s son is already placed in
35 | NICMAR, Pune
an MNC with a handsome package and
your distant cousin has started a start-up.
This induces stress, anxiety and ultimately
results in depression.
Technology, in the form of social media
has undoubtedly become a virtual organ in
a person’s life. The war of my-life-is-better-
than-yours has created a kind of unrest in
the minds of the people. It has become a
social obligation to flaunt about the things
being done. Uploading photographs has
become the primary reason of actually
going on vacations or doing recreational
stuffs. The sole reason of enjoyment with
the dear ones is now obsolete. Not realising
that the smile itself has now turned into a
pose. Life has become a reality show where
one is trying to undermine another with
ultimate levels of hypocrisy. And if the reply
is not proper, likes are not enough, no tags
on memes - induced depression.
Try? What’s that? Our generation is not
in a habit of trying. Everything is procured in
a click of a button. Need something? Order
it! Want to date someone? Right swipe!
Pass an examination? Copy! Someone
more better? Cheat! No job satisfaction in
2-3 months? Switch! WHY? Impatience.
There is very little struggle and more of
ease in everything. Not realising that this
ease is actually confining us into a barrier
of comfort. A level which we do not want
to breach as everything is easily available.
Any instance of unavoidable struggle will
create increased level of efforts – resulting
in failure.
The environment that we live in today
is an environment of targets, expectations,
competitions, examinations and what
not? Phew! That’s a lot to digest. Today’s
environment is like a swamp. The more
you try to get out of it, the more it engulfs
you and ultimately swallows you. The
society has become so goal oriented that
the sole meaning of life is now just a body
with active respiration. The stress induced
because of such an environment leaves no
space any other activity.
The solution?
Perspective and mind-set. These need to
be changed. It is astonishing to see that in
today’s world, there is a lack of love, affection,
care, compassion, humility, gratitude or
anything that induces happiness within.
Mark Manson has rightly pointed out that
our culture today is obsessively focused
on unrealistically positive expectations:
Be happier, Be healthier. Be the best,
Be smarter, faster, richer, sexier, more
popular, more productive, more envied
and more admired. In order to achieve
these objectives, we are forgetting what we
actually are. We are led into a perception
that we are already lacking something from
our cradle to our deathbed. This creates
a mind-set of urge. People have to realise
that each mind-set is an illusion. The more
details you add to it, the more complicated
it turns out to be. The thought process has
to be recalibrated and simplified.
The stress and anxiety induced due
to the factors discussed above actually
questions self-worth and you start blaming
yourself. And within no time, you are either
yelling at someone or crying in a corner or
standing on the tip of a building. Because
you are made to think that you are not
worth it. Whatever you do, no matter what
levels of effort you put into, there’s always
some Tom, Dick and Harry performing
better. The perception will be as expected:
I am useless and worthless. What you do
not realise is that you are also better than
a greater lot. You did try your best. You
are worth more than what you are made to
think you are. In the end, all the worry and
tension taken doesn’t even matter.
As a matter of fact, studies suggest
that any task that needs to achieved over
a period of time (getting admission to an
university) can actually be achieved with
greater efficiency by not worrying about the
outcome. Always believe in yourself. What
people say is none of your concern. Life is
way too short to worry about public opinion
because people will speak no matter what.
If you fail, you will have a lesson on how to
overcome it. But the stress and anxiety of
public opinions or expectations will have
a greater impact on your performance
as well as result in induced depression.
Because Mark Manson also said that the
desire for more positive experience is itself
a negative experience. And, paradoxically,
the acceptance of one’s negative experience
is itself a positive experience. The urge to
achieve something will lead to desperation
and ultimately result in failure.
Summing up, no matter what the
circumstance might be, perceive the task
as a challenge and not as a competition.
Always remember that you are much more
important than anything in the world. Self-
worth is everything. And more importantly,
never forget that EVERYTHING HAPPENS
FOR A REASON (EHFAR).
perception | Edition 3
PERCEPTion
NICMAR’s Newsletter | February 2019
Edition 3

With Edition 3 scoring newer heights

in terms of a broader content base and a
better overall design language, we look
forward to churning out more such editions
at a higher frequency. We look forward
to adding and extending the sections
beyond the scope of such publications
while ensuring that the readership enjoys
a diverse plethora of thought-provoking
and informative articles. As with every
such news platform, it is the reader, it is
you who is our primary focus, and thus
we look to your collective and inclusive
interest in developing Perception as we
move ahead.

To those having a copy of this or

reading the online version, hope you have
had a pleasant scroll through the pages
and have left these intricately curated
sections with a knowledgeable takeaway.
Until the next time, adieu.

- Team Perception

the Team:
Dr. Kirti Rajhans
Head, Student Activities
Rohan Mundra
Editor-in-chief and Creative Editor

for suggestions or contributions to the

next edition, write to us at
nicmar.newsletter@gmail.com