Dear readers, once again we are in the same classroom, in a reputed B-school, with some of the best brains with us.
The dean walks into the class and says :
"Our guest today is here to tell you about 'out of the box thinking'. It is 'out of the box thinking' for us to give him this opportunity, but he could persuade us."
The guest, a lean figure, walks in wearing a simple khadi Kurta pyjama, with old fashioned spectacles. The dean walks out.
He speaks softly:
"Dear friends, I am here to tell you about 'out of the box thinking',
Your faces tell me that you want to ask me who I am or what have I done in life to deserve to cover this topic, but [pauses and smiles] that wouldn't be an out of the box question. So lets drop it.
I assume you know what a box is. I am sure you would know many examples in business and politics or warfare, where the leaders 'think out of the box' and get desired results. If you watch movies, there are many examples of 'out of the box thinking' to win a girls heart.
Now, to make this session and out of the box kind, I have decided to show you a little magic trick. You must have seen magicians putting a beautiful girl in a box and making her disappear, we will do something similar.
But, because this is a class on 'out of the box thinking', we will do something different. Instead of making the girl invisible, we will make the boxes invisible.
I request a beautiful volunteer. "
A girl stands up from her seat and steps forward.
The guest : "Please write a few things about yourself on the board that can help us in identification. Like age, occupation, religion, nationality etc. For confidentiality, don't write your name"
The girls walks up to the board and writes.
1) Age : 26
2) Occupation: student MBA
3) Religion : Hindu
4) Qualification: B Com
5) Nationality: Indian
6) Dream Job : Investment banking
The guest: "Thats enough for us. Kindly step down."
The girls steps down and stands in front of the class.
The guest: "someone, please dim the lights"
The lights are dimmed, the guest steps in front of the girls and waves his hand over her head saying "abra ca dabra" and moves around the girl in circles. After a few rounds and chanting, he goes back and sits on his chair.
The guest: "Please switch on the lights."
[the lights are turned on]
The guest: [facing the class] Now the magic is complete, there are invisible boxes around the girl.
The girl: "But, I don't feel anything."
The guest: "They restrict your movement"
The girl waves her arms, moves a few steps and says "But, I don't feel anything."
The guest: "You can take your seat"
The guest: [facing the class] "Your faces tell me you want to see some magic.
See the boxes are invisible, the girl is not, what more do you want."
student : "where are the boxes?"
The guest: "Around the girl, they are invisible"
student : "magic means, you make the boxes - from visible to invisible"
The guest : "Ok, I will remove the remaining visible traces"
He moves up to the board and clears the board.
He turns around and says "The list given on the board were just some of the boxes that the girl lives in, these boxes restrict her movement, the places she can go, the things she can do, the people she can talk to etc."
The class is nodding in disagreement.
"Few examples might help:
There are few people she can talk to, for example, the girl will discuss budget with her class mates, but not with the canteen guy or her mother who get affected by it.
She will not learn how a punctured tyre is repaired, because she is a commerce graduate and not an Engineer. Illiterate people may be good at it, but you are in box."
The nodding stops.
"Most of the nouns and adjectives you use are boxes, so are the concepts and phenomenons taught to you. The real unfortunate part is they limit your thinking and you allow them to."
"I shall answer the question, that appeared on your faces in the beginning. My name is Sharad Joshi, I am writer and a satirist. A satirist, for me, is a person who always breaks the boxes that exists in the heads. In today's popular art, satire rarely finds a place and so people live in boxes made for them and paid by them."
He turns around to the board and writes
'If a bird wishes to fly, it has to break out of the egg first.'
Abhinav
05 Mar 2010
