Hi, I wrote this as notes on my facebook and I thought I might as well put it on my blog. In my earlier blogs there has been some mention somewhere this pot of coffee story but I am writing it again in a different context to relate it to its rightful intent..hehehe..please read on...
I just got back from Dhaka, Bangladesh or what was formerly East Pakistan, this morning. Interesting country of more than 160mil people. Dhaka alone has about 30mil inhabitants. My first trip of many more to come InsayAllah. We were there as part of the Malaysian AIM (Asian Institute of Management) alumni Association delegation led by Hj Zul, its (AIM Malaysia Alumni president), Zeb Mazumbar from SIngapore and MP Singh, chairman of the Federation of Asian AIM Alumni Association (FAIM) and president of the India Chapter of AIM alumni. It was a wonderful trip, excellently organised by Anwar Chowdry, our Dhaka colleague. Thank you Anwar, for the numerous meetings and dinners. It was a really great networking experience for everyone. I made alot of new friends. I must thank the AIM Alumni Bangladesh Chapter for graciously including me into your roll of honorary life membership, among others, at its meeting last night. I am humbled and greatly honoured indeed. Thank you.
Being an immediate past president of the University of Hull (England) alumni Association in Malaysia and for years now deeply involved in the activities of a few other university alumni assocation (the university of aberystwyth, Wales as an example), I concur with the views of many, that alumni work is, apart from nostalgia and passionate ties with our alma mater and networking opportunities for business or other purposes, are but only for those few who are cut for this thankless job ( of leading an alumni body). To quote my good friend Richard, who was also with me in Dhaka, an alumni effectively only need 3 chaps to run it with the two others being absent for most of the meetings..hahaha. He (Richard) could not have put it any better.
Which reminds me of the story 'A Cup of Coffee' ...
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups.“ "Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change.“ "Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
Anwar Chowdry, you did a great job. I wish everyone nothing else, but great success. I believe you will have the support of all your colleagues/alumnus from every corner of Bangladesh from as far north as Rajshahi to Chittagong in the south. Thank you very much again for the warm welcome and kind hospitality...
