It’s only natural that a team which comprises mostly of Psychology students would see MADness everywhere. So, here are the different kinds of madness as observed among the core team members.

Name: Deepak Bhat K

Mental Disorder: Extreme Introversion

We take him as Oogway, the wise old turtle in Kung Fu Panda. He comes out of his shell, talks and goes back in. Very sensible, I must say.

Designation: Our very own President.

Name: Achala Prabhu

Mental Disorder: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

I did not realize this till I saw how organized her files, her room, her bathroom, her wardrobe (clothes compiled by preference), MAD’s old newbie list which is checked almost every week. She constantly has to organize things, re-arrange plates, and tidy the table. Yeah, you get it. Also, what freaked me out was her hard drive; the music file has folders for male artists and female artists, then solo and group folders. She would put Monica of Friends to shame.

Designation: VP Human Resources.

Name: Nikita Kadri

Mental Disorder: Multiple Personality Disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder AND Hypo Mania.

Brace yourself for this. Kadri has ADHD but since she also has Multiple Personality Disorder so the Alter ego ‘Lanka Lakshmi’ has Hypomania. Lanka is a rapid talker, has a flight of ideas and has decreased sleep. For the fleeting ideas, she once had a suggestion for the Mad App birthday policy when on someone’s birthday, from the left of the page these caricatures (with hands + feet by the way) that is a bunting, a trumpet, a candle, a cake, two more candles and another trumpet. They come in ‘holding hands’ and encircle the name and the date, walk around it once. And then there’s a small burst of ‘celebration’ wherein the candles ‘jump’ on the cake, the buntings fly and the trumpets blow and Happy Birthday is screamed on the page. And then the candle, cake, trumpets and whatever came in hold hands and walk out from the right. Remember Vidya Balan in Bhool Bhooliyan?

Designation: VP Operations.

Name: Samiksha Shetty

Mental Disorder: Bi-polar

She has extremes of all moods. When she’s happy, she’s happppyyyyy. When she’s angry, God save the world. Take your work seriously, and make her happy, and you might even get treated to one of her famous double-cheese omelettes.  Has a hit list, people she would like to kill. She also has numerous techniques of killing people which she has voiced on different occasions when the work is not done. Sometimes, I feel maybe the silence of lambs inspired her a little too much.

Designation: VP English Project head.

Name: Divya Abraham

Mental Disorder: Early onset of Alzheimer’s

She in recent times has the ability to forget anything and everything. Her watch, her record books, her wallet, her phone, her mind, everything. There was a time when she forgot she had given her clothes to the laundry (and this was 6 months ago) and now she did not remember which laundry. We are now teaching her how to say “Water”. But she has a knack with numbers and is excellent with math, also can very diplomatically make anyone shell out money. Fund raising in good hands eh?

Designation: VP Corporate Relations.

Name: Greeshma Rai

Mental Disorder: Hysteria

Keeps talking till her target idea is in effect. Very responsible. That’s all. Freud would be proud of her.

Designation: VP Placements.

Name: Jennifer D’souza

Mental Disorder: Manic Depression

You won’t hear her talk for hours and you assume she’s the quite type, Ya right! Get some lemon ice cream or a lime and hear the ‘real’ Jen roll! The “Let it roll, baby roll,” part of Roadhouse Blues was written for HER.

Designation: VP Finance.

Name: Shiva Prakash Acharya

Mental Disorder: Delusional Disorder

Seldom talks but when he talks, it makes sense. We assume the rest of the time, there’s this film roll in his mind that shows him movies and things. Maybe effects of his graveyard shifts in the office. But how we all wish we were in ‘Shiv-lala-land’.

Designation: F.O.M Coordinator

Name: Janice D’souza

Mental Disorder: Traces of Paranoia, ‘Worrier’ and Schizophrenia

She is what people call a chronic worrier and doubts everything and everyone around her. Worries about her cuticles, hair, weight, world peace, how to solve world hunger problem and also her going-to-be-god-knows-where-the-hell-is-he-husband.  Makes a zillion people read and re-read the entry before it is published, and most of it doesn’t even make it online.

Designation: VP Public Relations.

What we look like when we’re not suffering from disorders. 

Exactly one mad year ago, I blogged for the first time and on the same phase of life. I called it awesomeness. I’m in a different position right now and I can’t think of the words to come up with this blog post.

For about two years, life has changed completely for me. Some people surrounded me. New people. Good people. Great People. MAD people. And then it came to an end. This phase of life was called madness.

Farewells have always been formal before I went MAD. But then, lately it is more than just the presentation of certificates of the people leaving MAD. This time it was Hawaiian themed party at Chackola’s Habitat. And an awesome one it was, thanks to Hannah, Jazim and gang.   

Back to ‘event reporting’- the event started with Sanju’s well prepared ‘funny’ presentation on the year that was. This was actually funny and kinda evident that she worked hard on the fun part. All of us played the hoolahoops gaming thingy. Its just musical chairs minus the chairs plus the hoolahoops. .

We had the farewell video played followed by the certificate distribution and again to some funny moments courtesy Jithin and his hugging routine. Game time again and this time it was the pineapple bowling, and as expected nobody got a strike. Nadheem did get close to one

The two new presidents, Shahnaz and Blesson showed us their plan for the new year and meanwhile smart people like me, ventured into the food arena and grabbed some awesome pastries. Before which Aditi chipped in – “They wouldn’t know we had these pastries would they?” ATTAAAACK !!

We enjoyed rest of the day with some dance and music and photographs galore! Check out Poornima’s album on facebook for the pics. Another MAD day, another MAD year. More to come.

Cheers and stay MAD.

View Full Album

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~Charles W. Eliot

I hitched a ride with Sanjana and Blesson was already waiting for us when we reached Crescent, all set to carry out his first task as the new President successfully, and I can safely say that he did it. J We walked inside to be greeted by the eagerly waiting children and after the usual “hello’s” and “hi’s” the children settled down into the room where the cupboard full of books were kept. The room was neater than usual according to Sanjana and that made it evident that they were all as excited as we were about the new library!!!

Sanjana briefed the children about the library and how the Choice school has helped us out by getting old books from the students there and as a token of appreciation we invited the Vice Principal of the school, Anjana ma’am and some of the students to come along today as well to inaugurate the brand new library! Niha, Azmeen and Ayesha, volunteers who teach at Crescent also dropped in to help. Soon enough, Blesson signalled that the group from Choice has reached. There were six students from classes 8, 9 and 11 along with the vice principal. They seemed a little shy but happy to be there nonetheless.

Everyone welcomed them in with a warm “good evening” and Sanjana introduced each of them to the children. Anjana ma’am talked to the children about how important books are to them and how much reading English books can help them develop their language and vocabulary. She told how eager everyone was to help out by giving their old books and the children must make the most use of them. One of the students who came also talked to the crescent children about how books can become your friends and how much you can enjoy reading them. However, Reading was not the only focus here. Anjana ma’am made the children showcase their singing talents and two of the girls, Sulfath and Ramseela, with no hesitation, came forward and sang beautifully!

After the joyous singing we moved onto the most important part of the day – the inauguration of the library! It was rather a very pretty sight; interestingly colourful books stacked very neatly into a light brown, very attractive glass cupboard. It would tempt anyone to read at least one book from there I am sure. As if those books weren’t already enough, there were some fun board games as well. Blesson invited one of the crescent girls and one student from Choice to inaugurate the library by taking out the first book and reading it loud to everyone. Aysha, who was proudly appointed as the new librarian, along with a student from Choice happily chose “Three little Bears” as the first book. Sanjana was standing right next to them with so much eagerness on her face that I am sure she secretly wanted to inaugurate it herself! Aysha started reading out the story to everyone and she did it so well that it would’ve made any MAD volunteer proud!!!

Once the most important task was over and a loud round of applause, we moved onto the vote of thanks by one of the Crescent kids who showed a little hesitation at first but after some soothing words from Sanjana she was happy to do it. As a token of appreciation for all help provided by the Choice school, Sanjana thanked them as well. Before leaving they walked around and interacted with the children and as a perfect ending to the wonderful event, Crescent provided all of us with yummy treats. Once that was done and the library in its place, we all left the place with a content heart as well as a content stomach.

Special thanks to Nikhila, Jake, Justin, Niha and Azmeen for all the help!!

Some interesting facts about our brand new Library —

Total number of books – 411

Books from Choice – 341

Books from our donors – 34

Books from our volunteers – 36

GO MAD!!! =D

Every time, every single thing that you teach, you hang on to every single word and you hang on every single moment, for that perfection. And for Make A Difference, when the kids are reciprocating it back to you, sharing the same rhythm and rapport, they’re not just reflecting what you’ve… the thoughts that you’re wrapped up in, but also what their lives are wrapped up in, too. It’s too much of a moment… it’s, it’s one of the most unusual epitomes that you’ll ever come to face. And that’s the only way you can look at something like that. You can’t even say you love doing this or this is what I have to do or anything of that sort. I don’t even think that’s a way to describe it. It’s not about… it’s, it’s about, it’s about all the emotional baggage that you, you come with and that you are, are just… you finally have an outlet for. That’s what Make A Difference is to me and when it’s reflected back at you by these 34 kids, it’s … I don’t know, it’s a feeling you can’t even describe.

I’ve learnt- goodbyes will always hurt, pictures can never replace being there, memories forget the hard times, words can never replace feelings, and heroes often go unsung. Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them.

Cheers and stay MAD, forever.

Chief Operating Officer

MAD has been growing steadily and is now seeking to dramatically accelerate growth. We are looking for a mission-focused, seasoned, strategic, and process-minded leader with experience scaling an organization, leading an executive management team, and developing a performance culture among a group of diverse, talented individuals. The individual must be a leader who is able to ensure that MAD delivers measurable, value based results that make our vision a reality. More importantly, the successful candidate will have the skills, sensitivity, and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to our mission. While it is essential that the COO brings efficient and effective systems to increase the productivity of the organization, it is also critical that the team retain the creative spark that drives the MAD concept.
This is an outstanding opportunity for a highly motivated professional to assume a pivotal role in the evolution of a fast-growing, highly respected organization. We are seeking an individual of outstanding quality with a respected track record.

Contact: apply@makeadiff.in