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.

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“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

This post is a week due and I’m posting it before Shahnaz decides to murder me.

The event was the All Volunteer Meet and the venue as is the case of any MAD event was our very own Rotary Bal-Bhavan. I was late but was relieved to see that everyone was waiting outside as Shahnaz and her minions (the HR team) wouldn’t let anyone into what was no less than any Arabian Sultan’s court. As soon as I walked in, I was given a badge shaped like Aladdin’s lamp and was shown the entrance which too was decorated very Arabic. Finally when the HR team was done with their work and had ensured perfection, we were allowed to enter.

It was clear that a lot of work had gone into the decoration as the place was covered with exotic silks from the middle-east’s finest silk shops (courtesy Riz’s mom) and lit with the most beautifully scented candles brought in from far for our meet. I cannot fail to mention here Shahnaz, dressed in the REDDEST (for lack of a better word) suit I have ever seen in my life.  We had been divided into animal groups written on the back of our badges and had to find the rest of our team, making noises of the animals we’d been allotted. Once all the barking mooing, hissing and cawing was done, we settled down to the ice-breaker.  The ice-breaker involved a lot of moving around what with the HR team wanting us to find people who fit descriptions we were given. Some of them weren’t even present at the meeting!! We spent a lot of time looking for someone with the last name Cherian but realized there was nobody that fit the category in the room. This proved to be a great exercise as a lot of volunteers were meeting each other for the first time and hence found it easier to interact and work together. Many interesting and creative ideas came up in the second task where we were asked to make logos for MAD.

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This was followed by a session where Jithin talked to all the volunteers. What he had to say didn’t go down well at first as it involved dividing MAD Cochin into two units. This was being done keeping in mind the over-worked core team and the difficulty of contacting volunteers. Even though dividing was something everyone was against initially, seeing the practicality of it, people began to come around and agreed that this would mean better administration and easier accessibility. A consensus was reached by the volunteers on dividing the city and thus MAD shows how democratic it is, once again. Whatever else Jithin said was overshadowed by this and honestly, I don’t remember. Sorry!!

Another activity succeeded Jithin’s talk where we were all divided into groups based on numbers written on our badges. Once the division was done and we were settled down, we were handed our tasks. This included representing MAD through different mediums. Our task was to represent MAD in Big Boss. Another team got MAD in a news channel and still another, MAD in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. The fourth team had to enact MAD in a Bollywood movie and the fifth had to enact MAD in a horror movie. This activity saw some excellent performances by Sumesh, Soli, Xavier and Rocky!!

All good things must come to an end and just when we were getting warmed up, we came to the end of today’s event too. But before we ended, it was time for discussion and thus started an hour of discussing volunteers’ problems and solutions the others had to offer. This session covered everything from unruly children to the syllabus and issues of training and orientation. This also brought an end to my constant hoping that Shahnaz would break into song and dance keeping in tune with the theme of the day. But once again, hats off to the HR team for putting together an awesome meeting!!

Well, that covers most of what happened at the All Volunteer Meet of January 2010.

I’m ending this before Shahnaz sees RED and decides to end my life.

I could of course bore you with some clichéd quotation about teamwork and cohesion…I choose not to. I could tell you that we are a dedicated group of highly motivated individuals who are committed to the cause of the organization… I think that goes without saying.  I could use a popular (but not necessarily inspiring) analogy to compare the core team to a sports team or the human fist. Let’s not go there!

Having overcome all of the above tempting tactics to make this blog read funny and interesting, I present to you, without any frills or masala, a simple glimpse into the world of the MAD Delhi core team:

In no specific order of MADness:

Vaibhav Rastogi: Vaibhav handles Finance. And given that he has willingly surrendered to 3 years of dedication in the leading commerce college of the country, we don’t question!

He’s not all about debits and credits though. Vaibhav is passionate about sketching, drawing and painting. He loves taking photographs [maybe PR can outsource that to Finance now ]. He also enjoys movies and music (and at the risk of being murdered at the next monthly meeting, might I add, he’s an ARDENT ‘Facebook’er!!)

Vaibhav’s vision for MAD -2010:“Hope that MADNESS QUOTIENT of MAD increases, MAD family grows bigger and gives its 100 percent dedication and commitment, and MAD gets MADDER day by day”

Sonam Jain: Sonam handles Human Resources. Much of our phoenix-ish revival during the last year was due to her constant and dedicated efforts at increasing the volunteer base of MAD Delhi.

She is currently self-employed in the field of paper and printing, and knows the difference between wheat, beige, fawn and tan!??!! (For those of you who are as clueless as us, these are colours). Sonam also loves reading and travelling.

Sonam’s vision for MAD -2010: “I want to see MAD Delhi grow double in number with respect  to the kids we are teaching and to have more of dedicated volunteers …”

Samridhi Dasot: Is in charge of Corporate Relations and Fundraising. She is a marketing executive at a leading education services company and is pursuing a P.G. Diploma in Human Rights. Phew!! Now, before you think she’s a serious chick who rambles off human rights law at the drop of a hat, think again!

Samridhi has won awards for direction; script- writing and lights design in inter collegiate theatre festivals and is a state level swimming champion!! Maybe the next core team meeting can be about how many things people accomplish at once!!

Samridhi’s vision for MAD -2010: “At an overall level, MAD Delhi should really scale up in terms of centers and students this year. And from a fund-raising point of view, I look at making Delhi a self-sufficient city as far as the funds required for conducting classes and improving volunteer motivations is concerned as well as achieving its syllabus and other national level costs targets”.

Samarth Agarwal: Does not handle anything, err, specific ..Our very own President and micromanager, he’s in charge of the overall madness. He has been instrumental in making MAD what it is today and has stuck with the team through good times and bad.

Samarth is a self-admitted ‘boring’ financial professional with an active interest in theatre and ballroom dancing. Boring? Rite!! (Please check out his Facebook profile for some amazing dance videos)

Samarth’s vision for MAD -2010: “To make MAD the preferred class for every child we teach. To make MAD the preferred volunteer network for socially responsible youth”

Sakshi Bawa: Handles placements. Sakshi is a literature student, but is currently working with a law firm…She is also pursuing her M.A. English (Hons.) and Human Rights…She may seem confused now, but wait and watch …as she’s sure that one day she’ll MAKE A DIFFERENCE…

She reads, dreams and religiously Facebooks…Amen!!

Sakshi’s vision for MAD -2010: “As a volunteer in MAD I was teaching the kids to prepare them for the outside world but now as a Placement Head I will be working to get them the career opportunities that will help them gain some practical knowledge and  help them stand on their feet…”

Prakhar Agarwal:

Is in charge of  f.o.m. Again, no comments on B.Com Honours students handling funds. Leave it to the pros I say!!

Prakhar is into dramatics and debating and claims that it is impossible to beat him in sleeping! Any takers??

Prakhar’s vision for MAD -2010: “Make the city self sufficient in its fund requirements and raise our share of the money towards the Syllabus. Generate as many corporate leads as possible. Conduct 2 corporate presentations every month. Accommodate as many corporate volunteers as possible in our volunteer base so that we can tap on the contributions made by companies if their employees are working with a social cause”

Khushbu Sharma: Is the English Projects head. No wonder the portfolio went to her given that she’s one smart girl!! Not only is she studying Physics (!!!!!) but has also got scholarships for the highest marks in X , XII boards in the district and the central command of APS  respectively. If that was not enough, she has also received the science meritorious in her first year of college!! (Are you counting the number of exclamation marks??) AND to top it all, she claims that she’s NOT a bookworm. But of course.

Khushbu also likes reading novels, singing, hanging out with friends and watching ‘Uttarn’ with her MADD  friends Anisha & Madhur!

Khushbu’s vision for MAD 2010: “I see MAD as one of the most organized and professional volunteer networks with more centers in India. In the near future, we will have enough funds (a special thanks in advance to our VPs responsible ie  Samridhi and Prakhar ) to provide the syllabus  even  for those students who don’t know the alphabet and to  have our meetings in a room  and have some refreshments after them ( as we starve hehehha)”

Ayushi Chand: Handles the Resources portfolio. Given her Economics background, we are sure she will ensure the optimum utilization of scarce resources given the budget constraints (Yes, I remember some of my Eco).

Apart from having received various awards for academic excellence, Ayushi has also actively participated in projects organized by MYTRI under the aegis of Rotary Club, Delhi. She has a special interest in the fine arts, calligraphy and singing.

Ayushi’s vision for MAD -2010: “I see MAD scaling new heights, moving towards its goal, catering to more shelter homes and many more kids. I wish that the MAD family grows bigger with many more motivated and dedicated young people, possessing the zeal and vigour to really Make a Difference to the society, joining MAD. I hope it gets all the success and wins loads of awards in the future. One year later, I aspire to see MAD spreading its MAD quotient amongst the youth united for the noble cause of educating the not-so-privileged blooming buds of our nation, and amongst the people, willing to be Friends-of-MAD, eager to contribute in whatever way they can.”

Anisha Verma: Handles Operations. That’s a lot of responsibility on her young shoulders, but for someone who has actually cracked into St. Stephen’s college, this should be a piece of cake!

Anisha likes working for the society, dancing and gardening. Of course, all of these pale in comparison with her passion of gossiping!! Another entrant to the TV serials camp, Anisha’s favourite hobby is watching serials on Colors

Anisha’s vision for MAD-2010: “I have been associated with MAD for about 8 months and the changes that I have noticed within a span of few months are commendable. I feel that within a year we will be able to make a difference in not just two shelter homes but many more. I can see that MAD will cover all the areas-North, South, East and West Delhi. As of now it is just in central Delhi. So I feel that lot is to be done and that’s why I am ready to make a difference”

Ajanta Dutta Roy: Handles Public Relations. She:

Has passed the required number of Economics papers in college. Learnt enough to pretend to be a disillusioned Economist. Is currently working for a professional services firm which she’s been planning to quit for the last 6 months.

Ajanta likes to procrastinate (will explain why later), eat momos and sleep, not necessarily in that order. If she ever gathers the will to overcome the inertia of rest, she also likes to critique movies, paint and strum her guitar tunelessly.

Vision for MAD -2010: “ I see MAD achieving both quantitative and functional scaling up through horizontal integration by expanding the number and diversity of the activities undertaken; and vertical integration by initiating activities that complement our original teaching program.

I also envision MAD strengthening its reach by tapping the public sector and international funding agencies like the UNESCO, building better media relations and making MAD a household name.

I think the biggest challenge that MAD faces currently is that of brand recall. Hence, I would like to make MAD a popular name at the national and international sphere.”