Showing posts with label resource. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resource. Show all posts

Saturday, March 9, 2019

How to Build Trust and Reduce Trust Deficit

My wellwishers often scold me: “Why do you tell everything about yourself to everyone...?” 

“To build trust...” I say. 

Yes – “Self Disclosure” builds Trust. 

On the other hand – Secrecy breeds Mistrust. 

Trust is most important in all relationships – Personal, Professional and Social

Trust is especially important in Marriage. 

In fact – Trust is more important that Love. 

“Should you tell my would-be spouse everything about your past...?”

“Should you share my sexual past with your soon-to-be spouse?”

“Should you tell your spouse about your ex”...?”

The answers are obvious – but – does everyone do so...? 

Trust matters on Social Media too. 

Those who disclose more about themselves are trusted more than those who are secretive or  try to hide behind anonymity. 

Here is an article I wrote many years ago on How to Build Trust and Reduce Trust Deficit... 

HOW TO BUILD TRUST IN RELATIONSHIPS (AND REDUCE TRUST DEFICIT)
Trust Management Using JOHARI WINDOW
By
VIKRAM KARVE

From my Academic (Management Lecture) Archives:

For many years  I used to teach and lecture on the applications of the JOHARI WINDOW in various aspects of management  especially in project management  and all facets of relationship management.

My observations for many years made me realize that one of the major problems in relationships, both personal and professional  at home and at work  is the increasing TRUST DEFICIT

So, a few years ago I wrote an article on how to reduce TRUST DEFICIT (and build Mutual Trust) using the JOHARI WINDOW. 

On request from an erstwhile student of mine  I am re-posting the article on application of the JOHARI WINDOW in reducing TRUST DEFICIT – which I had written long back based on my management lectures – and which I had posted on my blog a few years ago.

As always  I will appreciate your comments, views and feedback.

TRUST MATTERS

I trust people.

Depending on the way you look at it, one of my chief virtues (or shortcomings) is that I trust people. 

That is why it is easy for anyone to take me for a ride, and make an “April Fool” of me, as so many have done.

Yes  I have a trusting nature.

That’s why I did not try my hand at business.

By nature  I am an honest, straightforward, outspoken person and I like to be transparent.

I am not a “smooth operator”.

I do not have the “talent” to indulge in one-upmanship.

I do not possess the “tact” to be opaque, secretive and “diplomatic”.

It is because of my trusting nature that have I avoided taking up a profession where one has to put on a mask of pretence, hide things, indulge in mendacity and be Machiavellian to succeed.

In the Navy of yesteryear  we trusted each other.

Yes – Naval Officers of the “old-mould” attached great value to Trust.

In fact  mutual trust was the main factor on which the Navy system worked.

On a ship  everyone trusted the Captain  and  the Captain in turn trusted his officers and crew.

Sailors trusted Officers and  in return  Officers trusted Sailors.

It has been my experience that trust is the key ingredient in any relationship, personal or professional  and – it is always best to associate with trustworthy individuals.

Trust is greater than Love.

That is why arranged marriages based on trust may be more enduring than marriages based purely on love.

Trust matters a lot at work too.

One of the plus points I experienced in my career in the Navy was the atmosphere of trust which made work stress-free, productive and enjoyable.

I feel that trust is the bedrock of a good relationship.

This is why old fogies like me feel dismayed at the increasing TRUST DEFICIT in all spheres of life, at both the macro and micro level.

It seems that no one trusts each other.

Opposition Parties do not trust the Government and vice versa.

There is mutual trust deficit between the military and bureaucrats

Organizations do not trust each other.

Bosses do not trust their subordinates and junior do not trust their seniors.

Even in personal relationships, trust deficit is on the rise.

Husbands and wives do not trust each other.

Parents do not trust their children and children do not trust their parents.

There is trust deficit between teachers and students too.

I do not know whether it is true, but a young Naval Officer told me that nowadays there is increasing Trust Deficit in the Navy too and he has seen cases where even coursemates do not trust each other.

The moot question, therefore, is: 

Can this problem of Trust Deficit be tackled and mitigated?

Are there any methods to reduce Trust Deficit?

Well, let me suggest one method  JOHARI WINDOW

For many years I have taught and lectured on the applications of the JOHARI WINDOW in various aspects of management, especially in project management and all facets of relationship management.

My observations for many years made me realize that one of the major problems in relationships, both personal and professional, at home and at work, is the increasing TRUST DEFICIT.
 
So, a few months ago I wrote an article on how to reduce TRUST DEFICIT (and build Mutual Trust) using the JOHARI WINDOW.

On the request of some of my friends I am posting the article below once again. 

As always, I will appreciate your comments, views and feedback. 


TRUST and RELATIONSHIPS

“Should I tell my would-be spouse everything about my past?”

“Should I share my sexual past with my soon-to-be spouse?”

“Should you tell your spouse about your ex?”

These are common questions which arise in the minds of young people and you can see so many about-to-be married youngsters asking similar questions to “agony aunts”.

Conventional wisdom says that the answer is: 

“Yes. It is best to be open and honest with your spouse. Be transparent and do not hide anything. There should be no secrets between husband and wife.”

But  to my surprise  I have seen some “agony aunts” giving advice that being totally honest may not always be desirable and it would be wise to hide your past affairs...

I find this quite shocking. 

Trust is the bedrock of any relationship  especially a lifelong relationship like marriage – in fact  trust is the cement that bonds the marriage. 

Once trust is broken  the “cement” holding together the bonds will disintegrate  and the marriage will collapse like a pack of cards. 

How can you build a marriage on the foundations of mistrust...?

There is one more danger if you hide things and keep secrets from your spouse. 

You will forever live under the “Fear of being Found Out...

The “fear of being found out” is a terrible fear  which causes great internal stress which can be detrimental to your health  both physical and mental. 

This  in turn  will adversely affect the marital relationship.

Trust deficit has the potential to totally destroy a relationship, and even if it does not totally destroy a relationship, trust deficit will certainly inhibit the relationship from realizing its full potential.

There was a Marathi Serial a few years ago on Zee TV Marathi called Tu Tithe Mee which depicts the dangers of hiding your past from your spouse. 

The story of Tu Tithe Mee portrays in dramatic fashion how a marriage can crumble once a husband unexpectedly finds out secrets about his wife’s past life that his wife has hidden from him.

The story shows how even the smallest seed of mistrust can amplify into a demon of suspicion and create huge distrust which can shake the very foundations of marriage.

It is not only in marriage  but  trust is the essential ingredient in any successful relationship

Whether that relationship is between two people, between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, between friends, between parents and children, between relatives, between neighbours and acquaintances or within a family.

Even at the Workplace  for optimal functioning – Trust is a must between boss and subordinate  between peers and colleagues  in project teams  in business and partnerships  in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)  and  all professional relationships.

In many cases  employers are secretive  and employees hide things from their employers  because of Trust Deficit

One example of Trust Deficit is the prevailing trend of “Pay Secrecy” in the Private Sector  particularly in MNCs and the IT industry.

In our daily life in Society too, whether it be in the social community, in sports teams, and at schools and colleges, between teachers and students, or a relationship in any facet of life – Trust Deficit can be detrimental.

At the macro level too  trust between the citizens and the government is essential for effective and efficient functioning of governance. 

Trust is the cardinal element that allows the relationship to function effectively.

That is why it is sad to see “Trust Deficit” everywhere. 

People do not trust each other anymore. 

Yes  we humans do not implicitly trust each other now-a-days. 

You can see absolute and total trust only in canine-human relationships – yes  dogs unconditionally trust their human masters and and most human beings trust their pet dogs too.

How can we reduce Trust Deficit...? 

How can we enhance Mutual Trust...?

Well  there is a management tool called JOHARI WINDOW which can help. 


HOW TO USE THE JOHARI WINDOW TO ENHANCE MUTUAL TRUST AND TO REDUCE TRUST DEFICIT

The concept of the Johari Window is relatively simple. 

Assume that you are the wife (self).

There are things about yourself that you know and there are things about yourself that you don’t know.

Also, there are things about you that your husband knows and there are things about you that your husband does not know.

Now it is the same with your husband (other)

There are things about himself that he knows and there are things about himself that he does not know

Also, there are things about him that you know and there are things about him that you don’t know.

Now put yourself in the place of Self and put your husband in the place of Other and have a look at the picture below (called Johari Window based on contraction of the names Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham who developed this tool to help people understand and improve their interpersonal relationships). 






The TRUST in a relationship is directly proportional to the OPEN Area 

The other areas (HIDDEN, BLIND AND UNKNOWN) are sources of TRUST DEFICIT

Hence, in order to enhance TRUST  and reduce TRUST DEFICIT all you have to do is to increase the OPEN area (also called Arena) and reduce the HIDDEN Area (also called Facade) by Disclosure (Telling) and also reduce the BLIND area (also called Blind Spot) by obtaining Feedback (Asking). 

The UNKNOWN Area will also start reducing over time as the bonds of your mutual relationships become stronger and stronger and you get to know each other better and better.




TELL (disclosure) each other and ASK (feedback) each other and COMMUNICATE(give yourself interactive TIME together) to reduce the hiddenblind and unknown areas respectively.


 



Here is how the Johari Windows will look Before and After :


BEFORE

JOHARI WINDOW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RELATIONSHIP 

[Open Area or Arena Represents TRUST and the other three areas (Blind, Facade, Unknown) represent TRUST DEFICIT]





AFTER


JOHARI WINDOW AFTER YOU WORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP

[Notice how the Open Area of Arena (TRUST) has increased and the other three areas (TRUST DEFICIT) are reduced]




So now you know what you must do in order to reduce Trust Deficit in a relationship.

Whether it is a home or at work or any other relationship.  

Just sit together and work on Johari Window. 

Both of you must use Self Disclosure and Feedback to enhance Mutual Trust and reduce Trust Deficit and consequently improve your relationship. 

After you succeed in a one-on-one (two person) situation, you can extend this technique to multiple participants too.

This works for me. 

Why don’t you try out the JOHARI WINDOW and see if it works for you. 

Try it out with your boss and colleagues at work. 

If you are in the service industry try it out with your customers, and if you are in business, try it out in your business relationships.

Try it out at home with your spouse and kids. 

If you are in a relationship, try it out with your boyfriend or girlfriend while dating and courting and having a relationship. 

When you make friends, remember that deep friendships based on Mutual Trust are more enduring and truly fulfilling than superficial “Hail-Fellow-Well-Met” type of casual friendships.

Did it work? 

Did the Johari Window Technique help build trust and reduce trust deficit? 

What was your experience?

Dear Reader: Please comment - I look forward to your views and feedback. 



VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

Disclaimer:
1. These are my personal views. Please do your own due diligence while applying these techniques.
2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)
 

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Power and Leadership Style

From my Management Lecture Archives:

More than 25 years ago, I wrote an article on POWER AND LEADERSHIP in a Management Journal and also used my article as a basis to deliver lectures on the subject. 

Later, after I started blogging, I posted this lecture on POWER in my various blogs (in this blog first in 2008 and updated and re-posted later a few times).

Dear Reader: This morning, I thought that I should post an updated and abridged version of the article for your perusal:

POWER and LEADERSHIP STYLE
An Essay
By
VIKRAM KARVE

The two essential entities that flow between the human elements of an organisation are information and power.

Information flow is a means of communication whereas Power is an instrument of control.

Viewed from a Systems perspective, information flow is the transformation process, which facilitates decision making, in contrast to the flow of power, which is a control process whose objective is to ensure optimal operational performance.

Organisations are arrangements of power among individuals. 

In fact, as per one definition, an organisation comprises two or more persons interacting within a recognised power relationship for some common purpose. 

The interplay of power enables the achievement of common purpose (organisational objectives) and determines organisational behaviour.

Before we study the effect of power on organisational behaviour, it may be apt to take a closer look at the phenomenon we call POWER, in particular INTERPERSONAL POWER.

Interpersonal Power is the kind of power that people have over one another in formal and informal situations.

TYPES OF POWER

The various forms of power may be categorised into one or more of the following 12 categories, some of which may be inter-dependent, or overlapping, and some even forming power equations:

1. POSITION POWER

2. EXPERT POWER

3. CHARISMATIC POWER

4. INFLUENTIAL POWER

5. IMPLIED COERCION

6. ACTUAL COERCION

7. POWER OF APPLIED PRESSURE

8. POWER OF RAW FORCE

9. ASSUMED POWER

10. USURPED POWER

11. ORGANIZATION POWER

12. ASCETIC POWER


In many situations, particularly in organisations, many of the above forms of power are inextricably intertwined and mutually interdependent.

In fact, that is the beauty of the dynamics of the interplay of power within an organisation, which is why we will discuss the effects of the above types of power on organisational behaviour.

Now let us explore how this fascinating phenomenon called power impacts and determines organisational behaviour and elaborate a bit on each of the various forms of Power listed above.

POSITION POWER

Position Power or legitimate power is the power that emanates from the rights of the holder of a position in the organisation owing to the deference of subordinates to that position. 

Position Power is vested in the leader by the organisation. 

This means that should a conflict arise between the leader and the follower, the leader will get his way. 

It is this type of power that is most open to abuse, misuse and distortion.

INFLUENTIAL POWER

According to Alvin Toffler, in his book Powershift, the three important sources of power are violence, wealth and knowledge

He also says that power is the reciprocal of desire, or needs. 

Anyone who can fulfil (or withhold) your needs or desires is a potential source of power. 

Thus, if you desire a promotion, your boss who can give (or deny) you the promotion has power over you. 

If you need money, the person who can give you money has influential power over you. 

The more your needs and desires, the more you are subject to influential power.

Influential Power or compensatory power is the power over rewards and resources.

For example, money or wealth is an instrument of influential power. 

Satisfaction of needs (Maslow’s Need Hierarchy) including higher order needs of safety, belongingness, recognition and self-esteem through actions like grant of wage hikes, bonuses, increments, incentives, awards, promotions, and simple intangibles like just “a pat on the back” are typical examples of influential power.

COERCIVE POWER

Coercive Power is an instrument of punishment

Denial of legitimate needs, dismissal, demotion, unwarranted “punishments” like vindictive transfers and other forms of harassment are some commonly observed examples of coercive power. 

If these “punishments” are actually implemented and imposed, then it is called Actual Coercion but even the mere threat and power to impose these coercive punishments is a potent form of power and is called Implied Coercion

There is saying that sometimes the threat of violence is sometimes more scary than actual violence, so implied coercion can sometimes be quite effective. 

The extreme cases of coercive power include the power of raw force (physical assault or harm to life and limb) and implied or threat of force (power of applied pressure).

In most cases, influential power and coercive power have linkages with and may emanate from position power and rely on sources of wealth and violence (the “carrot and stick” approach). 

COERCIVE POWER is also called CONDIGN POWER

Condign Power refers to brute force. 

This means the ability to inflict punishment on someone if he does not obey. 

Courts, Police and Military Forces are the principal instruments of condign power.

EXPERT POWER

Expert Power is probably the only power that a lower ranking employee in an organisation can exert over those above him in the hierarchy or higher than him in rank or position. 

The source of Expert Power is knowledge. 

It is the power devolved to a person who is regarded as possessing essential knowledge, skills, abilities, or expertise needed by the boss and the organisation. 

If we look around we will see lots of examples of expert power especially in the technical domain and in Information Technology, where certain “key” employees wield expert power which is much more vis-à-vis their position in the organisational hierarchy.

One must remember that expert power lasts as long as the expertise is uniquely consolidated in the employee and adds value and is required by the organisation.  

Once a particular knowledge or expertise dissipates or becomes obsolete or redundant, the expert power that comes with that expertise disappears.

ORGANISATION POWER

A network of people who form an organisation or group may collectively radiate power. 

Organisations like the army, civil service, and police wield immense power and so do large industrial and political organisations. 

Other examples are Union Organisations, Employers’ Associations and Confederations of Industries.

Organisation Power may exhibit similar attributes like position power, influential power and coercive power relying on the sources of wealth and violence for sustenance.

CHARISMATIC POWER

Charismatic Power is a type of power attached to an individual. 

Charismatic Power emanates from personality and plays an important role in organisations. In situations when two persons with equal position power (peers) interact, we observe that one person tends to get his way more often than the other. 

This type of power that enables one peer to get his way during an interaction is called charismatic power or personal power. 

A person possessing charismatic power can get people to obey him of their own free will, he exercises conditioned power by changing beliefs through persuasion and willing acceptance by the follower. 

The key factors that determine charismatic power are:

1. Self Image – How you view yourself

2. Peer Image – How you view your peer (power inferior, power equal or power superior)

3. Feedback Factor – How you read the power play in the interaction

4. Situation Image – How expertise pertaining to a certain situation determines the power equation. (e.g. Situational Expert Power)

ASSUMED POWER

Assumed Power is illegitimate position power (authority without accountability). 

Examples include personal staff to high officials, low level functionaries in important government departments, etc. 

In general, any person who can deny, withhold, delay or fulfill your needs or desires has the potential to assume power over you.

USURPED POWER

Powerlessness may cause frustration and, in extreme cases, lead to desperation, which may trigger off attempts to usurp power (e.g. –  Military Coup, Hostile Takeover of Companies, etc) 

Power may be usurped by an individual or group and then maintained by force, coercion, influence, charisma or combinations thereof. 

Look within your own organisation – a discerning look may reveal many overtcovert and subtle forms of assumed power and usurped power.

ASCETIC POWER
  
To start with, I will relate below a story, maybe apocryphal, which illustrates the concept of ASCETIC POWER.

THE STORY OF EMPEROR ALEXANDER AND PHILOSOPHER DIOGENES

Alexander the Great, the emperor of the world, who had conquered all lands and seas and considered himself the “son of a god” and before whom all knelt in veneration and reverence, one day early in the morning, was riding with his army through Greece.

Suddenly he saw a man lying naked in the sand by the side of a river basking in the early morning sunlight.

Curious, Alexander rode towards the naked man. The man who was basking in the sun seemed to be totally indifferent to the distinguished visitor and his entourage.

The naked man remained prostrate and made no attempt to get up. He ignored the Emperor Alexander the Great sitting majestically on his horse.

An angry soldier shouted at the naked man: “You there – do you know in whose presence you are?”

“Who is he...?” the prostrate man answered lazily, without the stir, making no move to get up.

The astonished soldier proclaimed: “Wretched man, you are in the presence of His Exalted Highness Alexander the Great – Emperor of the World.”

“Oh...” the naked sunbather said impassively, continuing to lie down. 

He casually looked up at Alexander the Great mounted imposingly on his horse.

Then, the naked man said to Alexander: “I am Diogenes.”

“Ah, so you are the philosopher Diogenes!” Alexander exclaimed, “I have always wanted to meet you – I have heard so many stories about you. Diogenes, I am impressed. I will grant you anything you wish. What do you desire? Diogenes, ask for anything in the world and it will be yours.”

Still lying prostrate on the sand, Diogenes said to Alexander: “Please could you move a little to the side and get out of my sunlight, because you are blocking the sun and spoiling my sunbath. That is all I want from you…”
  


Power is the reciprocal of desire. 

If I desire something from you, then you have the power to either grant or withhold what I desire from me. 

If I do not desire anything from you, then you have no power over me. 

A desire can be any form. 

It can be tangible, like material wealth, or even intangible, like love, appreciation etc. 

In his time, Alexander the Great was the most “powerful man on earth, but he had no power over Diogenes, because Diogenes did not desire anything from him.

This story illustrates the fact that you cannot have power over someone who desires nothing from you

That is Ascetic Power

Look closely and you will see individuals with ascetic power around you, maybe even in your organisation too. 


LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP STYLE

Each person, because of his life experiences, develops a characteristic way of behaving when he has power over another. 

How you behave when you have power over someone is your leadership style.

Each of us has a characteristic way of reacting to those we recognise as having power over us. 

How you react to someone who has power over you is your followership style.

Leadership and followership styles may embody situational and cultural aspects. 

Different types of power have varied connotations in different cultures. 

In some parts of the world and in most hierarchical, military and bureaucratic organisations position power may be of prime importance.

In some other domains (especially political organisations) charismatic power may prevail.

And in some organisations, especially technical organisations, expert power may be given more recognition. 

With increasing globalisation, these aspects merit consideration in determining power equations in multinational and multicultural organisations.


HOW POWER AFFECTS BEHAVIOUR

Like all resources, power is susceptible to misuse.

Power corrupts, and to quote Lord Acton:

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely...”

Let us see, in the organisational scenario, what power does to people and discuss the process by which managers may get corrupted by the acquisition of power.

This process of corruption due to power is a four-stage process and the sequence seems to be quite consistent:

STAGE 1 – SURPRISE

After you acquire power, especially position power, say after a promotion to a senior position like CEO:

First, there is surprise at how quickly erstwhile peers or equals change their behaviour towards you. 

Then there is a distancing process. 

You can no longer be “one of the boys”. 

Your privileges increase – after all Rank has its Privileges.

STAGE 2 – EXCITEMENT

The second phase is a feeling of excitement, of recognition that when you, as the new leader, use your power to make a decision, your decision is both sought after and gratefully received. 

This develops into strong feelings of self-worth and you have a feeling of doing something worthwhile. 

You have a feeling of importance owing to the satisfaction of the inner need for significance.

STAGE 3 – POTENCY

The third phase is the one most likely to begin the process of corruption. It is feeling of potency

You, as a powerbroker, start to understand how much power and concomitant resources you can employ in order to amplify your own person, role and achievements. 

There is an accompanying feeling of isolation

The “leader”, possessing power, becomes inexorably drawn away from the subject (follower or victim) of his power and is tempted to feel bigger for it.
                                                                 
STAGE 4 – EPIPHANY

In the final phase, there is a split. In this stage, persons possessing power behave in two distinct ways.

If you are a prudent manager or leader – you will begin to realise the negative aspects of power. 

You will sense the reactions of your subordinates and peers in the organisation to the power equations and accordingly you will evaluate the situation and respond in a positive manner by appropriate delegation of power in order to empower your subordinates  or at least generate a feeling of empowerment among them.

If you are one of those indisputable ambitious power seekers – you will begin to believe that power is something that you can now command – because of who you are. 

You take your power for granted and begin to believe that your own identity is of prime importance as compared to those you lead (followers). 

You create defences against potential attack by peers and subordinates and other you imagine who want to grab your power. 

You will surround yourself with reinforcements (siege mentality). 

Finally, like Nero, Hitler and many other tyrants and totalitarian rulers, autocrats, despots and dictators, you will start having illusions of your own glory and ignore the reality of the situation and signs of your impending end.

In extremis, all those who hold on to power risk turning into paranoids and megalomaniacs like the ones we read about in history books, including the corporate world.

CONCLUSION

The advent of the information age and knowledge worker and fast changing business environment and flatter organizational structure owing to proliferation of information technology and implementation of modern management practices and consequent dynamic changes in traditional power equations necessitate an understanding of the different kinds of power relationships in organisational situations and their impact on organisational behaviour.

It is, indeed, vital to recognize that power is a key resource which must be prudently managed so as to minimise power conflict for the good of the individuals involved and the organisation to which they belong.

I will end with another quote from Lord Acton:

... And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely ...
Lord Acton

Power is a vital resource in governance and management. 

It is important to understand the dynamics of power in order to handle it prudently.

If the various types and aspects of power are not understood properly and mishandled, then power can become a dangerous resource and things can get out of control. 

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:
All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)