Goodbye 2007!

Its gonna be LEGEN.....

.....wait for it.....

....DARY!!

There are times in a person's life when there he is abound with just too many questions, that is when a man realises what he must now do.

Suit up and spread some awesomeness! (Thank you Mr. Stinson!)

Looking forward to the much talked about 3rd term at IIMA and life in general, with a mix of anticipation and apprehension. I heard this somewhere - 98% excitement and 2% nervousness or 2% excitement and 98% nervousness....I don't know

A very very Happy New Year to all of you and I really hope this year and the years ahead bring you all that you want!...;)

Updates

Well, haven't got an opportunity to write something here in a long long time. Life has been really hectic. One of the major developments though, has been the summer placement process getting over last week.

Before going for the term break after 1st term, most people were just aware of the fact that summers (as in summer placements) were approaching. A few had already begun preparations in real earnest but some like me are habituated to leave things for the last moment. Well, not exactly the last moment, but having started way too late, I definitely would have been a lot more satisfied with my preparations had I started early. Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, I did spend around 25-30 hours preparing my CV, which is the average around here.

But as they say, all's well that ends well. I got the job I wanted. The crib I now have from life is whether or not I'll get the much vaunted PPO (Pre-Placement Offer). I'll be interning at General Atlantic Partners in Mumbai. It's a private equity firm and for someone interested in finance, I think I can safely say its one of the happening sectors today. More so since it was a day 0 offer I got the rest of the placement days to relax. A mini vacation if you will. At IIMA, trust me that is a luxury!

I wanted to put up photos of the day 0 placement process. Thanks to the lack of a camera phone, I wouldn't be. I still might though, if the placement committee here would be kind enough to share a few photos with the batch. I did see a photographer hanging around the place on all placement days. Why I am talking about the photos is because they are interesting!

One thing that really strikes one and makes one proud to be associated with IIMA is the extreme degree of professionalism reflected in any and everything. Be it in the placement of pens on the table, while setting up the interview rooms at night for the recruiters for the next day or be it something like interacting with the top firms worldwide, the way it has been conducted by the placement committee and the student body in general here has been exemplary. It is things like these I guess, which creates the bond between oneself and WIMWI.

On the same note, it is really amusing to read articles on the placement process in other reputed B-schools in the country. I wouldn't name any school but having read an article or two, its great fun to realize that such behaviour is ultimately driven from the insecurity created by brand IIMA. I probably sound like I am boasting, but whatever I say has a substantiative backing. Ultimately, the biggest parameter to measure our brand value is just a simple observation - IIMA never compares itself with anyone, whether directly or indirectly. And the others do it, again and again. Please read press reports on placement processes in other well known B-schools in the country and you'll realize what I am talking about. Those schools are good, no two ways about it, but when you come down to showing yourself to be better by simply showing others down and talking about what makes you happy, I believe there couldn't be a bigger sign of your inferiority complex.

Anyhow, I was a little amused as I said, and just wanted to use this medium to talk about this phenomena. It's 1-30 AM and I'll hit the sack now.

Greed

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is
good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures
the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for
life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind

~ Wall Street

And I agree.

What Was the CEO of Merrill Lynch Doing While ML Was Writing off $8.4 Billion?

On a golf course. Golfing. By himself.

His golf scores revealed something more interesting about him. Read further on here.

Missing Something. Don't Know What.

I-Banking; Money

Words of wisdom from a 'rockstar' trader, whose talk I attended today.

"With higher salaries, we might get a bigger TV, a bigger house......but not everything gets bigger in life"

One of the most amazing company PPTs I attended so far. I sure am glad, I belong to this place!

Rightly said - Branded for Life

Gujarat - Holocaust

Hard to believe these people live a few kilometers from where I live. Words do not come to my mind. See this video.

For when constraints seem insurmountable, you get more energy

I Was Reborn Today

If There Was A God...

...Here's his chance to prove his existence

I am really hungry and have nothing to eat. Please o God, give me something to eat! and a little more time to blog in higher detail...!

What I thought was a relatively better day...

...in terms of time, has left me more squeezed for it than ever!

Man I hate it!!!

Real Pleasure

At a Dorm 20 meet -

The chimp: I always thought the pleasure you have when you finally pee after holding on to it for a long time is equal to orgasm. I was wrong, peeing is better, since you have to work harder to hold it...!

And I....have no words...

I've Fallen off the Cliff...

...And I hope to God he makes me fly

One Thing You Didn't Know About IIMA

Something for that matter which even I didn't know.

IIMA is one HELL of a dating joint! I mean at the parking or the LKP or some other secluded corner of the campus, you see the local Amdavadi couples together. I am pretty sure they tell their folks that they're going for CAT coaching classes and come here instead. For 'inspiration' I guess!

Infact I see this one couple at the parking stand, near the ever-present Rambhai (more on him later, he deserves a full post), every evening. And I mean, every evening. The guy is sitting on his motorbike and the girl is sitting on a chair nearby or the reverse arrangement. Boring but definitely cost-effective and also hats off to the guy's patience for being able to chat with the girl everyday for atleast 2-3 hours. I always wonder where that couple finds the topics to talk on everyday.

From the IIMA perspective, I guess its a contribution to the society, saving those young lovelorn couples their pocket money...;)

That's LKP (Louis Kahn Plaza) by the way


Beautiful, isn't it? Don't blame those couples for coming here! Sometimes when things aren't going good, which is most of the times for me, sitting here at night makes it all worth it. Makes you feel like a WIMWIan, an ossum and a godly feeling indeed!

India Today

Source: CNN-IBN

15 August, 2007

A habit, developed over the past twenty-two years has now been ingrained deeply into my system. I am late again.

I'm a day late but on Independence Day, when I am old enough to understand a lot of things, here's a humble dedication from me to our nation and to the brave men and women who fought for my freedom to abuse/make proud my nation. I don't know what adjectives I should use to describe it. To some its a nation worth dying for, to some its just a place they were born in and where they pass their time before they get the US/UK/Canadian visa. Personally speaking I don't know if I'll ever face a situation when I need to die for it, even if I do, I don't know if I'll do it. Neither do I know if I'll ever leave this land permanently.

I do however like, even love this country. The reasons for the same though, might or might not exist.

Moving on, a few lines from a man who according to BBC made the sun set on the empire.

I believe that the civilisation into which India has evolved is not to be beaten in the world. Nothing can equal the seeds sown by our ancestry.
Rome went; Greece shared the same fate;
the might of the Pharaohs was broken;
Japan has become westernised; of China nothing can be said;
but India is still,somehow or other, sound at the foundation
~ Mahatma Gandhi


In the words of Mohammed Iqbal -
Yunan Mishra Roma, sab mit gaye jahan se,
Ab tak magar hai baaki, naam-o-nishan hamara

Kuch baat hai ki hasti, mitti nahi hamari,
Sadio raha hai dushman daur-e-jahan hamara

Happy Independence Day

The Notice Everyone Dreads

IIMA

August 10, 2007

To : PGPI, MANAC I Students

From : MANAC I Instructors

Please note that there will be a short MANAC I Quiz today (Friday, 10.8.2007) at 2.30 p.m. in respective classrooms.

Thanks.

On His Wedding Night

Prof RaviC is writing the case solution on the blackboard and looks at a guy who's studying his casemat (case material) instead of looking at the blackboard for the solution.

Prof. RaviC: You're like the idiot who wants to watch a blue movie on his wedding night!

I don't think I need to describe the class reaction now!

I haven't had the privilege to be taught by this amazing guy but he's well known in IIMA circles for his witty remarks. I hope I too get to sit in his class next year!

WIMWI - Decoded

What 2T a.k.a. Vamsee, a friend and my dorm-mate (is that a word?) had to say on WIMWI, an introduction to life in WIMWI.

"I am really tempted to write a full fledged blog here, considering that this will be my first post since entering the hallowed portals of IIM A. But alas, with the mid-terms around the corner, it would be too much of a risk. But since I have managed the miracle of completing my WAC assignment before time (three hours to go!!!), I will take the liberty to put up a post.

Here is a list of some common jargons used here in WIMWI. Disclaimers, since it is not an original work. None the less, it makes a pretty interesting read. I promise there is a lot to follow, for which this will work as a reference guide. Take them at the face value now, explanations will follow in due course of time. I am off to enjoy the famous WAC run(See below) now...

Arbit (adj.: origin:: local); short for arbitrary .meaning nothing in particular and everything in general.

Assignment (n: origin:: James Bond Movies); PC lab has computer paper; groups have to meet; the Profs have to give something in order to take something; hence ass-ignments; gives rise to Newton's nth law - "thickness of the report shall be directly proportional to the weightage of the assignment".

Blackbooks (n: origin:: IIM A); collectors' items; consists of old question papers which are the saviours during quizzes, midterms and endterms; question-able methods of cracking the scene. "

Bumps (n: origin:: A'bad Municipal Corporation); if it's your birthday or in case you crack the scene , then you have had it - no ifs and butts.

Case mat (n: origin:: Case Unit); IN CASE YOU ARE FOUND WITHOUT IT IN CLASS , THEN YOUR CASE IS VERY WEAK. BT THE WAY THE UPPER CASE IS INCIDENTAL

CCCF (n: origin:: IIM A); acronym for 'Conceptual Clarity and Contextual Familiarity'; for cccf on what that means see cccf.

Chai (n: origin:: obscure); the underlying fillosophy of WIMWIans; the forum for countless discussions over countless cups; the non-alcoholic spirit of IIM-A life. Has strong associations with mess , NR and Rambhai's

CHAOS (n: origin:: Biblical (almost), IIM-A); describes the state of an WIMWIian two hours prior to any submission or presentation. Also IIM-A's organised (???) annual extravaganza.

Cogging (n: origin:: Arthur Hailey); Collaborative Operations on Getting Good Insights for Necessary Grades; on-line teaching aids for turning the wheels of one's life . Strictly prohibited in WIMWI.

Combo (n: origin:: Phantom Comics); IIM-A equivalent of Jungle Olympics; never ending source of fun, entertainment and activity in the second term, when battles are fought on an mental and physical plane; an outlet for action and interaction.

Convocation (n: origin:: Nalanda); the day when IIM-A life turns full circle; 180 degrees are handed over on this day.

Corpo Dinner (n: origin:: IIM-A), one more resultant)of mess grub; around 25 Indians go out in English suits to an American place, have Mexican and Chinese food and go Dutch; a truly global affair.

CP (n: origin:: Harvard); Acronym for 'Class Participation'; IIM's vocal support to the cause of socialism, often accompanied by its offshoots like Arbit CP, Challenge CP, RCP, ACP etc.

CR (n: origin:: Sholay); acronym for 'Class Representative'; generally jobless except for rescheduling classes, making farewell speeches, postponing assignments and making a fool of him(her)self in the Talent Nite.

Cribbing (n:: Oliver Twist); Continuous Ranting and Industrious Brow Beating Inevitably for Necessary Grades.

D-l, D-2 & D-ll (origin:: Louis Kahn); short for Dorm-1, Dorm-2 and Dorm-11; residences for non-males and non- resident males.

Day Zero (n: origin:: Algeber-wai mulublai); the day of reckoning for the best; genesis for some ;armageddon for any.

Diro (n: origin:: English); Big Chief of IIM-A; a figurehead who can't figure out where we are heading.

Dorm (n: origin:: Louis Kahn); they exist from 1 to 23; the epicentre of all activity in IIM-A; also residences for WIMWIans.

Dorm Rep (n: origin:: IIM-A); Chief of the dorm; arranges for dinners, dunkings, T-shirts and other common dorm inventory

Dunking (origin:: Niagara fn!!s) ; IIMA's answer to the patriot missiles ; long range aqueous projectiles aimed at an unsuspecting passerby providing source of immense gratification; this ritual for no perceivable reason, has a distinctive sexual bias.

Endterm (origin :'The Crusaders'}; the magnum opus of the coterie of professors, an epic battle fought by valiant students to stay afloat, which puts other occurrences like the Mahahharata and the Ramayana to shame; used in conjunction with other torture instruments like midterms and quizzes.

Exhibit (origin:: showbiz); Unnecessary, but necessary portion of anything attached to its end; an integral part of WAC reports and PPTs.

'F'(origin:: ancient Greek); the most dreaded grade in non-academic circles; also happens to be the sixth letter of the alphabet.

Fachchas ( origin: obfciirc); all new entrants to the realms of Louis Kahn, Vastrapur, the case method, corpodom and MANAC quizzes.

FPM ( origin: 11M A); fully paid mazaa; a four year transform which involves a fully subsidized vacation with a universal pastime called research; fine fellows they become.

Fraud (origin: RaviC, mind u, only the word, not what it stands for) to beautifully elaborate and then succinctly encapsulate first grade BS, applies to many assignments, and unfortunately, some courses as well

Garba ( origin: Gujjuland); a rollicking local dance form; an occasion for honing one'? skills in tertiary activities like dancing, bird-watching; a time when IIM A comes to NID, NIFT and CEPT.

Group Meeting (origin: Harvard); necessary part of the curriculum; when WIMWIans sit or stand or lie down and discuss solutions tor unstructured problems and dilemmas in life; in other words , the day's juice is collated, arranged and prepared ready for dispatch to community at large the next day.

Harvard Dinner (origin: IIM A); the soup that we land ourselves in on Friday nights; a solemn acknowledgment of where we derive our 'bread and butter' from;

IIM-B (origin: Indian Govt.); never heard of such a place, cccf invited. Also called Not So Well Known Institute of Management In Southern India.

IIM-C (origin: Indian Govt.); never heard of such a place, cccf invited. Also called Not So Well Known Institute of Management In Eastern India.

Juice (n: origin: IIM-A): WIMWI's own edition of the British, Hindi and vernacular tabloids put together in torture chambers called classrooms for public consumption and reprieve; no wonder Hitler didn't like the 'juice'.

Junta (origin: 1930s, Spain); we, the people, the mob, any number of guys and gals from one to infinity generally present anywhere.

KLMDC (origin:Gujjuland); Kinda' Lodge for Misled Delegations from Companies, a paid vacation for middle level managers in an amiable ambiance; for those who can't afford golf courses, crash courses are the in-thing; a classic case of mutual value addition.

Leli (origin IIM-A); ancient war cry of the masses; occurs when unwitting individual(s) have been taken (in) by a revenge seeking mob. (see tempo shout and zigzag).

LKP (origin: Louis Kahn); IIM-A equivalent of the red square; venue for convo, afternoon snoozes, photograph sessions, inaugs, rock-nites .....

LSD (origin: 'TheBeatles); stands originally for' Literary and Symposium Desk' but literally the symposium part is non-existent.

MAD Club (origin: IIM-A); stands for Movie A Day; but often Xceeds one's XXpectations.

Management (origin: Gujjuland); what one tells the auto driver when you want to get to IIM-A; not to be confused with anything else.

Marketing (origin: Indus Valley Civilisation); if it's not finance it must be; governed by four P's, especially during placement - Please Pardon Poor Percentages; also the name of torture instrument used by PO, Vyas and Jain Baba.

MF (origin: IIM-A); stands for Marketing Fair christened 'Insight'; where the companies use WIMWIans as guinea pigs for trying out new ideas and the WIMWIans use local junta as guinea pigs to try out their fledging skills and all the junta not doing serious work enjoy themselves immensely.

Midterms (origin: 'The Crusades'); See endterms.

NID (origin: 'Govt. Of India'); Place forming a mutual admiration society with WIMWI. They admire the , way our campus is built and we admire the way they are.

CT (origin: local); Where WIMWIans mortally wounded in the mess, retreat in the night to assuage grumbling tummies.

Nightout (origin: 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat'); doing something you should have done earlier, at a time when you should be doing what you did earlier, (see WAC).

Open Book (origin: smug Profs); Kind of exam in which cogging from a book is allowed, but in which you can't figure out which chapter. Or if you know the chapter you must have brought the wrong book. If nothing else you've come to the wrong classroom. See cogging.

Operations (origin:World War II); nothing medical There is a rumour that it used to be a substitute for Finance and Marketing, but you shouldn't believe everything you hear.

Pantry (origin: Louis Kahn); A. small room in every dorm. Some of these actually contain Ossum food.

PGP (origin: PGP office); Presently Grilled Prisoners. (See endterms, midterms, quiz, assignments).

Postpone (origin: Mojo); Something that is done to assignments, classes, quizzes on pretexts like Talent Nite, LAN crashes and a general attack of lethargy.

PPO (origin: P&G); Stands for 'Placement Panic Over' or 'Persistence Pays, OK?'.

PPT (origin: Placement Office); Stands for 'Please Pay "Ttention'. Sadly, very few comply and the rest pay up 250 bucks each.

Quiz (origin: Charles Daley); Like any other you have seen. Puzzling questions, limited time, makes you wish you knew more and of course the quizmaster's decisions final.

R.As (n: origin: 'The Mahabharta'; Lord Ganesha being the first one); People holding the key to a good GPA and must hence be kept in good humour. Attendance, CP and exam marks are in their hands. Behold them in awe and handle them with care (see GPA, CP, cribbing).

Rambhai (origin: Gujjuland); One man institution outside WIMWI who could teach a course or Wo if he had time (see marketing, chai).

Rem (origin: 'the Bible', 'The Second Coming'); Replay in slow motion for those who missed action the first time round.

RG (origin: The autobiography of Daintier Benz); I know what it means but why should I tell you ?

SAC-C (origin: The Chancellor of Exchequer); WIMWIan equivalent of President, Pope and CEO rolled into one. In short a position in which you can sac, see?(see WIMWI).

Soapbox (origin: Hyde Park, London); Place where some people go to speak and rest go to have fun.

Tucchas (Origin: Paradise Regained by Milton); the Gods in WIMWI

Ramp (origin: Stanford Univ. USA); Architectural marvel for foreigners and NID-ians to gawk at and for WIMWIans to climb, (see NID). Now notorious for parties

Summers (origin: Revolution of the earth round She sun);Hot season in preparation for which people wear blazers and ties .

Systems (origin: Mckinsey's 7 S model); Like Operations a rumoured alternative to Finance and Marketing. Most WIMWIans don't believe this to be true. (see operations, marketing, finance).

Talent Nite (origin: local); High point of the first term. An elaborate exercise to get to know almost everyone in your section and to see your CR make a fool of himself, (see CR).

Tempo Shout (origin: The Paleolithic Age; origin: of spoken tongue); tribal war whoop emitted by groups of WIMWIans, apparently without any provocation, rhyme or reason (see Leli, zigzag-zigzag).

Tower Lawns (origin: Louis Kahn); used by WIMWIans for playing football and hockey, general junta for lazing on and cows for grazing on.

Vastrapur (origin: unknown); Small unimportant village in a small unimportant town in Western India.

Vet (origin: Blue Cross); The medical man about town. Short for 'veteran doctor' - contrary to popular opinion. Met when you report a stomach upset , the main symptoms of which are over-sleeping and inability to attend classes.

WAC run (origin: local); strange ritual held nine times a year in which WIMWIans remain awake all Friday night and start running madly at 04:25 PM on the next day. (see Nightout).

Welcome Night (origin: local); Traditional event to see how well a PGP 1 can sing when two hundred PGP 2s are yelling.

WIMWI (origin: the professors used this to signify IIMA without using the name IIMA in case studies in the 1970s); Well known Institute of Management in Western India.

Wing (origin: Louis Kahn); View of the campus from the wrong side of the LKP.

Work-ex (origin: Newton's Third Lam); After which some people come here for a two year break.

Zigzag-zigzag (origin: Tempo Shout); Description of the path to success and future glory from here. Part of tempo shout, no doubt for that reason, (see Leli, tempo shout)."

Dorm 20

The fucchas of D20, rechristened.

4pLay

That, ladies and gentlemen is my name from now on. In other words, I've been rechristened as

4pLay - The Sex God

This is another WIMWI tradition, one of the famous ones I guess - Dorm Naming. An example - the Vindi you hear in M.S. Vindi Banga (a well known alumnus of IIMA), is his dorm name. The first thing people do when talking to IIMA students or alumni is ask their dorm name. So it is quite well known. There are 26 dorms in all over here and every dorm has secret rituals and traditions for dorm naming. No one outside the dorm is aware of these.

Here are all the dorm names in Dorm 20 - Dorm of Sex Gods...


This board though, hardly tells you the story. There have been worse names than these. A few examples are - Sussu Singh, Potty Singh, Landesh Singh, Blojo, Blomie, Brasak etc. Then we have some nice ones too, but then nice is boring!...;)

Panna Marathala Vavaala!!! Section A Ku Savaala!!!

Thats the tamil tempo shout (there's been a tradition of tamil tempo shouts you see) for my section, Section A, for the upcoming T-nite (Talent night). Full credit to Karthik, our tempo manager for this...;)

T-nite is the annual inter-section competition between the four PGP 1 sections (A, B, C, D) in IIMA. Its supposed to be ultra competitive with intense rivalries between sections. With the event scgheduled right after the mid-term exams, there is hardly any time to practice or prepare, but that simply adds to the fun. Along with full support from the tucchas, even IIMA alumni working in various locations come to the campus to support their former sections. Thats the scale of it.

And lastly, if you're wondering what this particular tempo shout meant, I have no idea and if you're wondering what a tempo shout is, its a cheer, to keep the tempo high!...;)

- Section A ka tempo....high hai!!!
.
.
.
.
Baaki sab ki le li....zig zag zig zag!!!


-Section A ka naara hai....T Nite hamara hai!!!

Feeling Guilty is sleep >= 6 hours

And that is the way I felt the whole day, thanks to the princely 6 hours I slept last night.

Quantitative Methods, Hand Grenades and Cafe TANSTAAFL

An interesting application of QM was related by my Quant Methods professor in class, his Belgian friend in the NATO forces told him this about hand grenades.

The grenades that they use have to have an optimum composition of chemicals. When you throw them at the enemy during war, if the chemical composition is more than the optimum level then it kills the enemy soldier and you can't get any information out of him or if he's alive then you need 1-2 of your own men to carry him. This reduces your force, hence efficiency.

If the composition is less than the optimum level and it doesn't do much harm, then its not of much use anyways. Therefore the composition has to be just right, where you incapacitate the soldier but to the extent where he is alive and can walk by himself but can't do any harm or run away.

The graph would be something like this.


Ignore the numbers and look at the trend. Imagine the efficiency on Y-axis and grenade chemical composition on the X-axis. Just the right composition at the single point or near about its vicinity where you see the curve at its highest point, would ensure maximum efficiency.

As for me, its 4 in the morning and I got to study QM. Feel thirsty but too lazy to go and get water in my bottle. Feel hungry too but no choice, CT (Cafe TANSTAAFL - There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, the cafe on my campus) has closed for the night/day/morning whatever, can't order anything.

Thinking about the days when I slept peacefully and why I am writing this post at this hour, when I should be studying. Tomorrow is going to be a hard night's day.

In simple language, I'll sleep in class. Hopefully.

An OK Start

So I got the results of the quiz, I did ok, not too bad as I expected. So, the MBA begins on not such a bad note. With the kind of work pressure there is, I do wish the following 2 years would just fast forward. No actually, just 1 year. Tucchadom is fun.

Oh I didn't tell you about this did I? 1st year students are called fucchas, 2nd year students are called tucchas. And being a tuccha is about the next best thing to being Hugh Hefner. So its just one year of some real struggle ahead. And I hope I do well.

The First MANAC Quiz

Today.

Woke up at 8-24 AM, was in class at 8-40 AM (and I did take a bath), had the first 'surprise' MANAC (Managerial Accounting) quiz and inspite of preparing for it in advance, am not sure of how it went.

Weird day. I hope for better days in this place.

Welcome to Dorm of the Sex Gods!

Dorm 20 - My home for the next 2 years. Dorm of The Sex Gods is what it is called.

The WIMWI Way of Life

There's only one thing about IIMA, that I can/want to tell you right now - It needs to be experienced. Words will never do justice to this place.

P.s. - I am just waiting for the net connection in my room to be setup, once that happens, you'll see a lot more pictures and read about a lot more things, that make this place the place it is. All that, hopefully that is....;)

I am bad at deciding titles; Just read the post!...;)

This is something I'll never be able to say to them directly - I love you mom and dad and my bro Abhinav. Thanks for everything. You guys are truly amazing. Words will never suffice but just want to tell you that I love you guys the most and am sorry for being a stupid jerk of a son...;)

Direct posts like these are something I want to avoid but I wrote this hoping they'll read this soon and know this.

On the other front, I have joined IIMA. Lots of stuff to tell. Will do that with pics in subsequent posts. Hopefully that is.

A sampler - The attendance requirement here is 100%. A professor said, "if you are ill, then you are not fit to be at IIMA"

Keep dropping...:)

Airports

Someone has rightly said that whenever one feels there is too much hatred around, go to an airport.

The amount of love one witnesses there, between parents and children, brothers and sisters, lovers, husbands and wives, should certainly fill you with a little hope, for a little while at least, if not too long.

Umm...History...Anyone?

A corporate presentation class in IIMA. Too many points on history of the company.

Instructor - Guys, You overshot your time and had a number of repetitions…couple of points in the History of the company were repeated and were redundant…

Chimp(with his typical accent) - Ma'am, “History repeats itself!!”

I have still to join the class at Ahmedabad, picked this bit from here.

Is this my future class? Sounds like fun!

Politically In...Never-correct

Why am I the most politically incorrect person you'll ever meet???

I hate those social occasions where you need to speak with people you barely know. I speak my mind most of the times. That is if I speak. Most times, I don't speak, because I guess I am a little shy/reticent/introvert. And people mistake that for arrogance.

Essentially, I hate thinking so much, but I do and I can't help it. And at social occasions, am always thinking about what should I say, whether I should talk to XYZ person or not. Maybe, it's not that complicated, but in my mind, it is.

I'd rather hang out with my college buddies, eat, drink and enjoy life. Sigh!...when will I stop missing college?...:p

Men, Women and an Academic Paper

According to this study, men and women (in the US atleast) have the following preferences when it comes to the opposite sex -

• For men, the only thing that matters is how hot the girl is.

Wicked I know, but that's the ultimate truth.

Coming to women...ahhh...women! They on the other hand are a bit more flexible with their choices. They don't mind a shorter or a not very good looking guy, but they do have a common benchmark against which they measure these parameters. Any guesses on what that benchmark is?

Its Money.

• A guy only 5 feet tall will need to earn $325,000 more than the 6 feet tall guy, to be as successful in the online dating market.

• Coming to looks, if you are somewhere in the middle of the pile, you need to earn $143,000 more than the guy at the top (whose there simply on the basis of his looks)

• If you're at the very bottom of the pile (again solely because of your looks), to get the girls the top guys get, you'll need to earn $186,000 more than the top guys.

Wickeder right? But it's true.

By the way, just for the record - I have nothing against women in general, I love you all...;)... but this was too interesting an article too ignore. You can also read the original blogpost I got it from, here.

All these are results from a scientific study in the US, so now we know 2 things for sure.

• People in the US conduct research on almost anything

• Nothing like true love. Money does matter, in the end. And if to any of the female readers it doesn't (Read: those who don't mind supporting a stay-at-home husband/boyfriend, who drinks beer and watches TV the whole day), send me your photo!...;)

Nostalgia Again

It is that time of the year again, when engineering colleges throughout the country are getting over with the 2nd semester of the current session. And across Orkut, you find headlines such as "Leaving xxxx", "Bye-bye xxxx" and the likes of these. All this just reminds me of my engineering college and the time I left it, which was the same time as now last year. Even otherwise, at various times of the day I think about what I would have been doing at that time, had I still been a student at TIET. It sounds funny. TIET, short for Thapar Institute of Engg and Tech. I guess the college also realised that and now its called TU or Thapar University, which I guess ranks higher up in the cool quotient.

As you might have seen from the numerous number of posts on TIET, I really miss my college and Patiala and in a strange, weird, slap-me-and-wash-my-mouth-with-soap-for-saying-this way Punjab too.

Coming to think of it, all the incidents, all the people, every small thing that took place, it all seems so unnatural now, as if it was all just a dream and suddenly I woke up one day, back in my room in Delhi. With only memories of some strange and weird people, of some stranger and weirder incidents, in a place that refuses to be erased from my memory.

I usually get so pensive only during the evenings or when I see the profile of somebody still in engineering college and look through his scraps to realize, that's what my scrapbook looked like not a very long time ago but it'll never look that way again. A stupid line I know, but just a thought.

This line fits in well right now - Those were the best days of my life...

This is what I hate about life. I hate changes and moving on. Both of which I will have to deal with and keep dealing with.

If you've come this far folks, then do let me know you address. You definitely deserve a bravery award!

The Sordid Saga of a W710i, Gurgaon Weather and Yours Truly

With all due respect to those who work there, all the call center executives I have talked with so far, seem to be the biggest losers on this planet. Basic IQ and intelligence is what is missing, why can't everybody have it? Now, I am not generalizing it but most executives I talked to so far were highly successful in irritating the crap out of me.

Anyways, so my W710i story has today taken a new turn with the old set getting replaced by a new one and I HOPE this one works fine. Usually when I buy new stuff, there is a tendency for it to go bad within 24-48 hours of buying it. Happened when I bought my first computer, video-game and now this. If this set doesn't work fine then I am reselling this one, I'll have to suffer quite a heavy monetary loss but I don't care. I can't go through the head-ache I have gone through once to get this set replaced.

Today the weather in Gurgaon is simply amazing. And I don't know why, I felt lonely, not in the romantic sense you dirty mind. I just felt like sitting down somewhere, with some good friends and drinking down a few beers. Even now, there's an awesome breeze blowing. Makes me think why I am not going to IIM Kozhikode/honeymoon destination!...lol. Man...Chetan Bhagat rightly said...who Chetan Bhagat you asked??..This guy. So as I was saying, he said - A guy bonds with his hostel and college buddies more than even his spouse.

I second that. Now after that comment I don't really expect any of the female readers to show even the slightest bit of interest in me, if there was any initial scope. Add to that, I have been called boring, serious and over-mature. So there goes my already barren love-life further down the drain!

Anyways, mommy calling me for dinner and a younger brother getting really impatient and irritated because I'm hogging the PC. Reminds me of the time in 1970's when people paid money to use PC time for their programming purposes, much like the cyber-cafes of today. Here I go on a tangent again.

Shall take your leave for now.

Bank Loans and IIMA

1) There should be a separate loan from banks to finance all the parties that are suddenly due after the call. There are so many people I want to treat, but my finances...:(...sigh!!...they tell a different story.

2) The loans that banks offer to students should also cover phone bills. That's going to be my only major expense in Ahmedabad...:(

Hutch Buggers

I just paid an obscene amount of money as my telephone bill at the Hutch Kiosk. At the end of the payment, I kept on pressing buttons and unfortunately, when it asked me if I need the transaction slip, I pressed 'No'.

Now the money I paid was huge and I don't even have proof of it. Its happened once before that the stupid Hutch Computer didn't register my payment and if that happens now....I am doomed!!

22 May 2007, 2:35 AM...This is What I Was Thinking

1. Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it
There was a small one on my leg. Got it while jumping off a chair at granny's house. It's almost faded away now.

2. What is on the walls in your room?
Plain and boring.

3. What does your phone look like?
w710i...Gone for repairs....:(

4. What music do you listen to?
Anything that sounds good.

5. What is your current desktop picture?
A photograph of my hostel room in Patiala

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Satisfaction and peace of mind

7. Do you believe in gay marriage?
No problems if two people want to do it. It's biological man!...even if it wasn't, how does it bother straight people? Don't think about it if you don't want to!

8. What time were you born?
Approx 12:30 AM

9. Are your parents still together?
Yep

10. What are you listening to?
Fan blades cutting through the air

11. Do you get scared of the dark?
Nope

12. The last person who made you cry?
Himesh Reshammiya.

13. What is your favourite perfume/cologne?
Whichever I can get my hands on at that moment!

14. What kind of hair/eye colour do you like on the opposite sex?
Blue eyes....with blonde hair...;)

15. Do you like pain killers?
I'd like to make a sad statement here....I like to enjoy the pain...;)

16. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
Not in a million years!

17. Fave pizza topping?
Anything that moved before it was cooked = non vegetarian

18. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
Chicken burger, fries and pepsi

19. Who was the last person you made mad?
Rohit

20. Is anyone in love with you?
Loads of 'em...;)...but seriously speaking, no idea

This template is from another blog, so whoever it was, thank you!

Life in a Metro???...Naah!!

Life in a Metro was a good movie. A wee bit over the top but a good one time watch, nevertheless. The best actor had to be Irfann Khan. And I love the hapless state Konkona Sen is in when she is with him. This guy reminds me of myself at times...:p

Anyhow, my learnings from the movie -
1) Everyone falls in love after they get married, and no...not with their husband or wife.

2) Everyone gets married to the wrong person in the first place.

3) Getting laid is never a problem.

Don't know to what extent these are true, but a good timepass movie definitely.

The Bearded guy

What did Quentin Tarantino say when he saw Kaante???

"...I think it was one of the best remakes of Reservoir Dogs, I specially liked the bearded guy in it..."

Ha ha ha...all hail the bearded guy!!!

A Short Conversation

Me - when is your birthday?

Her - it's on the 1st...

Me - of what?

Her - it's approaching...so guess it!

Me - ummm...1st of june?

Her - no!!...1st August!

Me - but you said it was approaching soon!

Her - there are lots of months approaching...!

Me - huh?!!


And in a weird way, she's right too

The Worst 5 Minutes of My Life

It was last week. The worst 5 minutes of my life.

Ever wondered what were yours? Is something or someone so important and precious to you?

I discovered it through last week's incident. It's too personal so I am not blogging it but let me tell you, I realise now, how important that thing is to me.

There are a few posts I have on it, unpublished. I may publish them sometime or maybe never, but it's the one thing in my life I am blatantly emotional about, what I otherwise hate being.

I call it the real IIM Ahmedabad.

Hope I get that too someday!

Finally a New Phone

Bought myself a new phone over the weekend.

The whole process of conducting the research and finally selecting a phone I liked began 6 months ago but couldn't buy it then due to certain problems. And on Sunday, after trying out various cost permutations and combinations from around 6 different shops, I zeroed in on the Sony Ericsson w710i.

11k bucks later, thanks to the indecisive shopper that I am, I am regretting my choice. I think I should have bought the w700i. Could have saved around 2000-3000 bucks. Damn...I hate shopping!

The Sweetest Email I've Ever Received!

The bestest friggin' mail ever!!!

"Further to our letter dated April 27, 2007, placing you on waiting list, I am glad to inform you that your turn has now come for admission to IIM Ahmedabad’s Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) for the session beginning June 21, 2007. We will be sending you our detailed offer letter on Monday by Courier.

In the meanwhile, can you please indicate to us by email (admission@iimahd.ernet.in) your decision on this admission offer? This will help us in planning the admission process better.

Thank you.

Admissions Officer"

A Billion

A billion seconds ago, it was 1976
A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive,
A billion years ago, our ancestors were living in the stone age,
A billion dollars ago was only 7 hours 20 minutes ago at the rate Washington spends it.

Being Backstage

For 4 years in Thapar, I saw most stage events from backstage (because I had a hand in organizing them in some way) and I must say I loved it.

Just hope that if I ever make it to IIM Ahmedabad, then there too, I watch all events from the place where I can see everything in profile view.

Would feel just like home.

The Kind of Heroes Society Will Never Wake Up To

How would it feel if you lose vision in both of your eyes at an early age or for that matter have your right arm get amputated when you are the lone bread-winner of a struggling family? It’s very easy to get dispirited, lose hope and blame God for all the sufferings. But there are men who struggle and strive hard to lead a dignified life even when the odds are stacked heavily against them. This post is about the story of two men who for me are the epitome of courage, perseverance, determination and self respect.It was sweltering hot inside the packed compartment of New Delhi – Sri Ganganagar Express. Suddenly I hear a familiar voice of “Moongfalia le lo, daal te badam le lo”. I look up and it was the same face of an old man strutting past me whom I have seen since childhood in my most of the journeys in the Bathinda – New Delhi section. I ask him to stop and out of habit buy groundnuts worth 5 bucks from him. I always used to purchase from him not because his groundnuts are the best in the world but because I thought this is my way of helping a person live a dignified life. The man in question is special because he sells in the train in spite of being totally blind in both eyes!! Just imagine for two seconds life without your eyes. It’s not pretty and definitely it’s not easy.Ram Jeet Singh was born to a poor peasant family in 1950. He is a resident of village Khokarkala near Mansa in Punjab. At a very early age he contracted eye infection and in absence of proper medical care started losing his vision in both his eyes. By the time he was 15 he was totally blind. He says with voice choking that those were the tough times. He was rendered unemployable in field and if being blind wasn’t enough he had to hear taunts for being a liability from his near and dear ones.In many such cases people turn to begging but he was determined to live a dignified life. He started selling stuffs like groundnuts, peanuts, moong daals, lozenges etc in the trains. Initially it was tough but gradually he got accustomed to it. Today he has a family of 5 of which his elder daughter is married and now his wish is to marry his second daughter. His son is 10 years old and his dream is to see his son become an afsar after padhai – likhai.To give you a peek in his daily life he gets up early in the morning and catches the 8:15 bus from his village to reach Mansa railway station. From there he catches the 2482 Intercity Express and sells his stuffs in the train till Rohtak approx 200kms away. He has his lunch there and after a break catches the 2481 up train to return to Mansa by 5:30 in the evening. And after all this toil in grime n dirt he manages to earn Rs 50-60/- daily. Just imagine in most of the parties we don’t mind spending hundreds of bucks on one meal whereas he has to run a family of 4 in this meager sum. Suddenly I felt guilty conscious and tried to tuck in a hundred rupee note to him. He suddenly sensed that it wasn’t the natural 10 rupee note he is used to handle and asked how much is it worth. On being told he said “Saab main bheekh nahin leta. Aap se baat karke accha laga. Aap jaise bade aadmi ka mujhse tameez se baat karma hi bahut hai mere liye. Aap paise wapis le lo.” I was stunned but I managed to convince him that it wasn’t an alm but my token of appreciation for his grit and determination. After a while he relented and accepted it shyly. Mansa station had arrived and he had to get down before leaving a waived at me cheerfully and said “Agli baar aana to bas awaz dena, main pehchan jaaonga. Main chhota aadmi hoon pas agar main aapke kabhi bhi kaam aa paaya to bas ek baar bolke dekhna.” It was a humbling experience and perhaps for the first time words were failing me.On reaching Bathinda I was looking for a rickshaw. I was haggling on the price when one of the rickshaw-wallahs came, lifted my luggage and motioned to me to follow him. I didn’t notice initially but midway I realized that the rickshaw puller has his right arm amputated from his elbow. Curious I wanted to hear his story.Vijay Pal was born in a village in Fatehpur in UP and came to bathinda in 1976 to work as a labourer. After few struggles he was forced to pull a rickshaw for survival. Calamity struck him when 15 years ago he lost his arm while working in a mill. Like Ram Jeet Singh he too refused to give up under adversity and continued pulling rickshaw for his living. He says proudly “Hamnein kisi ke saamne haath nahin failaye sahib”. He has two sons and he is very particular about their studies. He says “ Mera baap mawali tha jiske liye mujhe bachpan se kaam karma padha aur padh nahin paaya. Main apne bacchon ke sath aisa nahin karoonga. Pata hai sahib kai kai baar jab himmat jawab de jati hai rickshaw kheenchte waqt tab main unka chehra yaad karta hoon aur sochta hoon kabhi wo rickshaw ke doosre side baithe balki mere side.”
When I look back I see two very different persons with one thing in common and that is courage. Most of us can’t even imagine the life these people live. For us everything is rosy and we don’t even know such a world could exist. They are proud people and are heroes in real life in true sense of the word. If at anytime I feel down and need to look for inspiration I don’t need to look beyond I just have to remember Ram Jeet Singh and Vijay Pal.

This post is courtesy Anirban's blog. I am putting this here because someday when I feel down, I'll read this.

Innocent and Stupid

Kids at the Mall, Shimla. Wish I had shot this.

Hot and Loving It!

Ever tried jogging at 2PM in the afternoon with the temperature at 45 degree Celsius?

I do exactly that sometimes and trust me it's fun. Makes you enjoy the heat. The hotter the better!

An Interesting Theory

If you took snapshots of the world as it is. Every trillionth of a second. And suppose you had sufficient computing power to obtain 100 such snapshots.

According to a theory, you would then be able to calculate the 101st snapshot and then the 102nd and so on. In other words predict the future.

Sounds good, I wonder if it could work.

I got this from an interesting site. Click here. For science-fiction fans.

I hate using this term (science fiction) because technology is one thing I am really passionate about and the stuff we consider to be 'fictional' as of now, I'd like to call it reality. Someday within my lifetime. And I do have a feeling that someday we will travel at speeds greater or atleast equal to the speed of light, meet intelligent beings from other planets, explore the universe and so on.

As always, there would be skeptics. To them all I'd say is that 500 years back, no human could have even dreamt of flying in air.

Now we have these

Birds of steel, weighing hundreds of tons, transporting thousands of humans across the planet. Sounds like a miracle, doesn't it?

All I want to say is - Never dismiss an idea!

Bengali: The Economist

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here is Kingshuk Das a.k.a. Bengali. He was called so because he was the only bengali fellow in the hostel. Add to that, he looks like a typical bengali too.

In our hostel, we had something called a 'night canteen'. It was an arrangement in the mess where we could get eats like maggie, biscuits, milk, tea etc. at night after dinner. It started around 10-30 PM till around 12 AM. That was the time most people got hungry and most of the time, like always, no one had anything to eat.

A typical scene at night.

In my room-
Bengali: chal, contri(contribution) mei maggie khaa ke aate hain!
Me (happy that bengali is actually talking about spending his money): chal!

Maggie costed 15 bucks in the night canteen.

After this

Me: paise nikaal...

Bengali gives me a two rupee coin, saying: ye meri contri!

Me---> standing their bewildered! Deciding whether to kick his ass or simply laugh.

And yes, I almost always had to pay the rest of the 13 bucks.

Bengali is now doing an MBA in HR from TISS, Mumbai and having the time of his life. Miss you bro!

Weekends at Hostel A - Part 1

I was just reading Jitin's blog on his Sunday ritual and I was reminded of my weekends in the hostel at TIET(Thapar Institute, my alma mater...feels weird saying that!). So I thought of writing a post on it.

Since I didn't have a girlfriend in there, which in retrospect seems to have been a good thing, I had more or less nothing substantial to do on weekends. Needless to say, we slept really late on Friday nights. Even if we didn't, waking up before 11 AM on Saturday was a crime for me. By the time I woke up around this time, breakfast had ended in the mess. Not that I really looked forward to it, but compared to the other meals, it was quite tolerable. So on most, rather, every morning including weekdays, I missed breakfast as waking up in time is something I can just dream of. Its become a habit now, not having breakfast, much to my mom's chagrin!

That's my bed in the hostel. With lots of other stuff also on it usually. It was quite a task to actually make space for myself and sleep on it. I guess that's what hostel life is about...adjusting...lol






Anyways, with breakfast over and with nothing else to fill my stomach with, I went back to sleep or go to other people's rooms to scrounge up something to eat. Mostly with little success. And neither did I have the energy to bathe or even brush my teeth. So there was no way I could go out too, looking the way I did, not that I had the energy for that either. So, lounging around in the hostel, passing time in the cyber-room, playing cricket in the corridors maybe or go back to sleep was what I did to pass my time till evening, when someone would go out and get me something to eat because dinner was still too far away.

That's Rajgariah posing for the camera. He doesn't play that well actually.

And that's the great man himself - Pappu. Playing the shot from behind the wickets. Ishneet and Sahil standing in silent applause.

Lunch was something I deliberately missed on weekends. Most times, I'd go to the mess, have a look at the food and come back. The way I am, I'd rather not eat food than eat bad food. So, I had to remain hungry.

That was the story till 5 PM, when someone would go out and hopefully remember to buy what I asked him to, for me to finally eat. And then, if there was a plan, then we would go out to eat, which was most of the times, as the mess food was intolerable. By final year though, if nothing else, we would simply crash weddings. That was fun.


Later on in the night, there was Rahul Sareen's room to watch movies. Almost miraculously, the haraami had a new movie almost every night. He was also the TV Room secretary. A post he had been born for, I guess.

If not Sareen then you had to look for someone whose a friend and planning to watch a movie. Because unfortunately, yours truly did not have a computer...:( But watching movies was important. At times, almost the whole weekend was spent watching movies except when it became really important to sleep or when you had to go for other really important stuff...;) A few times, there was this 'Hostel Film Festival' (which I am sure every hostel has had) where anyone you saw had a film DVD in his hands and was running excitedly towards a computer, followed by a few more equally excited morons.

After the movie, it was back to sleeping or bakchodi sessions. Those are what I really miss now. Films, cricket, gossip, politics (both hostel and the real world), current affairs, philosophy, who was a loser and who was not, bitching, making plans to play pranks, scheming up of ways to make Jagga throw parties, Jagga sessions where anyone and everyone ganged up on Jagga, serious and important issues and loads of things I don't even remember now were what we talked about.

That's Jagga, by the way. I love the look on his face. Like a lamb before its slaughter...:p

Since most of the C block had gone home, it was mostly me, thudda and bengali for the weekend.


That's us, starting from left, me, thudda (Harsh) and bengali(Kingshuk) at Red Dragon in Patiala. A frequent haunt, thanks to cheap prices, decent food and bengali's undying loyalty and insistence to eat at RD.

Sunday morning, again I woke up at 11-12 in the afternoon, with the rest of the day much the same as Saturday, except this time we would go to a cheaper restaurant like the one below.

Bengali Hotel, cheap and very good food. It was quite far from the college, so we went by rickshaw and came back walking all the way to the hostel. Keeping healthy and saving on money.

By the time we came back, it was another movie or going to sleep thinking about the rigmarole of studies in the coming week.

Weekends at Hostel A - Part 2 coming up soon. On C-block.

Me: Boring but Intelligent

This is the conclusion I have reached.

Either I am too boring or the world is too loud. Either I have a high IQ and the world in general is dumb or I think a lot or maybe too less

Based on my experiences in the recent past.

"BREAKING NEWS - Shilpa Shetty broke a toenail"

That's what I expect to see on the Hindi news channels soon, with their quality of journalistic aspirations.

Just the other day, I saw an interview on Aaj-tak or some other hindi news channel. Any guesses on who was being interviewed?

The 'mehendi vyavasthi' (the person in-charge of henna/mehendi) for the abhi-ash (corniest phrase I have ever heard) wedding. I mean is this the level of journalism we'll have to now put up with? And not just him. Everyone from the tent-house guy to the saree seller to the jewellery guy got his/her 15 seconds of fame.

Another time I saw the demented Zee people showing a very angry sadhu predicting people's future. Viewers had to call up and tell him their problems and this smart-ass would tell them some weird solution. All on live air. Forget about covering serious issues. The least these so called news channels can do is not to promote superstition. The rot seems to be mostly in the Hindi news - channels, the english ones are doing relatively better and I hope people like Prannoy Roy and others of his clan look at things from the right perspective.

I understand that for Hindi news channels, their core audience would be from north India and the UP-Bihar belt. But instead of pandering to their superstitious beliefs etc., to just increase their TRP ratings, I wish to see a slightly more responsible brand of journalism.

I mean there have to be slightly more important issues than the examples I just gave. And mind you, these are just examples, from a library of such cases. In the name of Breaking News, news channels cover anything, from what Shilpa Shetty's maid thinks about Big Brother to what the pandit for the abhi-ash wedding has to say about their wedding dates. Now that's important isn't it? so all those losers who watch these news can fit in The Wedding into their schedules.

Frustrating and disgusting.

4 Years

When I was in 1st year, in the 1st semester when I had just started out in Patiala, I didn't unpack my clothes from my suitcase, I hadn't set my almirah and more or less still 'lived out of a suitcase'. Why I did that was because I wanted to pretend to myself that I was in Patiala on a very short and temporary basis. Such was my homesickness. The fact that I was going to be there for 4 more years still hadn't registered.

And at the end of those 4 years, I felt the same way. Except that I didn't want to leave college and come back home.

Now, at times I even watch Etc Punjabi on TV.

As I wrote the last line, I almost died of laughter!...the way things change.

Anyhow, one thing I understood after meeting up with old college buddies, after college got over was that things will never be the way they were in college. As someone rightly said - times change, people change. It was a different time then.

And I for sure miss it.

Bored in office

Well, so here I am sitting in my office, no work to do so I thought I'd update my blog. It's been a long time since I last wrote something.

The IIMA interview wasn't all that great, case study was good I think, but not too happy with the interview, so didn't really feel like writing about it. Life goes on though and I have prepared myself mentally for spending another year working. And I've found ways to keep myself busy and another year of work-ex would only add to my profile so no harm in going for an MBA next year I guess.

Why is it that as soon as you sit down to write, the mental notes you had made about the things you would write, simply vanish?

I guess I'll come back later.

Happy Womens's Day!

Now when is Men's Day?

IIMK - GD and PI

6th March, 2 PM, IMI New Delhi

Loads of trepidation as I entered the IMI building for the first IIM experience of my life. Slept at 3 AM the night before and the nights before that were a series of night outs in a bid to prepare on everything I could think of. That included engg acads, general awareness and the usual HR bullshit such as - Why MBA etc. So needless to say, it had been one exhausting experience but made me look forward to the whole GD/PI experience all that much more.

One more thing which I'd like to add is that the whole experience of having prepared for the interview has been tiring, yet in a way a, its been a very exhilarating one too. Something which I really enjoyed and through which I also learnt a lot. Only the Ahmedabad interview left but now I wish there were more calls! So at least I could repeat this experience a few more times!...:p

Anyway, so there were around 25-30 people, divided into 3 groups, I was in panel 1. There were a couple of people from my CL Gurgaon center and we'd been in GDs before so I should add that I felt a little comfortable because of that.

As we entered the room, I could hear my own heart bang against my chest. I have usually been quite good at GDs so I had enough reasons to be confident but I guess it was just the sense of occasion that got to me. Plus the FMS rejection last year didn't exactly make me feel better. Stupid, in retrospect but what the heck...:p

So, there were 10 people in my group, a chit of paper was given to each with a small paragraph

'Indian bureaucracy and procedures are hampering growth of Indian industry. L.N. Mittal and Ratan Tata had to go out of the country to establish industries of a true global scale. Why doesn't the Indian environment provide the kind of support the industry needs? This question needs deep introspection.'
Something like this. Not sure of the exact lines we were given.

I started off by saying how we could discuss this topic on various parameters such as - political, societal, economic, financial etc. Saying this though didn't really prove useful I guess because people started discussing discussing random topics anyways. I came in a few times with some good data such as Budget '07, SEZs, comparison of India and China etc. On the whole I was very satisfied with the GD. Felt my apprehension going, confidence returning and was now looking forward to the interview

I was the fourth person to be interviewed and was expecting a barrage of technical questions since I have only an 8 month experience and a few questions on Budget '07 too because I had brought in a few points from it in the GD.

There were two panelists - an old male prof(M) and a youngish lady prof (F).

M - Tell us something about yourself
Me - blah blah
F - so u work in the consumer goods vertical, what is CPI?
me - half right answer
F - WPI?
me - told her I was not sure but was still going to give a definition as I understood it then.
F - What are Consumer Goods?
me - told her something, but missed out on a few items in that class of goods
F - whats your Rh factor?
me - huh?
F- you have organised a blood donation camp and you don't know that?
I remembered I had done that in college. Told her I didn't find out Rh factor, instead organized the camp

F - How do you organize a blood donation camp?
me - blah

F - you have done a course on human values and ethics. what did you learn?
me - (it was a non credit subject, didn't remember shit!) said a few things, couldnt answer beyond that.

F - a few more questions on usefulness of ethics in business, how the film Guru could be relevant by showing the required business ethics or rather the lack of them.
me - blah

G - questions on my company - profit margin, locations, employee strength, market share, why my salary is low (its not and I still don't know why he said that), my work in my vertical, competitor companies.
me - answered all of them

G - another expected question on academic marks(marks could have been better).
me - I had prepared for that and I had some good non academic achievements to talk about, my campus job was one of the better ones, but somehow just didn't handle this one as well as I could have. Only thing I said was that I realize my mistake by not having focussed more on marks instead of extra-curriculars and will rectify this in future and that I am conceptually strong, nothing else. I still don't know why.

That was the interview. NOTHING TECHNICAL!!! And I was waiting for something technical!!

My interviews too go well usually but just don't know what happened then! Besides the marks question, I am not satisfied with a few other areas too but most regrettable was the marks question which I should/could have handled a LOT better, but not worried about it now. I guess whatever has to happen will happen...:)

Overall - a good to really good GD and average PI.
Your comments if any would be welcome...:)

Really pepped up about preparing for the IIM A interview now. Hoping to give it my best shot.

A Blueline, a female and a little vanity

An incident which happened in one of the Blueline buses (Delhi's buses; famous for killing people). My friend Rohit was travelling in a Blueline when he overheard three females talking. Two were good-looking (F1 and F2), third one(F3) was average.

F1: aaj kal to in ladko ko koi tameez hi nahi
F2: aur kya, koi acchi ladki dekhi nahi ki chedna shuru
F3(the average looker, who was probably feeling left out): nahi nahi, aisi baat nahi hai! Desaaent ladkiyon ko bhi chedte hain! (desaaent = decent)

F1:Boys these days have no decency!
F2:exactly, they see a good-looking girl and they start hitting on her/eve-teasing her...
F3(the average looker, who was probably feeling left out):No, no...even the desaaent looking ones are eve-teased! (desaaent = decent)

Wow!!!...thats all i can say.

Now, Delhi is famous for the lack of safety for women, but what do you say to someone like this?

I'd like to end this post with a law of nature as revealed to me by one of my friends.

'Behind every girl, no matter how she looks/talks etc., and it really doesn't matter, there would always be atleast one guy (if not more) who'd be crazy about her and would be pursuing her'

Touché

My personal take on females? I love them all!....;)