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The Indian Paisa League - A Story of Greed

2010-04-24T07:57:00.003+05:30

Much is being talked about the IPL, let us call it Indian Paisa League instead of the Indian Premier League as all the ongoing media talk is about money, power and corruption, nothing to do with cricket.

I have no clue what happens behind those closed doors but just for fun, let us try to imagine what would have happened: The two failed bidders (or at least one of the two) would have paid some large "facilitation money" to Lalit in advance for getting an IPL team. Now, Lalit needs to return this or get him a team - all his equation has gone in for a toss due to some last minute disruption by someone from somewhere in Kerala. Lalit tries hard to cough up enough from this new team for the loss but the Kochi boys have already paid their due share to the pseud mallu (by transferring enough to his so-called female friend).

The all-powerful IPL supremo cannot tolerate any of this encroachment and starts pelting stones but forgot he himself was in a glass house. The highly educated pseud Mallu faces the brunt and loses the ministership but in the meantime, raising unanswered questions on Lalit, IPL, BCCI, Pawar, Patel and god only knows who all....followed by all the IT raids (was Income tax office sleeping for so long), the undeclared Mauritius accounts, the kick-backs and all else you can find on any TV.

So, what is going to happen next? Skeletons are falling from every closet. Someone needs to die on the other side, after all there cannot be casualties on only one side in a battle, so who better than Lalit Modi, the man who started it all. He needs to go, no doubt about it....but is he the only one who took all of it home, common sense says you need to share the booty in every loot. I guess every top official in BCCI (the so-called charitable society registered in Tamil Nadu) takes a share of the pie.

The big question is what is the way forward?

Why should BCCI eat away all the money it makes in the name of cricket and national pride? It should ideally be made a publicly listed enterprise controlled by Government of India (like the PSUs). Enhanced transparency and accountability would bring more professionalism to the sport. Also, it should be made to share a part of the surplus with Ministry of Sports for development of other sports in the country. As a nation, we should try to utilize this money to prepare ourselves better for sports and may be this country of a billion can devote more resources to make a better mark at forums like Olympics.

Naxalism : The rule of Gun and Mass Murder

2010-04-18T10:14:00.002+05:30

I come from Jharkhand, have spent 20 years of my life in the land of tribals - have seen some of them very closely, their hardships, their battle for life, you just can't help but admire the way they always feel content and happy. But, something has changed in the past few years, people are now afraid to pass through the very jungles which used to be symbol of natural beauty and fresh air, they only commute in daytime or with patrolling jeeps along with them.

The same innocent tribals who came to towns to do small shopping and sell fresh produce from their small farms, are now viewed with suspicion. What if the person is a Naxalite, what if he is here to spy, what if he kidnaps my son for extortion money?

The Naxalite movement has done no good to the lives of ordinary tribals, it has just made it worse. The so-called jan adalats are nothing but a formal system of stamping justice to the atrocities committed by the Party.

I recently read this article by Arundhoti Roy in Outlook, seems like she has taken the role of their spokesperson - hell bent at justifying every crime perpetrated by this armed gang of hoodlums. She seems to have drained all the grey content out of her brain and does not seem to be at all concerned by the grave internal security threat posed by this movement. She is ignorant of the challenges faced by a common man in these areas due to the ongoing war between the maoists and the administration.

Maoists are a bunch of misguided youth led by a few selfish leaders at the top who are indoctrinating innocent children to realise their selfish motives. I believe country needs a man with an iron hand to douse this fire of unrest before it assumes large proportion to burn our motherland. I sincerely wish Chidambram delivers this before it is too late.

At the same time, the Indian government would need to take sufficient measures to ensure that the tribals feel themselves as a part of the country, share the fruits of development and have enough education and reason to deny the Party a space in their backyard.

Fear

2009-11-09T22:15:00.012+05:30

Today, when I switched on the TV, I saw three news items each one enough to shake me completely from within.

The first one mentioned that Mr. R. R. Patil who famously quipped, "Only a few people died.." while describing the unforgettable disaster of 26/11, has been rewarded with the Home Ministry in the newly formed Maharashtra government as if his removal in the aftermath of 26/11 was just meant to give Patil Saab proper rest before the taxing assembly elections.

The next one informed me that four goondas of MNS (who also got elected as MLAs) slapped Abu Azmi in the Maharashtra Assembly for daring to take oath in Hindi, supposedly the national language of this nation, also referred as Hindustan. When an MLA is not safe in an Assembly, who can dare to raise voice against these hoodlums of Raj Thackeray ? God save the people of Mumbai who brought him the second largest vote share in this region.

But, it was the last news that felt like the hardest slap on the face of the judiciary and the common man of this country. The infamous Manu Sharma (son of famous politician Venod Sharma of Congress party), convicted for life imprisonment in the Jessica Lall murder case has been released on parole (on sincere recommendation of Delhi CM, Mrs. Sheila Dixit of Congress party) to take care of his critically ill mother, Shakti Rani. But, to everyone's surprise, Shakti Rani is all hale and hearty, addressing a press conference in Chandigarh while Manu Sharma is visiting the elite nightclubs in search for his next hunt, another Jessica Lall !!! Does Manu have a license to kill at will just because he belongs to a privileged minority of politicians with power and money?

I am still trembling with fear and am unable to reconcile with the fact that I am continuously breathing under the reign of terror and lawlessness. I am bemused by the fact that most of us think we live in a free and independent country whereas in reality, we are nothing but constantly waiting preys for the carnivores of this jungle, who have turned mad in their glory of power.

Private Equity and Marriage

2009-09-06T10:02:00.003+05:30

Some of you might be thinking this guy has gone mad, what is the remotest relationship between the two subjects - Private Equity ("PE"), an investment discipline meant for so-called wizards of the financial world and Marriage, a process of tying two souls together for a lifetime (Mind it, this is just for public display, I know that Marriage is an irreversible (for most cases) binding contract by which a person enters into quarreling, cribbing and bickering for a lifetime.)

But, I being in the midst of both these subjects simultaneously, could not help but notice a close resemblance between the two.

In PE, after initial discussions and meetings (which is similar to pre-engagement meetings between the two sides in a marriage), people sign a non-binding Term Sheet which usually has a no-shop clause stating that the Company would not meet any other potential investor until the time this process comes to a successful or unsuccessful end. In marriage, we have something very similar, which some people refer to as Engagement (or roka or sagai in some parts of the country) - post which people agree not to meet other potential brides (or grooms) - the no-shop clause of marriage contract.

Post term sheet, PE investors conduct due diligence on the Company. In marriage, there is a two-way diligence process during the courtship period in which both the parties try to understand each other better (and possibly prepare themselves for a lifetime of quarreling and bickering :P).

On completion of diligence, PE investors sign binding definitive agreements and transfer the money. Once money is gone, the investor is married to the Company. In marriage, you do the wedding ceremony in place of definitive agreements.

Unlike the engagement which is non-binding (yes, people can break engagements without going to a court of law just like investors can walk out of the deal post term sheet), marriage is legally binding post wedding (That means,you are stuck out here for rest of this life, hence better behave).

PE process differs from the marriage one in one significant aspect - Exit Clause. PE agreements generally have a well-defined exit clause for all possible future scenarios(though truly speaking, things always turn out better or worse in future but never exactly the same as envisaged), it is a blasphemy to talk of exit during marriage.

Thus, PE and marriage are similar to each other in a number of aspects. I sincerely hope that I have a long, successful and happy inning in both PE as well as marriage.

Made to Order Wives

2009-08-06T22:02:00.010+05:30

Here,I am a mid 20's guy whose all weekend conversations revolve around listening to his friends about the troubles they are having in finding their matches. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that this is nothing but a serious Operations Management (OM) challenge.

In OM lingo, there are two types of items: off the shelf items and made to order items. And, as you may be aware off the shelf items are standard, mass produced and very commonplace - one size fits all kinda things...whereas made to order are customized, personalized and very special.

Given the fast pace of today's world and chalta hai attitude, we are fast moving from special made to order items to ok types off the shelf ones. For example, I duly remember in my childhood, getting a shirt stitched was a whole week exercise from selecting and buying the fabric, giving measurements to the tailor and finally collecting your very own and special made to order shirt. Today, the world has changed - the guy enters a showroom in one shirt and comes out in another.

Given the fact that Marriage is generally only once in a lifetime affair in India, a wife should ideally be under made to order category - right? But, unfortunately, the high cycle time of 20-25 years makes made to order system an unfeasible solution (I would like to remain away from topics like men never grow old, second season etc :P). Hence, we pick our matches off the shelf - now in off the shelf system, the more shops you visit, higher is the probability of getting a better bargin, nicer fit and trendier look.

So, my friends get imbued with biodatas every night when their moms serve them dinner along with list of prospective brides. Almost every prospect is so known and familiar with credentials like - "yeh ladki apne pados ke ratan chachaji ke mama ki niece hai, dekho achchi jaani pehchani family hai, ek baar mil to lo".

And, this means your precious weekend evening (for which you had made extensive plans for hanging out with your pals) will get ruined in meeting some stranger where both of you will take first half an hour to break the ice.

On the other side, the moms of my friends are just getting tired of finding new prospectives for every weekend - just like the salesmen who has got exhausted after showing you first 20 shirts. This is what led to online marketplaces for match making like shaadi.com, bharatmatrimony.com etc.

They are so worried because their sons have made such a long laundry list of specifications for their to-be life partners that satisfying all the conditions in an off the shelf system is really challenging.

Wishing them all the best, finding suitable wives is really a tough OM challenge in some ways :).

Mallya - The Billionaire Businessman or The Big Blackmailer

2009-07-31T23:12:00.005+05:30

Vijay Mallya - the liquor baron needs no introduction for each one of us has either drunk his beer, flew by his airlines or simply envied him for his calenders and swimsuit models.

Till few years back, Mallya had only one business of minting money- Selling fermented water in the name of good times. Slowly and gradually, he expanded his empire to make United Breweries one of the largest liquor companies not only in India but whole of the world - now, what next?

Mallya spotted an opportunity of selling the fictious dream of good times further by launching "Kingfisher Airlines", the five star comfort in the sky. He is a master in understanding and exploiting the psyche of Indian male - having made them drink beer for ages, now it was time for beauty. So, here comes Mr. Mallya with all his air-hostesses dressed in deep red tight skirts - luring the Indian males into closed cabins of Kingfisher Airlines.

Now, that the first fort of building the brand image was conquered, he needed to build the size. Just in case, if you thought he was going to do that by lining up Airbus 380's, you totally missed his business sense. He spotted a bakra in Capt. Gopinath of Air Deccan struggling to barely keep his aeroplanes flying (in a literal sense).

Now, here is the irony at its best - Kingfisher, the symbol of luxury and comfort combines with the airline of common man, Air Deccan - also known as Air Dhakkan for its lowest fares and highest delays (I know of cases where people reached earlier by train than Deccan). But, Mallya the Magician does it all and colors the Deccan red - Kingfisher Red.

Whoa - he gains a large fleet, presence on more routes than even Air India and a significant influence in the private airline industry, all of this overnight by a stroke of pen and some pittance to Capt. Gopinath. The airlines industry which was dominated till now by some unknown Marwari businessman called Naresh Goel of Jet Airways (who was getting fooled by Subroto Roy into paying an astronomical sum for an ailing Sahara Airlines), gets its new father figure - Mallya.

Next, he teaches the tricks of the trade like cost cutting to Mr. Goel (who stupidly fires all employees next day only to get reprimanded by the govt, later Mallya taught him lobbying too :P)and buys out the competition to be on his side - not only, Jet Airways but also Air India (otherwise why do you think our own minister Mr. Patel is justifying the demands of Mr. Mallya in public :P). With this part of the act done, the private airline market comes under his full control because it is largely a duopoly system controlled by Mallya and Goel.

Now, he plays the final trump card - STRIKE. Yes, all the private airlines who were killing each other for every extra passenger will go on a strike together on August 18 bringing the total air system to a halt. Mr. Mallya has demanded the government to bail him out, put in capital to buy his expensive equity and reduce taxes for his luxury - what a great idea to earn not only a free meal ticket, but a full feast at the expense of poor taxpayer's money. I guess he missed out on mentioning about why the government bailout money is essential for buying another yacht for him so that he can relax there (ofcourse with all his hot models) while thinking about making flying affordable for the common man.

It is a clear blackmail to government from Mallya - I will bring whole of air traffic to a halt and will hold you to ransom until you agree to bow to my wishes.

I believe this entry and control of airlines industry in India by Mallya is one of the best examples of amazing execution of well thought out business strategy which is taught in no business school around the world. In my view, Mallya is an astute businessman who does not mind wearing any hat including that of a blackmailer in order to achieve his goals.

The rays of hope at the end of the dark tunnel

2009-06-24T23:49:00.003+05:30

Since the time Lehman went burst last year, the markets all over the world seemed headed for a bottomless pit. The impact was felt by everyone and it was easy to see how the plight of the rich bankers got transmitted to even the last strata of society including the maids and washermen who too knew that it was
recession time .

It seemed to be a dark tunnel with no end in sight. I personally knew a lot of friends who became the victims of this crisis and lost their jobs within the first few months of their joining. Some of them were into the first ever job in their lives and were totally clueless about how to find another job, specially in geographies like US and UK. The same geographies which were indulging in reckless brain drain from India few years back were keen to throw all the unwanted rubble back to the poor nation without delay lest they eat up the resources meant for the original citizens. I guess those legislators demanding reservation of jobs for nationals are nothing but the American avatars of Raj Thackrey.

Everything seemed to be headed for doom with even the IIM campus placements being dismal to say the least. Every month, I got to hear about some batchmate or the other losing the job...really tough time.

But, just as they say - Change is the only constant in this world. Even this stage was not going to last long but the battery always seems to be running out too soon.

In the meantime, a black man for the first time in the history of the world reached the White House promising the world only one thing - "Change". But, in our own nation, the junta janardan reaffirmed its faith in the honest Sardar who ushered in the era of liberalization.

The economy world over has started showing the signs of revival and I too am happy given that my friends have started getting the appointment letters instead of retrenchment ones.

Let us hope things continue resurrecting from hereon and this does not remain another deadcat bounce.

The big drama of Indian Politics - ELECTIONS

2009-03-22T08:46:00.003+05:30

The Indian politics stages a big drama called Elections at an interval of every few years - ohh, you wondering how do they decide the interval, no big deal - just a few fat ladies like Jaya, Maya and Mamta decide to flirt around with old but eligible bachelors like Atal.

I know what you are thinking, I am writing this post - few years too late, how is it relevant - are we not living under the government of the religious sardar Manmohan Singh ??

If you are under any illusion that the gentleman with blue turban has any power whatsoever, you definitely have no clue of Indian polity. Everyone knows that this is a great remote control system with remote in hands of Madam. I have great respect for Manmohan Singh, the man who heralded the era of liberalization in India (thanks to him, I am working in an MNC) but today he seems to have even less power than Lalus, Paswans and Pawars of the world who are making him dance at the tunes of 10, Janpath...

And now that the elections have come, every party is demanding its own pound of flesh - the fight over the seat sharing is a precursor of the trouble brewing in. From the political commentary by pundits, it appears that the regional parties and alliance politics are going to play a decisive role....so much that someone like Mayawati can even dream of being the PM of the nation !!!!

With Rahul baba taking active interest and harboring the aspirations of the PM post, her mom would leave no stone unturned to gift the nation to her son. But, the country needs to rethink the question - are we as a nation nothing but the family inheritance of Gandhi family? Have we just replaced monarchy with the facade of democracy with a big drama known as ELECTIONS.

On the other hand, the saffron guys seem to have lost every sense of responsibility and are returning back to the commumnal agenda. Even the first time contestants like Varun Gandhi are trying to project themselves as the next Modi with Pilibhit becoming Gujarat. I had expected a better sense from someone who represents the lineage of Sanjay, Indira and Nehru.

And, the other Sanjay who was running from pillar to post to save himself from going to jail is now dreaming to do another Munnabhai, this time in real life with the famed Amar Singh as the director. Let us see how does junta like the new film.

Then, there is the set of Karat, Yechury and Vardhans who have successfully implemented the Cholbe na, Korbe na in West Bengal for last few decades with the latest being the ousting of Nano. I am sure it is a great idea to increase the short position on market with every seat going in CPM account.

But, to be truthful, I have enjoyed watching this drama since childhood. It involves thousands of crores of rupees to construct the set, lights and action (haan is movie mai sab hai - maya-mamta ka pyaar, UP-Bihar ke bahubali netaon ka war, love proposals, breakups, mystery, twist). Let us see how does the drama unfold this time.

Though while spending these billions of rupees on this drama, the politicians forget that thousands of people go back to bed hungry in this country and for them, this drama is utterly meaningless.

Janta Janardan really has no role to play in deciding who sits at the helm of Delhi Durbar.

Burning Bombay

2008-11-27T10:08:00.002+05:30

Bombay - the land of dreams for every Indian youth since decades, the economic capital of India is burning and posing a serious question. The fumes over the dome of The Taj Hotel which used to stand as a mark of pride for the city, are asking if the common Mumbaikar has lost the right to life. The bullets fired at the Leopold cafe in Colaba are warning us that all good times have ended.

We, a country of more than a billion have exposed our fraility times and again. We are at the mercy of these handful of terrorists whether it is 1993 blasts, 2006 train blasts or today. And, these incidents repeatedly come back to haunt us because we have not been strong enough to give a fitting reply. We have not been able to execute the terrorists responsible for the attack on Parliament till today. Why?
We have not been able to nail Dawood Ibrahim even after so many years - why?

All these questions are haunting the mind of every single youth in the country who seems to have lost the right to breathe in the free air, the right to hold his head high under a bright sky....his right to humanity.

Honesty prevailed, Temptation lost

2008-07-17T17:34:00.003+05:30

At the start of this year, I decided to treat myself with a new cellphone. Given that I am one of the worst informed souls around when it comes to these gizmos, I decided to seek help from few friends at IIMA campus like Satyaki (Chatta) and Narayanan (Dastak). Since both of them owned Motorazr, I almost decided to buy one for myself. I coerced one of my friends to accompany me to a nearby Croma where I got the all new Motorazr v3i Black. But, all this is history, why am I bothering you with all this???

Because I was on the verge of losing it, not once but twice - that too on consecutive days in last week.

On the first day, I went for a meeting with my colleagues and on my way back, I left the phone in my colleague's car. Since I had taken an auto to reach home from where my colleague had dropped me, there was no way for me to ascertain where did I lose my lovely, Motorazr? But, thanks to Ankur and Rajesh, my blackberry had a message informing me about the incident even before I had a chance to start worrying about it.

But, as they say, some people always learn it the hard way. And, I did not wait too long for receiving another lesson, a tougher one.

I again lost it the next day and this time again, I had no clue whether I left it at office or in an auto while coming back home. And, as my fate would have it, it was in the auto. I indeed got my lesson, was really anxious and tried calling the cellphone. Every second while it was ringing, it kept my hopes alive of regaining the phone and finally at last, someone picked it up and told me that he was at Kurla station and was with the auto driver in whose auto I had left the phone.

I immediately got one auto and reached the station, mumbling prayers on my way. The person waited for me at the Hanuman Mandir near the station and was kind to return it.

This incident taught me a clear lesson about my carelessness and I will definitely try not to repeat such mistakes. But, apart from the lesson, I also got a chance to witness the honesty and integrity of poor people like this auto driver in India who value their conscience, way higher than money.

The phone is worth 6-7K and he could have easily fetched money equivalent to his weekly income had he fallen under the temptation.

I am glad that Honesty prevailed, temptation lost

Reservation and common man

2008-07-07T19:44:00.002+05:30

Yes, I know this is what you are thinking - has reservation become my pet topic? Though I can write on other issues but something happened that instigated me to write about this topic once again.

There is a small shop near my house which is run by Mr. X, who is a gujjar from rajasthan by caste. He knows that I am a native of Rajasthan and for some unknown reason, thinks that I have some connection with media.

I went to his shop some 3 weeks after Rajasthan govt. granted additional 5% reservation to Gujjars. He welcomed me with a smirk and quipped, "aap media wale chahe kitna hungama kiye, lekin hum logon ko bhi paanch taka (5%) mil hi gaya".

I know this guy has moved with his full family, lock, stock and barrel to mumbai and may be does not go to Rajasthan even once a year. This reservation is hardly going to bring an iota of change in his life but his happiness knew no bounds.

Since this common man is the one who decides the government, it is no surprise that all the political parties have queued up to pander to unreasonable and unsustainable demands of these so-called backward castes.

God save the talent of this nation !!!

Mumbai Rains

2008-06-14T11:59:00.003+05:30

Rains are supposed to be a much-awaited respite from the scorching heat of summer and receive warm welcome everywhere but they are dreaded in Mumbai. Why?? Huh, seems like u have never been to Mumbai in the month of June and July else you would have not asked the question.

But even if you have not visited Mumbai, you must have heard of the devastation caused during the July 2005 "floods" in Mumbai. Believe me, the government has taken no steps to ensure that such events will not get repeated anytime in future, may be even this year.

It rains like crazy in this city for days - morning, evening, basically anytime... it might disrupt your schedule of reaching and/or leaving office, it may KILL your weekend plans...may bring an end to your social life by forcing you to keep indoors even on Saturday evenings.

If you are going to suggest why don't you take a cab and enjoy your time, you are unaware that most of the roads in Mumbai (esp. Andheri-Kurla Road) would get clogged with rainwater. One of these days you might be stuck somewhere (or in middle of nowhere) because the cab (you took to keep yourself prim and dry) has suddenly declined to move and for quite sometime, you are not going to get another one.

Mumbai is a great city but rains in Mumbai are a mess...still I'm enjoying it.

OBC Reservation - A deadly political weapon

2008-04-15T22:21:00.002+05:30

All the views mentioned as under are entirely personal and if someone feels hurt, it is totally coincidental and unintentional.

The much waited Supreme court judgement has been announced granting OBC reservation to non-creamy layer. I personally believe this heinous act of impeding the growth of world class educational institutes has been committed to derive political mileage in the upcoming elections. Every political party will try to harvest this issue to the maximum but here are a few facts:

1. There are approximately less than 2000 IIM seats, less than 5000 IIT seats and hardly 500 seats in the medical institutes like AIIMS etc. which are getting affected by this judgement. The total number of reserved seats (27% reservation) would mean approximately 1500-2000 students annually. Now, this is a minuscule number in our country of a population of 1 Billion whose significant percentage of population falls under OBC. So, only a small fraction of aam aadmi gets affected but a large vote bank can be moved because whether we like it or not, caste politics is still widely prevalent in this country, specially states like UP, Bihar where the regional parties like RJD, SP and BSP continually play the caste card.

2. But, it kills these institutes which have been built in last five decades with the sweat and blood of visionaries like Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Fortunately, I have studied at both IIT and IIM and I can say for sure, their biggest strength is their incoming talent pool which will get majorly diluted with the reservation policy.

3. Our friends from the oppressed section of the society need enablement and not reservation. I have seen people from SC/ST reservation struggling in academics at IIT (which are much easier than entrance exams in difficulty level) and spending extra year. In IIT, we had a prep course for a significant number of SC/ST students to bring them at par with other students. How is the mismanagement of quality higher education justified in the name of reservation?

4. Who gets the benefit of reservation? For getting into IIT with reservation, the kid needs to do his intermediate at a good school. Now a days, he must go to an IIT coaching institute as well - who can pay for all this? Only those in reserved category who do not need reservation....
I know of friends who are studying at second line of colleges despite being adequately smart because they were born as high caste but believe me the colour of their blood is same as that of an OBC/SC/ST.

5. What should we do? More initiatives like super 30 in Patna by Mr. Anand Kumar may be a step in the right direction.

6. The honorable SC has suggested that the need for reservation should be reviewed regularly. Does any political party have the courage to withdraw reservation? If I am not wrong, even SC/ST reservation was introduced for a period of 10 years with a need to review after that and it has been extended ever since by every political party.

Finally, I would like to use this forum to urge you to express your views candidly in the comments section of this blog.

The first sign of Change

2008-03-22T21:34:00.002+05:30

I arrived in mumbai on the morning of 18 march 2007 and i know this is gonna be my home for next few years, may be decades ... may be the rest of my life, who knows. There was nothing much different in this journey in Gujarat Mail, AC 3 tier from Ahmedabad to Mumbai Central.

I was received by my mausaji and was taken to his home where I spent a night. Next day, i arrived at Room-503 of AB's executive serviced apartments in bandra.

But, the first signs of change were felt today when my mobile charge ran down twice in a day. In the past, it has always been the balance which led my cellphone to stop working instead of the charge and it turned itself into a device for playing games :) :) .

I arrived in mumbai with more than Rs. 600 of balance...something that would have lasted me more than a couple of months in WIMWI, lasted me only a couple of days in Mumbai.

All of this, thanks to mumbai real estate brokers - the people whom I have been talking and wandering with for last two days without much success. I am now praying for getting some success in my hunt for a house in aamchi mumbai, a place which would be home for next few years.

Fifth C of CCCS

2008-03-22T20:33:00.002+05:30

If you go on a street and ask anyone, how many C's are there in CCCS - he will obviously say 3 C's and he is right because he is not a WIMWIan (as we, the students of IIMA proudly call ourselves).

Every WIMWIan knows that there are 4 C's in CCCS and it is the fourth C named RaviC which makes it all the more interesting (and sometimes frightening :P). RaviC is not only a Prof, he is a legend and has a reputation (favorable or otherwise, can't say...) across the batches. The man is dedicated towards this institute and has given the best decades of his life in building this institution. He is undoubtedly very intelligent and sharp. He joined IIMA at a very young age, in fact he jokes saying some of his students were older than him. So, just for the 4th C of CCCS, more than 90 second years enrolled for this course in fifth term... to put it in perspective, due to exchange, there are only 160-170 tuchchas in campus in this term and hence more than half the batch was eagerly attending CCCS to learn the nuances of business strategy in RaviC isshtyle.

I am sure you are thinking 4C's are OK but now, how come the fifth C?

RaviC is a demanding professor and second yr. junta who has fallen into the habit of taking things for granted by this time of the year, gets to see this final and most deterimental C much later when the grades arrive.

Believe me it takes hard work, passion and sincerity to escape the trauma of fifth C of CCCS but in the end, it is all worth it. So, if you are not a WIMWIan, work hard and get admitted into this great institute. If you are a WIMWIan, do take CCCS if for nothing, just the experience of 4th C and work hard enough to escape the fifth and final C........

Good Bye, WIMWI

2008-03-17T18:17:00.002+05:30

जीवन चलने का नाम
चलते रहो सुबह शाम

This song aptly captures my current heartfelt feelings, which made me draft this final post on Dbabble.................

Hi all,

I have my train in few hours and I have not yet started packing my stuff.
I have been living campus life for 6 years, I do not know any other style of living...I even feel like a guest at my home. I just do not feel like living this place. It is difficult for me to accept that 2 years are over and it is time to move again...

I am thankful to this place for all it gave me. I would never be able to list them all but let me try my best.

D5, The Penthouse , The home of Lech Gods....a lot of sweet memories will remain..
The first year with me and Toka in the same group, same section, same dorm....things went really smooth ...after all, I was with the smooth operator of the batch.
The numerous trips I made with Skumar, to diu, jaisalmer, gir and even to scotland willl always have a cherished place in my memory.
I will miss the after dinner chai trips of D5 where we made Appel pay every time...
I will miss taking Pinki's case for his D2 basement late night trips.

I cant forget fooka, toby, ppaw, bubba and mundu - our jai maharashtra group....now that I am going to mumbai, i need to learn more of marathi :-)
The prayaas team - arash, coco, neela, radhika, annanya, ppaw, rui, ubika -> their dedication is something tht will keep inspiring me in future as well...

The second yr came with numerous contests...I will miss working with people like Chatta, Pranav, Piyush, Thita, Vartika, Gendy, Adrian, Dash, Ankit,Tikiya, Nisha, Tasha and Doc

I will cherish the memories of MC class where Kaushik, Theju, Nisha, Ankit helped me to improve a great deal.
I will remember the LEM class...the ERI group....the strat safari junta....Bad Boys Club (BBC rawks ....)

Apart from this, there are many more who have helped me through out the last two years....please pardon me for missing your names.

See you during convo,

Boost your brains !!!!!!!

2008-02-08T12:55:00.000+05:30

It is often touted that people get complacent after getting into prestigious institutes like IITs and IIMs. Having been at both these places, I have seen the faculty getting worried about how to boost these (so-called, I do not believe it) best brains of the nation. To help them, biological researchers have come up with this path breaking conclusion -

Chocolate and sex can boost brain.

Just to let you know that, this is not a creation of an idle mind - you can check it for yourself on rediff news. Now, the need of the time is to realize the gravity of the situation and act on this finding.

The institute authorities need to take the actions on both the fronts immediately:

Chocolates - The easier part

Tie into sponsorship contracts with all the chocolate majors - Nestle, Cadbury etc.
Ask the global recruitment companies to bring with them cartoons of imported swiss and Belgian chocolates to please the taste buds of the premium Indian talent
To provide convenience to the best minds while ensuring delivery of chocolates - make on-campus arrangements 24X7 room delivery.

Sex - The tougher one

This part is too tough to be answered by an inexperienced unfortunate zombie locked in the male dominated campuses of IIT-IIM for last 6 years. Hence, I would invite insightful comments from the experienced readers in this regard.

B-Charo

2008-02-08T01:33:00.000+05:30

"B-charo!

ab samay jald aa raha nikalne ka
Sabko alvida kehna ka

Chalo phir un dino ko yaad kare.......

jab tum sab mujhe faartaa pukaarte thein
Adrian ke sar par class mein haath firatein thein
Group 10 ko cold call karvate thein
Challenge CP -- prof. se bhi karaate thein

Lotion ko random bumps dilwaate thein
Tarak ke mooh khulte hee usse ghoor ghoor kar dekhte thein
Chepuri ki tarah haath uthane ki koshish karte thein
MuLi ko ladkiyon ki taraf dekhte range-haath pakadte thein

Benjy, Roto ko zyaada yaad nahin hoga,
Sapno se woh kahaan nikalte thein
Woh haataa-paayi yaad karo jab,
marks chhupaane..
MANAC ke corrected quiz papers baat-te thein

Kuch pal toh bhoole jaaye na,
Kaul ki leli jab MC prof. ne STOP!!!! bol kar,
Ya Prince Bivaash ko jab bulaava aaya,
Toh Chetan Soman ne leli unki khol kar!!

Yaar chalo phir un dino ki yaad kare
Mil baith sab arbit puraani baat karein

Negi!!! chal phir se kaam par lag jao!!!"

This poem has been composed by one of my batchmates, Swatik Nigam (PGP-2008, IIMA)
and is in the memory of the first year days of Section-B, Boozters.

Driver No. 1

2008-01-30T11:41:00.000+05:30

A couple of months back, this blog saw a post (Failed yet again) from a dejected individual counting the failures of his life. But, the guy did not give up and he kept trying and this reminds of the oft quoted line from "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho -

If you aspire for something very earnestly, the whole world conspires to do it for you

I got my driving license for both 2 wheelers and LMVs yesterday after having failed the test on November 19, 2007. It took extra efforts from my instructor, Mr. Mehboob to train a dumb head like me.

Thanks to Sumit and Ashok from my dorm, I can comfortably drive motorcycles on Ahmedabad roads which is a big achievement if you take into account the unruly traffic and the gujjus who are always in a hurry. Though I am still a little jittery when it comes to driving a car, I hope to be able to ride it comfortably soon.

My next target - Perfecting my skills as a car driver, buying a nice silver color car and taking my mother for the maiden drive beside the sea on the Mumbai marine drive.

Expected Time line: 1-2 years

Love

2008-01-14T10:52:00.000+05:30

It was 9th of January, 2008. I was spending a lazy evening in the gallaries of Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. While I was getting bored, I visted the Landmark store in the gallery and found this book - The road less travelled By M.Scott Peck.

The book is divided into four sections - Discipline, love, growth and religion and grace. I would not recommend you to read the whole book but I like the section on love. I am quoting a few interesting thoughts verbatim from the book.

Feel free to share your views about them - I myself do not agree with all of them.

The temporary collapse of egos that constitutes falling in love
is a stereotypic response of human beings to internal sex drives
and external sexual stimuli which serves to increase the
probability of sexual pairing.

Falling in love is a trick that our genes pull on an otherwise
perceptive mind to trap us into marriage.

The myth of romantic love is a dreadful lie.

Falling out of love may be the beginning of "real" love.

Sex and love are basically dissociate phenomena.
In itself, making love is not an act of love.

If being loved is your goal, you will fail to achieve it.
The only way to be assured of being loved is to be a person
worthy of love and you cannot be a person worthy of love when
your primary goal in life is to passively be loved.

Marriage is an efficient division of labor between the two spouses.

A successful marriage can exist only between two strong independent persons,
who are into it not due to compulsion of dependency but by sheer choice.

Dependency destroys rather than build relationships.
It destroys rather than builds people.

Love is not simply giving, it is judicious giving and judicious withholding as well.

23 and still going

2008-01-02T11:48:00.000+05:30

I turned 23 today. It felt really great when all my friends called me right from the stroke of the midnight to convey the birthday wishes. Those sweet words took me to the top of the world. I am really amazed how all these people remember the date as I am really bad at it.

Friends are really a treasure for life. The campus friends arrived at the room, right at the stroke of the midnight. The friends from school days and IIT days were also calling right from the morning. I am really surprised at the patient lot who kept on trying my number while i was attending the early morning class.

Thanks to all of you.

2008 - The year Ahead

2008-01-01T12:13:00.000+05:30

We started the year on a happy note with a game of poker (no money involved, we don't gamble :P) and a fun filled roof top party. This was supplemented with a new year gift of a nicely written orkut testimonial. But, the dream 2008 comes to an end with an early morning class and an MIPM quiz.

But, you know there is much more to this year than these silly things. I would not even remember them few years down the line. This year is going to leave indelible imprints on my life as I would join the IIMA batch of 2008. This is the year when I would leave the cosy environment of academics and campus life to enter the real practical world. I am yet not sure of what job I am going to take, where will I be few months from now but my belief in God says, it will all turn out to be great, even better than what I can dream of.

Here comes the new year,
filled with fun and cheer.

Another brick in the wall,
makes us all stronger.
Another step of the path,
brings the destiny closer.

The hopes are very high,
I have wings to fly.
The troubles may come by,
But Never say Die.

Come, join the ranks
walk with the comrades.
The sun is rising from the bay,
We will make our own way.

2007 - Summary of an eventful year

2007-12-30T20:59:00.000+05:30

Jan - Mar

The year started with my journey from home to Ahmedabad. I was going to start with a new group for my third term. I had heard that there was going to be a lot of group work and I hardly knew my group mates. In due course of time, their sincerity and professionalism towards work really impressed me and by the time, I left the campus for summer internship, I had won some good friends for life.

We, the new Entre team (IIMA's Entrepreneurship club) had very successfully organized the annual Venture Capitalists' Conclave at IIM Ahmedabad. Thanks to amazing efforts by Kunal (Head, CIIE), Vikas Nair, Pranay Gupta, Vijayendra, Vartika, Kaushik, Prashant, Ajay among others.

Apr-May

These two months were spent in the cosmopolitan environment of London in an enviable investment bank. I really enjoyed the support that I received from the alumni and seniors on the desk. The hours were chill and work was interesting. I am glad that unlike many others, I was not just making ppts and pushing numbers without understanding them. I could take full ownership of my work and thoroughly enjoyed it. Except the high cost of living and the tax rate, London seemed like heaven.

Jun-Aug

The fourth term had started, the regular first year classes were gone and the workload of IIMA vanished all of a sudden. I simply did not know what to do. I took in additional subjects to kill time, but to no avail. I had taken a course by Prof. Sunil Handa, "Laboratory for Entrepreneurship" - Thanks to it, I was still interested in IIMA.

The Prayaas school (IIMA school for slum children) kids had started going regularly to Sahjananda School. We were collaborating with Riverside for improving the study environment at Prayaas. Radhika and others led a good dramatics workshop for the school kids.

Sep-Nov

Things started changing for a little.

Entre Club under the leadership of Vijayendra organized the first Social Entrepreneurship event in the history of IIMA - Pratyarpana, the brainchild of Prof. Anil Gupta. We also organized the first Idea Camp at IIM Ahmedabad, in collaboration with CIIE. Thanks to Kunal, Devanshi and Charmie.

Piyush's visa got canceled and we teamed up for our course work. I still think how come we never spent time together earlier. But, it is never too late to start and I am fortunate that I got to know him during the fifth term.

I started participating in B-school contests, thanks to Gendy for taking me in Jumping Jalebis. We started with a couple of failures but the results did not matter, the team spirit did and I was truly enjoying working with this team.

In due course of time, our patience paid and the wildest of our dreams came true -

Jumping Jalebis won the Confluence Award of Excellence

December

Yes, the last month came with lots of fun. It started with ERI course in the deserts of Zainabad. The course was a lot of fun with a sight seeing trip and few good sessions on aerobics, dance and breathing exercises. It seemed to be a 6-day picnic, away from the reach of laptops and internet, in the lap of mother nature.

To add to my pleasures, Vinit won a contest at IIM Indore and Piyush, Pranav and Ankit won the TATA Business Leadership Award during this period. Though I was not present at both the occasions, I was a part of both the teams....(I know, you are thinking how lucky this free-rider can get...)

We supplemented with a visit to South East Asia - Singapore and Kuala Lampur.

A trip with tempting destinations like Sentossa Islands, the night Safari, the Genting Highlands, the KL Minar, the Petronas and the Singapore Zoo was an ideal way to end a fun-filled year.

Jumping Jalebis - A Journey of Joy

2007-11-26T11:43:00.000+05:30

Jumping Jalebis - The team

Gendy - The 6'2" tall sportstar bachcha, always filled with enthu and never say die attitude...
Vartika- The under 40 kg baby - a diligent worker, can be a source of inspiration to red ants for perseverance and hard work
Adrian- The "mature" sportsperson who speaks with elan and experience.
Thita - The pseud girl the swift talker, the confident practical manager
Tasha- The funny little girl, the one who keeps the energy and fun going together, under pressure.
Muli, Myself - the famous freerider :P

November 25, 2007 00:00 am Venue: D-325, WIMWI

Confluence NB gives the ratings of the team for awards of excellence, we are yet to open our account and the leading team "Absolutis" is way ahead with 64 points.

Gendy: Do not worry guys, we still have three events tomorrow and we still stand a chance.
Vartika: Ya, let us put our best effort, I am trying hard for our PPT
Muli : We got no chance, what do you think we are going to win all three events tomorrow....all in a day, you seem to be dreaming...it is even less probable than India winning this test match.
Someone: India can win this match if they restrict Pakistan early tomorrow..

November 25, 2007 01:30 am Venue: D-519, WIMWI

Adrian and Vartika have finished their parts for the R&D PPT. I had gone for the Deloitte event which we lost, my laptop started giving problems and disrupted their works.

Thita arrives with her pseud PPT for Opulence, I am just amazed by all the efforts put by her.

We criticize it, discuss and make the changes. It seemed good to me.

They asked me to find few facts and we left to catch some sleep.

November 25, 2007 09:30 am Venue: CR-7, WIMWI - Opulence

Thita gave a good confident presentation and She and Adrian tackled the questions tactfully. It seemed good and we heard all other teams as well.

Thita: what does your gut feel say/
Me: We should be in top three... (I too knew that it was not good enough to be in top three, to keep our hopes going, we must be at the top .... but the pessimist in me stopped me)

The judges commented on our slides, white font on yellow background...utterly bad choice...you simply cannot read it..our hopes start dwindling.

They ask for the second round with a change in situation, we put all our grey cells to work and came up with a flurry of initiatives...judges condemned it saying you should stick to your initial position and should try to scale it up rather than coming up with new proposals....our hopes are thrashed.

Vartika left for making modifications for the paper presentation contest. I get anxious and excused myself by saying I am going to help Vartika. Truly speaking, I was unable to stop myself there to keep waiting for the results.

November 25, 2007 12:30 pm Venue: 519, WIMWI

I come back to the room and listen to the good news -

We stood first in Opulence and have earned our first 30 points

Vartika is disappointed to know that I did not find the facts for my part last night...I ask her not to worry, I get motivated and first few searches give me the required material.

We move to D-3 for getting comments from team mates.

November 25, 2007 1:30 pm Venue: 325, WIMWI

We revamp the old PPT, full reorganization, adding the international experience from Singapore.
We make our submission and head on to the Global FootPrints game.

November 25, 2007 2:00 pm Venue: CR-2, WIMWI

We start badly in the global footprints game, after an hour and half is passed...I have lost all the hope in this game and I ask thita and gendy that I am going to Adrian's room to practise for my presentation. Basically, all hopes are down once again as we seem to be lagging behind in this simulation game.

November 25, 2007 4:30 pm Venue: D-438, WIMWI

I do a dry run of the PPT- adrian and vartika telling me to calm down and forget about the stakes. I am getting really anxious, the serenity of adrian's face and vartika's diligence inspire me to put in my best without caring about the rest.

November 25, 2007 4:45 pm Venue: CR-4, WIMWI - Transcending Barriers

We go for the presentation - Vartika begins in her soft voice, I talk about the brain drain, passionately only to find the slides have changed faster than my speech - Adrian realizes it and gives me time to talk calmly before he comes in.

He talks well like a veteran about his part, the time keeper says five minutes remaining...I think what, I again get anxious...there are 2 videos and around 8 slides yet to be shown.

I go in and again get anxious, suddenly I remember the advice of my partners to keep the cool and forget about the stakes....I get calmer and I finish my presentation.

The judge asks a question and Adrian gives an apt answer with examples from the company he has worked for - another glimpse of his maturity. I try to chip in somethign from what I knew, the judge still does not seem convinced.

The judges talk about they were looking for a focussed and actionable approach. We think we suggested quite a few options and hence did not have a great chance.

Again, this was a contest where we were not even shortlisted initially. It was where one of the teams moved out at last moment and we, being the waitlist # 1 got a chance to present.

I go to CR-2 and see that our team does not stand a chance of winning even at Global footprints. They ask me about the presentation, my pessimistic reply ...Dont know, they were looking for a more focussed approach. I come back to CR-4 for results.

The results

Vibhor Tikiya and team gets third prize - Hey, he himself has been a researcher and of late, has developed good presentation skills.

Vijayendra Haryal and team gets second prize - he is a really good speaker and I thought we might have lost.

One fachcha volunteer murmurs - I thought your team was good enough to be a second or third..but

The Jumping Jalebis win and get another valuable 30 points

Now, everyone is anxious, we are definitely getting 3 points for participation in Global footprints but can we get one more to make a joint first with absolutis - the answer is no because, the two last guys get 3 points and 8th position gets 6 points...so we need to be in top 8.

We start asking teams...how did they do, everyone is secretive and we are eagerly waiting for results.

November 25, 2007 4:45 pm Venue: CR-2, WIMWI - Global Footprints

The results are getting announced and we are not in top seven. By some logic of the game which we misunderstood, we had lost badly. It really seemed like it all stopped at the end...but no, God was with us today and we were eighth, taking our tally to 66.....all in a day.

In the meanwhile, India had also gone to a winning position in the test match.

November 25, 2007 4:45 pm Venue: RJM Auditorium, WIMWI - Award Ceremony

The team Jumping Jalebis receives a standing ovation from the audience.

Thanks to the friends of WIMWI for supporting us all along....

We dedicate this journey to the spirit of optimism and enthusiasm which fuels us.

Jumping Jalebis with their certis, at the end of the day

Jumping Jalebis on the Conflu stage in Action
(Note: Vartika is not missing, the huge Gendy has covered the miniature Vartika in the pic)

Failed yet again!!!!!!!!

2007-11-19T17:22:00.001+05:30

I failed yet again...I am simply incorrigible.

I don't know how can I be so stupid, so absolutely crap?

Here is this driving test, cleared by thousands of common people everyday....very very easily and here comes the dumb boy with his fingers wavering like the steering has got an electric current flowing into it....

the job was to get a simple stupid driving license, done by everyone from a school going girl to a fifty year old man so easily, so painlessly....but here comes this chap thinking himself to be intelligent and all that....in truth, more frightened than anyone else around, his face has gone white, he is mumbling prayers but to no avail, he goofs up yet again......

I simply don't get it what can be done of this stupid creature.....I wish he could have been a little more relaxed, a bit more confident, a little less Phattu

Finally I request all the readers of the blog to pray to God that the guy gets some driving skills and succeed in getting a driving license some day.....

Diwali @IIMA

2007-11-10T13:12:00.000+05:30

The Fabulous 3-D Rangoli from D-19

Amazing Lights at LKP

Diwali is one of those festivals, which is best celebrated at home. I never missed a diwali at home till second year at IIT, those were some days.

But, now given that I reside in the opposite corner of the country, I could not have gone home for the occasion. Still I could visualize the purchase of silver coins and utensils being made on Dhanteras day and all the decorations being done for the Diwali extravaganza.

After talking to my parents for hours and cribbing about missing yet another diwali at home, i decided I need to make up for it and have the best of fun at Ahmedabad as it is going to be my last "diwali" at campus.

The day started with me waking up at 12:45pm with Pinki's phone call....thanks to him, I could reach in time for the lunch at Handa Sir's house.

The lunch was simply delicious with puri, chhole, chat, dahi wada and not to forget the delicious ice cream. We returned and the "Kumbhkaran" in me returned and I decided to allow myself a short nap of a little more than 2.5 hours.....it is just 5:30 in the evening.

I met the cultcomm team at 6 who were busy preparing the LKP for diwali celebrations....I could not have let go this opportunity of participating in Diya decorations....if not home, let WIMWI be the place...

Later at 8, we the full dorm went for a dinner in tower lawns with Netaji leading the way....we followed it with a small tour of the rangolis in various dorms...

I am simply amazed how do these guys manage to do it in so little time amidst the busy life of WIMWI....D-19 3-D figure of Ganesha was awesome, even better than many rangolis I had seen at KGP...the ones made after efforts of several weeks.

Finally, I ended the night with several diwali wish phone calls to friends, family and relatives.

Overall, a nice cherishable day....I truly enjoyed it.

Teachings outside the classroom

2007-10-06T04:32:00.000+05:30

Life is a great teacher whom we never pay heed to. Every step that you take, every word that you utter is just like another learning. And, smart are those who recognize this fact and learn from all those lessons. And, then there are those fools who never learn - the ones who just keep on repeating one mistake after another , getting one setback after another.

Life gives you signals, there is one in everything you do. But, it takes a vigilant mind to take all those cues and to incorporate them in your next action. And, for the unobservant, doom can be the only outcome.

I am one of those blockheads who have chosen to ignore these signals. I was lucky at few occasions but luck is a game of probability. And, hence you cannot rely on luck all the time. So, there are times when you are not so lucky and it is then that life teaches you those tough lessons. You do not have an alternative to escape these setbacks - they have been decided by "factors beyond control" for you. The only thing in your control is to learn from these setbacks and not to repeat the same mistakes. If you do this, you successfully tilt the luck probability factor in your favor. This learning is the sole journey of life.

Lastly, I would thank you all for reading this article. I would also request you to share your views in comments. I also sincerely hope that I start this "learning2

The Vagabond

2007-09-25T23:52:00.000+05:30

It was a sunday morning
It all seemed dizzy
Last night was fabulous
Today world is nebulous

Lips are all tied up
Smiles seem dried up
The eyes are asking
where am I heading?

Have I lost the sight
Have I given up the fight
Am I still sober?
It seems to be over

Everything seems to be dead
For the breathing blockhead
So, it all went in vain
None understood my deep pain

चलता राही

2007-08-02T23:47:00.000+05:30

चलता राही

मेरी जिन्दगी सिर्फ एक सफ़र है

और चला जा रह हूँ

पता नही किस की तलाश मॆं

कुछ खो गया था, उसे पाने की आस मॆं

बारिश का मौसम था,

बहारें खिल रही थी

मेरी जिन्दगी के पतझ्ड मॆं

कलियाँ भी मर राही थी

कुछ पाने की आस मॆं

ना बुझने वाली प्यास मॆं

और चला जा रह हूँ

पता नही किस तलाश मॆं

तुफानो से लड़ता हुआ

आँधियों से झगड्ता हुआ

और चला जा रह हूँ

ना जाने किस आस मॆं

मिलेगी कभी उम्मीद की किरण

ऐसा कहता है मेरा मन

और चला जा रह हूँ

एक मुकम्मल राह मॆं

The pink slip

2007-07-15T02:37:00.000+05:30

It was one of those Monday mornings when the alarm clock is ringing and you just like to think that it is one of those bad dreams you get after a long night of binge drinking. But, I knew it was not a dream, it was the morning siren which was the dreaded call from my trading desk. I took the pain of lifting my eyelids to see the blue ceiling. I unwillingly drew my hand from the bare back of Suzanne, afraid of disturbing the sleeping angel at 4:30 in the morning. I dragged my feet into the bathroom and switched on the shower. Cold water falling on my eyes pierced my drowsiness and I fitted myself into my prim blue suit with golden cuff links. I left a "I love you" note for Suzanne and hurriedly ran towards the underground station, it was already 5:10 am.

I picked up my regular copy of "The Metro" and "The Financial Times" and was just in time to catch the 5:30am metro. After going through half a dozen stations while I was immersed in the financial times, the metro halted at the canary wharf and emptied herself from the load of crazy i-bankers hungry to pounce upon the Bloomberg terminal. My book had been losing money for the past two months and the future too did not seem very bright. I was cursing myself for the couple of trades I booked for the new sexy sales associate; they had been devouring money from my account like termites attacking an old log of wood. In the meantime, my legs had been put on the escalator due to which I found myself standing outside the Canary wharf station. I moved a few paces and crossed the road to present myself at the doors of XX, Bank Street. I checked my wrist-watch which said 6:13 am, two minutes left to reach the desk. I hurriedly flashed my ID to the guard and entered the main gate.

I put the electronic id for the office entrance and ........ and........it screeched with a flashing red DANGER sign prohibiting entry. I thought there was some problem with the gate and I tried another one........with the same flustering result. This was enough to draw a security guard in my direction who requested me to join the queue in front of the security office. Hundreds of people forgetting their ids in their bed flock these queues every morning and here I was, at the end of them all. I knew this was going to kill my precious time of studying and preparing myself before the markets open. I muttered some curses and politely waited for my turn. When I reached the counter, I was prepared with a long speech narrating their security flaws and how it eats my valuable time, but restrained myself with a "Could you please look into my id, it is being rejected by the system?". The tall guy, gave me a forced smile and went to his computer to match my records. He looks at the screen, then at my face, moves to his cupboard and brings a big packet and a small envelope for me. He moves near me, his face is showing sings of false sympathy enough to bewilder me. And, then he breaks the golden words which break the virginity of any employee, "Mr. XXX, I am sorry to inform you that your services have been terminated with an immediate effect, please collect your belongings and formal letter".

Visit to Calico Museum

2007-07-15T01:32:00.000+05:30

I have been in Ahmedabad for more than a year now, but I never took the trouble to explore this city. One of the disadvantages of a very good campus life, at times, is that the person gets a lot detached from the city in which the campus is situated. So, I decided to use this break to explore things around me. I sought advice from one of my local friends who suggested me to visit Calico museum.

Calico museum is one of the finest textile museums in the world. It houses handicrafts and textiles not only from various parts of India but also from far-flung places liek Egypt and Phillipines. These hundreds of years old fabric are strong evidences of textile trade between these countries.

There are more than 60 rooms containing various varieties of cloth, right from Kashmiri Pashmina wool to Patola and Pichwai. The place boasts of excellent management and a really knowledgeable guide conversant in Gujarati, Hindi and English. The jute work from Bengal on Purdahs, The pichwai depicting various Krishna-lilas and the chitrakathas on the clothes telling various stories were simply captivating. The guide made us tour in a way that we could understand the fine cultural link between the cloth, the era, the people and their culture. How clothes could say about a person's profession, social stature and even religion.

There are a few things that I think should be changed with this museum. First, there is need for extensive publicity of the museum to spread awareness about it. Even the local auto guys do not know where it is. Next, there is need for commercialization of the museum. The free entry can be made into a charged entry and they can entertain people in more shifts. Right now, there is only one shift. Overall, a nice learning experience and some things to know about the great Indian culture and to feel proud about the glorious past. The guide also told us about how various artisans are starving today due to lack of support of the old art and hence, these glorious traditions are dying down an unnatural death. I believe, there is an urgent need to support these craftsmen and an entrepreneur can carve out a profitable export venture with sufficient investments in marketing and branding of these handicrafts.

विचलित मन के उदगार

2007-05-29T12:57:00.000+05:30

एहसास

ये क्या हो गया,

मैं हवा हो गया ।

समंदर की लहरों से पूछो,

मैं कहॉ खो गया ।

आयी एक आंधी ,

संसार सुनसान हो गया।

मची भयंकर तबाही ,

अपने घर मैं मेहमान हो गया ।

कभी एक तमन्ना थी ,

कभी था एक सपना ।

कभी थी कोई जो ,

कहती थी मुझे अपना ।

ईन आंखों से भी आँसू ढलते थे ,

ईन लबों पर भी मुस्कान होती थी ।

इन्सान के जिस्म मॆं ,

मैं बुत हो गया ।

नज़रों से परे ,

आंखों के पार ।

महसूस करो मुझे ,

मैं एक एहसास हो गया ।

I can't

2007-05-23T11:44:00.000+05:30

I can't

I want to forget you,

I want to forgive you,

I can't.

For all the moments we spent,

For all the secrets we shared,

I can't.

You might be selfish bitch,

Your memories never gonna ditch,

How much I cry,

However hard I try,

I can't.

Farther and farther you may go,

My pains you may not know,

You can forget me,

You can omit me,

I can't.

मेरी पहली हिंदी रचना

2007-05-15T18:51:00.000+05:30

आज पहली बार मैं हिंदी मैं अपने blog पर कुछ लिख रहा हूँ और वो भी London से ।

भूल जाओ

आंखें भर आयी हैं उनका इंतज़ार करते करते
थक सा गया हूँ, प्यार करते करते।

मना किया था लोगों ने , ना लगाओ दिल जालिम से

मगर ये दिल ना माना , मोहब्बत हुई कातिल से।

गुजरता हुआ हर पल, मुझसे कह रहा है

वो ना आएगी, भूल जा उसे
याद उसकी ना भुलाई जाती है,
लाख चाहा , फिर भी वो याद आती है।

वो चंदन सा तन, वो सुन्दर नयन

वो बारिश की रात, वो मधुर मुस्कराहट ।

नही भुला सकता मैं, लाख मैं चाहूँ

ना आये वो, मैं क्यों उसे भुलाऊँ।

Treatment of symptoms, not the disease

2007-03-27T18:10:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, the Indian judiciary achieved a big milestone with the epic judgement which awarded the long deserved death sentence to 8 accused in Manjunath Murder Case in a short (by Indian standards) period of around 500 days.

Manjunath, an IIML graduate joined Indian Oil as sales manger and lost his life for being honest and not succumbing to the presssures of bribery and corruption, which has been so deep ingrained in our system that some people have started taking it as a part of the tradition.

This judgement may go a long way in deterring small crminals and petty petrol pump owners like Monu Mittal. But, this is only an application of ointment to the sore which manifested itself in the form of Manjunath Murder. The underlying disease is all pervasive corruption, which needs to be treated in a much more comprehensive manner.

I believe corrupton can be addressed in a top-down manner because if a senior is honest, there is an automatic pressure on his juniors to get rid of corruption. So, the treatment of the cancer of corruption needs to begin right from the top with the decriminalization of indian polity and immediate action against the greedy bureaucrats. I believe, to take the country on the path of progress, we need to immediately address this issue because rent-seeking behavior is deterimental to our economic progress.

Removal of corruption and adequate compensation (yes salaries will need to be increased once bribes are removed from the system) along with victory of justice in cases like Manjunath Murder, may influence the brightest minds of the nation to leave their plum dollar-salary jobs and join PSUs to make a greater change.

The best 5 hours of WIMWI life

2007-03-25T01:27:00.000+05:30

WIMWI, Well known Institute of Management in Western India aka IIM Ahmedabad is known for its rigorous academics, hard core fighters but what people do not know is the life that resides in every heart that lives on campus. But what it needs to free that untapped talent, that unharnessed energy is a right moment, and what can be a better time than the start of the last academic week. (Yes, I know that it is only the end of my first year but no one studies in second year right?)

So, the mighty BOOZTERS (name of the 2006-08 Sec-B batch) took a well deserved break from all the pains of SFI, Fin, EEP and god knows what not...(Interesting fact: the height of first year course material at IIM Ahmedabad is more than that of a normal human being)

So, they gathered to break away all the shackles and send a message to maggu junta "Dude, go get a life".

The section which boasts of famoous sportsmen like Adrian (at an age of 30+, the guy is our sports secretary), Taid (the IITD footer captain), Piyush Zeka Surana (the ever-enthu guy) and Satack (or should I say Said up, pronounced as Satap) could not have started in a better way than a frisbee match.

Then, we proceeded on to the famous Poll of the Year (POTY) awards. All the people who had put in persistent efforts throughout the year were to be duly rewarded. I am going to list some of my favorites:

Silence is Golden Award: Who says IIMA people are die-hard competitive, in a place where class participation fetches you a good portion of the pie, there are cool people who have never been heard to utter a word. And, keeping the tradition, our winner went away in style without a word.

Rip Van Winkle Award: And who says IIMA gives you night-outs, early morning classes and a tough life, here come our winners. And one of them in his style, did not even bother to disturb his sleep to receive the award.

And, then comes the delicious food, followed by the yummy cake. I cannot share the cake, but would allow you the pleasure of watching it...tempting na...

And, then they sang. With due respect to elders, we began with Group-4 which boasts of senior citizens like Adrian, Mudit and Muthuselvan.

And, you know once these old men get enthused, nothing can stop them...so what next? CHANCE PE DANCE...our very own version of Amitabh Bachchan (Mudit Khandelwal) performing Beedi Jalaile..

In essence, one of the best times I ever had...I never thought I would be able to live such moments after leaving KGP but WIMWI, Sec-B and all these friends have proved me wrong...you can live to the fullest wherever you go, because life is not outside, it is inside.

PS: Thanks to Goga, Ranjit P. Ajaykumar for the pics

IS THIS ENOUGH?

2007-03-20T18:02:00.000+05:30

The odds are deterring
The sky is warning
I am crazy enough
Not to be listening

The past is crying
The future is boding
I am insane enough
Not to be heeding

The scars are reminding
The sores are chafing
I am strong enough
Not to be bleeding

I have loved morning enough
Not to be afraid of the night
I have loved light enough
Not to be afraid of the dark.

I have loved HER enough
Not to be afraid of the world.

Prayaas Sports Day

2007-03-18T01:44:00.000+05:30

We believe in "All work and no Play makes Jack a dull boy" and so do our friends from the Prayaas School who celebrated their sports day with us. The young warriors fought hard and gave a loud warning to the Marathon runners.

The ladies even tried the famous sack race, if you think it is easy, just try your hands once. This is from self-experience, I have been a consistent loser in this race since childhood.

And, then they graciously accepted their laurels won after battling it out among themselves.

And finally the teammates who made it possible.

For the non-IIMA friends, Prayaas is a school run by IIMA students to provide education to slum children. So, if you wish to help us in any way, feel free to contact us.

Holi Hai...the first at IIM Ahmedabad

2007-03-03T13:39:00.000+05:30

The bare body CEOs in the making

Hey, this place never fails to amaze me....always strikes me with a surprise even after having been here for almost a year. I never thought that psued MBAs would throw away their corporate facade and be their ownself to enjoy the festival of colors.

Like the traditional style, we went for Holika dahan, the last night and today the show was all on. With the arrangement of environment friendly organic colors and 1500 L water tank, all enthu junta assembled right in the morning, 9 AM...after all these very people have been attending all the soporific lectures, by 08:59:59.

But, Holi is not a festival where people go in a civilized manner and shake hands saying Happy Holi....so what, these future CEOs do know how to dirty their hands. We had a wonderful mudpit which had an awesome power to attract people and once they have been immersed in mud, the person himself offers to get dunked in the tub and becomes an active participant in the show.

To add to show, the fun was multiplied after having Thandai and Bhole naath ka prasad...so, all in all, the best holi of my life. So, for your fun, I am adding a few pics.

They all had fun....

A morning walk

2007-03-03T13:17:00.000+05:30

More often than not, we forget to appreciate the beauty spread around us. How often have you thanked God for the warm sunshine, for the relieving rain and for the singing birds which wake you up from the sweet dreams....almost never.

So, it happened with me. Despite living in the hallowed brick walls of IIMA, I never appreciated its world-class architecture, I never thanked Louis Kahn for endowing us with a gift which will be instrumental in scripting the stories of our dreams..and as a PGP-1, you do not even notice its beauty because the system keeps you engrossed in bloody WAC runs and short MANAC quizzes(for non-IIMA junta, these are the most terrifying courses in first year).

But not everyone is oblivious to the surroundings and it took an exchange student from US (one of my good friends, Kriti Bhandari) to prepare me for my first photo shoot of the campus on an idyllic sunday morning.

So, we roamed around the campus and took pics of the beautiful Louis Kahn Plaza and the famous Harvard Steps.

And here, in this pic is our dormatory structure, just the right balance of light and shadow. I simply am in love with IIMA.

Thanks Kriti for taking me with you on the photo session.

Prayaas Treat : A rendezvous with True India

2007-02-27T19:38:00.000+05:30

Today we discussed the widening gap between the Indian rich and the poor in our soporific EEP class. Since I was betting on myself for CPs (class participation game), I was not sleeping. So, I learnt something about India: We have worse situation in educational inequality than the Sub-Saharan African nations like Ghana.

For us, India is on the path of historic growth. We are dreaming of double digit growth and fat pay packages, increasing perks and what not. So, I forgot it, reached my room, performed the usual chore of checking Dbab (this is more important than food and water at WIMWI) and reached NEWS NB to see this http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/26inflation.htm

Now however insensitive I might be, I could not stop myself cursing the system for doing nothing to ensure that the fruits of success trickle down to the lower strat of the society. But that is what we do, curse others and do nothing. Can we do anything? Can we add few moments of happiness in lives of some people who have not been as fortunate as we are?
(For economics-inclined junta, they call it "Endowment failure")

And then, I saw the post about the treat for Prayaas kids. These kids had given an awesome dance performance during Chaos, the cultural festival of IIMA. The Prayaas team had called them to show them the video of their performance. After showing them the video, we had an awesome pizza treat. The kids had a chance to bite the italian food with the American coke. I will believe globalisation to have succeeded in India only when all Indians will have enough purchasing power to live the life of global standards.

After the treat, the kids performed their chaos dances once again and gave a performance of their folk song. Their faces were gleaming with joy when we bid them good bye along with a handful of candies.

Overall, I had a wonderful time and am feeling great.

Just Another Drink!!

2007-02-25T13:22:00.000+05:30

Just Another Drink and we landed into Tuchchadom(second year at IIMA, for the uninitiated) ...yes, the long year of wait and frustrating fachcha life (PGP-1) seems to be over now.

Yesterday night was the Corpo-D (Corporate dinner) of Dorm-V and believe me, D-V rocks..The small bus laden with 20 inmates of the brick jail proceeded on its way to give them an evening of freedom when there were no rules, when you knew no bounds.
All 20 inmates of the Penthouse (as Dorm-Vians lovingly call their abode of WIMWI life) were immersed into the pool of unbounded merriment. The dry throats got a golden chance to gulp the divine drinks and quinch their thirst.

The swimming pool saw the historic water rugby battle between adventurous tuchchas and skilful fachchas...people have doubts about who won, who cheated, when it was a foul and so on....but let these cribbers cry, none will deny they were all filled with joy.

Then came one of the most enjoyable dinners of my life and it was not because of food but the chatter and the company.

It reminded me of the times when I was a second year at IITKGP and we were giving farewell to the final years of the wing...but there were no secrets shared this time, no heartfelt feelings for the place you never wanted to live...may be these WIMWI MBAs are too pseud for that....or two years are too little to bind you to the brick walls. I do not know but without the sentiments, it becomes just another drink.

MuLi Says

2006-10-16T23:18:00.000+05:30

It has been long since I have kept my mouth shut....is it? Not really, it will be better to say that I have not blabbered online for sometime....but your days of respite are over and I invite you all to relive the trauma of reading my blogs.

Are you wondering who is MuLi? Definitely, you are not from PGP-1 (2006-08) @IIMA. No problems, I will introduce him to you.

He is one seemingly harmless guy who can be spotted roaming somewhere in the beautiful campus of IIMA, busily absorbed in admiring the beauties not necessarily endowed by Louis Kahn (for the uninitiated, he is the architect of IIMA campus). But, do not go by the looks, the guy is a real dangerous viper.

Do not ever meet him even by mistake because once he finds a prey, less said the better.

btw, the introduction is yet incomplete .... or shall I say the story has just begun?