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Showing posts from 2006

New year resolutions

Finally, it is the time for New Year, And with it comes the time when most of the resolutions were broken. And also comes the time when many more resolutions are made Probably to be broken in next 365 days. So, here goes my list of 32 resolutions for the year 2007, with a hope that most of these aren’t broken. I shall - Try 5 different looks Keep moustache for some time. Crack less PJs Reduce the tummy Get a Regular walk/ jog/ exercise. Read at least 5 ET articles daily. Read newspaper editorials regularly. Find out what I really want in life. Learn a foreign language. Be more organized Keep my room clean Be more systematic in my approach of doing things. Not crib. Not give up easily, without giving a fight. Improve my reading habits Read business world regularly Not regret about things and won’t give “ifs and buts” explanations Mind my own business Not litter on the road. Give mini

Alma Maters - Google Earth view

click on the image for a better view ! IIML GREMS, Baroda MANIT, Bhopal MANIT, Bhopal

Yet another overdose of myself ...

The road to nowhere

Everything seems to be at crossroads ... but I dunno where r these roads heading towards. I am moving on with the traffic, knowing that others are going toward somewhere, where I don't want to go ... yet I am trying to be in sync with it I wish to to stop my car and see if I am headed in right direction, but I don't have guts to do so on an expressway where everyone is speeding by I am just hoping that my car doesn't run out of fuel or break down while on a way I am scared to take an U turn, but am scared that I would be knocked down by a speeding vehicle I am scared to drive slowly, because I am scared to be left behind I am bound by the rules of the game, I wish to break them but I dare not do it on this expressway Something is wrong, maybe that's obvious ... but the obvious is often not too obvious. The problem is that I dunno what really the problem is !!!

Catch 22 situation

Of late i have been slightly injured in the region just below the chin (nothing serious though !) and have been wearing a bandage (the one which sticks on the skin like a tape), which is often too weak on my beard ! Doctor : You need to take care that the place of wound is protected from water ... and you need to shave because the bandage in not sticking coz of your beard Me : How can I save the place from water and get a shave, both at the same time. ... ... Somewhat reminds me of catch - 22 !

Injury : 24 hours later ...

It has been over 24 hours since a white bandage is adorning the part of my body that lies in the intersection of my chin and the neck. The injury was NOT a major one, but yes, i do have some concerns as I would have to live with this for a fortnight or so. Though it deserved a couple of stitches, but I managed not to get it, with the fear of stitches due to lack of prior experience being one of the reasons coupled with some laziness with me showing to doctor 12 hours later being another. (stiches need to be there within 4-6 hours of injury) Now I have to be extremely careful while laughing and usually I place one of my palms on the bandage to have a laugh. Now smiling is also a sort of muscle challenging task. Also I can do less of talking, which is quite a challenging job. I can now eat very slowly. This was one of the reasons, I could eat less in yeterday's pizza party. The quantity of food intake has reduced to 49.96 % of original (a b - school student estimate, where I am not

All in the name of journalism

The paparazzi seems to goes frenzy over any thing pertaining to the rich and the famous, and more so if they happen to be a cinema star. Just the other day I was browsing through a website which described Brad Pitt and Anjelina Jolie’s Indian trip. They even had the detailed description of their local train journey in Mumbai and Pune trip. Now I know that they had an auto-rickshaw ride in Pune They visited the Gateway of India Anjelina had a local train ride (in second class compartment) from Charni Road to Churchgate. And she was wearing a T- shirt and a cargo pant. And she even brought train tickets (now beat that!). She bought some peanuts and mentos at Marine lines station. This is one of the sample news items, but such type of news galore like an actor planning to quit smoking since years, or someone having an hour of daily workout, or the diet of an actress and blah blah. Just take the example of the times of India and with all the kind of chatpata, masa

From ignorance to learning and back

I landed in some sophisticated place amidst the all-knowing studs. I couldn’t understand the technicalities of F-1 race I couldn’t understand the soccer terminology I couldn’t stand the cacophonic parties I couldn’t get a word of any English song. I couldn’t see any of booze or smoke around I hardly talked to girls. My language knew no slang or swears words. I believed in early to bed and early to rise funda. But it all wasn’t that cool. My weekend evenings were spent in front of a TV trying to understand who the hell Schumacher and Mr Alosno and Mr. Ferrari were. I woke up late in the nights to see the soccer world cup and all the club matches, trying to decipher why there are 22 crazy people running after a ball, kicking it and others. I did night outs chatting and loafing and playing computer games I tried to dance to indecipherable cacophony. I listened to western rock day in and out, with its lyrics googled and trying to phathom it. I often got drunk with some weirdly distasteful

I always knew it is going to happen

“I told you na …” “maine kaha tha ki aisa hi hoga” “I always knew this is going to happen” “I knew that India will lose today” “I knew that the professor will take the test” “I knew that X will be the murderer in the movie” And the blabbering goes on. I have often wondered how people know that something is going to happen with so much certainty. And there are just too many such geniuses in the world. Necessary condition being that the thing has already occurred. They always knew that idea ‘X’ is going to work if idea ‘Y’ didn’t, necessary condition being that there is no chance to execute the idea ‘X’ in that context any more. Maybe, some hindsight bias, as some jargonically sound person will say. You meet such kinds of people everywhere. They are all around us. Maybe I, you or anyone has such traits. Just have a conversation while having a journey and you may find different varieties of them in different shapes and sizes. Dare to say that there are very few geniuses!

MBA ke side effects

You tend to look down upon people who sleep before 1 AM or who sleep for more than 5 hours a day. Almost everything appears “GLOBE” You lose your interest in studies during exams. In other times you don’t have time to study. You love partying, even if you don’t actually like them. You seem to forget what it was to ‘live something like life’ You may fall sick, if there is one day without any kind of slogging. You may watch soccer and F-1 race just to be stylish, with no real interest in it You are likely to be looked down upon if you are awake during lectures. You apply theory of demand and supply to the beautiful girls. You may discuss soccer and F-1 endlessly for the sake of your ‘image’. You may hate any social gathering which is without any kind of booze. You do all kinds of things for that extra point in CV. You tend to apply all theory in places where not needed, and when needed you forget those theories. You are in a position to give gyaan about anything under the sun, without ha

A matter of choice ...

You have 2 options, and you have complete freedom to choose any of these. Each option leads to an outcome which is one of those given below 1. You are happy and everyone believing that you are not and sympathising with you. 2. Everyone believing that you are happy, while in reality you are far being so. Which one will you choose ?

We love losers ...

The match was close. It was cricket match between Australia and Bangladesh. Most people believed the result would be obvious, but the Bangladesh team offered a tough fight. People were mostly cheering for the Bangladesh team. But this time they didn’t win. Few months ago though, they pulled a surprise victory against the Aussies though, and people would have loved if they had done the same this time also. We all love upsets, unless of course, we or our favorites are on the receiving end. Or in a broader sense, we often tend to love losers. Be it loving Devdas making it a super hit each time it comes. Be it loving a hero who loses Be it cheering for a weak team against a stronger team Be it seeing a dark horse win. Be it suddenly having a new-found love for Sourav Ganguly, whom were abusing a year ago for non-performance. … Or is it the other way round? … Do we hate winners or achievers and love to see them fall? Be it secretly hoping that Australia loses each time it plays Be it seeing

A brief theory of Sleep

“Oops … I overslept” “I am going to catch on with some sleep” How often we do we heat these words! Sleep is one thing that often eludes us when we need it the most, and is always there to greet us when we least want this bug to hit us. This result can be derived by applying Murphy’s Law to sleep. Similarly, applying Parkinson’s Law, “All the possible post-activity time available is filled with sleep”. This may hold true even if the available time is as high as 16 hours. Most of the oversleeping occurs when we desire it the least, and have some important task lined up immediately after the ‘brief sleep’, which we miss because our sleep ends up not being brief. For the sleep to be sufficient, it has to be for optimum time. This optimum time may vary from person to person. If you sleep less than the optimum time, then you will feel sleepy due to lack of proper sleep, while if you sleep more than this, you get trapped in the vicious cycle of sleep and thus continue to sleep more or feel sl

Prof kehte hain ...

Prof kehte hain ... ( inspired by Papa kehte hain frm QSQT !) Dedicated to the b-school goers ! Here it goes : Doston, Aaj submission ka aakhiri din hai … Aur sabhi ne apne project ke baare mein kuch soch rakha hai But maine kuch nahi socha hai … Really … I mean it … Aur aaj baar baar mere dimaag mein yahi baat aati hai … Prof kehte hain badaaa naam karega, Student hamaara aisa kaam karega, Magar yeh to .. Koi na jaane … ki meri slides … hai kahaaan … Baithe hain milke, sab project mates apne … Sabke dilo mein armaan ye hai … Wo presentation mein, kal kya kya bolegaa … Har ek nazar ka sapna yeh hai Koi introduction ka kaam karegaa Globe maarne mein koi apna naam karega Magar yeh to .. Koi na jaane … ki meri slides … hai kahaaan … Mera to sapna … hai i-bank jaana … Dekhoon jo usko jhoome bahaar … Account mein khilta dollar ka mausam, Style mein jaadooo, bangla aur car ! Banda ye khoobsurat kaam karega … Powerpoint ki duniya mein apna naam karega … Magar yeh to … Koi na jaane … ki meri s

Maybe

It was yet another mundane day at the office. The client had once again told to pull up the socks, if the project had to be completed in time. My manager had one again told that my work was still not upto the mark. I was feeling totally demotivated as I strolled past the park on my way home, when I decided to sit on an empty bench in some corner of the park, which was surprisingly vacant. I was throwing stones at the tree which was a few meters away, but missed it every time. This wasn’t a proper day to try all these. Maybe I would end up hitting somebody, and probably landing at a hospital.Then suddenly this old gentleman came and sat beside me. I smiled and he reciprocated. This man seemed to be somewhere in his 60s, but yet seemed full of energy. He was dressed in an executive suit, which I found a little odd initially. Maybe, he was someone in the high echelons of the corporate world. Anyway, it was none of my business. Yet, few minutes later I found myself engaged in a deep conver

UNCONVENTIONALLY ATTRACTIVE

(My first attempt at writing a short story … read at your own risk!) Moments later after I somehow managed to throw myself in the train compartment, it started moving. Had I been stuck in the traffic jam for even a minute more, I would have had to book my tickets once again. But finally I embarked on the journey, the one which will lead to my homes, the one which will make Bangalore “the city I lived in” from “the city I live in.” I finally landed in my seat, somehow adjusting my luggage below and over the seat. I was really exited about the journey. I had managed to secure an admission into an IIM and was soon going there for a management education. To add to this I had a beautiful girl sitting next to me in the train. This was sort of unusual, as the coach usually I travel in hardly has any beautiful girls in it (courtesy Murphy's law). Later on I got to know from the reservation chart that she was Aditi Mishra, Female (obviously!), 21 years, going from Bangalore to New Delhi. “H

Games Students play

It is not about sports like soccer, cricket or TT; nor about some indoor games like chess or computer games. How often we hear words which on surface convey a simple meaning but deep inside the meaning may be totally different ?!. It is about these ‘games’. Formally defined, games are a form of ulterior transaction, and which leads to a definite payoff. Ulterior transaction is the one, which on surface may appear to be completely normal and without any hidden “trick”, but at psychological level it may mean something totally different. For example it may appear as if an adult is talking to an adult (adult – adult transaction), but at psychological level the ‘adult’ speaker may be talking to a child (adult-child transaction). (No more technical jargons from now onwards!) How often we hear the phrase “In US it isn’t so; actually there it is …” At the surface it may seem like a mature adult talking to another, stating plain facts. But at other level it is telling that “I have been to USA”.

Law of increasing competition !

"The first step of reaching the top is getting through the crowd at the bottom" How often we think to cross one level of competition, and be assured that rest of the going would be smooth, just to realize that competion has just increased ! As a child we often didn't know what we are headed for. Later on we make a decision, usually the one that would lead to something more comfortable later in life, or colloquially "do this, then there is fultoo aish". As a child I used to think that if I get good grades in school, life would be comfortable. Maybe comfortable meant "bed of roses" to me. In engineering, all the old school style of competition seemed somewhat trivial ! Bt still there is a big fight to get those coveted jobs, but again, on reaching "there", we often end up realizing that just to be ahead of the crowd, you have to compete a lot. During those job/graduation days it is a dream to get into any of the coveted b schools leading to a w

Fully loaded with ... @ b-school

First half of the first term @ b-school and I am fully loaded with Balance sheet that don't balance Accounting equation which had debited my brain with frustation Supplies that aren''t demanded Accounts which I can't count Some useless statistics with highly any marginal utility Information technologies that hardly carry any information Acts of associaation that dissociates my brain The hairs that are depreciated from my head by means of scratching Probablities, to understand which is improbable A grouped data set of competants in which I am an outright outlier in the negative direction Motivation theories that leave me demotivated Leadership theories, which I try to follow Theories of satisfaction that leaves me dissatisfied Assignments that I wish had never beeen assigned to me Researches, which I don't want to search even once Communication, whose message I couldn't grasp All paths leading to the so called "dream jobs", which we don't have any

A passing thought

"Some castes are backward, but some backward castes are more backward than others, and even in those more backward caste some more backward castes are more more backward than other more backward castes and so on ..." -- Nikesh Rathi's "nested" quote on backward castes I was just having a look at the number of castes in India. Here is what I found : There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 subcastes in India An idea came into my mind looking at the statistics. For nearly 3000 odd seats in the IIT, why not reserve one seat for each caste. (taking into account each of the 25,000 subcaste would be a very complicated issue, so am not including it). Some of the details like the seat allocation and the institute allocation can be done on rotation basis. For example if there are 100 seats in computer science at IIT, Delhi and a person from my caste is supposed to go there this year. So the next person from my caste can go there after 30 years, when people from all cas

Da Vinci code : The movie

Yet another weekend comes Yet another weekend is about to be squandered doing nothing ... But this time, I managed to watch a movie, the much awaited 'da vinci code'. Was quite disappointed when the controversies surrounding it managed to postpone the release of the movie by about a week. But this weekend, I managed to watch it - adding to the list of very few Hollywood movies I have seen. Having read the book, I was more excited to see the movie, and with Tom Hanks, The excitement was even more. So there I was, seated at a not-so-good-yet-expensive multiplex. I am making an assumption that most of the people who are watching the movie would have read the book. I may be wrong. Maybe, many of us old be tempted to believe the 'facts(???)' stated in the movie(in fact the book), we usually love what is spicy, especially if it is said with such conviction as in the book, where the demarcation between the 'fact' and 'fiction' are not exactly distinguishable. D

yet another week begins ...

Yet another weekend ends and another week begins ... Another day comes when I sluggishly drag myself out of my bed And lazily rush to the office ... Yet another day when I find new ways of avoiding work ... And I spend most of the time doing nothing but surfing and checking mails And then I make plans to leave early and then decide against it To be motivated to do some work, even if it is just a formality Before I call it a day, leaving the work for tomorrow ... And praying that when I leave, it doesn't rain And I continue to work out ways of cicumventing work once again ...

ISKON – A case study in temple management ?

“If you visit Bangalore, you ought to have visited ISKON at least once”. Having lived at Bangalore for almost a year, I was having a feeling of, not exactly guilt … but definitely felt that I have missed some part of Bangalore. I always wanted to be there once, and yesterday was the day. Sunday, 14th May 2006 : I was sitting at Forum shopping mall with a friend, and as usual doing nothing. Suddenly the idea struck … Why don’t we go to ISKON … and then began a long ride through he crowded streets of the city. Braving he heavy traffic, and an overdose of the likes of carbon monoxide, SPM, nitrogen dioxide etc. we finally managed to reach there after an excruciating 45 minutes ride. There stood the ISKON temple, on a very small hill, in a very large area. Had it been a movie, the appropriate term would have been ‘magnum opus’. And began our journey negotiating the Sunday crowd of devotees... I have never been too religious, in fact not too much of a believer, but occasionally I do visit a

Hi

Hi, This is my first post in this blog. Actually couldn't think of anything to post here. Maybe, if i m not lazy enough, or i have something in mind worth sharing, or I get something good to copy-paste and share (there may be plenty of these) ... i ll post it here. Well, I m still going through nitty-gritties (hope i got the spelling right) of creating a blog and still have a lot to learn before i can begin some serious posting a t this place.

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