Confluence

DON 2 : First Look, first feel

2011-12-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

I watch few movies at theatre. Don 2 was always on the list. Who would skip the escapades of Don as “Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi…NAMUMKIN HAI…he he he he” ? It began with an expected scene..lots of big goons planning some mischief…here the mission was to kill DON.

I don’t know if its a major disparity in the Amitabh flick and Shahrukh’s versions are that new DON is always on the hit list of criminals, rather than insipid POLICE. The ploy of DON to reach the weaknesses of his enemy is beautifully unfolded. Too many exotic locations give it a feel of BOND movie, only certain shocking elements like a plastic item number by Ayesha, legal actions defying logic, an unnecessary skin show by Roma (Interpol) and an unreasonable love chemistry between the ‘Dog’ and his ‘wild cat’ author fails to understand.

It is certain that the brand DON is here to stay…to be seen is if Farhan gives next movie the name of DON 3 or doesn’t include DON in it. Shahrukh has exceeded limits in acting prowess, fight sequences and justified his not so muscular physique by getting beaten up by Vardhan and more particularly, Jabbar. DON feels more like a Chacha Chowdhury who has the power to pre-empt next multiple moves of his enemies.

Coming to the escapades, all were detailed and kept us glued to the screen. Author missed the connecting points of first one to an extent as 2-3 worried people were arguing nearby to get their seats sorted out. It was a jail break scene where DON and Vardhan flee on a medical van. It was a quick execution, but believable as all tactics were aptly displayed.

Determined to tackle the topmost authority gunning for his head, DON joined hands with Vardhan to reveal proof of a criminal conspiracy by a top bank (read Europe Central Bank) executive. Now this proof had the powers to bargain for blueprint of the Central Bank where Euro plates were kept in a ‘Only RAJNI can break it’ vault under extremely tight security. EURO plates are the impression of currency EURO which is on the verge of extinction these days. DON thought that he will mint billions of EUROs for himself using those plates.

As an initial threat of spoiling the party, Ayesha and Hrithik Roshan went to a charity raiser. Mr. Diwan (VP of that Bank) was the guest of honour. A salsa was on, where backless Ayesha offered to dance with Diwan. Predict wat next – Ya the Agneepath pair completed a beautiful SALSA. Roma felt like she knew him and went searching frenetically. Her objective of life has always been to catch DON..isn’t it. HR was actually DON in a mask. He he.

Stunned by the video clip from a cellphone skillfully kept in his pocket by Ayesha, Mr. Banker talks to his boss and contracts Jabbar to kill DON. How foolish na ? What followed was a hilarious sequence where DON just treated Jabbar like a ‘machchar’ and double contracted to work for his team. Jabbar had taken 2.5 million euros as advance from the Banker. Don offered him 15 million EUROs.

All the plans laid out, entered Sameer (Mr. Kunal Kapoor of RDB fame). Ofcourse he seemed a hacker from outset. It was strange to see the respect he offered DON, calling him sir a number of times. DON asked him to mastermind the security breach and controlling of automated equipments inside the bank. All was set for the loot.

Again, the plan seemed very thoughtful. All activities which seemed spontaneous, were actually planned out by DON and Sameer. This computer guy na, I tell you – he impressed DON with his hacking skills. Any Tom Dick or Harry could predict that Vardhan will act smart later. He did. But God aka Sameer had all the controls with him. He switched off the electricity using his computer and DON was swooooooooosh. Then to our surprise Roma and the police is waiting for DON at the exit route. Sameer had betrayed(not really).

Vardhan and Jabbar are inside the bank and they don’t have the exit route (It was not shared to them ..he he). So they threaten to kill hostages (some 20-25 videshis) one by one. Only DON can get to them as he knows the exit route (how silly ?). You know what he demands from police for this philanthropic work ? An immunity from all criminal cases against himJ. Diwan talks to him and signs the deal. (How could he ? He is just a banker). Roma decides to go with DON and have some romantic moments. Her boyfriend (new actor) makes a mockery of himself by threatening DON. Wearing bulletproof jackets; all head for this precious bank. DON shows his concern for Roma by saving her time and again. Once bomb diffusion expert is dead, he himself diffuses a bomb in time (so talented)J.

Meanwhile Vardhan hears an explosion in the security room and is wearied of DON’s presence. He threatens to kill hostages if DON does not show up. Wat now ? Ya, DON comes and with him, Roma. Oh! those last moments with him.

A little bit drama, but yes – as per script – Roma is injured, DON survives, Vardhan goes back to jail, Jabbar is killed by DON. Bank manager dies when a bomb explodes in his car. The plates …well they have to be with DON ….and his two young partners…Sameer and Ayesha.

Shahrukh has carried the role with conviction and covered the shortcomings with his fantastic presence. DON has always been smarter than the rest, be it Amitabh or him. Role of Vardhan is once again to share the screenspace with DON, as the character of Boman has to be sufficiently utilized. Priyanka has some fighting sequence to impress viewers. She was not required to do any item number as it eroded her character in mindspace. Lara as Ayesha could have been replaced by any young female actor. Kunal looked like he was short of offers and took DON to register in our memories. And yes, as Shahrukh gets older..Hrithik looks fitting into DON’s shoes.

Right time to invest in BANKS!!

2011-11-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

With Moody degrading Indian banks and S & P upgrading credit risk portfolio of Indian banks by one notch, lot of investors do suspect what is COOKING! Ofcourse Sept qtr FY12 results of banking behemoth SBI were extraordinary both in terms of profitability and higher provisions for Non Performing Assets. But if you check out, YES BANK had Net NPAs around 0.25% of its assets. Around 30% of it's income was fixed - fee basis , so that rules out the possibility of interest rate exposure. With 22% ROE and >20% growth rate over successive years, Yes Bank surely demands higher valuation than the present P/E of 10. Normally, P/B is the parameter to judge valuation of banks. It's book value has consistently increased by over 20% YoY, so that indicates where the price should go. Latest move of offering 7% interest to CASA account holders will only strengthen the roots to take advantage of high interest rate lending scenario. Net Interest margin is close to 2.8% which may increase following halt by RBI in increasing repo rates.
In the present scenario; capital goods, metals and realty sector really doesn't look like worth investing. But given the shallow valuations and decrease in EPS already factored in the current prices, not much downfall is expected. Over the next quarter, rate sensitivity will maximise its effect and then begin to subside. RBI's sole purpose to control inflation was to not compromise with India's GDP growth. Given the sorry state midcap and even some large caps find themselves in, interest expenses must decline.
In the Indian equity market, defensive sector like FMCG can't hold on for too long. It's already trading at a P/E multiple of more than 30, which defies logic. I don't see even big FMCG companies increasing EPS by more than 20% in a year timeframe. Increasing competition in the industry may just as well lead to some consolidation moves. White label consumer goods and private behemoths are readying up to take on the likes of HUL, ITC. Decreasing food inflation may just force them to increase the quantity in their packaged eatables.
Lots of brouhaha over rising NPAs have seen PSU banks going down like a knife! But the worst is over as claimed by SBI (3.5% Net NPA) and seems similar for UCO Bank (~3% NPA). UCO has plans for increasing it's CASA ratio to 35% from present 23%. That will help in increasing NIMs. Allahabad Bank has been consistent in it's growth over the past quarters with comparatively lesser NPAs(~0.7% of Net Advances). Speculations are rife on sectors to which banks are lending major chunk of funds. Power sector - which is unable to recover the costs is the main culprit followed by Capital Goods - battling decreasing growth in order books due to recessionary feeling.
All this is bound to change once Inflation subsides. Compared to 2011, this year's demand is on the lower side. See it by jobs at MBA colleges, results expectations of evergreen sector like IT or expansion plans of biggies like Reliance, L & T - you will realize the mood quite well. So see lesser hikes this year, lower spending and yes inflation at 5-6%. Then watch banks reach the pinnacle.

Aaj...Yun hi

2011-09-08T01:26:00.000-07:00

Aaj yun hi...is zehen me uthi ek baat..

ek chanchal sa ehsaas..kuch gehre, bhule bisre alfaaz..

kya zindagi se yahi chaha tha maine..kya khud se yahi manga tha maine??

in sawalon me jujhna nahi chahta main...in dayron me simatna nahi chahta main...

par inke saath chali aati hui un yaadon ka bhanwar...kuch thode se nam, thode manoram..

un kaagazon ke purzon me na jane kitne sapne range the meri syaahi ne...waqt ne jaise unhe mitaane ki saazish si chali ho...

sangeet ke un chhe chhandon ko apni dhuno se sawaanra tha maine..mere nishan abhi bhi hain unme...meri goonjen abhi bhi samayi hai unme..

kya maine khud ke iraadon se kiya hai chhal...kya maine khud ki koshishon ka kiya hai aatmghat..

na chahte hue bhi fansta sa chala raha hun in sawaalon me...jinke jawabon se bachata aa rha tha khud ko..

sach se ru ba ru hone hi ghadi phir chal padi hai..phir ghanseet rahi hai mujhe in sawaalon se duur..

phir kuch der ke liye ye dhundle saayon ki tarah kho jayenge kahin...kabhi aur aisi tanhaaiyon me meri ruuh to sateyenge..

The DRAMA of CRISIS!!

2011-08-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

If the first crisis was not enough, in came the second one. But this was not a fresh one, in fact the ‘beginning of the end’ courtesy Mr. Jhunjhunwala of first crisis. The bailouts, the easings are showing their side effects. It looked similar to a disease which was not strived to be cured, in fact it looked like the doctor kept the patient comfortably on respirator till his condition worsened.

Quantitative Easing – the word draws attention but it’s simply fusion of fresh money into the US market by selling government bonds. QE1 and QE2 tried to elongate the sluggish economy on respirator. Heart rate showed improvement for a while and people rejoiced that the disease is over. As long as the patient’s treatment(US economy) was funded by the wily zamindar(China), patient hoped for a recovery.

But the deteriorating mechanism was not helped by the employed population. The very factor that make US happening – extraordinary care of it’s citizens has instilled an idea into it’s working class. An idea that we are privileged to be here, we are not going to compete with people from emerging economies. We do best whatever we do. This attitude justifies the numero uno position US has been precariously holding onto somehow. But the writing is clear on the wall. They may not be able to sustain it. They should not for the benefit of THE WORLD. Whenever US is in trouble, it seems the world is about to end. Such centralization points to the feeling that we all are subjects of a single patriarch.

Going back to the patient analogy, he is showing no urgency in exercising his moving parts. High unemployment rate suggest that US has hardly been vigilant about it’s own intra-structure. Why US citizens are not preferred for jobs ? What extra they demand as compared to their peers? Why Indians and Chinese are hired by US companies ? If the patient is happy by borrowing help from more active patients then God knows how long he’ll live. Interestingly, this situation arises when people are staring down at the end of their life.

As I write this, QE3 will be ready for launch. It will be interesting to see how long this will go on. For sure, US government debt will increase beyond limitations. Credit rating may come down to A+. More mayhem is possible at the Wall Street and emerging markets. FIIs, the overseas investors are credited with driving the Indian Stock exchange. Its during these crisis, they ‘astoundingly’ decide to withdraw funds from India to save their face in their origins. We all agree that there is a lot of cushion for growth in India. Had Indian investors been intelligent enough to park their funds in equity, these situations would have been avoided to some extent. But the saving habits have denied that decoupling. Saving is understood by many as the money lying idle in CASA bank accounts. Of course, that’s true. Then you ask yourself if you need that fund in near future. The answer is – NO, I don’t think so. So what am I getting with this money ? A 4% annualized return!!! HAPPY ??? If you believe that you will earn more in future, then believe that the companies will do better. There is SCOPE in India for growth in MULTIPLES. Who will drive that ? COMPANIES…GOOD COMPANIES. How to identify them ? See past numbers…Profit Margin, Sales Growth, ROE. Should I become it’s shareholder ? Analyze the industry sector, EPS, see if it’s undervalued (P/E). Buy CHEAP, sell EXPENSIVE – a basic principle taught in NURSERY. Read management discussion in annual reports to get an idea about it’s future plans.

In fact, investment in equities (for sufficient time period, diversified portfolio) is saving in stricter sense which also gives higher average returns. But the drama of a collapse, the panic created especially to trigger downward run has prevented many to show the courage to invest when the bear is in motion. It’s only when the bear stops and FIIs come over again, the Indian investor feels comfortable to enter.

This attitude demands change, if we expect to be self-sufficient in any time horizon. These external forces can’t be dismissed, but their powers can be tamed if we understand the market. Speculation or intra day traders are also the culprit when it comes to misleading genuine investors. Relying purely on the technical analysis is not recommended for people who aim to ‘SAVE’ money through investment in equity.

ANNA and BEYOND!!

2011-08-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

As this 'Lokpal Bill' movement continues, I have a feeling that it will fail. My experience comes from previous protests I have participated in. There were similar issues we were fighting against. But those at the helm of affairs exercised great restraint in catering to any demands. All they came up was 'GLOBAL' gyaan session. I am sure Prime Minister is doing the same in his speech at IIM Calcutta.

Actually this movement was necessary to test the intolerance of 'WE, THE PEOPLE' against corruption. The idea of Lokpal doesn't seem feasible to me as it forms a parallel body to CVC and may lead to confusion of authority. I believe it tries to prevent corruption, not cure it. There is a big question mark over the selection of right individuals under Lokpal ambit. Whenever there are people involved, corruption sneaks through. Like Mahatma Gandhi led the movement with his team, hoping that they will take care of India; Anna is doing the same. But there is no guarantee that the functioning will be as desired in long term.

Further, if there are so many 'honest' people in India; there is a better solution which will work for atleast 5 years. Let TEAM ANNA form a political party and run it 'corrupt-free'. As far as funding for functioning and mobilization is concerned, we are there to help them. If we can follow them in Ramlila ground, we can surely give financial assistance in hope of an end to corruption. I am sure if SOUL is left in INDIA, they will win many seats in next Lok Sabha elections. They will get many intelligent fellows for support; who will devise high tech ways for promotion. Things will work out in the right direction.

Eradication of CORRUPTION is a long term exercise. First we have to move ahead of those people who are involved in corruption and holds comfortable position either as ministers or beaureaucrats. It will be foolish to think that PARLIAMENT will pass a law which threatens to jail majority of it's members. It will not be passed. Even if it will be, there will be sufficient loopholes. Result - a BIG ZERO after all these protests.

So the bottomline is - this movement should give birth to a political party with a mission to give India a 'CORRUPT FREE' environment.

Enchanting Glorious Uncertainties

2010-12-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

India may have won the first T20 world cup... they might had come close to lifting the ICC World cup in 2003.. but still the form i always liked more to watch was the longer version.. which they call a "real test". In the earlier days of my upbringing , there was no cable connection in the house.. so i used to watch the highlight packages or video snippets in news. Although i was too young when tendulkar sizzled in perth, i recall hearing the heroics of sourav ganguly in first 2 tests. Finally, the first series which i watched live was Ind-SA Test series in 1996. Alas! that was the complete blunder for the team India. I still recalled india bundling out for 100 and 66... and first time i saw the helplessness of indians on a bouncing deck.

Later in the ganguly era, some respect was restored, but still we were not able to dictat the terms on foreign soil , moreover so in south africa which remained a bogey-land for team india. So this team when the team crossed the pacific ocean, everyone was nervous, how would they perform, can they justify there no 1 tag, which is challenged brashly by their counterparts. They almost do a dis-service to their fans when surrendering meekly in centurion. Although little master added yet another milestone to his already glorified CV.. still it was a rout, to say the least.

Boxing day, as the next day after christmas is referred to, generally marks the last test of the calendar year. This time there were 2 tests. One where Australia was finding their gears to stage a comeback in Ashes.. and another in kigsmead durban , where south africa is going gaga over the plantation they have made on the playing surface.

But this indian team is known for turnarounds. Earlier they win the first match to lose the advantage in further outings. This team knows to bounce back , and to their believers they have done the impossibles this year. In SL, VVS Laxman played an incredible knock to secure a drawn series when the chips were down.. and then in mohali, he even surpassed his legend. If my heart needs the check-up for its cardiac health that match has certainly provided it. I remember being glued to the TV set. Every run scored by VVS was like gold-dust. Again the kid was back in me. Again i was shouting,yelling and dancing as if the on-field players are looking at me.

As the story goes, my mom used to told me that while watching a Ind-NZ test match in my younger days (mind you those matches started at 3 AM).. i used to shout a lot.. doubting my neighbors of a burglary in my house. And that day my mom told me that i was almost repeating my performance of the younger days.

So why this all now.. because once again my favorite format is back, once again batters are facing music.. once again bowlers looks like tanks on mission.. once again VVS showed why he is dreaded in opposition dressing room, and once again i am shouting, screaming , praying, dancing. I forgot i am 25 years old.. i forgot my examinations are going on.. its test cricket at its best baby... you better remember it.

P.S. Keiron Pollards and Dwayne Bravos of world may get unbelievable auctions in IPL, VVS is priceless, damn you lalit modi.. you put a knight among the pawns of T-20 circus.

Take Only as Much as Your Hands Can.

2010-12-16T10:32:00.001-08:00

I always find this very interesting why people keep cribbing about why cant get this why they cant get that, but he always gets everything and I dont. I try so much I do this and that but I always fail whereas he suceeds with minimal effort or maybe this way why do I always get all the problem and so on. Tell u what it does work out this way. Perhaps this world runs on the very famous Saytzeff's rule, which says "The rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer". Maybe a kind of inertia develops around you, that whatever the situation builds i.e the envionment, you tend to assume it as reality.

Significance of Saytzeff's Rule
Lets put it this way: you are caught in a situation that is unfavourable to you, you try and try to come out of it but you lose. Now this will become a perception as reality. You may not be , but you assume yourself to be one. The dissonance between your desire and what you deserve develops and that is the beginning of all the problem. I think someone said it right that "There is enough of resources in this world to satisfy your need but not the greed". This may sound too vague here. But as you see when you are down and you feel small the whole world looks large. Whatever you get you want more and more. And it turn it causes further resentment. You tend to get further dejected for you dont get what you wanted. And no wonder you further loose your morale and you cant see opportunities coming your way but the problems you do. Now if the sucess comes your way, it comes too bulky for you as you were too small till then. It is obvious you get knocked off your anchor because it is too much for you. And you feel like cloud nine. But as i said, it is surplus for you. Consequently some is taken away from you. And once again a big opportunity looks like gone with the wind as you see what you have gained turns out to be too small in front of others. You feel like you keep loosing all the time.
Now take the case of a man who keeps winning. He is high on morale and feels like sky is his limit. So whatever sucess comes his way it seems small to him. He could take it all with pleasure and still be anchored. No wonder he loses nothing. Even if he has to lose something it doesn't seem big to him. Hence it looks like he keeps winning always. For all that he pays is negligible campared to what he has.
Hence proves that happy man always suceeds and loser always loses.

You are what you believe
Actually it all depend on what you believe about yourself. A lot depends on your will actually. If you believe you can make it, sure you can. Its like if you want to be treated like a king act like one. And what does that mean?? If you get something react how a king would react i.e act with dignity and always carry your self-esteem. Keep recalling you deserve it and so you got it. Never loose your feet and get excited if something comes your way. Cause it is then that it gets nullified by another force. If you want to relish your success to the full you have to have either two things:

You should have bigger hands to grasp it. Or in other words the reach of yours should be higher than what you get. E.g. Keep your heads high. Carry yourself well. Which is very typical of saying be a king.
You should make that success look smaller i.e give the value to it lesser than you give to you. It is a basic principle of life. Whatever we get in abundance is valued lesser while the one we get once in blue moon has higher value and it holds in every case of life. Consequently the corollary also hold quite often. If you value less you will get more.

Opportunities are like a wave. They come in bulk. Spread your hands as far as you can. but keep yourself well grounded so as to make sure you don't loose yourself or blown with it. Even if you want to sail with it, know where you are heading. Those who can take more will get more. So cribbing about why you dont get while other get is quite baseless for the answer is in your structure which is created by you and it is you yourself who has to blame for it. Always remember, you can take only as much as your hands can accommodate. The others you have to leave them behind.

To Pratigya, with love

2010-11-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

She's not my girlfriend, nor is it one sided love. Pratigya is the mother of five children - Neev, Swashakti, Swatchatha, Jagruti and Suraksha.

These babies are created with planning and capital during incubation. Supplement it with contents, targets, service by volunteers and other important stakeholders - babies were born on 13th November 2010.

I am talking about seeding the idea when the foundation is conceptualized, nourishing it to grow healthy and then monitoring it till it matures.

Pratigya is a social initiative taken by one of the premier B-schools in India ( and one of the fastest growing B-school in the world! ) I am talking about IMT Ghaziabad.

Neev is what it name means; foundation. Establish a base for right education of the less privileged child. A team of students proceeded to nearby schools and interacted with students of class-IV and class-V. During the visit, they found out that the basic level of understanding was quite sub standard. Apart from study, there was little to look out for these children. There is a plan to nourish their future in sports and studies by providing them with the infrastructure and training at a better frequency.

Swashakti is targeted to encourage women entrepreneurship in groups. Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) joined hands with volunteers to manage a women group in preparing delicious pickles and market them. Similar activities have been managed by MADF (Make A Difference Foundation) where female inmates of Dasna jail prepare fancy candles and diyas for Diwali decorations.

Swatchatha is a cleanliness drive which was carried out at places like India Gate and Nehru Place in Delhi. It was an effort to sensitize people about an individual's responsibility to the area he lives in. Students recognized the thankless job of the cleaning staff by felicitating them.

Suraksha was all about spreading awareness about traffic rules and reminding busy commuters about little precautions we tend to forget. Students holding placards utilized the red lights at major chowks in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad to spread the word. Some even pointed out to the car owners to fasten their seatbelts.

Jagruti was the campaign in Central mall at Gurgaon, Pacific Mall at Ghaziabad and another one at Noida. It's agenda was to highlight the issue of corruption in our professional lives and reiterate some energy conservation tips.

Do we need god !!

2010-09-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

Things were going at their usual place, people were looking for opportunities of growth and financial stability, when suddenly a genie ( or you can say ghost) of early 1990s came out of the bottle. I am witnessing this game of cat and mouse over the Ayodhya Issue verdict since last fortnight, and it really pissed me off literally. It is usually said that justice delayed is justice denied.. in some case it is even injustice. It seemed like government was hell bent on having a verdict when nobody else want it or even care for it. And this gave rise to the question.. Do we need Mandir or Masjid.. do we need the verdict.. or more fundamentally do we need a god at all !!!!..
Now I know many of you would think that I had gone crazy, and as a student of management I should do some kind of research to validate my hypothesis. So to claim whether we need god or not.. i first wanna know whether what is god ? .. so here are some of the replies which I got ..
God is a belief, we believe in god
If you ask a teenager, what did he believe in… he would definitely say that he believes in the power of expression. He can have the jeans he like, he can vouch for the bike he likes, he can choose his career and work towards it.. They say money is bad.. at least it does not discriminate between the people of flesh and blood.. money do not ask for the caste and religion of the hand holding it. So what do we really believe in.. if we have the will.. we have the resources.. there are enough choices available for us to make our lives better… do we believe in god to take our decisions.. do we believe in god to deliver our message 1000 Km away from one location to another. So, if god is a belief… where does it exist ?

God is fear, it controls people
Again it needed a bit of survey and things started pouring in. The things people are worried of is about their cell phone getting switched off rather than some god in the heaven being angry upon them. With science to our aid, we can almost predict and control all of the parameters in this world. So, who is the controlling force, its we.. so why should we afraid of some supernatural power.. who doesn’t even care what the hell their followers are going upon.

God is the unifying force
On this account I agree to a point, but then again examples are not in abundance in front of us. Let us take mobile itself, you get a camera, a Bluetooth, voice transmission, video transmission and data transmission on single platform, its like convergence of all the technologies, and we say all religions take us to one path !!!.. so who should be god here !!!!!

Well I know that there are no comfortable answers but there are no comfortable questions either. Whether it would be a temple or a mosque , how will it affect the people, they continue to earn the same, they continue to live the same life.. only impact could the negative disruption of their lives…
It is right to correct the wrongs of the past… but in order to do so.. we should also remember two wrongs will never make a right..

4 Reasons not to Watch Peepli Live

2010-08-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

I usually have very high expectations from an Aamir Khan's Flick, which was further reinforced by movies like TZP and 3 idiots, but peepli live to say the least has been disappointing. Here are some of reasons which i found quite bizzare in movie :

Is it Satire?

Well while seeing the promos of the movie, i got the feeling that the movie would be a satire on the plight of the farmers, who are so helpless that they are left with no other option than taking their own lives .Treatment of the movie was certainly not in line with that. Yes, the situation can be shown in a humorous way, but then director should have cared about a thin line between the fun and the message he want to convey by the movie. Suicide by farmers are a serious issue, and in the movie it was ridiculed more or so as a resort of extracting money from the government. They can take a leaf out of the book from "Munnabhai MBBS" which had a very delicate balance of emotional and comedy scenes. In this movie, there is hardly a poignant scene at which you feel moved.

Media as a Joker

Alright , we have several movies depicting the act of media as a bunch of paid jokers. If my memory serves right " phir bhi dil hai hindustani" was based on the sensationalism of media, and there are few other movies too. More than that, we in our daily lives , experience this hoopla for media. So, apart from 15 minutes of entertainment, there was nothing more in the media circus shown in the movie. Media is the fourth altar of democracy, and there were instances where media had played its role in a very responsible way. It could have been much better if media had been depicted as a responsible agent. May be it has served as a model for the prevalent media in the country

Acting by 'Natha'

Despite all the hype by Natha, the acting was sub-standard. The expressions were not there, body language was not apt. In place of looking as a despised farmer, he looked like a minor caught in a soup. At this moment , i can hardly recollect any substantial Dialogue by him. Most of the dialogues are given to Raghubir Yadav, who no doubt is a good actor, but then it became an overkill. I sincerely believe that much work could had been done on his character.

Abuses in the Movie

okk, i agree to the point that this type of language is common in villages. But i sincerely believe that, director had been over-enthusiastic in using the flowery language. Words like G***d, Be****d, M*****d galore in the movie. Supposed to be a family entertainment movie, it places lot of people in a very uncomfortable situation. I also found it the tough way, went with my aunt and mom, and constantly had to fix my eyes on screen during the movie to avoid eye contact.

Movie is good, but then its not according to the status we associate with Aamir Khan. He had set the the standards high, and this movie really looks half-cooked. At best an attempt to score over the prevailing issues of ailing farmers and agriculture in the country. In my opinion. this is not worth a movie to watch spending your hard-earned bucks.

Why Facebook ?

2010-08-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Many will detest this note, because it's antithetical to the concept of 'Facebooking'. Status updates and more recently notes have engulfed the interests of all and sundry. My love with facebook started with some desired and strange applications like predictions, lover of the day, friend of the day, ideal job et al. These applications asked some questions and popped the results. Even if there was no connection, I thought I've achieved something. I'm sure same is the case with others. People feel happy if they see something extraordinarily nice about themselves. For me, it was a confidence booster. It's hard to acknowledge though. It also works as a proxy if not enough friends are online and thus keeps us busy.

To increase the networks of friends, Facebook suggests names randomly. Mind which feels hesitation in requesting friendship, thought of loosening the shackles gradually. FB is preferred over Orkut because FB is a broadcast network unlike Orkut which came across as a point to point connection. The more friends you have, the more people you reach out to. Wall updates can be seen on all friends' news board. Orkut implied a concept of scribbling on the other person's scrapbook.

The habit of lingering on this social network is effectuated by the lack of result oriented work and worthy substitutes. I don't know about other B schools, but this one is surely hooked on to FB. People release unique status updates and there you see a series of likes and comments within no time. This brings us to analyze the dearth of student activities which has propelled deviation on to the web world. As common in every B school, student managed clubs and committees are active in the college. But most prefer to ignore them due to reasons best known to them. Academics as usual, attract little attention. Credit must be given to high frequency of exams which resist us to delve deeper into understanding of the subjects. We tend to behave like machines. Input -> Process -> Output with least retention. This is what I feel, respect to those who have managed to learn regularly.

By garnering applauds on writing a witty remark or by creating a thought provoking video/pic; we feel belongingness to the FB world. This world is 'real like' but not real. After all, nothing has replaced the intricacy of analog human interaction. Try executing a project without meeting a single time and you would know. We are still bound to excel using age old methods of convincing naysayers through table discussions and spoken presentations. Hooking on to FB undermines our focus on the what should be the strength of a modern day manager. Plain confidence does not make up for paucity of facts and analysis.

How to use FB to one's advantage ? I've tried few things. During the summer break, games like Scrabble kept me indulged. I hope I've improved my vocabulary to some extent(God knows!). Creating pages and raising support for causes justifies our passion. 'It's my Earth' page was created as part of a contest organized by one of the IIMs. I'd decided to continue with the initiative, though it demanded only one investment - time. Lots of friends have accepted it. Thanks folks! The idea was to change the way our mind thinks about the environment. Believe me, I can't tolerate wastage of electricity now.

Game(s) People Play

2010-08-04T23:41:00.001-07:00

Smoke came out from the pistol...sprinters started to run for their lives in a 100 m race with crowd getting behind them...they just got pass the 50m mark... suddenly the race track collapsed... and i saw my cell phone it was 0345 AM in morning ....!!! Thank god... it was a dream..

With so many stories unwinding around the CWG'10.. i am certainly very anxious about it. Do not be surprised if swimmers find algae in the swimming pool, or one of the football just cant arrive to stadium . because of the traffic jam.. most possibly because 2 cars have brushed each other..and the owner of those vehicles decide to settle the matter on the road itself.

Being in NCR for almost 3 years.. one thing i am pretty much sure about.. you can bring CWG to Delhi.. u cant take Delhiite mentality away from here... and believe me for most of the people the brazen social class of Delhi is an unpleasant experience at least in the beginning. Now the news channels are running rhetoric episodes on the dismal state of affairs.. and any tom dick and harry is giving expert comments here. As to put one of my friend's comment " Jisne aaj tak ghar mein shaadi bhi nahi karwayi.. wo bata raha hai ki CWG kaise karane chaiye".

Yes we are very concerned about the image of India.. by the way what is the image of India!!! A developing nation whose stock market is outperforming the rest of world, no matter few 100s of farmers commit suicide every year, or is a nation where people run crusades over Sania marrying Shoaib.. while youths are murdered in the name of honor killing. A nation of billion + people could not manage to create a decent football team... a nation where the gaps between the haves and have-nots is increasing day by day. A country where a chief minister can brazenly defend its communal minister or a state when traveling by a train demands an insurance!!!...

Anyways, we have to protect the image of nation, because various foreigners will visit the country. Its like putting a nice curtain on the door, so that people feel that everything is well and beautiful inside. But the curtain is now started having holes.. where people can peep to see the divide between India and 'Bharat'.

No i am in no way recruited by that psycho 'Mani Shankar Aiyar" who is praying to rain gods to unleash havoc and destruction upon the commonwealth games.. well its almost praying for a death of a person... i seriously wish that games go on smoothly..coz once u had taken up a commitment.. you should follow it tenaciously.. but the buck should not stop here.. these games ought to play a bigger role in developing a sports culture in the country.

P.S. As per Swapnil.. we indians are masters of doing things at the last moment.. so when India wakes up on the inaugural day of CWG... they will see a picture perfect games... Japanese may have invented "JIT".. we will put into rigorous test here

B-School Lexicon

2010-07-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

In my 1.25 years of so called "B-School" Life, i observed certain phrases which was like gospels for the people living out here , so this is one of my humble attempt to mention some of those as to pay tribute to this wonderful and innovative B-School Lexicon

1. Bull-Shit : We, the people, in b-school somehow feel that it is more fashionable and kool to swear in english although there are various hindi substitutes available to that. So, one of the most common used word is bull-shit. When i first heard the word, i was a bit amused. Traditionally, in india cow-dung is popular, but why bull-shit is so revered in b-school parlance. Be it teacher, be it students , whenever they have to ridicule something, the first word which comes into mind is "bull-shit". I am seriously thinking of watching a bull shitting carefully, and may be attach a photo for you people also, so that we can demystify the code.

2. Fuckin : If there has to be a word , which is most abused in any language, it has to be this word. The power of this word is awesome. it could be noun, adverb, helping verb and adjective. There is no scenario which cant be explained by this word. Paper was "fuckin" tough, i am "fuckin'ly happy"... The usages are infinite, from the most momentous occasion to the most pissed of occasion, this word will never leave you alone. ( And oh Yeah !! there was a band performance by the college students, and they are using 'fuckin' almost 5 times in a minute, so no college song is complete without it )

3. It Depends: The beauty ( or u may say curse ) of MBA education is that seldom there are right answers. This helps students a lot, when they were basking in their blissful ignorance. Whenever you caught off-guard by a teacher , asking a question, the safest answer is "it depends". Coz there is no situation that cant be moulded as favorable or unfavorable. So basic tenet of MBA , don't be sure on what you are doing, and when you can not convince people .. confuse them..

4. "Case ki summary bata de " : We, the people, in B-school are always very hard pressed for time. Be it for playing tennis, watching movies , doing bakar and ohh yeah sleeping ( wait a minute.. i heard a lot about sleep deprivation in B-Schools.. make it very clear.. IMT never sleeps.. but IMTians do...) , that we hardly get time to do other stuffs. It seems that our professors do not understand our precarious situation. Heap of Case studies ( Typical HBS one .. with pages>20 ) keep on mounding in our rooms, and 99% of the times, we could not get time to go through them. So, what to do in class ??... Thankfully 1-2 holy souls had read the case, and before 5 minutes to class... the common request is " Bhai .. Please case ki summary bata de.."

5. "Meri Proxy Laga dena " : When i was a young kid, i was told by my parents that god is omnipresent, and they look at every good or evil deed of us. After coming to b-school i realized that we mortals can also possess same powers. People could be present at more than 1 place at a single moment of time. Giving and requesting for proxy is one of the most holy ritual of b-school. The bonding between "proxy-bretheren" is unfathomable to comprehend. Sometimes, i feel afraid that people may not get affected by "multiple-personality disorder", not even knowing which name they are representing. Any ways, this is the blood for the life in a B-School, else you would find a long queue in front of prof's office looking for their attendance.

6. 'Lunch/Dinner mein kya hai ' : when i first went for higher studies, i was surprised that why that dining place is called mess. Then somebody told me that anything you get there would be a 'complete mess' , and that's why this place is unequivocally called mess. To give credits, our college has a good mess, and a hard-working mess committee too ( which sends menu for a fortnight with due diligence..). But do not get misguided by the items on menu, you may find a helluva of difference in what was written on menu, and what you are tasting right now. As of now, the favorite item is rajma.. which i think they boiled for on month in advance. So, every time , some body asks "Dinner mein kya hai" he is hoping against hope.. that today he may get some good thing to eat. The safest answers to questions are "Chhole aur Rajma".. There is 90% probability that you may be right !!!

Disclaimer: All the views expressed by author are personal and experienced in personal capacity. No offense is intended to the mess-connoisseurs, who find it best place to eat, or to the people of "yo-Gang" for whom 'fuckin' is second name for god. Also i might have missed some of the key-terms in my analysis.Please feel free

'A happiness'

2010-07-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

A wave of happiness swept the whole IMT yesterday when almost everybody who took any level of CFA cleared it. Everybody was happy for himself or any dear. Feelings of the people sending the congos were really overwhelming. The charm in their minds could actually be made out from the words they uttered. Really happiness is such a flash which can indulge everybody around. Even a bit of that flash can refresh your minds, body etc. of anything stale or bad located in any corner of your mind. I sometimes think why this happiness is so momentary. Why this happiness does not last that long.

I think happiness, sadness or any feeling you come across indulges your mind for some time and then resides in your mind itself. It resides there as a layer. These feelings, layer after layer, make the unconscious mind. These feelings stay there as they are and last really long.

To search any feeling that is there in your mind like a layer, you will have to first uncover the layers above that feeling. Beneath, you will find the feeling you desired for. Once found, you can do anything with that feeling like you can play, enjoy, make a fun of it, etc. Once done, it will automatically go again in your heart but will stay at the top of the stack of feelings. So the next time you want to search that feeling you will not have to go that deeper. You will be able to find that somewhere at the top. That is a wonderful way to keep your happinesses fresh.

This way you can enjoy a happiness multiple times and reach the conclusion that happiness is not a flash that just sweeps across. It is something which lasts really long. It is only that we don’t know where it stays.

It is not that hard!!

2010-07-25T23:03:00.001-07:00

N here comes the second blog.. which actually comes at a time when nothing other than derivatives can dare to penetrate your mind. For the guys who are not much friendly with derivatives, I will have to define ‘derivative’. Derivative, as a subject, is something which is introduced in the curriculum of PGDM to increase the number of finance subjects. Derivative, as a activity, is something which has been there in world for long centuries. It finds its mention in various writing written by the people as early as Aristotle, Plato. Even in the small towns people engage into derivative practices without knowing that what they are engaging into actually sucks the MBA students. Does that mean despite studying business all the time we feel hard in understanding the simple business concepts or that Darwin’s theory of evolution, which says that human’s brain is becoming complex day by day, does not hold. I have not done any research to go with the latter so I assume first one to be true.

The question here is why we feel hard in understanding something which might be very easily and comfortably understandable in somebody else. I think that underutilization of your processor and overutilization of the hard disk is one of the primary reasons. We always try to fill one thing or another in our hard disks and hardly left with any ‘computing power’ to use the processor which is why we feel hard in processing anything. We do this without realizing that by using the processor we can make as much information as we want from a particle of information but no growth is possible in the information without the processor. It connotes that adequate utilization of processor is far more important than the overutilization of hard disk.

The reason for spending so much of power on our hard disks is that we always try to convert our RAMs into hard disks. We are always apprehensive about the retention of data in our memories without realizing that our memories are the types of RAMs(which are quite volatile), rather than the hard disks. So the effort to refresh the data in the RAM is actually the wastage of effort.

What I suggest is that we should always think before spending even a bit of our computing power on anything because it is actually a very critical resource and it should be put to use as optimally as possible.

First blog without knowing to do blogging

2010-07-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog I have ever written. While reading various blogs written by so influential the people I realized I hardly know anything about anything. Then, I asked myself if I knew anything about the people or the System around. After giving many nights to these thoughts I realized that knowing anything and doing anything are completely independent. I realized that I don’t need to know anything to write. The knowledge which serves most of the purposes is the raw knowledge. It is the knowledge that is embedded in your mind through the experiences of your life. It is the knowledge that comes handy when all information acquired from the books falls flat. It is the knowledge that we call, in our b-school language, as ‘global’.

Sometimes people ask why I think that ‘global’ is more important than the knowledge which we acquire from the books. I answer that the answer lies in the word ‘Global’. Global is something which knows no bounds. No territory can control anything which is considered to be global. The territory that I want to refer to here is the territory of the books, the territory which makes us conceive that we are safe only within that territory, the territory which makes us think that our thoughts have some limit, the territory that bounds the unlimited potential that the upper 1.5 KG part of our body has. This territory makes us believe that we would be superior to somebody if we have read two more books. Had these beliefs really been true I would have been better informed that Mr. R J Masalamani(our strategy teacher) because I have gone through my strategy book and Mr. Masalamani, I believe, would not have opened it once even.

Here the question is, if Global is more important than Local, then why do we need to have anything local. I believe this again is a method introduced by our highly intelligent ancestors. According to this method, a lot many local things are continuously inserted in our minds and we are asked to assimilate, understand and retain these. This is a method to test if:

· we are able to assimilate anything global that comes our way in our life.

· If we can actually make a sense of that global thing that comes our way.

· And if we can retain any global thing that comes our way.

I believe that this method of checking us is very important to manage the chaos in the world. If we don’t have the caliber for three points stated above, we should not be allowed to move up the ladder of success and if done so, we can lead the world to the chaos.

Kissa Kahani Ka..

2010-07-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

Guest Lectures, to be frank, are generally a mundane affair. A speaker from a reputed organization comes.. Accolades are lavished, people clap.. and soon after a power-point presentation starts and people enjoy siesta, only to be disturbed by the claps in the end. So, when i was to attend the guest lecture of "Consumer Behavior".. i already had planned to make up for my lack of sleep.

In between the routine talks, there was one particular moment, which stimulated me. He was asking what is the most influential theme of communication, and all of us are giving answers which are consistent with the marketing jargon to which we are highly exposed day-to-day. His simple response was " story telling"... and yes it is the most influential tool for communication.

If we look it on a bigger scale, all our beliefs come from telling and listening story. What are religions ? A grand collection of stories to be the best. Why panchatantra is so popular ? because simple moral values are depicted through perfect sweet little stories. Stories are the way to help the audience relate to the incident and feel the consequences as if it were their own.

Take example of children, in their younger age of development, values are imparted to them by the means of story telling. Imagine saying to a child " Telling lie is bad ".. or " Hurting others is bad "... and they will reply " ok... but wats the big issue.. why it is bad... what are the consequences !! So, the stories and fables are constructed where there is a protagonist depicting the same behavorial patterns as our child can imagine, and then we can make him understand the consequences by telling him the fate of that protagonist .

People in general, do not change much from their childhood days. They still need a story to be stimulated by some marketing communication. That's why you might observe that most of the successful brands are the brands which have a story to tell. If you have heritage associated with the brand, nothing could be better than this.. but if you do not have , you have to construct a story around it. Just type "balbir pasha" in you tube and you can witness how creating a story can send the message across more effectively..

So next time when you have to market something or market yourselves, think of some story.. because its not the product, its not the benefits, its about the story by which you can engage your customers...

P.S. By the time i wrote this, our football team has done very well to play 2 very good competitive matches, and now we can tell this story for other sports too.. to motivate people.

Surrogate Nationalism

2010-07-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

By the time i am writing this...streets in Spain must be jam-packed, and millions would be shell-shocked in the dutch-land.. yes 'Paul,the octopus' was again right, and beliefs and superstitions cut across each and every border of this world. An ardent dutch supporter, it was tough for me to swallow the bitter pill, but among all the things which shocked me the striking one was the amount of attachment people have with these foreign teams.

One of the scene of the night which shocked me most was the moment when the Spain national anthem was played down, and people sitting next to me actually got up... although they may feel ashamed doing the same for their own national anthem. Statistically speaking, we Indians have nothing to do with the world cup ( although i read somewhere that 'jabulani' has some material made in India). In the FIFA ranking, we are 133rd or 134th or whatever.. we actually do not care. Even if we take Asians as our identity still we do not have representation after the round of 16.

But still, come the world cup, we have a big screen in amphitheater, people with their divided loyalties , and i bet 1-2 must have wept for the Netherlands(i was very close to it). I wonder whether same would have been the scene if a WC cricket final was going on.

Final, to say the best, was competitive not beautiful. If any one would have got the chance to see the 3rd place match between Germany and Uruguay, it was the match of the tournament for me. May be some time reduced expectations allow players to play freely with their natural game. Anyways today Spain deserved it, they were marginally better than Holland.

The only thing consistent in WC'10 were the predictions of oracle octopus. I am sure maneka gandhi would be having a close look on the matter. After all, too much attention on him may infringe his right of privacy, but he is undoubtedly the biggest star of the world cup. Spaniards surely will exclude eight-leg creatures from their menu at least for a short time. From no onwards, when the football game goes to extra time or penalties, call the octopus.. at least it will prevent heroes from turning villains... hail the genius !!!

Ecoball

2010-07-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Good to see Netherlands and then Germany making it to the final four. By the time you would be reading it, Spain shall make it too. But I could not find justification in supporting any of them. All throw their hearts out in the field, only to lose or win by some chancy goals. The truth is, I hardly know more than one player from every team and have not followed the club football ever.

So I thought and came to a conclusion : It'll be better off for the world if an European nation wins the cup. Put the economist's eye and you will be happy to agree.

The Euro crisis driven by mammoth Sovereign debts of many EEC members is looming large. Investors have started washing their hands off Euro. It's falling wrt. Dollar and other currencies and thus, the costs of repayments are getting higher. This discomfort is supposed to be healed by implementing austerity measures and rolling back of govt. stimulus. But the conditions have not improved with close to 20 percent unemployed population in many countries. The squeezing of money will actually affect demand adversely. A long recession resulting from deflation seems a possibility.

If any of the three wins the world cup, things can be lot optimistic. More so Spain, which is reeling under the Fiscal deficit of 11.4 percent needs spirited hope and actions. Needless to say that a Football world cup win in a sports crazy nation usher in a grand celebration lasting weeks.

Lets be hopeful that it will provide a much needed cushion to the treasury and more time to think. As we all know that

- Lots of beers will be boozed

- Festive occasion will grace population

- Families will spend on entertainment

which will generate taxes for the exchequers and income for people.

Crisis in Europe will affect developing world (say, India) adversely as exports will go down due to shrinkage of demands. Contrarily, imports will increase as the European currency will be relatively cheaper. Thus domestic production will suffer high competition due to technological imbalance. Moreover, lower interest rates in European countries will attract ECBs from corporate world. Indian banking system will be pressurised to compromise. Sub prime crisis in America may have not shown it's direct effects in India, but it has unsettled the public.

When debts range in thousands of billions of dollars, a world cup win will hardly titillate the foundation. But, the motivational self-esteem oozing out from the mega achievement shall inspire politicians, bureaucrats and the 'aam aadmi'. They'll be expected to act in their country's utmost interests.

Loss of words

2010-07-01T00:08:00.000-07:00

It was final year of PGDM (Finance) for them at The Management Institute, Bagiazad. New batch had joined in and the B-school was back in life! Jatin and Romin were in pensive mood, sitting in the mess during the dinner hour. Gulping down the Chinese food and updating themselves with score of the WC football match, both went for puff...followed by a walk around the park.

Jatin says, "I remember last year I was mad about blogging. The creativity enthused by the marketing classes and insightful case studies spurred me to write. I had participated in blogging contests centering on different marketing themes. Building on it, I diversified to write about other issues. The craziness was such that I dared to start new blogsites for operations, economics, finance and even word of the day. Many people often ridiculed the exercise. You, who's as passionate towards blogging had been there to contribute. It's soooo enthralling. It was another matter that the warning bells rang soon. I was found wanting on the basic knowledge of Finance and thus, turned my interest towards it. It was proven by track record that I liked numbers. But, I believe a lot of effort from my family was the driver."

Jatin turns philosophical, "Now I am into the sea of Finance, swimming among the numbers and trying to form a life boat out of them. It's not easy since they are attached with the mesmerising formulas, which in turn are to be explored deep into the sea. Finding the roots is the key. Thus, the need to learn 'YOGA' to stop breath for a substantial time and dip in. Ha! Ha! No joke! Try it and you can feel the difference."

Romin feels weird to link Finance and yoga. He enjoys his sutta and adds his own piece, "Brain has transformed into a calculative mood with adherence to all the constraints. Interaction with people has decreased considerably. Life seems to be coming a full circle and the true self is now back. The PGDM programme is a sort of change management for me. I have been a recluse for large part of my academic career. The idea here was to open up and express myself to people. Be a known person, that is. The main difficulty arises when the socialization gets into the psyche and I deviate from studies. It happened here too and I had to change back to what I was good at. Understand the concept better than anyone else...deep down. It involves a lot of mental exersion. Something like forgetting the world when you and your book are together."

He concludes, "Look at the way Marketing guys spend their 24 hours. They read one book and write answers for 3 subjects. And we, immersed in books all the time. Finance and Marketing are two different sides of a same coin. People who are equally good in both of them can be considered Geniuses."

start of a journey

2010-06-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

Coming and going is the universal law of this world.. and it cant be more true for a B-School. So after our seniors left for their corporate sojourn, yesterday we had the registration of the incoming batch. Among all the other things one enjoyable thing about this event is the delicious food served in the mess , which is a bi-annual phenomena ( second occasion is convocation), which also shows that how the incoming and outgoing of batches is a sacred event for a B School.

As i have been there , done that.. i can safely say that there is lot of anxiousness while joining a B- School. When you join a Engg college or any other graduation course for that matter, you are still in your teens and you dream for the sky. your mind knows no limitation, your ideas of this world is completely different. Now contrast this with a B-School. Few of the joiners come after a work-ex from good companies, some leave decent job offers.. so the first question which a student ask on joining a B -School , is how much he can expect to earn after the completion of the course. In this summer i address numerous queries regarding the ROI of the institute.

With all the humbleness, i just wanna suggest that if the view of the person is limited to such a small objective he will miss the bigger picture. From the very beginning i have a firm belief that the purpose of education is to make a person better human being. This comprises of a nice personality, knowledge of surroundings, confidence in what you do, and last but not the least the way you behave and act with other people. In the age of competition its very east to get carried away, but as i firmly believe that life is not a zero sum game. Its not necessary for someone to lose if you have to win. To keep it brief, try to learn from others and also help other learning what you know, so that collective worth of this place increases.

Last but not the least, summers is at it is torturous best now a days, and sincerely now i began ti believe what Mr Algore has said, that its very hard for the earth to survive like this. Thank god IMT G has AC Lab.. else this summer would definitely had killed me. Now eagerly waiting for the monsoon... and calcio rombio ( inter disciplinary football tournament)...

Takes Time

2010-06-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Takes time

It takes time for a toddler to hold her mother,
It takes time for thoughts to discover,
It takes time to give vent to our emotions,
And to lose someone and let go of all false notions...

It takes time to sport a smile when you are down,
It takes longer to hurt someone and hold back before you drown..
It takes time to understand one another,
And takes a life-time to know oneself rather.

It takes ages to unravel the words unsaid...
takes time to see through one's eyes and the uncomfortable silence
instead...
It takes time to reciprocate the unconditional love and care we get
from our loved ones...
and to realise what we've lost until it silently burns...

This isn't mere procrastination...it's just a part and parcel of human

nature..

Incessant Chase(s) of Life

2010-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

In couple of few days life has definitely turn around a whole circle. People are now calling me as whether to join IMT or not? and i recall my days as a MBA aspirant when i was so much confused that once i almost decided to drop MBA. Thank god, common sense prevailed and i joined IMT. But after one year of the so called management education, i came to know about one thing, no education in any of the school can make you a manager, it has to come from inside. The only thing which you can learn from a B School , is to apply common sense , and believe me its very uncommon, as there are numerous examples of various well planned campaigns went for toss. As quoted by somebody " After MBA, you feel that you doesn't need to do an MBA.. bit to feel this you gave to a MBA".

More on personal note.. things are not going that smooth. Life is never kind to anyone, but on some of the days i ask questions to the god and more to myself.. Why Me? I know people ask these questions only when they are in pain and not when al the things are going right for them. Some times things doesnt go your way, despite you give your best of the efforts. You try to improve yourself, change the habits in you, just to have something you desire. And its not the case that i desire a lot. Although there is no end of human aspirations, i only desire have company of someone who is dearest to me !!!!!

But at the end of the day, there are somethings which you can do.. and there are somethings which just happen. You can study hard.. you can try to improve yourself.. you can make efforts to excel in your life.. but you cant make a person become a friend of you . Friendship and Love are the things which usually happens. So, then why people try for it, if the effort is not required at all. Again the vagaries of human life, the more a thing elude you , the more you are after it. In life we do not value the things which we have, and constantly chase those which we do not have. So, for the time being , just have to keep the matter in cold.. and i think i should believe in adage of true love? Lets test the age old mantra .....

10 things I've learnt during the first year of PGDM

2010-05-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

1. Don't go for CGPA, you will learn more and feel better. Remember 3 Idiots! Go for the excellence, not success.

2. Don't think about placements, prepare yourself to understand management.

3. Be passionate towards your course, irrespective of what the world thinks.

4. Use laptop only when necessary. Make an entertainment window for FB, youtube, movies etc. It's very difficult to resist in high speed internet facility!

5. If you become part of any club/committee, show (by your work) that you run it.

6. Those who become NCCs (No Clubs and Committees), need not get disheartened. NCCs are the most creative people in the campus.

7. Beware of the socialization virus. It will kill your time.

8. Read books at Library. It will enhance your ROI.

9. Respect the faculty and do interact with them. They are expert in their field.

10. Follow your hobbies and play outdoor Games.

The global meltdown of 2008 offers multiple case studies in management. B-schools should cash in on them.

2010-05-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

(This article was published in the Financial Express dated March 29, 2010 in which IMT Ghaziabad was the featured B-school in its Campus Page. I'm posting the same here on Ishan Rohit's insistence.)

I think it is appropriate for me to make a disclaimer here-the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the author... :)

According to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “the only thing that is constant is change”. This dictum has been central to everything in the universe. Everything evolves, and the agent of change galvanises this process.

Management education in India has also undergone change and evolved in the past few decades. It started off by understanding business practices in the western world and trying to implement them in the Indian context. Somewhere down the line, we also studied the slightly different Japanese management styles. Indian institutions managed to incorporate the best of all worlds and put it into a concise curriculum to be taught to budding managers in our B-schools.

But what has come of it? Have we actually created business leaders who can drive organisations through times of crises and prosperity or have we simply created managers who end up making bad decisions in uncertain times?

The economic liberalisation started in the 1990s brought with it economic development in the country. The boom times brought with it opportunities like never before. Management institutes, sensing the need of the industry started responding to the market and began churning out industry-ready managers. The students were given a feel of the industry through internship programmes and the mind was moulded to look forward to the jet setting lifestyle in the corporate world.

Suddenly, the subprime housing crisis in the US snowballed into the worst financial crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression. The Wall Street banking industry caused a lot of damage and their excesses affected the Main Street. There were millions of bonuses given, but some of the over-pampered bankers were committing grave mistakes by way of short-term risk taking. Ill-advised risks were taken in the mortgage business. From mid-2008, the global economy turned upside down and ripples were felt in India, too.

It is said that no crisis should be wasted for the lessons it teaches. So, B-schools around the world are embracing the financial turmoil as a valuable teaching tool.

Maybe it's time to look at management education as something more than just preparing for the corporate world. These days, courses like innovation, creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship are in much demand. It is imperative for B-schools to respond to the changing business climate and come up with these types of courses. B-schools should also take conscious steps to nurture an entrepreneurship mindset among its students.

The real goal of management education must not be in pushing students for plush corporate jobs with mind-boggling salaries. It should rather be in sowing the seeds of entrepreneurship which would create more jobs and propel the country forward. The financial crisis brought with it various lessons to be learnt. The B-school curriculum needs to be revamped to include all these lessons which can ensure better learning, understanding and decision making by the managers of tomorrow. Most management institutes have responded promptly and are in the process of incorporating these modifications in the curriculum.

The global meltdown of 2008 offers multiple case studies in management theory and practice. B-schools should cash in on them to stay relevant.

Smoke art...

2010-05-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Smoke art is a form of photography to bend and blend smoke to create some abstract shapes. The interpretation of each picture varies according to the person viewing it, some might think of picture as meaningless smoke while other will see a shape, object or a story..

some of my work...

Motherhood...
An abstract form of smoke depicting a mother carrying her baby.

Dhol Wala

Burning Desires...

Heart of a lady..

The Flying Beast..

Sound of Music...

for more, Click here

Thanks to seniors for allowing me to showcase my work.

Regards
Tarun Chawla
IMT 2010-12

And the Search Begins..

2010-05-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Half past midnight.. one of the days when the sleep is shying away... so once again back to writing something.. one of the thing which engages me quite well !!... Last month has been a pretty happening one.. once again back to corporate jungle (read internship) after a wonderful 1 year sojourn at IMT. But somehow today mood is quite thoughtful.. may be rainfall couple of days before is having some lagging effect.

Last weekend i went to home, and while i was traveling i saw a very interesting scene in train. There was a couple and a small kid, and as usual the baby is troubling parents and was not in mood to eat anything. Then the father hold him in hand, while mother took the bowl and then they start travelling all over the compartment trying to distract him, by showing him different things. Seeing it, i remembered my childhood days. Papa used to tell me lots of stories and in between put stuff in my mouth , and that's how i eat the food then. Today, we sometimes take our parents for granted, but we don't know what efforts they had put in bringing us up. It was really like traveling down the memory lane for me.

In life we do mistakes, and some time the situation is like that you know you are doing a mistake, but you cant stop yourself. This is the beauty of life. Rational and irrational are very much hyped concepts, just tweak the consequences and you will see the most rational person in the world behaving irrationally. The problem lies in trying too hard for something. There are somethings in life which just happen. you cant force those things to happen.But poor mortals, the heart can defy every logic presented by mind.

So i will also try to dissociate myself, dunno how successful, i would be, but still i will give it a fair try. Somehow, today there is a new hope inside me, somehow i feel myself lighter. I was too much afraid of loosing something, that i was not even asking myself that was i happy holding on to that thing? really wanna thank someone who said " do those things in life which make you happy", this is the only way you can make your loved ones happy. Will try to follow the path, and hope for the god's grace with me.. till then c ya.....

The Journey

2010-05-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

And so the wheel of time comes a full circle. May 2009 is when I started this journey. I took my final year exams, and gave some thought to which direction to take after graduation. I wanted to go to B-school; after having studied three years of theory, I thought B-school would be where I'd learn to place it a practical context, the first step to entering the corporate world.

I'd taken for CAT in '08 as well, just to see if I was even reasonably equipped to enter a top B-school. I never studied seriously for it; it would have been gruelling to do that in my final year. And I achieved a 90th percentile. "Not bad," I thought to myself. "I can spend a few months preparing for CAT and other exams, then take on the exam season."

My parents were completely supportive when I decided to not work and devote one hundred percent to entrance exam prep. I enrolled in coaching classes, took the mock tests, pored over the newspaper like my life depended on it. But to be honest, it was hard to stick to a study schedule when I was completely vella :D And so I enjoyed the wonderful city of Delhi with the most wonderful bunch of friends a girl could ask for.

Exam season rolled around. Nerves have never been a problem with me. IIFT went badly; that was to be expected. CAT was a complete fiasco, with all the glitches and whatnot. I had an early slot, so I had no way of knowing what would be a good attempt. I did 42 questions and felt ecstatic. Later I got to know that all the brainy ppl attempted well over 50 questions. Crap.

That only made me work harder for the other exams. TISS, SNAP, XAT, FMS, NMAT.. I studied like a robot and took all the exams on one after the other, mechanically, Sunday-to-Sunday. January end, I was finally done with all of these papers. And I took a well-deserved few weeks off, to rest, relax (still read the paper like my life depended on it, though!)

XAT results came first, and I nearly fell over in disbelief. I'd gotten a 98.6! XLRI apparently had pretty high sectional cut-offs, but I got a call from GIM :) The interview was weird. The interviewers didnt ask me one single question about Eco, why MBA, etc. They grilled me about rock music for a while. Then told me that as a fresher, I didnt have much hope of competing against the work ex ppl. I left that interview room completely demoralized.

Then CAT results came out.

I had had literally zero expectations from CAT. To see a 96+ score was.. Mindblowing. Literally. I dont remember much about that day. Mostly I just bounced around the room, walking on air, talking on the phone to a zillion people. I had done it! The late nights with mock-tests, the stressing over unconquerable geometry questions, the uncertainty of sitting at home and wondering if I took the right step - All worth it.

So what if I had no IIM calls? (Low Math score) I had interview calls from LBS and IMI and TAPMI and IMT and KJS! Surely I would get through somewhere!

The next month went by in a blur. I sat through umpteen GDs and interviews (and 1 case analysis :D ), till the point came when I no longer stressed when interviewers fired questions at me such as "Where is the Nifty at today? Sensex? What is the current price of gold? India's GDP? How many kms of Metro track in the NCR?" I learnt that its ok to not be able to answer these questions. The IMT interview, though, went well. Best of the lot. I could steer the interview along my lines.

Somewhere along the way, I got calls from TISS, NM and FMS (the latter with a fantastic 99.3 %ile). I went to Bombay twice. I found time to visit my grandmother in Jaipur. To see Avatar three times in the hall. I cried when I didnt convert FMS. I jumped for joy when I got through GIM- the idea of studying in Goa was fantastic! Then I got a little immune to the whole process, and took the NM conversion and TISS non-conversion in my stride.

But I was still not rid of the uncertainty. GIM or NM? I ruled out NM cuz I didnt get the course I wanted. My folks wanted me to stay in Delhi so badly, that I even considered LBS. The night the IMI results came out, April 30th, I was stuck. IMI was good. Was it better than GIM? Should I send the 2nd instalment to GIM? Did I want to stay at home or experience the hostel life? Should I leave it to my parents to decide?

That was a long night. I prayed for the IMT results to be positive. I refreshed the damned site every ten minutes. By next morning, May 1st, I'd spoken to alumni from both IMI and GIM. There wasn't much to choose between them. I steeled myself to give Goa up, for my parents. We were drafting the cancellation of admission letter to GIM, when, out of habit, I checked the IMT website. "Congratulations," it said, and I didnt even finish reading the rest of that sentence. End of confusion. I. Was. Going. To. IMT!

So there was the end of the journey. A full year after it started. May 2010, and I had been accepted at one of the most prestigious B-schools in the country, in the course I wanted! Life seems colourful again!

And now, after having communicated with other IMT entrants and seniors, I just know it: Its going to be a great two years!

And so the drop-year is officially over. That journey has ended. And another one begins.

The Celebratrion called 'LIFE'

2010-04-25T22:51:00.001-07:00

The gentle twittering of the swallows,
The faint rustle of the wild mangrove,
the anguished summoning of the cuckoo,
and the customary setting of the ageless sun..
It seems, except me, life is everywhere around..

I lay down indifferent and still,
witnessing the celebration of life,
with my heart itself devoid of any mirth and ecstacy..
Suddenly, a hope kindles out of nothing,
Suddenly, a desire is born in my encephelon...

There's nothing, yet there is so much to inspire,
And as my eyes of concsiousness unseal themselves,
I find myself as a part and parcel of this majestic jubilation...

Time to play "The Game"

2010-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

When 'Satyam' was exposed about 15 months ago , it was quipped to be the nadir of the corporate life in india , but i fear that current IPL row has surpassed it big time. The protaganist , Mr Modi. not only riding the tiger, but also feeding him, and believes that he can always be able to ride on it. Once, in my younger days, i heard a proverb that things which rise fast comes down faster. The adulation , the money and the glitz involved with IPL had blinded many eyes, or they chose to shut their eyes remains to be a matter of contention...
Generally, a big puntcure starts with small prick in the balloon. Everyone remembers the emergency imposed by indira gandhi but few remember the historic judgement by high-court responsible for that. Similary, in the history of the "India Paisa League" , the tweet of Lalit Modi would be remebered for its historic impact on arguably the biggest thing happened to cricket.
After sacricing Mr Tharoor, Ruling party is on the prowl, and i expect some very high profile casualities in the coming week.
As a passionate cricket fan, i never liked IPL from the beginning itself. People may accused me of old-fashioned, but i am the guy of the era where run rate of 6 is considered very good , and 300 was still a respectable score. 3 Ads in an over, karbon kamaal catch, DLF maximum, Max Mobile Timeout and MRF Blimp make me go crazy. Sometimes i wonder whether commentators are covering the game, or they are pimps of the franchisees.
So, what next? well one thing is certain, IPL is too big to fail.. So after the cleansing act, somebody else will be appointed head , and the show will go on, but what about corruption? Well somebody quoted few days ago " Its the money which makes people crazy and make them run pillar to post" so i, least expect the corruption to end. As aptly said by the head of the company on first day of my summer training " If you are working in field of finance, dont look at the source of money. It will unnecessarily bother you, coz in this world only 2 people have money Politicians & Criminals.. Rest other are their Proxies "...

Clash of Titans

2010-04-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

In recent days, there is lot of hue and cry between the 2 regulatory bodies viz SEBI and IRDA on the issue of validity of ULIPS. For uninitiated, unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) are the products sold by insurance companies, which have some insurance component, but fair percentage of the client's money is used to invest in the equity market.After a course on business ethics, i sometime wonder how people can't see obvious things in world, or rather they didn't want to see.

Why do we need regulators? because the common people are not expert to judge whether the products and services offered to them are in their interest or not. Suppose, you go to a doctor , then you believe that he will offer the treatment in your best interest, without fulfilling his interest. You have no way of checking this out, as you are not an expert in the field of medicine. So, people vest power in the hands of the regulators , who ensure that professionals work for the best interest of the customer, and to ensure that there are certain guidelines which should be complied.

So, what will happen if regulators start to get dysfunctional... we need a regulator to look over the regulators and thus the system would be crippled by the sheer number of the regulators in the systems. It will become a classic example of "who will guard the guards ??". so this ugly spat between the 2 of the reputed regulators had left a bad taste in the mouth of the investors. Insurance companies, despite their best of efforts, can't deny the equity nature of the ULIP products, and my hunch is that SEBI will get the mandate in its favor from the high court. After all, for mutual funds like products,why a investor should pay a commission in range of 40% , where it is in single digits in the case of Mutual Funds.

People who live by the sword.. dies by it.... Nobody will appreciate it better than our own Shashi Tharoor.It's so ironical that his problem started with a tweet.. which was his forte till now.His alleged involvement in Rendezvous sport world (RSW) has raised quite a few eyeballs in media even before the truth is out. I am sure. Lalit Modi would have astronomical increase in his followers after this incident (Your truly is one of them). One of the interesting thing which i pondered over is that is twitter and facebook, replacing the media in the world. Now you get to kisten directly from the horse's mouth, it may be the sign of things to come.

I just had a week working as a summer intern in gurgaon, and already i am sick of it. Gurgaon as a place sucks. with only cars, malls and dust. And yups, core finance job, with data crunching gives me nightmares (with number falling like matrix...). Hope i can survive the remaining 5 weeks. So, signing off for now.. c ya soon !!!

Dasvidaniya

2010-04-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

In this box I feel like king

Going outside is so nuking

Cocooned life is all we yearn

Which bring mirth followed by burn

Yes, I came here to learn

No no no, first must 'unlearn'

New words, new phrase; lots of hoopla

'Per se' most popular; English oo-la-la

B.Tech. already, now go for MBA

Trend must be followed, O you CFA

Me too me too, lets catch them all

If all are equal, who among many a(ll) ?

Future is on the line, one must fight

Bullshit the ethics, that silly 'right'

My mind so busy, so disturbed now

Bewildered, happy and sad mow

Why so serious, the joker asks

Is it the disappointment at the lass :-)

Well well well, being single hurts

Does it mean being more free sucks ?

One year gone, 50 percent manager!

Asked the green field, preserved by the gardener

Eyes relieved, after hard work at laptop

The lifeline at office and killer at health cop

Trees & plants I love u all

U give me joy and I run(away) without call

God so kind, I have some alternatives

This crazy man looking for superlatives

10 things to do before I leave mine

Are they easy, absolutely defined ?

Search for the answers keepin stakeholders in mind

This is a Cricket game, team not 'I' find...

Bored u a lot, many would agree

My first attempt, care not a degree

Confluence needs YOU!

2010-03-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

Hi,

We need YOUR contribution to confluence. It can be any original work, ranging from writeup to sketches, video, photos etc. conveying some message. Not for wholly entertainment purpose!

Confluence is different from other blogs because it's a mix of thoughts emanating from different minds. Rahul and I were ensuring continuous updation till date. But now, we need others to join us.

Interested people can email their gmail ID to me at 'ishanrohit@gmail.com' for author rights.

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

2010-03-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Business Ethics Classes for this term ended with a documentary " The inconvenient Truth" by the noble laureate, Mr Al Gore. He is a wonderful orator and the things which he said had all of us moved. During, the fag end of the video, he demonstrated us an example. Suppose, a frog is put in boiling water, it would jump out of the jar immediately. On the other hand, if you put it in lukewarm water, and then gradually increase the temperature, the frog will not notice the change in temperature, and hence keep sitting on jar, and ultimately will lose its life.

After the lecture, i tried to extend this idea into the other realms of life. Somehow, i have the feeling that this concept affects the human behaviour and particularly the consumer behaviour to a large extent. I searched for some literature in the library, and then I came across the term “Just Noticeable Difference ( JND) coined by Weber in early 20th century. To put in simple terms, suppose you are watching 2 light beams of same intensity ( Say 100 W) and then intensity of one is varied,then after how much variation of the intensity, will you observe the difference in the intensity of 2 light beams. This variance, is sometimes also called the differential threshold of JND.

Many of us know that it exists, but still we never give much of a thought to it. This is one of the concept which are used by companies to manipulate ( or sometimes say fool customers). Here, I would like to quote the example of FMCG companies, because the products in this category are generally the low involvement products with the price being the key determining factor in the decision making process of a consumer. Companies, by the way of packaging, by promotion mixes create a clutter of products with JND often less than the threshold level. So, when a consumer goes out to buy toothpaste, he is often subjected to the choice of 80g of pepsodent for Rs 25 and 100g of Colgate at Rs 30. Now, by packaging them cleverly, Pepsodent reduces the JND between these 2 products. So, consumer tends to behave that both the products are almost the same. Now, the key determining factor for them is the price, and here they will go for the one which is quoting lesser price (Pepsodent in this case). Even though, by buying Pepsodent they are paying more Rs/g than Colgate.

JND concept is also leveraged by the companies, which over a time try to evolve as per the business environment. Particularly, for the strongly positioned brands, a sudden transition could be Hara-kiri... so they change over a period of time, in which every time the gradual change is less that the differential hold of JND.If you get a chance to see the logo of Pepsi, in last 10 years, you will definitely notice the difference. But as everything has another face, this concept is also utilized , particularly in rural India, by the companies which copy and fake the well known products. By closely resembling names, packaging, and promotion mix, they hold the change below the JND level, and thus fooling the consumers.

Apart from business, JND is part and parcel of human life. When you meet some one after a year or two generally the reaction is "tu to bahut lamba ho gaya yaar". While his family members would not be noticing the gradual change. I use to visit mussorie very frequently, and one of my favourite place is kempty falls. Every year or so, i go there and enjoy the scenic beauty. Last year, i went after a gap of 3 years, and i was shocked to see the condition of kempty fall. When i enquired about the reason, it was due to a reservoir which had been building there for last 10 years, gosh!! i hardly noticed that.

This can also be leveraged in relationships, when things start getting wrong, initially we do not notice the gradual damage to the relation, unless it reaches to JND Level. After that, it is very difficult to resurrect a relation. Thus in relationships, we should be conscious in keeping our JND threshold level low, so that we could read the distress signals, in their primitive stages. For the time being, yours truly signing off, wishing you a wonderful time.. muaaah !!!!..

Avatar and it's after effects

2010-02-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

Damn! Here comes the destroyer of a beautiful planet. The fliers in their helicopters and electronic gadgets, robots beatified with bullets and explosives. Out here to destroy the tribal dwelling, established under a giant tree. Ecology is perfectly in equilibrium with the cool balance of birth and death of organisms. But, selfish motives must be sufficed. Humans are at it to seize the place, which could be beneficial to them.

This is the background of Avatar, the film. Well, the freshness is the love between the human mind and the indigenous lady. The result was satisfying, the nature taking on the artificial power. I can foresee the same happening out here. Slowly and acceleratingly, we are heading towards hard times. The times of shortages, scarcities, extinction to hound us. Till we reach dangerously close to the unexpected, we will keep holding our stand. Similar to the military in the film.

These days, the Save Tiger campaign has gain foothold. From 50,000 and prided as National animal of India, they are reduced to a paltry 1411 this date. People will keep killing them and selling their skins for hefty amount. Why should they worry ? The other person must! I am fan of this attitude here.

Right from the childhood, we study some useful lessons regarding the moral behavior, duties of a citizen and try to apply that in our lives. Then we see someone we respect and look forward to, lacking in this sense of conduct and wonder who’s right. We consult our elders and friends. Based on our understanding, this is the time when we may switch our stand and learn to live by the ‘practical world’.

It depends on the life at one’s place and surroundings, surely. Nobody wants to wait in a queue for long hours and miss important tasks. Thus, some may deviate and they feel they are justified in their actions. Similarly, in all the environmentally hazardous activities, we feel we are doing what we are ought to do. The purpose is to enjoy a cool life with our family and whatever way we can suffice our needs, is welcome.

The big picture is blurred. We never care to adjust it’s focus. If we wait and think, the competitive world will run over us and we’ll be left behind. That’s the case with India, a highly dense country. So what happens, everybody’s conscience is active, but most advocate it for their dear ones. No accusations, I am the culprit too.

Social networks help us realize our ‘Positive’ side. There is nothing like social expectancy pressure, the force to engage in causes which are socially desirable. As we are vast in numbers and variety, we discuss and collaborate on some meaningful work, beside fun filled activities. The twitters and facebooks’ popularity have instigated in youth’s memory, the basic do’s and don’ts to give back their bit to the society. This is what I believe, and those who don’t actually don’t realize that they also believe it. J

Beauty or the Beast

2010-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

In the times of integrated market communication ( a jargon for peeping in your life 24*7).. you would have inevitably see the number '1411' at some place or other. Numbers are fascinating ( or at least you have to fake it as a finance student), but i found this number very mundane in the first go. There are magical numbers, squares, cubes, fibbonaci series and i also did a quick calculation to check whether it is a prime number. But surprisilngly, it is none, but yet it is fascinating as due to claims from the authority, it is the number of tigers left in India. Alarming !! isn't it... but from when we started tracking the number of tigers in our country. We never knew when the number went 3000 and when it touched 2000. So, it needed a well drafted marketing campaign to drive home the point that yes they are in danger, because every one of us want to look benovolent, provided we are informed about the problems prevailing..

Coming to tigers.. i think they are one of the biggest brand of 'incredible india'. Once i read it somewhere, that a succesful brand should have majesty and exclusivity. Well, no body can challenge the majesty of tiger in the eco-system of jungle, '1411' also provides them exclusivity. Thus, its one of the most favourite brand of india. Take any travel magazine remotely wirting about india and you will definitely find the pic of tiger in that. In fact tiger is the darling baby of our corporate world, when you feel the need to do CSR.. start a campaigning for saving tigers, because everybody knows they are in danger. ( No need to educate consumers !!!)....

Aircel, after Idea, is the company in the telecom demain, which came up with this CSR activity. Well, in case of idea, it seems to solve issues by leveraging the features of mobile, i am still not convinced that how can a mobile used to save tigers , and i want to be proved wrong if i say that there are hardly any cellular netowrks in tiger habitats. So, the exercise is more about increasing the brand visibility than something else. But again, i really fear about brand cannibalization in this case. When you think of kingfisher, you think of beer and aeroplane, when you think of camel, you think of paints, but when you think of tiger, you think of majesty and exclusivity, and i seriously doubt whether aircel is either majestic or exclusive.

Ohh my god.. i am getting obsessed with tiger..or i think this is the year of tiger, lest you forget Tiger woods...during his hey-days, his shots have an air of majesty, and most of the women think he is exclusive ( now they must be sulking)... and thats why he is the star endorserer , from a game, which is popular(or notorious) for its mundane pace . Then , he lost his exclusivity, almost a dozen times, and now even accenture is having different ads on air featuring dolphins , whales, and other animals ( off course , except tiger)..Grapevine is that he may be back sometime in this year, and then i could check another jargon " Wounded-Tiger"..

At the fag end , i just wanna mention some of events happened with me in recent times. After almost a decade, i attended a marriage of my home, albeit i have to go to Bikaner. If you are from delhi, where in a metro 4 people are touching 4 different parts of your body, you will feel that your personal space hs increased out there. Vast areas with sparse population, sometimes you long to see a vehicle on road. Back in college, another mutiny is brewing up... against some draconian( Most of the people say so..) ruling of college administration. Some times, we need to revise our history a bit... you can view a thing both as opportunity and threat... and there is always a tradeoff between choice and competetion. In india, we typically hate competetion (may be our socialistic heritage..), but we are here, after facing so much of comptetion. The bottom line is that if you are good , you will get good things, and once for a change, this is a universal truth and not a relative phenomenon. With this, yours truly signing off.. take care.. and save tiger.. oops.. not tiger woods... cya ... muuaaaaah..

To the spirit of love

2010-02-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

THE VOICE OF THE PROLETARIAT

2010-02-07T04:38:00.000-08:00

In a country like India where each and every individual has a prerogative of voicing his concerns and attracting attention of the incumbent politicians, we often find their voices lost in the maelstrom created by their own representatives presenting a myopic picture of their people to the government. They hardly make an attempt to see through the real and deeper picture of what is it that the commom man really and desperately needs. Just fulfilling the basic requirements of their people isn't enough to make a regime or domain happier and stronger, if we consider these things from a holistic point of view.
We all know what happened in the areas of Saurashtra and Bundelkhand. Needless to say,until and unless apposite endeavours are not made to recuperate the present state of affairs of the proleriat or the working class, the situation is going to aggravate to a greater and irreversible level and in turn leading to more apalling results. It's about time that we start to learn what are those necessary steps that we as responsible citizens need to take and expect to be executed judiciously and effectively because devoid of a backbone how can a body remain stable and nimble.

It's my Earth

2010-01-22T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ethics ? My foot !

2010-01-17T03:53:00.001-08:00

I suppose Newton gave theory of relative motion. We used to create a lot of buzz over it in our engineering preparations’ days. If I am not wrong (Hail Rubics Rostrum!) this theory concerns about the differences observed when two objects are moving in different frames of references, with different speeds. If you are present in the same frame of reference in which motion is occurring; its calm state for you. It will appear stationary if you are sitting in the backseat of a Honda CIVIC sport blazing through the highway, your eyes closed and soft music entering through your ears to create the euphoria. If you are standing by the roadside waiting for a lift, the same car is a rash speeding object (Of course it won’t stop unless you are a lady!). What is the frame of reference in ethics? Its your emotions and feelings related to a particular case. If the case have happened to you as an unjust treatment, you tend to show the associated revengeful response as a green signal. So you can’t judge the wrong part in it. It’s impossible to gather and get convinced about the inappropriateness of your mis-step. Only, when an unrelated, unbiased, unaffected feeling challenges your conscience, there is a discomfort rising within. You slowly begin to lose your sleep and want to see the light, the solution.

A frame of reference sits in the human mind. We can refer to multiple frame of references too. We have capabilities, but we cherish hiding them under emotions, nonchalance acting as mini-skirts. Some people do realize the right way of doing things, but what if its wrong according to their surroundings. The office they work in, the sabzi mandi they buy groceries, the queue they stand for depositing their bills or for buying rail tickets are some examples. We abhor unjust practices, but what do we really do when it comes to us ? Are we always preferring to go by the rule book, or allowing occasional deviations because “Sab karte hain”. If I give honest opinion, even I am guilty in some cases. Though many times, I resist the temptation. Not having the resilience to stand against the crowd, I become the spectator (if not part) of the game. Few days ago, one of my friends spoke to me. He was pitying for me as I had refused to prompt answers (and ask for similar favors) in quizzes. People had made team and they were collaborating to get good marks. So my efforts were ‘waste’ as per his judgment. Maybe for records I would agree. But the positivity generated by the clearheaded approach will certainly be the torch bearer for future successes. This is what I believe and beliefs are imprinted by experiences.

What about the system ? Honest approach takes years while money infusion is treated as characteristics of ‘smart’ people. They get work done easily, through the back door perhaps. For everything to work normally, it will take time. It will be large enough to breed discomfort to echelons, but quite relaxing for a majority. As India has a vast population but limited resources, everyone dreams to enjoy monetary benefits. To the people, a ‘nazrana’ is a gift for some consideration. A consideration which, for them is trivial. Only a bypass does not amount to crime. Somebody has to come by the way, so why not 'that' gentleman! The ‘nazrana’ may be distributed from ‘bade sahib’ down to the ‘chapraasi’. Everybody has a share, so this is an unofficial conduit to follow for ‘special’ cases. There is no point in denying that which sector is most corrupt. We all are corrupt, happily. The amazing thing is we don’t acknowledge that, or we feel happy about it.

I know there’s no use writing all this stuff. It will not bring any change. But to our moral sense if we can award a honest human; life will be on a smoother ride. Then one can always enjoy listening to the music, relaxing in his home (if not the car!).

Winter's Day Out

2010-01-17T02:29:00.000-08:00

So, at last the historic end term exams ended on 15th of January. Historic in the sense, that for the first time in my life (albeit only 24 years old !!!) i had gone through this experience... For us , 3rd term classes was scheduled in the morning, and we had our exams in afternoon. Whola!! this is MBA at its most unique way, and the icing (pun intended!!) on the cake was, characteristic windy and chilly January days of infamous Delhi winters... Still we survived, which shows that how much we underestimate ourselves.
So, after the exams , people having BFs and GFs went for shopping, movies and outing.. people having LDRs ( Long distance relationships) increased the congestion of the mobile networks.. and yours truly who, fortunately or unfortunately, does not fall under both the category so was thinking what to do to kill the time.. Then i decided that the best option is to do some jogging and exercise, i had to break my new year resolution quite a few time during my exams ( I know its it’s hardly a fortnight after new year :( ).....
Next day i decided to have a tour of Delhi, so i caught hold of one of my dear friend, netaji ( figuring the real name is left for readers!!).. and went to chandni chauk and India Gate. When I just came to Delhi about 2 years ago, Delhi metro seems very beautiful and comfortable to travel. But, now a days, it is also running as a DTC or Blue line bus jam-packed with the commuters. With the extension of metro line, the crowd is increasing exponentially. In some of the stretches yesterday, we really struggled to go to the door to de-board the train.
But , the most interesting of Indian people is that they talk a lot, and when you are in such congested arrangement, you are bound the hear. So here goes one pretty girl in metro " Meri muumy bol rahi thi ki surya grahan (solar eclipse) ke baad sardi kam ho jayegi, dekho aaj ho gayi" , here you go the meteorological department, even a mom can predict better than you !!...
And the boy with him, was nodding in affirmative as it was the perfect scientific reason !!!....
Our first destination was India gate, and somehow unknowingly, we were days before 26th January, so the preparation was on full swing. New seats were being arranged, roads were marked for parade , and practice for parade was going on. Really, it was a good experience to be there. Next , we headed toward chandni chauk, as a food connoisseur i relish the paranthas (which was aptly termed as kachori by netaji) of chandni chauk.
After satiating the appetite of stomach and mind and somewhat eyes too ( read gals of delhi !!)... we finally decided of returning as the chilly night of winters is fast approaching. But our ordeal was still not over, we somehow managed to board a local train , which was not supposed to be boarded. All the lights switched off, it hardly stopped at any station. At the Ghaziabad station, it stopped in somewhere , where there was no platform to be seen off. Netaji was grumbling " saala 3 Rs ke kiraye mein aaoge to yahi hoga ".
So, this completed a day out and from Monday again there would be classes , lectures, and projects.. but do watch this space.. as we Indians love to talk....
P.S. If you ever heard about tongue in cheek.... go and ask Mr Sehwag.... he must be hiding behind some curtain, by making an audacious comment yesterday. That is way it is said, greatness lies in humility....

jaane nahin denge tujhe !!!!

2009-12-31T19:18:00.000-08:00

First morning of new year, there are lots of reasons to be happy, but this blog is being written because i am not finding any other medium to release my grief and frustration. The front page of the news paper is covered by the news of ruchika girhotra's case. Though, i was following this case for around 10 days, but when i was reading it during the breakfast today, when i read it, food refused to go down my throat.....

Though all of us know the details of the case, i was really moved ( on the verge of tears..) reading the statements of her brother and her friend aradhna. Last night, when the songs were played at their loudest volume combined by beautiful fireworks, that we entered 2010.. proclaimed to be the decade of india , huh !!! , its a nation, where it's still a crime to be a girl and her to be her family members. The torture and mental agony under which her brother underwent, is the story of almost every sexually assaulted girl's family. India is perhaps the only nation in the world , where an assaulted gal and her family is victimised rather than provided protection, lest forget about justice.
But, i was really moved by one person in the whole episode, Aradhna her friend. When i was returning back after watching 3 idiots i was asked " does this type of friendship happens in real world", this one is for you , prakhar. Their friendship has transcended the realms of life and death. At these sort of times even the family members do not support but she fought the case for 19 years among all the adversaries. We always talk about jai and veeru, aradhna and ruchika would be the new epitome of friendship.
Now the most important player in the whole episode, the celebrated indian media. We may make a lot of fun of them, often accuse them of making a lot of hue and cry... but with all their shortcomings , they are the only option left for the "aam aadmi" of india to raise their voice. As we have seen again and again , the cases where all have lost the hope , media ensured the justice for the victims be it jessica lall or priyadarshini mattoo. Once again a striking feature, all the cases are pertaining to girls. To shameful for a nation, priding on its culture...huh...
Also, in hindsight, as i mentioned in the one of my previous blog 'u, me and us', i think that technology has played a major part in ameliorating the situation. If she could have written a mail to president, could have made a blog entry against all the atrocities or could connect with her friends , a life could have been saved ,and various others would have been in a much better condition. Although, excess is harmful, but this can play a important part in helping the youth population of india.
In the land of rani laxmibai and indira gandhi, the girls are still compelled to live a fearful life, i really feel grief and shame .... lets hope that new year bring justice to ruchika and all other victims and their families.

P.S. Reading this case, i felt watching a 90's movie, with ajay devgan as protagonist . The only difference was that at that time there was a belief that all would be settled by the hero, and it would be a happy ending. In the real world, bhaiyya all is not well !!!

Picks of the year !!!!

2009-12-31T04:37:00.000-08:00

Amidst the chilling cold and freezing winds , finally the last night of the year arrives. On the eve of new year their would be lots of celebrations, news channel will roll the reel back, entertainment channels will arrange the circus of Bollywood stars. So, making hay while the sun shines ( although it rarely do now a days !!!) , i also try to dirty my hands in picking some moments of mine throughout the year.
Disclaimer : All comments are personal by me, and any resemblence with alive or dead would be considered co-incidental !!! ...

So, lets start now :
1. Loosing "Virginity"
No... No... No, its not what you all are thinking. Its about loosing my virginity regarding alcohol. After 23 years of resistance, i finally sucuumbed to the pressure of alocohol when i first drank a peg on 1st Jan 2009. Well, about expirience, 1 peg seemed very normal, 2nd peg... some thing started shaking and 3rd peg.. i puked !!!.... After that, i had some further misadventures with it, but now i am sure that me and alcohol are not a happy couple.
2. Group Sangraam
Well, meanwhile i got first of my mba call from IMT Ghaziabad ( Which is where i ended). I had practiced GD/PI rigorously in my coachings, so i was confident of doing well. So when we were seated in a group we were 16 in number ( or was it a crowd !!) and then the moderator announced the time limit "8" minutes , like a ration quota in a famine stricken area. So, as soon as the signal is given, all the loaded missiles shot at once. No body was listening to any body, some were speaking to fan and some were to floor. The best part , though, was " stop pointing your finger towards me " :) :)
3. Bharat Darshan
Due to my desperation of fleeing from my job, i applied to all the MBA colleges , i had heard the names of !!!. so, march was the month where i started the exploration of "incredible" india !.. My first destination was Manipal ( TAPMI).. and to all of my horrors, the train didnt stopped at the station. It stopped 90 kms away and then i have to came back, and i reached the institute, just before the gates were being closed. Then i had a "jab we met" journey from mangalore to Chennai. BIM profs screwed me hard . But the trip ended very well , with my seat upgraded to 2nd AC from the 3rd AC on return journey.
4. Jahapanah ....Tohfa Kabool ho !!!
Although it was not exactly the "tohfas" as depicted in the new amir's flick "3 idiots", the most popular 'PDP' program of IMT Ghaziabad was very much same in the spirit. To non-imtians.. this is an softer version and euphemism for 'R" word in the boarding schools. Newly arrived bacchas, almost forget what sleeping means.... but its lot of fun doing some bizzare things that you would not have done in a sane mood. The best part is "shav-asan" in the morning yoga ....
u dont know why ??? just lie down in the same pose on a clean sheet for 2 mins !!!
5. "Gravity of Situation "
The chances are that you must have felt it some times in your life, but it is very common in IMTian Life. If you are not feeling it, you would be constantly reminded by some Zombie committee people time and time again. If you want to have the expirience of "Nazi Concentration camps" just attend their open houses. Any ways jokes apart, i really salute the efforts they put in and i really appreciate their hard work and spirit. Kudos to u guys !!!!
6. Sir... Actually.... We are coming to that...
A MBA life is synonumous to presentations.At the end of every day, you will find yourself making one presentation or another. So, when i was standing in front of class, with some muscles of my leg vibrating, equipped with a shabby presentation prepared last night , last thing i wanted is the prof interjecting in between. And to every questions of his, the standard answer was " Sir .. actually.. we are coming to that point.. we have covered in further slides... " and it continued till the " Thank You" Slide !!!
7. "Immediately "
During the much awaited weeks.. a cherubic female voice, announces this as a signature word. Although , the important words precede this "immediately". If you happen to hear your name, then it sounds nothing less than honey to your ears.

So, these are some of the picks of the year for me... although some are classical but not to mention here like " dont touch me i have a boy friend ( after boozing !!!)..." to " i got the imt blues !!!! "....

Wishing all of you ( The patient readers , thats why i kept this part last :) ), a very happy and prpsperous 2010. May god bless you all...

Adieu for the last tym in 2009.....
Yours truly

About actors

2009-12-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

Amir Khan was my favorite actor. Yes, 'was' till I watched 3 idiots. The process started with Lagaan. Then DCH, Fanna, TZP, Ghajini and finally 3i followed. These films were among the biggest blockbusters of the year they were released. They lived up to the hype created by the media and promoters. All were so different, depicted different storylines with good camera work and music. Then why so unusual ?

There lies the reason. In all these films, amir's character was so powerful. It had a larger than life image. In Fanna, he was an impostor, a terrorist on a mission and a passionate lover at the same time. In Lagaan, he had the courage and talent to take on the Englishmen. He was the best player of all; a leader, a good bowler and batsman too. In Ghajini he prepared a masculine structure to support his macho and confused character. Again, in TZP he was an artist, a model teacher and by chance suffered from dyslexia in his childhood. The limit crossed in 3i. Mr. Rancho was intelligent, extrovert, naughty and a topper too. He ended up becoming a scientist.

It's not that I am envious of these unique characters potrayed by him. AK has been my favorite so much that he adorns my mobile screen in his Ghajiini look till date. Today, I know not why, my mind reminded me of actors like SRK and Amitabh Bachchan. I remembered their classic performances and yes, I found them better than AK. Their characters are not so powerful, they are like u and me. That is the true test of potrayal. Without any support of external appearances, extraordinary talent; they have lived their roles pretty well. Amir Sir was always looking for a larger than life script (read role) for himself.

How to change ?

2009-12-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

We are fault ridden beings. Claimed one of the best philosophers of all times. We all know our weaknesses. ( or do we not ?) But what is it that we are unable to break the shackles, come out of it. Emotions, the word commonly countered in such situations! It simply does not allow us to change, change for the better. Thus, we are stereotyped by our personality types, which keep reminding us of our traits.

Is it tough to change ? Our childhood memories, some of which has formed deep imprints on our psyche refuse to die down. Maybe, obviously, we dread a particular behaviour because of the "horrifying" experiences in the past. The past encumbers our childhood, when we were nascent enough to take certain things seriously. The reactions of elders to our childishness might have prompted such behaviour.

World has so many extroverts and so few introverts! People who talk less and think more are introverts. As I anticipate, introverts are people who think ahead of their age. Right from the kindergarten days, they do not find activities of their fellow beings exciting enough. They are bored of it. They want to do what their immediate elders do. But they are not supposed to do that. Result, if they approach out of curiosity to 'higher' people, they are unacceptable. People usually take them with a pinch of a salt, until they persist to prove themselves. Sadly, not all can hold that courage, some need help from others. They hesitate to express their intentions, knowing that they will not be understood.

Thus, they keep concentrating on areas where they are supposed to do well. In the meantime, they feel that they are not enjoying life. Their unhappiness in completing those expected chores is highlighted when they distance themselves from people. The search for loneliness where they can 'invent' something is always there. If they are unable to accomplish so, they get angry at hindrances. Again, people find this unnatural. Unnatural it is, because they were not allowed to do things which they could have done. Their mind process tells them things which they are unable to explain to their friends. Often, introverts result in excelling in arts, music and literature. These fields provide a platform to invent, to keep growing and not reaching the end.

When I happened to pursue PGDM (accidently, I must say), I was told a manager must have an extroverted personality to leverage maximum benefits. Well, it sounds reasonable. So what if I am not an extrovert ? I do not talk to people spontaneously. I need a reason to be a first mover. What to do ? Am I in the wrong place ?

State(s) of Nation

2009-12-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

If anyone get a chance to look at the globes of the era before 1990s, he is bound to be perplexed by what he would say. The world and thus nations look completely different from what they was 2 decades ago. The present fiasco in the telugu land is the latest bead in the necklace. Once again the political map of India is bound to change.
As a north indian, to be frank i am relatively naive to comment on the issue of a separate telangana state. So, at lunch i caught hole two of my andhra friends. So, for the benefits of the readers (like me :) ) , andhra is broadly divided into 3 parts viz telangana, coastal andhra & rayalseema. While the coastal andhra is most propesperous owing to the agricultural prowess, telangana has lot of heritage, with the jewel "Hyderabad" , one of the heriatge city of the world. People of telangana feel that they are inequitably treated and hence are demanding for a new state or it seems so. Telangana is like a proverbial phoenix which rises again and again at the time of elections or some other political activity. It is the bread and meat for the politicians of andhra pradesh.

Before dwelling on pros and cons, i want to understand the dynamics behind it. Are big states destined to be partitioned ?? , well the answer is not very easy. At the time of the independence, India was a confederation of 9 British provinces and 500 princely states. With the help of 'iron man' vallabh bahi patel , the federal system in India was conceived with dual system of centre and states. Initially, established geographically, the later states are conceptualized on the linguistic basis. According to me, this is the root cause of the conflict. If a state is considerably big, then there is bound to be regions with different culture, languages and dialects. Certainly there would be place which will become the economic hub and other places which will left behind in the race. So, in the long run, the clash of the humanity in these states are inevitable. To strengthen the point, we can see that parallel governance system of Maoists started from the states which are struggling to handle their diversity.

So, are the smaller states answer to the problem? Well, the tempting answer wouls be yes !!. Smaller the states, lesser the diversity, lesser the conflict and the utilization of funds would be more effective, common sense huh !!!. Well, sometimes the common sense is very uncommon. To, examine these points, we can always look at the fate of the 3 states viz uttarakhand, jharkhand and chattisgarh. The first one was separated due to the geographical terrain, other 2 due to their tribal base. But the situations is far away from what envisaged. Jharkhand , a state rich in natural resources, still remains the poorest state of the nation, Maoist insurgency is almost uncontrollable in chattisgarh, and uttarakhand although faring a little well , is still under debt of crores of rupees from the centre. These new states , to an large extent , were unable to serve the purpose for what they were created.

we as a country, celebrates our uniqueness of 'unity in diversity'. This is the foundation of our very culture. But by giving into the demands of the creation or more aptly the partition of states, are we not jeopardizing our basic tenet. Did we become so intolerable of the diversity, or whether we always were. Today, it is telangana, tomorrow the voices would be raised for gorkhaland, Coorg, bundelkhand, and god know how many states... We know that, history repeats itself , are we going to see 500 states in India again. Jawahar lal nehru , in his book 'discovery of india' , says that if you see a pathan and a south indian, you will hardly believe that they are part of same country, but if you spend some time with them, you will find a intangible string of indianness which would be binding both.

Is that string is breaking, do our differences have become big enough which can overpower our felling of unity and belongingness, well the future holds the answer... who knows our knowledge may become obsolete when we would teach geography to our kids !!!!

On the finishing note, fasts as a way of protest , was attributed to mahatma gandhi as an unassailable tool of non-violence... in those times, they were for uniting india, now they are done for dividing it, life definitely comes the full circle !!!

Geo Marketing : Relevance in today's world!

2009-11-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

I have a problem. I want to create a furniture shop in Delhi. Delhi is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It has more than 12.25 million inhabitants and 15.9 million residents in the National Capital Region.

Where should I choose the location of my shop ? Which location will be least distance from the supplier's office ? Where could I get enough customers to buy furnitures from me ? Do they have the purchasing power to buy expensive furniture ? Are people willing to travel large distance for buying furniture ? Are the surrounding shops selling same stuff ? Will it be better if I plan my shop near newly constructed societies/homes ?

Answering these questions will involve lots of research work. Collection of customer related data involving demographic and socio-economic details is required. Maybe, it can involve going door-to-door to survey residents and hope they answer correctly. It will involve time and hence will be an expensive proposition. Suppose, I get the results with me. Now what ? I have the analysis in the tabular format. What if, I change it into visual expression. Yes, I create a digital map of Delhi and superimpose the customer data. I get the type of purchasing patterns, the region-wise distribution of customers over the map. Hence, I can easily make out the regions in Delhi where customers are spending most on furniture over the years. Of course, use of software and important details like location of customer drives the results. Over the digital map, I can approximate the street location which can be the most 'valueable' for me.

This was a case of application of Geo-Marketing to the catchment area identification, proper demographic analysis and socio-economic analysis. As a general term, Geomarketing is the integration of Geographical intelligence into all marketing aspects including sales and distribution. See telecom industry, where players are constantly reducing their margins to retain customers. How can they earn profits with decreasing ARPUs (Average Revenue per User)? Certainly, they bank on Value Added Services which can be different for each circles of their operations. Players present in the South, need to analyze customer data accordingly and relate to the local connect to increase belongingness. They can use Geo-marketing methods to filter their customers, create optimized promotional campaigns and save redundant costs.

Cycle again; with a difference

2009-11-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

Sach is Life !!!!

2009-11-14T23:09:00.000-08:00

Indian media is now a days flooded with the endless memoirs on sachin and his journey through the 20 Yrs in the international cricket. So, much has been written, that people are now struggling to find words to write about him. But in the millions of words printed and read, the phenomena called Sachin Tendulkar is yet to be covered holistically.
Growing up in an era which fortunately coincided with the evolution of sachin from a child prodigy to the player carrying hopes of billions of people. Never a single human has carried so much expectations on his shoulders. Although a very mediocre player, i was a cricket enthusiast from beginning ( Helped form the fact that my dad is also a big fan..). Childhood memories are still fresh with the moments where sachin . almost unknowingly entered in our lives

Here i want to share some of such moments in my life related to the “God of Cricket”
1. Burgulars in House : It was one of my very fond moment of sachin tendulkar. Being a middle class family we used to live in a rented house. It was India’s Tour to New-Zealand, new cable connection and match start at 2:30 Am in morning. So, one fine night me and dad was watching a match in a clod north Indian morning, when the guy called sachin tendulkar start smashing bowlers all around the park as he might be swatting away mosquitoes. Me, being a child cant help my emotions but the surprising part was that dad was also shouting at the top of his voice. Mummy, as accustomed, put pillow over ears and tried to sleep. Next morning the landlord aunty ask my mom “ Bhabhijee kal aapke ghar mein chor aa gaye the kya.. subah subah bahut halla ho raha tha.... hearing this mummy laughed and laughed because now
she knows who were the burgulars !!!

2. Speech in the school: We have some crazy house systems in my school. So, it was my turn to conduct the assembly in the coming week. I have to give an opening speech and i was woefully nervous !!.. A day before assembly , sachin blasted an Australian attack for back to back hundreds in desert , and the next day i produced the story by including the elements of determination and talent. That was my best assembly ever , with people clapping at the end of the speech, and i was silently thanking to sachin to save my soul.

3. Boy goes missing : 137 made in the second test in Chennai against Pakistan, was one of the most painful moment in my life. I was following the match from the beginning. Lost hopes about india winning during the stary of the day, got dumstruck by the batting prowess of a genius and felt helpless as hell, to see 3 lower order players wasting a gem of the innings. I was so frustrated, that i took my bicycle and went to a nearby park, and started crying. I cried for about 2hours ( albeit in breaks..). When i reached back in my colony, 2-3 boys told that my parents are worries and looking for me, where the boy had gone missing. Aah ! those were not the days of mobile phones and internets ....

4. “sachin hai kya” : This is the most repeated line i have heard in all these years watching cricket. Everytime when india is batting and you tell someone score , this is the inevitable question. Even if india are 8 wickets down still people will ask this question. As they are assured by jawans protecting the border, they tend to feel comfortable while sachin is guarding crease. In a country of so dissimilarities, he keeps all of us unite in happiness, grief and prayers. With all the vagaries of caste, religion, regionalism, i think a crtical review is required how he has kept this country united as one.

5. First Time i lost bet: There are some characters in ramayan, who were famous only because lord rama had given them nirvana. Henry olonga, is not a demon by any way, but he was definitely slaughtered in the desterts of sharjah by a little genius , we all know as sachin tendulkar. A match prior he dismissed sachin tendulkar with a freaky short ball, and celebrated a lot, doing war-like dance. I was watching the match with my friend, and he told me that this bowler’s career would be ruined by sachin. He was proved right a couple of days later when he thrashed him all over the park. May be the career was not ruined in the literal sense, but by then i had lost my first bet.

6. Bunking my School : After a historic Test series , india and austraila was playing a ODI in Kanpur , and i just cant resist myself from going out there, being living in Kanpur. So, in lunch time , me and my friend made a plan, talked about some emergency in home and bunked school and head straight towards the greenpark. And boy, sachin made it worth the effort. Sixes of Warne, Bevan and Lehman keep hitting the stands on a regular basics. All in all he hit 11 sixes as we keep the count by breaking a cold drink bottle each time ... In the evening i told dad about it, and he said why hadn’t you told me i would have taken a break from office.

7. India-Pakistan Matches: India –Pakistan matches were used to be a demo-war for all of us. It was 2003 World cup, India’s Last League game against the arch rivals Pakistan. Dad was ready from the morning, doing all sort of prayers and tricks. Agarbatti in front of television and devotional songs may sound a bit weird but believe me it was the case. Pakistan on back of saeed anwar had put a stiff target of 272. There was a silent nervousness in the house. Mummy who relatively doesn’t show much of the interest was also watching the match very interestingly. Shoaib akhtar came charging up, banged a short one, and it disappeared over the point boundary. The rest is history !!! , and one more thing i could remember is the wonderful food cooked by mummy that time.

8. IMT Public Going Crazy: This is one of the most recent moment in my life. Australia amassed a total of 349, virtually impossible to chase. By chance, my parents also came to visit that day. So, i and dad was watching match in Mess. Sehwag and yuvraj were gone , but still sachin was looking in a good nick. But since, there is little hope, i came back to room with mummy ans started chatting with her. Meanwhile i had opened live scores on cricinfo in the Laptop. Suddenly sachin went berserk, a Six... another one...a boundary.... i said to mummy you rest and i rushed towards the mess. Well the scene was completely changed in mess. There was a considerable crowd now in mess, watching very anxiously . Sachin was on for something special and he started to bamboozle all of us by his master class batting. Suddenly some people started banging table.. some dishes with spoon and the ambience changed in a moment. Everybody started shouting “sachin, sachin...” and the breathtaking strokeplay matched up to every cry. Ironically, it was another heartbreaking loss, but when my father came out , he said that i never expected MBA Students to be so cricket crazy. This is what Sachin can do mere mortals.

Decade of You , me and us !!

2009-11-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, i found one of my very old friend online on Gmail. We were used to study together during my school days ( till class 10th). During the conversation, she suddenly said , do you remember how little we used to talk. I replied back that , we do not have mobiles that time. otherwise we could have played SMS-SMS, missed calls and other stupid games. At that moment i realised the giant leap which India has taken in last 10 years. I bet if we rewind the clocks down the years you will almost feel that it was altogether a different world 10 years ago in India.
Although, i am not old enough to write a memoir, but this decade has been a real fast forward. 1999-2000 was a different ball game altogether. Although , a new millennium was round the corner, cell phones were still a luxury ( now every rickshaw wala has one in the pocket..), bikes started to dominate the scooter market, dot com bubble was still inflating and India had started to shine..So, then what does this decade stand for !!

This decade in my view stands for the expression. The expression of youths , their wish to announce them on the world's stage has completely change the face of the nation. Their energy has propelled india from the category of developing country to the emerging nations. Increasing employment opportunities , good quality of education led by IITs and IIMs , and an liberalising culture had made the youth confident to take on the world. Now they do not doubt their capabilities, neither they consider themselves inferior to anyone.

Apart from that, this was the decade of me , you and all of us. Independent and yet interconnected!!.. we have facebooks to share our emotions, orkut to be interconnected and last but the most powerful tool in the pocket, the ubiquitous cell phone. I got my first cell phone in my 2nd year of college, joined orkut in 2006 and ventured into facebook few months ago, and i feel that how come i was alive without them. Malls and PVR's are the talk of the town and if i will tell my mom that i spent 200 bucks for a movie that it would be a nice 3o minutes "Gyan Session". This power of youth and interconnectivity was even saluted by Time magazine while declaring the personality of year in 2006 ( It was "You" ). The independent and ambitious girls had finally started to rub their shoulders against the males ( and some beating them also !!!..).

But there is also fillip side of it also. Life has become easy and relations had become very complex. Now relations start on mail, flourish on mobile and end on facebook. The human touch is so missing !!!. We as a generation is so busy in calculations ... what is my career growth, how much i should earn, which job i should switch too.. . so, the relationships always take the back seat. We are so afraid of responsibilities. Everyone will champion the case of live-in but very handful will be willing to commit and be responsible. We could be chatting online for hours but doesn’t even care to move to the next room to have some chat. Every thing is so 'e' in nature but still human beings start from "h". We still have the same organs as we have earlier , the same heart not a microchip.

We are fortunate to be in a country ,which despite all its deficiencies , practice democracy and freedom of speech. The power of expression had propelled us in a new era, but as the old cliché goes "with great power comes the great responsibilities". Today’s youth have to be responsible so that they can help india getting its judicious picture in the world scene !!

I knew it!

2009-11-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

Guys, can't help it! I knew today was the all important cricket match between India and Australia. But, driven by my past experiences I had stopped taking cricket matches seriously. Umpteenth time I have witnessed India losing from a winning position. The heartache has been that the margin of runs were in single digits. The heart attack has been that Australia has the feat of defeating India in close encounters most number of times. Do you know that they defeated us by 1 run in WC 1987 and WC 1992 ?

Today's match was a cult classic. 351 to chase, no motivation to watch second innings for me. Previous memories still afresh! I have hardly missed a match from 1993 till 2006. It was then that a phenomenon called Dhoni gripped the nervous strings all by himself and began to steer us to victory all by himself. He was instrumental in instilling that 'go for kill' attitude in the team. He took burden from Sachin's shoulders and soon we could see a transformation in the side.

The Dhoni bubble burst aided by the non-stop play schedule. Fantastic players like Yuvraj and Raina hogged the limelight. But still, none of them had the spark to carry the team to victory single-handedly. I know many will object, but I have seen these players perishing on the doorsteps of victory when the onus was exclusively on them. The master blaster Sachin has always asserted the vintage class supremacy time and again. Dhoni though, has come close to matching the tag of 'One Man Army'.

It was one such day, when Tendulkar again, decided to make this match his own. He played straight drive, pull, chip, square-cut, flick and that 'running down the crease inside out' shot. Everything was going right. The God had revisited. He completed the century and pursued for another. It was time for dinner.

The Mess, a packed house accommodating 300 people at once. Two 29 inch flat TVs on two sides. Hardly a spare seat to sit. The crowd howling "Sachin... Sachin...." at every ball. The old phenomena was back. Spectacular shots delivering boundaries at astoundingly quick intervals is no mean task. Ricky Ponting could be seen crouching on his knees, helpless in front of 'God'. We know God helps those who helps themselves. Yes, the team was required to steer itself towards the target. Sachin left the 22 yards, may be a rush of blood instigated by the power play enforced him. By then, he had scored 175 odd runs. What more do one expect ?

There were 4 wickets left and 19 runs to score off 17 balls. But the old disease grappled our batsmen and we lost it by 3 runs. The match was memorable because it livened up memories of the 'old' Tendulkar though the unchanging habit of losing close matches did hurt.

USP of IMT - Hats off to Students!

2009-10-30T22:29:00.001-07:00

As expected, Students came out on top. A strangely mischievous strength of 420 X 2. Add to them the Executive students, and you get a thousand plus managers waiting to explode and drive the world.

This year, around 85% students have at least 12 months of prior work experience. Most of them are from IT background. The fact that they have risked their job to study for 2 years in this serene environment, surely raises motivation levels. Students make it obvious to follow all subjects closely, actively participating in class discussions and events. Many of them enter clubs and communities to get a taste of the power bestowed on them. They learn how to manage logistics, approach corporates, make their work count. The fact that all of them can't be accommodated, leaves room for innovative adventures.

Many would be astound to hear such glorious words about themselves. I wanted to take it optimistically, but there are always two sides of a coin. A general perception rules that having tasted the work culture, a U turn to college life is tedious. Add to it cash crunch and you visit a novel situation. But IMT culture expedites the familiarity process.

A new view of Management is to chill out during two years. Learn something you missed out on all previous years. See how you can manage stress and be happy. Understand and pick the right opportunities and follow your heart closely, in whatever you do.

Passion 2009

2009-10-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

The theme of Passion - 2009 was 'Phoenix - rising from the ashes'. It was aimed at influencing motivation in the minds which had been captured by the recessionary times. It was a serendipitous accident that America reported growth in GDP just at the right time. Two days before Passion.

Passion -an annual fest of my college which is better known for Marketing programme, aims to entertain audience by its innovative contests and out-of-the-box on site inventions in games.

There are events in different verticals - namely Finance, Marketing, Consultancy, Systems, Cultural, HR, International Business et al. Apart from the standard contests, we have certain events drawing large participation like Eat-o-holic, Masala Cricket etc. The unique offering is the stress on standing up to support social causes and spreading the word through social advertising. There will be an event conducted by the Social Responsibility cell in this regard.

For people who are 'wondering' about Finance, get a taste of how stocks trade at the Trading Floor. If you have heard enough of G-8 or G-20, see how you can change the world by taking the baton of developed nations in F-8 Summit. Know more about the college in Treasure Hunt. People vying to nourish their own brain child, get a taste of challenges faced by Entrepreneurs at Entrepreneurship events.

All in all, get a crash course on all the aspects of management at Passion 2009.

Cricketing gapshap !!

2009-10-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

In a shocking mix-up that's sure to have major implications on cricket, the ICC has totally misunderstood Ricky Ponting's views on dead-rubber ODIs and have introduced the world's first dead-rubber international world cup.
According to the new tournament rules, eight of the world's top cricketing nations will play each other in a league stage consisting entirely of meaningless dead-rubber matches. The four best teams will then play the two semi-finals and the final, which will also be dead rubbers. The tournament winner will then be decided by a draw of lots.
In another exciting development, India, which recently fired Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh as bowling and fielding coach respectively, has given Singh back his job, albeit in a different role. Singh and former India team-mate Ajay Jadeja will be the new "futile 50-partnership in a losing cause" coaches for the Indian team.
"When your team is down four wickets for 25, chasing a 300-plus total, you need batsmen who can buckle down and put on a dull, pointless 50-run partnership, raise false hope, and then trigger a collapse by needlessly getting run out or holing out to long-on. Robin and I were past masters at this crucial skill, and we're extremely excited to have an opportunity to pass on our knowledge to youngsters," said Jadeja, with Singh nodding his approval.
"It's a skill that has pretty much disappeared from the Indian side, though Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh showed some glimpses of promise in that game against Australia. Still, it was far too exciting to be a true classic in the Jadeja-Robin Singh tradition," said BCCI President Shashank Manohar. "By hiring the former greats as coaches, we hope to bring this aspect of the team back to where it once was," he added, causing a sharp rise in the blood-pressure levels of Indian cricket fans worldwide.
And finally, to save enormous amounts of time and money, New Zealand Cricket has decided to consolidate all their national cricketing awards for bowling, batting, fielding and coaching into a single award called the "Daniel Vettori of the Year".

Ulter Bakwaas : By Ravi

2009-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Prior to taking admission at B.Tech., I was languishing at my home. I had had two operations in as many years. None was life threatening but they percolated through my psyche. That free spirit was a thing of the past. I had already wasted one year after XIIth. For this year pre-engineering preparations, my focus was divided. I had altered my lifestyle, modified my eating habits. I did a lot of thinking to gather self-confidence, took decisions on my own. I had to desert my friends, because they were driving my decisions till then. In my efforts to become the best in all aspects, I suffered in competitive exams. My mother had started taunting me. She ideated a business proposition for me, which was a nightmare in my wildest dreams. Somehow, I got admission into an average college.

Taking this chance as the only option to redeem pride, I silently pledged to push myself despite any circumstances. I devised a disciplined study plan for myself. With a caring and competitive room partner like Varun, I had a convenient atmosphere for studies. In the initial days, seniors indulged in mild ragging. Having good relations with one of the seniors certainly helped. But guys in the adjacent rooms were boozers and chain-smokers. Living in the open lobby subjected us to inhale diffusing smoke from cigarettes. We witnessed some extra-ordinary drama by our flat mates in the influence of alcohol. I enjoyed it, though my roomie mustered courage ( rather foolishness ) to instigate the guys and offer doses of laughter induced by conversations.

I mingled with my flat mates well. They considered me as an easy going fellow. I used to avoid chaotic situations, often compromising with others. I had the ultimate goal in my mind and I considered confrontations as hindrances on my path. My lone efforts earned me admirers but no friends. Some of them approached when they required help to complete assignments. I offered them to guide, but they needed my work. I felt insecure as I had to involve in analysis, search and implementation of every task. They could now do it with copy & paste only. Initially refusing them outright, I backtracked to offer my help later. I had realized that I could prepare some sizeable support for coming years in graduation.

Her name was Mahek. I liked her, not because she was beautiful, but she was so different. She used to compete in Athletics Meet, talk loudly to guys. She had more boy friends than girl friends. She used to conquer the class, answering defiantly to the teachers’ questions. Even if she was wrong, the teacher used to feel complex, subsided by her authoritative voice.

I was trying hard to be recognized as a topper in my class, but my ingenuous nature swayed me from realizations of such desires. I stressed on improving my concepts and buildling up the knowledge, disseminating it to my friends with intentions on clarifying my own understandings. My friends were too happy to receive such a help. They would do anything to escape reading text books. Getting an idea initially on the topic would speedup the things. All students in the class knew that I could be consulted to clarify any technical doubts. But more than that, pupils were interested to know whether a person is measurably beneficial to them. I used to complete assignments before time and it was up for distribution among friends. A chain reaction would confirm that the work is finished by all and sundry. Citing the consequences of any wrong answers, it was imperative for me to adequately research for the correct answers. I did it gladly.

Somehow unable to transform my exceptional performance in the class to the mediocre results in the exams, I used to wonder everytime what went wrong. I had a habit of writing concise answers, which the evaluators treated with disdain. My friends used to laugh on me, I would laugh it off. I had an inherent confidence that my understanding of the subjects was better than the most of them. But, as the world demands figures to showcase the claim, I was unable to convince. I had an alternative in taking competitive exams like GATE ( Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering ), in which I scored good marks. They came to know and congratulated me. But the score was a mere spectatory stunt as it has no significance for my future. Being already offered a job, I was inclined to earn money. Only a chance to study in prestigious institution like an IIT or an IIM could have altered my decision.

Mahek was also offered a good IT job. Rarely she noticed me, never without a formal reason. On the whole, she wasn’t my friend. But her friend, Esha, became an admirer of our group. By our group, I mean - Ankush, Gurinder, Naveen and me. We were proactively working on our final year project. The task was innovative and intriguing. Our methodical approach and Ankush’s laptop had all anxious to know about our work. But, being the leader of the team, I asked them not to divulge any details prematurely.

My avid interest in electronics forced me to spend my leisure time in libraries. Self-study was required as the teachers were meting out the tonic like material to successfully pass the exams. They did a lot of retrospection and analysis to predict the question papers. It’s a good thing to do but not, if it’s the only thing to do. Majority including almost all toppers, used to like this deplorable ‘teaching’ method. Aware of the ‘unity’ in class, I did not express my mind. In the first year, I had witnessed the after effects of doing things my way. Majority of the students were on the verge of boycotting me. In time, I relented, thinking to make my stay easier.

I had an unusual surrounding around myself. I spoke very limited, often to boys. Some girls tried to befriend me, but I was more bothered about the lesson notes and lab practicals. I tried to focus on my studies unyieldingly, but could not help occasional deviations of mind. One day, after returning from the Lab practicals towards the staircase, I stared at Mahek. The look wasn’t furtive and it wasn’t eye contact either. I thought it might have given her wrong impressions about me. But, that chancy encounter instead made her believe that I was in love with her. Next day, due to non-availability of spare seats, I had to sit adjacent to her bench. Her close friend(he was a boy) observed my reactions and judgmentally told her, “Ravi loves you”. This sentence was loud enough for me to hear. I didn’t react, thinking it would be disadvantageous. I wasn’t convinced that my attraction for her was devoid of lust. She expected me to say something. But everytime we met, I talked about studies. At times, she came too close to me. I think she might have some feelings for me.

Her attitude invited frowns from many guys. I was also somewhat influenced by them. But deep inside, I knew that I like her. I transformed myself into a proactive participant in the class, to get her attention. But she, like some fellow toppers, started bunking the college to study at home. I tried not to fall in love and diversified my interests. My roomie, Nitin, was an IAS aspirant. He would study the ‘THE HINDU’ newspaper like textbooks and vice-versa. Still, he was adept at scoring good marks. He inspired me not to get complacent and prepare for my better future prospects. Although he coaxed me to shun the job and join coaching for the IAS, I did not have the courage to risk more years in the oblivion. Moreover, I never had that zealous feeling.

Note: All characters are fictitious. Any relation to any person living or dead is coincidence.

Lean Production

2009-10-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

It aims to combine the flexibility and quality of craftsmanship with the low costs of mass production .Lean production is the name given to a group of highly efficient manufacturing techniques developed (mainly by large Japanese companies) in the 1980s and early 1990s. Lean production was seen as the third step in an historical progression, which took industry from the age of the craftsman through the methods of mass production and into an era that combined the best of both. It has been described as “the most fundamental change to occur since mass production was brought to full development by Henry Ford early in the 20th century”.

The methods of lean production aim to combine the flexibility and quality of craftsmanship with the low costs of mass production. In lean-production systems a manufacturer’s employees are organised in teams. Within each team a worker is expected to be able to do all the tasks required of the team. These tasks are less narrowly specialised than those demanded of the worker in a mass-production system, and this variety enables the worker to escape from the soul-destroying repetition of the pure assembly line.
With lean production, components are delivered to each team’s work station just-in-time, and every worker is encouraged to stop production when a fault is discovered. This is a critical distinction from the classic assembly-line process, where stoppages are expensive and to be avoided at all costs. Faulty products are put to one side to be dealt with later, and a large stock of spares is kept on hand so faulty components can be replaced immediately without causing hold-ups. With such a system, workers on the assembly line learn nothing and the faults persist.
When a lean-production system is first introduced, stoppages generally increase while problems are ironed out. Gradually, however, there are fewer stoppages and fewer problems. In the end, a mature lean-production line stops much less frequently than a mature mass-production assembly line.
Lean production gains in another way too. In typical assembly-line operations, design is farmed out to specialist outsiders or to a separate team of insiders. Gaining feedback from both the production-line workers and the component suppliers is a long and awkward process. With lean production, designers work hand-in-hand with production workers and suppliers. There is a continuous two-way interchange. Snags can be ironed out immediately and machine tools adapted on the hoof. With the assembly-line model, the communication is linear.
Lean-production methods have been introduced by many companies without sacrificing economies of scale. Japanese car manufacturers have achieved unit costs of production well below those of more traditionally organised European and American manufacturers with twice their volume. These same Japanese companies have also been leaders in the speed and efficiency of new product design, a crucial skill in a world where time to market is an important competitive lever.
According to Michael Cusumano, who wrote a book on the Japanese car industry, the high productivity achieved by the lean-production methods of Japan’s car manufacturers depends not as some have maintained on a peculiarity of Japanese culture or of Japanese workers, but on technology and management. He wrote:
The methods challenged fundamental assumptions about mass production. These consisted of revisions in American and European equipment, production techniques, and labour and supplier policies introduced primarily in the 1950s and 1960s when total Japanese manufacturing volumes and volumes per model were extremely low by US or European standards.
Criticism of the idea has centred on the feeling that it is possible to be too lean. Beyond a certain point, a sort of corporate anorexia sets in. The total absence of surplus stock or labour can become a serious liability when there is even the slightest disturbance in normal processes or procedures.

Business This Week

2009-10-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

JPMorgan Chase, America’s second-biggest bank, announced profits of $3.59 billion in the third quarter of this year, helped by earnings from its investment-banking activities. The bank has set aside $8.79 billion to cover pay, bonuses and other benefits for its employees in the first nine months of this year. This is about 38% of its revenue over the three quarters. The bank set aside 52% of its revenues for this purpose during the same period last year.
On October 13th AIG, an insurer, announced the sale of its Taiwanese life-insurance business to Hong Kong-based buyers for $2.15bn. But there was trouble over past bonus payments at the firm. A report from the head of America’s Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) has condemned the American Treasury for failing to monitor bonuses paid by AIG before giving it $30 billion in bail-out funds in March. In March AIG executives promised to return $45m in bonuses. But less than half that amount has been repaid, according to the report.

After months of stalling, Bank of America (BofA) agreed to hand over documents detailing legal advice it received during its purchase of Merrill Lynch in January. Andrew Cuomo, attorney-general of New York, is investigating whether BofA executives should face charges over their failure to disclose Merrill’s mounting losses to shareholders ahead of the purchase.
General Motors, Magna International and Sberbank were expected to sign binding agreements for the sale of Opel/Vauxhall. Separately, Magna secured British backing for the deal after giving assurances of continued vehicle production at Ellesmere Port and Luton. Final closure of the deal on November 30th is still conditional on EU approval.
Helped by lower costs, Philips, a Dutch electronics company, announced a third-quarter net profit of €174m ($249m), three times the figure for the same period last year.
Xstrata, a mining company, dropped a proposed $48 billion bid for Anglo American, a rival, five days before a deadline to make an offer was due to expire.
A rising tide
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a widely followed price-weighted average of 30 shares of American industry leaders, crossed 10,000 for the first time in over a year on October 14th, ending the day at 10015.86. It was aided by better-than-expected profits at giants like JPMorgan Chase and Intel. But a dismal set of figures on retail sales, which fell by 1.5% in September, sent the dollar reeling to new lows. It ended October 14th at $0.671 to the euro, its lowest level since August 12th last year.
Feeling chipper
Intel, an American firm that is the world’s biggest chipmaker, reported profits of $1.9 billion for the third quarter. This was $2.3 billion more than the previous quarter, but still $158m lower than the third quarter of 2008. Revenues were $9.4 billion. Sales of microprocessors and chipsets did particularly well.
McGraw-Hill, a publisher, has agreed to sell BusinessWeek, a magazine founded in 1929, to Bloomberg, a provider of financial data and news. The price, as yet undisclosed, is rumoured to be in the region of $5m, with $10m in liabilities attached. BusinessWeek is estimated to be losing around $40m a year.
Jeffrey Peek, the chairman and chief executive officer of CIT Group, a struggling American commercial lender, announced that he would resign on December 31st this year. The 101-year-old company received bail-out funds under the American government’s TARP scheme, and is in the process of restructuring its liabilities to avoid bankruptcy.
On October 13th America’s Supreme Court agreed to allow Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron, the disgraced energy company, to appeal against his conviction for his role in the company’s collapse. Mr Skilling is three years into a 24-year jail sentence. See article
Code black
Profits at Infosys, one of India’s largest outsourcing companies, rose by 15% to 19.4 billion rupees ($403m), in the three months to the end of September, from 16.8 billion rupees for the corresponding period last year.
Nokia, a Finnish mobile-phone company, posted a third-quarter loss of €426m on sales of €9.8 billion, which were nearly 20% lower than a year earlier, and 1% lower than in the previous three-month period.
Bruce Wasserstein, the head of Lazard, an investment bank which he took public in 2005, died on October 15th. Mr Wasserstein brokered many big deals, like the merger between AOL and Time Warner, during a legendary Wall Street career.

Life These Days

2009-10-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Rainfall in the month of october is a bit uncommon in the northern areas of the country. Surprisingly, last 3 days had been quite wet in NCR. Today morning, as i stepped out from my hostel for jogging , i was greeted by light drizzle which eventually forced me to come back to hostel earlier than the usual time. One thing which it did beautifully is to bring down the temprature considerably. After the scorching higher 30's , in past couple of days , mercury hovered around 23-24 degrees, providing the much wanted relief to people. Light sheets are out , and with diwali round the corner , this may mark the onset of winters in northern india.

2nd term in IMT is arguably the most hectic of all. 9 subjects within 2.5 months is tough proposition for one and all. Add the vagaries of summer placements and the situation becomes a perfect chaos. Adding spice to it, all the teachers are hell bent on projects from the first day. So, lectures, projects, placements .... phew !! the seasons definitely sounds tough!! but wait a min! , we people can never be away from fun. I sneaked out to watch "wake-up sid" , although in end it proved to be "wake-up rahul" as i was sleeping most of times ind 2nd half of the movie.

In college, as soon as the intimation regarding inter branch cricket tournament came, rain gods have opened there gates. But even this does not proved to be dampner for the cricket enthusiasts in IMT. 24*7 ,in every possible playing area, you can find people playing cricket. Where to pitch the ball, where to put extra fielder , what total should be safe are the points of discussion now a days in canteen and mess. Thats why the adage , IMT never sleeps !!!!

As the festive season arrives, i am looking forward for a blast in diwali and then explosions in the mid terms examinations. One way or another, coming days are bound to be eventful. You cant afford to blink, as you may miss some action !!.. So, taking life as it comes, humming the great rafi sahab's song Mein Zindagi ka sath nibhata chala gaya!!!!

Why so serious ?

2009-09-22T11:00:00.003-07:00

We were counselled by 'wise' people to shun any shortcuts to graduation and insist on engineering/medical. Commerce/Arts were regarded as liabilities on our career path, with a sole purpose to qualify us as graduates. Never had I thought that blind pursuit of common judgement will make me see such a day. A day, when engineers are unwanted. A day, where any association with A(Arts), B(Business) or C(Commerce) word will make you a preferred choice.

The summer of Twenty10 is a witness of such mishaps(perhaps). The subprime crisis will change the world so drastically was unexpected. Time is a great leveller I think. Every stream must get its due importance and it was high time when the mirage of Engineering was discovered. Theoretical knowledge, myriad of students and shortage of practical skills sum up the inadequacies and hence, the increasing unpopularity of engineering courses. At many private colleges, students do not get enough exposure and are literally studying there to buy a degree.

What more, the unstructured and least interactive teaching methodology ensures dearth of sound communication skills. Students are engaged in conceptual understanding most of the time, so the brain thinks most of the time before they speak. The aahs and umms prevail over smooth speech delivery. Hardly anybody address a sizeable audience. In future, if any such opportunity arises the mind is confused.

Infact, faculties do discourage students from interacting and gaining insights into the interpersonal dimensions. They feel that they are helping the students by encouraging self-monitoring and discipline. Students develop a peculiar work habit during the four years and in turn, become opaque to the new experiences. They feel odd when confronted by any deviations from the perceived correct approaches. They are not receptive to the idea and potential of a group discussion. How can a person, who has formed a tiring and difficult approach, search for an agreed upon solution in 10 minutes.

Problems in management do not involve formulas only. They also involve resources, constraints and time. This becomes an unprecedented scenario for our Engineering guys. They struggle to collaborate and synergise with others. Moreover, they are not sure whether others will reciprocate to their thought processes, which are rather different.

I did study about 'Change Management'. Certainly, we can follow certain practices to bring about a change in ourselves. Reading articles profusely, interacting with people meaningfully will help. Creating a good base of diversified knowledge and nurturing the same will enhance our chances in GD.

Engineering guys, known to be hard workers and good analysts, can accomplish any challenge. It's only time which has to give some chance so that we can prove ourselves.

Celebration of Divine Mother

2009-09-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

Autumn is usually marked with nip in the air in mornings. It also marks the beginning of "shubh navratri " ( Sanskrit of Nine Nights). Also Popular as Sharad Navratri or Maha Navratri, these are the 9 days of paying tribute to the divine feminine power . After a long impasse in summers, navratri starts the Festive season in india, follwed by dussehera and Diwali.

Although there are many ancedote in hindu mythology, the most popular is the "mahishahur-mardini " incarnation of Goddess Shakti. Mahishasur was a powerful demon and had taken control of whole world. After caputuring earth , he went on to capture "swarg". All gods led by their king "indra" approached Lord Vishnu and prayed for their lives. Hearing their plight, lord vishnu , lord shiva and lord brahma combined their power to incarnate the divine "shakti " , creator, nourisher and protector of whole universe. They blessed her with their special powers and weapons. After that goddess durga , took the battlefield against mahishasur riding on lion. A fierce battle commenced , and finally mahishasur was given salvation by devi durga.

Even today, people keep the idols of mahishaur mardini in pandals for 9 days. Every day, aarti and yagnas are performed, and with devotional songs and dances , the complete atmosphere becomes " Bhakitmay ". The event is , particlaurly, popular in Bengali community, who perform "pujo" in the last 3 days. In fact Durga pooja is their biggest festival. In other parts of country also , the festival is celebrated with devotion and enthusiasm. People keep fast , children relish on good food and festive atmosphere. Garba and Dandiya are the flavour of gujrat during this period. In north , morning yagna and aarti is a common phenomenon.

The 9 days of navratri are clubbed into 3 groups . First 3 days are dedicated to Goddess Durga (Shakti ) which symbolises destruction. It is believed that in these 3 days, we destroy our bad qualities and vices and purify ourselves. Next 3 days are dedicated to "lakshmi". goddess of wealth and prosperity. Wealth is a vital ingredient bestowed upon us for maintenance and for progress in our life. It is much more that just having money. It means abundance in skills and talents also.Lakshmi is a energy that manifests as the complete spritual and material well-being of a person. The Final 3 days are dedicated to "saraswati" ,the goddess of Knowledge.She gives the essence of self realization. After the purification and wealth , it signifies the importance of knowledge which is essential to maximize the benefits of other 2 virtues.

Navaratri is the time to appreciate inner and outer beauty. It is a time when we show our grattitude to divine mother for all her love and care. These days are considered to be very auspicious and are recommended for starting any new work. May goddess durga bring happiness and prosperity in your lives. Happy Navaratri to all.

Rishabh -> Lehman -> Prashant

2009-09-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Cut to the year 2006. Rishabh was preparing for the CAT-2006 aggressively. He had enrolled for coaching classes where he went to imbibe 'gyan' in weekends. During weekdays, he would attend B.Tech. classes and surreptitiously solve AIMCAT questions hiding them in the textbook. After reaching his hostel room, he would waste no time in quickly resuming his English improvement strategy implementation. He would read novels, ET etc. till he finish his quota for the day.

Prashant, Rishabh's neighbour, had a habit of observing his friends. Both of them were offered a decent job, going by the standards of the institute. The fact that 85 students were offered the same job didn't make him feel special. Prashant had started to appear lethargic and listless. In search of a new goal, he thought it would be good idea to try for better prospects. He went to Rishabh and asked him about the future after CAT.

Rishabh was upbeat about it and estimated a 10-15 lakhs job if he gets into any of the top 20 B-schools. It was a realistic assumption, citing the past placement records. What extraordinary has Prashant achieved if he joins the company doling out a meagre 2.5 lakhs annually. He deserves more, he has the ability. He thinks so, and evidently starts preparing.

Two years pass and Prashant is busy pruning verbal ability. Its September 16, 2008. Prashant wakes up early morning and collects newspaper to peruse the headlines. He reads about a legend, a behemoth, going bankrupt. He rubs his eyes and drinks a glass of water. Given that he had opted to live in a single accomodation and was vacillating between job and study, this was a miserable news. Suddenly, his efforts to crack CAT look futile. Days passed and i-banks were falling like a pack of cards.

Prashant called Rishabh, who was in the second year of PGDM(Finance) at (guess!). Rishabh confirmed that situation wasn't well for Finance guys. But, there was a hope....hope of a change....the change we can believe in (borrowed from B.O.). But the change was not imminent too soon. Rishabh struggled to get himself any job offer. Prashant was audacious enough to leave the work and join the same college; same stream where his idol, Rishabh studied.

Facets of Human Beings

2009-09-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

There are many things in a b-school , which you do at a time, which may seem abnormal to most of the people ,and they often tend to bring unusual results. One of them , is going to canteen for having tea at 3:00 AM. But, this tea is special, because along with it, you usually find one or another of your friend roaming around and while you came for tea , you end up doing lot many things.

Similar story is followed today , when i went to canteen with a friend and find 2-3 more roaming there. Since, tomorrow is sunday , a holiday, people were very relaxed , the most i have seen them after coming to IMT. Soon, we found ourselves discussing over plethora of topics. Started from summers ( the buzz word around the campus!! ) our discusson ventured into various areas.

One thing on which most of us agreed was the level of artificiality in the college. Most of us encounter people who tend to behave in a very artificial manner. The style of talking , the body language , infact you can instinctively identify this phenomena. Then , we tried to find out the cause for it. The primary reason we found out is "competetion" ( The most cliched word in the B-School Lexicon ). The blind comptetion, increases the opaqueness between people, because they do not trust each other. Nobody wants to speak his heart out, nobody wants to discuss about their plans. In conversation , people let their brain dominate their heart. Everybody wants to be politically correct, although internal feelings may be exact opposite to that.

Some argued that this is common among all B-Schools.People here are professionals. There is little, if any place, for emotional attachment. Everybody looks for his/her benefit and other things come after that. They laid stress on again a "cliched word" Networking. They argued that talk to people , incerase your network, so that you can use for your advantage in future.

Some how, i do not subscribe to their view. If human beings were computer , then we could have simply connected wires to make networks. But we are much more complex than computers . As our HR prof use to say, science has taken all the easy problems leaving the complex ones for the behavioral studies. According to me , a person should be genuine in whatever he/she do. Faking can give you the initial edge, but in the long run you would be whatever you are. The key for this is to accept the imperfectness in us. We should never try to become perfect, because its the imperfectness which teaches us lot in our life. We may loose a few things in being genuine, but we do not have to carry the burden of 2 or may be 3 facets of our life.

Being a CR , i am lucky to interact with almost everyone in the class. There are all types of people. Some are your close friends , some you know, some which gives you smile and acknolwedge you when the see you ,and also some who behave in a way such that you did not existed at all. The catch is that this is not what they are from beginning. They started in some category and ended in another. Some people who talked with you normally in the beginning , suddenly changed their behaviour after being a member of some "elite" groups. They give an impression that they do not care about other people in their class only.

Once i was sitting at the first desk, and a group was giving presentation, suddenly a girl quipped, who is he ?? is he in our class?? May be the lack of knowledge may be overlooked , but the attitude cant be. Even if she does not know, what's the point of shouting. Thing is that, people take pride in it , showing themselves elite.

There are some people, which hardly says 'hi' when seeing . You will almost remain unnoticed. Yet , at 2:30's and 3:30's in night, you would be aksed syllabus, class timings, quiz timings and all. May be this is the way the things are supposed to be ,may be i am too naive to understand it, but this is not what i was brought up with. Somebody told me , very early in my life, the cheapest thing which you can give to someone is smile, somehow it seems to be the most costly in the contemporary times.

I do not want to point out some one , or say something malicious about someone. The only thing which i want to say is that life is simple, respect its simplicity. We are in habit of complicationg our lives. Listen to your brain, but also give a thought to what your heart says. Competetion may be high, stakes may be high , but its people which matter and not things . Just remember , happiness does not come with achieving it comes with helping other people achieve it.

Can implementing an idea change our life ?

2009-09-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

I believe that Global warming is not a farce. There is research involved in what I think. I have observed this year’s maximum and minimum temperatures till date based on their deviation from normal. They were commonly 3-4 degrees above normal most of the days for major number of cities. Rainy season beckoned and so the expectation of rains arose. But to dismay of many farmers the rain gods refuse to shower their blessings. Farming has been affected and it may tighten the supply of food grains. Winter last season was hardly a case for pullovers. The minimum temperature at Delhi was 8 deg. Celsius, which is quite high as compared with earlier climate trends.

High volumes of toxic gases are pervading throughout the atmosphere. These gases are effused by automobiles and factories. The gases react with ozone layer higher up in the atmosphere and cause it to deplete. The ozone layer performs an important function of absorbing Sun’s harmful U-V rays. So the depletion causes more heat to reach the surface of the earth. Thus the observations can be concluded.

Automobiles cannot be decimated, neither can the factories producing equipments by using electricity. Transportation is a business enabler for efficient trade and tariff. Also it is an unavoidable means for people now. We are dependent on electricity just like heartbeat.

How to tackle the impending doom? Its surely a case to research and implement new less polluting technologies, but that’s already in process and may take some time. Think of replacing old systems in India and you will realize how difficult it is! The safety measures have to be prohibitive.

Plants. We all love them. We want to have them near us. Whenever we stroll for a morning walk or a casual conversation with our friend(s), we are fascinated by the divine environment surrounding us. What’s so special about them?

Plants emit oxygen. They absorb Carbon dioxide. Thus we need more plants. Trees are a larger sink for Carbon dioxide, but they cannot be afforded by public in general.

model:

As an indispensable measure to counter global warming, the government must force plantation of more trees. Green belt area should be increased and afforestation should be the focus. But, its easier said than done. With a huge population to suffice, there is huge pressure to utilize scarce resources. The globalization is waiting to sweep forests in some areas and convert them into land of factories and industries.

Thus the onus lies on WE, THE PEOPLE. My mind twinkles to exclude lower strata of society. But, going by their dominant number, they need to be approached. Buying plants is not a feasible proposition to them. If the rates are subsidized, they can think twice. Middle income group hopefully has some plants around their home. They need to show more enthusiasm. Suppose a firm sell plants. It has a distribution network across India. You call them and ask which plant is a highest absorber of Carbon dioxide! They reply and then you place the order for five such plants and within one day, the plant is in your garden.

B-plan ?

Where is the business in it ? Who will buy plants ? Who will sell plants to earn profits ? These questions can be answered positively by each one of us. We have to be prescient, proactive and precocious. We all know the concept of insurance. Its purpose is to provide benefits at later stages of life. What I am trying to portray here is the earth is increasingly becoming incapable of sustaining pollution. We need to heal it. We can’t stop the processes festering the environment, but we can medicate to prolong the resistance. More the plants, quicker will be the healing.

It’s all about keeping your mind open and realizing the inevitable future. This B-plan is entirely dependent on people’s propensity to buy future for themselves and their children. I know, people will say this is a killing of marketing. Don’t jump to conclusions. This idea is hinged on the efficacy of social marketing.

People must be imparted knowledge about the environment and the urgency of an action. Various NGOs are already there but they don’t cover a sizable audience. A better path will be government intervention and formulation of policy assisting people buying plants. For example, a tax rebate if the person has bought 25 plants/year. As explained earlier, there can be subsidy on buying plants for lower income group.

Ideas breed action. Lets think and discuss if we can take forward this idea and bring about a change. The change we want, the change which will ensure Earth a 'cool' life!

A LONG WAIT (Third In Line Of My Originals....)

2009-09-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

It had been a long day and at the end of it Rishi was sitting on the sea beach with a bottle of vodka and a Pink Floyd number playing on his I-Pod, his Armani jacket carelessly flung beside him. He felt a mix of emotions, probably due to the vodka, sweeping him as he sat on the beach with the moon and a couple of stars looking down at him from a sky filled with clouds. He had a nice education behind him, a nice job that paid well, a nice set of wheels and good looks. In short, everything a man could possible hope for by the time he was 26. But Rishi felt hollow, a sense of despair creeping inside him as if something somehow was not right. After the last couple of swigs, Rishi got up, threw the bottle into the blue sea and searched for his car-keys. Something told him to walk home tonight although it was not typical of Rishi to commute walking. He lit a Marlboro and started walking on the sand. The dim glow of his watch showed the time to be five minutes to midnight. He had walked no more than a couple of hundred meters when he saw what appeared to be the silhouette of a woman’s figure sitting on the beach. Long hair locks dancing to the rhythm of the cool sea breeze and the soft glow of moonlight on the woman’s face stopped Rishi in his tracks. Somehow he felt attracted to the woman. He felt as if he knew her since a long time. Rishi stepped on the stub of the Marlboro and lit it out, searched his pockets for a mint lozenge, found one, popped it into his mouth and slowly walked towards the woman. The woman was facing the sea and appeared to be lost in her own thoughts. Rishi went up to her and said “Hi, Myself Rishi. I am sorry but I don’t think it is safe to be sitting here on the sea beach so late in the night. May I help you in any way if you are in some trouble by any chance?” The woman looked up. She was beautiful with almost angelic facial features. She smiled. Rishi smiled back. She said, “Hi Rohan.” Rishi replied, “I am sorry, I am Rishi. Would you like any sort of help from me?” The woman said again, “Hi Rohan. Don’t you recognise me? I am Radha. I wonder how you could forget me.” Rishi did not know what to say. He just stood staring. Radha got up and hugged Rishi. Rishi still did not know how to react. Radha went on “I love you Rohan. Thank God I found you. I am never going to let you leave me again.” Saying this she took his hand and kissed it. “Let’s go dear. I had been waiting for this day since ages.” Rishi said, “Madam, now you are starting to freak me out. Can I please ask for an explanation?” He could almost instantly feel the sorrow in Radha’s eyes. Radha said, “Sit down Rohan and let me explain” and started with her story.” Rishi sat listening rapt in attention. Radha continued. “I was a teen when I met you Rohan. We were in love. Madly in love. I had just completed high school and you were in college. After both of us graduated, you went on for a masters’ degree while I waited for you to complete your education. We married after you completed your studies. We had a happy life. We were contented. Two years after our marriage, we also had a son, Rohit by name. We had everything we could expect from life. But God probably had something else in store for both of us. Maybe God tests the patience of people who He thinks can pass His stringent tests. You were killed in a car accident when Rohit was just a toddler. I was inconsolable. I was broken, almost on the verge of committing suicide. But I could not do so only because Rohit was a toddler then and he would have been orphaned had I taken such a drastic step. I had to make a man out of him. Raising him was “our” dream and I could not have let go of any dream that was dear to you. I had to live for you. For us. For our dream. My parents forced me to marry a number of times since I was only twenty five summers old when you left me. But I could not marry anyone else Rohan. I was all yours in heart, soul and body. I could not have married someone else and ruined his life. I decided to raise Rohit on my own. Without any support. Without any help. . I took a job and arranged for all the care I could provide Rohit. I sent him to the best school in town, gave him the best of facilities. I never let him feel your absence and I worked really hard for it. Rohit was a bright student. He graduated and then went on for a masters’ degree. But all the while, your absence hurt me. It killed me from the inside. I was lonely without you. I missed your support, your tenderness, your care and your love. The only thing that kept me going was our dream. A dream that both of us had seen together. I had to fulfil that. It became the sole purpose of my life. I waited for the day Rohit would settle down in his life. I had missed you in all the important occasions, the day Rohit had won his first award for topping his class in the school, the day Rohit won a national level Olympiad, the day Rohit graduated, the day Rohit he got admitted into the masters’ degree in the best college of the country. He looked very handsome in his graduation robe Rohan. He looked just like you did when you had graduated. I was very glad that I could make him the man we had always dreamt of making him. I had missed you on all the important occasions of life. Every moment of my existence had become a pain, a slow death. But I had to go on for us. I could not quit mid way. I cried in front of your photo for hours the day Rohit brought his lady-love home to see me. I missed you a lot that day. Rohit settled down in a good job after his studies. I was happy that I had finally succeeded. I made all the arrangements for his marriage, saw to it that the proceedings went on smoothly, saw the happiness in his eyes when he was getting married, blessed the newly married couple and then peacefully waited for meeting the love of my life. I was ecstatic with joy. I had finally been able to successfully fulfil our dream. The only thing that I could do now was to be together with you. I had missed you and your love for 26 years and I had decided not waste any more time without you. I needed you. I wanted the togetherness I had missed for so many years. I wanted to be happy after all these years of patience. I ended my life Rohan. Sleeping pills, lots of them and they worked. I died peacefully in my sleep. It did not hurt at all. I was 51 and had made Rohit a successful young man. I was sitting here waiting for you, my love, in the same state of my life that you had left me in. I love you Rohan.” Rishi sat quietly, lit another Marlboro and kept on smoking.

Swine Flu...some more dimensions

2009-08-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Swine flu. I feel it is the best example of globalization in the recent memory. It has its footprints all over the world aka true MNC. While going through the newspaper i was wondering whether it is not a leveller of sorts. In Disunited states of India, it infects people irrespective of the caste, religion, region (a new fad of our dear politicians) and on many others parameters (according to one’s whims and fancies). Raj Thakrey and his bunch of supporters must be incensed with swine flu. How did it dare not to differentiate Maratha manoos from the north Indians in Maharashtra?
The news channel must be thanking swine flu in their hindsight. Their kitty was getting depleted and they were not finding a topic to scaremonger people (an innovative method to increase the TRP). The TV news channels should be recommended for an award for their perseverance to telecast the same message again and again. Even swine flu would be wondering whether it’s ‘capability’ matches the sudden shower of stardom on it.
This news coverage has also benefitted another personality. Guess who? Arrey, it’s our very own Ramu. No it’s not Satyam’s erstwhile Ramu (last heard he was busy playing badminton in jail) but our Ram Gopal Verma. He can easily select one of the news readers for his new horror (?) flicks. Did you ever notice the expression on the newsreaders while delivering key news (?) about swine flu.
Thanks to swine flu, the world is now going green. Nowadays you see green masks on so many people. India has got an advantage here. It can leverage its human resources (no pun intended) and can distribute green masks to the whole of population and trade for the carbon reduction. Jairam Ramesh burdens would decrease on hearing this idea.

Miracle

2009-08-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, amidst the hectic schedule of the B-School , i got a chance to sneak to my home.Going after 1.5 months ( Believe me It’s a long time for distance less that 200 Kms!! ) i was craving for food and all other luxuries of home ( Getting Tea on the Bed !! ). After Reaching home , greeting parents and sipping tea i headed direct to bed . Well !! its been long time sleeping on a clean and well made bed !!!.

Mummy wake me in afternoon for lunch , and though reluctantly, i relinquished my ordeal in the dreamworld. Rubbing eyes , i switched on the TV ( another luxury if you live in hostel). Still it was 1:30 , so good 2 hours before the last Ashes match to start . I was just sifting channels when i saw a ice hokey match somewhere. It was HBO and some movie on ice hockey was being aired at that time. Out of curiosity , i started watching the movie, The name of the movie was Miracle ( Usually Known as Miracle on ice ). The plot was nicely woven amidst the tensions of cold war in 1980’s and the reign of USSR in Ice Hockey.

Let us travel back in time. The year is 1980, winter Olympics being held at Lake Placid, USA. USSR the reigning champions , who had won gold medal every Olympic since 1956 barring 1960 ( USA won that year). The coach of USA is herb brookes , a player who was part of the squad in 1960 but was sent back ( Any Body Remembering Chak de India !!) . But Above all , USSR Team was all seasoned professionals and USA Team was picked from college, all young teenagers.

Add the spice of Cold war Tension , and this becomes one helluva match ( Parallels can be drawn to India-Pak Matches). This is the story about how a charismatic coach motivate his team of young budding players to take on might y soviets and defeating them in the medal Round. That was termed as Miracle on Ice, and is rated as the best sporting moment in the US history. It was not just a hockey match, it was a game of identity, hope and passion. This was the game where loosing was not a option.

Movie Really gave me goosebumps, and as soon as i returned to the campus, i googled all the possible links. saw many videos in Youtube and today downloaded the movie from DC++.

Meanwhile, England Reclaimed the Ashes , was not really a miracle , but still a famous and well deserved victory. It was the Andrew strauss tryst with glory , many english captains die with this dream !!. Also, liverpool is making a sinusoidal curve with its performance , recently being defeated by Aston Villa in Anfield. but miracles do happen.

Not very surprisingly, with the advent of science and technology , we are loosing our power of belief. Now we do not believe any thing which can’t be proved and justified. Miracles are one of them, yes they do happen , but then you have to believe that they happen. It does not mean that you stop working and wait for a miracle to happen. Work with best of your abilities, and then leave the rest to the almighty. What is a miracle ? a moment of luck , a unseen opportunity , something which gives us a thrust can termed as a miracle. Our body is the biggest miracle, with so many organs working in tandem , our DNA chains that are not replicated yet with the best of technologies, our brain which is still largely a black box. Our mere existence is a miracle, and who says miracles do not happen!!!. Just see the world holistically and you will see miracle every where.

So, from now onwards believe in miracles, but be in position to take the advantage of them. Also, try to get hold of the movie, can lift your spirits any time ( Guess Seen it before Football and basketball Debacle !!). And, for Liverpool, Yes i believe in miracle, this year create a miracle on grass !!

The Subprime Crisis

2009-08-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Prelude

In these trying times, one wonders where to spend to ensure profits in the short run and windfall profits in the long run. An average investor expects too much from his instruments. Contrary to the recessionary trend in the markets, its more about the psychological dent in the common man’s confidence that has prolonged the recovery. The falling of financial behemoths like a pack of cards was really a factor. It was of no help that automobile industries faced the music during the same time and oil prices see-sawed like a child’s play. These unwelcomed happenings encouraged the world wide speculations that recession has arrived and is here to stay.

Moving to the US and its perceptible role in giving birth to this crisis, arouses reflection of the past policies safeguarded by the Federal Reserve Bank. The chairman of the 80s, Alan Greenspan viewed spending as an indication of economy’s growth. He was of the view that one should save minimally since the government was taking care of the emergencies and nearly every expensive commodity was insured. He lowered the interest rates to assist the liquidity. Soon people began to realize their ambitions. The complex human nature can not be satiated. They began to spend multiple times of their income. The Housing bubble was a product of this tendency.

People, blinded by their ambitions baited onto the mortgage fish. The banks, on the other end, had already started trading the mortgage securities to investment banks like Lehman Brothers. Banks were pressurized from the top to increase their network of mortgage lending. Under a propensity to feed the cycle (will discuss later), they relaxed the criteria of granting the principal. Thus, the mortgages were sold out to all and sundry. It wasn’t imperative that customers did not have adequate bank balance, the collateral was deemed enough. Lending to such customers is known as Sub-prime lending.

How it worked out ?

Interest rates were further lowered to arrest the economy from receding into recession after the 2000 dot com bubble burst. Thus the money was flowing and people were willing to take loans. Situation was grim for those with bad credit records. They were not allotted the loans by the banks until then. Banks initiated another route for them. They started providing home loans to them at high interest rates, taking their homes as collateral. Since the property prices were rising uninhibitedly, banks assumed they will get good deals even if the sub- prime debtors were unable to pay the EMIs. The loans were offered in variety of formats. Most common of them was Adjustable Rate Mortgage, where the rate of interest could be increased depending on the economic trends. Debtors low on credibility, were undeterred. They were thinking of refinancing the loan at lower rate of interests when their property price would boom.

The situation does not end here. Banks realized they had taken too many risks. They had loan out ample money but were bound to oblige the bank account holders. To generate the money inflow, they decided to diversify the risk of sub-prime mortgage lending. The loans were divided into packages and securitized as Collaterized Debt Obligations to investment banks and other investors. Packages were accorded credit ratings like A, AA, AAA based on the relative credit records of the borrowers. As per the risk evaluation, CDOs were valued differently. Banks also approached insurers to get the sub-prime loan products insured. In case of defaults, the insurance agency could keep the collateral.

The investment banks created Credit Default Swaps (CDS) from these packages and sold it to other investors worldwide. CDS is a swap contract where investors make a series of payments for a particular loan derivative product and are paid off in case debtor defaults on loan linked to that CDS. Insurance companies too fell in for CDS and traded the derivatives vehemently. Going by the rising realty prices, they would have profited even in case of defaults.

The beginning of the end

These series of steps were really bringing in smiles to everybody’s face. The defaulters were few, but the overall situation was under control. A propensity was always there to continue this process. There was mounting pressure on the banks to offer more generous home loans to people and create more securitized instruments. Liquidity had decreased in the system considerably. A bout of inflation followed and there was whopping increase in rate of interest consequently. Customers were hard to find now. Many of the borrowers could not arrange the inflated EMIs. There was a substantial increase in the defaults. Insurers and investment bankers began to roll out money to pay the CDS investors. The condition worsened with a huge number of sub-prime borrowers refusing to pay EMIs and opting for foreclosures. Investment banks doled out huge sums as the part of their obligation to investors in CDS. In fact, they struggled to pay back and came in debts of billions of dollars.

The insurers were also feeling the heat. They tried to sell the collaterals. Few were willing to buy a property. The list of borrowers was longer than those of potential buyers. As a result, the realty prices plummeted and the insurers had to contend with selling at a subdued price. The result was same: billions of dollars in debt.

Banks which had propagated this crisis had many unsecuritized loans left with them. Moreover, the investors were approaching them to get their payment done. In spite of these facts they were in a relatively less cash-strapped position.

The impending crisis began to swallow one company after another. The widespread reach of the sub-prime related tradable components only aggravated the situation. Investors protested for their money which had disappeared. Investment banks had been cogitating filing bankruptcy. Insurance companies were aided by the government bailout packages. Onus was falling on the banks which initiated the toxic trading in the first place. Some acquisitions followed while some fell apart. Some of the companies went to their deathbed. The rest pleaded monetary assistance from the Federal Reserve and the US Govt.

An Epidemic ?

This crisis had percolated to the European and Asian markets. Many companies which had invested in the loan derivatives belonged to the same region. Individual investors were also left in the lurch. English banks suffered huge losses. They were acquired and saved by their better off peers. The vast after effects dented investors’ confidence. He/she had suffered losses or was lucky to survive the storm. For obvious reasons, it was imperative that every step is taken with caution. Thus came the bearish trend in markets. Investors were concerned about selling shares at some profit rather buying more and suffering from losses in future.

The share markets can regain their pre-crisis levels in times to come. It’s truly a matter of returning to safe measures and adequate regulations to ensure the proper functioning of financial sector in future.

Engaging the employee and optimizing HR practices

2009-08-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Introduction

HR practices of numerous organizations are focused towards attaining the objective of employee engagement. With a large workforce comprising thousands of employees, its imperative that the employee’s motivation levels keep driving the growth incessantly. Taking the case of IT Services Company particularly, some of the employees are on bench. Many are executing mundane tasks for months. They are bound to be unsatisfied, indifferent and in extreme cases, frustrated. At the time of recruitment, the HR tests the enthusiasm levels and learning abilities of the candidate. These features are rendered obsolete after initial training is imparted. The employees keep carrying the same schedule and routine tasks for years. They have a liability towards their family and themselves. But, there is a sense of discomfort within. A growing need to explore and re-invent themselves emerges. Consequently, they begin to search for other opportunities within the organization. If they realize the job constraints, they approach other companies.

The result of this dissatisfaction is indicated by the rising attrition rate in the organization. This can not be compensated by hiring new recruits as they need time to understand the job requirements and organization culture. Moreover, there is a potential risk of dissatisfied customers since efficient employees are leaving the company. So it could really lead to drastic effects. The top-line and the bottom-line can be affected if your customer is no more interested to do business with you.

HR’s role assumes important responsibility here. He has to identify the critical resource, interact with him and ascertain his job satisfaction levels. This is a hard task since employees work in teams in most organizations where the responsibilities are linked and divided. How can one pick one and neglect the rest? There must be an organization wide initiative to tackle this issue.

Employee First, Customer Second

This HR strategy was launched in an IT company to bring down the level of attrition. It propagated that delightful employees create delightful customers. So the focus shifted to improvise employee HR practices. The purpose was to engage the employee in co-curricular activities which provide him/her a sense of achievement. Even in a less significant job as perceived by the employee, he/she could achieve satisfaction levels through participation in different activities. Different employee councils were formed, namely in Sports, Talent, Community Service, Health and Fitness, Grey Cell areas. Members were selected through a poll conducted for candidates by all employees. They were accorded with the right to conduct programmes and events.

Employee Engagement

The cost incurred in organizing such events was minimal. The office infrastructure was utilized and the employees were asked to manage time from their work hours. Competitions were conducted in full spirit and provided opportunities for casual conversations between different hierarchies. This was helpful in breaking the ice. The employees were more straightforward in expressing themselves. They would de-stress and experience the joy of recognition and rewards.

A group mail would convey the notifications and results to all. Every Friday there was a ‘Fundoo Friday’ quiz based on a variety of topics. Participation reached better levels and fostered a sense of belonging to the organization. Initiatives for community services instilled meaning and self-satisfaction in employees’ lives. Health council arranged doctor’s visits for health check ups once a month. Employees started enjoying their stay at the office. Even if they weren’t always working, they had a vehicle to grow.

But the employee first councils didn’t solve the purpose of regularly updating the technical skills of employees. In adherence to this requirement, an e-learn portal was started. Based on the interest of an individual, one can learn new concepts and courses straight from the web. To facilitate interactive learning, knowledge sharing sessions were conducted. Still, it was observed that real time problems were not being solved. Communities for different computer languages, centers of excellence and centers of practices were created on the internet. People could collaborate and resolve issues instantly.

Addressing Employees Grievances

In a vast organization in terms of resources, HR practices need to be efficient and effective. There should be an effort to mitigate the time taken to hear, act and resolve human conflicts and distress. A new website was created to cater to this purpose. The website was Employee HR Services and had an animated mascot. The mascot communicated with employees in language they understand and in a format they can easily access. An online Service Desk served as an automated “trouble-ticketing” tool. For any issue and transaction, the employees don't have to run to HR or finance or call them up, they could simply open a ticket in the Service Desk and the process started on its own. Every week a service desk tracker was circulated to all employees showing the adherence or breaches. This transparency guaranteed assured and prompt HR services. The process served two objectives: it helped the company to tell its employees that the company listens to and solves their problems faster than anybody else. The system had other benefits too in terms of cost.

Resource tracking and deployment

There was a SAP record maintenance of each employee. The project assigned to the employee would cease to appear in the case of delimitation. Within 15 days, he must consult his reporting manager. The manager will search in his control area and possibly deploy him. If that does not materialize, the employee can himself search for different requirements on the company’s resource management portal. One can upload the CV and if the profile matches, will get a call.

Recruitment

A comprehensive list of idle resources together with their expertise areas will be available to the managers through the database. They can then judge whether to go for recruitment drive or not. They could ascertain the probable number of new recruits needed. Moreover, it helps to specifically define the skills required in new recruits.

Conclusion

The need for efficiency in all systems of the organization is desired to maximize growth. HR, being an important component in managing the most critical elements in the organization can not be left behind. These measures were instrumental in declining the attrition rate for years to come. Moreover, people began to notice the company and b-schools came with case studies. The cumulative effect was the ‘best employer in India’ award in the year 2009. The increasing role of Information Technology and employee engagement through various unprecedented measures are sustaining large workforce organization’s Human Resource practices today.

A FAMILY LONG LOST....(Another Of My Originals)

2009-08-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

There was something about the morning sunshine that always made Ron cheerful. Agreed, that global warming had increased the temperature of the earth marginally but the morning sun always gave Ron a new hope and a new vigour. But today was somehow different. Ron did not feel like getting up from his bed. The fact that he had been using only one side of his double sized bed had never even bothered Ron till today. But, somehow he had been feeling very lonely since the dawn of the day. For may be the first time in his life, he desired to be loved. He somehow longed for a partner with whom he could share his joys and sorrows and this feeling was somehow new for him. Ron’s sexual escapades and one-night stands had been the popular talk of the grape vine in his office but he had never found out the right person with whom he could actually fall in love till date. After a few minutes of listlessness, he somehow dragged himself out of the bed. He felt drained, tired, lacking energy and above all bored to death. He simply could not explain what he felt although the day appeared bright, sunny and cheerful. He put his palm to his forehead and tried to check if he had a fever. He could not find any traces of it and satisfied that he would not have to waste another sick leave from his ever dwindling balance of leaves, he finally caught hold of his toothbrush. He searched for the missing tube of tooth paste cursing softly under his breath and finally found it under a pile of magazines propped against a rack near the wash basin and tried to feel cheerful but in vain. After around half an hour, he was finally done with his daily ablutions and one look at the clock confirmed that he was actually getting very late to work. All the while, he was trying to figure out the root cause of the weird feelings he was having today but he could not come across any concrete analysis about the same. Finally, with a spring in his step, he said aloud “Enough of this crap about feeling sad and lonely....Let me just go to work today....” Saying this he started searching for his car keys which were nowhere to be found as usual. Somehow he thought that these weird feelings would vanish once he goes to work. Just when he found his car keys under a pile of dirty laundry, he heard a soft knock on his door. Wondering who could be knocking when he had a melodious calling bell installed and whose switch was clearly visible on the wall near the door, Ron opened the door just enough to see who was looking for him. What he saw outside nearly made him drop his car keys in surprise. He saw Maureen. Maureen had been Ron’s best friend all the way from pre-school till high school. It had been 14 years since he had last seen her. Ron had turned 31 last summer and the last person he had expected to meet again ever in his life had been Maureen. Their friendship had broken under very tragic circumstances which Ron had tried to forget for a long time. And there was Maureen standing with a straight face near Ron’s door now. Maureen said “Hello Ron....Won’t you let me in?” Unable to say anything, Ron simply opened the door fully and let Maureen walk in. Maureen went and sat on the sofa set while Ron called in sick at work and closed the door behind him. No words had been exchanged between them after the first line. Finally Ron asked Maureen “Would you like some coffee?” Maureen nodded and Ron came back with two cups of coffee after a couple of moments. After a few silent moments, Maureen began “Remember the last time we met Ron?” Could Ron ever forget the last time they had seen each other? The bitter fight and the nasty words were etched in Ron’s memory for a long time and it was with a lot of difficulty that Ron had finally been able to recover from the incident. It was the last year at high school and both Ron and Maureen were casual 17 year olds. They had been to the class prom that night together. Although none of them had proposed to the other, they had a relationship that had somehow transcended the borders of friendship sometime during their early lives. That night, they had danced romantically and had finally left the party in Ron’s car for a long drive after which Ron planned to drop Maureen at her home and drive back. They had gone and stopped over a small hillock off the road and had started talking with a couple of beer cans in their hands. Slowly, one thing led to another and before they knew it they were making love in the back seat of the car. They had not even realised that they had used no protection. Everything was fine till the day Maureen had come to know that she was pregnant and that was when all hell had broken loose on Ron. Scared that he might have to sacrifice his career and start earning without completing his college degree made Ron very nervous. The day Maureen had told Ron that she was pregnant; Ron was simply out of control in shock and had simply declared “Maureen, I need to complete my graduation degree before I could think about marriage. Forget about the child. The pregnancy has to be aborted.” Maureen had simply flown into a rage accusing Ron of using her and playing with her emotions. Ron had simply walked out of her life after that and had never seen her again till today. Today Maureen sat in front of her ever so beautiful without a trace of any of that old anger towards Ron. He could make out that something was not right though. Somehow, Maureen looked pale and disconcerted. Ron asked her “What’s the matter Maureen? Why are you here?” Maureen replied with a soft voice “Remember our unborn child Ron?” Ron looked at her face bewildered unable to guess what the next words would be. Maureen continued “I had not aborted the pregnancy Ron. I had decided to keep the baby as a sign of the love we shared. I loved you a lot Ron and wanted you to father our child. But you turned your back towards me leaving me alone and never returning back my love. I was left alone Ron. You never took me back in your arms and you moved on in your life. My parents disowned me too but I raised Rick all on my own. I had no intention of meeting you again Ron. I had decided that I would not see you till you realised that you had a family who were waiting for you. The only reason I came here today was to inform you that Rick died last night hit by a car with a drunk driver behind wheels. He was 14, Ron, and he was transforming into a wonderful young man when God took him away from me rather, away from us. His funeral is to be held today and your presence will let his soul rest in peace. You may never see me again after today.” Ron was speechless. Now he realised why he was feeling so lonely, depressed and desperate for love since the morning. He had lost his son last night.

The Stalker....(Original Short Story by Soumya Darshan Mishra....that's me :-) :-) )

2009-08-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Lady Victoria stepped into the bathroom after a hard day's work for a refreshing shower. She had come home early that day unable to bear the merciless sun beating down upon the hot Kalahari desert. It had been 12 years since she had lost her husband after the uprising in Morocco in 1936 and it had been long since her tears had dried.

Her's had been a fairy-tale love story, with unprecedented twists and turns. She had come as a part of the American Red Cross team to help those who had been wounded in the uprising. She was then an exuberant teen, fresh out of a decent nursing school in the U.S. Trained, smart, beautiful and intelligent, she was just the type of lady every man dreamt of marrying. But then rebellious as she was, she had just broken up a loving boy friend just because she had found him too predictable and she wanted to explore what life had in store for her. The next thing she knew, she had volunteered for the relief camp at Morocco and she found herself on a small ship to Morocco amongst a hefty supply of medicines and gauge bandages. On the sultry soil of Morocco, she helped the doctors in changing bandages and doing other sundry tasks like satisfying their carnal desires. Then came Mohammed who had changed her life forever. He was a member of the Moroccan Army of Liberation who was brought to the camp wounded and barely living. Victoria nursed him as was required of her job. Somehow the person survived and stayed on in the camp for some days. Victoria sometimes caught him staring at her. Slowly Mohammed started searching for opportunities of talking to her. Victoria had initially avoided him at first but then one night under the cool Moroccan moon, they had started talking and they had slowly opened thei hearts to each other. They found they had quite a lot of things in common, their common dislike for Roosevelt's policies, their common love for tap-dancing and their common fear of rattle snakes. They even found that they had almost the same recurring nightmare of falling into a dry well although with a slight change in events! That night they felt connected and they became pretty sure that soul mates did exist on this planet. And when they kissed that night for the first time under the moon light with an owl hooting in the back ground, they knew that they were made for each other. After a few days of courtship, Mohammed proposed marriage. Although it caught Victoria by surprise or to be precise, by shock, she agreed just to give Mohammed's love a try. They hadnt divorced till the uprising was over and even after that, a fact that sometimes astonishes Victoria because when she had accepted Mohammed's proposal, she was just a casual teen with a non-chalant attitude towards life trying to experiment a marriage with a foreigner which she knew would be over before a wink. A part of her only wanted the marriage for the legitimate sex. But as she grew wiser, she had realised how mature, understanding and loving Mohammed had been. His performance on bed had definitely given a booster to their marriage though. But then Mohammed died years after their marriage on a chilly winter night, 13th of December to be precise and Victoria was heart-broken. She realised how much she missed him. They had decided not to have children, lest their love for each other was shared and the time and attention they gave each other was divided. It was then that she realised her truest love for him and she took a decision of staying on in Morocco alone in the memories of Mohammed and not marrying again. Mohammed had set up a small fruit shop with mediocre business and Victoria decided to sell fruits till she breathed her last.

But business today had not been good for her. With the competition growing and Morocco progressing, it had been getting harder for her to compete. And with a failing health, Victoria had been pressing herself to go on for some more days. She now regretted the decision of not having children. She was lonely and friendless and she sometimes felt the urge to go on waning.

That day when she was about to enter the bathroom, she immediately saw a thin, malnourished black boy staring at her from the window. Victoria was stunned. The first thought that struck her mind was that "How dare a boy hardly 12 or 13 years old do such a shameless act of peeping through the window of the bathroom of the lady around 45 years old?" He shouted at the boy but he seemed unperturbed. She quickly put on the bare necessities of clothing and immediately rushed out to confront the boy. The boy unashamed and undisturbed stood there simply staring at Victoria. On closer inspection, Victoria immediately recognised the boy. She had caught him staring at her on numerous occasions. She had seen him outside her shop, on the road, near her house and elsewhere. But they had not talked to each other.

Victoria's anger somehow dispersed and she was taken over by a sense of curiosity as to who the boy was. His eyes oddly resembled Mohammed's. Victoria called the boy inside and they got on talking. She could not still explain the dissapearance of her sudden burst of anger. As they got on talking, Victoria learnt that his name was Abubo. He was born in a small village nearby. He said he was 12 years old and was born on the 13th of December. He said he hated Roosevelt, he loved tap-dancing and he was very afraid of rattle-snakes. He also added that he had a recurring dream of falling into a dry well often. Then he said "Victoria, my love, I am here for you." Victoria fainted.

After 14 years

2009-08-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever met your friend after 14 years ? Think, its not commonplace.

It was 1995 when Bhola and Pooja were studying in the IVth class. Bhola had many friends with whom he used to enjoy playing cricket, share assignments and even do combined studies. When he had to interact with girls, he was quite shy which he used to hide in his aloofness. So the perception developed among girls and they began to dislike him. Bhola was unperturbed but who wanted such situation ?

Bhola was busy doing his Maths homework when the door bell rang. He used to attend people reluctantly. His mother asked him repeatedly and he went to the door. He saw and welcomed a lady. But, behind her he could see it was Pooja. Bhola's mom and Pooja's mom were childhood friends. Bhola didn't like this situation. He felt an obligation to befriend Pooja. Neither Pooja thought to make a dull friend like Bhola!

Soon, Bhola left the room and went for his study. There was a loud round of talks and laughter. He was hardly able to concentrate. His mother called him but he pretended to be busy. She told her friend(Pooja's mom) that Bhola is very shy. He's not comfortable talking to girls. Pooja and her mother went back to their home. Pooja got readied for her swimming class. The bus arrived and Bhola was there sitting at the back, away from girls. After some days, Bhola's birthday arrived. Due to his mother's insistence he had to call Pooja's family. His friends teased him and he was embarassed.

14 Years passed. Pooja graduated and presently is in the last year of her MBA. Bhola joined an IT firm after graduation. Soon, he left the job to study management at a reputed college. It was then that Bhola noticed Pooja in one of his friends' friends list in Orkut. She had her photo in the profile. He immediately recognized it and sent her the friend request.

Pooja was busy with wrapping up her studies at Mumbai. She got a notification mail regarding Bhola's request. She was so happy to see him after so many years. They had a chat today and both were sharing their experiences and memories way back in 1995. It was an amazing feeling where the mind was replenished with yesteryears' memories. Those silly mistakes like squeezing of ink on Bhola's face was compelling Pooja to apologise today. He didn't remember this incident. Though Bhola had a faint knowledge of his mental block that prevented him from interacting with Pooja. He too had a sense of guilt. Both wanted to make sure that they make up for the lost time. Lets see what happens!!

Loose Talk

2009-08-15T02:49:00.001-07:00

15th August, 62nd aniversary of our nations tryst with destiny, has finally compelled me to write something after a long time . Gallons of water has flown under the bridge since the last time i had written something, and it was primarily due to my knack of sleeping at almost any opportunity. Also my laptop had deserted me for few days !!!!.

A wet, drizzling morning welcomed us on the independence day. Although waking at 9 am on a holiday is crime , but today it was for the nation. This is one day, when we show our gratitude, our solidarity and pay tribute to the martyrs who ensured that we are breathing in a free air today. The program organised by the college was sweet and simple following the principle of KISS ( Keep it Simple and short ). Dances were good and skit was awesome. The program aptly ended by distribution of clothes and books to the blue collared employees, which shows our committment towards the welfare of society in general.

I firmly believe that the ultimate purpose of the education is to uplift the society. Though the short term goals may be, creating a knowledge base and a skilled workforce , but education should fulfill the purpose of changing the face of the soceity by developing it. I was impressed by the book distribution as it would help them in long run. There is a famous adage " You give fish to man you feed him for a day, you teach him fishing you feed him for the life time "

Swine Flu after having its honeymoon in US and Europe finally travelled to India. Rather than being proactive we first waited for it to create some news and then act . There was a false belief that it would not affect the people of india, which was proven wrong by the rising cases and death tolls in the country. The peculiar thing about the disease is that it affects the young and schoolgoing children , which have more immunity than the compartively old people. Being a highly contagious disease , it has a potential of becoming a pandemic, and thus causing a lot of panic . Yesterday we saw people roaming with masks in a mall ( although they scared us) and also shows of movie " Kaminey" were postponed in Mumbai and Pune.

Coming to the movie, after reading good reviews we watched it yesterday. Well, this is not certainly for the mango people ( Aam Aadmi). Although a notch below Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj Direction is wonderful on not so great a script. Shahid kapoor is improving as an actor and Priyanka's performance was really heart warming ( Now she can act Finally !! ) . But the real stars of the movie are the characters whom the director allowed to develop. Whether it is a flawless bhau !! , or corrupt cops supplying cocaine to the underworld, or a Lipsy protaganist , everybody had done justice to their roles. Watch it if you wanna see some artistic cinema , else take a stroll in mall, coz it could also be painful to watch .

Last but not the least, i am exploring the new ways of life in MBA. I was told before coming to IMT, that you have to study a lot in a MBA college. You have to live life on edge. He was partially true, life is certainly on edge here. within 24 hours i had played cicket , table tennis , counter strike and basket ball. The only thing missing is studies which i hope to do someday ( I promised to study regularly after the mid terms !!!!) . Now , the gravitational forces of my bed started to pull me towards itself and i am again retiring to the dreamworld, so till next time , bis bald , guten tag ( i also learning german too !!)

Cycle

2009-08-09T08:09:00.001-07:00

You get what you deserve

You deserve more if you practice more

Practice makes a person perfect

Perfection is endangered if you are emotional

Emotions are difficult to check, ask any woman

Woman must be empowered and respected in relationships

Relationships with women are divine, exceptions can be there if she is your spouse

A good spouse is a matter of luck

Luck governs your future, if you insist

Insistence to persevere endures your efforts

Efforts determine the difference between two individuals

Individual accomplishes less when not working in team

Team work compensates for each others' weaknesses

Weakness is characterized by psychological inability to perform

Perform until you reach your goal

Goal is the focus to realize your dreams

Dreams are abstract until you get them

You get what............

PUSHING ONESELF....

2009-08-07T00:51:00.000-07:00

To what extent can a person push himself???? Is it so that a person can push himself or herself to the extent his or her body permits him or her or can he actually push himself or herself beyond that???? Is the body a hurdle when one wants to push oneself???? What or who decides the limit???? Is it the mind???? Is it the psyche???? What exactly is the difference between mind and psyche???? What does one basically tame if one wants to push oneself???? The mind, the body or the psyche???? Know what....I just checked the meaning of both mind and psyche in my Word Web dictionary on my laptop and both of them mean the exact same thing....That which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason....Now that's interesting....Why would English language promote two words for the exact same meaning???? So does it mean that if one wants to push oneself, he has to tame the seat of the faculty of reason???? So does it mean that at the time of testing your limits someone or something tries to reason out that whatever exercise you are undertaking is not suitable for you???? Now if you are trying to do something so desperately in the first place, isn't it the mind that inspires you to go for it in the first place???? Then why does it start creating hurdles once your body aches???? So then, is bodily fatigue the root cause???? And we come back to square one....Lost in the labyrinthe of life....But then, what good is life if we don't have some fun getting lost in its labyrinthe???? Isn't that something God wanted us to do???? But then how do we actually come to know what God wanted us to do???? Questions galore again and no answers....

Infant Malnutrition

2009-08-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

The Photograph which won the Pulitzer Price was of a small kid, suffering of hunger and malnutrition crawling towards the food , and a vulture waiting behind him, waiting for him to die. Although the Photographer died due to the depression, but he had captured the gory reality of hunger and malnutrition in one of the most heart touching way.

We are reaching new heights day by day, but are we really growing as a human being !! In fact with the advance in technology we are losing touch of humanity which is the soul of our existence. In the world where the economies are in size of trillions, we are not even competent enough to provide food for the infants of our world. Where the parties galore with the sumptuous dishes, some unfortunates in world cant have 2 meals a day to survive.

If we look at the cause of the problem, one can argue that it is due to the shortage of the food grains in the world. If one even subscribe to this view, then it is itself the testimony to the height of the avarice of the human beings. Substituting cash crops for the Food grains may fill the pockets of few, but it cuts a deep hole in the skin of the mankind.

Apart from that, the granaries of leading countries of the world are overflowing with the food grains. But the selfish trade policies, arm-twisting WTO for their own monetary benefits has ensured that the food is not reaching to the needy. We recently saw a prime minister of the most powerful country of the world accusing the 3rd world countries for creating the shortage of the Food Grains.

The over ambitious zeal of few nations to become self proclaimed messiahs of humanity and justice also aggravated the situation to a large extent. The so called war of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq deteriorated the already pain stricken life style of the citizens out there. In a Country where majority of money is spent on arm fighting, where would the money to feed infants come from. The Recent ousting of LTTE in Sri lanka would be a meaningless victory if government fails to address the humanitarian crisis over there.

We live in a world of hypocrites and lunatics. When some body sitting in a AC Room with all the facilities in the world do grave mistakes, the whole world feels the tremor of the earthquake. Banks come out with the package of billions and trillions of dollars to rescue the companies whose bosses do not really deserve to be rescued on the other hand, 67 of every 1000 children die in Zimbabwe, For many children in sudan the camps are the houses. They do not what is pizza and what is a Barista. Getting two meals a day is equivalent to enjoying a dinner at Hilton for them.
Not a tear is shed for them, not any expert write about them, not a Organisation runs conferences for them. They are left to die in the oblivion.

So what should be done. Hmm, Finding the ways to tackle this problem is not rocket Science. First and foremost, the apathy of the world towards these under privileged nations should be turned into empathy. Proper Fund allocation should be there. Organisation Like WTO and FAO should take the responsibility to provide the food grain to every mouth particularly the infants. The wastage should be reduced , a grain saved is a grain produced in the current world scenario.

The Growth and development of the world should be inclusive in nature , we can’t leave the under privileged behind and then profess to achieve the growth and development of the world. Countries Like US and other developed countries should not compromise on the fund allocations and should not shun their duties of helping the world, as the world can live without the nuclear rockets but can’t live without the bread and butter. We have to again redefine our priorities, we have to do a collective effort to save the future of the world dying untimely death, otherwise the history will never forgive us.

If we talk about the Indian context, the current government rides on the populist agenda of the inclusive growth, but it seems to be hell bent on issues like nuclear deal or economic sector reforms, where still on an average 1 person die everyday at vidarbha due to poverty, and poverty gives the way to malnutrition. Situations are still grave at kandhamal, where the hygiene conditions at refugee camps are aggravating the ill effects of malnutrition. It is the time , we should act and act decisively. There is no shortage of food grains in our food reservoirs and it’s better to distribute it to the needy rather than having rodents feast on it. For this we would need a robust and efficient public distribution system, proper identification of the needy and malnourished segments of the society and above all the undying will to make a difference.

Youth Empowerment

2009-08-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Being young is great. The world is at your feet. The opportunities are limitless. The mind and body are in the best of health. So what bogs us down ? Lack of knowledge! Hefty competition! Or government’s negligence!

The inexperienced youth is unsure of his ultimate goals. He does not have that courage to follow his heart. What if he goes wrong ? Citing this confusion, the youth first likes to ensure a decent job for himself. He jumps into clichéd areas of engineering, arts, medical sciences et al. Many of us must have done graduation only for the sake of it. We are not expected to follow unprecedented dreams which may propel us into a never ending struggle for existence. The case is particularly true for families with their purse strings tied.

The youth is confronted with huge competition wherever he go and whatever he choose. Just minute differences in scores decide best colleges for some lucky few. Do so many of us not possess the talent ? Certainly not. The government has not build enough good colleges to nurture the vast pool of talent. Many of the private colleges are woefully short of infrastructure. Moreover, numerous fields popping up to give specialization have not been proportionally represented. The youth is searching for a career outside.

For those who dream big, there is no provision to provide assistance in their entrepreneurship. People wait for the announcement of a new hero, rather than helping him become one. Ideas we have, but few are transformed into actions. The youth needs fillip, the politicians aren’t ready. A pathetic representation of youth in the parliament doesn’t help anyway.

It’s encouraging that increasing globalization and India’s participation has created jobs. But a vast population is still left in the lurch. We can witness the uneducated and unemployed youth becoming a puppet of selfish politicians. Brainwashed, he is eager to sacrifice his life or kill anybody to fulfill his party’s motives. The reason: he is not making a decent living. Why ? The villages of India are not equipped with good schools and teachers. A child goes to school, comes back without any learnings. When he grows up, he is rendered incompetent for graduation and ofcourse, a permanent source of income. As a result, he has no option but to search for easier path. The politicians gleefully provide temporarily, albeit satisfying their own objectives.

Considering the inability of the fund allocated to reach upto the last mile, it will be an exaggeration to hope graduate level education for one and all. Inspite of that fact, village youths can be engaged in constructive activities. They can be recruited in skill based blue collar jobs in Small and Medium Enterprises. SMEs are based out of villages which will be value for money. They must be trained by the govt. for this endeavor. These activities are already in place, but less in number. The focus seems to be dwindling.

Women, an important component of youth, has been showing promises in different fields. The special few who have made name deserve credit. But still, there is lesser sharing of responsibilities vis-à-vis men. Most of the young Indian women are housewives. They have failed to implement the knowledge attained through various specialized courses. They have explained their minds to feel happy in their spouse’ achievements. They need to be empowered by their husband. He needs to take initiative to realize his wife’s strengths. Similar is the case with young girls whose parents must come forward and encourage her to pursue her goals.

Situation is poignant in villages. There are some where girls are treated as a burden on the family. When married, they are forced to conceive child and molested if baby girl is born. The behavior is tantamount to treating her as a baby making machine. Separate awareness for education of girl child already has been a government initiative, but its not practiced in many areas.

An important facet to bring about youth empowerment is to make them believe in their strengths and then make them trust in each other’s strengths. There are many tasks which can be undertaken in a group or more specifically, a team. For example, the youth can take the responsibility of ensuring sanitation in his village. An organization can be formed and the government can award cleanliness contracts to the same. Other initiatives like awareness campaigns can be organized in collaboration with the youth. These trust based measures will indeed lit that elusive self-confidence in our village youth and inspire him to perform quality work for society.

Whenever the situations are perceived to have created losers, empowerment has reignited the path towards success. Its imperative that the ignition is sustained over a longer duration and the illnesses eradicates from the society.

A dream nevertheless!

2009-08-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ritesh was back at his hometown after four months of gruelling assignment at Chennai. He had resigned from the job and was looking forward to new experience in B-school. Before he could tighten things up, it was imperative that he relax his mind during this phase of transition. He had quite a few days to gather knowledge about the course, develop some basic understanding and also, reflect on his past choices and decisions. Unable to shed the carefree spirit at home, he couldn't help watching T.V. This was also the time spent with his parents. Ritesh wasn't interested in watching daily soaps. It were reality shows which caught his attention. Given his penchant for dancing, he enjoyed dance shows the most.

It was few years ago that he first watched the video of MJ at his best. He downloaded the video and watched MJ's steps numerous times, trying to figure out the mechanics of his movements. He tried to imitate him, but was unable to match his perfection. Being shy, Ritesh used to ensure solitude before practicing his dance movements. He was wary of the humorous reactions which his steps would invoke. Yes, for him, MJ was the god of dancing.

After making a long run around the mini stadium, Ritesh went back tired. He wasn't sleeping as much as he would've liked. A spontaneous nap followed. When he woke up, there was bewilderment written all over his face. He switched on the T.V. and searched for breaking news. He had dreamt something he never expected. Why the hell that dream ? Why can't he ignore it ? Next morning, he frantically grabbed the newspaper and perused the headlines. Relieved he was, but all this fuss over a dream ?

Soon, Ritesh went to study management at a reputed B-school. In that 15 acres campus, he could learn so much. Everyday's schedule was busy to the core. Even to talk to his parents, he did not have the liberty of picking the phone. Food at Mess was healthy and hygienic. Also, two T.V. sets were installed at the Canteen. Ritesh wished he could watch according to his choice. The thought was futile considering the huge number of students. Most of the times, a news channel was watched (unanimously).

One such day, MJ's death was announced.

Army-man talks

2009-08-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

I was on diwali vacations when my manager called me up to reschedule my plans and 'manage' an early return to work. Within a day, it was a futile exercise searching for train reservation. So I contacted a travel agent to arrange train ticket for me. Although I was annoyed with the abruption, but there was a sense of pride citing the purpose of the journey.

It was 23:30 when the train departed (as per schedule!). I wasn't feeling sleepy. Wanting to read something, I did not want to disturb others' sleep (especially if they were burping). Luckily, there was sufficient light being transmitted through the glass door. I leveraged this opportunity to solve AIMCAT question papers. There was hardly enough time to practice during work hours. The weekends were also swallowed up by the consolidation of programs at office.

Busy solving questions, I noticed a military personnel arriving with a cellphone in his hand. He greeted me and confirmed if he could charge his phone using the socket installed there. Interaction with these people is a luxury for us civilians. I thought it will be a good learning peeking into his psyche. I obliged him and then our conversation started.

"Are you a student ?", he enquired. "No, I am working at a Software Services company", I replied.

I asked him, "Are you going to Kashmir?". "Yes, Kupwara in Kashmir", he replied.

Unable to stop my inquisitiveness, I spurted "Are you in BSF ?". "Army", the one word answer deeply entrenched with pride followed.

He continued, "I am coming from North-East. Government has decided to withdraw the forces and deploy us in J&K for upcoming elections."

I tried to apply my knowledge, "There were blasts in Assam yesterday". I was confused about the exact day.

"Today", he corrected me. "Some of the local people don't want to allow immigrants from other states to settle there. It were these people who initiated the development in Assam. Now that the infrastructure is better, why should they go away ?", he queried.

I had nothing to say except, "Why is the situation not under control ?"

He expressed his frustration,"We are restrained from taking any offensive action. Sometimes, terrorists walk freely in front of us and we can't do anything. I wonder why we were recruited".

I was apalled though many would have agreed with him.

With an intention to deviate I asked, "What about the Sixth Pay Commission ?"

"We can't accept lesser salary as compared to civilians whose govt. job involve minimal risk. We have to travel extensively at such a short notice. Though we enjoy on the whole, the destinations are too strange sometimes. It involves sacrifices on the personal front. The department is refusing this month's salary in protest. Soon, we will be granted the wishes.", came a determined and assuring reply.

He retorted candidly to my questions. Really, an armyman speaks out unequivocally.

The Thing Called Life..

2009-08-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

when i was a small kid who goes to school in half pants , my parents told me one thing that when some one asks what you want to become after growing up say ” doctor ” or ” IAS”. I learnt them by heart and used to mention these two words when anybody askes that question. As the things turned out, i became none. Then when i started growing up , and i was in class 10th the the horizon broaden a bit, and i started saying i want to do enginnering from IIT, that was not to be, and when i finished my graduation i told myself to do MBA from one of the top institutes in the country, which also vaporised today. Sometimes i feel that life teach you in a alltogether different way. They say that in life you get the things which you need , rather than things which you want!!!!!

so today again sun came out from the east, everything started normally ( yups there was some hiccups due to the unfornuate oil strike ) , but this is perhaps the chilliest morning of the winters. Almost 2 lakhs of indians were holding their breaths as one of the most hyped exam in the world, CAT was going to publish its result. If you had not witnessed such a scene you can’t get the essence of it. From the time when a person keys in the roll number and the actual result appears on the screen , heart skips many a beats. Probably because in such a large country with so much of young poulation and so little of resources , the stakes are very high for every person. For this exam people almost do prepration on the war footing, sometimes the CAT become the life for them.

so after 9′o clock results started pouring in, and when stakes are so high , you inevitably witness the whole continuum of emotions from one extreme to another. The people who got calls are ecstaic and jubiliant and rightly so this the moment of reckoning for them, but there are a few people on the other part of the spectrum also. For them also stakes were very high for the CAT, they also gave their heart and soul for the exam, but still they end short of the mark., and they are toughest to console or soothe cause you know that the pain is there and still you have to advice them to overcome the pain.

At the end of the day, its the effort which matters. If you tried your best and gave your best shot, then accept whatever result had came. At this moment i am recalling a comic strip forwared to me in mail, that some peoples were carrying a big wooden plank on their shoulders. One person whined and cried ” oh !! god please reduce the size of it so that i could carry it easily” and god agreed. After some time he again complained of the same problem and god again obliged. After some time they reached a ditch and peoples with long wooden plank crossed immediately while he was left stranded. So the vision of man is short and the vision of god is long, whatever you cant see he is seeing from the top. so, may be there is some good some where which you are not able to appreciate right now.

After all this is not the end of the life, in any case if we judge yourself , then you will still find yourself better than many peoples. There are some persons in Gaza who live life in hours, there are some in zimbabwe where u cant even get clean water to drink. There are some farmers in vidarbha, who not even get 500 a month. There are some homeless in bihar, whose homes are washed away by the kosi. We in any case , on any day are better than them and for that we should thank god all the time. When a crisis comes its very easy to loose the faith and very difficult to keep your faith going.

So for the people who made it, i wish them to come out with flying colours, those who missed the mark, take it in your stride and move forward. I wish the good of all… amen…..

Is This Love??

2009-08-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

It was around 11:30 in night, Rafael Nadal had again secured a ruthless win on clay court, and after switching off the television, i put the earphones and tuned a FM Channel. A popular number of ‘Kismat Konnection’ was being aired having the lyrics ”is this love “…….. I was enjoying the melodious song, then suddenly i thought that is love is such a enigmatic thing, that people from time immemorial are demystifying it, still not successful. You pick up any of the epic, any religious book, any history encyclopedia and you would find plenty of love stories. Romeo-Juliet, Laila-Majnu, dushyant-shakuntla ; love had permeated across all the borders whether they are geographical aur social.

So this intriguing nature of love, which raises more questions then answers, forced me to find the answer for the futile question of the mankind , what is love ??

Well, we are living in the virtual world, where machines are slowly surpassing humans. To find every answer the first resort is google la a mythical “rambaan”. So, i typed ‘love’ in google and pressed enter. The first definition which i got was “deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.” ahem! ahem! quite heavy a definition, but revealing nothing !! Every body from a child to an octagenerarian intutively knows What is love , but it is very difficult to put in the words. But i was not ready to accept defeat so easily ….

First i asked my room mate about what is love. He recently had some bad expirience in love, and he said that there is only one pure love in universe and that is between mother and child, rest all love are not love, they are compromises in some extent. When things are going good , you will get too many love flowers bloomimg around you and in the bad times they vanish so quickly as they were never there !!!

Fair enough !! i got a genuine definition from a person, who has witnessed love closely. So i moved on to get some more prospestives. I caught hold of my other room mate who is expert in flirting with girls. I asked him the same question, do you know what is love. Hearing the question he started laughing . “there is nothing called love, the only thing is the habit” was his opinion. He said that, when we spend considerable time with a people, we start getting habitual of them, and we mistook it for love. He gave me the examples of love birds daily overloading the mobile network traffic with the intermittant calls overnight. He said that they are habituated to listening each other voice, and this is a part of their daily ritual , nothing more !!!

so 2 different person, and 2 exciting opinions. i went to my 3rd room mate, who is in love from his childhood with a girl in his neighbourhood , a bit ‘bollywod-sque” in nature. He is a very matured and sincere boy fully commited to his girl. When i asked him about the definition of love, he said that i do not know what is love, but from the time i remember i like this girl. Love is something, which gives you the energy , the warmth, the care and the feeling that i am also beloved. The desire from the mankind eternity was to be beloved !! , some got it by giving love, some try to yield power to achieve that , but the desire is always there. Love is some thing which gives meaning to your life, which becomes the reason for the things which you are doing.

Hmm, 3 room mates and 3 different definitions of love, this is what love is, every body has its own interpretations, every body looks it at its own perspective. On one hand there is bipasha basu of zism saying “yeh zism pyaar vyaar nahi janta bas janta hai to zism ki bhookh“ and on another numerous examples where the lovers given even the sacrifice of their lives for the happiness of their beloved one . Which is the correct menaing of love, hardly anybody knows.. but we live between these 2 extremas, spilling to either side in some situations.

So , love is what only love knows, its a too higher things for mortals like us. Those who had love in their life, should try to cherish and blossom that love, those who do not, try to give me love to others, this is the best presription of getting other’s affection. And for those to whom the concept of love is wiered , they should think that what is the force which had kept them binded to so many peoples in their lives. Science and Darwin could not be the answer to very question!!!