This month marks the end of my life as a student. Not to imply that I have done much in the name of studying in the past 6 months. I have seen many countries, enjoyed many movies, spent many hours just strolling around, paining people [and some people in particular] and so on. Padhaku types apun kabhi thaeech nahi. Woh to zalim zamana aur RG batchmates jinhone mujhe ghisne per majboor kara.
I see a lot of super-ambitious raring-to-go people around me. I also see many corporate czars in the making. I wonder what I will make.
Meanwhile, I have been poked with the question - "Aap kaun hain".
Hindi wala hmmm with index finger on my chin. To yeh lo mera jawab. I am-
-an electron in a high energy orbital
-a software engineer with no experience of working in a software company, half-baked knowledge of project management, tons of experience in Java coding, a very bad taste for giving names to variable, functions, source codes and people. And yes, I can see the hands rising in agreement to this.
-an MBA with little skills but many dreams - both wet and dry kinds.
-Bhom the Bhunderfull. I have had success in surprising people, endearing some, distracting others, making deep friends and enraging them and getting people to trust and rely on me. I have a distaste for tyrants and morally weak humans.
-an attention-grabber, a greedy hog, a jealous man.
-a lover of jalebis, watermelon, icecreams, salads, chicken [the cooked kind!], puzzles and a few more things not suitable for mention in these pages.
-a hater of cigarette smell
-the maker of fine omlettes, delicious egg-fried rice and egg curry and a cooking enthusiast
-a man-eater when hungry, but in general finicky about food, according to popular accounts
-an ardent gifter and incidental shopper
-Jonty Rhodes ka jani dushman because he made people expect so much from fielders. As you can understand, even a sleepy kachua would be better at fielding than I am.
Bas bahut ho gaya. Enough about this luchcha lafanga.
The transition from a learning phase to an earning phase is fraught with so many worries. And my major concern is if the earning is going to be as superficial as the learning has been! I hope not! Plus so many EMI considerations. Too many things to be bought blinking on the big radar of this small mind.
Tum chale jaaoge
to sochenge
Humne kya khoya
humne kya paaya
Tumko dekha
to yeh khayal aaya
Zindagi dhoop
tum ghana chaya....
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Who am I ?
When I chose a course titled "Leadership Vision Meaning and Reality", I expected it to be 80% gaseous. I wasn't disappointed! The upside, however, was that I ended up buying a lot of books that I want to read but which I wouldn't otherwise have bought. Books like 'The Art of War', 'Things Fall Apart' and so on. In umpteen sessions of that course, the same questions emerged, 'Who Am I' being one of the most popular ones.
In that stream of thought, I wonder about myself. What makes me the way I am? Now that could be answered using as many words as there are water drops in Indian Ocean. Or hair in Laloo's ears. But I will venture forth and complete an unfinished task. The task of recounting some of my most memorable experiences at IIMA.
*Working late into the night, brain storming about some case. Especially the cases in Operations Management which required more brains to solve than it is physically possible to fit inside the human skull. We worked as group of five or six, and it was a team experience I can never forget in my life.
*The post-lunch blitzkreig. Announced in the form of a short quiz. Notice put up on the PGP notice board. I bet IIMA recruits some very fine people into its PGP office. People who are smart enough to fox 250+ bright minds of this country with as little as a 15 minute quiz. Frequently, the quiz notice came as a complete surprise. Sometimes the quiz itelf was a surprise, sometimes the subject of quiz was a surprise. Imagine waking up one fine morning and learning that you belong to the royal clan of Macau and you are heir to a few million dollars. Oops, I almost fainted at the thought. The quiz experience was similar.
*Strolling around in the campus, with something buzzing inside your head. It pacified all types of worries - acidity in stomach from overeating on a friends treat, crush on a batchmate that you insist is more than just a passing emotion, thoughts about career in a saabun-bechne wali company etc etc. On those walks, we discovered a shady lamp which switched off whenever a lady passed by it, the reclusive corner in the garden, queer things about faculty homes and their sleeping habits.
*Giving gifts. Now I love giving gifts. No. Actually I love seeing the expression in people's eyes when they get an unexpected gift. And it doesn't matter what you give. A swatch watch or a moco choco. The feeling of those trembling limbs when you show them the gift or the glitter in their eyes. I am convinced that these are worth much more than the bucks I spent on them.
*The various trips with our 'cool-gang'. I went to Diu, Kashid and finally Goa. All of these were immensely enriching experiences. Bonds were made or strengthened, water was splashed and some really beautiful photos were clicked.
*Sleeping in the MIPM class. It was in this class that I had my deepest sleep of the day.
*The placement process. For me personally, it has been a long and deep drawn process. I can look back at it with no regrets. And somehow I end up seeing a divine conspiracy. That remains to be seen though. Meanwhile, the IIMs are undergoing the 'cricket' phenomenon. The frenzy and unrealistic notions that are levied on our cricketing stars are also attached to IIMs. A friend almost gave me a ransom call, thinking since I am an IIMA alumnus, I must have landed a crore+ salary. When I told him the real figure, he offered 50% of his own salary to me!
Jokes apart, notions built around IIMs are seriously inflated. To quote the press release from IIMA, the average domestic salary was Rs 14 lac per annum. Period.
Sometimes I feel like an excited electron oscillating between various quantum levels. And Strato has often been at the receiving end of this almost-cosmic energy. Right now however is the time for me to relax. And for Strato to recuperate.
I recently bought my first pair of sunglasses. The last I bought cost me Rs 35, so it took me a lot of convincing to spend on a pair of Fasttracks. I had these on during the entire Goa trip, but luckily they are not from the Fall collection. So ladies around there weren't swooning and falling like they show in that ad. I am seedha sadha, sadhu sanyasi ki category ka ladka as you all must know by now.
Amongst other new things, I also drove a Honda Activa for the first time. With Strato sitting behind me, I was enjoying the ride as she almost screamed with fear everytime any vehicle with more than 2 wheels passed by. A recommended experience for everyone - in the driver's seat, to be sure.
Dekha ek khwab to yeh silsile hue
Door tak nigaah mein hain gul khile hue....
In that stream of thought, I wonder about myself. What makes me the way I am? Now that could be answered using as many words as there are water drops in Indian Ocean. Or hair in Laloo's ears. But I will venture forth and complete an unfinished task. The task of recounting some of my most memorable experiences at IIMA.
*Working late into the night, brain storming about some case. Especially the cases in Operations Management which required more brains to solve than it is physically possible to fit inside the human skull. We worked as group of five or six, and it was a team experience I can never forget in my life.
*The post-lunch blitzkreig. Announced in the form of a short quiz. Notice put up on the PGP notice board. I bet IIMA recruits some very fine people into its PGP office. People who are smart enough to fox 250+ bright minds of this country with as little as a 15 minute quiz. Frequently, the quiz notice came as a complete surprise. Sometimes the quiz itelf was a surprise, sometimes the subject of quiz was a surprise. Imagine waking up one fine morning and learning that you belong to the royal clan of Macau and you are heir to a few million dollars. Oops, I almost fainted at the thought. The quiz experience was similar.
*Strolling around in the campus, with something buzzing inside your head. It pacified all types of worries - acidity in stomach from overeating on a friends treat, crush on a batchmate that you insist is more than just a passing emotion, thoughts about career in a saabun-bechne wali company etc etc. On those walks, we discovered a shady lamp which switched off whenever a lady passed by it, the reclusive corner in the garden, queer things about faculty homes and their sleeping habits.
*Giving gifts. Now I love giving gifts. No. Actually I love seeing the expression in people's eyes when they get an unexpected gift. And it doesn't matter what you give. A swatch watch or a moco choco. The feeling of those trembling limbs when you show them the gift or the glitter in their eyes. I am convinced that these are worth much more than the bucks I spent on them.
*The various trips with our 'cool-gang'. I went to Diu, Kashid and finally Goa. All of these were immensely enriching experiences. Bonds were made or strengthened, water was splashed and some really beautiful photos were clicked.
*Sleeping in the MIPM class. It was in this class that I had my deepest sleep of the day.
*The placement process. For me personally, it has been a long and deep drawn process. I can look back at it with no regrets. And somehow I end up seeing a divine conspiracy. That remains to be seen though. Meanwhile, the IIMs are undergoing the 'cricket' phenomenon. The frenzy and unrealistic notions that are levied on our cricketing stars are also attached to IIMs. A friend almost gave me a ransom call, thinking since I am an IIMA alumnus, I must have landed a crore+ salary. When I told him the real figure, he offered 50% of his own salary to me!
Jokes apart, notions built around IIMs are seriously inflated. To quote the press release from IIMA, the average domestic salary was Rs 14 lac per annum. Period.
Sometimes I feel like an excited electron oscillating between various quantum levels. And Strato has often been at the receiving end of this almost-cosmic energy. Right now however is the time for me to relax. And for Strato to recuperate.
I recently bought my first pair of sunglasses. The last I bought cost me Rs 35, so it took me a lot of convincing to spend on a pair of Fasttracks. I had these on during the entire Goa trip, but luckily they are not from the Fall collection. So ladies around there weren't swooning and falling like they show in that ad. I am seedha sadha, sadhu sanyasi ki category ka ladka as you all must know by now.
Amongst other new things, I also drove a Honda Activa for the first time. With Strato sitting behind me, I was enjoying the ride as she almost screamed with fear everytime any vehicle with more than 2 wheels passed by. A recommended experience for everyone - in the driver's seat, to be sure.
Dekha ek khwab to yeh silsile hue
Door tak nigaah mein hain gul khile hue....
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