China at the helm

I have always had a very biased opinion about the orientals, mainly the Chinese and the Japanese, with respect to their beauty. I felt that they have incorrigible looks. How can someone look beautiful with punctured noses and invisible eyes??

But it looks I am wrong. Miss China is Miss World now. I am unable to believe. I still feel there are hundreds of girls I have seen on the roads of India who have much better chances of winning this contest as compared to this girl (I am sorry, I cant pronounce her name. I am not trying it too). Forget about the Indian girls, they are high headed and chauvinistic, (what else do you expect from a blogger who has been ignored by many girls in his school/college life?) even the first and the second runners up seemed to be much better than the winner. (Awesome features you know – judges should have been blindfolded to have ignored them. Any one with knowledge of vacancies as make-up man in Miss World pageants please let me know)

Jokes apart, I am extremely surprised as to how some illusions form into our mind about something that they completely make one biased. I had a feeling these people don’t look good and carried on throughout. When I realize that the truth could be otherwise, I am apprehensive of my ability to judge/perceive. Lesson: Don’t take anything for granted, don’t ignore any body or any body’s abilities.

All said and done, for all the hungama, I am sure about one thing – a boom in the Chinese fashion market. Many cosmetic companies should be waiting for this opportunity. They will thrive in the new-found Chinese appetite for beauty and fashion, something that happened in India after Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen.

Hmm....

I have always tried to achieve perfection in whatever I do. But, alas… miserably failed most of the times. In the guise of attaining perfection, one ends up coming around in vicious circles and I have not been an exception to this.

'Sometimes, it is better to be 80% right, revisit it again and see if we are in the right direction and if so, then proceed towards the balance 20% rather than trying and completing the whole 100% only to realize that we should have worked in a different direction altogether. After all, in most cases, it is easy to complete the first 80%, what is difficult is reaching the last mile.'

‘It is better to be approximately right, rather than precisely wrong’

The above realizations are thanks to some interactions with my Exec. Director in the recent past.

Really worth pondering over….

Tax them like crazy

I was recently reading an article on this low cost car and the thoughts are worth pondering over. I am sure the Tatas and Bajajs will be successful in bringing out a cost effective car that will make this prestigious mode of transport more affordable to the ever increasing middle class population. It will open a lots of business opportunities to the auto ancillary sector and will have a huge impact on the way we live.

All are fine, but at what cost?? Are we prepared to handle this in terms of infrastructure, petroleum availability and other connected loads?? With the existing traffic already choking most of the Indian roads, where is the space for all these cars to ply?? Will they fly?? Where is the fuel?? What will be the impact on our economy on multiplying our dependence on oil imports?? What will happen to our air quality??

There is a limit to imitating west. In fact, as Thomas Friedman wrote in one of his articles, we should not imitate his country which has become a harbinger of pollution and is incurring billions on health care. We should first build roads, build flyovers, improve the public transport system, and make it more efficient so as to dissuade people from using their own vehicles.

Government should tax such low cost vehicles like crazy. Being employed in the automotive industry, I shouldn’t be suggesting this, but if the future is to be at least at today’s level, if not better, there is no option. The Government should use the tax solely to improve infrastructure and promote fuel efficient techniques. There is already lot of infrastructure tax money available with the Government. This tax shouldn’t go that way. It has to be vested with some Infrastructure Corporation, headed by eminent persons from the Government and Industry, should be free of political interferences and should finish the projects taken in a time bound manner. Based on the level of infrastructure growth, tax can be brought down. Government cannot abdicate its responsibility and forget the infrastructural needs of a growing economy.

What if...??

Developments in the medical world are simply astonishing. So many advanced technologies and equipments have made it possible to scan each and every part of the body inside out and understand the problems. Not only diagnosis, but these equipments also end up helping in the ultimate cure of the disease. Operations are done without piercing the body. Patients can walk home freely after the operation, in a span of few days. No bed rest, no hospitalization…. One can soon expect cure for the dreaded Cancer and AIDS.

Not only this, even other forms of medicine like Homoeopathy, Siddha and Ayurveda are doing a great service to the mankind by their sheer efficacy.

It’s a different matter that as we advance in such medical technologies, the numbers and kinds of diseases also keep increasing. We are increasingly bonded by our own lavish lifestyles. Eyesight problems, back pains, spinal cord issues, mental tension, BP, Cholesterol, Diabetes.. the list is endless…

It looks like a mega race. On one hand, we end up discovering more medicines to cure our diseases, and on the other hand, we end up getting afflicted to more diseases to make use of these medicines. Only time will tell who is going to be the winner.

All said and done, we would have definitely saved you if only you had fallen ill now, rather than 15 years earlier, Appa.

Sorry....

I am taking all arable lands away, converting them into plots and making money. Just don’t care about what you will do for your survival.

I am drying out the potable water resources and don’t think long term while planning my water usage.

I pollute the environment in the best possible way I can. Automobiles, industries, coal, petroleum et al.

I release all possible hazardous chemicals into the land, unconcerned about your living conditions.

I let my ego do the talking when it comes to relationship with other countries, when it comes to respecting other religions, when it comes to listening to sensible advises. I am making your era more war prone.

I refuse to understand climate change, completely selfish when it comes to global warming and its repercussions, the glaciers melting, cities submerging….

I am just unconcerned about excessive urbanization, the loss of forest cover, the pollution of rivers, the death of farmers…..

I indulge in all possible bad habits and take excess work load, intoxicated by the hefty salaries I get, forget about my health and the resultant impact on my near and dear…

I am eating into your share of the earth. I am making your life more unstable. I genetically pass on to you more diseases than what my parents have passed on to me. I am living in the glee of the present, knowing well that I am depriving you of a decent life.

I am extremely sorry my dear successor generations…. I am still trying my best, talk a lot about greenhouse emissions nowadays, give Nobel Prize to activists working on the area, working on rain water harvesting…. Please behold…

'Autograph'

I refused to beat her with a stick for talking in class. I was in 3rd standard then and was the class leader. I was more generous with others when it comes to corporal punishment in class, but not with her. My friends used to taunt me at this, but I never cared. Get lost you morons, you don’t understand my feelings.

That was village life. Then my life path changed, I came to city, joined English medium school. Now I met her. She was junior to me. I was the only one in my class to have taken up Hindi, and so was she. This was enough for my impish friends to take me on. And I gave in. I thought I liked her. She never even looked at me. She was a mallu. She started haunting me in my dreams; I felt I got my girl. And all these when I have not even dared to look at her face, forget about talking to her. After all, it was the beginning of my youth. I was in my 12th standard. Even before I could muster all the courage to talk to her, my exams got over. I had left the school, and then joined work and my life changed again.

Now work life, quite a hectic one. And now, she visited my house for a function. She was the daughter of one of my distant relatives. I now again felt I have got my girl. Alas, there is a talk of such a thing from their side too?? How lucky I am? I started dreaming as of we had been seeing each other for months and the families have come together without any issues. All these ended in a day. She went back, there were some technical hassles in our coming together and things became normal once again.

Then came Bombay college life. One of my friend’s girlfriend told me that her classmate is a tam bram and I would be lucky to have her. And again he woke up in me – I decided that this time, I am gonna have it. Who knows, what you did not get in Chennai could be obtained in Bombay. After all, fate is never known. I scrapped her in Orkut, introducing myself, wishing to be her friend, bla bla bla. Nothing happened, I was in orkut almost round the clock waiting for her reply, which was not to come. I came to know after a few weeks that she already has a boy friend. This is precisely the reason I hate Bombay - every girl is committed there, right from childhood.

Now I am back in Chennai, started working again. My folks have found a girl for me, we are getting married in a few months. I don’t think about any of the above characters anymore. I have FINALLY got my girl. My life of infatuations is over. I am back into reality. I have clearly realized that all these school life thoughts help one in becoming happier for the moment. When I recollect these thoughts after so many years, I feel surprised about my weakness to fall into the trap of infatuations. Not once, but multiple times.

All said and done, it is not without reason that Cheran’s ‘Autograph’ won the best movie providing wholesome entertainment. After all, most of us connect to it.

Weekend goof-ups

It was an interesting weekend. Mr.Karunanidhi’s ability to perform somersaults even at 84 needs to be appreciated

‘There is no proof that some one like Rama existed - The question of demolishing Ramar Sethu does not arise - Ravana is better than Rama - But Rama never existed, the issue is not about Rama but about the Sethu Project - Lets not drag Rama into the picture - Why drag poor Rama into these controversies, let him be left alone - There is no proof that Rama existed’

Did some one understand the above?? I definitely have not…

How is a strike going to help things?? Other than paralyzing the lives of crores of people and depriving millions of their livelihood. Will closing of shops help faster dredging?

One of my colleagues had an apt point – If Rama is a myth and hence Ramar Sethu can be demolished, then even Silappadikaram ( A Tamil Classic) is also a myth. Why make hue and cry when Kannagi (one of the central characters) statue is removed from the beach??

Secondly, if strike is a solution to the problem, why did not Kalaignar TV (patronized by Mr.Karunanidhi’s DMK) go off air on the day of the strike?? Does it mean its employees can come to work on that day, relay normal programmes, earn crores of revenue thru’ advertisements and sponsorships but others have to suffer??

I don’t think people can get away with these mediocre mindsets now as they did 2 or 3 decades back. Literacy levels have gone up and people will not be mesmerized by emotional blackmails.

Enjoying Moments

What an awesome match it was… A fitting finale to the enthralling competitive event. Both India and Pakistan deserve accolades for the way they have come back after the humiliating loss in the 50 over world cup.

Dhoni’s men have shown that they will not buckle under pressure. I really enjoyed the match till the last moment. It would have been a complete show if only some team members had shown some carefulness while holding the Tricolor after their victory.

123.... Never ending....

There are a lot of articles on this 123 agreement, its pros and cons and ifs and buts and then and there’s and whys and why not’s. But one thing is clear - I don’t understand ABC of it. The discussions are too technical for me to have a clue on what is happening. My only wish – Government doesn’t consider it as an affront on its ego to study what its critics are saying. After all, most of the critics are no-nonsense guys who have extreme knowledge on the subject. They have been with the industry for decades, highly contributing to its growth. Let it handle it professionally and in an unbiased manner. After all, nuclear energy is expected to contribute much lesser than the other sources.

'You'

You opened up this world for me.
You have undergone so many hardships for my sake.
You lost peace when I didn’t turn up from office on time.
You have protected me from lots of difficulties by taking them upon yourself.
You have sown the seeds of my growth.
You have given me my most precious asset, my education.
You taught me honesty and integrity.
You taught me the nuances of life.
You always ensured my preferences got prioritized over yours.

These are just a small portion of what you did for me. What am I going to do in return for you??

Thank you Mom…

Learnings

It has been a long time since I published a post - have been supposedly busy at work and with chit-chatting with fiancee. But the reason is simple, I just did not plan my time well. For all the so-called pressures, I could have easily written some 10 articles in the last 20 days. If I do a time study, I realise how much time I end up wasting in a day, (excluding work hours and the lovie-dovey part of course).

That brings me to the topic of work pressure. I am actually in a high pressure environment, where most of the times people have to be on their toes. I found it difficult initially, ( still feel so btw), but on the positive side, it gives lots of learnings. The art of prioritization is taught here. Unless you do so, you are doomed. You are fired indiscriminately, which severely affects your ego. On the other hand, on the personal front, it helps you in various areas like proper planning, communication, delegation ( this is the most difficult one I say) and above all, forces you to concentrate on the right things at the right time. I have observed that but for these mental pressures, one just doesn't prioritize and ends up delaying activities. He may be ruthless, but I like him for the fact that he follows what he preaches and helps me in my personal development. Thank you Sir...

'Nice One"

" The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work" - Harry Golden (Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle)

So much for worklife...

I normally lock my laptop at office after working hours. Sometimes when I have some work or when I hadn’t checked my mails properly in office, I take it home. Yesterday was one of those days.

It was then that I read an article in ‘The Hindu’ (published originally in Guardian Newspapers) about the addiction due to devices like blackberry. It is very well written and clearly highlights the negative impact of technology in our life. Thomas Friedman mentions this as ‘The age of interruption’, be it thru’ mails, cell phone calls or blackberry messages. We are gradually losing our privacy. We are getting addicted to technology and end up screwing our personal lives. The statistics given about Americans are shocking. 83% check mails on vacation, 60% check messages while on bed and worse, 37% reply to messages while driving.

Only after reading this article did I remember certain vows I had taken 3 months back after I left college. I wanted to come home on time, spend enough time with family, improve my reading habits and consequently, my language. I wanted to write more in my weblog. But now I realize how far I have gone away from my vows. I haven’t touched by blog for over 2 weeks now. I don’t even read newspapers regularly, haven’t even seen the cover of the book I bought some 2 months back.

Not all these can be blamed on technology; I have other reasons to get distracted. But I have to admit that after work, I get too tired to be able to concentrate on my other itineraries. Prioritization is the need of the hour.

But I hope I will improve now on… – while I brought the laptop home to read my mails, after reading the article, I ended up writing this blog :)

Why?

Why is life so chaotic?? There is no method in the madness. Human beings make simpler things more complicated and in the process of resolving the complications, end up screwing everything. Perfection is never there. Life is ad-hoc.........

But why am I sounding so negative?? Why can't I see the positives?? Why are simpler things looking complicated to me??

???????

Sad day

Today is 62nd anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombings, that killed lacs and indirectly affected many more. My prayers are with thousands of affected innocent civilians, who are still suffering as a result.

I have no guts to even see the pictures of the devastation. That this sort of an attack is carried out in a so-called developed world is unimaginable. We are developing technologically, but our mindset is just growing backwards. We behave as of we have nothing called sixth sense. We are just like any other animal - no, certainly much worser.

Even after seeing the extent of devastation, another bomb was dropped at Nagasaki. And the cruelty just did not end there, it is still continuing in one form or the other in other parts of the world, without an iota of remorse.

Where are we heading??

Lessons

I saw him today, after a long time. I first saw him may be more than a decade back. I was in 10th standard then and a regular traveler in suburban trains.

He used to sell pop corns. He is handicapped, no right hand. With the handicap, he used to run around the platform and compartments, trying to sell his pop corn, which he sold for 50 paise apiece.

Now he sells water packets, costing 1 rupee each. He hasn’t changed. The same level of enthusiasm, running around… Of the 15 minutes I was observing him, he was hardly idle for a second.

Despite being a handicapped, he chooses to earn his living like any other person, there was no sign of weariness on his face, no losing of patience when no one in the bus-stand bought what he sold. He kept on trying, hoping he will finish his quota and make his ends meet.

A thing or two to learn.

Good One

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live"

- Henry David Thoreau

(Courtesy: Deccan Chronicle)

Next week, by this time we will have a new President. It is more or less sure now that its gonna be 'Rashtrapatni'.

Now on, according to our politicians, all problems facing the women will be solved at one go. They will be at par with men in all the areas. Thousands of women destitutes who suffer everyday will now be let free by their tormentors because the country has a women president.

I dont intend to demean Ms.Patil or women hood here. One would have really appreciated if a woman was nominated in the initial stages after consensus. It is not as if the 'Super woman' or her protégés in the Government did not know of the existence of a woman called Pratibha Patil. In fact, it is a slur on Ms.Patil’s face that she was brought in at the last stage as a face saving for the ruling elite. It is definitely not out of respect for women that any of these ‘Saviors of Women’ have brought her in. Just opportunism.

The other matter is that for the first time, we are going to have a President against whom so many allegations are raised and who is not able to satisfactorily justify her point of view. And from next week, she will be under Presidential immunity. Is there no other non-controversial woman, if only the motive of our rulers is to bring in equality of sexes??

I feel a Karan Singh or a Gopalakrishna Gandhi would have made a good President, if the ruling combine did not want to go with the current Vice-president.

Whatever it is, the ‘Super woman’ is gonna have a nice time in the case of a hung Parliament in 2009. Long live democracy!! Jai Womanhood!!

"Wonder'ful

I was chatting with one of my colleagues about the recently announced seven wonders. I hadn’t applied my mind into the topic till then. But the points he mentioned were quite logical.

Taj Mahal was built a few centuries back. I haven’t seen it, so cannot comment on its eligibility for being considered for this poll. But don’t we have any other wonder better than Taj Mahal? We have built temples thousands of years back on hill tops when there were not even proper approach roads. Many heavy structures were built with single rocks with unbeatable architectural excellence. They contained beautiful paintings, awesome sculptures and impeccable construction methodologies were used. Vaishnodevi, Amarnath Cave, Ajanta and Ellora Caves are few examples.

I am sure there are many more such structures (not only temples) which could have at least been shortlisted for these polls. At the end of the day, mobile phones and internet have made wonders. May be we had become too emotional with one structure that we did not go beyond it.

Weekend visit

Last weekend, I was on a mini pilgrimage to various temples in and around Kumbakonam, a temple town some 250 kms from Madras. It is an awesome place, to say the least. I have never seen a place which is surrounded by so many temples (and covers almost all Gods worshipped in Hinduism:)). The serenity of the place I am sure can be attributed to these temples.

But sadly, most of these temples are commercialized and many a time, leaves distaste in the minds of the pilgrims. Not to mention the high handedness of some people who think they are above others when it comes to having a closer darshan of the Lord (Sadly, I was part of one of such teams and I just couldn’t do anything about it – I have no right to criticize others :(). But the solace was the fact that in a few temples, the Archakas refused to accept money offered to them directly. Integrity still has some takers.

The visit also brought back old memories. It was in this area that I began my career. I was employed with the Indian Railways and spent around 15 months there. How can one forget his first job?? Especially, the times when he bunked work and escaped to the nearby agricultural fields to play with the kids there and have an awesome bath in the pump-set waters. The places remain unchanged, except the demographics. (I am not elaborating further on this. Secular brigade might get angry).

Along my way, one thing I observed was the real estate boom, even in semi-urban areas near Kumbakonam. Lots of construction activities and land mapping activities. But the sad part of the story is that it looks as if many fertile agricultural lands are being converted for real estate construction. It was apparent in many places. Even areas near lakes weren’t left out. I was told by my brother-in-law that this is the case in most of the places. What a sad state of affairs? Who is controlling all these constructions?? Aren’t we having a long term plan to preserve such agricultural lands? What will our future generations do for survival??

Music

Music is indeed the savior many times. One of the major contributions of my college life is inculcating in me the habit of listening to music. It also brings in some unforgettable college memories. I don’t restrict myself to Tamil songs; I now have a good collection of English and Hindi songs, which help me in warding off my boredom in the evenings when I am back home early. Its not just a medium of time pass, it gives you such a soothing effect that you tend to forget all the work or personal life pressures that you have. I somehow am not attracted towards Carnatic music. I only wish I get interested in it, for it is supposed to have much more effect in bringing in calmness to one’s mind.

Friends

It was an extremely drowsy day at office yesterday. May be it was a Monday, and I was still down with the Sunday syndrome. Whatever be the reason, I was finding it difficult to concentrate on my work.

Then came the evening. Spoke to a couple of my ex-classmates currently employed in IT companies in Pune and Bangalore. Caught hold of a lot of friends when I was online for over 2 hrs subsequently. Spoke to some more friends after dinner.

After all these interactions, my mood was completely changed. I was on cloud nine and drowsiness completely drifted away. ‘To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship’. What an apt saying….

Is Baalu listening??

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/04spec.htm

Devil is in the details

Very apt saying. I have always been sitting in AC office all through my work life. Rarely have I visited the main factory for any purpose. But in the last 3 days, I am at the shop floor throughout , trying to get into details and understand the functioning of the plant. It really makes a difference when a guy who is to be involved in controlling costs does the same sitting in an AC office and the same guy running around the areas where costs are incurred. Latter is bound to be much effective. Now I understand the importance of a proper training.

The Forgotten Promise

This is probably the tenth time that I crib about the end of my college life and beginning of my work life. But I have no option but to write what I feel. I used to play a role in the Social Responsibility Forum at my college, heading it in my second year. The purpose of this student’s cell is to work on social causes. We organized blood donation camps, workshops on RTI, Women Empowerment, AIDS and similar activities. On hindsight, I feel a lot more could have been done in the 9 odd months that we had in the second year. Academic rigor was anyways not there and there was no excuse to have conducted very little programmes. I deeply regret this part. I do not really cherish what little I did, as what I did not do still haunts me.

After writing the above paragraph, I wonder what I did on the subject after my college life ended. A big ZERO. At least in college, I managed to do a little, but after that, it was nothing. I kept on complaining about end of college life, the place I stay, the road I use, the food I eat and the work I do. Nothing else. I agree one could not have done a lot in just 2 months, but I could have at least started somewhere. I need not have done anything concrete, but could have thought about doing something. I need not have visited orphanages, but could have studied about them and afforded a simple thought on how I can contribute to them, given my constraints. I need not have sold the products of the NGOs on streets, but could have begun to study their problems and seen if I could help them offline.

There seems to be a big hiatus now. I have lost focus in the area that I thought was closer to my heart. I am worried I am losing direction. I need to introspect. Past is not the glory, it is just a beginning. I need to carry forward the little beginning I made. It is completely in my hands.

Our saviors

Really moved by the article.. Thanks to thousands of such bravehearts, I am able to sit in an AC office now without any fear of insecurity. Creating wealth is not a big job, what matters is ability to preserve it. These gentlemen are precisely doing it.

Hats off to you.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/25loc.htm

You

You have been the one encounter in my life that can never be repeated

'Mendels and Mandals'

May and June months are filled with reports of results of SSC and HSC examinations. Like a ritual, pass percentages, separately for boys and girls are published, toppers are eulogized and their interviews aired, their dreams get recorded in the editorials and then? - back to other recurring news articles on corruption, murder, rape and politics. I am not blaming the newspapers/media - after all they need to survive and have to publish what the junta likes. With an extremely short public memory, nothing much can be expected of the fourth estate too.

Oh god, I didn’t intend to discuss the drawbacks of the media here. As usual, got carried away by random thoughts. The topic here is education. The pass percentages are hovering around 80 and 90 depending upon the syllabus. Bud sadly, what is gone unreported is the fate of thousands of students, who despite scoring decent enough marks, are unable to proceed to higher education due to paucity of funds. And this is not seen just in this SSC and HSC. Dropout rates are much higher in the early school levels too. My sister is a teacher in a Govt. School in Tamilnadu. She says there are many brilliant children who have huge potential, but unable to continue their education due to financial constraints. And this phenomenon is not only prevalent in rural India, but also in many urban centers. And again, this is not specific to any particular community or religion. It is all pervasive.

There are various study reports by forums like CII, ASSOCHAM which talk of the depleting talent levels amongst the Indian youngsters. I am not fully sure whether this is right. What may be true is that the available manpower may not be fully sufficient to satisfy the fast growing needs of knowledge based organizations and manufacturing industry. But I feel there is sufficient talent pool still untapped amongst these young dropouts. It is these young minds which will fill the skill gap that is being portrayed by these institutions. Money need not be the only factor for dropouts. Students might genuinely not be able to do very well in their studies but might be good at other skills.

It is the duty of the Government to ensure that these talents are given due recognition. Reservation based on caste is not going to help in this area. In all of the above points, caste has never come into picture. It’s either economic backwardness or lack of proper guidance that is hindering the prospects of these thousands of young minds. Once economic backwardness is taken care of, irrespective of the caste, it will lead to much better results than what the Government expects through the current system of reservation. And the question arises what is the right criteria for determining economic backwardness. A difficult question indeed. But like any other complicated issue, if one has the will, this can also be tackled. Economic prosperity differs from region to region and from state to state. Government can set up an expert committee to give a detailed analysis of the same so that extra privileges can be given to the genuine needy.

Whatever step the Government is taking, the same needs to be expedited. The rural urban divide is increasing. If this continues and if talented youngsters are left out of the mainstream, it could only lead to disastrous results for the country. Already, many districts are affected by naxalism and the country cannot survive the onslaught of the restive youth. Government needs to wake up, concentrate at the primary education level rather than shedding crocodile tears for the downtrodden at the higher education level. What can be tackled at lower levels of education is unnecessarily being dumped at the higher levels in the form of reservation, resulting in low quality manpower for employment at one end and a dejected, rejected but talented lot on the other end. This can lead us nowhere. Govt. needs to come clear on its reservation policy. Populism, like gravity, is not allowing us to fly high.

I have read that Mendel’s experiments have resulted in a few important conclusions. One of them is that the inheritance of each trait is determined by factors that are passed on to descendents unchanged and that a trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation. Mandal’s experiment with our reservation policy has also lead to similar results. The benefits of reservation are passed on from one generation to another without any change, irrespective of the concept of creamy layer. The trait of economic backwardness may not be seen in an individual, but reservation can still be passed on to the next generation.

Whatever it is, this is a serious cause of concern. I am fortunate enough to have had so many opportunities on my way, which has put me at a decent level now. But this is not the case with many other talented youngsters. They need direction; they need opportunities – but without any bias.

Way to go............

It’s been over a month now. I was always worried about leaving the college life and entering the torturous professional life. I did not want it. I wanted a merry-go life, where one enjoys it to the core without worrying about the consequences. All these are passé now. I have started working, getting scores of official mails everyday, getting calls from colleagues every now and then, and above all, attending meetings intended to provide solutions for the umpteen numbers of issues that are faced on a day to day basis. I am forgetting the college life. I am getting used to this corporate culture. I need to be careful with the words I use, the way I communicate with others, the way I write mails, the way I express my feelings, the way I point out other’s mistakes and above all, the way I think. A callous attitude is not going to help anymore.

Last 30 days have been an eye opener for me. The organization is like a machine with so many complicated devices attached to it. Every device needs to function in the most efficient manner for the machine to run without any breakdown. This can be equated with people in an organization. Irrespective of how well an organization is built, if its employees do not go in tandem with what the organization professes to achieve, things could just go out of hand. Wait, I am not giving any MBA gas. I am experiencing it everyday. I am seeing how a delay of a few minutes in production or dispatch is resulting in huge losses, how a lack of understanding of systems by people results in the whole process getting screwed beyond repair, how one ill-motivated employee can just ruin the whole department. Running an organization is not simple, it is an art. In fact, I feel it is much more than that. More than managing the machines, what one needs is the tact of managing people and keeping them motivated. Once this is done, other requirements will fall in line.

Organizations are comprised of a web of activities, most of them dependent upon one another. Before working on a task, it is important that one thinks of the repercussions that it will have on other activities. This requires one to have a global view of the whole set of activities. But sadly, this doesn’t happen in most of the cases. People just finish their part of the work somehow and give a damn to other activities. They just don’t think globally. Is it human nature?? Why are things so imperfect?? Won’t the cost of being imperfect be much more than the cost of being perfect?? Where does one draw a line?

I hear a lot about the Toyota way of working, where supposedly all systems are in place. Agreed it must have been achieved over decades, but still it will throw up some light on better work practices. I should take up books on such companies and start understanding them. One thing I clearly understand, there is nothing called free lunch. Every activity involves a cost and a strenuous hard work. World is getting interlinked and much more complicated. It is not the same world that was a decade back and is going to be much more demanding by the next decade. I am going to be competing with the next generation born and brought up in a much more competitive world than I was and thus, is going to be inherently more competitive. What I have learnt is hardly sufficient to survive this onslaught. I need to be on my toes all the time, be updated on the relevant developments, shed my inhibitions and be open minded towards others views. The second half of my life is not going to be as rosy as the first half. I am eagerly awaiting it. Its time I gear up to face a much more difficult and hostile environment. No, I am not sounding negative. I just talk about the impending future and getting myself prepared for it and the need to have a positive outlook.

Cause for worry

http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/06/stories/2007060604121100.htm

A compelling article I came across. A warning to us based on Philippines experience. We cannot afford to succumb to these tactics of giant multinationals at the cost of nutrition and health. I have already come across many such articles in the Indian context too. I only hope the health departments and NGOs active in this area are on top of the situation.

'Serial Maami'

This was the name given to my mother by my erstwhile house owner maami at Sriperumpudur when we used to live there. And reason: My mother comes there on Mondays and goes back to my brother’s place on Saturdays. These TV serials which are telecast on Mondays to Fridays have been behind my mom getting the nickname. And true to her name, she meticulously used to come on Mondays, spend time with me during the weekdays and go back on Saturdays. I used to join her in my brother’s place at weekends.

This was more or less a regular feature in my over 4 years of stay in this temple town. I used to live in an Agraharam (the streets near the temple). It was an awesome place, completely silent, where one can live unperturbed by the noises of the National Highway or the factories nearby. I used to visit the sprawling Lord Adikesava Perumal Temple which was another place where one can spend time peacefully undeterred by what is happening outside. The rituals at the temple, though new to me, were much interesting. The temple also had given shelter to a lot of monkeys (I am talking about the real ones), a beautiful elephant, a horse, a camel and many birds (and mosquitoes :().

The house owner Maama was a very orthodox man. An octogenarian, he always wants to talk to someone and invariably, I will be the prey. I will find it difficult to listen, not because of what he spoke, and not because of the absence of teeth in his mouth, but because of my poor concentration, which has been (and is) haunting me. He used to tell lots of stories, about his experiences and also used to give lots of advices. If I only I had listened to him even partly, my knowledge pool would have been much better now. Anyways, it is easy to complain once some opportunity has been missed.

Now, after 2 years, I am back to the same place for my job. I am staying just opposite to the place where I lived. Maama and Maami are still there, except that Maama has become too old to even talk properly. And worse, my concentration levels have gone from bad to worse now. Who said MBA will improve soft skills?? One thing I understand is unless one has serious interest in improvising himself, no amount of teaching/advising can help him. What one Dhirubhai did without a proper education cannot be attained through high flying qualifications. One is doomed to fail if he doesn’t improve these skills. I keep sitting in office meetings thinking about my college or an SMS or a mail from a friend. It is high time I grow up and be a professional.

Back to topic, it is a completely different feeling coming back to the same town after having lived in Bombay for 2 years. I actually do not like the place. My friend says I will get used to it over a period of time thanks to my newly inculcated internet addiction. Let me see how it goes. Whatever it is, I shouldn’t be cribbing so much especially because it is a known place to me, no language barriers and I do not find a hostile environment. This is not the same with many of my friends. They are employed at far off places, much different from their home town, both culturally and linguistically. If I think of them, I am much better off. Its time one concentrates in high pay-off activities.

I have only talked about a half of the main title. The article will be incomplete without a write up on TV serials. I really can’t understand how the TV producers are managing the shows for years with the same theme. It’s either a man or a woman getting married multiple times or getting divorced multiple times or having extra marital affairs or involving in crimes incompatible with their social stature and so on. Even children and elderly people are not spared. It is depicted as if all elderly people are left to the mercy of their children and that most of their wards throw them in old age homes. The relationship between a mother-in law and a daughter-in-law are always shown as that of Tom and Jerry.

What message are these serial makers wishing to convey to the society?? They depict a degrading culture which is definitely not in tune with the Indian ethos. We are being carried away by western culture which is a definite failure if one has a closer look at its society. We Indians are much better in our way of living and these serial mongers are hell bent on imposing the western culture on us. Sadly, most of us are carried away by this f**king shit that we start living with it. We feel this is the way of life. This is really a sad result of extra-globalization in this area I would say.

Will we regain the 'lost' glory??

Recently read an article on how a University in America has an over 100 year old programme on Sanskrit studies and how few of its professors are working on translating old Sanskrit writings. It is really sad that we in India are not giving much importance to Sanskrit that it deserves. Like yoga, one feels it will be foreigners who will be making use of this better than us.

One only hopes that other ancient Indian languages like Tamil, which though not in the immediate risk of extinction, do not get the same fate after a few centuries, given the globalized world and free movement of people across the globe. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that the legacy is passed on to our future generations irrespective of which part of the world we live in.

The article can be read at http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/01arthur.htm

'Traveling' syndrome

I have rarely traveled long distances for commuting to my work. I always hated traveling without any purpose. Somehow managed to stay near the place of work (please don’t ask what useful work I did in the ‘saved’ time).

Now for the past 15 days, I am traveling for around 40 kms each direction, consuming some 3 ½ hrs in the process. It has definitely been a different experience. People get into the vehicle early in the morning around 7 and their faces already resemble convicts about to go to the gallows. So tired and uninteresting. The next second, they fall asleep as if they are deprived of sleep for days. All the jerks and trembles along the road do not seem to bother them at all. After around an hour, a sudden jerk near the main gate wakes them up and they get down from the vehicle with their faces swollen and tired. All these at 8.15 in the morning. And the story doesn’t end here. Similar experience can be had in the evening time too when people go back.

I feel it is preposterous to travel like this everyday. It inflicts a huge cost on one’s private life. He is damn tired at the end of the day and feels as if he spends a large part of time in office, which may not always be the case.

Is it going to be the order of the day?? Many more IT and manufacturing companies are coming up in locations like this which involve traveling for longer distances everyday. People just do not have any option but to travel like this. Many of these locations are in the far-flung suburbs of the city and people cannot always afford to stay near their workplace. Entertainment, proper schooling for children and other facilities are invariably not available in these places. This leaves them with lesser options. They try to console themselves by the fact that even if their office was in the city, it would have been an equally horrendous traveling experience.

All these boil down to providing adequate infrastructure. Governments have been very proactive in giving red carpet welcome for corporate investments. Unless they work overtime to improve infrastructure in these areas, it is going to be difficult for all – the employees and employers alike. Not only this, the time, health and money loss as well as pollution created by such long distance traveling are not going to help the society in any way. We are all set to become robots.

Inclusive growth??

It has been over 2 weeks since I joined back my job after a gap of 2 years. There have been lots of changes in these two years. The expansion of capacity by investing in a new plant, which was underway when I went, is over by now. This facility, along with the newly constructed automotive glass division, lies in an over 180 acre land and is massive by all standards. There is also a very big rainwater harvesting pond constructed at a huge cost and looks impressive near the entrance. I heard it attracts migratory birds during seasons.

On a whole, the place has completely changed over how it was a couple of years ago. The growth in and around this place symbolizes the India growth story. There have been huge investments by various companies in this area. The list includes giants like Nokia, Hyundai, BMW, Samsung, Dell, Asian Paints, Flextronics, Mahindra Renault, to name a few. I am pretty sure that very soon, this place will witness huge development, ushering in prosperity to thousands of people. There is also a recent report which talks about the new airport of Chennai coming here. I am eager to wait and watch whether all these developments result in inclusive growth. If not, it is bound to create unrest amongst the lower rung of the society.

On hearing these corporate names, one thinks of the recently dumped Communications minister Dayanidhi Maran. He had been an outstanding minister, bringing in lots of changes and progression in the IT and communications industry. Hats off to him. He had been instrumental in bringing most of these investments to India. People here appreciate him for diverting most of these to his home state Tamilnadu, but I differ in this. If the companies themselves chose to invest here considering better investment climate and incentives, then it is fine. But if he had tried to push these to his home state, it is not fair on his part since he represents the whole country and not just one state. If this is encouraged, every central minister will openly work partially in favor his/her home state. The Prime Minister should get involved in matters where such allegations are raised and see to it that everything is transparent.

But what can a Prime Minister do when he has no say even in choosing his ministers?? One fine day, he looses his communications minister and a replacement is announced from Chennai. And worse, the name of a new minister of state is also announced in Chennai whose credentials are highly questionable. She is the wife of a gangster who was killed in an encounter. She was given an MP post and now made a Central Minister, and that too Minister of state for Home. Long live democracy.

Change

Recently read an article which talked about the pace of change that is taking place across the globe. What was achieved in 1800 yrs was achieved in the next 100 years, and then the next 50 years and the numbers seemed coming down in descending order. That is the pace of technology and the ability of man to keep pace with the change. The article talks about changes happening in less than a year nowadays.

It is really interesting to read such articles, except that it also serves as a warning to us to keep pace with the change. It doesn’t matter any more as to what is my previous experience, what are my qualifications, how many degrees have I added to my CV etc. They are all passé. They are just for entry in an organization and may be for matrimonial. HR will meticulously file them in their record books. That’s it.

What matters is how am I able to adjust to the new environment, grasp things quickly, deliver what the management expects, talk in the terminology which it wants, predict how is tomorrow going to be and so on… The changes are going to happen earlier that I could predict. One cannot be handicapped- on practical and theoretical knowledge as well as technologically. The next generation is chasing and will fast catch up and leave one behind.

I am joining back my organization after two years. I am sure lots of changes would have occurred. I expect to see lots of new faces, lots of expectations from the management and mainly, lots of challenges from the word go. Hopefully I am able to fulfill all these expectations, and mainly, be able to achieve mental satisfaction on what I have done.

Time is the best judge. Let me wait for the verdict.

Will these change??

Went to a famous temple (SriKalahasti, 4 hrs journey from Chennai) on Sunday... awesome temple, really liked the place...

But it is really saddening to see the levels of commercialization of temples nowadays... it is money everywhere... while opinions can differ about having different entry ticket rates, there cannot be 2 opinions about people asking extra money unofficially... it should be completely prohibited... these people use the sentiments of the pilgrims to extract money which should not be allowed... because of these people, the main purpose of visiting temples stands defeated..

Various Hindu organizations complain about religious conversions and vindictive treatments meted out to Hindus… it will be better if along with these, they also concentrate on correcting the deficiencies that exist within the system which will go a long way in preserving our centuries old traditions. Too much commercialization in these things is bound to drive people away.

From Curd Rice to Pastas- Final part

And then came the eventful 2nd year. After 2 months of summer project, I was diagnosed with slip disc that was to spoil a large part of my second year. Was just there at college for a few days when one of my beloved batch mates Reshma passed away. Even before I could recover from the shock, I had to fly back home due to the horrendous times I had due to the slip disc, which also meant I would be missing college for a month. Had a really tough time then and was for the first time, concerned about my academics and future. I had taken Portfolio and Capital Markets as one of my electives and I just couldn’t afford to miss classes. Thank God, some how managed to finally clear the subject.

From then on, there really had been no major academic pressure at all. 5th and 6th trimesters normally do not mean much here, except that one has to clear the papers with reasonable attendance. With the phrase ‘reasonable attendance’ open to interpretations, we did not have much issue with the same. No more academics please.

Soon, gtalks and IP messengers had become order of the day. My nicknames started getting added at a great speed :). Many times, while chatting, I was oblivious to what was happening in the outside world, prompting many a guy to raise eyebrows. What is wrong in chatting by the way?? It had brought in too many good friends to me. It had brought in new acquaintances. I started going out for dinners and coffees, which again shocked and surprised many. Why this world is so cautious when a guy goes out with a girl?? Can’t friends go out? I have never believed in 'Harry Met Sally' concepts. All said and done, it was these same guys who had later understood me clearly and supported me many times. Hats off to them.

And my stint as head of Social Responsibility Forum at NM has brought in so many new learnings and made me realize a lot about the problems of the society. I only hope I could work more on the area.

Then came in the main event of 2 years – Placement. I had by then decided to go back to my previous company and hence was out of the placement process. I was lucky to be out of the process, given the pressure on all d guys. I could see different faces of my batch mates then, some quite and calm, some fully tensed, some always studying (unseen in the previous 2 yrs)…. It was something that tested one completely, from his knowledge to patience to perseverance to communication skills… may be I should have participated in the process…It is one of the major learning experiences in an MBA life..

Another unforgettable experience is the Goa trip. Although it was a short trip of 3 days, I had awesome fun throughout. Be it the journey itself, or the beautiful Palolem beach, or Kartik’s presence - all were extremely enjoyable. I will make it a point to visit this place again very soon.

Overall, the 2 years have ended up much better than I expected. I never regretted any of my past decisions and I have no reason to believe I will regret this 2 yr break too. I had so many learnings and got so many friends I would have otherwise never got in my lifetime. Now I will be going back to Chennai to continue my professional life. But one thing that I will take with me to my grave will be these awesome 2 years of NM life. And it will not be 'curd rice to pastas' - it will have both of them.. :)

Final Countdown

Here comes the convocation, the most awaited event for any MBA student. 2 years of hard work (????) is going to result in this much awaited MBA degree, based on which the careers of most of us hinges upon. Tomorrow onwards, all of us will go in different directions, pursue different career paths. Today will be the last day when the whole batch of 2005-07 will be seen in action, together. It gonna be interesting and emotionally challenging too. After all, nothing is permanent in this world and I am sure everyone will come to terms quickly.

Eagerly waiting for the first convocation of my life…………

From Curd Rice to Pastas - Part II

And thus life went on. Gradually, 7.35s became 8s and then 8.30s. The college presentations and projects really taught me to handle pressures (obviously it will be a pressure if one starts working in the last minute) and work with a bigger team (every member with different opinions and wavelengths). We all learned to make PPTs(Did we??). Group formations used to be too much of a fun with people vying with each other (and arguing with the professors) to select group members of their choice.

The best part was, as days went by and we began making presentations after presentations, they became a routine one that we would prepare on any topic the previous day (or the same day) and submit some report which would look like a professionally made one. Thanks to Mr.Google and thousands of unknown saviors who upload their various projects on the net, there was no dearth of information on any subject. Any topic in the world, reports/ppts can be made in a day (maximum).

This is just one side of the coin. I am not trying to say that all project reports are made like this. I have come across various projects (few of mine included) where the group members (or a few of them) have taken enormous pains to go into details, visit organizations personally and make it a really professionally made one. When such hard-worked projects are appreciated by the other students and professors, the happiness that brings can be the best experience one can get in an MBA life. CGPAs not always matter. They are highly subjective and discriminatory.

Enough of boring. Coming back to the topic, I got introduced to chatting (Yahoo messenger) by one of my friends. This was when I came to realize how addictive chat can become (even though the addiction levels depend on the gender of the person chatting with you :)). I remember rushing back from classes, even without waiting for friends at college, to chat on yahoo messenger. It was an interesting phase I admit.

Another event in my first year used to be participating in various inter-college paper writing competitions. One of my papers (along with a friend) got selected for IIM Indore competition. Then on, competitions became a craze. After the IIM Ahmedabad event, where out team won 2nd prize in a simulation event defeating top teams, the craze had gone beyond its limits. Sleeping timings got reduced, thanks to these competitions and the yahoo messengers. In between, there were quite a lot of academics too. It was this period, mainly the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, when I really felt under pressure. Despite all these, managed to increase the time I spent with my friends here as well as watched lots of movies (which I never used to watch when I was working). Whenever I went to college parties, made it a point to mingle with everyone and more than that, DAAAANCCCCCE.

Overall, first year was a mixed bag. I tried to change from a (supposedly) geeky reserved naïve guy to someone who can also be active in the social circles. I am not sure whether I ended up being perceived that way by the end of first year. But it was an eventful one year which brought in new perspectives.

Then came an even more eventful second year…. I will write about it shortly in Part 3 (promise promise... it will be the last one in the series :))

Rebuilding of an University

Just read an article about the Bihar Govt's plant to rebuild one of the ancient Universities of the world, the Nalanda University. The University, which was set up as early as 5th Century was in existence till 12th Century before being destroyed by invaders. In fact, it is a news to me that it was destroyed twice, rebulit again before being finally destroyed. It attracted students and scholars from across the world and was considered one of the best places in the world for education.

Back then, India was one of the major powers of the world. Sadly, these invasions have taken away lots of treasures from us, this University being one of them. The article talks in detail about Bihar Govt's plans about rebuilding of the institution and making it a professional one. Hopefully, all these plans will eventually get executed as envisaged and we get back the glory of the past.

This also shows how famous and prosperous ancient Bihar was. Sadly, due to a combination of various factors, it had completely lost everything and is mired in corruption and inefficiencies. One only hopes that the state works towards betterment and prosperity and attain its true potential which is still vastly unexplored.

The article can be read at http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/24sl1.htm

From Curd Rice to Pastas (or Amrita Rao to Rakhi Sawant??) – Part 1

Just feel as if I joined NMIMS yesterday. The trip from airport to the institute is still in my mind, where I took half an hour in an auto searching for the hostel which was just near the college. I wasn’t still sure whether I had taken a right decision of leaving my job and joining NM. Even my MD was asking me about the appropriateness of the decision. Somehow had an inner feeling that I should take up this, so as usual, went by my gut feeling. Moreover, it was about to be the first college life in my 26 yrs of existence. And would be the last chance too.

Initially, took some time to adjust to the new environment. For someone who had been born and brought up in the conservative city of Chennai, it was a kind of cultural shock. Shit, what are these gals wearing? How come they wear such clothes (if at all they were wearing some) and roam on the streets so freely?? What are their parents doing?? While I don’t claim to have avoided looking at them (resulting in frequent neck sprains :)), the shock was still there.

Then came the class room sessions. I still remember the ice breaker session wherein when Kartik introduced me, on hearing my experience details, people would’ve thought I am over 30 years old. With a moustache and a thilak, they would have probably thought what is this geeky oldie doing here… without knowing that the real face will be revealed in a few months time :)

My main purpose of MBA was not just the degree, it had more to do with trying to come out of d shell that I felt I was in. I wanted to have a college life, mingle with more people, try to understand this world, be a smart and brave communicator, blah blah blah....(balance GAS in my exam answer papers). What best way to do all these than a short stint at a city like Bombay n moreover, at a place near Mithibhai??

And thus, my sojourn at Bombay started. The moustache disappeared on the third working day. Hair style would have definitely changed but for this rigid hair which was never listening to what I was saying… It was thinking as if it was still in Chennai. I had to continue with the same for fear of becoming bald. But what is the use of changing/trying to change the physical appearances?? The mental attitude was still the same. Same Sriraman remained, who once used to go to 5 star hotels and have curd rice and come back. The trend continued at college parties too. Anything other than Indian food (Chapati, sabji included now) was considered a taboo. ‘Oh shit, how are these guys eating these Chinese noodles and Manchoorians.. Should have been man-eating monsters in their previous birth’ was the thought process in my mind.

Classes were going on as usual. I will normally be the first one to get up for classes (excluding Dr.Roshan). For a 9 o clock class, I would have been the only MBA student in the world (again Roshan not included) who gets up at 7.35 every day. So pathetic I was then. I used to be one of the first ones to be in class. Which idiot will be on time for a 9 o clock Dhondy’s class other than me? (and here Roshan is included :)). And thus my MBA life started.

One thing needs to be mentioned here, I was never confident of my communication skills. And my speed at whatever I do (except eating) was being a trouble, especially in my communication. This was one of the areas where I wanted to see a change in myself in the 2 yrs. Seema Khanwilkar’s communication skill classes clubbed with innumerable presentations in the classes did help me though in improvising in this area, albeit a lot more to be done on a continuous basis. Certain traits are born, they cannot be altogether abandoned. Let me see how it goes.

Its time I sleep, rest later in Part 2…

The unwanted

Anger…... What to do to control it?? They say anger is one of d worst sins one can commit. There have been various suggestions and articles on how to control anger. But why is it that I am not able to practice any one of them?? The easiest one I suppose is to count 1 to 10 when one gets angered, so that the intensity of the same will be reduced by the time 10 arrives on the scene. How easy it is to advise this?

I always remember the rule after the damage is done. Sadly, in my case, the damage is too severe to rectify it later. The kinds of words that emerge out of my mouth are even surprising me. When did I even think of those words earlier?? Where did they hide all these days and come out exactly at the time they shouldn’t have?? Is my inner self so corrupted that its not even allowin me to realize that my words could seal my fate anytime? Is there any solution? Meditation?? Silence?? Prayers?? Shlokas?? Help pls..

A speech

The recent speech by Mr.Rahul Gandhi about his family's role in creation of Bangladesh smacks of his immaturity and lack of knowledge on the subject. Agreed, it was the courageous Indira Gandhi who took the decision of sending army to help the cause, but to take sole credit for the same is reprehensible. He has completely forgotten the role played by the East Pakistanis against the oppression by their western counterparts. He talks as if it was India which had preplanned the matter completely against the wishes of East Pakistanis. This undermines the role of East Pakistanis as well as against the official stand of the Government that it is the result of internal raising that created Bangladesh.

The so-called future of India (Courtesy: Dr.Manmohan Singh) needs to be cautious before such utterances. This is adding fuel to the fire. There is already a section of the Pakistani society which is vying to take revenge against India for its role in creation of Bangladesh. And Mr. Rahul is giving them more ammunition and troubling the already fragile peace process.

And he just has mentioned about the creation of Bangladesh. He chose not to talk about the aftermath of the same. For years, both the Central Government and various State Govt's have failed to find a solution to the refugee problem from Bangladesh. Various reports put the number of immigrants to millions of numbers, which is a serious security threat to the country. This has the danger of changing the demographics of that part of the country to India's disadvantage.

One only hopes that such people who want to play major roles at the national and international level think of the consequences before they open their mouth.

Those 15 days

Back to blogging after a long time :). Thanks to my laziness... nywz..

College life is coming to an end.. i ll write abt d experiences of d last 2 yrs later.... for now, lemme write abt my sojourn at Belapur for a training (SMTP of ACS) for 15 days... initially, was so pissed off when i realized that this training is compulsory for my job... wat a way to end a college life? travel from Andheri to Belapur everyday, n that too, in a bombay suburban train.. ?? i thot i ll be dead at d end of 15 days, unable to bear d hectic schedules at d training n d nasty train journey....

alas?... it turned out to be oderwise... d distance was still d same... d schedules were still d same.... but tiredness was never d same.... there was a gang of arnd 25 which attended d same training.. wat else does one need than having 25 companions, all young n energetic (like him :) ).. d whole compartment was in jubilation whenever this gang entered... antaksharis, dances, jokes, n wat not?? One started feeling as if Belapur is d next stop to Andheri... n yeh, d 15 day association has also resulted in a new couple :) . .

Not only d train journey, even d classes were interesting.. meaningful lectures were arranged by d institute n of course, d breaks were reserved for d andheri gang to get back to action again.... n this project presentation in between really helped me realize d dynamics of working in a team of 10 ppl... i had worked wid groups earlier too, but never in such a big group... was an enriching experience though...

overall, i never realised that 15 days were over so fast... n then comes d separation from ur pals of 15 days... felt really sad although i m used to these separations now.... we all promised to be in touch thru' yahoo groups n orkut... lemme see where it takes us... how can i forget the group that had conferred me d 'Mr.SMTP' award? :)

Finally i realised one thing - Never crib abt anything. All is well that ends well and everything will eventually end well.

Mystery

One of my juniors Aditya Patel passed away unexpectedly a few days back. It is shocking that one dies at such an early age... i cant imagine d plight of his parents... i pray that they r able to come out of d trauma at d earliest...

I have not interacted wid him but have seen him many times. Always had a smile on his face n I heard he was also very jovial n fun-loving. Its really sad that he is no more.. no amount of consolation will help his close freinds get out of this tragedy for some time to come..

Such incidences bring to d fore d reality of life - nothing is permanent in this world n too much of affection on anything will only lead to disappointments when something goes wrong. But still we all continue as usual after a few days and get trapped in this vicious circle. May be that is how we are meant to be..

Placement season

It is placement season and I can sense the pressure on all the faces. Fortunately for me, I am out of the process since I will be going back to my previous company. One way this can seem to be a fortunate one, but I am also not sure whether this really means loss of my competitive spirit. Only time will tell the correctness of the decision.

Coming back to others, I am sure everyone will get placed at the earliest time since the kinds of companies that come are excellent and numbers seem to more than add up. At an individual level, what matters is maintaining one's cool irrespective of the results of a few processes. After all, not every one can be picked up by the first company on campus. Students will face the real test of their perseverance and confidence in these couple of days.

The week ahead is poised to be more interesting as I will find my friends getting placed in various companies and be prepared for a corporate life in few months down the line.

One thing is clear, placement is not an end to an MBA education, it is part of the MBA programme, since it tests all the characteristics of a good manager. It is after all handling pressures, tensions, surprises, disappointments at one go.

India Russia

It is really apt that Mr.Putin has been invited as chief guest for republic day parade. Despite having been so close for so many decades with the erstwhile Soviet Union, we have really lost some of such closeness in the 1990s when Soviet Union was in political shambles and we were in economic shambles. I read a few articles in rediff.com yesterday about the Indo-Russian partnerships and relationships for years. For so many years, the country has been a staunch supporter of India in various forums and it is sad that the relationship was at its low for almost a decade after USSR collapse, thanks mainly to Boris Yeltsin.

Thankfully, under Putin, the relationship was renewed and looks all set to blossom. There might be a lot of differences between the Russian political system and ours, but all said and done, it has been one of our closest allies and we have done the right thing by taking steps to go closer to them. This is not to say that we should keep away from US, but it is always better to play an equitable game rather than ally with one or the other of the major powers. It is time we increase our trade relationship with Russia since it seems to be a concerning factor. It is also said that getting a Russian Visa is very difficult. The Governments have to sort out these issues so that we can have a relationship that can be mutually beneficial and progressive.

This Republic day invite is a step in the right direction.