Break!

I have been snoozing away to glory for the past two days. The last term was very taxing, physically, more than mentally. Non stop sessions with the study group, assignments, projects, and then the exams have surely left me exhausted as I try to catch up with my lost sleep.

Term 3 at ISB is the most exhausting term. Though many might not agree with me, if you are a CA, it is a lil easy as you have to fin courses. But CA's beware, and don't get complacent. It's not going to be easy. First of all, being a CA means your group is going to look up to you and you will find this the biggest challenge. Then, the corp fin course ain't easy. It is infact the best subject I have studies at ISB. The book, Demerzo, was really good and then our instructor Bhagwan was adorable. Though the non fin guys love him, I feel that he skimmed through some important concepts. But overall the pedagogy is awesome out here. I find that you will be pleasantly surprised to note that even the courses in one term gt linked somehow and you are able to appreciate an issue better. They say, term 4 onwards, the work load isn't going to be as much. Let's hope!!!

Last week was pretty disturbing for me personally. I am from Hyderabad and the blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park came as rude wake up calls. Hyderabad has always bee a peaceful city. I don't remember so much chaos and fear even during the 1993 riots. Gokul is a place frequented by students and I can still remember those days when I would go there to enjoy the wonderful chat with my friends.

Anyways life moves on. Term 4, I wait for you.

....and the dust settles

It's 57 days into the PGPM programme at ISB. The initial rush and chaos seems to be settling down.. Seems atleast! Another 300 odd days to go... and I do feel low at times that it is going to get over all too soon.

With every passing day, my admiration for my peers only increases. In one word it is a like looking into one of those kaliedoscopes during my child hood.. Different colours, each distinct and adding to the splendour of the rest.

The 1st terms are done and over with.. and term 2 starts coming monday.. they say the 2ns term is even tougher and the 3rd is one helluva term (with 30 assignments). An alum said that u have to blindly trust ur study group mates in this term as the workload is going to be something! But I guess, with time u get used to the ISB kinda life.. Believe me its fun and the most fun u would have ever had.. Yes what Nishant Pandey said "जैक लग रही है भाई!" is true, परंतु जैक लगने से आदमी ऊपर ही उठेगा ना!

Friends, friends and more friends at ISB. I have never interacted with so many bright folks.. and my FIRO-B (U will learn about it when u join ISB) indicates that I am low on inclusion.. but I guess post ISB there should be some change in this part of my personality. But the LDP programmes didnt impress much. Maybe the trainer wasn't great, maybe we were all to tired after the terms... but the experience left a lot to be desired.. Anyways... I wanted to talk about my new friends... Last time round I introduced you to my study group mates... this time round I introduce you to the senior citizens club...

Let me start with Rao kropulu... the oldie in our group.. well he is the oldest actually.. but is young at heart.. A volleyball champ...and he actually looks like the chubby Jupiter Jones from the three investigators... Rao is championing the General Management Club at ISB now.. and he is doing a great job...

Ratnakar Gore... is the fellow Satyamite.. not a dynamite cause only nipunites are meant to be dynamites... He is the second oldest in our group... Recently Preethi, Ratnakar's wife hostd us for dinner.. Great Pav Bhaji...

Kiran Alla... the trainer.... He keeps the club going by demonstrating high degrees of discipline and focus.. Kiran.. keep going buddy... Not sure if he is the third oldest...

Now my two favourites... Doctors Keerthi and Sushanshu... I finally have friends in the NCR.. Actually Neha my groupy pipped them to the post for that credit.. They are the diversity in the group.. Sudhanshu sahib needs his armstrong to keep his brains strong! The armstrong session we had was something man... If you get a chance lay your hands on a armstrong... Its worth it...

I am at home and mom is shouting asking me to come and have dinner... So I sign off now... I will continue introductions to my friends in my next write up... Sushant, Ankit, Random and the Peacocks, Sonali.. All my CA project buddies... plus Jayshree (Khakhra speacilist..) and many more....

Hey it feels so nice to have so many friends.... My Dreamz continue.... :-)

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Samosas....

It's 2:30 am... 23rd May 2007.. We are in Room No. 4207 in AC2 (i.e., Academic Center 2) @ ISB and are drowned in our marketing assignment..

We.... Let me introduce you to my group mates at ISB. BTW, I am part of Group E6 and my team members are Anant Jhawar (the Detroit Guy!!! Ask him about the detroit incident), Jaspreet Sidhu (the fiery chemical man from Chandigarh), Shubha Pai (Salsa is thy middle name) and Neha Kaushik (the only Mallu in our group).. Isn't my group interesting...

Well this post is not about my group, but I had to mention their names, cause they are part of the endurance test - the marketing assignment... We are almost done with our assignment... but are still not sure about it! Well thats how it is.. 20 Marks it is... We have be sure that we get it right enough to embarass Kotler... Yeah Kotler is my good friend.

साला, पिछले जनम का बदला निकाल रह है मुझ पर... क्या करूं।

Tomorrow is photo shoot day.. CAS (the career advancement folks) are going to snap us up... and then publish them in a matrimony booklet, which I presume will be seen by prospective employers. Imagine me going for a swayamvar... Plus tomorrow is election day.. The new Prez (praise the Prez) is going to get elected...

Otherwise today was a dull day.... I was sleeping with my eyes wide open.. till I decided to contribute to the groups assignment efforts... I have to get back to dreaming now... eyes wide open or eyes wide shut ....

??? What was the samosa for...

लूस कण्ट्रोल

अपनी तो पाठशाला, मस्ती कि पाठशाला..........

Well thats the first 36 days at ISB for me. Just finsinshed my ECO assignment, so thought of taking a break and yes, for the fist time in 36 days, I did think that I have the time to pen down a few lines... Well that's me... the typical taurean, lazy is thy middle name.

Time is flying by and there are only 11 months or even less to go before graduation day!! and maybe a month or two fewer before our future employers make offers to us.. At ISB be rest assured that you will not know how time flies by.

I reached campus on 14th at around 2 PM and from 3PM to 630PM or so I was busy with completing all formalities. Sushant, my buddy from school was with me to hep me out. I was relieved from my duties by my last employer at 10 PM the previous night (BTW, I was on call up to 2 AM), so I didn't have the time to take a back up of my Laptop data. When I was told that I had to give my laptop for formating on the day of arrival I panicked. Lucky me, Sushant was carrying a 2GB pen drive. So I quickly took a dump of the data and handed over the laptop to the IT folks. Only did I realize later that they only reformat your C Drive. THEY DON'T FIDDLE WITH THE PARTITIONS ON YOUR DRIVE. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY IMPORTANT DATA ON ANY OTHER DRIVE IT WONT GET LOST.

The next one week was orientaiton week. Lot's of fun is on the cards during this week. Lot's of bonding activities, inter section games, competitions et all.. BTW, I am in section E... and our slogan goes ROCK E..... ROCK E.... The previous section E folks had a funny slogan which went something like EEEE----HO... EEEEE---HO.... Doesn't it sound familiar!! We dumped it straight away.. Our section has lots of talent... We did pretty well in the outdoor sports, but were at the bottom of the table overall.. But that doesn't matter, we still ROCK....

Pre terms started in week 2 and we got our first experience of what life will be at ISB. Honestly the pre terms were not of much use. I suggest that guys who plan to enrol next time round, do a read of some of the recommended texts for Stats and Quant (I took these). Heard that account pre term was decent. For Stat, buy a Levin Rubin.. It's worth it and is easy to digest. Spend an hour a day with Stats and Quants during your one month before ISB and you will notice the difference in Term 1. I will write more on the pre terms later.

Term 1 starded on April 30 and our first mid terms are thru.. Waiting for the results now.. and also doing the pre reads for the coming week. The GSB election process has started and there are a couple who have thrown their hats in the ring. Let's see what happens...

In between all this, I had my most wonderful experience on campus. I was woken up at 12 in the night on my birthday.. Friends were there to wish me.. and to complete a ritual at ISB... i.e., DUNK the Birthday BOY/GIRL in the swimming pool... Sushant was there with a birthday cake. Dunking is truly a great experience..... All you folks who dunked me... love u guys.... Thanks for making me feel special.. Well these are the moments which help you survive the rigour at ISB, so be a part of every such moment.

I gave myself fifteen minutes to write and I realise that this blog is getting a lil bit unwieldy and is not having a proper flow. Guys this is what happens to you at ISB.. So many things to do.. so little time... you have to plan... plan ..... plan.... to get things right.....

I am going to stop now... I will try and post more regularly on the happenings at ISB (Weekly basis). See, better planning already.. and my blogs will surely read better..

Before sigining off.... I must tell the reader that I have met some great folks at ISB.. and I guess many will be friends for a long time from now onwards... Particularly our ROCK E's....

Blogging @ Lunchtime

14 working days to go, the countdown to my last day at Nipuna has begun. However, this post is not about Nipuna but about lunch! It is the most important hour or so (can be less or MORE!!) during the workday because of many reasons.

 

For starters, your boss can’t stop you from going for lunch. If it’s not your day, this time is the best time to take a break and clear up your mind. It is the best time to catch up on gossip too (Why do you think the cafeteria is always so noisy?). For some people it is the extra hour to work. Yes, WORK!!, while for some it’s siesta time (I remember those days when I used to sleep in my car during the lunch break). For the guys who are just about to get married, it is the uninterrupted one hour of cootchie cooing… and for working guys going to take their GMAT (like I did) it is the one hour of studies for the day…

 

Now, wasn’t I suppose to be focusing on lunch.. hmm…. When I think of lunch, I am reminded of my school. The lunch used to be awesome and we used to wait eagerly for the Friday CUTLETS!!! Ask a HPS guy about Friday lunch and he will say CUTLETS! The next great lunch thingy that comes to mind is the unfixed lunch at Mainland China. There was a time when my colleagues used to ask me if I was a brand ambassador for Mainland China. Then there is the Sunday lunch at home. Mom’s lunch wins the prize I guess. Nothing to beat it. Rasam, Sambar, Roast Potato or some other Tuber and pappadums, and the list goes on..

 

Lunch during the next one year at ISB is going to be something, when I will most probably be spending more time using the break for other thingy’s rather than lunching… Let’s see… But I want to cook.. Cutlets, Rasam, Pappadums, and the list goes on….

 

 

I am a Life Blogger...

Interesting Link. Worth checking out..

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

When Dreams come crashing... Yet I keep dreaming

As I write this blog, I am witnessing one of my long cherished dreams coming down crashing, yet again. Yup, I am watching India exit the World Cup 2007 and I will have to wait 4 more years to see the men in blue make another attempt to lift the coveted trophy.

It was 1983. India Vs West Indies. The World Cup final. India took first strike and scored 183. I lost all hope and went to sleep. My brother stayed awake and watched every ball of the windies innings. He didn't bother to disturb his kid brother till the match was over. Even though we had won, I didn't see the winning moments live and since then, every 4 years I start dreaming that I will see India win the World Cup, and every time my dreams come crashing.

Tomorrow will be a dull day for me. Its always been one after an Indian loss. It's been 24 years now since I first started dreaming. In a few days time I know I will start dreaming again. Some may call me foolish but then that's me. I'll keep dreamin...

When Sushant was the best...

Managed to locate a news article on my friend's heroics. Thought that I must put it up. Sushant this is for you buddy!

Location: Ghatnandur
Site: Secunderabad-Manmad Express Accident
Narration: Bravery shown by a young Medico to Save Many Lives

The railway accident that snatched away many a life at Ghatnandur recently showed different facets of human nature. If apathy and negligence on the part of railway officials caused mishap then there were a few individuals who rose to the occasion with their heroic deeds. One such among them is a medical student from Mangalore -- Sushant Singh.

Sushant and his father, Mahendra Singh were traveling in S-8 bogie of the ill-fated Secunderabad-Manmad Express while his mother and two year old niece were seated in AC-3 compartment.

Recalling the incident, Sushant said his family was traveling from Hyderabad to Aurangabad.
“At about 1.30 am, I heard a big noise while was reading a book. Well. I’m an optimistic person. I hoped that there might be some minor problem. However, when I soon realised the gravity of the situation, the first thing that came to my mind was the safety of my family.”
He ran towards the AC-3 bogie as if he was possessed and his heart almost skipped a beat when he saw the tilted bogie. His first impulse was to get into the bogie but policemen and passengers advised him not to enter. However, Sushant ignored them and proceeded towards the entrance door. He found a mother with a baby stranded inside the bogie. It was not possible for her to climb out without handing over the baby to someone. Sushant asked her to pass the baby to him but she was reluctant to handover her. He literally snatched the baby from her and moved her out to safety. Again he entered the bogie. He started calling for his mother and heaved a great sigh of relief when she responded to his calls. She was stranded in a corner with a woman on her top.

Sushant thanked God when his niece emerged without scratches.
After taking out his mother and niece Sushant might have walked off to safety. However, doctor in him, made him to go back to the bogie.

Sushant and five kind hearted persons remained inside. As soon as he had entered the lights went off. It was just impossible to walk in the tilted bogie. In these trying circumstances, Sushant and other passengers brought out nearly 30 people.

“We were telling the passengers not to panic because the train did not fall from a bridge. We assured the passengers that there was no need to worry”, said Sushant.
Sushant’s family went to local relatives and traveled to Aurangabad via Parbhani. It was indeed a nightmarish experience for the young lad but certainly he is happy that he rose to occasion and did whatever in his capacity to help the victims. A Brave-Heart Indeed.

At the crossroads again....

That's what I think. The last one month or so has been one helluva ride. But I see a lot of direction coming into my life. I remember my first day in class 11. The class teacher asked each one of us to introduce ourself and about what we wanted to do in the future. My reply to the second question:"After class 10, I felt I was at the cross roads of my life. I am still not sure of what to do but I have decided to become an engineer."

Those lines I will never forget. I didn't become an engineer and at every stage of my life thereafter, whenever I had to take a decision on my life, or about my career, I felt the same: that, I was at a crossroad.

Everytime I kept asking myself, when does my time start. I was desperate to see clearly into my future. That feeling of being at a cross road was lousy. One path taken, soon I was at another cross road where I had to take an important decision. The decisions would be easy to take but I would soon realise that each decision I took came with a lot of baggage. Each decision would have some demand of me and these demands started getting harder and harder to fulfill. Many decisions would push me to the precipice and to do a great balancing act, I later realised.

Over time, I began to accept the fact that one cross road gone, I would come to one more in time. But there was a trend that I observed, with every new cross road I came to: that every cross road was wider and bigger, that the view of the road ahead would become clearer. And, the view was a steeper climb and more demands!

However, after every climb there is also a moment where I stop and look back at the climb so far and smile. The last climb was one helluva climb. From the time I finished my CA final exams, I had an MBA on mind. The climb to get inside the gates of a good school was not easy. Lot's of planning and learnings have gone into this effort (i.e. getting into business school).

I know I will be there again, at the crossroads. But, let me enjoy this moment for now. The view from here is not bad. ISB, "Hello, this is Anand".