Category: MBA

What Having Fun was… What it is?

Comes from my conversations with few buddies… mix of their and my incidents 🙂

As a Kid having a cold drink was fun. I still remember the time when my dad used to take me to Indian Coffee House, ordered a Special Dosa for me (with one Kaju, costed 14 Rs. then). He would order a filter coffee and watch me munch on the dosa. And then came the cold drink. Ahaa, that straw and that first sip was awesome. From Gold Spot to rarity of having coke, it was all fun. And yes The Green Boxed Frooti (Rs. 6) was awesome too.

As a kid I loved having an ice cream. Didn’t we always dream of a chocobar or a vanilla cup. It was so awesome when I went out with my family to have that. Maybe once a month, maybe once in 2 months. But it was awesome. Arun Ice cream’s vanilla cups were the best 🙂

As a kid I loved ice cream. The best thing was Nirula’s. Chocolate was simply the best. They used to give me one after I showed them my report card, and I also got coupon for my birthday 🙂

Those were the days. Sipping Beer, or whisky at Banshankari’s famous hang-outs. Seshgiri or its not so far sister concern (codename: 3 gigolos :)). We got drunk, had chips from some HOT CHIPS, cold drinks from the same store, and then we talked…

and talked

and talked

a movie used to play, a guy used to enter kop-bhavan, 2 guys were always coding something on a red laptop which was hotter than a frying pan, and we ended up playing karaoke with Golmaal or discussing Nihilism, science fiction & indian cinema.

And there are moments which me, and a few others dont like that much, but it gives some sort of fun to others. Like, loud music, dark discos, late night drinking and talking sessions etc etc.

But then like today, there are awesome mornings to cover them all up, from disc-asur to Idli-esh. We had the best breakfast one can ever have to start the day, filter coffee, 5-6 types of idlis, 4 types of dosas, podi with oil, benne (white butter).

I know what kind of fun is best for me, and I will be back soon, as soon as this 2 year thing comes to an end.

February 18, 2010
Left Behind

Once upon a time, there used to be this colony of around 200 ants. They had been living together, happily for around a year and a half now next to a small river. There colony had the best stocks of food, good climatic conditions in the area, and above all great antz. They were fun loving and used to enjoy each other’s company. They had fun in outings, in the functions and even the sports festival which they celebrated. Then came the day of the great rains which continued for a few days. The river overflowed and the ant colony came under threat. A group of 20 odd engineer ants created a bridge for the ants to cross the river safely. Slowly they started crossing & around 150 of them crossed the bridge to move towards safety. Rest were stuck on the island created due to rains & river as the bridge broke down after that. Still the team of around 20 kept on trying to recreate the bridge.

End 1:

Engineers kept trying to reconstruct the bridge with great difficulty. Rest of the ants who had crossed seldom cared. Few of them did, but some of them went away to their homes, some started playing sports- cricket & football & handball, some went for trips, & some just didn’t care. Some kept on partying which the ants stuck on the other side used to witness. Even I sometimes attend those parties, & so do the other engineers. Every time the ants who had crossed partied the ants who were stuck felt sad. Few of them sent across signals of reassurance still the ants who were stuck were lost in hope. They were sad, and blamed their misery on fate.

Somewhere in those engineers, I felt really confused, & filled with guilt at times. Why it has to be this way? Couldn’t we all be together. The bridge would be completed soon, and all of them would be able to cross, but why this indifference?

End 2:

Engineers got the help from the entire population of ants who had crossed. They worked day & night to help the rest of ants cross the river. The ants who were stuck felt reassured that the all their colony members are with them in this moment when they needed them the most. Although it took time for the bridge to complete still they were able to live through all this reassuringly.

Me and my team of engineers was happy looking at all of us working together in these tough moments.

There can be two ends, I know the way it is shaping now, and I also know the way we want it to end. Lets hope for the best.

February 17, 2010
Learnings from MBA- Part I

The best thoughts hit when you are sitting on the toilet seat. Suddenly realized how much disconnected from the world I have become sitting there today. Many people whom I talked are nowhere to be found to nowadays. Have missed one friend’s wedding, going to miss 2 more soon. Lots has changed, MBA has changed a lot. Just to summarize the learnings from the 18 odd months till now,

– Acads, well remember a bit of Business Strategy, Consult is still fresh, a bit of marketing fundas which have been repeated enough number of times, few of the Finance ka fundas, thats mostly it. Haan, liked supply chain and a couple of visiting faculties too, but thats it.

– Ability to take Stress, or the non-ability to take it. It actually depends on you that how much you set your limits as. I set it very high, to levels which I cant take, and it shows. Its difficult, and you know that you cant take anymore. But just 2-3 months to go…

– Anger Management or the lack of it: For a person who claimed to be Anger Free since Two Thousand Three ( 2-3 instances) the worst part is to abuse daily and shout at other people which is like a ritual to me nowadays

– Networking they said happens in MBA, honestly all your old pals, relatives etc. stop talking to you given the lack of interest you show in them, so its just you and you forever after that

– Sense, or lack of it missing in the Top .01% of the country sitting along with you for 2 years. What else should I tell…

Would be putting down a few more during my final days here. If its going to be like this in work post MBA too, either I would retire in 2-3 years. Or even sooner.

People planning for MBA, dont do it, kills your life.

January 13, 2010
भेडचाल

बदलाव हमारे अन्दर होता है। बदलाव निरंतर है और उससे रोकने का शायद ही को कोई उपाय होगा। पर क्या मैं बदलना चाहूँगा?

कुछ वर्षो पहले तक मुझे कुछ पता नही था की मैं जीवन मैं क्या करना चाहता हूँ, और आज भी मेरे विचार कुछ स्पष्ट नही हुए है। काम करना क्या केवल एक मजबूरी है, या इसमे कोई आर्थिक लाभों के अलावा लाभ है, ऐसे प्रश्न मेरे दिमाग मैं कुछ दिनों से आ रहे है। काम काजी जीवन जैसे जैसे नज़दीक आ रहा है, वैसे ही मैं थोड़ा उससे घबरा भी रहा हूँ।

प्रबंधन का अध्यन भारत मैं कई छात्रों का सपना है, क्योंकि इसमे पैसे अच्छे है और यह आजकल की नई भेडचाल है। पर मेरा अनुभव कह रहा है की आप जिस अवस्था मैं प्रसन्न रहे, वही अच्छी नौकरी है। प्रबन्धन के पश्चात् आपको इतनी म्हणत करनी होगी की वैसे भी आप ४० की उम्र के बाद कुछ करने के योग्य नही रहेंगे।

तो क्या मुझे चाहिए,

अच्छी नौकरी, अच्छी तनख्वाह और एक बड़ा नाम
या फ़िर कुछ अच्छे लोग, कम चिंता वाला काम, और ठीक ठाक तनख्वाह

फिलहाल तो मैं हमेशा की तरग इस असमंजस मैं हूँ की मैं क्या करू, मेरे आजू बाजू हर कोई जरुरत से ज्यादा एकाग्रित है, सबको साबुन तेल बेचना, बेंको मैं जाना, और संगणक उद्योग मैं अपना जीवन बिताना है। मुझे इन सब से कोई लेना देना नही, मुझे कुछ भी चलेगा। पर मेरे लिए सबसे जरुरी चीज़े है,

मेरे आस पास के लोग, एक अच्छा वातावरण, और निश्चित आराम और अन्य रुचिया पूर्ण करना।

पर मुझे फ़िर लगता है कीजीवन मैंने आजतक उस चीज़ को नही चुना जिससे मैं चुनना चाहता था, बलकी उन बातो के पीछे ज्यादा रहा जो भेडचाल का हिस्सा थी।

यह सब बस कुछ विचार है जो चले जायेंगे, मैं फ़िर इन किताबो और अजीबो गरीब काम के चक्कर मैं डूब जाऊँगा, और रह जायेगी यह भेडचाल, जिसका मैं सदेव हिस्सा रहूँगा।

November 29, 2009
life with an addict…

He was happy, used to talk while he slept, but apart from them, quite Ok. Used to loose apetite once in a while, but apart form that, Ok. He thought smoking is bad, drinking is bad too. But he was addicted. And that too to…

Well I entered the room that day, and he suddenly had hidden it. He used to hide it in drawers, almirah, below the bed in a suitcase. I knew every spot, but how could he, I still didn’t believe it.

I got a hint, that day at Bandra, near carter road CCD, we saw a bunch of young kids smoking it, and it smelled like, you know what. He had won a bet and asked me for something. I paid 150 bucks for it.

It was Chocolate, and in the room were being gobbled up tonnes of Lindt, Toblerones, Cadbury, Ferreros and what not. I knew it. He was an addict.

Addicted to chocolates.

I just pray he returns to the original addiction, unAdulterated. The new one doesn’t suit him. It suits me 🙂

October 9, 2009
The Times of Navratri- Edition 4

Sometime in 2008, Mumbai J

Midterms, horrible they are. I always thought the worst gets over after coming to a b-school, this is over and above worst. Midterms are on and Falguni sings daily next to the hostel, well Navratri used to be different earlier.

This Navratri hasn’t been great, it had been just Okay, before it turned slightly awesome. Till now just one day it felt like Navratri as I kept a fast and went with one of my friend to Vrindi to have sabudana vada. Apart from that it hardly feels like one, b-school surely kills all the festivities and festivals.

So our midterms ended and a senti Ajayjeet cribbing about not being at home on Durga Pooja for the first time in his life told me about Lokhandwaala Pooja. (senti Ajayjeet and Tommie had also tricked one of the profs using this sentipanna to get a deadline extended J). By being as dramatic as Ajayjeet can get, he convinced me. Another option to celebrate was that few of my friends were heading for the Falguni garba.

Garba- well childhood and Gujarat I had lot of it but Durga Pooja, haven’t been to one for many years now. Ajayjeet’s pitch of having khichdi, mishit dohi & bong sweets finally had me in. Although he also pitched about Bong Girls (arguably amongst the best in the country), but that was a point of parity in both the options (Garba Costumed girls giving them equal, if not more competitionJ)

So I, Ajayjeet, and lot of us went for the durga pooja, few of them also opted for Garba.

As I entered the pendal, it was time to get nostalgic, the beautiful pendal, the sound of shankha, the dhol & the beautiful idol of Maa Durga. We had a few sweets and then Ajayjeet with couple of guys met Abhijeet- the Singer. Awesome guy he is, talked nicely to all of us and arranged entry passes for the Euphoria show, for all 28 of us!!!

So we entered, danced, singed and enjoyed that night with Palash & co. One disappointment was the fact that the crowd was short on bong girls, or maybe I didn’t spot them J, ajayjeet does that too well 😉

Not an elaborate celebration, but enough for b-school days, more than enough.

p.s. – I have forgotten about episode 3, i.e. the Bangalore days, sadly didn’t visit Mysore Dusshera, but don’t remember anything at all on what we did?

Technorati Tags: Navratri

September 25, 2009
is this the end???

Is this the end of the much thought of Small City Dreams, or is it just another passing phase. Past few months have been the most boring in my life, I am through my worst days in terms of doing what I was best at. I miss the detailed research I went through for every new food item I had & every new food joint I tried, I don’t watch, hardly anytime for digesting news items leave politics. I have read just one book in the past more than one year & above all I have lost touch with most of my friends (which brings to end the notion that MBA enhances networking, it just kills it, you hardly can sustain your existing network, for those who say who do it, maybe they hardly had any before coming here.), and also I realize that I am hardly any good at writing anything.

So maybe the end of the Small City Dreams as all this bound to happen, but I am sure that they would soon to surface, not now, but maybe a few years down the line.

Till then I think it would be great if get back some other pleasures of my life back in place.

August 15, 2009
Me Too…

While writing this short writeup on Me Too Brands, I realise its already 03:52 AM.

Me Too is sad today because,

1) India out of T20 World Cup
2) India out of T20 World Cup
3) Me got pissed of in class today, my so called Intellectual Class can show all sensually charged ads, but giggles kiddishly when Freud was discussed
4) India out of T20 World Cup
5) Some regular no sleep syndrome after doing tonners of clerikal work
6) Writing a writeup for another irrelevant assignment, few will read, no one ever implements anything here
7) India out of T20 World Cup
8) India out of T20 World Cup
9) We couldn’t work properly on another bplan contest, again!!! 😦
10) Haven’t met one of my friend for ages, the dinner got canceled, and now she is nowhere to be found!!! btw she is in this college too :((
11) India out of T20 World Cup
12) India out of T20 World Cup
13) Memory getting worse
14) India out of T20 World Cup
15) India out of T20 World Cup

Last time when we lost in 2007, it was sought of ajeeb types bad…

Me Too was sad today, as many others, I just hope I get some sleep tomorrow in class, and then Me Too can dream of the next world cup…

June 14, 2009
Ghajini-isation of my once famous memory

It pays to do an MBA, but we part with things to do it too. Money, Sleep and now memory top the list of my key take-aways from this course.

Once called DesiPedia I still am doing well with my strategic memory (so called long term memory, the junk facts and figures, although doing bad with names), but I tend to forget small regular items ( read tactical memory loss).

My story might be similar to a not upgraded computer which boasted of a 20GB hard disk 4 years back (or that of Chacha Chaudhary: His brain used to work faster than a computer, but those were the days of the great 386, and maybe thats why this generation of Kids moved away from him).

My memory tools: a small spiral pad which helps me remember tasks and followup with them. Most of the people who tend to be busy around me are found with that item nowadays. And it helps.

I know it can get worse than this, but still I will never ever go for tattoos 🙂 or that haircut.

Strangely all this happened without Asin in my life ;), wonder if it would have made things much worse or better?

My playlist plays Guzarish from Ghajini 😀

May 23, 2009
कॉमिक्स और हमारा बचपन

लुईस कैरोल की एलिस को कल्पना के उस अद्भुत संसार में जाने के लिए खरगोश महाशय के घर का रास्ता नापना होता था लेकिन मुझे (याने जब में बच्चा था) या मेरे जैसे कई भारतीय बच्चो को अपने घर के कुछ आधे किलो मीटर की परिधि में कोई सोनू या मनोज लाइब्रेरी ढूंढनी होती थी | उसके बाद तो बस अपने कल्पना के संसार में डूब जाने के लिए हम आजाद होते थे |

नागराज, ध्रुव, परमाणु, भोकाल, तौसी, हवालदार बहादुर, बांकेलाल, चाचा चौधरी, बिल्लू, पिंकी, साबू और ना जाने कितने ही किरदार जीवन का एक हिस्सा बन गए थे | अब जब में पीछे मूड कर देखता हूँ तो यह सोच कर ख़ुशी होती है की भले ही चोरी छुपे या लड़ झगड़ कर भी मैंने कॉमिक्स पढ़ी है तो अच्छा ही किया है, वरना जीवन की ये यादें कभी नहीं बना पाता |

जहाँ तक मुझे याद है कॉमिक्स पढने की खुमारी गर्मी की छुट्टियों में सर चढ़ कर बोलती थी | और कॉमिक्स खरीदना तो काफी महंगा सौदा था इसलिए लगभग हम सभी मित्र किसी ना किसी लाइब्रेरी के सदस्य बन जाते थे और किराए से कॉमिक्स ले आया करते थे | उन चौबीस घंटो के समय में सभी दोस्तों को एक दुसरे की भी कॉमिक्स ख़तम करनी होती थी तो बस फिर क्या कॉमिक्स लाइब्रेरी से ली और पढना चालू एक आधी तो घर पहुँचते पहुँचते ही ख़तम हो जाया करती थी |

शुरूआती दिनों में जहाँ से मुझे याद है कॉमिक्स का किराया होता था पचास पैसे और डाइजेस्ट का एक रुपैया लेकिन हाई रे महंगाई बाद में किराया तय हो गया था कॉमिक्स के दाम का दस प्रतिशत याने ८ रुपैये की कॉमिक्स ८० पैसे में | कॉमिक्स न सिर्फ आपकी कल्पना शीलता को एक नया आयाम देती है अपितु व्यवहारिक ज्ञान में भी वृद्धि कराती है | जैसे आप देख ही सकते है की कभी न कभी तो आपने अपने किसी मित्र के साथ साझेदारी में लाइब्रेरी खोली ही होगी, और कुछ चव्वनी अट्ठनी का मुनाफा कमा कर खुश भी हुए होंगे | लो जी बन गए आप उद्यमी (entrepreneur) !

लेकिन इन सब से बढ़कर बौद्धिक विकास में सबसे मददगार साबित होते थे मित्रो के साथ कॉमिक्सों पर गहन विचार विमर्श ! जी हाँ कौन सा नायक किस नयी शक्ति के साथ आया है, किस नायक को सबसे मुश्किल खलनायक से जूझना पड़ता था, यदि ये दोनों नायक साथ में आये तो ज्यादा अच्छा कौन लडेगा इत्यादि | बिना शक्तियों के दुश्मनों के मात देने वाला सुपर कमांडो ध्रुव मेरा पसंदीदा नायक हुआ करता था | और ध्रुव के खलनायको के ऊपर तो विचार विमर्श मैंने देशपांडे के साथ माइंड ट्री में रहते हुए भी किया था | उदाहरण के लिए चुम्बा, बौना वामन, चंडकाल हाँ लेकिन ध्रुव के दोस्त भी हुआ करते थे जैसे किरिगी, धनञ्जय, येती |

अब तो कई सालों से किसी की भी सुध नहीं ली है | पर मुझे अभी भी यकिन है की ये सभी नायक अपनी जान की बाजी लगा कर आज भी विश्व को बड़े बड़े खतरों से बचा रहे होंगे और इसलिए आप भारत में या यूरोप में या अमरीका में चैन की नींद सो पा रहे है !

A mail by my friend Kapil. I think so many of us would identify with the same. Plus I love his hindi writings (read a couple of his entries secretly in Bengaluru along with Mathuru ;)). Till he has his own blog, this one will be kept by me :).

Also for my friends doing MBA, this is what a Dimdima should feel like, so maybe something like this would have determined your pitch for selling Dimdimas.

Although this is a thinking of a kid 15 years back, things have changed now.

March 10, 2009