Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Goodbye 2008

On the eve of the new year, I look back at the year that was and quite an eventful year it was, at least from my perspective.

January : The year begun with the CAT results right in the first week of January. Now, as most of my friends know, that I had written CAT just for the heck of it without any preparation. I still vividly remember the day of the CAT results. Me and Puneet had gone to give the monthly rent to our landlords. On our way back (which was a 15 minute walk), as we had nothing better to do, we started calling up people asking about their results. But I had no answer for them when I was asked for the same. And since the CAT website gets choked on the day of the results, I had to wait for a couple of hours after reaching home to get to know the results. I was very surprised with the results (99.98 was not what I had expected).

February-March : Then came the spate of interviews for all the IIMs (Thankfully it was only the IIMs as I had written no other exam and not applied to any other college). The only sad part for me was that I had to shorten my long hair :( .Luckily, I had a very good manager, so, I could tell him exactly what was going on.
The most memorable of the interviews was the IIMC interview. That was a long story in itself. (Click to read IIMC Interview and Convocation Trip).

April : I was due to visit Neta, one of my best friends, who resided in Pune on the day when the results were ultimately declared (after many many delays in the result announcement). Before getting on the flight, I only knew about 2 results (IIMA, which I didn't get through and one of the L,I,K which I got through but but didn't matter as I had decided to join only A,B or C). Hence, I was not too happy getting on the flight. But as soon as I landed, I was flooded with calls from my freinds informing me that I got through all IIMs except A. That was a very happy moment for me. So, that trip was memorable to me for one more reason (the other being the ultimate fun I had with Neta and Kholu, which Neta might not have liked too much because he was our target all the time for all the Jokes :P).

April-May :Ohhhh, how did I ever forget IPL, the rush and excitement of a cricket match in the time of a football match. It was so successful that movie theaters at those times suffered huge losses. It did not matter to us (me and Puneet who are cricket maniacs), that Bangalore did not win any match we had gone to see at the stadium. And we provided Bangalore with huge number of opportunities. We saw Bangalore hammered single handedly by McCullum in the opener, to them throwing away a match from winning position against Chennai. But once you are in the stadium, you simply don't care. It did not for me especially as I supported the Delhi Daredevils. But IPL was the best thig to happen as it provided us something to do in the evenings - either at the stadiums or at home watching it on TV.

June : The most important decision during this time was to decide between IIMB and IIMC. Different people gave me different perspectives. And as someone rightly says,"The More you think about it, the more confused you become". Ultimately, it came down to a impulse decision which I still feel was the right decision. This month also signified my resignation from my job, which was a very amicable affair and my trip to Mumbai for my cousin Rajiv's wedding with Shreya. Marriages are always fun affairs with the entire family getting an excuse for getting together. I enjoyed to the hilt with all my cousins. The fact that I got along well with Shreya added to my delight :)

July : This signified my entry into the much revered IIM-Bangalore. Everyone around me was telling me that people aspire to be there and I got it on a silver platter without much hard work. The first week of the time here at IIM would be something I would never forget in my entire life. An elaborate prank that is customary to the IIMs is played by the seniors where all the new students are made to work so hard that many people simply start bucking under pressure or become defiant to all the workload. I simply believed that this was something that was expected of IIM students as everyone told me how hectic MBA life is. Most of July was spent adjusting to the MBA lifestyle, although it did not need much adjusting.

August : Come August, it was time for the Inter-IIM sports meet, Samhar played annually between IIMB and IIMC. And one of the things I liked the most about coming back to campus was the opportunity to play volleyball again. IIMB decimated IIMC with a scoreline of 15-2 with me and my team contributing to that scoreline with a win in volleyball. I was singled out for hooting by the opposing team because I was playing Libero and hence wore a different colour jersey. Little did they know that the level of hooting was nothing compared to what I had endured in Spardha, Udghosh or even the inter-hostels while playing in IT-BHU.

September : Most of September was spent working on project submissions etc. That was the most uneventful month of the year for me.

October : Most of October was spent attending company PPTs and resume and form submissions for the summer placement process. None of us liked attending those PPTs but everyone understood the importance of attending them. My birthday also falls in October, and a memorable birthday it was. (Birthday Celebration).There was little time left for other activities in October.

November - Mid December : November brought about the much awaited summers process. Long story short,it was exciting and I got through into Citibank Markets (Interview Experience). Then started the month-long inter-section sports meet, whichI enjoyed a lot. Not only because of the playing, but also because of all the politics people played and all the controversies involved. I was required to play the mediator in many cases (I wont elaborate onthis).Although Section-D had little chance of winning, but I still appreciate the enthusiasm that the junta showed and came to participate in huge numbers. According to me,participating and giving your best effort is the thing that is most important.

December end : It had nothing but the customary end of termexaminations and some days of long sleeping hours after the term-end at home :)

I am very happy that I had a very eventful 2008 and look forward to 2009 with expectations of surpassing it, as far as eventfulness is concerned. This would be my last opportunity before I am lost in the monotonous job life in 2010.
So Thank You 2008 for all the memories and 2009, SURPRISE ME.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

How life turns

I am writing this blog sitting in the Airport lounge at Bengaluru. The last week had been quite eventful for me, both academically as well as non-academically with a plethora of quizzes and submissions on the academic side. On the non-academic side, I was involved in the organization of the inter-section sports meet and also some work for the section website to be designed.
One of our batchmates, Vishwa got married this Monday. Since it was a weekday none of us had been able to attend that but almost 20-25 of us had planned to go for the reception today. The train was to leave at 6am in the morning from the Bangalore City station. So, the plan was to leave at 4.30 from the campus. Some of us decided that it would be impossible to get up at 4.30 once we sleep so - a night out it was. We were playing '29', one of the most popular card games.

Then at 2.30, I get a call from my brother in Delhi. A call at this time could mean only one of the two things - either my number has been dialed by mistake (which happens very often as my name is the first in many people's phone books) or it had to be some very urgent news.

When I picked it up, I heard my brother's voice, so the first possibility was ruled out. He then informed me that our grandfather had passed away. Was I surprised? Maybe not, since he was already above 90 years of age and had not been in best of health for some time now. I immediately booked my ticket on the first flight out. Within 2 hours I reached the airport and was sitting in the lounge when I wanted to tell these things to someone but no one I know is awake at 5am. So, the blog came about.

Life has a strange way of showing the irony in life. I was to be a part of a celebration today and life turned me away and instead gave me the sad news. My mood changed from celebratory to mourning.

For as long as I remember, I had seen almost no change in his appearance. i can never forget those sessions of Rummie I sometimes had with him or his interest in cricket matches and all kinds of news. lately, he had not been keeping well health wise. He had a long and healthy life of over 90 years and I think passing away in his sleep was something that is better.

The airport display screen is showing now that my flight is ready for boarding.

Today I would pay my last respects to him.
Goodbye Grandpa!!!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Political Reaction to the Mumbai Attacks - Pathetic

Many newspapers touted it as the 9/11 of India, the others calling it Mayhem in Mumbai, last week saw one of the most gruesome terrorist attacks in India in the financial capital of the country. The attack was probably aimed at creating panic and showing the country that the terrorists can strike anywhere they wanted.

This was also the time when the so-called leaders of this country had to prove their mettle. This article is aimed at looking into how the great leaders of this country fared this test.

The usual chain of events after any blasts or attacks consist of the leaders of this country especially the leaders in the government coming out and issuing statements condemning the attacks. But looking at the frequency that it has started happening nowadays, I wonder sometimes whether the clips being shown on the television are live or recorded from the previous attacks.

The reality was not too different this time around. As soon as the news of the attacks spread, everyone came out condemning the attacks. I saw a glimmer of hope when the PM and the leader of the opposition decided to tour Mumbai together to show solidarity. But I should have known that it sounded too good to be true. When both these leaders were trying to show solidarity, both the parties were working behind the scenes to print ads in newspapers blaming each other for the happenings. One blamed the other party by telling that its soft on terror and the other trying to get back by comparing it with the Kandahar episode.

The would community came out issuing statements such as, "Such forms of terrorism are unacceptable". Can someone please tell me, what kinds of terrorism are acceptable? The ones which US practised in Afghnistan and Iraq?

The time when the leaders of the state were supposed to be coming out in the open to calm down the people, we never saw any appearance from any state leader on TV. Instead, we heard stories that the CM is regularly updating the leader of the Congress party about the chain of events. My simple question is, "Is the CM answerable to the masses or the leader of the party? " (to whom he should not be once he is holding a constitutional office).

The home minister of the state makes a remark that such "small" incidents happen. They would only understand the massiveness of the attacks if someone from their families are also the victims in one of these attacks. No attack is small for a family who loses a loved one.

All this was taking place when our security forces and the other services like the fire services were working round the clock to defeat the terrorists and minimize the damage. I salute them from the bottom of my heart for all that they have done for the country.

The stories don't end here. After the attacks, the CM goes to survey the damage in the Taj Hotel. Guess who all accompany him to the site - his son Riteish and Ram Gopal Verma. Was it some kind of a joke. What the hell were they doing there and did the CM really think that they were the most important people to be included in the survey party. If that is what he thought, we really need to think what kind of people we elect.

One of the martyrs of the attacks was Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan of the NSG. Although his family lived in Karnataka, he was a Keralite. The CM of Karnataka visited him as soon as the news of the martyrdom reached him. The CM of Kerala initially didn't even bother to visit his family and after media criticism, he decided to visit the place in the evening. Not surprisingly, the father of the soldier became emotional and refused to accept his condolences.

What the CM said next was shocking. He said, "It was for Sandeep I had gone, otherwise even a DOG wouldn’t have visited them. I never expected this." Such people should be publically paraded and beaten up on the streets. To top it, he even refused to tender an apology for the statement made. God save the country from the communists. This should be an eye-opener for the people who vote for them.

So, in retrospect, the politicians failed miserably on all fronts. In such cases, the politicians in India have a lot to learn from their western counterparts. Whatever differences they might have, they come out solidly as one voice when such incidents threatening the fiber of the country take place. When can we see Indian politicians maturing. Is it just me or am I just wishing for too much. I hope that our politicians realize that the basic aim of a democracy is not to divide people and come to power, but it is to provide good governance to people, especially in testing times.

I would end with this quote that I read in some article recently. This was given by Sir Winston Churchill, about politicians of India which was delivered on the eve of India's independence. He said, "Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues and
freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low caliber and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight among themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles."

Sadly, I see all this coming true right in front of my eyes.