MBA = Mediocre But Arrogant

Mediocre But Arrogant - The Story of a B School...

How often does it happen that you read a book and identify with its setup...its plot..and you start to see its characters in the people around you ? Not very, would be my guess..well..Mediocre But Arrogant was one such book where this did happen...and is still happening on a basis that is frequent enough to make me write this...

While Chetan Bhagat's five point someone was a kind of insider's view of life at an IIT - with broad echoes across all engineering college campuses ( a pet theory, since it was pretty much so in my case !) - M.B.A is the extension of a similar concept, applied to a B School. Only in this case, the author claims that he is not similar to the character, and the work is mainly fiction, not autobiographical... I dunno...I think I have a pet theory for this too...its like...when you start writing..you think you have an idea of what you are going to do..and more importantly, how you are going to do it...but somewhere down the line..probably near the halfway line..you are no longer the one who is writing the book ( blog in my case)...the book makes you write itself...and you always feel good about the end product because it has come from the heart...so perhaps, this has been the case here too....and has resulted in the form of a superb take on life in a B School..with its degree's initials signifying what its graduates are like in real life...

M B A is set in a fictitious Management Institute of Jamshedpur..a thinly disguised XLRI ( the author's Alma Mater) and its protagonist is a guy who happens to be called Abbey. The book describes Abbey's wide and varied adventures, his batchmates, with their peculiar set of characteristics ( these are the ones that don't leave me..I see them in my batchmates too)...his constant feeling of being mediocre, but arrogant at the same time..and his sense of directionlessness ( I hope I didn't invent this word !!) - how he feels that MBA is merely a stamp - a "thappa" - that one needs in order to be able to command ridiculous salaries and fancy designations - issues which remain as alive and kicking as they were in good ole 1982. It also describes his experiences at his summer job, the joys and heartbreaks of the placement process...something that I will be part of in 6 months...and..like Abbey..I still don't know why I am here...


I know the book is trying to say something to me...but I have not been able to figure out what....

Go ahead and read it guys...and let me know what you think...

Timepass..

More of the same thing !!

My blogger code: B3 d- t- k s u-- f- i o x e- l c- (decode it!)

A twist in the tale...

Something I dug up from the archives....



I have realised it...I am in love...the very thought makes me go feel so happy that I can't describe it...its been what..like six months now..and with every passing day, my love for her increases..I just can't imagine what my life would be without her...


As I look at her silhoutted frame in the doorway, I can feel my heartbeat increase..the blood rushes..the breath quickens..the eyes sparkle..and when I hold her hands...its the best feeling in the world...its very comforting to know that she's always there..even the thought of parting from her makes me feel so bad..but I know that this cannot last for long..sooner or later she and I will go our separate ways...but I make sure that we spend a lot of time together to make up for when we won't be together...I'll remember the long drives that we've been on to.. and that is just a very small part of the memories of the times we have spent together...I know I love her very much..but its a shame that I'll never be able to find out how she feels..because she doesn't have the gift of speech....

before you start feeling sorry for me.....





scroll down to see who she is...






scroll down..











scroll down...








she's my motorcycle..the CBZ!!!
who says bikes should be definitely male??!!!!
I like them the way they are!!!

The Woman, The Girl....

Responsible.. Adventurous...
Calm..........Excitable..
Mature...Childish..
Formal.....Casual...
Serious....funny...
dearest friend....deadliest enemy....
Caring......spiteful....
philosophical.....rebellious....

............................................................
I want to grow old with you..............and add many more lines to the above...............

In protest of globalisation...

For want of a better title, I choose to call it this way..but in a way, I somewhat resent the onward march that resurgent India is making towards a truly global economy, and at the risk of sounding like a fuddy duddy, I endeavour to elucidate upon the reasons why I feel that way..

As all economics students would probably be well aware, globalisation brings with it certain benefits - namely greater choices, newer and better products, more employment and the usual foreign exchange increase et al. India, as we are constantly being told by different experts, is currently reaping great benefits from this phenomenon, and is poised to achieve much more in the not so distant future if Goldamn Sachs and their BRICS report is to be believed.

However, something that the Goldman Sachs of the world have probably not looked at is the impact of these global forces on local culture and heritage - and by heritage I mean heritage with regard to cuisine, culture, language and the works. The beginnings of this argument happened after I went back to my hometown, good old Lucknow, post a four month interval.

I believe that every city in the world has something that gives it a flavour, its own experience...you call it soul if you like..and same is the case with Lucknow. It is an old world kind of place..at least it was when I was at school -- which itself was a hundred and fifty years old in
1994 -- Lucknow to me was the best place in the whole world - still is - but a look at some latest developments did not quite gladden my heart with joy .

With the retail revolution spreading like wildfire across the country, it would have been indeed a formidable achievement for Lucknow to have held out against it for long. So we saw the development of Wave, the first multiplex and mall. And that, as they say, was the last straw..things took off at break neck speed since then.

Ganj, the main market is still pretty much the same...however, it does have stiff competition in the form of the newly built Sahara Mall. Like all its counterparts, this one too follows the tradition of a cinema multiplex and hordes of shops, with glitzy displays that entice you to reach for your purse and shell out the premium price commanded by the different brands. But..wait a minute..doesn't this mall look like all the other malls that I have seen across the country..let me see..Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai ....hey..all of a sudden,
there seems to be a boring similarity between these places...and isn't that strange that wherever you go..people say..hey let's go check out the mall..reason for that being pretty straightforward -- the old relics have always been there..its this new toy, the new attraction, that is the happening place..consequently, the energy and enthusiasm for the same...

Having realised this, I suddenly had a dark premonition...would this relentless drive towards progress lead to the erosion of our own cultural heritage...and after a pause, I thought, Am I overreacting ? After all, there was Mumbai - the great cosmopolis, which exhibited tremendous
diversity, taking all these things in stride and still thrived..and Indian culture was always well known for adapting to and evolving from the different injections of culture that happened to it over a long span of time..so was this fear unfounded ?

I am still to ascertain, but I don't feel too confident..Mumbai was always a metropolis...a look at the CST makes you think that the British were looking hundred years into the future when they made it...Mumbai's cultural ecosystem is vastly different from the rest of the nation..it
moves to a different rhythm altogether..whereas a place like Lucknow was a pretty stable and constant kind of town, where unchanging, everlasting things were kind of reassuring in a strange way, and every drastic change, like the closure of the Mayfair Cinema, the British Council Library and even Kwality Restaurant was lamented with grief by your's truly...and now..right next to the Mayfair Building stands a gleaming new glass fronted building, which is of course, pretty incongruous with its British era cream and pink counterparts...soon it will be occupied with different shops, and Ganjing will no longer be the same...so won't the coming generation miss out on something that we enjoyed greatly ? Will they ever get to know the fun of shopping at Love Lane ? I don't know...and I am full of despair...

So my contention..globalisation implemented with irrational exuberance will wreak havoc with traditional cultural ecosystems..and the faster we would want to embrace it, we should also be equally keen to retain what constitutes our individuality...otherwise all cities will look and feel the same..and travelling will not be fun anymore..

Long time, no blog...
Well..it is encouraging to see that people do find the time to read the gyaan that I usually end up spewing online... :) A big Thank You to you guys ! Makes me want to write more [ dunno whether that is good or bad :) ]

Summer internship has been a pretty sad kind of experience so far...a lot of fights with the management have added some spice, and all of us are now forever thinking of new ways to have some fun...Considering that we are getting merely 7 000 bucks as stipend for two months' training, I think we are entitled to some fun at least.. ;)

Hmm...now getting on to Brother Jormund's request.... trying to enumerate 10 things would indeed turn out to be a difficult exercise...but I must try with gusto...so here we go..

1. The Internet...no doubts about this one -- considering the amount of time I spend surfing, I think I would be pretty much clueless without it

2. Books -- have always been there, and will always be there for me, and vice versa...

3. Music -- nothing to say..only hear...

4. Motorcycles -- especially my friend's Thunderbird -- the perfect vehicle for the perfect getaway..

5. Cinema -- I have soooooooooo much left to see !!

6. Food -- Well cooked, tasty food..made with love of course...makes my day anytime !

7. Smirnoff -- the vodka -- ...glug..glug..glug....

8. Quizzing -- gives me a high better than anything else -- including the above Smirnoff !

9. Photography -- looking for different perspectives ...is exciting and challenging at the same time..

10. Cricket !!!!



I think these would pretty much some it up for now...I would loved to have added travelling and adventure sports, but I haven't done these too much...would definitely want to do some bungee jumping !!

Will post something gloomy pretty soon...some ideas are on the backburner !!

PS : I would surely have added my girlfriend's name to the top of the list...but unfortunately ( or fortunately ? ) ..I am still looking for her !!

The Dark Side of the mind...........

The past 10 days have been characterised by a singular feeling of disenchantment, disillusion and general sceptism..so what, pray, would be the reasons for the same ? ...

Well...
There are many...
One is the frustration that has come about as a result of existing in a system that is concerned about quantity...my great MBA institute is adding more courses by the day, with scarce regard to educational considerations... as it is, the value addition provided by this course is limited only to presentation skills, and then, topping it off with a slew of other mindless courses is actually the icing on the cake...people never knew why they came here...and now we are going to have more of that...how and why do commercial considerations become so important that they start to drive the future of educational institutions is a great mystery, and I don't think I will be able to find the answer to this one....


Another great fount of despair gushes forth...and this time, it owes its origin to the observation that all people everywhere suffer from one great basic need - and no, it is not hunger or sex...it is the need of being listened to.....everyone is looking for that someone who will be the one person who listens to what they have to say....and this reality just burst upon me like a bright Catherine wheel on a moonless night...
....One night..and a friend and I were sitting at the beach...having beer and a general discussion on how things change between friends et cetera et cetera....when my friend says something to a guy standing nearby...I don't know what he said..but that guy comes and sits down beside us....the warning bells in my head start to go off at full speed....but this guy is also drunk, like us...and he tells us that he is not having a good time...he does not have a job...and we reassure him that it will not last forever...that one has to have patience, and faith , that someone up there is watching, and will get us out of the spot...the poor chap apparently felt reassured and probably happy after we had stopped talking..so he went back to his friends and got us a bottle of beer seeing that we did not have any.....

Well..this incident occurs almost everyday with me...I give a patient hearing to peoples' issues...I tell them the way to go, the road to choose....but where do I go when its my turn ?? Who do I talk to ? Who will dispel my doubts and fears ? Who will tell me that it's ok..things will all be for the better...Sadly..the answer to all these questions is - Nobody...and...the best part is...after a few minutes of feeling helpless and lonely..I realise that the only person who will help me is my own self...so I give myself a stroke...and go back to living..until it is time for the next moment of despair...

The Mumbai Flood - Part II

Midnight, and a guy ( 6'3 - no one else could because the water was around 5 and a half feet) comes in, says school children were rescued by NM students and are being kept in the classes.Now the guys needed torches to keep the children from panicking in the dark.
There is some bad news too. Three guys from DJ Sanghvi, SVKM's Engg college- have died in their car which was stranded in the water...A few torches are collected, and off he goes into the darkness again.

Somehow we manage to pass the night,and greet the morning with fresh hopes..but its not the end yet, there is still a lot more to happen..

Morning brings with it the sight of a flooded lane - a Bajaj Pulsar is immersed upto its petrol tank - two sewer rats are jumping about on an auto's roof - a guy is actually swimming in that water
( !! Yikes !!) - and more rain ...it seems like we're stuck for another day . Some good news follows - the mess guy manages to get a stove running and we are getting poha for breakfast ! wow !

After a hearty meal of poha and being tired from the lack of sleep, some guys wander off and try to catch up on it. Meanwhile, guys have started to come back from the college - they tell us of the children who were rescued and their parents who came to take them home, but got stuck in the rain - actor Sachin Khedekar too was among one of the parents- but he luckily found his children quickly and went back. Our college guys went around in the water asking for food, the SVKM also sent them food somehow - the entire faculty was in the college all of Tuesday night - by morning, all except 12 children had been claimed.

Seniors helped us out in the food and water department by sending packets of Maggi, biscuits (unknown to us in the hostel, some parts of Juhu were already up and running by then), bisleri bottles taken after forcing a stranded truck- hope begins to glimmer again !

Slowly, ever so slowly, it seems that the water level is receding - yes - I can see more of the bike's fuel tank - after an hour - the tip of its front mud guard - after another two hours - the front wheel !! yahoo !! The water is indeed going down. Mercifully, the rain has also stopped.
Raghu, a friend who stays in a PG nearby, stayed overnight in the hostel because his room was half filled with water - is anxious to go and check his stuff out. We leave the hostel, wading in knee deep (thankfully !) water, and are surprised by what we see ahead - the ganda nala water mixing up with the standing rain water - and - dry land up ahead ! Also seen on the road are stranded cars- a Merc too - the entrails of a dead animal (ugghh ) and after a dry stretch - some more water. The road to Raghu's room is logged with 2 ft high water - but by now, that's a walk in the (water) park for us!

We reach his room to see the marks left behind by the water - they are slightly higher than the Kinetic parked there.Chaos greets us inside the room - shoes are floating , the room stinks and it seems like a lot of stuff has been lost - Thankfully Raghu's landlady had removed most of the stuff that was lying around, so its not a total loss any way. We now proceed to the cupboard - water has spoilt his Sony discman and some other electronics goods - but mercifully his original certificates are intact!

A quick review of the situation, a little inquiry from the landlady - and of course -
keeping the ganda naala and the dead animal in mind - we conclude that we should get of Juhu as soon as possible - because the conditions are ripe for the spread of an epidemic. Unfortunately, news about road and rail transport is sketchy- but we decide to take a gamble. Raghu picks up some clothes, and we head back to hostel.

Back in the hostel, and we realise that all the other guys have come to the same conclusion - the sight of an overflowing 'tabela' just behind the hostel has made them realise that disease is not far away. Some one says that he has spoken with some faculty members and has learnt that college will be closed until Monday.A mighty roar erupts from the guys, and all of them start to make plans of going home...I have not been able to contact my uncle till then, so I think of tagging along with Raghu and Hari, who are going to Pune. We pack our clothes in a jiffy, and move out of the hostel,having no idea of where to go and how. A cop at the next intersection tells us to go to the highway, where we may get a bus to Poona ...any how , after many trials and tribulations, we find out that we cant go to Pune because the road is closed..Hari suggests we check into a hotel room in Bandra...we catch an auto..realising that we dont have any cash, we try to access an ATM - but no luck - all are down - finally, we manage to find one that works !

Traffic is slow, and I see some amazing things on the road . Citizens are helping to direct traffic, ladies are serving coffe and biscuits to people who have been stranded on the road since the past twenty four hours ...never have I seen something like that..that is Bombay for you ! wow ! I silently raise my hat to those people, amazed at their spirit !

Bandra brings us some bad news. After having roamed around for some time, we find that all rooms and all hotels are booked...but wait...there's a room in a hotel in Khar which will be vacant in half an hour...but its price is um..pretty steep...even after pooling our resources, it is a big deal for all of us...nevertheless, putting pathar on our hearts, we agree ..and spend a comfortable night there...

Next morning - a hot shower and a shave later - I try to switch on my mobile - and mercifully - it works !! I silently thank God...he's saved me from another financial disaster...and sms my cousin..she replies back and tells me that everything is fine, and that I can come back home !

Whew ! I heave a sigh of relief ! Quickly go to Khar road station - board the local to Dadar - take a taxi to Sion - take an auto to Chembur - one hour and 80 rupees later, I am home !! Pig out on the toasts made by chachi, and hit the sack like I havent slept in two days ! Thank god - The adventure is over !!

PS : Hrithik Roshan lives just across the girls hostel - he was kind enough to carry two girls across the water and into the hostel when they got stranded ! Cheers to Hrithik for that -- Guess the girls will talk about it for the rest of their lives !!

Mumbai Impressions

Mumbai...

Suketu Mehta's Maximum City....Shantaram's playground.. home to sixteen million people.."twice the size of NY " according to Rudi Guiliani- ...glamourous yet dishevelled..rich yet poor...aloof and still friendly...the city of never ending contrasts... that is Mumbai for you...

Several images of Mumbai abound in the mind..but some of the more enduring ones are --

The mad rush in the local train at 8:00 a.m and the rush at Bade Mian's joint at 2:00 a.m..boy..this city tells you how to work hard, and play harder ...In fact, the manner in which a Mumbaikar plans his leisure hours seems to be as systematic as his approach to work...which itself is an irony !
..active until the wee hours...one can find an auto at any time of the night...and not think twice before stepping in..in fact..if the auto guys see three four guys standing together at night when the streets are empty, they stop and ask if you need a ride !


The slums ..they really are as bad as they appear on TV...one of the first sights that greets the eye when the plane is touching down - not quite recommended for sore ones - the slums have grown to an extent that they now encraoch upon the airport land...


The food...is mostly sad...really ...The Chinese Dosa, the extreme example of India China friendship - Hindi - Chini bhai bhai I guess -- noodles stuffed into the Dosa..!! The Vada Pao Dosa..as if the Vada Pao was not bad enough..Yikes...Similar such culinary monstroities abound and flourish under the guise of innovations..and one is best advised to steer clear of anything that purports itself to be one...the strange part is that people actually like them..or perhaps they are too hard pressed for time to be choosy, so they eat anything..

Mani's lunch home - Matunga -- the closest one can get to authentic cuisine from the South...Cooper Hospital mess - my daily sustenance..

The people -- Fight Club's single serving friends -- abound here -- as long as they have the time to spare, the people here are very nice..not rude, listen patiently...yeah..there are some who insist on speaking Marathi...but then one can always cajole them to speak Hindi anyway..one lasting impression that I will never forget -- Post July 26/7 when the city was submerged under 944 mm of rainfall in one day...ordinary citizens in Bandra - were directing traffic..ladies were giving food, water and coffee to motorists stranded on the road...it was really an inspiring sight..one definitely recommended for the sore ones !

I think I 'd better rein in my enthusiasm before it runs away with me :-) ...more in the next communication...an unusual experience at the beach

An Account of the Mumbai Floods - Part One

Something that I wrote after my encounter with Mother Nature's fury on July 26, 2005--

" Veni, Vidi but not quite Vici " must be the thought uppermost in
the Rain Gods' minds today, because after the initial setback,
Mumbai has come back to life. Although there are certain suburbs
still reeling under the blows dealt by the weather, things have
picked up pretty quickly.It is difficult to believe that its been
only three days since the rains started wreaking havoc....

Cut to Tuesday...Marketing class in progress...when suddenly
someone looked out of the window and said .."we're flooding" ...the
dullness of the class transformed into excitement.." oh boy..great
rain after a long time",we thought...but suddenly realised that this
was not quite just " great rain "..it was tremendous rain..some
guys waded to the hostel 9 the hostel is around 15 mins walk during
normal conditions )while it was still pouring and the water was
three feet high...the others stayed put, waiting for the rain to
stop and the water to subside..little did they know that it would be
two days before the rain stopped.

I reached the hostel at 5,forty five minutes after I started.
Showered and started to wait for the others. Meanwhile, the mess
kitchen had been flooded, and we were in for a dinner less night.

By 7, half the guys were in. The water was four and half feet by
now, and steadily rising. There was no power supply and it was
starting to get dark. To add to it, there was no cellular service
available,and most of the phones were not operational,having got wet
during the journey from college to hostel. Stores of snacks were
being opened and ways of arranging dinner being thought of.

One funny incident comes to mind.A guy escorted 4 girls to our
hostel, showered, chabged, and then went back into the water, to
take them to the girls hostel!

9 pm - its dark and there is no news of the guys in college - there
is nothing left to eat ..one guy manages to call a restaurant and
asks him if they can deliver food - the guy says there is no food
left, only snacks like biscuits, namkeen et cetera - and - yes, he
can get it delivered! Joyous celebrations erupt in the room, but the
news is kep a closely guarded secret. At 9:30, a guys wades thru
five feet of water,and hands us the bag of goodies which I
discreetly smuggle to a room. While I am collecting the cash to pay
him, the news leaks out, and other guys ask him to bring food for
them too..but he refuses- any way, I pay him, and he goes off. I
loiter around for some time, and then make my way to the room. A
gala feast of biscuits, khakra (something like a papad) and namkeen
is underway. Manage to eat something and look forward to surviving
the night somehow.

Post Holi...Cricket and Reviewing "Being Cyrus"

Holi was a BLAST !!! The wildest that I have played in the last twenty years...great fun...of course, there always are exceptions who do not share in the enthusiasm, but one can only sympathise with them...

Cricket....well, lesser said the better I presume...Sachin should seriously do something...or the same Ganguly argument would be applied to him too...Sachin is God, no doubt..but as Sambit Bal says in his
Cricinfo column, he has joined the ranks of mortals..

Yesterday, I got a chance to see Being Cyrus....well...I do not know where to begin....so I think the beginning would be a good idea...

My take on cinema is that it serves the primary function of entertainment -- entertainment which can assume different shades like comedy, romance, drama, horror, suspense, historical stories et cetera. Being Cyrus would find it a little difficult to be classified under any of these headings. Which makes me question why the movie was made in the first place...since it did not amuse me, scare me, thrill me, engage my attention for more than 15 consecutive minutes at any point of time..But this is not to take anything away from the debutante director, Homi Adajania.

The movie was technically very well crafted. The cinematography was excellent, the background score was different, and the look of the movie was pretty slick overall. I think this is where the good parts end.

I replayed the movie in my head, and realised that the director was probably trying to say too many things at the same time...there were various nuances in the movie that could only be understood by a second or third viewing, and trust me, doing that itself would qualify you for a bravery award.

There was a take on the Parsi community's dwindling numbers ( the matrimonial for a bride from 40 year old men), a general comment about how old parents were ill treated by their kids, and their being a burden to them, an element of revenge, an element of justification for Cyrus' way of life...but trust me..if you are the type who wants to go to a movie hall to be entertained, have fun, laugh and go into a different world where you forget your worries and tensions, then this is not the movie for you.

However, if you are the intellectual type, wherein you like to discuss all the issues that were fleetingly highlighted in the movie, and "go beyond the obvious" in management jargon ;-), then, please, like Syriana, this is the movie to watch.

Performances were good...but nothing special...For want of anyone better, Dimple did do enough justice to her role..Naseer's role could have been essayed equally well by a gentleman called Vikram Gokhale (personal opinion..no offence to anyone)..Boman Irani, chameleonesque in his performances , was his usual efficient self. Manoj Pahwa took his Bhatia act from Office Office to a higher level, nothing special about it. Even Cyrus' role could have been performed equally well by a certain John Abraham.

Overall verdict - Please get a CD and watch the movie if you really want to. Typical multiplex fare - and not paisa vasool.

Holi...the festival of colours !!

Holi is here at last...the second time that I will be away from home during this amazing festival...
Interaction with friends from Andhra and Tamil Nadu made me realise that it is not perhaps that big a festival there as it is in UP, Delhi, Panjab and the other northern and eastern states..

The myriad hues of Holi have many different things to say...bring back the colours into your life...make a new beginning...celebrate the beginning of summer...the victory of good over evil...the celebration of love....

One hopes that people do respect the fine line that separates "Bura Na Mano Holi Hai" from a license to have fun, to an excuse for unsavoury acts that too often leave a bad taste in the mouth...

Holi in Mumbai seems to be a pretty "thanda " affair...not too much excitement to be seen...I hope I am proved to be wrong tomorrow though, when the colour starts flying thick and fast through the air !!

Ab Initio

'twas the best of times, 'twas the worst of times..or so the poet said...something that I read a long time ago..and something that seems to keep going on..and on ..and on...like the Energizer Bunny ..

So let me start my foray into blogosphere by stating my reason to do so.... I think I am in the middle of what is called the "quarter life crisis"...and I need help in getting out from here...I think I am not growing mentally..that I am not doing enough...rather, I am not "adding value" to myself...and I am scared at the prospect of stagnating, of getting outdated, of losing my zest for things, even before I embark upon the Great Journey into the professional world.

So, this is where the blog comes in...I intend to ...well "use" would not be the right word...avail this channel's facilities to interact with people from all over the world..get exposed to new thoughts, new ideas, grow as a person..and learn to live life to the fullest...

This, however, is not the usual face that I present to the world... I am, at different times, mostly an optimist, sometimes an idealist...MBA student during the day and for long parts of the night..an individual of so many parts that I wonder whether they fit or not...yea...if my sister were to read this, she would have said - "Go get a life"...and I hope that somewhere here, in this blogosphere, I will find out what it means..and will finally be able to emerge from this haze...