It's the time

I guess the time has come. 24 hours from now, I will be rushing to Railway Station to load my belongings. 7:30 pm there will be a signal, and it is good bye Bangalore (in 2008). The "(in 2008)" part is there because I know I would want to come back to this place. The place that has helped me become what I am today.

RVCE, Riverstone, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent, Juniper, Rotaract Club, Rangashankara, Forum, CCD, Pure n Natural, Samarkand, Mysore Road, Avenue Road, Chitrakala Parishad, Nandi Hills, Bungee, Palace Ground, DreamADream, Jaynagar, Ananya, Alliance, Airlines hotel, Prism Bookshop, Majestic, SP Road, 4th Block, 1st Block, IIMB, Brigade Road - memories are unlimited. I am going to cherish them all.

Moving On - it's very difficult thing. Especially when you know that you are leaving behind a really important part of life. But I guess there is no other way. Something you gotta do.

The-Hangar - my home and my family for last three years. Aditya, Chandu, Ravi, Nikhil, Joyesh, Saurabh, Arpit : guys, I know I have not always been there with you, but trust me, I know what I have missed coz of that. I owe a lot to you. You have helped me reach this stage. You simply rock. Needless to say, it's not yet over. We are a family. And We will remain one.

I am going to miss you all. You have been part of my life for so long and I will cherish each moment I spent with you.

Bbye Bangalore.

ps: I am leaving for home by Karnataka Express on 14th May. I want to make it a memorable night tonight. You all are welcome home, please drop by if you are free.

I will be away from internet for some time. You can contact me on 9986006563 in case of any need.

Countdown Has Begun

6 years, 9 months and 23 days
That is the number of days, I have called Bangalore my home.
Namma Bangalore.

Now this phase of my life is coming to an end.
The countdown has begun. With my MBA plans it had become more and more clear to me that this was bound to happen. Reason for it were two:
1. There is only one world class MBA institution in Bangalore, ie IIMB
2. And I never thought that I will get an opportunity to take an admission in that.
Call it my (misjudged) confidence in my capabilities. But others thought all against the second one; the profs there included. I did get admission there, and for at least 12 long hours, I felt that "yes, this association will become richer by two more years of my life".

But no, this box of chocolate has something better for me.

So it is time to move on. I have given 7 best years of my life to Bangalore, and no doubt it has given me back some of the most important things in my life.
A new phase of life is beginning. But before that I have to wind up the one here. I don't believe in loose threads. I want to keep each of my point of contact intact. As solid and alive as ever.

Next few days, I will try to pack my memories from all these years. This is not the parting mail, I will always be around.

rainy evening(s) on brigade road

I met her through hi5,
Riya as she was called there
always joking and smiling
charming and cute.

She gave me a new name - spexy
I just loved it
even today I do
and will love it forever.
It is just for her.

We met in our virtual life.
Had to meet in real one too
So we planned to meet
our own 'blind date.'

1st evening:
Brigade Road it was,
most convenient and safe place.
It rained that evening
and it poured heavily.
I was stuck in Mota Arcade
and she in Archies.
We both could not move.
So close yet so far
Rain-god did not seem to mind our pain.
But we had our own ideas too
It had to be our day.
So I moved.
running wildly on brigade road
splashing water all over the places
getting drenched
I moved building by building
taking shelters in those tiny little shops
to catch some breath
and I reached Archies.
So many girls standing there
Who she was, I had no clue.
I gave one nice smile to all of them
and chose one face.
I wished "may she be the one"
I called her over her phone.
One girl picked the phone.
And I thanked God, I had chosen the right one.
She was the one.
Charming and bubbly
480 watt smiles all over her face
I just fell in love.
We set in the coffee day
and spent the time laughing about ourselves.
This is how I met her
One rainy day on brigade road

I met her many more times after that
And I cherished each and every moment of it
We talked, we laughed and we shared our life
She was like my guardian angel.
She still is.
Always there whenever I needed her
to cheer me up
to help me in any situation.
I too tried to do the same.
I hope she felt the same for me.

Life moves fast,
and changes become inevitable
we moved too
to a better phase of this friendship
trust is what kept us going
and it will in years to come

2nd evening:
It rained again last evening
and we met again
on the same brigade road
to cherish that 1st rainy evening
to relive all those memories.
for those same feelings of joy
and happiness.
That cute face
and those bubbly smiles
I fell in love all over again.
She made my day.

I know I am going to miss her a lot
she says the same
and I trust each word of hers.

Sanjana,
Meeting you is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I must have been really lucky to have a friend like you. I am going to miss you a lot.
You rock!!
Just remain the same.
You simply rock!!!

love at first sight

The first time I entered IIMB campus, I fell in love with it. I did not know then that I will actually get an offer to join that institue. And not even in my wildest dreams did I think that I will reject one such offer.

Today, when I crossed IIMB campus, I felt something odd. I actually am declining one such offer. It's a strange feeling. It's like being in love for so long still on that final moment turning your face and moving on.

Anyways. It is confirm now. I am going to IIMA.
WIMWI, as they call it.

its rocking!!!

BLACKI
First few days after result, I just did not realize the importance of getting interview calls from all 6 IIMs. Pagalguy has a term for such cases, a BLACKI. I was happy to be associated with another such acronym. It was the gyan session with Rahul, that I fully understood its implications. Like they say in Spiderman, "with great power comes greater responsibility." That night Rahul was at his best. And he did convince me for one thing.

"End of the day ABC stands apart. I know I will get into atleast one of the 6. But, which one? If among ABC, it will make all the difference. If not ABC, I will repent my whole life for not doing something that I should have."

Call it brainwash or anything you like. That very night, I decided to give my 'all' to the preparation. The events that unfolded after that, would finally define the course of my journey. Good and Bad, I had mixed experiences. Everyone around me has been supporting and encouraging from the word go. And I am really thankful to all.

Jobless for two months
Joblessness - it sucks. It sucks big-time. I had my mission - Mission IIM. Still I can tell you, joblessness kills. I had my time when I wanted to think as if the forced banishment did not happen. But then that was the truth. I had no escape. I tried my best to indulge myself in doing things that will help me overcome the boredom. Eventually it helped me. Reading habit is my biggest learning from this phase.

Preparation
Preparation? What preparation? I do not know what did I prepared. Just to mention, I chatted with lots of people, watched all the movies in town and read lots of books, news articles and blogs. Most important of them read my mind. I convinced myself about my 'self'. I feel that is the most important preparation for any interview. The study of self, it takes you a long way.

D-day
D day was to come on 11th APril, but 'honorable' SC gave its 'historical' ruling on OBC quota issue and the D-day just vanished from in front of our eyes. Quota or no quota, I knew only one thing. I do not have a say in this. I just want my result. And if it is positive, I will be the happiest person in life.

May 1st did not hold any special significance, other than being a holiday, for me till this year. But as the end of April approached, it became clear that it will be the day that will define my future. The new D-day. I waited eagerly for it, with my heartbeat breaking every speed record I knew of.

And it begins
May 1st, 00:00 hours IST, and it began.

IIM Bangalore came first. Bora gave me the link. My heart was pounding as I keyed in the address in my browser. IIMB was my worst performance in any interview. I did not have much expectations from it, so. Still I saw my number there. OMG. I am there. I just could not believe. I checked 6-7 times, refreshing the page, and downloading the result again and again. Finally I accepted it. :) Yes I did it.

IIM Calcutta next. Again, it was Bora who sent me the news. He wanted to check it for me, but somehow I felt like checking it myself. I was out for breakfast. I headed straight to home on full speed on my bike. Keyed in the registration number. Guess what, my heart is still pounding. And I was there too. IIMC was one of my best interview performance so I had lots of hopes with it. I converted it. Two big ones in my kitty. One more to go.

IIM Kozikode has an interesting story. There was a IIMK result link on PG which was not visible on the official IIMK page. During first few minutes, this link gave "Sorry, your name is not there in the list." message to every query. I was surprised and did not want to believe it. So waited for some more time before giving this 'news' to anyone. And whoa... the next time I keyed in the details, the results had changed. I was there. Still the link was not yet on the IIMK site, so waited some more minutes. Finally as soon as the link became official, I cracked the news. I am there. It is 3/3. For records, IIMK interview was the only stress interview I had. A pathetic GD performance. On my 'request' they had stressed me in the interview. :)

The BIG DADDY
All the while I was checking IIMK result, I was refreshing IIMA site. Big Daddy was supposed to give its result at 11am. There was no update, but. 11:30 - still no update. What the hell!!! The wait is killing. I just could not enjoy my success so far.
Again it was Bora who gave the link. And again the heart was in the same state. My whole preparation was in front of my eyes. And I was there. I had got through IIMA. For the first time, I shouted on top of my voice. Yessssssssssssss. ABC it is. Yes I DID IT.

L and I came pretty late in afternoon. Somehow I checked them with the same enthusiasm I checked the first result. L made it 5/5. Last one to come was Indore - my hometown. My mom was very happy to know that there is an IIM in indore and I can study there. But when I told that I do not intend to study from there [unles ofcourse I do not get admission in any other college], and that even if I join it, I will live in the hostel, She settled for any MBA college in country. :) Bora again gave me the link, and it worked again. It is 6/6

About Bora, he rocks. He has some miracle touch.
Thanks a lot Bora. You rock. Looking forward at sharing the dorm with you in IIMA.

I am a BLACKI again. :)

I have no words to describe this feeling. It's just wonderful. It's rocking.

And here comes the most important part of this post/mail. I want to thank every soul that has helped me reach this stage.

My parents for helping me to become what I am today.
My sister and jiju for the never ending support.
We the people at the-hangar (Me, ravi, chandu, arpit, aditya, nikhil, joyesh, saurabh) have spent each day as a closely neat clan. And I know it would not have been possible without you guys. Thanks so much.
Rahul and Rout: You two people have been the inspiration. You rock!!
Shashank: you are my elder brother. I can never forget the support that you have given me all this while.
Bhushit: Boss, you know it. I owe it to you. You proved it to me that one does not need an MBA to become a good manager. Now that I will have an MBA, I will try to become a better one.
My team at Juniper: I might have disappointed you guys but I know you will forgive me. I respect and thank all you guys for the help you have been to me. Vasu and Tao, thanks for being the best manager I could have got there.
Brijesh sir, Gulshan sir and Ajay sir - for all your help in preparation.
Namratha: Your mock interviews helped a lot. You can be cruel at times. Still you rock.
Sumana and Sanjana: for all the books and the support. I know you too wanted me to leave your bangalore as soon as possible.
Too all my friends: Thanks a lot to all of you.

And to myself - for holding on to it for so long.

01:14 hours

It's 1:14 hours on May 1st. I am wide awake. And I know it is going to be a sleepless night.

I have made it through IIMB.
YES, I DID IT. :)

Dad and Mom are sleeping. I woke them up to give the news. :)

Thanks one and all...