Uncommon Sense

And I am back to corporates. It's not testing anymore. I'm finally a marketer. 9 months in the class rooms and now I get to apply whatever I read from those books, whatever we discussed in those cases and whatever we learnt from those learned professors. The kind of interaction I had today has raised my expectations from this internship. I know I am working on something that will have real impact for the company.
Next two months look challenging to say the least. Good thing is that I am working with a very nice bunch of people. The setup looks superb for learning and enjoying the work.

Mumbai finally it is.
I am loving it. :D

AHD-IND-BOM

End of first year in this course is just two exams away. I'll become a PGP2 then. No more facchadom. It's a strange feeling. Our estimed alumni Dr. Raghuram Rajan had to say this about first year in IIMA -"If you survived the first term at Ahmedabad, you can survive almost anything".

Indeed, it's been a great year. Yesterday I had a small discussion with one of my friend here who on this last one year. And we said just one thing - We did not just survive this one year, we lived it.

Next two months will be time for some real action, amidst the corporate world. On the field. I will be interning at Marico in their Mumbai office. So it's finally Mumbai meri jaan...

Tonight I am leaving for home. I will be away from this campus and lovely people here for over two months. I cannot imagine anything right now. :)

Ahd - Ind - Bom is my route. I will be in Indore tomorrow morning. It won't be a long stay there though, I will leave for Bhikangaon in morning itself [after enjoying nice poha jalebi breakfast]. Two days at home, with everyone present there. And then I will be back to Indore on 5th afternoon. 5th Evening I fly from Indore to reach Mumbai in night. And it's maximus city after that for around two months.

I guess time for some studies now. Will be away from the net for some days now. My phone is still reachable in case of need.

Alwida...

Day Three: Post Lunch

Post lunch, it was like being a night watchman. We just had to survive 30 minutes. Hopefully we have done good enough.

Day Three: Morning Session

It's april fool's day. And the batsmen have been fooled by the opponents. Spinners lead the attack since the start of the day and kept the batsman in check.
You may be wondering, why do the batting team is not declaring or getting out!!
My answer is, its my game. And I will bat as long as I can. Remember the cricket matches we played in childhood. So many times our whole motivation to win the toss, bat and then run away.. :D
ok... what else???

Day Two: Post Lunch

And the pitch changed its colour again. Batsman had no reply for googlies that the opponent's bowlers threaw at them. It was a tough day at work.

Somehow the day is saved.

Day Two: Morning Session

Batsman must say it was a nice morning to bat. Now let us see if the batsman can continue on this momentum...

Opening day

The game was all set for a nice start. Nice weather, well rested players and a batsman's paradise pitch. It was a nice opening session for the batsmen. But then things turned around quickly and batsmen lost the momentum. End of the day the batting team looks in trouble.

Was it the overconfidence on batsman's part or just sheer bad luck?

End Term

And the exams are here.
7 courses in 4 days - 2 shifts per day.
Once the exam starts times flies just like that. But before that, it's a totally different thing. This is last exam in first year of this course. We have already appeared in 5 of them. By now, we have written 30 odd mid/end term papers (not to forget more than 100 'surprise' quizzes). Still the feeling is same.

Hoping to live through next few days as a fresh start awaits beyond them.

Amen...

Convocatin 2009

The stage could not have been grander. Life has come full circle for 300 odd PGP/PGP-ABM students here in IIMA. Two years back, they landed in this campus with unlimited dreams. Today they got graduated. Some dreams fulfilled, some still to be achieved. Two years worth every moment of it, nonetheless.

Parents, family members and friends - they are all smiles. Their pride is worth every effort that they had to take in order to send their loved ones to this campus. The smile on their faces speaks a volume. It just cannot get bigger than this. Today not only these 300 odd students but their family and friends who have fulfilled their dreams.

I try to imagine the same time next year. When my loved ones will be here watching me graduate. They will be so proud of me. This moment is worth all the efforts and sacrifice.

All the best you the batch of 2007-2009. May you scale the heights of success in whatever you do in your life.

Kaleidoscope

Sayan Sarkar wrote this on last day of classes in first year. It sums up the last one year for each one of us in Section Absolut.
I am using it here without his permission. I hope he does not mind. In any case, do visit Sayan's profile (Orkut, Facebook) if you like this poem and pur your praise there too.

Today melancholy got the better of me
Of emotions I couldn't set my mind free
Thoughts in a cascade broke out
I tried to imagine my life without-

The section meet and handover
The claims to fame and shame
The four-level gallery; the well
The tags with upended names

The night-outs during T-nite
The tempo shouts, the rehearsals
The first instance of togetherness
The bright green Absolut tees

The group meets and deadlines
Assignments, ppts and rand()
The free riders and the free-ridden
The dreaded quiz notice at 1:30

The cold calls and the responses
Globe, arbit and repeat, challenge
"Basically", "Per se", "I agree"
Swinging both ways with a wild cobra

The silence of the first PCCBS
Or the dread of Marketing-I
Fair enough, excellent point
Now you tell me who's your guru?

Spillovers and proposals on Juice NB
Pursuits of heart or hijacked id?
Creativity and mischief ran free
I hope my graceful neighbour pardons me.

Caricatures on the attendance sheet
The proxies, the dozing off, the snores
Coffee during the period-breaks
Flocking for live scores at cricinfo.com

The scramble for the infra resources
Mics conking off at the wrong moments
Debating which lights to turn off in ppts
Fan or AC or both or neither?

So many colours flood my eyes today
All that I can't leave behind
I don't know where I am heading to
But CR7 is where I want to be. Absolutly.

ps: Brilliant work mamba. You just said it all.

Good Bye CR7

Today we had our last class in first year of IIMA life. No more CR7 it will be from now on. It's a mixed feeling. I really don't have anymore words.

Rajwadu - the royal treat

And I got lucky again. After the hectic schedule of last week, this week seems a chiller. Last few days of first years were turning out to be uneventful. Luckily today was a little different. We went to Rajwadu for lunch. Abhinav has been mentioning about this place for some time now. We made plans but could never actually go there. Today finally 6 of us (Me, Saafi, Fochu, Tichki, Hottiii & Bajao Singh) jumped into two autos and headed to treat ourselves to a royal lunch.

Rajwadu is a theme restaurant specialized in serving traditional Rajasthani and Gujarati food. We visited it for it's Daal Baati platter. Daal Baati in student mess is just the namesake of what is actually served in rest of the world. We really needed to train our taste buds back to the real taste of Daal Baati. And Rajwadu did that for us. Nice and soft Baatis served with spicy Daal & garlic chutney. Churme ka laddu to go with it. We ordered some starters to, just for trying some new dishes. Patra is essentially a saag kind of preparation (for uninitiated, it is like spring rolls) made out of Arabi leafs. There were some Muthias (something like cutlets) too made from Methi and Palak. And ofcourse, variety of sweets to end your meal. We ordered Mal Puva, and trust me all of us will vouch for it.

Try anything here but do ask what it is before ordering. Else you will end up having a Kadbuj (watermelon) juice with salt and masala added to it. :D

One warning - Daal Baati is heavy stuff on your stomach. The thaali is more than sufficient to fit one's appetite. So do not order lots of starters before the thaali. There is no fun in eating Daal Baati on half-filled stomach.

And the best part, this place is cheap. For 99 rs, the thaali is value for money. Add to it, the ambiance and service - the place is worth it. In evening the place is lit with Kandils and there are arrangments for puppet show and pottery wheel. Do go there when you want to treat yourself royally.

I recommend.

ps: Location and directions - link

10 minutes

10 minutes to go before I leave for the next class. So here is a quick post. Some random thoughts, a lot of questions as usual...

Why does the news of a student's death due to lack of medical facilities not become as big a news as death of a student due to ragging...

Tucchadom is just around the corner...

Matunga? Andheri? Bandra? Dadar? or something else??

I am saving some money this summers. Thanks to shifting of IPL.

Why do news paper still keep looking for news about IIM placements throughout the year...

I am a passionate photographer - says my profile. But still my photoblog is almost dead. :(

Clocks... Spies... Trouble...

Isn't IPL a flawed product concept?

Bangalore - Chennai - Indore - Khandwa - Jabalpur - Ahmedabad ... That was my last summer...

Chai Unchai or not?

One more to go...

I am saving a lot on phone bills these days. :)

Tol Mol ke Bol

I have never seen actual bidding taking place - be it in the stock market or otherwise. Yesterday was first chance (actually friday if I consider the mock bidding rounds) I got the real feel of a bidding process. We had course/elective allocation (or rather selection) for our 4th term. As in most of the 'wellknown' and 'not so wellknown' colleges in India, this is done using a bidding process. A day long process resulted in we seeing one of the most exciting activity on the campus. Last minute rushe of demand (as seen by the bids various people put on them) on certain courses was something of an experience in itself.
I am not a very good player in these games, so I kind of played safe. Somehow the 'strategy' worked and I got the courses of my linking. Here is a list of the cources that I will be taking in next two slots:
1. Seminar on Retail Management (SRM)
2. Seminar on Brand Management (SBM)
3. Business Government and Law (BGL)
4. International Trade and Investments (ITI)
5. Social Entrepreneurship : Innovating Social Change (SEISC)
6. Media & Society: The Economics, Politics, Ethics and technologies of Mass Communications (EPETMC)
7. Strategic Management II (SM2)
And if I get lucky - Business French (BF) :)

A mix of so-called frauds and in-demand courses. My calender for second year looks as jam packed as my first year. I wonder how people said that life is chilled in 2nd year of MBA. :(

Always and Forever...

Taken at 1804 - Parijat's on holi night...