Any idea on why this blog is being written at 6:25 AM even though i went to bed at 2:30 AM?? Also, I have my class only at 11:00 AM and i haven't read anything...then why? bolo bolo...
Ever heard of not being able to sleep because of hic-ups?? if not, you may be amused to note that i am being harrassed by that bloody cyclic irritant and i am currently in a very bad shape!! "!%^*()*&#$^&%". My eyes are all red, i feel like my eustacian tube has been choked, and when i try to take in some air and clean my nose stril with a strong "mmgroaahh",i am getting a damn headache!!! Believe me, it is a horrible situation to be in, and i badly want to get rid of it as soon as possible and resume sleeping (looks like wishful thinking though!!). The only consoling thought is that may be fate wants me to write this blog, and so i sit and scribble at this odd ISB hour.
Going back to the quirky events that happened after the last blog, dandiya night comes to mind first. As always, i preferred to be the friendly photographer around than try my hand at dancing. I did some "papparazzi" style photography too..This is was strictly "on request" or "on academic interest" basis!!
In the wake of seeing the SAIT results, i have decided to write a book called "Why "appropriate" means "Not appropriate" in the ISB dictionary!!! ". Got our GSB midterm too...For once i felt that the person who corrected the paper has actually gone through it in detail. I had written a word called "unregulable" which showed an error even when i typed it in MS word..but i decided to keep it for lack of a better word and of course, time!. I have a habit of using non-existent but suitable looking words in my essays (I used "localites" in the essay i wrote for ISB admissions!!) , and i am really surprised that someone has caught it..First time I am seeing this happen and i am all praise for MK..Way to go prof!!
Though i am playing daily, i have still not got back to full playing health. I realized it even more deeply when i was playing basky earlier this week. My injured joints are all still squeaking and so are the stretched muscles. A two term partial layoff hasn't helped much..but what the heck, even tendya scored ninety three with his tennis elbow!! That match inspired a lot of "lost" enthusiasts to concentrate again on cricket..hope Team India puts up a good show this time...Did you know that i was practising spin bowling from 2 - 2:30 AM in the SV1 cafe yesterday when i got the hic-up??
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
Galli Cricket and Quad's Day Out
Did you know that we have started playing cricket at the SV1-cafe? The rules are similar to the cricket tournament that happened in ISB earlier, but we dont play for runs..existence at the crease is the bigger concern here! I guess you see the real life analogy (..think of study?)!!
Feel free to drop in at the wee hours of an assignment filled eve on a normal ISB day, and u could join the best boys of SV1 playing the most popular game in India!
The residents of "Kutha Villa" (SV1:B21-24) had their quad's day out yesterday. We dined out at the Waterfront Inn and payed one more visit to Prasadz to watch a movie called "Stealth". It is a cool movie for all those people who like fighter planes, big explosions , big sci-fi sets and of course, JB.
Yesterday reminded me of the weekend drives which we used to go for when i was working at Ruan. Come friday, we used to rent a car and drive to explore the next city in our target list, hop around that place during the weekend and rush back on sunday evening. Just like over there, yesterday too the one who got to drive received most of the "goals" on the offering!!
This is an assignment packed weekend, time to enjoy the fun!
Feel free to drop in at the wee hours of an assignment filled eve on a normal ISB day, and u could join the best boys of SV1 playing the most popular game in India!
The residents of "Kutha Villa" (SV1:B21-24) had their quad's day out yesterday. We dined out at the Waterfront Inn and payed one more visit to Prasadz to watch a movie called "Stealth". It is a cool movie for all those people who like fighter planes, big explosions , big sci-fi sets and of course, JB.
Yesterday reminded me of the weekend drives which we used to go for when i was working at Ruan. Come friday, we used to rent a car and drive to explore the next city in our target list, hop around that place during the weekend and rush back on sunday evening. Just like over there, yesterday too the one who got to drive received most of the "goals" on the offering!!
This is an assignment packed weekend, time to enjoy the fun!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Are Placements nearing?
Self selection is not a good option for believers of destiny. It makes life difficult for people who still have an umbilical cord existing between commitment and conscience. Let me confess that I am truly facing a sweet and sour situation this term. My long term vision of getting a dual specialization from a B school has been put to test and i am forced to work!
The marketing classes are proving to be a big relief after having to study a host of not "as inspiring" stuff in the last couple of terms. I have enrolled for marketing research and consumer behaviour and the one common word i can think of to describe both the profs is that they are both "cool". Of course, you don't get to learn any rocket science from either of the courses but they kind of help to you to analyze things from a grass root level.
"Kutha villa" i.e. my house in ISB, and its four kutha's are looking out for the biggest "kutha"/"kuthiya" in this area for the naming ceremony of their place. We shall have a ribbon cutting ceremony and a speech calling for the formation of a consortium of all "ISB kutha log" of our batch. "Kutha" according to me is just another mispronounced word originating from the Mallu "kutta" meaning "dear boy". You see, it's just a way of showing your love to one another...we exhort all of you to use that word more often! (i mean , between you and your loved ones...need not be used at us, direct!)
P.S. Kutha is a patented trademark of SV1: B21-24 and owes its origin to my quaddie,
Mr Pashu.
How do you receive an important piece of (tense) information when it is bundled with something else, much milder? Along with Term5 comes a gentle buzz about interviews and placements; the awareness is slowly creeping up the veins and we can feel it slowly taking over our senses. Well, one has to get along with life and can't afford to freak out for long..An opportunity to be part of a B-school like ISB comes once in a lifetime and its hard to see it pass, especially when you are enjoying it. I guess the big difference when you have come back to school is the constant feeling of getting out at some point of time, as compared to the ignorance filled undergrad life. Ignorance is bliss, knowledge kills the fun :-(
The marketing classes are proving to be a big relief after having to study a host of not "as inspiring" stuff in the last couple of terms. I have enrolled for marketing research and consumer behaviour and the one common word i can think of to describe both the profs is that they are both "cool". Of course, you don't get to learn any rocket science from either of the courses but they kind of help to you to analyze things from a grass root level.
"Kutha villa" i.e. my house in ISB, and its four kutha's are looking out for the biggest "kutha"/"kuthiya" in this area for the naming ceremony of their place. We shall have a ribbon cutting ceremony and a speech calling for the formation of a consortium of all "ISB kutha log" of our batch. "Kutha" according to me is just another mispronounced word originating from the Mallu "kutta" meaning "dear boy". You see, it's just a way of showing your love to one another...we exhort all of you to use that word more often! (i mean , between you and your loved ones...need not be used at us, direct!)
P.S. Kutha is a patented trademark of SV1: B21-24 and owes its origin to my quaddie,
Mr Pashu.
How do you receive an important piece of (tense) information when it is bundled with something else, much milder? Along with Term5 comes a gentle buzz about interviews and placements; the awareness is slowly creeping up the veins and we can feel it slowly taking over our senses. Well, one has to get along with life and can't afford to freak out for long..An opportunity to be part of a B-school like ISB comes once in a lifetime and its hard to see it pass, especially when you are enjoying it. I guess the big difference when you have come back to school is the constant feeling of getting out at some point of time, as compared to the ignorance filled undergrad life. Ignorance is bliss, knowledge kills the fun :-(
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Naam Gum Jayeega
The biggest problem i am facing in Term 5 is carrying the name tag around without losing it. Twice it happened that i forgot to pick up the card from my seat and someone had to remind me to take it from there. The outlook-ian world does make people go low in memory :-)
I had the privilege to savour the initial classes of term 5 in the last two days.Though i want to go slow on criticizing the profs, i cant resist lamenting on the advanced corp fin class. May be the profs also need to go through a detailed Business presentation skills workshop and have a one to one session with Mr Unpack. I see a lot of scope for improvement in them when it comes to communication though I accept that they are leaders in their fields.
My own personal experience says that the most important characteristic that people should build in them is a constant feedback loop which keeps looking out for criticism and tries to constantly improve. It is pretty saddening to observe that many of our well known professors lag behind in this metric and are still carrying basic flaws when it comes to lecturing or handling a class in general.
Coming back to my favourite hot chick of this season, i.e. the climate, the nights are also turning to be absolutely fabulous here in the campus. The yellow street lights and the white footpath lamps create a mystic illusion in the dense fog that has started to accumulate these days. I have a beautiful view of the SV1 frontage from my room and i keep staring at the campus every now and then. I even went out photo-hopping trying to capture some elements of ISB in digits; the best one i could come up with was a fast shutter pic of ISB getting drenched in rain, and as seen from my place..ISB- keep modelling for me!!!
I had the privilege to savour the initial classes of term 5 in the last two days.Though i want to go slow on criticizing the profs, i cant resist lamenting on the advanced corp fin class. May be the profs also need to go through a detailed Business presentation skills workshop and have a one to one session with Mr Unpack. I see a lot of scope for improvement in them when it comes to communication though I accept that they are leaders in their fields.
My own personal experience says that the most important characteristic that people should build in them is a constant feedback loop which keeps looking out for criticism and tries to constantly improve. It is pretty saddening to observe that many of our well known professors lag behind in this metric and are still carrying basic flaws when it comes to lecturing or handling a class in general.
Coming back to my favourite hot chick of this season, i.e. the climate, the nights are also turning to be absolutely fabulous here in the campus. The yellow street lights and the white footpath lamps create a mystic illusion in the dense fog that has started to accumulate these days. I have a beautiful view of the SV1 frontage from my room and i keep staring at the campus every now and then. I even went out photo-hopping trying to capture some elements of ISB in digits; the best one i could come up with was a fast shutter pic of ISB getting drenched in rain, and as seen from my place..ISB- keep modelling for me!!!
Friday, October 14, 2005
Challenges to Innovation
What better way to spend your term break than paying up a hundred dollars and getting to crack your brain for some dumb competition? Did you know that almost one fourth of ISB is doing the same damn stuff? There is also a paper writing frenzy that has caught our batch. Every duffer on campus is writing a paper and expecting it to earn recognition which can be fit into his or her resume. I thought it was a time consuming thing to come up with a paper, but ISB junta has begun to prove me completely wrong on different counts!!!
Coming back to Innovation Challenge which gobbled up my term break, I would say that it has been a test of patience and the ability to reproduce healthy faf babies. Fafing succeeds where hours of brainstorming flops miserably. Its time to do a pooja of those jargon gurus who have instilled confidence in all of us to deliver the goods when the situation is grim. We finally came up with a impressive list of jargons like "Quintessential metamorphosis", "Extreme analysis on a MaxiMin Scale", "The Insight-foresight-hindsight triad" etc which we plugged in to the paper. We are currently working on creating some more triangles and quadrants to further convey some non existent ideas to the judges. The futility of the entire exercise prompts me to conclude that if you can't innovate you should try to motivate. A confused reader might get motivated by seeing some of these cutting edge faf, and make something worthwhile out of it which was not thought of while writing.
The term break is almost gone now and there is no point repenting over the lost time. Thinking of good things that happened this break, the first thing that comes to mind is the weather. The climate in the campus has been absolutely fabulous with mild drizzles and strong breeze which enhance the greenery around. Its amazing how the same place can switch from being a heaven to a red hot grill....guess it is all in the mind set- keep cool in term 5!!
Coming back to Innovation Challenge which gobbled up my term break, I would say that it has been a test of patience and the ability to reproduce healthy faf babies. Fafing succeeds where hours of brainstorming flops miserably. Its time to do a pooja of those jargon gurus who have instilled confidence in all of us to deliver the goods when the situation is grim. We finally came up with a impressive list of jargons like "Quintessential metamorphosis", "Extreme analysis on a MaxiMin Scale", "The Insight-foresight-hindsight triad" etc which we plugged in to the paper. We are currently working on creating some more triangles and quadrants to further convey some non existent ideas to the judges. The futility of the entire exercise prompts me to conclude that if you can't innovate you should try to motivate. A confused reader might get motivated by seeing some of these cutting edge faf, and make something worthwhile out of it which was not thought of while writing.
The term break is almost gone now and there is no point repenting over the lost time. Thinking of good things that happened this break, the first thing that comes to mind is the weather. The climate in the campus has been absolutely fabulous with mild drizzles and strong breeze which enhance the greenery around. Its amazing how the same place can switch from being a heaven to a red hot grill....guess it is all in the mind set- keep cool in term 5!!
Monday, October 10, 2005
What happened at BPS?
Long time ago, i was a non-presenter. Then i was sent to attend a workshop by my previous employer where i was taught body language and the importance of doing actions and expressions while making a presentation. From that point of time i have been shaking my head and doing fast paced karate style hand actions whenever i present.But i recently realised that i have been too sincere a student to have practised them so well that i had acquired exaggerated versions of what was taught to me earlier!!. I was really shocked to see myself jumping around when the first BPS video was shown. First Resln: People can view a calm and composed me from now on.
Instructor imitating an Andhra Guy, wanting to tell us the importance of owning a good accent says - "Wemen rrr dha perrlssu aaf dha worrllddu" and explains that this is the way a localite would say women are pearls of the world.
Student - Madam, u have understood it wrong, his accent was reasonably correct. What he meant to tell you was that "Women are the perils of the world not pearls" ...big shouts from all the females of the class -- maaro, maaro!!
Instructor: The a/c can be colder, you may remove the blazer till the temperature is further reduced.
Student Action - Remove blazer, tie, watch, shoes, socks, raises his sleeves....hooo this is cool!!.. Next day, of course wearing a half slack is the natural progression :-)
Takeaways from the course: hmmm, other than a revealing video (not in that sense, u ugly minds!!) which showed that i need to get back to a conscious mode while presenting or talking for that matter, nothing much. Nobody got really bashed up for their pathetic presentation skills, and that was really disappointing for my own sadistic instincts which wanted to badly contribute towards targeted segments (--Do you know that when i was a kid i was so fond of pressing on people's bleeding wounds ---he he he!!)
But frankly, what's the point of giving goody goody feedbacks and making you feel that you are a champ when the presentation actually had a junk rating?
Instructor imitating an Andhra Guy, wanting to tell us the importance of owning a good accent says - "Wemen rrr dha perrlssu aaf dha worrllddu" and explains that this is the way a localite would say women are pearls of the world.
Student - Madam, u have understood it wrong, his accent was reasonably correct. What he meant to tell you was that "Women are the perils of the world not pearls" ...big shouts from all the females of the class -- maaro, maaro!!
Instructor: The a/c can be colder, you may remove the blazer till the temperature is further reduced.
Student Action - Remove blazer, tie, watch, shoes, socks, raises his sleeves....hooo this is cool!!.. Next day, of course wearing a half slack is the natural progression :-)
Takeaways from the course: hmmm, other than a revealing video (not in that sense, u ugly minds!!) which showed that i need to get back to a conscious mode while presenting or talking for that matter, nothing much. Nobody got really bashed up for their pathetic presentation skills, and that was really disappointing for my own sadistic instincts which wanted to badly contribute towards targeted segments (--Do you know that when i was a kid i was so fond of pressing on people's bleeding wounds ---he he he!!)
But frankly, what's the point of giving goody goody feedbacks and making you feel that you are a champ when the presentation actually had a junk rating?
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Mein MBA/2 Hogyaa!!
Well, i should be writing in my blog a bit more often, sorry for dozing out for large durations. Times have not been exactly conducive for writing,I was getting squashed with work. For the first time in ISB i was really running short of time, especially in the last two weeks of Term 4.
The exams were good fun. Lots to study, limited time..so you are free to prioritize and pick what you want to study and ignore the rest. I am not sure if i am the only claimant of enlightenment after coming to ISB, but i have completely lost the tension i had on the eve of the exams!!
Term 4 has been the most useful term as far as i am concerned and i have strong reasons for saying that. Involuntary "Faf"-ing is the most potent tool an MBA should have, SAIT has more than helped with that. I simply admire Prof Banker's Step by Step logic studded articulation which makes you believe things without hard core data..I have adopted him as my role model from now on. GSB made me comfortable with the words i was shaky talking about. eg institutions, fundamentals etc. It has also made me interested in reading long and dense articles, and thinking on those grounds than just leave them at that. MO had lots of interesting articles which i came to know on the eve of the exams; but i read them all and now i am confident of going to an interview asking for a HR role!. IA was good, a slight deviant from the spirit upheld by the other subjects, but was fulfilling in the traditional manner.
The writing part of exams were cool too, irrespective of the result i am expecting!. Three of the exams were almost objective type, and motivated us to have competitions on who would come out of the hall first. We were writing the lower bids on time on the board and the TA - invigilator marked the actual time when we gave the answer paper. For the GSB test, JD "The Grim guy of ISB" won hands down after bidding at 17 mins and finishing the paper at 14.5!!
After the exam, the custom of going for a movie and enjoying a bike ride was followed. I had to watch Salaam Namaste again, but that's just a small price to pay for being with some awesome company. We had a blast of a time at Prasadz at all three stages- Pre-Movie, during movie and post movie. Hot debates, whistling and shouting at the screen images and of course a group riding back to ISB with a lovely crescent watching them enjoy the cool Hyderabad night..Nothing to beat that last one and i plan do it at least four times before i say good bye to ISB!.
The exams were good fun. Lots to study, limited time..so you are free to prioritize and pick what you want to study and ignore the rest. I am not sure if i am the only claimant of enlightenment after coming to ISB, but i have completely lost the tension i had on the eve of the exams!!
Term 4 has been the most useful term as far as i am concerned and i have strong reasons for saying that. Involuntary "Faf"-ing is the most potent tool an MBA should have, SAIT has more than helped with that. I simply admire Prof Banker's Step by Step logic studded articulation which makes you believe things without hard core data..I have adopted him as my role model from now on. GSB made me comfortable with the words i was shaky talking about. eg institutions, fundamentals etc. It has also made me interested in reading long and dense articles, and thinking on those grounds than just leave them at that. MO had lots of interesting articles which i came to know on the eve of the exams; but i read them all and now i am confident of going to an interview asking for a HR role!. IA was good, a slight deviant from the spirit upheld by the other subjects, but was fulfilling in the traditional manner.
The writing part of exams were cool too, irrespective of the result i am expecting!. Three of the exams were almost objective type, and motivated us to have competitions on who would come out of the hall first. We were writing the lower bids on time on the board and the TA - invigilator marked the actual time when we gave the answer paper. For the GSB test, JD "The Grim guy of ISB" won hands down after bidding at 17 mins and finishing the paper at 14.5!!
After the exam, the custom of going for a movie and enjoying a bike ride was followed. I had to watch Salaam Namaste again, but that's just a small price to pay for being with some awesome company. We had a blast of a time at Prasadz at all three stages- Pre-Movie, during movie and post movie. Hot debates, whistling and shouting at the screen images and of course a group riding back to ISB with a lovely crescent watching them enjoy the cool Hyderabad night..Nothing to beat that last one and i plan do it at least four times before i say good bye to ISB!.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The Half way mark
People are carrying handkerchieves and buckets (uncontrollable tears!!), especially in my section. Even i am feeling a bit skeptical sitting in class alongside people from other sections, and i am surprised at the emotion. Section C has really become like a family for me and even others are feeling the pinch of leaving it. The sentiment was very visible during yesterday's music competition.
The original animalistic patriotism which was the trademark of SecC was missing in the section for the last some weeks but people made it up by really turning it on at Khemka yesterday. Led by none other than the original "Baasha", the sec-c team produced super high decibel support notes with consistency throughout the program. The cheering slogans of our leader which sounded like some aboriginal mating cries echoed into the limbic system of the audience and was drilled in by the echoes generated by the rest of the team.
I just came back from the karoake session organized by the SV1 tribesmen. I am feeling happy on being able to deliver a traumatic experience to the few others who were unfortunate enough to be present for the event. For dummies, that just means "I sang". The cafe in here has started attracting people from far and wide of the campus and its heartening to see many more people around SV1.
The original animalistic patriotism which was the trademark of SecC was missing in the section for the last some weeks but people made it up by really turning it on at Khemka yesterday. Led by none other than the original "Baasha", the sec-c team produced super high decibel support notes with consistency throughout the program. The cheering slogans of our leader which sounded like some aboriginal mating cries echoed into the limbic system of the audience and was drilled in by the echoes generated by the rest of the team.
I just came back from the karoake session organized by the SV1 tribesmen. I am feeling happy on being able to deliver a traumatic experience to the few others who were unfortunate enough to be present for the event. For dummies, that just means "I sang". The cafe in here has started attracting people from far and wide of the campus and its heartening to see many more people around SV1.
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