Just Like That

Happiness and Vodka

2012-01-27T02:07:00.001+05:30

Happiness. It is 1:50 AM, and this post is a repercussion of 4 shots of vodka and some amazingly blended sutta aka cigarettes. The term happiness is as elusive as the beautiful girl I don’t let my eyes off during the Lsquare parties in my college. For long, I have held a linear view on happiness. I always thought of it as a function of some definite variables in life, which when attains an optimum value will finally help me break or reach the happiness threshold. But every time I try to reach this threshold of happiness some new unknown variables get added to the function and put me off limit. After-all, what can a B school student aspire for in life? Fame, Grade, Good Placements, Love. Oh wait, did I mention love? Why does it have to appear in anything and everything in life? I don’t know. Even when I try not to, it keeps on appearing in every aspect of my life. For the other elements can be attained through your efforts but love is something that happens and is truly an unknown random variable over which we don’t have any influence over. After much of pondering I have realized that to attain a true level of happiness you need all elements in good proportion and to complete it you need a bare minimum value of the random variable called love. Surely, life still goes on without this variable. You still would get happiness. Just increase the importance of other variables in life. Mathematically speaking, this will not give an optimum solution. To put things in perspective, unless we have bare minimum quantity of everything in life we cannot arrive at true happiness. Our happiness value will always tend towards the optimum value but never really near it. Happiness will always remain elusive. The feeling then is different. You might have everything you've ever yearned for but still have a feeling of emptiness. But ain't this happiness function different for different individuals. It surely is. I have just put a perspective to my thoughts on this post. Whatever be the variables that define your happiness, identify them and strive towards increasing their values. Their lies the true happiness. I ain't any person who is seeking the eternal truth in this world. As our understanding on life and its true objective improves, we would need lesser variables to attain happiness and these variables would be very much under our control. I still have to begin that journey so I have to carry a burden of too many variables to keep. It surely is tough and so shall be shown in my efforts. I wish, hearts would have listened instead of head.

Late Morning Surprises

2012-01-18T12:39:00.000+05:30

I pulled the blanket over my legs that were left uncovered. For I could feel the chill in the air touching my feet. Somewhere I had left some part of the window in my room unclosed. Not a big room though, my college hostel room means a world to me. A-216 and F-204 will remain in my memories forever. No, no don’t doubt my modesty. I never intended to say someday I would sit back and reflect upon this room where all the so called dreams were hatched. Never, for I don’t know how life is going to unwind right next moment. Ok, let me come back to the present. Bangalore weather is getting sexier day by day. I, for one, never feel the urge to get up from my new Kurlon double mattress with extra spring bed, whatever the occasion is. I leave it up to my friends to wake me up for an exam or class. My midterm exams got over yesterday and I stay put lazily in my bed till 11:22 AM. When the realization dawned that the whole world is probably awake and busy with their chores, I should at least make good use of the time. As I woke up, still on my bed, I started thinking “Ab kya karna hain?”, which translated to English means, “What should I do now”. My mid terms were over; this is my last term. I was in the best management institution that one could ask for, had landed a job in big 4, what else? Somewhere, something was missing. I somehow felt an awning gap somewhere. The answer followed from a conversation that I had with a friend of mine yesterday. I need to un-clutter all bookish learning and go somewhere to live and experience it firsthand. No am not talking for another internship. I think I have a fair idea of where I want to go after my exams are over. I have good 3 months time before I join my new company. Tillonia, that’s where I want to spend time and other such places. I don’t know and I don’t have any agenda. I plan to visit parts of our country that doesn’t appear or any tourist map, see the people, speak with them, see their innovation and learn from them. As of now all I know is this. Maybe 2 months down the line, I will check if this gap has been filled.

A small but genuine dedication !!

2012-01-11T19:38:00.002+05:30

You held me speechless all along

From long back when you were gone

To days back when I was reborn

You’ve always stayed far but never apart

Meeting you again in life was a thought apart

Life had its ways and our paths once met

That moment still holds me in astonishment

From that day to this moment all new

These are the words I have plucked for you

You blew me off the first day

And your eyes lit my life everyday

Your smile made my worries vanish

I always recollect them when my happiness famish

To this day and this very moment

I can only craft these statements

There are words yet to be said

I’ll wait for that while with all due respect

I just hope that am continued to be held speechless

My words will be there for you nonetheless…..

Changing Times

2011-04-25T08:36:00.000+05:30

Times are changing for sure, else I wouldn't be writing this blog at 8 in the morning before even starting off with other things. Facebook & Twitter comes to my mind first. It started off as an almost innocuous little social networking forum but they are turning out to be one of the most powerful identities. Both have equally proved their worth in complementing media activism and gathering populist sentiments against unjust regimes and oppressive rulers. Facebook is proving to be a platform for the self propounded gods. It is an all new world parallel to the one we live in. It has its own microcosm and societal structure. But the problem I foresee is that Facebook is defining the new social strata that might then carry on to the real society. The popularity of a person on Facebook is a non linear function of many aspects such as sex, education, number of friends, time spent on Facebook, frequency of response to other's post, how opinionated a person is etc. And it is non-linear because there are many intangibles that add on to it. Twitter has a different meaning for different users. It is used as a very good platform for social/media activism. Some use it to post minute by minute update of their life. Maybe they find their life really interesting for others. But all said and done, both Facebook and Twitter shall just become more powerful in the coming years. After all it is the basic human nature to seek popularity and recognition to stabilize their atomic configuration.

My little tribute to GOD and his men

2011-04-03T00:42:00.000+05:30

In these 28 years, our nation has come a long way. Today, as the first 30 minutes of Indian innings progressed, I found uncanny similarity between my first faint recollection of the 1996 match between India and Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens. As our innings faltered and Kambli put up the sole resistance against the mighty Ranatungas and De Silvas, I sat at a corner and cried the night out. Today too the situation had an eerie similarity. The Ranatungas and DeSilvas were replaced by Jayewardene’s and Sangakaraas. The Indian chase faltered in a very striking fashion. Everything looked the same except for one thing, India and its Indianness. We have really come a long way. The coyness has been replaced by aggression. Optimism has replaced struggle. "Can we do it" has been replaced by “We can do it". No matter the initial fall of the precious wickets, we were witness to some of the finest innings in the history of cricket. What swept me off was the patience and mental strength that was displayed by both Dhoni and Gambhir under pressure. Many of us spend a lifetime to live up to the expectations of a single person. Imagine living up to the expectation of a billion plus people. For the 3 hours of Indian innings I was stuck to the same position without flipping. Almost petrified initially then later held back by the crept-in superstition about retaining the status-quo as our innings was built brick and mortar by Gambhir and Virat. How often have we discussed and written off Dhoni in this World Cup criticizing his batting. We often raised this question that, “Is it really that Dhoni is so good a captain or just that he has landed a very good team to play with?" Today, the most understated captain of all time simply silenced a generation by coming up the order and taking the responsibility on his shoulders. He took it on him and he did it in style. How often do we fail to see the genius of a person behind the veils of our ignorance? Today they proved them all wrong. Today they rescripted the World Cup Final history. Never before a team with a player's hundred in the finals have lost the finals. Today they did. In the end, I still cried, but this time and probably for the first time ever, I was happy to let my tears flow by. We have arrived. This goes out as a tribute to our little master. The GOD himself!!

Life's Like That.

2011-03-29T13:12:00.000+05:30

They, in fact all so called, self-declared greats and the actual greats, say that as you grow so does your clarity on life. But in my case, I find things getting hazier than ever or that my perspective on things has changed so much in the last six months that instead of getting clearer they are getting hazier. After all it leads me to think every time I compare myself with what I was six months back. Not that I have changed but my thinking has. Being born in a conservative Hindu family brings along a set of unasked baggage. Some of them worth carrying throughout your life and others best disposed as soon as you find a suitable place to. Naturally, things we learn in childhood are in black and white, either Good or Bad. It is only life’s experience that has taught me why some good things are bad and some bad things are good at times. This has caused all the blurring and with life's so called uncertainty which is fairly far from Heisenberg’s realm, things don’t get any sweeter. One thing that I have learnt and maybe one of the most intangible and yet valuable lessons outside my MBA classes is that there is no point trying to steer your life because no one can. The best we can do is to shape things up as things shape up. I do not know how much sense it makes for am writing after a hiatus of nearly 8 months. With the sun outside shining bright and humidity getting the better of you in Mumbai, it makes sense for me to be indoors and revive my stupidity and the vestigial intellectual remnants through my blog. Will keep it updated.

Inception of a New Genre of Movies

2010-07-22T03:31:00.000+05:30

Could barely get a breathing space today after a hectic weekend full of quizzes and assignments. Well this is by no way a sign of resignation from the mores here as we have our mid term coming up at a break neck speed. But today we finally decided to let go off our procrastination and watch Inception, something we have been waiting on for long. The four of us finished off our submissions and hit out of the campus for the 9:30 show at a nearby theatre. I have hardly critiqued a few movies till date which includes the likes of RDB, Lakhsya and few others. But I can't help myself from sharing my views on Inception.

Brilliant! To say the least. The writer-director, Christopher Nolan, has conceptualized the movie in his mind so well that on screen it merely seems as a seamless rendition of his thoughts, rather dreams. Dream sharing or multi stage dreaming has only been spoken of very randomly till date but Inception is a breakthrough in this genre of movies. Unlike Matrix and other movies, Inception though equally complex manages to keep the audience engrossed till the end and ensures complete flow of understanding throughout each events as they transpire in the movie. Moving from dream extractor to dream implanter,Rob- the main protagonist has done a very sharp role. I do not think I am qualified enough to comment anymore. Nolan is one director, whom I admire and especially more after Inception. Having watched Matrix, Hypercube, Cube, and others, Inception has everything blended into it. I am sure, we would have more of this to come. The wait would definitely be worth it!

The first day of the PGP Program

2010-06-22T03:32:00.000+05:30

Blogging in the unearthly hours is real fun, especially when some fizzy drink and some cookies are there to provide you with some company. The first day of the PGP program started in the morning and I am just 2 hrs from being awake for 24hrs. The day took me across many interesting facets of life. To hear some of eminent speakers here and to try and understand their perspective of looking forward to our economy and socio economic development is something I have longed for these many years. The awesome performance came from Shashank Subramaniam, a reknowned flautist, who almost swept us completely with his mellifluous and soul stirring percussionist flair. Well, for us the day started at night. Meeting up with the seniors here at IIMB was an amazing experience. It surely tells you the standards that have been set by the seniors here and the expectations from us to live up to it.

Welcome !!

Isn't it Ironical?

2010-06-02T15:53:00.000+05:30

It's been a few days since I have been bitten by this so called Facebook bug. Not so long ago, when I didn't have a call from IIM B, I was too reluctant to log into FB and check the happennings there. Was there a way I could have escaped the clutches of modern day social networking contagion? No, I believe, but you don't want to be left behind either. So it has been my sincere, reluctant yet dedicated effort to at least give my profile page a visit daily. And now I have started enjoying some of the links and messages being posted there. One such status that I read was, "We live in a country where pizza gets delivered before the police." Later on I found that it has been picked up from some online source with due credit to the original author, I believe. I then had this eagerness to write more on this State of Affairs of our nation.

Isn't it ironical ?
I read the news about children dying of hunger and politicians blaming the monsoon for lack of food
When millions of tons of foodgrains are getting wasted in our granaries.

Isn't it ironical ?
I see the street dweller divide his only bread amongst his children and go hungry himself
When the glass pane of the luxury car's window is rolled down and food is disposed away in the dustbin for the dogs to eat.

Isn't it ironical ?
I and my friends talk big things about poverty alleviation and the importance of food
When we order our food and without any remorse throw away the extra food that we ordered.

Isn't it ironical ?
I read about the ultra luxurious wards in private hospital where people book a place for medical excuses
When a government hospital is in complete shambles without anyone to attend to the dying patients.

Isn't it ironical ?
I read aplenty about the entrepreneurs who have shaped our country and their achievements
When I find only a few of the youngsters even willing to go that way

Isn't it ironical ?
I go on a shopping spree and spend 10k on a set of clothes
When I find a person happily telling his fellow commuter how he plans to manage a family of six with his 4k income

Isn't it ironical ?
I see my food home delievered any time of the day
When the guy who delivers my food waits till the night to have the food by the street side for a few bucks.

Isn't it ironical ?
I see and read about hundreds of children dying for they cannot afford food for even a single time a day
When I see thousands of obese people wasting another thousands on the gym to bring down their weight

Isn't it ironical ?
I sit in the air conditioned confines of my car and discuss how fast my city is developing
When I see hundreds hanging out in the bus, holding on their breath and stampeding to get to their destination

Isn't it ironical ?
I blame each and every political outfit just before elections for the shoddy performance they put up
When I, for myself, don't bother what I do for the society

Isn't it ironical ?
I read each day about the property rates shooting up
When the value of human lives are falling at a much faster rate

Isn't it ironical ?
I speak about creating millions of dollars from a new business plan
When I do not understand the value of a single rupee

I don't think this world is too complicated to live in. If there is any complexity in this world and the way it runs it has been introduced by us. At times I wonder, can't we make our living a bit simpler so that at least no one sleeps without food, a roof under the head or a blanket to protect from cold weather. I am not an advocate of socialism because my belief in capitalism is far deep entrenched. I am a firm believer in entrepreneurial skills and I think that is the only way to take our country forward.

Instead of hunting a million dollar job, I shall rather create an avenue for hundred others to earn and make a living.

Wisdom Pangs

2010-05-31T21:11:00.000+05:30

The inclination was nearly 145 degrees and the temperature was steady at 23 degree centigrade. My heartbeat had crossed the normal limit of 100 and was hovering around somewhere 125-130. There was a sense of slight anxiety in the air surrounding me. It was then a bright light flashed through my face and moved sideways. Just then, my dentist appeared in his usual demeanor and took a quick glance over my wisdom tooth. He pitied but nevertheless gave a helpless askance. In a time where nations hegemonise their economically weak neighbors, the third set of molar was dominated by its not so friendly neighbor, denying it any space for growth. "It needs to be extracted". My heartbeat jumped by another good 20 beats. This is one thing I couldn't bear for the psychological stress that comes along supersedes any relief that is caused by the anesthesia.

Today, he began the much anticipated extraction process. I tried to put a brave smile but my anxiety oozed out like sugarcane between cogs. Then came the localized anesthesia which deadened one side of my jaw completely.

The dentist had to struggle for good 30 minutes to get rid of that tooth completely. Now I understand why people say that I have a deep rooted wisdom. The anesthetic effect lasted for good 5 hours and now when I am blogging, the effect still remains, albeit at a much subdued level. I had to give bhajias a miss today as the dentist prevented me from having anything hot and solid till tomorrow noon. It seems I will have to do with the usual mango juice and bread.

Till then, Bon appétit to me!!

Why I believe in curves not straight lines !!

2010-05-29T22:40:00.000+05:30

I have been thinking of speaking my mind on this topic for quite some time but till now my ingenuity at procrastinating things weighed on the vestigial rationality prevalent in me. Having unfettered myself from the so called writer's block, I have finally decided to put up a rational explanation at why I believe in curves not straight lines.

Till not so long ago, I was a firm believer in planning things ahead in my life. I always thought that our lives should be carried on as per planned. This axiom held true till a certain time in my life and it was only thereafter that I was exposed to the non linearity in my life. I had umpteen events and experiences that I went through in the past 5 years that strengthened my belief that nothing works as per plans. If we believe in plans A, B and C, we might encounter X, Y and Z instead. As of now, I have learnt to deal with this strange but true concept and so far have been successful to step out of myself and enjoy how different facets evolve in my life. I just do what is best for me at any given point in time. There can be no better way to emphasize the axiom that "Sum of parts is greater than the whole". I am just enjoying this non linearity in my life. So it is no more straight line for me, I have generalized it to curves. After all, even straight lines are curves with zero curvature.

Stepping out a bit, from stock market indices to our GDPs, we cannot find a perfect extrapolation from historical data that would lead us to say for sure that things would work out in an expected manner.

As one of my professional mentors said, "Just stand out and watch your life unfold. Don't just remain a mute spectator, live it." We cannot find a better analogy to the theory of evolution than this.

AIWTSAC

2010-05-12T18:22:00.000+05:30

My entry at AIWTSAC..

Dream Turns True !!

2010-04-29T00:32:00.000+05:30

It was around 9:40 AM and was caught up in the daily rigmarole that I have to go through before leaving for office. This time, I had the added pressure of my IIM interview results. It has been 5 long years, since I have been nurturing this dream to get into IIMs. Even after 4 attempts, sincere attempts, I couldn't clear any of the IIMs. This time around, as I had taken my GMAT beforehand, I had planned to apply to schools outside India believing that CAT game is almost over for me. It was my Mom who forced me to take CAT just as another passing attempt as the stake was too less this time. I took it. Around two months ago, I got a score of 99.22 percentile. Was unbelievable, but it gave me a glimpse of hope. I almost had become a subject of ridicule in most of the conversations whenever the topic of CAT and MBA sprang up. Most of them took me to a point of endless frustration. But this time around it was different. It is 9:45. Even after repeated attempts, the IIMB site seems to be down and my patience is deserting me now. I called up IIMB's office and they told me that the results are up. I thanked that person and logged in again. This time around the site was up. I didn't have the courage though to check on my results. With great conviction and courage, I decided to check my reg number. The list opened and I was there. Couldn't believe it. Not that I didn't have faith in me or my abilities, just that I couldn't believe it. I yelled and danced all over my place. With no one around to share the news with, I was all into myself. I then called my parents and sister and shared the news and then shared them with my friends. It was different today. One of the best days of my life. Will write about the days post call and post job in the coming days. Bangalore, here I come !

The Week That Was.

2010-04-17T13:41:00.000+05:30

Another weekend and it brings along the rejuvenation that you have long waited for over the weekdays. This week started off on the usual note. Mondays and Tuesdays were spent largely in the office, doing the last assignment that I have been assigned before my notice period gets over. The preparation for "Vishu" started on Wednesday with I and my mom going to Matunga to shop for some fresh vegetables that later on found their way into cuisines on Thursday. A visit to the nearby Kochu Guruvayoor temple and a cup of filter coffee from the nearby Mani's restaurant is always refreshing. The later part of Wednesday was largely spent in helping Mom with her preparation. Thursday morning, the NEW YEAR "Vishu" was celebrated with the same gradeur. Mom guided me, with my eyes still closed, to see "Vishukani" in the morning. The day began with a prayer to god to shower his blessings throughout the year. As part of the festive ritual, I also got "kainettam" from my dad. Friends and relatives kept pouring in later through the day. The lunch, I must admit, was lavish with some amazing kerala delicacy. In this whole affair, I didn't get time to brush through my CFA preparation. Friday was the best day in office. I managed to get some work done on my assignment. Today, I met some of my future batchmates from NUS. We all met up at CCD at the Linking Road. Meanwhile, I am still awaiting my I/V results from the IIMs. It's mom's bday tomorrow and I have to do some serious shopping for a gift. Sunday, ahaa, anther refreshing day. I am looking forward to it. With IPL, a whole season of the sitcom FRINGE and CFA , I am sure the weekend is going to be exciting as well.

Interviews Done, Awaiting Resuts !!

2010-04-03T18:00:00.000+05:30

Finally, I am done with all the three interviews with the IIMs and now the long wait for the results begins. In the meantime, CFA will once again take the centrestage. With just over 2 months to go for the exam, I need to put in some serious preparation. This is also the last month at my office. A freedom, long desired and long fought for. It will bring in a welcome change. Till then, NUS is the one that shall be on the radar. Having already secured a place in the school, I now need to work on learning mandarin and prepare on other general stuff. I am sure, coming month shall unfold quite a lot of things for me and as they say, Do your karma and the result shall follow. The first part is done and keeping the flame of faith and hope alive for a better tomorrow.

Experience @ A Street Side Eatery

2010-03-28T00:11:00.000+05:30

Most of the day was spent out and I was really hungry towards the evening. I decided to check the food at Bade Miyan. As expected the lane that housed the Bade Miyan outlets had a distinct charm to it. We ordered a half chicken tandoori, Chicken Bhuna seekh, Chicken Tikka kebab and Rumali Roti. More than the food, it was the experience that I enjoyed. The food was okayish, nothing out of the world and it was definitely more costly compared to other street food outlets. Mumbai has much more to offer in terms of street foods.

Experience at Tata Crucible Campus Edition

2010-03-27T23:58:00.000+05:30

I would never get tired of saying this. The experience at Tata Crucible is one of the best that I get in the whole year. The couple of hours long round of rapid fire quizzing just gets you on your feet. It is also the place where I meet some of my friends from college and I see most of the regular quizzers around. This time too the experience at the Mumbai regional rounds was awesome. It was ITM all the way with SPCE being a close runner up. Giri, the quizmaster, declared that the finals would be held on 10th April and I have already put in my email requesting a pass. Is there a way am gonna miss it? Never! Anyways, the icing on the cake was some comments from the head of Group of Hotels, a subsidiary of the TATA group. He cited a story. There was a corn growing competition that was held in a village. One villager won the event all the way. After winning he distributed his share of winnings, corn seeds, amongst other farmers from neighbouring farms. When they asked why he was parting with his winnings whereas he could have used that to sow more corn and reap more the next year, he replied that once these seeds germinate, there shall be pollination carried from these farms to his farms and that would increase his productivity. Besides this, he said that he already knew the secret to improve his productivity compared to that of his peers.

Lessons learnt: There are two rules that should be followed in life.
First, sorround yourself with people who are more intelligent and knowledgable than you are.
Second, spread and distribute knowledge, for it comes around in better forms.

For me, it was again an outstanding experience, amidst the charm of Taj President.

The Day it Was..

2010-03-26T21:52:00.000+05:30

Just reached home around 8:00 PM. Had a GDPI for an IIM today and believe me, at the end of the day, I was all drained out. The wait for 5 hours made me tired and the fact that my interview was scheduled towards the end was equally taxing. I enjoyed the experience, though I am not sure to put up an overall rating as to how it went. Only time will tell. Anyways, I am going to chill out tomorrow. Would be attending the regional finals of Tata Crucible. Till then, looking forward for the next interviews.

It is still Unbelievable

2010-03-15T20:58:00.000+05:30

It was the usual Sunday morning. The day started off with a visit to the temple. We were home by 11:30. A cup of tea and the newspaper are enough to grab my attention no matter what tries to distract me. As I glanced through the pages sipping my cu of tea, the news started pouring in on the television. The CAT results were out. To be honest, which I try to be always, I was too reluctant to check my scores. But with my parents insisting on it, I was left with no option but to open to site to check my scores. I felt a temporary relief when the site failed to open. But the IIMA and IIMS results were out. I didn't make it to either list. "If you are not into the best and the not so good then probably my scores are really bad", I said to myself. The noon went by with a good lunch. It was around 4:30 PM.I again tried to check my scores and this time the site opened. What I saw next, took me back and forth the last 4 years. I had hit the 99.22 percentile. Unbelievable!! Not because I am not worth it, but it happened when I expected it the least. They say and I completely agree purely on the basis of experience that hardwork alone is not enough. There needs to be the extra bit of luck to see you through. In the next few days I got the results from the other IIMS and I had landed an interview call from IIMK, IIML and the coveted IIMB. These days I am preparing for the Group Discussion and the interviews.I really do not know how the gdpi would turn out. All I know is, I will put in my cent percent. What happens next is unknown. Friends, I want to continue this post and I sincerely hope that the news next time is equally good.

Reverse Glance !!

2010-02-27T22:52:00.000+05:30

My day starts at 8AM and usually begins with a shudder from the very thought of going to office. Not that I am subterfuging, or that my laziness has got the better of me, but the very thought of doing something that interests me the least gives me uneasiness. Getting into Engineering degree was mainly driven by the socio economic conditions prevalent at that time as is the case with most of Indians. Most of my relatives are engineers and hold quite respectable positions with software giants. This had a major role in me being pushed into Engineering. Once in the college, I realised that I had to compete with one and all in order to survive the four years. I did exactly what was expected of me. Having passed my engineering with what some call as flying colours, I was selected into TCS during my campus rounds. In these five years of work experience in IT domain, the best thing that happened to me was the three months of training period in Trivandrum and the subsequent placement in TCS facility at Banyan Park. It was one organisation that taught me what professionalism meant and almost benumbed me with the sheer talent present in the organisation. I miss TCS even today. The other three years spent in other companies made me realise the other side of corporate politics. Employees trying to belittle others to show their talent. The brighter side for me is that I shall be putting down my papers early next week and shall begin my MBA jouney. A freedom that was long awaited. The lessons I learnt in these five years were numerous and they have definitely taught me that corporate life is binary. There are either good people or bad people. Your survival depends on how quickly you recognise the good from the bad and the bad from the good.

Union Budget- My Wishlist

2010-02-21T20:28:00.001+05:30

Come 26th and we would be witnessing the Annual Budget for the Financial year 2010-2011. The last budget set a cautiously optimistic perception on India Inc and the common man. This year, I believe, we must look ahead at an 9-10% GDP growth rate in addition to containing fiscal deficit. Greece must have been bailed out by other EU nations and organisations but we need to set a strong eye on reducing our deficit which is 10.3% of GDP, both centre and states combined.

I highly appreciate the social sector schemes such as NREGA and others that were outlayed last year and this year we need to look at strengthening the structural implementation of these schemes to make them more effective. Some states have already started implementing Biiometrics and other technologically effective delivery mechanism and it will bear fruits over the coming months.

Revenue generation-
The current move to deregulate non-urea fertiliser prices shall also lead to efficient utilisation of fertiliser resources. In addition to this, we should also be looking at removing subsidies where ever possible.

Aditionally, with the introduction of GST, we can look forward to removal of unwanted indirect taxes and allow both state and central government to share the income from taxes appropriately.

It is a welcome step that the the stakes in PSUs are being reduced through the slew of FPOs these days.

We should accelerate the process of spectrum allocation as the earned income shall help cut down the fiscal deficit to quite some extent.

Infrastructure- Infrastructure is another area which needs increased attention. We need to increase the number of kms of Roads added daily if we have to achieve a faster growth rate. Connectivity would be a key factor in bridging the urban rural divide.

Agriculture- One area where we should be focussing at extensively is the agricultural sector. If we have to achieve self sufficiency in food grain production we have to start looking at ways to increase our farm, per/acre productivity. Dependency on monsoon leads to heavy fluctations is food prices as seen last year. We should look at ways to replenish our ground water and other water resources. Investment in agri research should also be encouraged. Establishing these agri universities at rural areas shall encourage better participation from both rural and urban population.

Education- Instead of adding additional revenue into the existing educational schemes, we should look at making the implementation efficient and plugging any leakages. Additionally, getting institutes of higer learning from abroad and making provisions for them to set up campuses in India. This would reduce brain drain drastically.

Rolling out Stimulus Package- My belief is that the stimulus package needs to be rolled out in a systematic and in a phased manner. Not all sectors have shown great recovery signs and hence the responsiveness of each sector should be taken into consideration.

Inflation needs to be checked and for this any supply side deficits neeeds to be addressed.

Manufacturing- This is one sector that shall shape India in the coming decades. It is high time we strengthen our manufacturing sector just as we strengthened our Sevices sector. We cannot remain dependent on foreign technologies and machineries for crucial applications. To make this happen we need to incentivise this sector by extending any tax holidays and increasing the R&D.

FDI- In continuanace with the opening up of FDI in certain sectors we should look at opening up FDI in non critical sectors to foreign players to make it perfectly competitive.

Tourism & Sports- In view of major international events happenning in our country, it is high time we start producing international champions and make the way up to the medals tally. We clearly lack major sports institutions and facilities of international level. The government on its part should encourage youth towards sports and ensure that it is branded and promoted at a very high level. This would attract talents from across the country: people who otherwise do not enter or leave sport at an early stage as it doesn't provide a sustained source of income. One major step towards this would be creating increased awareness about sports at grassroot level amongst schools and colleges.

Athithi Devo Bhava has been the cornerstone of our culture and we need to take it across the world. The world and national heritage sites across the country needs increased funding and needs world class facilities to handle the inflow of tourists from across the globe. In addition to this, opening up world class theme parks & SEZs through PPP shall ensure that the issues with land acquisition and allocation are handled much more effectively and attract investments for the government and provide employment opportunities.

Defence and Pharma sector needs increased revenues for R&D and mordernisation process and we need to reduce our dependence on foreign countries for acquisitions.

Power sector- With the advent and opening up of Nuclear sector and end of Nuclear apartheid, we need to catalyse on this opportunity. Hydro and Thermal power still remains as the main source of power generation in our country and would remain so for some more time. We need to allocate funds or set up a governing body to look at and reduce the transmission line and distribution wastages.

Health Sector- This is one area that needs the most increased attention. With the population base that we have, we need to quickly plug this gap. Providing world class health facilities at an affordable cost needs to be our mainstay. Medical tourism is another allied area that shows very good promise and shall continue if we were to increase the resources allocated to the health sector.

Maintaining the ecological resources of the country and replenishing them shall remain very crucial.Reviving the population of endangered species and maintaining the flora and fauna should also be one of the main focus areas in the upcoming budget.

These are some of the main areas I could arrive at with suggestions. I am sure that Budget is much more than these and many areas and the interdependencies needs to be looked into.

We are only going to grow stronger from here on...

Lesson Learnt from a Roadside vendor

2010-02-12T21:18:00.000+05:30

"Bhaiya do toast sandwich". The guy immediately recognised me as I placed the order. He used to be at the roadside stall a year back. Off late the shop was run by his other relatives. As I relished his sumptous sandwich, he told me that he has opened another shop in a nearby suburb and makes around 45K per month. I felt really happy for him. I paid him the money and waved him bye. On my way back, I realised that he guy there had hardly any schooling but still managed to earn a very good living that most of the educated people fail to attain. What makes this guy stand out from others? The answer came instantaneously. This guy knows his true potential and is living up to that potential.

Oh , The V Day and Veek end is Coming Up !!

2010-02-12T12:08:00.000+05:30

It's Thursday morning and I am awake earlier than I'm habituated to. Thanks to my pant and sis for forcefully waking me up after my mobile alarm didn't seem too happy not to have woken me up. It is 7:45 AM, and I am suddenly jolted to the reality about getting my recommendation from profs for the scholarships. Got to reach the erstwhile SPCE before 10:30 !! There were two recommendations that needed editing and printing. I quickly pounced upon my desktop and put on the printer. 10 minutes and 4 letterheads and I was left with the final copies of my recommendation. A quick bath and short prayer ensued. I was out by 9:40 AM. The road digging work and the usual honking and blaring of horns continued as the auto drivers gave a wasteful look at wade pass through. No one seemed to entertain my request of a ride to Andheri-W . Finally one succumbed or surrendered. He had a look of helplessness on his tired face. I jumped in and was there on the college campus by 10:15.

As I scaled past the SPJIMR, I smiled at the prospects of joining NUS this fall. A better place to me in during these times, I said to myself as I entered the college. Right outside my HODs office I stood as I saw him do something on his system. A sincere request and he let me in. He was reading through my recommendation and a sudden question popped up from him. "Bhai tune lika hain ki top kiya that. Kab top kiya". Felt the ground slipping beneath from my feet at this sudden and shocking question. I gathered my calm and replied that I had topped in the final two years and he gave me his recommendation. Took the other recommendation from another prof who was very friendly and more understanding. I Reached office by 11:30 only to find hearts lying and floating all around the office. Yeah it was the V day celebration. Well, it was certainly grander than the R Day celebration. People seem to take R & I day for granted but none take V day for granted these days. None value R & I but everyone values V . It has become almost out of vogue to not have gfs these days as if you do not have one you are almost considered asocial.

Well yeah for me, I do not care for such things. The best part of the day was the ride I got back to home. My auto driver seemed the most intellectual person to me on earth that day. That guy spoke sense to me, that first thing to happen that day. Strange, I thought. We are certainly moving towards collective ignorance rather than selective intellectuality.

A Walk to Remember on the Notting Hill

2010-01-18T22:40:00.000+05:30

It has been quite some time since I have caught any good romantic flick on screen. This saturday I had the luxury of watching two, Notting Hill and A Walk to Remember.

Lazying on a Sunday Evening ..

2010-01-10T17:46:00.000+05:30

Sunday evenings can't get any lazier. To me this day of the week heralds long hours of unwanted sleeping, ultimately leading to the semi intoxicated state through out the rest of the day. Evenings are the time when you start looking at the week ahead and for me the very thought of attending all those mundane meetings drains out all the enthusiasm. Albeit at a slower and lower note, this year things have started looking better. With my B school decisions on the horizon, there are lot many things that I need to plan accordingly. Well, I guess that's all for now and I would keep this blog updated.