Lakshya

And the winner is...

2012-01-30T00:59:00.000+05:30

As Djokovic and Nadal were busy wrapping up one of the most remarkable matches in tennis history, a battle between my heart and my mind was growing with every rally and point in the match. While my heart lied with Nadal, my mind argued that it would be the Serb, who would eventually walk away winner.

It's secret to none that Nadal is one of the most respected players on tour. He is not only a true champion of the game; having the right combination of skill and attitude to play the game but also a gentleman who comes across as a very humble and down to earth individual.

Djoker on the other hand is a relatively younger player - naughty and mischievous on the court and off it. Having said that, Novak too is a natural and a true ambassador of the game in every sense.

Last year Novak beat Rafa in 6 straight finals and that according to me is the single biggest contributor to the result of the match we just saw on tv some time back. There were prayers being said throughout the 6 hour duration, the atmosphere inside the Rod Laver arena was simply electric and well there was no dearth of tennis skill/talent. I like to believe that at the highest level, there is only so much a man can do to improve his tennis skills. Everything boils down to how a player can handle mental stress and manage expectations.

Right after beating Federer in the semi-finals, Rafa was asked about what his advise would be to Murray about playing Djokovic - Rafa's reply disappointed me as he said that his advise could not be good enough as he had lost to Novak in 6 finals last year. This just goes to show the level of confidence that Nadal had, going into the finals. Rafa has been on tour long enough to know the secret to success in Tennis. However, my basic logic coupled with rudimentary knowledge of psychology had helped me identify the winner even before the second semi final was played out.

In tennis, just like in any other sport, winners are decided much before the match actually begins. Battle lines are drawn mentally and belief is the key catalyst. In case both the players have the belief that they can win over the opponent, we get to see a thriller of a match with the physically stronger player winning the contest in the end. However, in case only one of the two players are confident of beating the opponent - just what happened during the finals today - the spectators usually know who will win at the end, making it a dull and boring contest. As a true tennis fan, I'd really like to see the rivalry between both these players grow strongly in the times of come. If this rivalry becomes a one sided affair like it has been since the beginning of 2011, Men's tennis will end up losing its popularity and shine.

The importance of "plan b"

2011-11-21T00:56:00.000+05:30

More than three years back I had decided that I would join Richard Ivey school of Business one day. I was madly in love with M, Lehmann Brothers was a heavy weight and well Osama Bin Laden was still alive. Clearly a lot has changed between now and then.

It all started in the small town of Mysore where I was learning new highs every day. It was the happiest I had ever been and the expression of being sad was long forgotten. I would wake up with a smile and would rush to the classroom, something I had never done in my life. The after class party was a daily event and the whole atmosphere was just fantastic. I never planned my day but ended up doing something worthwhile every single day. But like all good things, this had to end one day - we got our transfer notifications. I was being sent to Mangalore, away from S1 and R but most importantly away from M. I had nothing against the new city but something within me was not ready to accept the change. For the first time in my life, I felt helpless and miserable. I tried all I could to have my way but failed. I called up my buddy S2 (my best friend in need) and he has a knack of bringing out the best in me. He filled me up with so much positive energy and confidence (telephonic discussion) that I decided to go all out that night and fight for what I wanted. That one night, I was able to do what no other person on campus had been able to do - I got a transfer to Pune. I had done this one for M and we celebrated in style.

Phase 1 - This event turned out to be a milestone for me. The fact that I was able to do what most people had termed impossible, changed me as a person. I now had a lot of self belief and confidence. In the process I changed jobs and started living independently. I was moving too fast but I was too happy to care. When things go as per plan, we tend to forget the importance of plan B. Our 1 year in Pune was finally over and it was time for M to leave.

Phase 2 - Everything was going as per plan and within a couple of months, I had the option of going to the US. During this trip, I learnt something about myself - I loved staying all by myself and much more than that, I loved travelling. I was in the US for 3 months and every weekend I had my bags packed. I met M for a couple of days and soon it was time for me to go back. M had been putting some pressure about getting together and I realized that it was just the right time for me to start the process.

Phase 3 - I decided to move up north and stay with my parents. The plan was to stay home, study and get into Richard Ivey. I had barely started the process and I found another opportunity to go to the US. This time there was huge pressure on me to tell my parents about M. I was a little skeptical but a man has to do what he has to do. I spoke to my dad, my dad spoke to M's dad and finally when I was there, I spoke to M's dad. There was peace and I was feeling light now. I thought life was simple and again ignored the plan B.

Phase 4 - I came back from the US healthier, wealthier and wiser. I wrote GMAT and it was a failed attempt. Until that day, I had learnt from my mistakes and bounced back every time. This time it wasn't to be. I lost mental balance and had no idea what I was doing. Little did I realize that I was spoiling everything for nothing. Within a month, disaster struck and M and I separated. S said "its not the end of the world". I trusted him and moved along. I started preparing again with renewed interest and this time I had nothing to lose. I couldn't do complete justice to my preparation and dedication but ended up with a respectable score.

Phase 5 - The MBA application process is by far the most enriching process I have experienced. It has its share of ups and downs but whats really unique about this process is that you are not really competing with anyone else. If you can be your own best, that's all you need to be. If you have read so far, you have probably realized that I am not one of the better writers around. I had thoughts and ideas but it was mostly my dad and sis who would frame and structure my thoughts. When it came down to selecting schools, Ivey was an obvious choice. I had started my MBA journey back in '08 - I was just making it formal in '11. I soon submitted my application and got an interview invite.

Phase 6 - I was very tense about the interview as I think I'm okay with face to face interviews but skype was something I had never experienced. I had a plan and really S, P and SC (along with others) helped me gain confidence. I already knew what my story was but these folks helped me organize my thoughts from an interview perspective. I finally had my interview (please refer to the previous blog for interview experience) and I was positive about the whole thing. As soon as the interview got over, I heaved a huge sigh of relief that it had finally ended. I had worked really hard for it and wanted to get through at any cost.

Phase 7 - Within a couple of weeks, I received a call from K and he told me what I had been expecting for quite sometime. I was through with a scholarship. It finally brought a smile to my face. The battle I had been fighting for months was finally over and I had emerged victorious. I remembered the time M and I would talk about our life - Ivey was always a part of that dream. I had succeeded in doing what I had promised. Its been a week now since I got the call from K and I am still undecided. As much as I want to get into Ivey, its just financially out of reach. I've put in all the effort I could to make it happen and today I really can't seem to convince myself to join Ivey. Again, I don't have a plan b and clearly I haven't learnt a lesson my own failures.

Tonight I look back and smile coz there is nothing better I would do right now.

What triggers the MBA decision?

2011-11-06T19:42:00.000+05:30

I'm not trying to answer the standard 'Why MBA' question here. That's a pretty straight forward question to answer for someone who knows what he wants to do. What I'm trying to do is identify root causes of where it all begins for someone who doesn't know what he wants to do. Let's take a step back and focus on what actually triggers this decision.

For most people working in the multi national companies, the work environment in India is nothing short of magnificent - state of the art facilities, huge campuses, recreation clubs, high end training infrastructure, air conditioned offices and well a comfortable space to spend time. We obviously cannot generalize that and in all fairness, we have to factor in people working in the manufacturing industries, petrochemicals, oil sector, sales, aviation ground staff, etc. I'm not naming all the different sectors that people work in but my analysis will factor all of them in. The MBA dream gets ingrained in a child's mind right at the beginning. Just like young children talk about becoming a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, an army man, etc., there are those who dream of emulating the Ambanis, the Tatas and Birlas of India. Of-course, Ambani wasn't an MBA grad when he started out but the most obvious way to get into corporate India is through management education. Well there are others too, but for the sake of simplicity and understanding I'm limiting the scope of the argument.

A part of the reason for the great Indian growth story is that Indians are predominantly doers and followers. There is no doubt in my mind that there are a few good leaders too that have brought laurels to the country but the fact remains that they are very few. Its almost like in Cricket, India has traditionally been a batting unit. We are not known to produce great fast bowlers and fielders but we have had our own share of Kapil Devs and Zaheer Khans. Taking this notion forward, everything becomes a chain reaction as people like to follow in foot steps rather than creating their own path. There is a false sense of satisfaction that people derive from an MBA. The reason I call it 'false sense of satisfaction' is that there are crests and troughs in life and the troughs should not drive a decision as big as an MBA. It should rather call for introspection. We think of an MBA as a larger than life Karan Johar movie that will turn things around and finally there will be a happy ending. And well just like Mr. Johar's movies, the MBA dream sells like hot cakes. It may happen for some, may not happen for some but the chain reaction has started.

Another reason is the constant demand for change. There is a general perception that MBA can give a much required break from the monotonous job routines and in that process propel one's career. There is a mindset that job becomes a routine and then it gets boring. What I am unable to understand is that eating, sleeping and other things form a part of that routine too. We never make an attempt to change that. Moreover, one question that we must ask ourselves is that what happens 3 years post an MBA? If this is one of the reasons for someone to do an MBA, a good argument to resolve is - It will become a routine again - should we then pursue an MBA every 3 years?

Perhaps, the biggest reason is lack of other good options. In spite of the wonderful working environment, we tend to create a crib bubble around ourselves through which we only see things in grey. Once that crib gets out of control and a certain threshold is crossed, we evaluate our options. The sad truth is that our society prides itself on the traditional style of living and thus our decisions are almost always based on the traditional way of thinking. This limits the number of options one can have - in most cases to just 1. In case one is lucky, he sees multiple options which he only finds confusing - the end result is the safer option which is MBA.

Well if you are an aspirant, ask yourself the reason. This is definitely not an exhaustive list of reasons but my hope is that it'll provide a good starting point for an internal debate.

Peace.

Interview Experience - Richard Ivey School of Business

2011-11-06T15:53:00.000+05:30

Interview Experience -

I had my interview with Karen Conway on 1st November 2011 for admission to the Richard Ivey School of Business, London, Canada. I had submitted my application in the 2nd round. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the interview experience but its very difficult to assess what will happen and in my opinion it's best to let the process take its own sweet time rather than calculating the odds. The process went on for roughly 50 minutes where I had a chance to ask questions towards the end. Here goes the interview experience: -

Karen : (Introduced herself). Tell me something about yourself.
Me: I started talking about my personal and professional life. Within 60 secs, she interrupted and asked me to give her more details about my transition from Infosys Technologies to ZS Associates. I explained that and then followed it up with the remainder of the introduction.

Karen : Explain in detail how your career has progressed at ZS over the years.
Me : 120 secs, standard answer

Karen : What did you learn from your international experience? How did you handle a conflict situation while you were at client site?
Me : Long answer, shared 2 instances with Karen

Karen : What is your involvement with the client while you work from India?
Me : Described my current load and participation in the global delivery model

Karen : Have you done any strategy work till now? Can you share your role and responsibility in brief?
Me : Long answer. Not very well structured.

Karen : Define Leader. Give me one instance where you exhibited leadership qualities.
Me: Talked about 3 attributes of a leader and followed it up with 2 specific examples - professional and personal.

Karen : What do you want to do post your MBA? Give me specifics - company name, profile and location.
Me: Talked about my short term goal and then got into specifics - dream company, profile, etc.

Karen : What is your back-up? If this company doesnt hire you what do you plan to do?
Me - Answered her question by telling her about my back-up option. She asked me if I had a back-up career option.

Karen: In which geography do you want to launch yourself?
Me: Spoke to 1 minute about the positives of Canada. Its a tricky question when you have work experience in the US. The question goes more like why Canada and not US? So I ended the answer by talking about me being flexible as far as geography is concerned.

Karen : You have less experience than the average experience of the Ivey class. How will you cope up and manage to add value?
Me: Talked about what I bring to the class at Ivey even with my background.

Karen : You must have a formal review process to get feedback from your superiors at work. What feedback did you receive in the last cycle?
Me : :D Well this is something I wasn't expecting and talked about my areas of improvement.

Finally, she asked me about the research that had gone in from my end. Website, current students, alumni? She then signaled that she was done asking questions and asked me if I wanted to ask any. I did. She then explained the admission process to me and who will take a final call on my application. Have my fingers crossed now and waiting for Dec 16 :)

Agneepath

2011-11-05T13:31:00.000+05:30

All time favourite.

Vriksh ho bhale khade,
Ho ghane, ho bade,
Ek patra chaa bhi,
Mang maat, mang maat, mang maat
Agnipath, Agnipath, Agnipath

Tu na thakega kabhi,
Tu na thamega kabhi,
Tu na mudega kabhi,
Kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath
Agnipath, Agnipath, Agnipath

Yeh maahan drishya hai,
Chal raha manushya hai,
Ashru, shwet, rakth se,
Lathpat, lathpat, lathpat
Agnipath, Agnipath, Agnipath

Hum chale America - Part 2

2011-11-03T00:38:00.002+05:30

I had a dream flight - good food, perfect in-flight entertainment and well desi female students with a heavy American accent on both sides. For the first time in life, I was happy about the center seat. 18 hours went by like the blink of an eyelid. The flight was now descending. Pooja, the 20 something female by the window seat was quick to point out 'Jeez, the Michigan Lake is frozen'. Looking at the size of the water body, I was quick to retort back "That would be the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean", almost smiling and sounding confident about my geography. The only thing that I didn’t do was unfold my collar, Thank God. My geography knowledge had never been of any use in school but it earned me my first dual stare from two girls and I did not mind it. It wasn’t my fault; back in India a lake meant a lake and it could not exceed the size of an Olympic size swimming pool. This Michigan Lake was a bloody ocean. This was a first indication of the huge things to come.

I got off the plane and was happy to get away from the two arrogant females. The immigration formalities were a cakewalk as it was my first time in the US. I got to the luggage belt and realized that a lot of suitcases resembled mine. I was confused about how were we supposed to recognize our own luggage. No wonder so many suitcases go missing during international travel. There were a lot of Gujratis on my plane due to the overlap with the Ahmedabad flight at the Frankfurt airport and Gujratis travel smart. Most of the suitcases had a Patel name tag on them for ease of identification. Not really relevant here but there is a famous saying about Gujjus in the US – “They have long noses, because the air is free.” Anyways, thanks to the gujju intelligence, I got both my suitcases after having waited for about 40 minutes.

I rushed to the arrival section and made the phone call as was mentioned in my travel document. Unable to understand what the guy on the other side of the phone was saying, I somehow managed to tell him where I was and that was enough for him to send the vehicle to drop me to the company provided accomodation. I moved towards the revolving door which would throw me out of the O’Hare airport. I paused, took a deep breath and revolved with the door. I still remember the cold wave that struck my face as I moved out of the terminal. It is by far the most amazing feeling in my 24 years of existence. It was freezing cold and I just had to go back inside. I noticed a white stretch limo right outside the arrival section and I didn’t move. I pulled out my camera and as I began taking the first shot, the driver in the limo came out and started waving. My initial thought was that it was illegal to click pictures at the airport so I kept my camera inside the bag. He continued to wave. I started checking myself out almost worrying if I was carrying a weapon. He had started moving towards me and this was getting scary. He came close enough and said “Aren’t you Lakshya? Get inside the car, its freezing.” I looked back at him in disbelief but deep down I was thrilled, over thrilled. He drove me to my hotel in 45 minutes and that was my first ever limo experience.

What's the truth?

2011-11-02T23:36:00.000+05:30

A lot of people ask me "सच क्या है"?

My first memory of fun goes back to the early 90s - weight balancing on a seesaw. Its interesting that both 'going up' and 'coming down' gave me thrill and I wanted to go faster each time. There was a similar appeal while taking a swing and I would ask my friends to push as hard as they could. There was then an inquisitive stage in life where I wanted to know about everything - how did cars work, aeroplanes, universe, how were babies born, etc. I was interested because I was still exploring. I grew up and started going to high school and that's when I began chasing my friend's dream or my parent's dream or probably my neighbor's dream. Nothing around me had changed and no one was forcing or feeding things. I now realize that the change happened because I was done exploring around myself and felt comfortable in that shell. I did not feel like venturing out for 2 reasons, 1) I feared the unknown ; 2) I had lost the drive.

In this process, I changed the definition of fun for stage #2 - It was now called 'doing nothing'. I followed the crowd blindly and went to college. During college, I did not apply thought to any of my actions. I was deriving fun by following others and in the process I lost my confidence. I was so lost in my own reverie that I would spend 10 hours in front of a book and not flip a single page. The biggest concern however was that there were no thoughts. My brain had actually stopped thinking and working. It had gotten accustomed to the sleep mode.

This continued into the next stage of my life - professional life. It was my new found slavery and I was now being forced to do something. I did not have the thought process to analyze what I was doing. The fact that my sleep was being disturbed was irritating. I started looking outside the professional arena and was back to exploring. I wanted to go to a new place, meet new people and just get away from the routine. I was instantly able to connect and started deriving fun from my old source. The catch however was, that I was no more free to explore at will. During stage #2 in life, I had build around myself a huge chain of constraints which were not so easy to let go off. I was beginning to feel miserable.

The reason I am not ending the story is that I haven't seen the dream beyond this point and well the 'I' here represents most people I have come across in life. There is no right or wrong. This is just my version of truth as I see it.

How to get into ISB - Part 1

2011-03-26T01:41:00.000+05:30

I am just another 23 year old (turning 24 in another 7 days) Asian male who aspires to get into a top notch b-school. After a spat of dismal performances in CAT, I've finally decided to go the GMAT route.

Earlier this year, I was sitting with a friend of mine in a pub in Evanston, north of Chicago. He was a guy from my undergrad school and well Indian males bond best over Johnnie Walker ;) . After random discussions and a couple of drinks we finally came to the important part, muft GYAAN. While I continued my story about B school and how I would be as successful as shit 10 years hence, his story centering around "Tiger Woods is innocent" filled up the gaps in my speech. This went on for about half an hour post which I remember flying. Anycase, take away from this regular yet unusual conversation was the talk about "QUARTER LIFE CRISIS". My friend spoke about the phenomenon which not only affects me but probably a plethora of 20 somethings around the world.

After a hectic 70 hour week life came back to normalcy on Friday as usual. I was just about getting into the groove when suddenly I came across this draft on my cellphone which contained a URL. That night, I was spellbound when I heard about the phenomenon and saved information about in on my cellphone. One piece of information was a blog written by some IIT bombay graduate about quarter life crisis. A huge problem with the indian society at large - anything written or spoken about by an IITian becomes the latest testament :) . To be fair, I read the blog and could not understand too much of it. Probably the remainder of the Johnnie Walker was just too distractive for my notorious mind. I spent the rest of the night dirnking.

Got up with a headache on Saturday afternoon which was almost a routine now. Don't get me wrong, Black Label has never caused serious aftereffects on the next day. Its mostly mixing up the drink that does the trick for me. My laptop was still on and the blog still open. As I got up, I read the blog for a second time. Suddenly, I could relate to it and make some sense out of it. But what was so great about it I asked myself? Its probably just another Chetan Bhagat in the making. The wiser half of me replied saying I dont care what happens to the writer, think about what you have to do with your life and how do you plan to come out of this quarter life crisis situation. It was clear application of the blog on my life and I was failing to realize it. Takeaway, always drink and read as that allows the internal debate.

After a few hours of thinking, I formally give up on writing CAT and decide to book my slot for the GMAT. Now that I look back, I see this as the big big mistake. I decided to write CAT because I did not know what else I could do. Since I did not know why I was writing CAT I could never clear it. After 4 years, I decide to stop writing CAT which in any case I was only writing and not spending any time whatsoever on. And now I want to write GMAT because I failed to clear CAT. Is this reason enough?

Another one by Dr. Kumar Vishwas

2010-10-06T15:37:00.000+05:30

मेरा अपना तजुर्बा है वही बतला रहा हूँ मैं

कोई लभ छू गया था तब कि अब तक गा रहा हूँ मैं

फिर आके प्यार मैं कैसे जिया जाये बिना तडपे

जो मैं खुद ही नहीं समझा वही समझा रहा हूँ मैं

कसी पत्थर मैं मूरत है कोई पत्थर कि मूरत है

लो हमने देख ली दुनिया जो इतनी खूबसूरत है

जमाना अपनी समझे पर मुझे अपनी खबर यह है

तुझे मेरी ज़जूरत है मुझे तेरी ज़रुरत है

कोई कब तक मेहेज सोचे कोई कब तक मेहेज गाये

इलाही क्या यह मुमकिन है कि कुछ ऐसा भी हो जाए

मेरा महताब उसकी रात के आहोश मैं पिघले

मैं उसकी नींद मैं जागु वोह मुझे मैं घुल के सो जाये

कोई मनजिल नहीं जचती सफ़र अच्छा नहीं लगता

अगर घर लौट भी आऊं तोह घर अच्छा नहीं लगता

कहूँ कुछ भी मैं अब दुनिया को सब अच्छा ही लगता है

मुझे कुछ भी तुम्हारे बिन मगर अच्छा नहीं लगता

Inception Simplified

2010-07-27T01:11:00.001+05:30

Yes I saw the movie thrice :)

A Kick: By upsetting the equilibrium of a dreamer you can wake them from a dream and return them to reality. If you’re dreaming a dream within a dream, each level of the dream has to have its own Kick in order for the one on the higher level to work. So Arthur blew up the elevator to wake them up from the snow fortress dream so they could then be woken up by the car hitting the water.

Limbo: A place where dreamers may end up if they go too deeply. It’s a place where time runs quickly and people seem to forget reality. We’re told a person flung there might burn out their mind, though somehow Saito, Cobb, and Mal all survive it and escape. Because of the drugs used in the dreamers in Inceptions final mission, we learn a dreamer can in this one instance also be flung into limbo if they’re killed in the dream.

Inception: The practice of entering dreams and planting an idea in someone’s head. Normally Cobb and his team only invade dreams to steal secrets and they aren’t sure if Inception is really possible.

The Architect: The person who constructs the dream world inside the mind of the Dreamer. In the final dream of Inception, Ariadne (as played by Ellen Page) is the architect.

The Dreamer: The person whose dream you’re actually in. When creating a dream within a dream, each level must have a different dreamer. In the final sequence, Yusuf dreams the first level, Arthur dreams the second one, and Eams dreams the third level with the snow fort.

The Subject: The person whose subconcious is actually brought into the dream, usually for the purpose of extracting information from them or on rare occasions in order to plant an idea in their mind. In the final sequence, Fisher Jr. is the subject.

Totem: An object constructed by someone who plans to invade a dream, whose exact weight and composition only they know. This object can be used to help verify whether you’re in the real world, or the dream world. Cobb uses a top which, when spun inside a dream never stops spinning. Ariadne constructs a chess piece, which she plans to use as her totem.

Projection: A person created by the subconcious mind of the subject. Projections are not real. They function like white blood cells and should the subject begin to realize that the dream he’s in isn’t his, Projections respond violently and attempt to seek out the Dreamer and destroy him.

Hum chale America - Part 1

2010-06-15T23:40:00.005+05:30

Yet another average attempt at CAT and other MBA entrance exams coupled with long strenuous hours at office was doing me no good. All the pain and anxiety stemmed from the fact that there was nothing to look forward to and just a mere thought of college days or the training days at Mysore was turning out to be the most frequently used orgasmic point in my body.

"You can take the man out of a crib but you cant take the f***ing crib out of a man." - So true.

Well a short winter vacation in Delhi made a lot of sense. As always I booked the tickets without even caring to let my manager know about it. Don't really know why, but I loved his "eyes and mouth wide open" expression. Mr. manager did a good job at coordinating the efforts of his eyes and the mouth.

The carefree me jumped into his office to table the truth and enjoy my moment. But to my surprise, the big man had done his homework well. I have gone through many a management funda email forwards where the employee is shown as a donkey and the manager is sitting atop him holding a bright red carrot. I had just never thought that I would feature in one someday. He said "Well we were thinking about sending you to Chicago, buuuuuuuutttttttttttttt if this leave thing is really important then I think you should go ahead with it!"

"Okay let me give it a thought and lets see if I can work it out" would have been a high scoring answer. I said "Can I go to Chicago right after I come back from Delhi?", the smile on my face growing bigger every passing second. I know it really doesn't get dumber than this (to show the desperation) but my brain had stopped working when I needed it the most. For once he had a kind heart and said "See if you can work it out in that timeframe. If it gets pushed out then we'll have to reconsider our options."

I knew what I had to do. Sidhu had once very famously said "When opportunity comes your way grab it with both hands". That is exactly what I did and completed my paper work in under 1 working day and scheduled my visa interview at Delhi.

By God's grace I didn't have too much trouble reaching the venue on time. Yes this has been a major area of concern for me ever since. Right from attending college lectures to getting to my workplace on time, I had failed on every possible occassion, miserably. The talk of all the discipline and that I hail from an army background was only limited to job interviews.

Well, the queue was long and the waiting area at the embassy, "the lounge", looked exactly like a fish market, people yelling all around, tokens thrown on the ground, in short total chaos. And by saying this I hope I am not creating a regional divide but there were a lot of surds and gujratis. Any further description of the embassy might probably ruin my chances of visiting the states for a second time and so for the time being I would just stick to the postives. The only one being that I was granted a VISA :). In doing so, more than half the battle had been won.

I got back to Pune the very next day and booked my air ticket to Chicago for the coming Friday. Before I could realize it, the week had ended and it was Friday again, business certainly not as usual. For a change I left office while the sun still had some burning to do.

The last thing that I distinctly remember is checking in my luggage at the Air India counter and taking charge of my boarding pass. All the excitement was not just about going to the states but it was about entering a new phase in my life to which I could look back at and feel happy about, just like college and Mysore training days. Yes, yet another orgasmic point was being created in my body. The excitement took charge as I boarded the 18 hour long flight.

Perception Problem!!

2008-05-26T22:23:00.000+05:30

I was all excited to make my first trip to Delhi, traveling alone for the very first time. One thing that stands out about Rajdhani express a/c first class is that they serve freshly cooked food in first class and not the usual packed food. I reached Mumbai central on time. As usual I checked the reservation chart before boarding the train. The compartment allotted to me just had two seats and my fellow passenger was some f 24.
Snacks were served as soon as the train started. I had forgotten my mp3 player and was really getting bored. I briefly introduced myself to the beautiful damsel (I was assuming she was unmarried) sitting in front of me. She was casually dressed and carried a grim look. Although she had beautiful eyes, they didn’t seem to express too much. As my small introduction came to an end, she continued to sip on her coffee. She just didn’t seem interested. It felt really awkward. There was a sense of arrogance…no!! She was out rightly arrogant!! I called for the staff and asked him to get me a magazine.
It was soon time for dinner. It was strangely silent even during dinner and by now I was really cursing her for having shared up space with me and spoiling, in what could have been the most exciting journey of my life-my first travel alone. I had so looked forward to it. After having my dessert I lied down on the berth still holding on to the worst magazine of all times. I just couldn’t have read it. I was disturbed still trying to figure out what had gone wrong. She looked unperturbed and kept looking at that one single point ever since she had boarded the train with a constant expression on her face. I switched off the light and went off to sleep. I had never been this silent. It was like I was getting punished for a serious crime and the worst part was that I couldn’t help but recollect what wrong I had done.
The longest seeming fifteen hour journey was finally coming to an end. I got up late as I always do and called for coffee. Something was missing. The lady was gone. I heaved a huge sigh of relief, because it is really disturbing when your fellow passengers are weird. There is something about it and you just don’t feel good. But now the sadness part was finally away and I could lie down in peace. Later when breakfast was being served, the waiter passed on a small piece of paper. It was a letter written in the most beautiful hand writing I’d ever seen. She had written it. After having cursed her all night long for the arrogant behavior I didn’t feel like reading it. I kept it away. But within five minutes I grew curious, obviously. It was the most shocking letter I had ever come across. I had never felt this bad. My perception was all wrong. Natasha was on the run trying to avoid marriage which was being forced upon her by her parents. She had a certain class which helped me assume that she hailed from an educated and a rich family. And the fact that such sad incidents take place even in affluent and educated families made me even sad. But this was not all. Just before getting on board she came to know that both her parents had committed suicide. I was numb!!!

“It’s not always the other person’s fault, sometimes you just don’t read it.”

y hate me when you can love me..

2008-05-07T01:09:00.000+05:30

There are certain things and individuals that one finds attractive and it is only human to try and emulate them. To me this attraction comes across as grotesquely odd. I might not like living without certain things or individuals but I know I could.

Just the other day, I was browsing through an album which had really old photographs of me and my friends back then. The moment is always nostalgic no matter how many times one may have gone through it. I called up my friends immediately and it was happiness mixed with satisfaction. Happiness because I was talking to them after a long time and satisfaction because there are certain actions that make you feel good…feel complete…

But not always in life, one gets to sail smooth. There is pretty much always, an ego clash or a petty issue raising between two individuals. Things get worse when there is a lack of communication. It is totally left to them, to decide the fate of the bond, which against a raging ego shall never survive. The only plausible move that strikes me right now, should be such that one doesn’t regret it in future.

Happiness lies within…Its all in the mind...

To all my loved ones reading this-Please keep in touch always and forever.

Prophecies of the west!

2008-03-05T18:20:00.000+05:30

Nostradamus had predicted the end of the world on 21st march, 2012. The ancient Mayan calendar abruptly ends on the same day. The most famous oracles at Delphi had also foreseen the end. The Holy Bible warns us about 2012 too. The list of prophecies is endless. But the matter of concern remains: Are all of these pointing to some danger or is it mere coincidence.

There have been many predictions in the past about a total wipe out of planet earth but time and again these theories have failed. What struck me about this one though is that it is backed by science; Albert Einstein had calculated that a planet almost as large as Jupiter would hit the earth around 2012. It’s called planet X (Nibiru). His studies suggest that even if the head on collision is somehow avoided, the strong magnetic field of the planet would lead to a magnetic shift.

A magnetic shift takes place after every 3600 years. It means that the North Pole and the South Pole interchange their positions and in doing so, earth undergoes regeneration. Tsunamis, earthquakes and huge volcanic eruptions are just some of the results of pole shift. It leads to the extinction of all the existing species paving way for new ones.

This might sound scary but the fact of the matter remains that we cannot predict the future; at best we can sit back and hope for the best.

Issued in public interest

2008-01-10T11:55:00.000+05:30

I am angry over the treatment meted out to Team India in the recently concluded test match at Sydney. I think more than the dubious umpiring decisions, it is the spirit in which the game was played which is questionable!!
I feel there is a need to set up an UNBIASED code of conduct immediately which not only looks into players matters (disputes on the field) but also keeps a check on umpires, commentators and other elements of the game. When i say unbiased i mean the Asians should not be turned easy meat for whites.
Time and again we have witnessed discrimination on the field. Murali was at the receiving end in late 90s when Arjuna Ranatunga and his team walked off the turf in Oz in protest and recently Pakistan had to abandon the test match in England due to certain issues. This time they have targeted the 'turbanator'. The Captains need to be aggressive and i think both Inzamam and Ranatunga were correct in walking off the field. I was optimistic about Team India walking off as well but it was not to be under a laid back Anil Kumble. Dravid and Kumble should definitely take a leaf out of Ganguly's book, they might come across as cool customers but it is the aggression that characterizes a leader.
ICC earns more than 65% of its total annual earnings through BCCI. I think it’s high time the BCCI realizes it stand and power on the global level and makes the ICC take stringent actions. I won’t be surprised at all if the tourney is called off.

y lose urself??

2008-01-10T00:38:00.000+05:30

since this is my first blog i shall dedicate it to all my friends.
cigarettes, beer, vodka, whisky, rum and dope!! al of them hav one common thing and that is the HIGH! al of them hav different highs though. So inspite of all the negatives what is it that actually attracts the youth..i'v seen many debates on news channels and othr places but could neva really conclude..i feel human ego is the biggest player in this game.. we do whateva we are nt suppposed to do and definitely want to do wateva we are forbidden from doing..
some think it is stylish while others call it peer pressure. What ever the reason maybe i think most people just want to try a new thing out ( to traverse an unexplored path ).
I think the government is doing the wrong thing by laying a ban on smoking, doping,etc. because the more you try to restrict it, the farther the human ego takes it. They should focus more on making people aware of its consequences by advertisements (hire celebrities to attract attention of the masses) and education and should provide easy, cheap access to rehabilitation centres and rehabilition programs.

I am on my path to purity, are you?