Aal izz Well....!!!

Ok I dunno where to start – the interesting and entertaining day or the very interesting but not so entertaining night...

I’d rather start with the wonderful Christmas that we had... It all started two days back when one of my dear friends suggested another friend that we should go to Kolkata for a movie on Christmas. We booked online – and early morning today, we were on our way to Kolkata. Nice warm weather from the chills of Jamshedpur – a literal warm welcome :)

The taxiwala though was not so warm – after going 28 km in the taxi – where he first feigned taking us to Science City – passed it without asking if we were getting down – then took us to the “bypass” to South City. We saw the turn to Salt Lake City but didn’t say anything as we were new to Kolkata and thought probably it was just round the corner. When after turning many corners and reaching 25 km on the meter, the South City Mall didn’t arrive – we decided to take the matters into our hands and asked the locals about its location – and surprise – the taxi wala asks for “Sowl City” and then suddenly turns the taxi around to say – “Oh I took one wrong turn. We’ll be there in two mins” when we were in fact on the right path (finally). We corrected him and soon, we were at South City mall and with a lot of help from the local bystanders, we managed to get the taxi off with a fare of Rs. 100. So basically we went to science city – then salt lake city – then a fictitious “Sowl City” and then finally our destination. I thought, not for the last time in the day, “Aal izz Well”...

While one friend visited her relatives who stayed close by, we had a subway – which tasted as it always does across anywhere in India – Good. Then just as we reached the Fame entrance we realised, the speedy ticket counter for online bookers was not as speedy. It took us a good 20 mins into the movie “Avatar 3D” before we could get in but finally we did and again I thought, “Bhaiya Aal izz Well”...

The movie had stunning VFX but nothing so great about the storyline... James Cameron kinda let me down. But then, the effects and the 3D made it worth the money. We came out and clicked pics around the many X-Mas trees decorated there. And again I thought, “Chachu, All izz Well”...

After a refreshing giant Pepsi, we 4 idiots entered “3 Idiots”. I shall leave the review for another post but rest assured, we came out laughing and thoroughly satisfied, thinking, once again, “Bhaiya Aal izz Well”...

I decided, it was Christmas, and while my friends enjoyed a plate of spicy and mouthwatering pani puri, I had to give Father Christmas’s gift to the person who is behind most joys in XL and with me in most sorrows at XL. Suddenly realisation dawned on me – I didn’t have my credit card!!! Did I lose it somewhere? Where? I remained calm and checked my bag – called up my friends to check. Thankfully it was in the camera pouch. Once again, the thought came to my mind – “Murgi, Aal izz well” :)

We rushed through the Kolkata traffic to reach the station only to discover that our train was delayed by 8 hours!!! We didn’t want to spend the night on the Kolkata station. Decided we had to bypass rules and go through touts and get ourselves on the next train going to Tata. Got booking via the inside route – with a ticket premium of more than 100% over the cost – but at least better than waiting on the platform. Yet again, “Bakre, Aal izz Well”...

The train journey was scary to say the least. We were completely unprepared for the cold. No blankets. Sweatshirts that could cover us through the evening chill in Jamshedpur but surely not the biting cold of the moving train. And surprisingly enough, I was the most comfortable amongst my friends. In a close huddle, we derived as much body heat from each other as possible and reached – rather, made it – to Tatanagar. God bless Indian Railways and the coffee guy on the platform. The auto ride back was where I realised why the winter takes its toll in the North India. Even when laden with light armour of a hooded sweatshirt, my hands had gone numb – actually numb. I could only imagine what the destitute across the northern plains would do when they ran out of firewood. Thankfully, I reached the campus, alive; turned on the kettle and put my digits – almost at the breaking point – in the warm water. Blood rushed back through the digital systems and now again, “Bhaiya, Aal izz Well”...

Overall a great Christmas outing... Merry Christmas...

P.S: No disrespect to Kolkata-waalon - but tourists to Kolkata, please beware of the cheating Kolkata Taxis. Take the pre-paid and you will sing, "Aal izz Well"... :)

Cameron's new AVATAR

Long back I had talked about how there was an unnecessary (my opinion) controversy created whenever there was a Hindi movie inspired by and English/other language movie. The recent controversy regarding the ‘Return of James Cameron’ movie AVATAR has just vindicated my stand that each director was different and each movie was different. While Avatar might be inspired from a book, picturization of a book in the modern sci-fi day cinema is not the easiest of tasks and James Cameron must be lauded for that. James Cameron has been one of my favourite directors and no controversy regarding “plagiarism” will take that away from him. As he says in one of his hit movies through Arnie’s dialogue, he’ll be back... I just hope the movie is as good, if not better, than the trailers...
PP

Netherlands Stun England!!!

In the first match of the Twenty20 World Cup, we have a upset. The minnows have beaten the hosts England. England were going fine till the over ten, reaching 90. But then on it was a downward slide as Holland clawed their way back and restricted England to a very manageable 160 odd runs. Grooth and Borren led the Dutch chase as they chased down the English total in a nail-biting last-ball finish... England, more than anything were let down by their fielding. The English had many chances but couldn't get a direct hit on the stumps. It was a fitting finish that the Dutch won the match on an overthrow!!! My man-of-the-match: Grooth.

I just read a satirical on Cricinfo stating that India and Scotland would be in the finals. with Scotland having a slight edge. That doesn't seem so satirical anymore...

And Finally... The end of an era...

Was just bored and saw the TVC of Nirma. A search on youtube finally gave me the link.. (its not easy to find)
But, finally – the TVC that defined jingles and brand association has been replaced its new high-tech version. The new TVC is colourful and is a huge shift from the whiteness platform that the earlier ad positioned itself on. This ad is replete with colours and flowing clothes probably depicting the quality of the fabric. Dunno what the underwater nature of this ad symbolises though... any suggestions?

The New Commercial

Whatever, I like the ad – though I miss the old jingle... Who can forget the evergreen line from the commercial

Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma... Sabki Pasand Nirma. Washing powder Nirma

French Open: Rafael Nadal in PINK

That he is no less male was demonstrated through his shots and the ultimate scoreboard (7-5, 6-4, 6-3) in the opening round against Brazilian Marcos Daniel but still PINK!!! And it was no manly pink... It was no Mauve or anything but PINK... He may call it "Light Rose" or whatever... but as Phoebe puts it many times in her typical tone "po-tay-to po-tah-to", its PINK after all...

Now if Federer can't make his trademark shots and ends up losing to Nadal, he can surely make an excuse of courtesy or even better, distraction!! We can bid goodbye to the trademark bright green - hope it is not the case with the brilliant tennis he plays along with it.

Yup, the pic on the right is his colour this French Open...

PP

P.S.: The latest score - Federer Lost his serve in the opening game and trails 0-2.... OK no, not to Nadal :)

The heat was definitely ON...

“The heat was definitely ON...” -- President of South Africa on the IPL.

And once again Lalit Modi shows that he is indeed the best thing that happened to Indian Cricket since Jagmohan Dalmiya’s commercialisation. When the country refused to provide the IPL the security that it needed and requested, an ad hoc plan to shift the whole tournament to South Africa was required and within days,, he shifted the whole event to the rainbow nation. In his own words, “To relocate an event of this magnitude to another continent in less than four weeks is simply mind-boggling.”

I was glad I was in Bombay for my internship, thus allowing me to watch the matches on television each night – also once on the big screen at Juhu Mocha! Saddened though I was on seeing tears on the ever-so-bubbly dimpled face of the pretty Preity, I couldn’t wonder at how the South African nation stands to benefit from the IPL. Four weeks ago, as they wondered if they were ready to host the biggest event in their short history – the FIFA World Cup 2010, Lalit Modi provided them with the best dress-rehearsal there could be. With exactly 50 weeks before the first match is played, South Africa can sure claim to be the right place for the FIFA World CUP.

And not just that, the economic benefits far outweighed the troubles this huge logistical nightmare brought to South Africa. 35 days of cricket – around 30-40 staff for each team, reporters, sponsors, crickets officials, the media, the organisers and the fans – all in all we sure are looking at five-star bookings tops 10k hotel days. Add to that the travel that these people had to do – the airline tickets itself would be huge economic boost to the nation. Add to that the tourism benefits – the safari packages, the SOTC tours et al. Even the simplistic of things like the roaming charges on cellphone!!! The President put the economic activity at 1 billion rand!!!

Lest I forget, let me also mention the indirect economic activity this would bring to the nation – the goodwill that it will generate internationally. The IPL has put a cross-mark on the international event-managers’ radars. And now the South Africans can sure brag of hosting huge international events and surge on their preparations for the Confederations Cup – 2009 and the most watched television extravaganza – the FIFA World CUP beginning on June 11th, 2010.

All in all – the grandest party of the year for the South Africans will bring in more than just the fun and excitement it promised...

Now waiting for FIFA 2010...

PP

P.S: What filled my heart with pride and gave me goosebumps – The closing ceremony – the beautiful instrumental played – guess the tune – vaishnav jan... Gandhi will never be forgotten in this foreign land even if he is ridiculed in his own nation...

P.S2: If you missed the closing ceremony, you surely should see the re-telecast. Though I din't understand the local songs (obviously, or may be they were English but I din't listen), the lights, colours and fire made it worth every second. Sydney 2000 wasn't as good!!!

P.S3: If you are wondering what the "army man" sung before the beautiful fireworks display - click here. It is a beautiful song by Eddy Grant.

Reflections - Part III (Term 3 @ XL)

Dear Blog,
Click to read Term 1 and Term 2

The third term, the end of the first year, the term where you suddenly realised you are alone in the college without the seniors to guide you at every step, where realise you will soon stop being a student and start being a manager, was, for me, a mixture of both achievements and failures, promises kept and vows broken.

The travel did not, at all, augur well for a good third term at XL... it was hectic from the start and running train experience was indeed a new one – though I must say, exhilarating one too.

If I thought, the term was more eventful at the beginning compared to the last term, the near-end events were beyond the usual definition of “eventful”. XLRI sure was a happening place!!!

It started with a lot of firsts for me – the first dance class, the first CV point, the first bunk and proxy and a few more... The first dance lesson (I guess it was Salsa) was something I would remember for more reasons than one. Then started the chain of events that reminded me of the classic line by William Davies’,

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs...

Starting with the formation of Team Services – the vow taken to repay in kind all the help that we extracted out of the seniors – the vow taken not to rest till each one of them was placed – the vow taken to not complain of missed classes for something more important than any grade was at stake. And successful the vow was.

Simultaneous was the formation of the Maxi Admin Team for the Maxi Fair – by far the grandest event in XL in terms of student participation. Meetings through the night and door-to-door selling through the day. The whole junior batch prepared for keeping up a 30-yr old tradition of excellence. And successful the effort was.

No, it did not go by without a sad thought – I missed my first graduation ceremony– for the fiercest rivalry known to B-Schools in the India – the legendary XL-IIMC meet. I so wanted to be there but there were responsibilities – not just of the meet but also the vows taken. Forever shall I remain “unconvocated”.

The Valentine’s Day passed without a thought about it – it was the day of reckoning – it was Day ZERO. The scene wasn’t too good but did we say we were giving up!!! The fight would go on – right up to the last man standing. We were battling the worst nightmare of a B-Schooler – the worst crisis of the century – on and on it went – for a good long 74 days - and we would be victorious.

Unfortunately the battle was not the lone battle I was involved in – the academic battle was far from over!!! By no means was this an easy term. There was the “Research” and the “Operation” though hardly any “Production” – even Strategic reproduction was hampered due to the slower net speeds and the other battlefront engaged in a full scale war!!! As usual, before I knew what hit me, the End-Terms were overhead. Thanks to my group-mates, many of my projects were completed in time and that left me with the only worry of eliminating the ghosts of the exams – which I must say has never been my forte.

Learnings from the past term:

1. The grass is greener on the other side but what is the other side!!!
2. Naive ain’t useless – it is the only thing that works. Any other forecast will turn out to be too complicated for the uncomplicated market.
3. If you can’t explain it, match it to some unknown factor. If you can’t match it, redefine it – all economic theories are based on this simple funda.
4. What do managers do – Strategise – aka hold long closed door meetings – to decide crucial issues like whether the grass looks better dark green or light.
5. What worked in 1950 works now!!! You can’t work it out??? Well.... you dint study in class 6th and 7th, why sob now...
6. If you can’t do it, ask your virtual self to do it...
7. And once again, never the least of all, friends are your biggest assets. Once a while they may promise you a toy and forget, once a while they may make you feel small enough to drown in little drops of water but more often than not, they will be the balancing figure to match-up your balance-sheets. No inequation with friends can be solved as their shadow price is simply infinity. Their importance is a exponentially increasing curve with alpha>1... To all ye friends...

PP

Torangallu to Bombay

Dear Blog

Its been a long time coming... Not due to nothing happening but due unavailability of the net... Oh how inaccessibility can paralyse u!!! Anyways, it hasn’t stopped me from writing and i shall post what I’ve written on sheets.

I travelled from my place to the city of dreams – Bombay in train. Luckily for my habit of reaching the station well in time, I was able to catch the train despite some misinformation on the train timings (it had been preponed by 15 mins). Another ominous sign followed – Laptop charger!!! When things start to go wrong they really do. As can be expected, this wasn’t gonna be the last of my worries. I had a general ticket but the general bogie was really crowded. I, with my elephantine luggage could not get on, forget travelling. I got into a sleeper coach and had a “verbal go ahead” from the TTE (He did agree but not before pocketing a Rs. 50/- note, which I willingly gave). Then again, as always, there is that old unaccommodating old woman who just wouldn’t let you stand though you are in no way obstructing her. Thankfully, I reached Guntakal without any further hassles. A daunting realisation hit me as I descended on the crowded platform – I had to pass more than 3 hrs on that dead platform. This is where the things turned for the better. Thankfully (really can’t the author enough). I had the “Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. Read the whole book in those three hrs and boarded the train to Bombay after a lone quiet dinner.

My copassengers included a professor, two IT engineers one PhD and two ladies who really had seen India. Now those who know me, will know how enjoyable my journey must have been. From current economic scenario to Laloo to travelling through India, we talked about anything and everything under the sun.

I reached Bombay and was brought to the well furnished room that I’m currently staying in. Hoping this good time continues into my days that will be my first ever paid assignment.

PP

TOW "I'm the unConvocated" ©...

Dear Blog,

It’s been a loong week since I posted anythhing... Not that the earth and along with it, my life, stopped moving. Not that nothing noteworthy happened. Not that there was nothing I didn’t have an opiinion about. Just that in some cases, I didn’t find the time to do it and otherrs, I didn’t find the inspiraation to do it.

Well the usual stuff, new episodes of Lost, House MD, HIMYM, Heroes, TBBT, 2.5 Men, Chuck, Roadies 6.0 etc. got downloaded and watched, enlargement of the nominees' liist for the DCP awards continued, I bunked yet another classs, yet another week without mess dinner... Well they don't quite need mention... There were also a few things that neeed mention...

For starters, I missed the 6th annual convocation @ NITK. That means I’m still not an Engineer. Why did I not go? Multitude of reasons... First of which was the legendary historical 30th annual XL-IIMC sports meet. Secondly, when you are a SPOC of a placement support committee, hardly can u afford to not be in campus for a day, and when the process is preponed at short notice, more so. In short, according to Pauli Exclusion Principle, “I’m the unConvocated”. ^{© Secy, ER, Joka}

And then the sports meet got postponed to a later date!!! All the bbuild-up surrounding it, the war hysteria built over three terms melted away in a matter of two eventful days.

Would that mean, the weekend was a forced holiday, a time I could gather myself up for the coming week, a time I could muster up few hours of peaceful sleep, a time I could not work??? Well, the admission letter of a B-School does come with an unwritten clause in the “Terms of Agreement” and the “Voluntary Disclosure”, “I hereby declare to not keep myself free from work for the time I’m on campus. Any infaarction on this stated rule can invite serious non-disciplinary, nevertheless, socially-impeaching and far reaching action. Leaving the campus without the explicit long-term term-brreak will constitute gross neglect of the workaholic clause.”

And thus, I spent the weekend, a weekend many students afforded to trespass the Workaholic Clause, planning and pondering over the coming week, a week that will surely leave me tattered and battered i.e. if at all I manage to not have my name in the Obituary section of the local Telegraph. Till then, serving aces, getting to score: Advantage XLRI...

PP

P.S. Double Role Required...

MAXImum Sales Experience...

Another first...

It’s the oldest marketing research fair in India (or the world, I’m not so sure) and requires people to participate for its very existence. And for us to know that people are participating, we need to sell tickets to required people of specific socio-economic class... Now this is no easy task for reasons more than one... Why would anyone pay to be a part of a marketing research, ain’t it being treated like a guinea-pig!!! It’s a Sunday and there are a million other interesting things you could do. It is in one corner of the city which is hardly visited, let alone frequented, by anyone. What is in it for me, a small gift which I could surely do without!!! There is no celebrity endorsing... it’s just another small fest that students have to amuse themselves for a weekend. Its MBA students, the fair must also be for students, in short, I’ll just be the cliche square peg in the round hole.

Convincing them takes a lot of effort... Many cases we gotta tell them it’s not what they think it is. In many other cases, you gotta tell them it’s more than they think it is... In short, market the fair in its grandest form... create impressions that you want them to have; In some cases, correct the correct impression they have to the one you want them to have.

Anyways, what can be termed a not-so-good-not-so-bad type sale, we were able to sell 26 tickets in the specified SEC. Must I add, in a large measure, thanks to my (outspoken) good (looking) partner who used all the prior experience of door-to-door selling into today’s sales... ;)

PP

P.S.: BTW my partner must have been pretty confused today... one lady saw a kid while a gentleman got offended when his wife was referred as ‘aunty’ remarking, "She is not as elder to you".

I'm Back...

Dear Blog,

First of all, mixed feelings getting back to XL... Just when I thought I was settling down and felt there was no difference, I went to the mess!!! Ya this is not the same. Aloo and paneer are back!!!

Getting here was prob more interesting than being here... I thought I’ll travel to Hyd, finish off some job, meet some family friends and then fly to Kolkata. All fine till the planning...

The day of the travel (today) started fine... Got up early and caught the airbus to the airport. And then, at check-in I was informed that the flight was just landing at B’lore while I thought I was late for the flight at Hyd! I was joined by two of my friends and all of us were to catch the train at 2:30pm from Cal to Jampot. Now if the flight were to start any later than noon, the train was sure to leave without us on board. Thankfully, the announcement was made at 11:00 that the flight landed in Hyd; I was a little more assured. As I expected, we took off from Hyd and reached Cal at 1:30 pm. But as usual, Murphy’s Law applied and the luggage took its time!!! We started in a pre-paid taxi (at quite an exorbitant price) from the airport at 1:52 (by my watch which has been adjusted for the one second delay at the New Year). Initially we covered distance fast and then as we entered the city limits, the driver gave up hope... We almost jumped many traffic signals and entered opposite one-ways... As we drew closer to MG Rd, I knew we would make it as the famous Howrah Bridge and the station is quite close. But I was only partially right... We entered the station and with some external help reached the train. My watch showed 2:29. But then the adrenaline took me a lil further... While the train is still standing, I thought I could cover as much as I can on the platform and tried moving towards the coach I was supposed to be travelling in!!! And the signal turned green and without warning the train started moving... Got into the coach that was very close to mine :) Luckily the jounrney thence was not such eventful barring one particularly peculiar comment about a kid (this is for the kid, if she is reading it) ;)

The cold climate (compared to the mid-twenties and thirties I grew accustomed to at home) and the dusty atmosphere and the rustic autowallahs welcomed me... 7:00 pm and the oh-so-beautiful manicured lawns and flower of XL, the iron-guarded entrance to TFEMR and the (differently arranged) mess – I’m Back...

Feeling Good,

PP

Reflections – Part II (Term 2 @ XL)

 Dear Blog,

Just as I had started settling into the rhythm of 8-hrs sleep per day, a rude awakening call was given to me by the damn reminder in my mobile: September 21. Time to go back to the 3-hrs sleep days... Time for second term @ XL...

The first week, as in the first term was pretty normal. Some teachers were yet to return from their other assignments and hence I was “free” with other pursuits. That joy wouldn’t last for long though... And even in those few days, I had to prepare for the SIPs. Squeezed in between was the great XL Diwali...

Two GBMs... One for the introduction of non-conventional placement opportunities (which I must say gave rise to more concerns about fewer opportunities and the tough times ahead than the “opportunities”) and the other for introduction of the senior teams for the process (to reassure and mend the dent left by the previous GBM)... I’ve already described the process in great depth in other posts [1, 2, 3, 4] and thus will not venture details here... By the way, there was also the famed GBM which I shall not mention here...

Then came Ensemble 2008. 

A place for the best minds from all-over India to meet. Sad, but for the few OTS events, hardly any XLer would have “Ensembled”... The Sudoku challenge, the fin-quiz, the face-painting competition etc. were the saving grace. Else, it was just the various associations and the few lucky teams selected to the final rounds (names withheld due to obvious reasons). The reason behind the best in the field not being called upon and the job left to few “selected” members escapes me... What is more... genuine help is frowned upon and looked at with scepticism (I surely hope, in few isolated cases)!!! As the great Bard put it, All’s well that ends well...

Then the realisation suddenly dawned, not the SIP or Ensemble was what I was here for... The existence of project deadlines and tests hit me hard. That I was able to squeeze in time for everything was in itself a great wonder... My prior experience with PPTs and excel sheets did prove to be handy... Before I realised, the end-terms had dawned, just as I realised, they were over.

My learnings from this term:

• There is logic behind great organisations being so great... 3M and Google surely did not know they were to change the entire content of case studies and presentations. 
• Facts are artefacts... Rare... General knowledge is not very general... Not very well known to people. Any assumptions thereof will be the point of discussion and example for many discussions and possibly even Group "Discussions"!!!
• History is indeed written by the victors... and so is a successful marketing strategy! The loser can only wonder, “what if...”
• If you do not know a thing, keep quiet. If you know it, more so...
• Market never runs efficiently... Thus, it becomes the role of finance managers to take the blame for all the bad judgements of all the people. Who should be blamed for all the economic evil that the world is going thru... the brilliant economists and MBAs or the common junta who just can’t calculate the price of a financial instrument... (well, they are not expected to... but shhhhh... who else can we blame)
• Under Sec 1(aa) of the College Student Act, any dissent against boring subjects is henceforth declared unlawful. The right to strike has, with immediate effect, been withdrawn. Any violation of the above nature may be dealt with in a manner deemed strict by the offender. The award of punishment will be discretionary in nature.
• Democracy gives u only one right... The right to remain silent... Everything else can and will be used against the right...
• Once again reiterating... Friends are the biggest assets... unfortunately, no accounting standard allows them to be  written off in the balance sheet as they bring no liability with them... Pacioli was wrong here...

Bringing the curtains down on an eventful term...

PP

An interesting course...

Dear Blog,

Today's entry has been written more in awe than anything else.. 

Well... It requires a special talent to teach history to students of applied science in a way that they study it like the way they study science... and not just study but enjoy it too. Well, today’s test was a subject in that category... Generally regarded and surely perceived as boring piece of history with no practical relevance and surely not application. Well, this course surely changed my view... Not only do I find it very practical, but it was more like the only logical subject I had this term... Rest all were pretty much, well, history :) (No offence to those studying history.. but it just is not a science for me... Obviously historians differ)

Today's paper was a culmination of wat has been a very informative series of 20 sessions and a more than welcome break from the enervating courses I've undergone...

I always thot organisations were formed out of a brilliant idea (or a lucky one) and that they grew just coz stagnation wud lead them to decline and in gen human tendency is to keep growing and never be satisfied... Never knew there was so much of science behind how and why they grow into what they grow into. Never thought the ESOPs were anything beyond a retention gimmick which nobody but a few lucky ones gained from... Never thot any happening in the ET cud be linked to the psychological and organisational aspects and not pure finance!!! This term I gained a new lens to view international news with and it sure presents a more real picture than what I used to see.

Thus ends, a very interesting course and prob my second most interesting course in XL...

PP

My first sales experience...

Dear Blog,

Yday, I added another of “my firsts” to my list. For a college event, I went to my designated area for enticing the shopkeepers to set up stalls, give goodies etc. It was a new experience and I must say, a humbling one... For, now I know why sales people keep talking about sales targets and customer indifference.

We made pitches to six major shops and a few chhotu ones, none of which could be converted. Designing a sales pitch in itself is an experience. I and my buddy for the adventure decided what would be out pitch before entering any shop, then looked out for whom to give the pitch to and then made the pitch. Now language and medium used forms a very important part of the pitch. My buddy was not fluent at Hindi and thus it was me who was making the initial pitches and then gauging the mood and demands of the potential customer, my buddy made the pitch stronger.

Will quote memorable incidents after we have completed pitches... in one collection...

Something about pitches (a bit early to be writing this but ok):

• The big showrooms have a lot of potential but often they are company outlets and the store manager has very little power in terms of branding or sponsorship. They have within their powers to make sales, offer spot discounts etc. but setting up stalls, giving away freebies is not within their jurisdiction.
• It is important to customise the pitch to the specific needs of the target. You don’t go to a shoe store and talk of marketing research and profiling until the store is looking to open a new chain of outlets in your city.
• The more ignorant the target is, the better it is. God save u if the target is an unsatisfied prior customer.

Anyways, the day 1 was a partial disaster. Hoping the other days are better.

All sympathies and congratulations for the salesmen,

MMM

War (i)n Peace...

Dear Blog,

Not a very happy thanksgiving...

This I write even as the operation to drive out the terrorists from the Taj Hotel in Mumbai is underway. The attack on hotels is a recent trend in terrorist attack history. Call me a conspiracy theorist who just spends time in finding coincidences where none exist but I don’t think this one can be rubbished off. Hotels are the major private properties where terrorist attacks take place.

Lemme have a look at the hotels I remember have been the target of the terrorist attacks. (The source of this info is limited to my memory and inconsistencies with actual facts must be forgiven)

August 2003, Indonesia: Hotel Marriott is bombed in Indonesia in a suicide bomb attack. Marriott was a common centre for US Independence Day celebration in the past. Though conspiracy theories point to CIA hand in this attack as many US bookings were cancelled just hours before the attack, Jakarta Police had found links to the Bali blast as far as I remember.

June-July 2005, Egypt: Ghazala Hotel is bombed in a suicide attack. The bombings take place at the height of the tourist season... At 1pm in the night when the bars and clubs are busy...Victims included foreign nationals as well.

Late 2005 or early 2006, Jordan: The Grand Hyatt was the one of two or three hotels that were the target of terrorists. It should come as no surprise that the hotel was frequented by foreign tourists. If I remember correctly, there was a wedding ceremony taking place in one of the hotels at the time of the attack.

January 2008, Afghanistan: The Hotel Serena in Kabul is bombed. A Norwegian delegation is put up at the hotel at the time of the attack. A foreign journalist is amongst those killed. Modus operandi – suicide bomb.

September 2008, Pakistan: Hotel Marriott is once again the target but in Islamabad. Again, the hotel is a regular amongst the American tourists. Photos of destroyed cars are shown on the front pages of various dailies. More than 40 are killed. Once again, mode of bombing, suicide car attack...

That brings me to the unique and outrageous Mumbai attack: Two major hotels taken under siege. Foreign tourists held hostage. More than 45 hours later, the battle is still on. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead. That includes the chief of the anti-terrorist unit, an Addl. Commissioner amongst others.

The whole of national media has everything covered... so much so that everyone forgot the hundred killed due to the cyclone Nisha in Tamil Nadu. And there are citizen journalists sending videos and pictures of the attacks on the internet. And the India TV phone call received from one of the terrorists holed up in the Taj... And with it the hall of shame for the media... senior journalists airing on 'news', clues that terrorists could easily use for their advantage, asking families of hostages about how they are feeling... yeah right.. #*$^@*#, one thing's for sure, they not are as excited about TRP and airtime as you are...!!! For once, the political parties have not politiced the issue and have come out in solidarity condemning the attack and offering help and not indulging in the usual blame game. Keeping Fingers crossed...

Waiting for it to end,

MMM

Happy Thanksgiving...

Dear Blog,

What a nice way to celebrate thanksgiving for the unfortunate souls trapped in one of the most prestigious hotels in Mumbai, Taj and Oberoi!!!

Terror strikes India again... This time, once again, it is the heart of Indian economy – amchi Mumbai... 

Since yday evening, I’ve been following the news and am shocked to see the scale of the attack. 26 people sneak in through boats (Courtesy: IBNLive.in.com)... armed with heavy armoury and laden with explosives, Some take two hotels under siege... 

Simultaneously, the other operatives cause havoc in public locations like the railway terminus.

This comes at a time when Indian players have expressed concern about playing in Pakistan. How safe are we in India? The very players who have refused to play in Pakistan might well have been in any one of the hotels on an unfortunate day... I’m sure there were other dignitaries (some even more important than the cricket players) in Taj when the terrorists struck. No, I’m not saying that the players should play... Just that do they consider themselves safer in India than Pakistan!!!

What this leads to is a question of what can and needs to be done at a time when you are safe nowhere!!! How does the government keep a tab on the rise of terrorism? The government accepted it was completely clueless and had no intelligence on the issue (Courtesy: Live news from IBNLive.in.com). The inaction from the government has left the country in a situation where terrorists anyways have the whole country in a hostage situation. Why do terrorists go for an attack without laying demands? Come in the open... declare demands and hold the country for ransom..!!!

For now, it seems to be coming to an end... people coming out of Hotel Taj. And tomorrow, the city of Mumbai, the gritty city of Mumbai will be back to normal... each person hoping when the next attack happens, he’s not in the eye of the storm.

For now, homage to the unlucky ones who could not make it alive to the other end of this dark night... Respects to the ATS chief and other policemen who succumbed to the attack.

MMM

P.S. Read a Similar Post from the archives...

An Experience to Remember - The Concluding Part

Dear Blog,

After the GBM, it might be seen as repetition... but I dint feel that justice was done by a mere applause... The effort put by the seniors was exceptional to say the least.

It started with helping people turn empty sub-standard CVs to masterpieces which were often self-deceiving... each one formatted to perfection... more like being crafted to exquisite forms of art...!!! Thank you dear mentors... Then there were individual interviews and GDs. Not just any GDs, there were “Chairman’s GDs”, case GDs and every other type (though most of them turned to a common fish-market was another matter). As the forms started pouring in, Gyaan followed.

And this was the beginning...

The first call to SIP was given by a melodious rendition of “Bhayee Bhorrrrr”... And as we entered the holding area, biscuits and juice packs awaited us... Served on a platter, we knew we were in for few days of pampering... Team services had all planned for all of us... to meet all our needs at all times of the day... all with a faces lit by brilliance of a 1000W smile. From the early morning snack to the late-night munchies, Services made sure no person was left wanting.

One certain incident which I shall never forget... I was down... just not out... I wished to eat a sandwich... made a request for it... five mins was all I waited for me to be served... thts it??? No... Not just one senior to help me out with my mental state but two of them... Suddenly I felt pity for the companies that rejected me... A feeling of being important engulfed me... I felt wanted... Too bad the companies couldn’t gauge my potential... A smile lit up my face and I spent the day happy though I couldn’t manage to sign-out!!! One fine morning, as I entered the holding area, I was offered a biscuit but what made my day was the feeling attached to it. I decided today was gonna be my day... And so it was!!!

There were moments when people vented their pent-up anger on the team services and all the team did was smile back and say... did u have food? Want anything else... some juice, cold drink? Outside the holding area, you could see the tension and fatigue on their faces but all they had for us juniors was the famed smile. But for team services, GAK how many more people would have broken down and found themselves in abysses they could never have recover from. There might be numerous allegations against every other team... every other person... But Team Services was simply loved by all. Kudos to the team...

Then there was the Team-Controls. I dunno wat software they designed... and thankfully did not have to know it too... for they functioned so efficiently... brilliantly managing multiple parallel GDs, interviews along with maintaining pecking sheets and databases... all with the calm of the deep sea... The target of most abuses, team controls was impeccable with their job.

And last of all, the StuCos and CoCos... they were the last point of contact before a candidate entered the gallows. They ensured the prospective candidate was well prepared... more mentally than factually. The last bit of confidence-boosting was done by these seniors. How can I forget the invaluable tips I received from the CoCos before the numerous GDs I attended (I must have let them down for I went to more than 15 GDs without success.... Gawd.. how bad a learner am I)

Revelling in the experience of SIP,

MMM

P.S. Also in the series: Part 1 - Prelude, Part 2 - The beginings, Part 3 - The process

P.S2: PlaceCom and CRISP - I dont feel qualified enuf to put into words the part played. No appreciation is good enuf.

An Experience to Remember - Part 3

Dear Blog,

The last post ended with, “Retire for the day”... Did that mean Sleep?? Hardly... For those lucky souls who managed to “sign-out” on day 1, it was ecstasy while for others, it was anticipation and tension. 

0500 Hrs: SAC heard again – “Good Morning Juniors”... but the Cactus tree was pushed into oblivion. Whether it was due to unavailability of lead singers or due to sheer sense, it was welcome. Nevertheless, the whole XL was assembled in the holding area at 0600 hrs. There were more companies slotted for the day... more shortlists(extended and otherwise), more GDs (and more loud voices) and more PIs. And to make matters worse, there was desperation in those loud voices too. But then, as they say... jaako raakhe saaiyan maar sake na koi... the hand of god waived and some voices signed out... 

1400 Hrs: My third GD of the day and I lost track of time...

The situation was a prime case-study for any psychology student. While some students were joyous, others were indifferent and still others were angry (at themselves, process, authorities or anyone who could be blamed) and the remaining had plummeted to depths of despair. That the results were withheld (due to “sound logic” to avoid “process complications”) only added to the problem. It was the day the first signs of eye-swells started showing up. The rivers behind the lacrymals were ready to pierce the dams guarding them. Night dawned, but it was only virtual. There was no end to the process that day or for the days that followed.

As they say, it is the times of despair when you seek the quantum of solace... It is these times that bring the best of relations to forefront. The best of friends can become staunch rivals in face of adversity but SIP was different. Each second round interview shortlist was greeted with applause despite people not finding themselves on it. There were people who kept getting shortlists (I tracked mine till 20+ before I lost count) some kept converting GDs (hail the GD gods and goddesses) too... The sign-out was still a long way. It was time when people who once having prided themselves on having got into XL starting doubting if they were actually worth it. People who thought they had seen life enough were in for a shock. Amidst all this there were old ties being strengthened and new relations being formed... 

And once again, I found my best pals right beside me... but this time, there were many more... and boy, am I glad for that!!!

I didn’t hear my name being called out for sign-outs... But the call for treat at Regent (which I shall undertake someday) told me, I dint need to spend another night thinking what I was doing wrong... or another day thinking what I could do right!!!

What remains to be mentioned is the mentoring and a lot more I received through the process... And owing to the sheer size of task and emotion, that merits a new post...

MMM

Earlier in the series: Part 1, Part 2

An Experience to remember - Part 2

This post, I’ll post about the SIP experience of the juniors in the little chill times (i.e. Day 1)

The first of November, while many states of India celebrated their official state holiday, XLers had a busy day. Pecking discussions, slotting discussions and also sometimes, subject discussions... If teachers were around, they would surely ask the admin to have a SIP process every term so that the students actually take up books and study. And this continues right into the “Holding Area”. The whole campus is decked up for the impending arrival of the corporate India (and world).

Lights... Sound... Camera... ACTION!!!

0500hrs Nov 2^nd: Heard all over XL, “Good Morning Juniors”... SAC is finally heard!!! For once, no one was seen frowning over the not-so-rude awakening (literally) to the SIP... Eyes half closed – but smiling faces. Cactus tree Rox J

Sabko pata laga “Bhayee bhooooooooorrrrrrrrr”... The suits come out of the closets... Everyone u meet is a “Man-in-B” (where : B=Black, Blue, Brown). Shortlist (extended or otherwise) or no, XLers assemble in the “Holding Area”. It’s time for GDs and PIs to begin.

GD is one experience that will remain etched to me like a birthmark on my skin. Some people are loud, some people are intelligent, and very few are both. And it is these the second in the list who suffer. But coupled with the shrill in the voice and inability to listen (aka. active participation), it is the first category who rules the “Discussion”. More on GDs in another post sometime...

Then there are PIs. PIs are the opportunity for the candidates to prove how far they can stretch their imagination... making a mountain out of a mole-hill does require an elaborate effort. That all your hard-work through 20 yrs of life can be negated by one wrong example (seemingly) is something that I learnt, albeit the hard way.

Anyways, Day 1: Thru the day, there was the lone “sign-out”. Evening came, more sign-outs. Reputed names shoddy games. Notable in the “Well” – congratulations and allegations...

2300hrs: After a long day’s work, there’s pecking to be done. The taps of Gyaan open again... Mar-focus, Fin-focus and for most of us, simply Job-Focus...

Late in the night: Retire for the day.

MMM

Earlier in the series: Part 1

An Experience to remember - Part 1

There are experiences you have which u remember for a long time... Some good, and also some not-so-good (Note: NOT bad; just “not-so-good”). The SIP process was in the second category. This process, a new learning for me had so many moments that shall remain burnt to my memory that I shall distribute them over multiple posts – each looking over one aspect of the process. This shall be the prelude post.

It was end of September... the days had started to get shorter and longer at the same time. The sun set early but XLers worked late. And surprisingly, it was the start of the term. Why then, would students strain themselves? It was the term where the SIP would take place... SIP – an acronym for many different names (including “some idiotic process”) is the life of a B-Schooler in his second term. Two months before the start, CVs get ready. They are resurrected from depths of mediocrity under the special guidance of the experienced seniors. That they never are perfect is another matter!!!

Then there are the company PPTs. Each trying to woo the students with promise of “live projects”, “structured processes”, “hands-on experience” and some with pizzas and goodies (which btw remain the only point of differentiation after a score of PPTs...). If there is one purpose these accomplish, it is to let the students know that we are here and we want you. XL is a brand. XLers carry along with them a name tag which is worth a lot. Xlers have a responsibility to fulfil. And the XLers resolve to continue the legacy. Xlers shall put their best foot-forward.

Then there are special GBMs called for giving a feel of the process, mock (ing) process and GDs and interviews. Each GBM institutes a sense of fear and anticipation in the junior junta. Gyaan is dispensed off with ease. And yes, a lot of it is actually for the purpose it is depicted to be (others just exercise their put options ;))

You know its SIP time when things start to heat up, when tension rules the roost, when class-strength grows thin, when BFA, Kotler, Law books come to the fore, when the library sees some off-take of books and some in-take of students, when Classrooms (LH1,2) are lit up with people working even in the wee hours of the night, when the marketing blogs and investopedia replace the chat windows and even the FRAXers are seen with “things-to-do” lists.

That Diwali came and went was pushed into oblivion... Noone remembers what they did on Diwali, which btw, was less than a week back.

And thus began SIP... To be continued

MMM

Read other parts here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Related Posts: All About GDs, Application Process