In Retrospect...... :D

So it has ended..... officially the first year of my MBA @ MDI is over and done with.

The farewell party for the seniors is done and dusted with. When we come back next term on June the 14th we are going to be seniors. Thats pretty scary. Scary because according to me thats a big responsibility, especially in a course like MBA. I remember the Ecclesia we had in Mumbai last year. We met up with so many seniors and alumni. I got a lot of sound advice from most of the people I met there. I think the Buffet Dinner analogy was the best. :D

Past one year has been one of tremendous ups and downs. I have learnt many new lessons and re-learnt many of the old ones. I wanted to do a lot of things at MDI, some I could do, some I could not. The learning curve has been pretty steep for me. Slowly it has dawned on me that there are more thorns than roses in anybody's path.

But for me the past year is not characterized by the thorns but the roses that I have picked up. It is about the amazing set of friends I have made. It is about the awesome singing sessions on Gurukul steps. Its about dancing to Rang De Basanti at sunrise on Pammi's birthday. Its about Sumeet chasing me all over Kshitij for jumping on top of him. Its about Vindi's closed mouth. Its about Phillip mistaking the headlights of a truck for two bikes in a fog and trying to pass between them. Its about Sachin beating us at bowling and Suraj loosing his sleep over it. It is about Mohit going crazy with Imperium fund re-imbursment. Its about Shubhayan getting caught cheating in an exam. Its about Nitin getting drunk and showing me the middle finger. Its about Nadi shouting expletives at random rickshaw waalas at IFFCO chowk. Its about 'You say sssupp...... we say Bhabi!!'. Its about Priyata trying to speak proper Hindi. Its about Ritambara breaking her bed. Its about Ayushi topping Corporate Finance. Its about Dev becoming a hero. Its about Bala picking up luggage. Its about 'awww...' and 'there....there'. Its about JD staring. Its about Divya fretting about a 0.01 drop in her CG. Its about Puja and PUPI. Its about Anup and his PJs. Its about Maddy and dog imitations. Its about having crazy profs and talking about them. Its about all the photos and videos. Its about being the Kitty Party. Its about going to Ritambara's place in Manesar for awesome food. Its about presentations at 1:00 am. Its about Maddy's parents coming over for her birthday. Its about molesting Shrek in 207K. Its about 'Bazzinga'. Its about eating like hogs but never in the mess. Its about trying to get the first row in CF class. Its about sleeping through OM lectures. Its about Boom thinking the prof is a ghost. Its about arcus,jhaji and sharmaji. Its about scoring a C- in MICROECONOMICS and an A in MP-II. Its about the pain of loosing Kshitij but the balm of gaining a brilliant roomie. Its about flights and ETAs. Its about all the bowling binges. Its about badminton at 2 am. Its about winning medals in swimming. Its about fucking the Naagin. Its about Shefali and 'Kya hai?'. Its about Ronny and jute bags. Its about Riddhi and burkhas. Its about Placeeom vs. Exchange. Its about the night time walks. Its about having C-square meetings at 10:30 pm on gtalk. Its about the bench. Its about crushing disappointments. Its about learning that the person in front of you is not perfect yet loving him/her. Its about learning more about yourself than ever before. Its about forgiving and being forgived. Its about taking the rough with the smooth. Its about knowing that people have got your back. Its about finding love and hate both. Its about loving yourself and loving your life. Its about being human.

How will the second year be? Will the internship change us? Will we repeat everything we did last year or will our bhasad reach newer heights? Will we be able to do justice to ourselves? Will we learn even more? Will we struggle? Will we sail? Will we love? Will we hate? Will we grow up? Will the coming year be the most memorable of our lives?

You know what, I just cannot wait to find out. :)

See you when the rain comes home.

cheers,

Omkar

Unaswered Questions

In another 20 days or so, I end my first year at MDI.

I was talking to my father the other day and we were discussing how to evaluate the value that this one year has added to me. I think he made a very simple yet powerful observation. The value added is simply how different I am one year after joining MDI. Is there something within me that has changed and if yes then what?

So what has changed? I think a lot has changed. I have learnt many lessons here. Some good, some bad, some easy, some harsh. I think the biggest one has been the affirmation of the long standing cliché that the world is a bad bad place. But this post isn't about that. My biggest lesson is that I have begun to question my long standing basic beliefs on friendship and relationships. I am seeing people change in front of my eyes and I am powerless to do anything about it. Everything that I thought I could do is falling apart in front of my eyes, and I cannot control it. People I thought who I could trust and be really close to have decided (apparently) that I am just not good enough a friend for them, and they have moved on. Is it possible that people can just drop a friend for another?

But why me? I mean, if people have problems, why can't they just come up and sort it out face to face like adults. Why is it that there can never be any purity of relationship here? The only craving I have is for that sense of belonging, for my friends to be what they are supposed to be, my friends. Maybe I am over-possessive, but that is something I am consciously working upon. And frankly, it hurts to be re-placed. It does. Suddenly my friends are not happy when I am around, but the moment they are with others, they are cackling and full of life. I am suddenly getting tired of this place. I don't know whether I can survive another year here or no, like this. The two month break for my intern-ship is looking like manna sent from heaven.

Maybe its just me, my sense of stupidity and insecurity that is driving me crazy. But I am like that. I keep people very close to my heart. And the moment there is any strain to get away, it pulls on my heart and causes pain. And there are some pains which go beyond others. When the people closest to you move away, the pain is intolerable and irrefutable. You see, there is no place else I can go. My mistake is that I have put in too much into too few a people. I don't know what to do now. Its like I am marooned on an island and there is no sail in sight.

There are no answers, only questions............

cheers,

moksha

Finally

18:something IST on the 24th of February 2010.

200 not out

Imagine a standard ninth class 20 years from now. A teacher asks a student what is poetic justice. The student goes up to the board and writes 24/02/2010 200*. For that is what it is. A perfect 200*, not a run more, not a run less. If there was any remaining shred of doubt, it has surely been blown away. If anyone person could have broken this barrier it was him.

But you know what is the most enduring image from the game? 49th over, last ball. Dhoni whacks it down the ground and he scampers through for a single. A single on 199 not out? With six balls remaining in the innings and enough runs on the board? That's selflessness personified.

For his entire career he has carried us on his backs, all the billion plus of us. He has fallen, only rise greater and better. I cringe at the mere thought of the Indian batting line-up without his name. Somehow, everything remains possible when he is there.

Each stroke from his willow has conducted the symphony of the heavens themselves. And the music has lifted our hearts, brought back our smiles, even enabled us to feel pity for Warne in 1998.

For 20 years, over a sixth of humanity has united in prayer to a single God. And there have been aspersions cast over him from the sect of non-believers. They said he was old, he was feeble, he didn't have it in him any more. That he was not the best.

And each time the gong of his response has been singular. The sound of the ball hitting the middle of the bat, and racing past the fielders on its way. His mouth has been his bat and it has done quite a lot of talking.

But we Indians are not satisfied. I want India to win the world cup at the new Wankhede in Mumbai and for him to score a century. You see how even I write 'want' and not 'wish'?

Most people would think what now? What is left for him? Rest assured, this 200 is special but it is neither his motivation nor his inspiration. They both still remain the Re. 1 coins that coach Archrekar put on his stumps at the Shivaji Park nets some 22 years ago.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - 200 not out. FINALLY

The Roller-coaster

Wow! The last 1 week has been one helluva a ride!

I guess you do get a different perspective when you have seen the highest of the emotional highs and the lowest of emotional lows.....

I think not getting into PLACECOM hurt more than loosing the Gen-Sec election, and I really don't understand why. I guess it was probably my last chance to be able to make a really meaningful contribution to MDI, or maybe it was not. It just hurt real bad.

I sometimes wonder, whether it is right to be so emotionally attached to the people who are close to you. I think I get hurt way too easily on some fronts and then start to make doomsday prophecies about them. It is what Sumeet refers to as La-La land! :) I think I need to start becoming impersonal about certain issues in life and start giving time. But then that is just not me. I will go full out for any person who is dear to me. The crux of the problem does not lie there. It lies in the fact that I begin to expect from others as well. I never expect that I get the same as I give, but the fact that small things seem insignificant to others seems to gall me. A phone call, enquiring about dinner, these things matter a lot to me but not to others.

I am slowly getting used to the fact that most of the world will not care two hoots about you. I think it is the search for that portion of the world that truly cares about you which is important. You may flit like a bee from one flower to another but when you are in real need, there is only one beehive to which you will return. The question is you may care for someone but that person may not care for you. Then what do you do? Do you still push, still care, still put effort or do you simply stop because that person will not respond.

This is an intensely personal choice and there is not right or wrong way. Personally I have chosen the tough way and decided to plough on, irrespective of how the other person feels or responds. I know I am going to feel cheated, humiliated, angry, frustrated. But I know that if I stop doing it, then I will feel even worse than this. Only through the paths of fire are the men of steel created. Maybe this is my path of fire, this is where God will test me. In the end, I might not even get what I wanted. But yet I shall move alone. I may not be the first choice, but I definitely will be the last option.

The best part of this whole week was the discovery that I am not alone. Finding someone who is having the same struggles as you does not necessarily lighten the load of the fight but it does give you a semblance of hope that what you do is not madness, and your beliefs are shared by others too. It is only in cauldron of brotherhood that the stew of hope is brewed. I thank God for showing me that I am not alone.

I am leaving for Mumbai on Thursday evening. And I am pissed that I cannot be totally happy about it too. But as I write these words, it dawns upon me that most of the things in life that trouble us are beyond our control. Maybe the three days I am not at college will spark something new. Maybe there will be a small feeling of missing me somewhere. Maybe I will get a half minute phone call. Maybe my basketball match scores will become important.

Maybe it won't happen.

But I still struggle and live in hope.

cheers,

moksha

For Kiddo :)

Seema left for Shanghai today morning 8 am IST.

It seems just yesterday that we were in class at SFIT, practising for the volleyball finals, cheering and jeering each other and she flat out beating me in every exam we took :)

Time does fly really really fast. And you really should not have any regrets because that will really not matter whatsoever. The point I am trying to make here is that whatever time you have spend it wisely. In just another blink of your eyes you will be in your cocoon of routine and then all you have left is memories of times spent with friends in college.

If you have some friends make sure that you gather enough memories about them to last a lifetime, for sometimes that's all you will be left with. Take time out to make sure that there are moments that you will cherish forever, 10 years down the line you should be able to make each and every moment come alive again. The moments could be the most profound and also the most mundane, it doesn't matter. Each is precious and preserve it well. Spend time with each other, all the grades, marks and other issues become in-germane down the line. And do not hold back, its probably the worst thing you can do, for it leaves scope for regret. Have faith in your friendship and trust in your friends, it'll never let you down. And remember, true friends are always there.....

Seema once gave me some of the best advice I have ever had in my life, she said that if I wanted to learn the guitar I needed to fall in love with it. Thanks kiddo! Never got round to saying that. I hope you have a brilliant time in Shanghai and learn some Mandarin too :)

cheers,

moksha

Time to get lil serious

The great thing about being at MDI is that you can have so many seemingly random discussions which actually lead you to start thinking and changing yourself.

I was sitting at Nescafe with Shrek, Shef, Mitthu and Anup doing bakar, when Anup showed us the presentation that he will be giving for a really prestigious competition. Shrek had just returned from IIM A after reaching the finals of a case study competition. He mentioned that how intensely competitive IIM A was and how great the experience was. He also exhorted me to start participating seriously in the good competitions and not give up any chance that came my way.

That led me thinking very seriously about my commitment to the competitions that I had taken a part in. I guess I never ever took them even a bit seriously. Most of the time I would not even send in an entry after registering for the event. I really need to change this and start participating sincerely. I guess what we can do and think on our own is going to give us a real education. It will not be the textbooks we read or the papers we write. I guess its time to really start thinking about the cases that come up and not just writing faff because I have to. And the prizes are not the primary motivation, I really need to start thinking that is all. My brain is like deep frozen right now.

I also hope that I can form a stable team to take part in these competitions. I guess that is very necessary because it helps build great rapport and the team develops a working style of its own. The two people that I team up with right now, Maddy and Philter are amongst the best on campus and I really hope that we can win some really good competitions.

I guess I really need to start preparing for a year and a half down the line from now onwards itself or else I am pretty much screwed.

cheers

moksha

The MDI Story continues......

Wassupp people,

With CAT servers failing everywhere, I think its my moral duty to tell all the guys and gals taking CAT this year how it actually is in a top-notch B-school.

I joined MDI in June 2009 and now its December 2009. 6 months is more than enough to decipher the mystery of a b-school. But first some definitions:

1. FAFF: anything which has nothing to do whatsoever you want to talk/write about but you talk/write about it anyway because you don't know the actual stuff. This definition may vary from person to person.

2. RAFF: acronym for Random Arbit Faff !!! ;)

3. NPA: Non-performing asset. Someone who does nothing whatsoever for you group projects/presentations except taking the marks (and sometimes credit too!)

4. Ghissu: That person who wishes to be buried with their books and will probably learn how to have sex from them.

Now that the basics of a b-school are given, let us proceed to the details.

TERM-I

Firstly, the guys from a Commerce background are Gods and the engineering/science grads are relative idiots. Please accept that. Only then can you have enough gumption to ask their help in MANAC-I and MICROECONOMICS. And if you don't then you will probably end up like me. MANAC - I a B and MICROECONOMICS a C-.

The only place where engineering grads may have a slight advantage is Stats, but B-school stats are nothing like engineering stats. You will probably scratch all your dandruff off solving even one question (although that more credit to Prof. Joydip's papers). HBO and MP-I are the two subjects that you can (rather have to) faff your way through. Also you can afford to be a NPA if you are lucky enough to have a commerce grad in your project group. The best subject is OCPS where you just have give speeches and learn how to use Powerpoint to make presentations and answer std. VII english papers all over again. But the subject that takes the cake is LAB, where you are required to know stuff like the entire Indian Contract Law of some year and the Indian Companies Act 1956 and stuff like that (SFITians can equate it to IEM :P).

Term-I is the time when the toppers will be seen. Most of them will be ghissus but there will be one or two genuinely nice ones (eg: Priyata Modi, Calcutta University, Eco topper). You will also see the really intelligent people who will also do reasonably well (eg: Sumeet Mitra, SPCE, 74%) and then the people who are intelligent but lazy (yours truly) and the really really lazy ones! You will also find a completely different species called the PLACECOMERS (eg: Suraj Nambiar, Nadi and Divya), next post for them.

Term-I is also when you'll make all your friends. And trust me these will be friends for life, it cannot be any other way. Finally, please do not screw up your CG like me (5.43). Its hell trying to make it up later. Minimum 6. My reasons including a grade dock for bunking too much and not being able to attend term presentations due to being sick.

SUMMERS:

According to me summers are the greatest levellers. They really give an ego boost to people like me who get placed on slot zero and a battering to the true ghissus. But this is more of a biased statement. I got just one shortlist on day zero, which I converted! I didn't get shortlists from any of the dream companies of mine :( So the point is be prepared. You will NOT get shortlists. Convert what you get. But there are instances of people getting amazingly high number of shortlists and not converting a single one (one had about 30 shorlists!!!) So it works either way. What do companies look for? Doesn't matter! You need to be confident and more importantly lucky. A close friend of mine was rejected in the final round of each company she was shortlisted (including the top 3 marketing firms on campus) and then finally made it through the last company of the day zero.

Please be clear as to what kind of job you want to do in the future. 3 months is enough for you to know that. If you are still confused, you are fucked! Royally! Aniruddha Ghoshal wanted to do Ops so he applied only to ops profiles and finally got through an Ops profile. That's clarity of thought. Now he is off to Europe for an exchange tour in term V.

Btw, Godrej Sara Lee picked me up for summers.

About me:

Well I am a idiot as of now, with a CG of 5.43 (m screwed) and nothing else. Though I have a really good summers ahead. Hoping to turn things around in Term-II (doesn't look like it with a 14/60 in my MACROECONOMICS mid-term). Hopefully, I'll become better as time progresses.

Best of luck to all my friends taking the CAT,

cheers,

Moksha

Notes:

MANAC- Management Accounting

HBO - Human Behaviour in Organizations

MP - Market Planning

STM- Statistics for Management

OCPS - Oral Communication and Presentation Skills

LAB - Legal Aspects of Business