Where do you see yourself after 5 years???

Its that time of the year again. The CAT results are out. The interview lists have been drawn up. And the qualified candidates would have probably got a registered post from the respective institutes. The contents of the post would be (a) A letter intimating the date, time & venue of the GD/PI; (b) a 6-10 page form to be filled in and brought alongwith other required documents to be submitted at the same time.

Your elation at receiving the interview call then slowly diasappears as you read the form. The first page with all the personal details would be the easiest to fill out. But then start arriving, the really weird questions.

• Where do you see yourself after 5 years? (Honest answer, I dont know)
• Where do you see yourself after 10 years? (Again, I dont know)
• Where do you see yourself after 20 years? (OK, I exaggerated a bit here)
• Why do you want to pursue management as a career? (For the money, Honey, but see if anyone can give this answer)
• Narrate an incident when you had to show leadership skills? (???)
• Narrate an incident when you had a disagreement with people around you? And how did you handle the situation? (???)
• Narrate an experience which changed your perspective of life? (Seriously!!! Almost all of us have had pretty normal kind of lives. Where the hell does this life-changing, earth-shattering experience come from)

And it can go on and on. People with work-ex could still cook up something to write in here. But even then its not easy. Most people (yours truly included) manage to put in something and just try to get around and go through it. My suggestion, just write in whatever comes to mind and do it honestly. Browsing the net and creating artificial situations doesnt help. The only point of these questions as I see is that they they are trying to test your creativity and writing skills.

Why am I writing about this now? Anyone who successfully clears this process immediately becomes a consultant in this matter for the future generations to come. So results are out, interview calls have come and telephone calls, pings, scraps, mails seeking guidance have started coming. So just felt like writing about those experiences.

And for the question about where I see myself after five years, its been four years down the line and I am still to figure it out :)

The Bugle, The Dog & Mr. Pavlov

The IPL is on. Which means that there is something interesting to watch on TV every evening for the next 6 weeks. However this post is not about the cricket. (All cricket related posts are on the crickiblog).

Everyone who has watched even part of matches would have made this observation. Every now and then comes an irritating sound and the crowd goes wild. Its referred to as the Bugle and the in-stadium DJ plays its whenever he feels like. But the response is always the same. A loud cheer from the crowd. And this seems to be an universal phenomenon. It happened in South Africa last year, and its happening in India also.

Is it part of natural human instinct to cheer when you hear the bugle. Or has it become a case of "Classical Conditioning experiment", like Pavlov's Dog (dog started salivating on hearing a bell ring it associated it with food) with  the crowd in the stadium cheering when the DJ pushes the bugle button?
My theory is this. The Bugle seems to have originated in the South African domestic Pro20 games. The Bugle would be played whenever the crowd had a cause to celebrate and the crowd would cheer. In IPL2 the crowds were mostly neutral to the teams playing. So they would cheer whenever the bugle got played. And television coverage brought this to Indian audiences. The bugle came to India during the Champions League. The crowd reaction stayed the same. Now regardless of the match situation the crowd cheers on hearing the bugle.

Phir Dil Do Hockey Ko

Phir Dil Do Hockey Ko...

The Hockey World Cup has got under-way. This is the message that Virender Sehwag, Rajyavardhan Rathore & Priyanka Chopra are giving to the country. The ad campaign is catchy and effective.
Hockey in India has acquired a somewhat mythological status. We have got enough Olympic gold medals (8 of them) to ensure bragging rights as probably the greatest hockey nation of all time. The team won six consecutive gold medals from 1928-1956 without being beaten even once. The exploits of these players are told as epic tales. Dhyanchand has been selected as the Indian sportsperson of the 20th century. But sadly that era is long gone. We failed to even qualify for a place at the Beijing Olympics. 

The decline has been steady. There have been a few false dawns in between. The Asiad gold in Bangkok, 1998; The near-miss in Sydney Olympics; a couple of Asian Championship wins but after that its all back downhill. The administration has bungled big time. The KPS Gill regime was removed and replaced by a temporary committee but there isn't much sign of improvement. Indian Hockey has been in news mainly for the wrong reasons in the past couple of decades. Even the players threatened to go on strike for not being paid. (Sounds similar to West Indies cricket story)

It is in this context the Hockey World Cup is being held in New Delhi. India took on arch-rivals Pakistan on the opening day. It was lovely to actually hear the national anthem sung by the large crowd present at the stadium. The crowd was loud and cheered on the Indian team as they destroyed Pakistan 4-1. Our media went over the board as they always do. Cash prizes were announced for the players. All this jingoism came crashing down in the next game as we lost to Australia 2-5. Now some people started asking for the rewards to be withdrawn. 

But what was most heartening to note was that people actually cared a bit for the tournament (I was asked the hockey score in office while working late during the Australia game). The tournament broadcasters reported TRPs way beyond even that of cricket matches. Just hoping this kind of support continues after the World Cup also regardless of the result.

After all Hockey is our national sport and  was the sport which brought India on to the global sporting map.

फिर दिल दो ह्वाकी को...

Invictus

Invictus is a beautiful film. Its a tale of how sport can unite a nation. Invictus tells the story of 2 men, 1 sport & 1 nation. And how they came together.
For some reason, this movie slipped under the radar and is yet to release in India. Given the divisive forces currently prevailing all over the country, Invictus is must watch for everyone. Sports unites, brings people together and helps in healing wounds. Thats the message of the film.

The movie is set in South Africa just coming out of the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela (in my opinion, one of the greatest human beings alive today) had just become the President. This is not the story of his struggle. Its a story of how he used the sport of Rugby (described as a game for hooligans played by gentlemen) to unite the people of his country after the apartheid had ended. South Africa was hosting the Rugby World Cup in 1995. The Springboks (as the South African rugby team was known) were considered the representative of the apartheid era and rugby was not a game popular with the largely African population. Mandela called upon the captain, Francois Pienaar, and asked his help. Inspired by Mandela & Pienaar, the Springboks went to work both on & off the field. The team entered the tournament as underdogs and went on to win the World Cup. Mandela himself attended the final dressed in the Springboks colours with Pienaar's number on his back. And after winning the Cup, Pienaar says "We had the support of 43 million South Africans"; justifying Mandela's faith in the power of sport to unify the "Rainbow Nation".

Invictus is one of the more inspiring movies of recent times. It never goes over the top or tries to over-dramatize anything. Clint Eastwood's direction; good performances by Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) & Matt Damon (as Francois Pienaar), a good soundtrack make for an almost perfect film. 

I thank whatever Gods maybe 

For my unconquerable soul

I am the Master of my Fate

I am the Captain of My Soul

Republic Day

"Bharat ke nikame batcho Valentine Day ya Friendship Day hota tou ab tak 50 sms ajata. So wish everyone Happy Republic Day"

This was the text message I got from one of my friends on 26th last month. It may have been written in jest but was pretty thoughtful. Left me wondering, does Republic Day have any meaning as such. I sang the national anthem when the President hoisted the Tricolour, watched the parade. And spent the rest of the day watching India take on Bangladesh. Otherwise it was just another normal holiday for me. Didnt really feel much patriotic ferovr as such.

Just wondering...

Give Me A...

The following are not my words. I take no credit for the modifications to the lyrics. And if the anonymous lyricist wishes, I'll be glad to mention your name here.

So here goes, the office-goer's take on the song "Give Me Some Sunshine" (from 3 idiots)

Saari umr hum

Targets chase kar liye

Ek pal to ab humein

Jeene do Jeene do !!!

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me a Holiday

Give me a break

Give me another chance

I wanna go home once again

Kandhon ko Targets Ke bojh ne jhukaya

Jhoot bolna tho khud

BOSS ne sikhaya

Target complete to chhuti, varna kismat futi

Likh likh kar pada hatheli par

Commitments, Escalation Mails, MIs ka chaala
Risk, Product & Credit Team ne poora..

Poora bheja pakka daala
Career to gaya

Biwi bhi gayi

Ek pal to ab humein

Jeene do Jeene do
Saari umr hum

Targets chase kar liye

Ek pal to ab humein Jeene do Jeene do

Give me a promotion

Give me an increment

Give me some bonus

I wanna see some money again
Na na na….Na na na….Na na na

Indians & the Aussie Open

The year's first tennis grand slam, the Australian Open has begun. 3 days into the competition and we have seen some good tennis action and a couple of upsets. This time both the Men's & Women's sections are relatively wider open.

Federer & Nadal have lost just that bit of their top form to ensure that others now have a little chance against them. Davydenko & Del Potro would also count amongst the favorites. Likes of Djokovic, Murray, Roddick & the local guy Hewitt cannot be ignored. The Australian Open does have a habit of bringing in surprise finalists over the last few years (Johannson, Tsonga, Baghdatis). Lets see if there are some surprises in store this time around.

The return of the Belgian duo of Clijsters & Henin has added to the unpredictability in the women's section. Add the Williams sisters, the Russian brigade (Kuznetsova, Dementieva etc), Ivanovic, Jankovic and it becomes even tougher to predict. And you never know what the likes of Wozniacki, Wickmayer could do.

This time around India is also pretty well represented (relatively speaking). We have Sania Mirza in the women's side (she lost in singles first round though). In the Men's doubles we have 5 players representing India (must be some sort of a record for the country). The two big guns Bhupathi (with Mirnyi) & Paes (with Dlouhy) are there. Neither of them has the won the Men's Doubles in Australia, the only slam missing from their CV. But unlike earlier they have more company in Prakash Amritraj/Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna (with Aisam-al-Qureishi).

At least in doubles we have the numbers. Its the singles where India is still struggling. Though there are some hopes on that front also with the upcoming Yuki Bhambri coming through the ranks & Somdev in the top 150 currently. Hopefully the singles representation would also increase. With Sania saying she'll quit after marriage, the women's side would again become empty.

here is hoping for a couple of Indian winners at the Australian Open.

The Noughties

Another decade has come to an end (or not if you go purely by mathematics, but I prefer Mr. Zaltzman’s logic that no right thinking person would consider 1990 as a part of the eighties). It is a decade (2000 A.D. to 2009 A.D.) which has also defied proper naming. Many names were suggested, some referred to it as “the zeroes”, others called it “the oh ohs”. I personally prefer “the noughties”. So here is a tiny glimpse of what I went through in the noughties.
It can be summarized pretty quickly. Decade started with exams. Lots of them. Class 12 boards & various engineering entrance exams. And dropping a year made this period last 18 months instead of six. They were tough times, but a certain goal was there, which was realized though not fully. Following this was a four year golden period of college at ISM. End of it some new thoughts arrived. Further studies or a job? I chose the latter. However climbing X-Mas Trees, Well Killing, attending to nitrogen pumping didn’t exactly suit me. Couple of months later, a bit disillusioned decided that the first course would have been better. Cleared CAT, got into IIM-I. (It was as simple as that). So after a year in the oil fields was back in college. Two more years spent in college, quite a few myths broken, it was time to be back in real world. Now it’s about filling excel sheets, making ppts & word docs. And that’s what I have been upto in the last 18 months of the decade.
Ten years is a pretty long time. I entered the noughties stepping out of teens and end it going through a full blown quarter life crisis. Quite a few other things have changed. My home town for one. First half was spent calling Jamshedpur as home and second with Patna as home, without actually spending much time in either of them. Friends made, friends lost, new friends made, old ones regained. It’s been a decade of change. To be honest, the noughties were pretty exciting times.So that was the noughties for me. Would love to do a review of the tens here (that would have meant 13 years of blogging). I know it wont be as exciting as the last one but lets see. After all tomorrow is another day.

Growing Bihar - A New Hope

The first good news from Twenty Ten is here.

Bihar's economy has grown at an annual rate of 11% over the last 5 years, quite a bit higher than the national average of 8.5 %. These are the first official stats to prove whats been already felt in the state. The state is changing and hopefully for the better. The post Lalu-Rabri era has been showing positive signs. The roads in and around the capital are in a far better shape. Flyovers have been built all across. The railway station is in a far better shape than most would want to believe it. Shops & hotels are open for longer hours. Roads dont get deserted by 8 in the evening. More flights are going to Patna. Institutions for higher education are also coming up in a big way. Schooling had always been good because the people of the state have always valued education as the means of earning a good livelihood. Cinema Halls are again attracting families. Shopping malls & multiplexes are coming up. All this I have seen changing in the past 3-4 years. As I am more of an occasional visitor to the place now, the changes are far more visible (in and around the capital at least). However quite a bit needs to be done. And firstly some other urban centres need to be developed fast in Bihar. Patna will not be able to sustain this growth alone. The city does not have too much scope for expansion left. Rajgir & Gaya would be the most suited in this regard. But a start has been made. We can only hope for the better.

P.S. There does seem to be lot of goodwill for Bihar specially in some parts of the media.

The Lone Idiot

A big, useless, needless, media hyped up controversy is going on over 3 Idiots credit issue. I have read Chetan Bhagat’s “Five Point Someone” and have seen Rajkumar Hirani’s “3 Idiots”. The two have similar stories. I can’t measure what percentage the similarity was, but it’s substantial. Good book, good film, film evolved from book. End of story for me.
However this post isn’t about the controversy, after all it’s their business not mine. 3 Idiots is amongst the better movies of 2009 (haven’t seen all, so shouldn’t tag it as the best). The characters I could easily connect with. I have seen them all (maybe not as one person but as bits & pieces amongst my engineering friends) with the exception of Rancho. He is different. After all no one I knew studied for the sake of learning, it was mostly for passing exams, getting a job. Our education system does create machines. I am not sure how many people are really doing what they wanted to do but are just trying to fall within the society’s norms. Rancho says “Engineering karke MBA kar liya, phir bank me naukri kar raha hai, to engineering karne ka kya fayda?” Quite true (I have done almost the same, so I know). However the problem is we don’t even know what we want to do. I did an engineering course which I had not even heard of prior to the entrance exams (After all, you don’t give IITJEE with the intent of doing B.Tech, Petroleum Engineering from ISM).
The movie did make me think about what I have been doing so far. Maybe it’s a time to change? Not anything drastic; just try to live life better. After all I have just been through the lousiest year of my existence. So things can’t really go much worse. And it’s never too late. I don’t know where I will be or whether I will succeed; but have to give it a try. Twenty Ten is going to be better year for this “Lone Idiot”.

P.S. This was drafted 30,000 ft in the air on the back of the printout of the ticket. Anything to pass time :)