Pune Diaries : Looking ahead

So here I am thrown into this weird world of management studies wherein every person is supposed to be gulpin down Peter Drucker books and becumin the next Narayana Murthy!!!Welll lazy fella Im me never had ne such outrageous ambitions and always thut of somethin beyond the material wants of life (okie there is some element of truth involved in it). So I start of with my studies n try to present an insider view of the much touted about mba. Well for starters everyone is given lottta advice on the benefits of readin economic times. Duh! If everyone wudabeen able to make out wats written there im sure we wud be havin dozens of Manmohan Singh/Chidambaram frm every bskool. So what have I been doing since joining?....Well I'm still tryin to understd wat collaboration,merger,stakes,divestments really imply.....I'm sure I'll learn some of them at the end of my 2 yrs. Another point me learned is that at this level possibly ppl I mean the faculty has certain changes in their mindset. A lot of practicality comes into teachin which is good in a way but at the same time its can be a disadvantage if the basics are nt strong So right now I'm workin on my finance n management basics which are as alien to me as Australia losin the next world cup!!! But needa admit one thing we got some amazing professors who have completely mesmerised me wid their fundas of mgmt world n all. Lemme see if I can feed in some more thoughts in the days to come......

Ubuntu Zindabad!

Before you jump into any conclusion about my preferences for open source software, let me just say, this has got lots to do with saving my arse big time. I was completing my graduation in Mumbai, when I happened to realize Ubuntu's life saving capability (Quite aptly it's named Ubuntu for People!). My friend, Swapnil and I, usually returned from college together, that day for some strange reason, we decided to board a local train from Chembur. This sure was not normal coz we have always been devoit BEST users since our earliest days. It was around 6.45 in the evening when we boarded a Belapur Local, thanks to over poplation we got into the goods section of the train. Just when the train reached the next station did we realize that we had goofed up big time. We had actually boarded a Ladies Special Train which was special coz it rarely turned up. Thankfully we weren't the only ones fooled into the same and had some company. As expected no miracle really saved us and we landed up at the Railway Police Chowky. We weren't quite sure as to where the whole situation was really leading to so we decided to keep mum till the rest of the people completed their formalities. Slowly the interrogation began (read bargaining)  at round about Rs 500. Guess, there were some people who decided to pay up and leave. Slowly the RPF personnel reduced his fees to Rs 250 and then to Rs 120. One of the fellow passengers decided to play real cheap (till the time we decided to join the party!) and managed to escape with a meagre Rs 50. He sure was so delighted at his release that he touched the personnel's feet. In return, the personnel was grateful enough and said "Bhag re,me Bhagwan aahez kaa?"(Get the hell out of here man, u think I'm God or wat?). Well that left the Havildar with two young collegians who were just learning the art of negotiation. We decided further lower the bar, and started narrating our tale of despair, as to how we landed up in that dratted compartment purely out of misery. He sure wasn't the least excited and had his mind set on some more easy money. Just as we were lamenting our pathetic state of affairs, that he asked us to open our bags. His eyes fell upon some CD's of Ubuntu, that were kept inside.Besides its striking maroon color, the cover had some fairly graphic stuff on it, yea similar to the pic I've uploaded. Seemed like he sure had been awestruck by the same, and was hoping that it would be a porno film CD! He decided to barter our release if we handed over the porno CD to him. What could we say, no money, no court, nothing at all, in exchange for some Linux cd's! For the resta journey, we were left thanking our guardian angels who had taken to Ubuntu to save our souls and hoping those reasonable havildar's got something to cheer about.

Silsilay : IA 703

It was in the early 1970's when emergency had struck India. I was returning from Kolkatta back to home in Delhi when I realized, that even Indian Airlines had not been spared. The next morning,it was the wedding of my cousin and I had to be on time. Just when I reached the airport, did I realize that my flight IA 703 had been cancelled. The unions had decided it was about time they stop appeasing the central. This sure was a dampener,coz I had to reach over the same night. Bitterly disappointed and frustrated, all of us, stranded passengers, were lurking over the transit with the hope of some miracle. Just then some officals from IA, asked us to stay back and wait over for some more time. After about an hour, they brought in the good news, that an arrangement for an alternate flight,had been managed and it was about to leave in a shortwhile. I was pretty relieved to hear the same, also quite impressed with efficient management (talk of CRM today in IA!) even at the helm of emergency. Once, we boarded the flight, one of the crew members came and apologized for the lack of food available on the flight owing to the stop gap arrangement. That surely wasn't something we were going to brood over then. I had a lot of food items (read misthi~sweets) since I was returning from Kolkatta, it was a tradition to bribe my Dad with ounces of sweets for entry into house. I asked one of the air hostess' to distribute the same to all the passengers since most of them were famished owing to the delay. After some initial reluctance, she agreed to the same, serving the passengers, to my fulfilment. Sometime later, the pilot came up to me and thanked me profusely, for being understanding to their situation. The pilot somehow struck me, besides being a handsome lad in his mid 30's, as an extremely polite and courteous person, also someone who seemed kinda familiar to me. We landed uneventfully, at Palam,Delhi in the early hours of the next day. Just as we were boarding off the plane, the pilot met me again, this time even more grateful and poised in his talk, speaking about how rare it is to find passengers who co-operate with them in their trying times. I was already bowled over by the humility of this wonderful pilot, who despite having tough times, had helped us reach our destination. Out of sheer curiosity and plain innocence, I asked him, "You strike me as someone, I might have known already in my life, what is your name, Pilot?" . To which he replied politely "Dear Sir,you might have known me. My name is Rajiv Gandhi, and I work as a pilot with Indian Airlines."

Valentine's day ~ down the memory lane

Most of my earliest recollections of Valentine's Day would be the soothing number featuring Sammir Dattani and Raima Sen making their way into love, it sure made people want to fall in love. Well I was no exception, was taken by the same at the age of 14. But I had hard luck even talkin to girls my age, since I belonged to an all boys school, and conversing with girls was sure more complicated than understanding Trignometry! The urge to associate with someone didn't escape my heart though. The way young collegians strutted their partners, would definitely make none of us want to stay alone. One of the incidents that touched me was during vday, was when I was travelling on the bus. It was suprisingly empty and just in fronta me there was this young office going couple I used to encounter everyday. That day was no different and they were really happy in each other's company. And then the moment came when the girl,gifted the guy a really good watch as a remembrance of their eternal love. The guy's reaction, well I sure was left astounded, he took out from his pocket what then seemed like the most beautiful ring ever made, and proposed her for marriage. I've heard of Tom Cruise making it the perfect proposal for his ladylove at the top of Eiffel Tower, but sometimes I think its the most unexpected gestures, that really go long, and have the greatest effect. The girl was left speechless perhaps wanting to hear the same, since times immortal. Most of the people around were
amused and definitely wanted an early morning dekho into their love story. Quite expectedly, she was moist eyed, thanking her stars, reaffirmin the fact that dreams do come true, its all about believin in the same till the end.

Pune Diaries : The early days

The first day 11th June 2007 marked a new start for me. And a new start in every possible way ranging from the variety of students to the food, the weather, woa thats some change. Where do I stand in the class? For starters I'm the youngest of the lot which makes mosta people senior to me. Now dats sad considering the fact that most of the girls in my class are qualified 'seniors'(read didi) dampening my hopes further! Food seemed a major issue for me the first day considering the fact that we had no kitchen facility allowed in our place. But as luck would have it thats when I met one of my better friends Ankit(Jaipuria Jawan) with 4 yrs work experience behind him. And my first reaction was oh!he is even elder than bro!!!! My next stop was when we meet Alok (hyderabadi haula) and we make for good convos with Ankit leading the way for obvious reasons. The Jain Hostel has real good food for value with thalis available at noon-dinner with ghee-rotis (yum!). There is this Govt.Polytechnic college bang opposite my bedroom which has real good scenic value(u know similar to the IITstyle campus so lotta greneery n all) making it an absolute must for all young n old to jog round the place early morning. Feluda always maintained that morning walks in a new place gives you immense info about a new place its culture,its people. So there me goes down in my morning walks trying to reassure myself of a healthy living. Model Colony is a predominantly family based locality with all senior citizens joggin down the track in the mornings. But whoever said that jogging is meant for all, with me spraining my neck while giving the pushups. There goes my aspirations of leadin a healthier life! Student culture has gripped Pune to the hilt with every second person being a broker.  Hence it was no real suprise when I came to know that my cousin got his new flat thru Pravin Bananawala! Lectures haven't reallly started full on so far and wud be accelerating from tomorrow so me still quite unaware of the dynamix of our college but one things for sure the canteen food is pretty good and acceptable for a lunch.  Students, well they are a mixed breed ranging from btech to bcom grads which would sure make for some interesting discussions.

Bombay talkies: Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa

"Aye kaash ke hum hosh mein ab aane naa paayebas nagmein tere pyaar ke, gaate hee jaayekhilatee, mahakatee ye julfon kee shaamhasate, khanakate ye hothhon ke jaamaa zoom ke saath uthhaye, bas nagmein tere pyaar ke ..ho bas agar tum humaare sanamhum to sitaaron pe rakh de kadamsaaraa jahaan bhool jaaye, bas nagmein tere pyaar ke .."

The Kundan Shah directed, Shahrukh Khan starrer, is one of my personal SRK favs. The movie stands out for the simplicity of the story,revolving around the story of Sunil (struggling singer-dumbstruck lover), in his confusion dwindling away his youth, strangely one of the rare Bollywood movies, in which the hero ends up as a loser. Set in the town of Vasco in Goa, it captures the multi dimensional culture of the people living there and their day to day life. And can Goa be ever completed without a mention ofmusic. Jatin Lalit delivers perhaps one of their best albums ever, music which even todaymanages to stir many a heart. Right from casting the effervescent Deepak Tijori fresh from the success of Sadak, Jo jeeta woh sikandar to the freshness exuded by Suchitra Krishnamoorthy, the movie manages to capture the imagination of every moviegoer right until the last scene is over. An absolute cinematic delight to have the actors of the calibre of Satish Shah, Nasseruddin Shah, Anjan Srivastav, share the screen together. But the most memorable act came from the quintessential man, who reinvents himself almost every Wednesday, Nasseruddin Shah,who as the parish priest, delivers a near to perfect delivery. One of the best lines of the movie, came when Sunil confessed to him faking his marksheet. As the ever so just Father, he stood up for him, saying "Its the bravest people who take life, day by day. For them, the journey is all that really matters". Just about everytime I managed to fall in love did I reminsce the emotions of a young Sunil singing to glory, "Ae Kaash Kein Hum Hosh mein Ab Aane Naa paaye". What really stands out about the movie is the innocence of their lives which has been captured within the 70mm screen,something quite rare in today's cinema. All in all,a great movie for anyone, would be even better, with St.Valentine just knocking around your door.

Dasvidaniya~the best goodbye ever

One of the most endearing scenes you would ever come across are at any railway terminus. Once you think you have settled peacefully amidst the sea of people, quite often you're left for a breather and you head for exit door. That's when you feel the way I felt everytime someone in my family returned back home leavin behind a teary eyed kid wanting to prolong times. Things don't really change much, its just the people who take those places, and bring the same days back to your life. Its indeed those stoic silences, that two people share completely lost within each other, even with thousands of people in the backdrop. A son,destined to make it big,shouldering the hopes,of a better tomorrow. A winner for life,whose journey back home yet again,has been curtailed by his call of duty. Friends who met, reliving memoirs of forgotten days, promising to be there,as always once again. Its rare to feel life, amidst our busy lives, but most definitely, its the best goodbye,coz it ain't supposed to end there......

Raaga in classroom

"Shabada madhur bolein koyaleyain"
My class in MBA had always been diverse,global if I could say,considerin the foreign nationals
but there seemed to be one thing that united us,Raag Bhairaav. I'm sure till now we aren't quite sure about how its actually sung, but believe me it evoked such great pleasure to see our entire class sing along our Guruji. Right from day one,we felt that it had to be the most entertaining lecture of our entire time spent in college. Since Hindustani classical is completely Hindustani, there ain't any translation for the same. And that's where one of my friends from Uganda, asked the professor to translate the verses. Reaction, quite expectedly, dumbfounded, as to how to teach him classical music within a month's time. But it didn't end over there, Guruji, sure wanted us to acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of raagas, he not only made us listen to great music, he also made us watch videos of Bharat Ratna awardee Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. But the icing on the cake came during our farewell, when our juniors asked us to dedicate a song, all of us cried out in rejoice, Shabad da madhur, bolein koyalein.........