ISB and more

Wowie-weeeee

2010-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

I cant make another promise of blogging regularly....I dont even know if people are reading this shit anymore...all I know is that I just read some old posts and said to me self "Man...this blog used to be such an important part of my life...and I gave it up so easily"...shouldnt have happened...

The blog is called "ISB and more"..the ISB part is long over..we are maturer, richer, family-er (which means what it means)...so now the more part begins...and contrary to what I said as part of the first sentence...I promise to blog a bit more frequently....all depends on the response to this post...

So where have I been (As if ...the 2 people reading this blog care) ...but then anyway...been all over...finished a long project in Chennai ....Monday to Friday in Chennai is like ...well Monday to Friday in Chennai....Chennai for a north indian is like a foreign country.... not the same language, not the same movies, not the same food...I know a lot of my friends rave about Chennai but the place dint go down with me very well folks...if it hadnt been for Bikrama Daulet Singh (my colleague)...and "Gallopping Gooseberries" (a kick as fast food joint) ...and yes C. Selvarajan (who was the admin guy on the client side...funny as hell)...I would have committed suicide..on Day 3 of Chennai...to think that I ended up spending 9 months there is a testimony to the above 3 factors and the role they played....

Then I came back ...a better consultant...an even better person ....to Delhi....did a project in Bangalore ....which remains my most favourite city like ever...!

However, post that I went as faculty to one of the Accenture trainings in KL...and boy oh boy ...was it fun...probably one of the most cherished experiences of my life ever...

I know this has been a ..."getting back to writing ways" kinda post...trust me the next one will be a smasher!

Where have I been

2009-07-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am back after ages as so it seems. My blog used to be an important part of my life but then i never realized it and got caught up. I am not sure if people are still reading this shit or not but then I think I must continue blogging as its so much fun to read 6 - 12 months down the line. While I type this I also get the feeling that I have lost touch...the words are flowing slightly slower...but what the heck its just been a couple of months ....

So where have I been...well what can I say ...they said life as a consultant makes you travel but I never thought it would come to this ....I mean i hate airports now, I have nightmares of early morning flights, I think very soon I will become claustrophobic...whenever I sit on a chair I look for a seat belt (Ok I made this part up)...but the bottom line being that I have started traveling a lot for work. I am in Delhi but they have given me a project in Bangalore...So every monday morning I wake up at 4.45 AM and after 6 hours ( a combination of taxi, planes and taxi) I reach the client office (bleary eyed, sleepy, irritated) and then every friday evening at 5.00 PM I leave and reach home (elated, relieved, happy) in 6 hours ( a combination of taxi, planes and taxi). In the middle what happens is a blur. I know I make a lot of templates, send a lot of emails, meet a lotta people..but the rest is blur...I mean if I get out of the office any time before 8.00 PM..I am like "Boy what a holiday"...

But then things could have been much worse as I love Bangalore as a city, the weather, Koshy's and 13th floor. I also have a lot of friends here and although I meet them once a week, I think in terms of any place outside Delhi, Blore would be second best after Mumbai....but what have they done to the traffic here...I think cars are reproducing in Blore and the roads are shrinking ...seriously!

But all in all, this has been my longest break in blogging...and I hope to kill this trend here...I will keep writing at least once a week and although I am not sure if people are reading...I will try to keep this thing alive...

Adios...

Celeb talk....

2009-04-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am not a celebrity person...but then here is a small list of the ones who deserve to be there..

Well I will start off with the creator of Mines of Moria...to the crazy character called Smeagol...from arguably the best fiction book ever written ... I will start off with the brilliant J.R.R. Tolkein

I am a huge Arsenal fan and although I have been guilty of not following too much football of late...I have not been able to get over Thierry Henri...He might not be the best footballer ever but when on song..there wont be much better sights in football...or sport

I should have had him at the top of my list...saying "Lets start with the king" or at the bottom....saying "The best for last"...Nevertheless...the place that SRT holds in an Indian cricket fans psyche cant be described...so I wont write much...the little man remains big...

Well...some girl in school told me once I looked like Sonu Nigam...but thats besides the point....I think he has a brilliant voice...just sublime...take a bow Sonu Nigam...although no acting pleassssseeee!!

I was a kid when I saw the Thriller video for the first time on MTV...I still have the same awestruck feel in me when I watch any of MJs videos even now...there wont be a better performer ever again...watch his live performance on MTV WMA awards in 2005....he showed everyone who is the boss...

40, 14, 23, 80, 12....I dont think there are men of any age who can get enough of her...She is the material girl...and boy does she deserve to be here...

The more I see of this man on screen...the more I am in awe of his acting abilities....from The Departed to Catch me if you can...from Blood Diamond to Gangs of New York...He has a penchant for doing killer movies....he is the new De Niro I am convinced...

Mr. House Music himself is burning the floor down...David Guetta has killed it with the World is mine and Delirious...and Baby when the lights go out...and Love is gone...and .....! He is Mr. Party himself...

P.S. - Bob Sinclair ran him close to be on this list

The only one who has made it on this list by the pure virtue of her looks..I mean look at her...There is something about Cameron...

Thats a long blogging vacation

2009-04-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

I had almost retired but then I was like ....this thing has been going on for too long and even if the actual number of people who read my non sensical blog has halved...let me do this for myself for a change. As I have often said, I never have actually written like a philosophical blog or one that imparts knowledge, or one that is just views with that "damn you" attitude. I have always written for people to read...always...

Anyway so what has been up is the big question and I shall give a detailed reply to it

1. Work - I have been working for close to about 4.5 years now and trust me that the last 15 days of March were the most hectic. I was handling mutiple assignments....from BD to actual project work and the result was that I was working from 9 AM to 10 PM (sometimes even more) almost every day...I had no time to blog or...well live

2. Analytics is the name - When they say that consulting is about data analysis they dont mean that for fun. I mean I am doing a hard core data analysis projects. We are trying to optimize the distribution costs for a telecom major across 132 customers, 13 warehouses, 84 suppliers across 7 product groups. Trust me thats a whole lot of data...and my excel skills keep improving by the minute. Thank Bill Gates for "Vlookup" and "Pivots"

3. Birthday - 10th of March happened to be my birthday and I turned a 21!! I also threw a mini little party at my place to celebrate the event. Although most of the people at the party had no freaking clue about the reason for the party. Good times were had by all.

4. Goa - Me with me mates, Shubhankar and Anmol headed out to the sandy beaches baby...Goa is like pilgrimage for me ....a holy spot that must be visited once every year to wash all your sins...(or to gain a few).....needless to say that it was a smashing trip....drunken debaucheries, paradiso, curly's....I miss it already...

Those are a whole lotta updates....more regular ones coming up!

Mood Swings

2009-02-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

Am I a moody person...well I dont think so...but yesterday night I dont know what happened but after being cheerful all through the day...suddenly at night I was feeling very very VERY miserable. Just a couple of things happened and my mind went numb. Mood Swings I tell ya! A bad mood also makes you question all the things in life ...and its what I call the "Then what" syndrome...u pass out of school and you are like then what...u finish your undergrad....and you are like then what...then you work and then you do your MBA...and still you are asking then what..I mean I dont wanna be working everyday for the rest of my life...I wanna be a traveller, I wanna own shitloads of money, I wanna have a small beach restaurant of my own, I wanna live out of two or maybe three cities if thats possible, I wanna do more ...cricket, music, partying...! There is much little time ...and the list is long ...! This has got to be my shortest post ever!

Brothers day

2009-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

After Mike and David Hussey, it was the turn of the Pathan brothers to shine for their country. But then I dont want to overdose people reading this blog with cricket although everytime I sit down to blog, I think this one will be only on cricket and then when I actually start writing I am like "Naaaah....Cricket will become too one dimensional". Actually right now I am in a state that there are a lot of thoughts in my head...So enter my brain

Thought # 1 - Two of my very close bachelor friends are going to goa..I so wanna join em...but then I am so tied up...have fun boys...I know nothing I do over the next weekend will seem as exciting as watching the sunset on Baga Beach waiting for a nice all night party to start off at Paradiso ! Any way have fun and score, score ...score like mad
Thought # 2 - Sometimes I develop this strong dislike for people which starts bothering me .... this time its a friends ex girlfriend...I was always a good friend of hers while she was dating this friend of mine...we hung out a lot together ...and then suddenly they broke up...and she has not bothered to stay in touch ever since...now I feel that I was always her boyfriends buddy and nothing more !!! anyway I may be wrong...maybe I start considering people very close to me too fast
Thought # 3 - Having lived in and loved Mumbai...every night I think whether it was a good decision to move to Delhi...my parents are here, it saves me a lot of money...no wonder I have been able to buy a car and get an apartment (on rent ofcourse) which is huge and one that I would have never been able to afford in Mumbai...but still I miss Mumbai so so so so much...the beaches, the auto rickshaw drivers, the fact that I could move from having Vada Pao at a street side to rubbing shoulders with some celebs at a famous night club all in the same day...I wish to be in Mumbai someday very soon...I wait
Thought # 4 - Talking on the subject of Delhi, my drivers are suddenly changing...first I used to feel so restless if I was not out on a Saturday night drinking, dancing, smoking...nowadays I am very content staying at home with mon cherie, ma and pa...just have some nice food and chill out with a book or a dvd...why is this happening?
Thought # 5 - I am listening to Floyd right now as I blog...their music is so timeless but if you listen to it when you are depressed it will mind fuck you...I think a lot of Engineering College grads are introduced to marijuana and floyd at the same time in their lives...right after the first sem exams to be precise...I was one of them ....and after that friends, food, a dimly lit room, floyd blaring out from a comp on "creative" speakers becomes so enjoyable...anyway I dont think I will ever be able to get out of my engineering college hostel life...never ever...!

I dont think I have written a more honest blog ever ....I just poured my mind out to you ...thanks for listening ...do tune in again! and yes the next one will be purely on cricket!

I have been tagged ...

2009-02-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged baby. So here are a few unusual facts about me.

1. I am a true blue...I mean a TRUE BLUE piscean. I day dream about 70 % of my time and I am super duper sensitive. Just like all fishes I am slightly uncomfortable outside unfamiliar waters.
2. At one stage of my life I wanted to form a boy band with some of my cool friends from school...That was the age when I used to listen to Backstreet Boys, 98 degrees, N sync and all that...!!!
3. I have visited a lot of countries all over the world but I have never been to the US. That prompts me to keep gazing at the US map for long hours. I know...wierd!
4. I am a cricket fanatic. I have always considered myself slightly more of a fanatic than the most fanatic guy I know.
5. I was named by my grandmom. Kaustubh is the name of a jewel around Lord Vishnu's neck. The other name which got shortlisted for me was Sugandh. Ouccch !!!
6. My first crush was a girl from my nursery class called Mehek. She kept breaking my specs and I thought "Well out of all the boys in my class she chose to break MY specs".
7. The Wildest thing I have done. I had MDMA!! Now go figure that out.
8. After dating my wife, Shraddha for the first three months, we found out that our families know each other since before our birth. It freaked us out!
9. I love watching American Idol, Friends, The Wonder Years and Whose Line is it anyway.
10. Out of all Friends' characters, I think I would love playing Chandler.
11. I hate wearing anything other than a shorts and a t-shirt. I wonder how people can sleep in their jeans !!!
12. The first time I got into a kissing situation with a girl I got so psyched out that I felt like crying or running away or doing both !!
13. I wish Lord of the Rings was a real story. I am obsessed with it , with its characters , with its sets, with its stories. Any movie that I see pales in comparison.
14. I more often than not, loose track of what people are saying if they are talking boring stuff. I just see their lips moving. Its damn wierd.
15. I own a blog that I keep reading time and time again to keep myself entertained.

For the time being that is as wierd as I can get ....lets get more wierd later.

Screwed Mood

2009-01-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have been off the blogging circuit for a while now...and boy trust me there are so many stories to tell.

First would be that I went back to ISB to conduct the placements on behalf of Accenture. As I told you that I was co-ordinating the entire event and trust me few days in my life were as tiring. Things on the campus seem pretty tight this time around because of the economic slowdown. Most companies are recruiting for relationship building purposes...but I hope all of you have the best of luck on your side. I heard a lot of discontent after Accenture had concluded its placements on campus this time mainly because we shortlisted a handful but picked only one...Heard stuff like "The process is not fair"/"How can I get elimanated after an HR round"/"Thank god I got eliminated...who wants to work in tech consulting anyway"....I will let you all come to this side to answer these questions...

Second one would be my trip to my hometown Patna...I was going there after 3 years and it was after the same gap that I took a journey on the Indian Railways...Well to tell you all the food in the railways tasted a lot better and looked a lot more eatable...the "dal" had "dal" and the roti needed to hammers to be broken into pieces...but the bathrooms...! I mean why do I even bother to write on this one...STINKY!! For a long time I though that Patna was the only place in the world where there was no developement possible but trust me this time around I saw a pleasant change...some very nice roads (Lalloo Prasad once famously said "Hum patna ke road ko hema malllliiini ke gal jitna chikna bana doonga"), some nice eating joints, and lesser power cuts...way to go Nitish Kumar...now all we need is for Narendra Modi to be the CM for the next 40 years and we are all set !!

Last but not the least ...work has really picked up off late...two really interesting projects to choose from....one is based out of delhi/blore and the other one out of delhi/vizag...now my hands are aching..bye!

Its that time of the year..

2009-01-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

So the buzz is that ISB placement for the current batch starts day after. I wonder what the mood on campus is like. The Economic Slowdown has definitely affected the quantity of jobs on campus. But hey y'all CO2009 readers...I have always maintained that ISB placement week is not the only place you can get a job...plus (I will try acting all grandmotherly here)...look for a career and not a job! And trust me no career can be lost or attained in a week or 2 weeks...so chill out and keep working hard..

On the personal front I will be a part of the team that is travelling to ISB this year to recruit....No No...I wont be interviewing ...My key job is to "co-ordinate"...well suits me! Lets see how is it this year...I still remember that last year after all the hype and hoopla...I was out of the process on day 0...and after that I drank so much that everything till graduation was a blur..!n No No I am not boasting...its not like I climbed Mount Everest...its just that I took it as it comes...I dint prepare like a maniac...dint have sleepless nights...played a lot of tennis....and in the end dint allow the pressure to get to me...!! Wow dont I sound like a star on my blog..!!

What else...life after marriage is very chill...actually its fun ....even if its the fights ... I mean getting back home after work ...getting to see THE woman in your life...its quite cool actually...although I watch TV like a maniac in the remaining time that I have after work...just to have S by the side is ...really awesome! I was speaking to Manik at Solstice (Now I am sure we all know Manik )...and he just became a father ...and he told me that "Dude...once you are a father...nothing else matters...its just you and the kid...and how your life revolves around the baby"....Awwww! Manik completely understand that mate..!

Rest all is chilling...Have a good time you all..!

The January Blog...

2009-01-09T01:07:00.000-08:00

Hasnt the new year started with a bang...! The Satyam Scam, The ISB dean resigning, this damn petrol strike (60 % petrol pumps in Delhi today are closed)...I mean we are never short of news or are we...

I have had the worst possible day...

1. Got up feeling lazy and bored (Well thats almost everyday)
2. Took half an hour to decide whether to shave or not ...!
3. While on my way to work some idiot gave a small little bump on my car...!
4. The traffic was excruciatingly painful
5. Reached office an hour late only to find out that the parking everywhere was occupied ..
6. Waited for half an hour to park
7. The guards told me that there will be no parking available today..
8. Fumed , Fretted, Abused
9. Got back home...Imagine in the time of petrol shortage ...I drove around for 30 kms..and all for no use!!
10. Thought will log in from home and start working asap ...but the way my day was going...well...I should have expected that there will be a power failure and the internet at home wont be working...!!

Well...I am seriously thinking of taking a holiday...Goa, Mumbai...somewhere ...maybe even Sikkim...!

The Highs, The Lows and The "So So" s!!!

2008-12-31T01:57:00.001-08:00

Outta my freakin' wits !!

Its the last day of the year !

And I have asked this question before and I will ask it again ! Just because the Romans thought that till 31st Dec is all that an year can take ...and there will be no 32nd Dec...or say another month like "Lusvember" or something..it gives a reason to other people to ask the following shameless questions...

1. "Arre...Not going to Goa?"

2. "Havent you been invited to ABCs house party?"
3. "Arent you having a house party?"
4. "How can you have no plans?"

Anyway apart from all that S has called me a million times and the last conversation was so not pleasant !

K - "Hey"
S - "Kaus, what are we doing tonite"
K - At his explanatory best "Arre everyone wants to stay at home and everywhere outside is just the same shit...and expensive"
S - "Look for something in the newspapers....maybe live music and all "
K - Increasingly trying to say that he can stay at home with a drink "But no place is going to have live music and all...yeh Goa thodi na hai"
S - Now getting angry 'Its our first new years after marriage and all you want to do is sit at home and drink"
(See thats what amazes me about women, they just think that they know men but then they dont...)
K - Now sounding all fucked "No ...when did I say that ...Lets do something"
S - In full on assault mode "Ok lets sit at home and sleep by 11...!! Just thought that this year would be different" . She is sounding damn pissed by now !!
K - Reluctantly "Ok let me message people and ask whats their plan"
S - "Do what you want"

Bang sound heard...and then that horrible, non musical engaged wala tone !!! Why cant MTNL use some music instead of that shitty beeping tone !!

Anyway ...thinking about 2008 ....The highs ...Being with the best woman I have known, The Kerala trip and also setting up the new house...also all the Term 8 parties at ISB !! I miss...

The Lows - ...hmm ..I think the last day at ISB was a big low ! also all the bombings ..and what else ! Yeah and the fact that I dont get to party in Delhi as much as I used to in ISB...!! Well thats not "A low" per say...thats just reality!

The "So So" s - Its never so so ! Its a high or a low...and with those non sensical words ...u know that I am out of ideas...to write and to party!!

Happy new year anyway!

Solstice ' 08

2008-12-22T02:12:00.000-08:00

This was like orientation week wasnt it. Its just that the faces and names were familiar, but then the whole essence was very much "Orientish". Reached Hyderabad at about 7 in the evening and very thankfully got a room in the Executive Housing. Rest all is a blur but it was lovely to meet/party with/drink with old mates. Takeaways ....

1. The food at goel did not taste that bad. Back when I was at ISB it tasted like wood!

2. DJ Black Jack....should rename himself to "DJ-I-dont-know-what-is-house-music". He played "Mere Sapnon ki raani kab ayegi tu"...why call your self black jack dude!

3. The CO2009 band was aweosome. Considering the time you get for all such stuff at ISB is enough to tie your shoe laces it was a grand performance.

4. As far as I can remember the other band was ummmm...wierd..they used to explain everything before singing it!

5. Spent an afternoon at ISB drinking breezers in SV1 Lawns with the mates...Blissful is the word...

Lets hope that the solstice next year will see an even bigger turnout than this year...! On to the holiday season and here are my patented answers for the question that will be on everyone's lips "Whats the new year plan like"...

1. Black Magic

2. Eat some raw meat

3. Mouse dissection...

So that whoever asks me this question is so repulsed that they never ask me the same again. For the record...I AM NOT A NEW YEAR'S PERSON!

2008 says "On to 2009"

2008-12-14T21:50:00.001-08:00

And with this we wrap this year up ... From the markets which have taken an unbelievable downturn to India's security woes to India beating Australia at home...its been another eventful year. Although 365 days is a loooooot of days for things not to happen ...especially in a nation with a Billion people..

I , as I had told you last time around have just been back from my wedding and then the most amazing trip to Kerala. Both me and my well ahem...Mrs. have become brand ambassadors of "Gods Own country". Apart from the food (I had an omellete with cocunut on it) ...its the best destination after Goa...Goa beats any other place in India for me. But Kerala is definitely more scenic...Right from Munnar, which is full of misty mountains (reminded me of the Shire in LOTR) to Thekeddy (Where I saw and was stunned by a live Kathakali performance) to Alleppey (Yeah the famous backwaters) everything was right out of Yash Chopra movie. No Shraddha was not wearing any chiffons and stuff...but yeah the scenes were pretty good.

The marriage was so long...I must have sat down for some 10000 ceremonies...but what took the cake was the "Vidai"...I mean the groom feels like he is stealing away the pride of the family...Everyone is in tears and no one is even looking at you...! You almost feel like a bad guy..only more dignified...

So here are my two takes from marriage...
1. Its tiring and please for the all the guys out there ...no matter how irritated you are with all the ceremonies...be ready to smile for the cameras and be most respectful of all the things that happen around you.
2. The so called "Suhaag Raat" is probably the most tiring night of your life...yeah yeah..I know what you are thinking...but all I meant was ...you have not slept for the past 36 hours...and all you wanna do is crash!!

But anyway..me and her (Shraddha thats how I will refer you on my blog from now on dahlin') have just got a spanking new apartment and doing it up is amazing fun...just that we are terribly short on cash...! But yeah ..its happening...slow and steady...

Next week I will be in Hyderabad again for solstice...Cant wait to party at Events Lounge...lets see if 8 months after ISB people still can act crazy when drunk !!

More from me later !

Finally....

2008-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry have been off the blogging circuit for a while now...and yes the above picture says it all...!!

Will be back with all the nooos, voos, and intervoos...very soon...

Just resumed work today and hence you can imagine my state...

Till then...wish me luck...and to all the ladies..she got me before you did!

Love Story..

2008-11-12T21:46:00.001-08:00

"So where are we going out tonite!", Vasuda asked me cause I think I had bored her enough. Vasuda was one of my old friends visiting me from Bangalore to Mumbai in the June of 2004. It was a Saturday night, a time when the whole of Mumbai comes alive. I knew I had to meet an old school friend of mine called Tania the very same day in Bandra. It was just going to be a small meeting I knew, just the "hey good to see you again types".

"Ok Vas, lets go to Bandra side and we can meet some old school friends of mine..and then we can go out with them". So there I was on my way to Bandra and I was supposed to meet Tania at this restaurant called "The Great Punjab" near Shopper's stop at Bandra. I had hardly had time to dress up for the night out...I was wearing an over loose grey shirt which made me look like a magician ready for his act...my hair like always was all over the place...

As I entered the restaurant, to my surprise Tania was there with a whole gang of girls....Now for a single guy, what else do you want ...I mean it was like Christmas and Diwali together...These were MBA students from the Tata Institute of Social Science in Mumbai...all of them batchmates of Tania...and quickly I scanned around....

After the customary introductions, I saw a girl with a bright face and an even brighter smile sitting at the far end of the table...! and I was standing at this end...all of the other girls except Tania were busy enjoying some food and conversation...I could just tell by the look of them that not even one of them was interested in me...neither was I interested in talking to anyone of them...except that girl at that far end...who was quite noticeably the life of the table...

Before I left that restaurant, I made sure that I exchange a quick glance with her and possibly a smile...I spoke to her also ...about some non sensical shit ...I generally talk shit on meeting new women...you know the "cool" act...I at least got to know her name..."Shraddha"...

Only Tania went out with me and my friends that night ...much to my disappointment....her friends or rather her one "friend" chose to go back home ....I dont think I even spoke to Shraddha for the next three months...! But then suddenly one of those oh so anticipated Saturday afternoons, Tania called me again "Lets Party...me and my friends are going out again"...And this time I did have time to dress up ...and not to mention I was positive that Shraddha was going to be there...so that extra bit of after shave was justified...

I was with two other very good friends of mine...Karan and Alluri...so all three of us went out and met this whole gang of girls...Shraddha was looking even prettier this time...and the writing was on the walls...'Get her number'!!!

After a serious night of clubbing and some serious drinking...You know how it is when you are single, find this girl very desirable, and you are extremely drunk and its 2.00 AM in the morning right...Its like your mind is not thinking....its racing...to add to the aura...the whole group went out to Bandstand in Bandra...its the seaface and in spite of me trying to stick to Shraddha's side...that stupid boy Karan went and sat next to her on the parapet next to the sea... i cursed him like mad...she was laughing and talking to everyone around...except me ...! I was sitting next to Alluri...and he was just sleepy...he was yawning like mad...I was like what a effin nite...and then it finally happened .....these girls decided to leave...and I still had made no progress...Karan was still with Shraddha...she was walking five steps ahead of me now...and I was still with Alluri....he must have yawned for the 10031st time...they finally left and I had no phone number, no memories to hold on to...at least she could have just ruffled my hair or something....

The next weekend was long and boring... I was reading this book called "Shantaram" ...In a fit I just picked up the phone..and asked Tania for Shraddha's number...thank god she did not ask me what I needed it for...maybe she just guessed...

So I called Shraddha up..and I must have practiced my conversation some 5 times...I worked out all the cool things I had to say " I just came back from the gym"..." I was writing a poem"...."I was making some Thai food"...actually I was sitting on the couch in my shorts and watching TV...!

Inspite of all my preparedness ....she told me that she will call back ...thats the worst you know when you are told that you will be called back but not told by when...5 minutes...1 hour...two hours...in my case it was one and a half days...

But then gradually I started speaking to her, we started sharing stuff...but still she never gave me the impression that she was treating me as more than a friend or something...But then gradually...and slowly ...and very very subtly...we started going out alone...! and the rest as they say is history....
There is a lot more to this story than you would want to know...but right now the fact that Shraddha will be my wife in another weeks time...is all that I can say...and I am still as delighted to see her everyday as I was when I saw her on that fateful evening in June of 2004!

The lots is the happenings...

2008-11-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Its the start of winters, the start of the marriage season, the start of a new phase in American politics, the start of a new phase in Indian cricket ... And its also the start of a possibly new project for me though I am not too keen on it...Some Indian company (Ok some pretty big Indian company) wants to buy stuff from China so they want us to tell them how to go about it ! Now the only thing is that this company is based in Chennai so that means I will have to be at client site...I mean I can get back to Delhi on weekends but living it up in Chennai kinda gives me the jitters you know...I love South Indian food, I am not that big a Rajni fan and I am not interested in South Indian women any more...(or so I have to say on a public forum)...

There was a time in my life when all decisions were governed by the fact that how much and how well will that decision enable me to interact with the opposite sex...Now that I am going to get hitched ...I think I will have to really think hard about this Chennai decision ...!!

Looking forward to meeting all my engineering college and ISB friends to come down for the wedding...Both sets are complete party lots and I expect some noise to be made ...

Rest all is chilling ...! Another very interesting thing happened the last weekend...I am an absolutely humongous cricket fan! I mean its quite honestly the only sport I watch...Football comes a close second...but cricket has its own place...So this weekend I went for the first time to watch the India vs Australia Test match in New Delhi at the Feroze Shah Kotla...I found it very hard to follow the ball before it was hit by the batsman...but all in all just to see live action is something else...

Later...

I am bored ....yeah and Happy Diwali

2008-10-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yeah so sorry for the blogging gap of 10 days...I had been to Hyderabad and had a blast of a time...Had gone there for a resume review workshop for the current batch and must have seen some 100 resumes over a period of 2 days. I was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D by the end of it all...thanks to all the alcohol I drank that I was able to refuel myself. Yes I prefer Smirnoff over Gatorade as an energy drink.

After that life has been so much of a routine ... I need something new and there are a lot of thoughts in my head right now

- I am really contemplating a move from New Delhi to Mumbai. Although Delhi saves me a lot of money with low living costs, Mumbai has so much more better a social life. Its a tough decision to take but I need to take a call very very soon. The good thing is that my company has an office at both locations and hence relocating is not a problem

- In this period of extreme boredom I got myself tickets to the India Vs Australia match in New Delhi for all 5 days...It starts next weekend and needless to say that I am excited as I have never seen a cricket match live...I hope for a Sachin ton and a Kumble ten wicket haul during this match ...

- Its Diwali..and somehow I am not in the festive spirit...everything is on offer...buy a pack of chips get a soap free ....buy a car get a gold coin free...buy a bed get a mattress free...Its not just the festival of lights...its also the festival for advertizing and marketing agencies all over the world...

- Last but not the least ...the Sensex slips below 8000 today...the Rupee is 50 + to the dollar..and the govt. still refutes talks of a recession..what do they want to see...a sub 1000 sensex with no jobs...!

Anyway these were just ramblings from my head...I hope your Diwali is more exciting than mine...

And another trip...

2008-10-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, In a few hours I will be off to Hyderabad again....Resume review session at ISB on behalf of Accenture. Also will be catching up with Mr. Shubhankar Dongre, who was in my opinion, the most lukkha guy at ISB..(Lukkha translates to wasteful in crude Hindi). Heard there is Dandiya Night in ISB tomorrow...I missed Dandiya last year at ISB (Have a big post on that on my blog) and I dont think its going to be any different this year...Twirling with little sticks in my hand is definitely not my thing...

I come back after work and as all men, switch on the TV the first thing. There is a Hindi reality show by the name of Big Boss on TV where 13 celebreties get to live in a house and each week one of them gets voted out. During this show they can not contact the outside world through any mode....But then thats the problem about reality shows ..no matter how interesting the concept, they can always be rigged...Like this Indian version of the "American Idol"....not surprisingly called the Indian Idol...I have been watching it and inspite of the fact that it is a singing competition ...all they show is people crying after getting eliminated, people hugging their parents after getting selected, judges fighting... I mean what the fuck....!

Yes, about a month to my marriage now...and contrary to the fact that anyone who might be reading this blog over a period of over two years now may think...that this has to be an arranged marriage ....its an out an out love marriage...I have been dating for over 2 years now...and well to all the women I would say...better luck next time...bwahahah...

I need a drink...

The phases of my life...

2008-10-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

You might not be able to believe this but this is a topic on which I have wanted to blog on since the day I started my blog. I have always thought and there is no rocket science in this that life is lived in phase after phase...places and faces just keep changing but when you look back at it you can clearly demarcate each phase from the other, each having its own pros and cons ...and each leaving such a mark on you that that phase defines the person you are.

So where do I begin...The first phase I can think of is Springdales School...we used to have the most kick ass "Annual Day" in the middle of November and that too at night. Just before the final day there used to be 2 days for dress rehearsals when school used to start at 4 pm and end at 10 pm... and trust me half the school gossip and half the school affairs used to start off in those two days...I mean 2 days with girls in your vicinity and that too during evening/night time...even the girls in my school used to be more outgoing during those two days...they used to laugh more, smile more, talk more...What a phase that was ....

The next phase was when I moved to BMS college of Engineering in Bangalore...The first time out of Delhi and Home in a new place as pretty as Bangalore living with 150 guys in a hostel ...This was when the most beautiful and life changing moments of my life were made...I met some wonderful guys from all over ..you name it I had friends from Hyderabad, Mizoram, Orissa, Ranchi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan....I developed this keen interest in rock music and alcohol and smoking...Unlike school there were no girls at all...well there were a couple but then the whole college was after them....but then being hostelites we never needed girls...we used to have volleyball matches at 2 in the night...a cigarette was shared between 20 people...money was pooled in to buy 1 bottle of old monk and paratha and anda bhurji from Majestic area in Bangalore...I will never ever be able to get over this phase of my life...I have tried but it just doesnt happen...

And then suddenly this phase just flew by and I got placed with Larsen and Toubro out of all the places in Mumbai...when I reached this city ...I had no friends at all...and in a place like Mumbai when you dont have a lot of friends you start hating it..but then a couple of my friends from hostel reached Mumbai a couple of months later to start work...and life was never the same....The mad city of lights took me by storm ...my room mates started partying with air hostesses....women, drinks, Juhu Beach, Mahakali Caves Road, Local trains, Churchgate, Avalon....it showed me what no other city could have ever shown me...

And then ...it was ISB....and the rest they say is history...!

And the winner is....

2008-10-03T02:03:00.000-07:00

And after months and months of speculation...I finally decided to buy the following car...Come this Sunday and I will be the prowd owner of a spanking black Chevrolet Aveo...the last most expensive thing I bought for myself was an Ipod...and I am slightly scared now...and very short on hard cash..!!

India Shining .....Hah !!!!

2008-09-30T22:49:00.001-07:00

Long ago...someone from the BJP government coined a slogan to highlight India's presence on the global map called "India Shining"..at that time, anything related to India was shining ..or so it was potrayed to be ...a victory over Kenya in a Tri series cup, a decline in infant mortality rate from 29 infants per 1000 births to 25 infants per thousand births, an FDI reserve of over 100 billion USD...everything was India shining...and Indians were being made to believe that the time is now! Buy, consume, spend, invest...you cant go wrong..

In the madness of it all, we ignored the several problems which accost us today...they were always there, bubbling under the surface ...simmering, ready to show India its ugly side...a side which was lost under the glaze of "India shining" but it always existed...almost like an alter ego of Indian society...almost like an evil twin brother ready to strike back...

And what do we have here...national security has become India's largest concern....India now has the ignominous position of being the country only second to Iraq which has had maximum casualties in terrorist attacks...the centers of growth and development...Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, New Delhi have become centers of terrorist breeding and destruction...we kept harping on India Shining but never ever realized that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was breeding minds of dissent against Indian Hindus in the likes of Azamgarh

Christian killings again. Graham Staines, I hope everyone remembers the name. He was the Australian Missionary who was burnt alive in Orissa a few years back. What progress have we made? Orissa continues to breed anti christian feelings in uneducated minds...churches are being destroyed, nuns being attacked...religion was never so complicated...

And last but not the least sex starved men are a plenty everywhere and even more so in the northern parts of India (though I have no reason why). A german tourist was molested in Chandigarh just a couple of days back. Thailand which is almost half our size and almost one tenth our economic prowess sees 15,000 international vistitors every month. We dont even see one tenth that number..or do we...well thats not the point here...

I would like to close this post on another very sad note...Saumya Vishwanathan, a producer of Headlines today, aged 26 and a graduate from Hindu college was shot dead on 30th September, 2008. The police recovered a bullet from her skull. She happens to be the best friend of a very good friend of mine...No one knows why she was killed, it was definitely not for personal reasons ....just another one of those "stop this car and let me molest you or I will kill you" kinda killings maybe...she must have resisted...and..

Hope we never get something as hollow as India Shining thrown at our faces again...

The world is mine

2008-09-29T08:45:00.001-07:00

I am tripping on the house track by French DJ David Guetta called "The World is mine..". I have heard it some 54,652 times already and the number is rising. Musta mentioned this before on this blog I am really into house music. Armen Van Beuren, Paul Van Dyk, DJ Tiesto, Chicane, Bob Sinclair...bring em on! I miss my buds from ISB tripping on all those amazing house tracks at F Bar ...

Rest all is cool in life. Waiting for a project that may send me back to the city I hate to love...Mumbai for about 6 months. What an amazing feeling staying in Mumbai again will it be...the city which is so crazy and absorbing that trust me there are not a lot of places which will match up to it in the world...I need to smell that air again...just hope that I get the project.

Finally after months (which rather seems like years) ...I am planning to buy the Chevrolet Aveo as my first set of wheels eva'...Cant wait...just cant wait ...This will be the only good looking thing I would never wanna bang...

Hey I was talking to my grandfather one of these days and I got to know that my great great grandfather used to work in some king's court...how fascinating is that ..it leaves me with so many questions...what rank was he? Did he have a crush on the king's daughter? Did he ride a horse to work...how cool would that have been ..!!

Life is in a trance right now...I have just finished a project and waiting for my next one..so I am on the bench so to say...I am not complaining...!!

The next post for sure will be big news for my blog readers...I am getting married in November...watch this space...

KL and Bangkok Babaaayyy..

2008-09-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Petronas....Mind boggling...went inside it too....

LUNA BAR BABY !! (The KL Tower as the backdrop )

All Right so then, as I said that there will be loads to write and very soon at that ...

Just came back from a 2 week training at Kualalumpur and stopped off at Bangkok on the return journey for a short vacation in Bangkok. Now here are the details even if you weren't interested in knowing

There were tons of people from all Accenture offices all over the world. We were putting up in a city which was like 20 Kms away from KL called Putrajaya and yeah baby the hotel was Marriott ...yeah the one with big fluffy pillows and chocolate cakes on beds when you come back and a bathroom which looks so clean and shining that you would wanna sleep in it.

The people from all over the world were quite an interesting lot to interact with

The Australians - Well found them very egoistic and unprofessional...also they lacked a sense of other people's cultures...
The Chinese - The sweetest and smartest people.
The Japanese - The sweetest and smartest people (If only they knew an iota of English)

KL as a city was so lovely. Went to a couple of nice bars. Try out Luna Bar, I mean what a location. Also had the yummy Malaysian street food. Went to China Market which is like their version of Janpath. Visited a lovely aquarium and believe it or not for the first time in my life saw the Great White Shark and for like 5 minutes I was numb. Each teeth was like a giant razor sharp metal hook and they had plenty of them ... Went to a Malaysian hill station on the weekend called Genting...and experienced some amazing rides at a theme park there...needless to say that I drank every day..and made some Singaporeans have Rice and Dal with hands...!!

Then on my return journey visted my favourite city in the world...BANGKOK. No its not just because it has Pat Pong or it has the world's best street market called Chatuchak ...its because its Bangkok...the people are so nice, the women so beautiful, the place so truly tourist friendly, the transportation so easy to commute on....And remember this...before you die..take your boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife to Chatuchak Park Market...they will never every give you some bad lovin...

Cheerio...and adios

Lots to write...

2008-09-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Its not like I dont have anything to write about..
I have just been irregular and I hate it...the reasons are aplenty...I was out of the country, there were other things which had to be completed, I had no time and well there were other technical issues as well...

But soon I am going back to being my best. 3 blogs a week and tons and tons of gooey things will be said on this webspace....This was the silence before the storm...

Of Work, Parties and delayed blogs

2008-08-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hello ji ! Ki haal twaada ...now thats all the punjabi I know. And sorries for the ultra late blog...I have been busy at work and I have been busier doing "aaram" on weekends and hence I have no other excuse for this delayed posts.

Have seen tons of movies in the meanwhile - Saw "Bachnaa Ae Haseeno" and while my girlfriend wanted to butter up Ranbir Kapoor and have a bite of him...I had quite different plans for Bipasha Basu...having dated a Bengali women in my younger days...I am in awe of their beauty always..all the fish they eat makes their skin, hair and eyes glow like jewels man...Rating - Good.

Also saw the much hyped "Dark Knight", and although I am not a big fan of super heroes and their doings...this one was ok..but then again what's the hype about...Rating - OK

And keeping in mind the fact that I had earlier told you that I watched a whole lotta movies in this gap...I must mention that I saw "Mumbai Meri Jaan" ..I know I know..some people will just go like what a brilliant movie ..but I am not the kinds for abstract endings...But then watch it for Paresh Rawal...I mean this guy is so under rated man...he is by far in the league of Naser Shah and Kamal Hassan and the likes...

We also had a big ISB party this weekend ....Met so many people and had a good time...famous celebs from Mumbai namely Miss Neha Arora, Miss Urvashi Bharwani and Celeb couple Mr. Savio and Ayesha Baretto were also there...that is what I call baby "Taare Zameen Par"...hehehe! But then I got drunk like half an hour into the meet and as they say the rest is history...

I am on my way to Malaysia and Thailand next to next weekend for about 2 weeks for work...So lets kick some Langkawi Booty...you all be good..!

To ISB and back

2008-08-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

So this was the weekend when I was back at ISB for the Accenture event that we had organized on campus. I think the session went off well, the senior manager who had flown down was honest and very down to earth in whatever he had to say. I was meeting a few students from the ISB class of 09 after the orientation. Common opinion was the same saga that every batch faces - Grades - how much is good enough? ELP - Is it really needed? What are spikes? and et all...Well I have just one thing to say that even alums dont know all, they only tell you their experiences which are quite diverse in itself but then each person who has got through ISB is worth his own salt to write his own story and do very well. All one can do is try his or her level best. Also as soon as someone becomes an alum his or her tendency to give gyaan beats the best in the business...!

But all said and done - How was my Hyderabad trip...Yeah it was good...was with one of my pals Shubhankar all the while and we must have repeated cracking all the jokes that we cracked at ISB in the last year. It was raining cats and dogs in Hyderabad and it did not even stop for a second. You just walk around the campus and inspite of it being the most beautiful and serene campus in the universe (Ok so i exagerrate at times), there is an empty feeling almost like a disconnect because the people from your batch are not there who formed such a big part of your life at ISB. As they say, It's never about the place, it's about the people.

But all in all, loved my weekend !

No news is good news...

2008-08-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

What is happening on the news channels
- Bombs are being unearthed
- Interest rates are rising
- Reality stars are drwoning in swimming pools
As they say no news is good news....

I have got many problems of mine to attend to as well...
- My LL is expiring
- I have to start my Loan repayment at ISB
- My Internet at home has a speed of 0.00000001 kbps
- My laptop has become moody
- My hair is looking like a mop on someone's head
- And last but not the least I got the DVDs for the Lord of the Rings ...all the three parts and one of the DVDs is not working...:((

Bhagwan ! Please mujhe shakti do !!

Hey back to ISB this weekend for an Accenture campus event...lets see if you they have made another rec center !

Cheers

As July draws to a close...

2008-07-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

Well its almost the end of July and am looking forward to my second pay day. I have spotted just the thing I am going to buy with this salary. The DVD series of the Trilogy of the Lord of the Rings has been released in India and I would so love to have it. As I have always said that the English movie watching world can easily be divided into two halves - one which has seen LOTR and the other one which has not.

Another round of bomb attacks in Ahmedabad this time around. You can never control the intentions of people who do such things but with what do you stand up against such people...lathi holding constables who get paid a measly 5000 bucks per month...!! its so sad that for an emerging economy like ours, we have national security as such a painful drawback....And then you see all these politicians who issue statements like " I condemn such attacks and we are with the people who lost their near and dear ones in these attacks". Mister Minister may I ask if you condemned buying MLAs from other parties to make the trust vote swing your way ... oh hell I am sorry...thats politics and not a national issue!!...shoot em all I say!

I start off with a very good project in the field of Integrated Logistics management come next week. Would love to talk about it but then most of it is confidential.

Also as I write this blog...i see snippets of this new movie called "Rock On" on tv starring farhan akhtar, arjun rampal, luke kenny et all...movie business is big business now...anyway ...its been a lazy Sunday till now and I just had a heavy lunch...yawwnnn says the body and the mind ...and for all the ISB students reading this blog...A Sunday without assignments feels sooooooo good !!! heeeehawwww!

And the finalists are...

2008-07-20T03:53:00.001-07:00

And after days of contemplation here is what my "would be car" finalists are......

The Maruti Suzuki SX4

Pros - It is just an outright brilliant car

Cons - I dont like the look of it..looks big but not sleek

The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

Pros - Just look at the machine...it looks like a dream
Cons - At 14 Lacs its twice my threshold budget...but then..just look at it!!! :(

The Honda City

Pros - It is a Honda after all, by the far the best car on Indian roads..
Cons - Nil really, I think this is the one !

But then the Grand Vitara...At 14 lacs and a on road mileage of about 7...its stupid to buy this one...but trust me I sat inside one today and it was O.R.G.A.S.M.I.C.!!!

Phew !

2008-07-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Reasons for late blogs - I dont have time at office nor do I think a blogging in office in public view is a very good idea (although this blog is from office have a pretty secluded corner and I just have a little more time). Also when I reach home after work, even the sight of a laptop makes me utter "Maa-Bahen" type galees! So anyway...

Went out for drinks with ISB friends yesterday after work...nothing special ,just the usual ..reminiscing ISB kinda conversations. Lots of people from our batch are on their way to becoming/have become proud parents.... My heartiest congratulations to all of them..although make sure that whenever there is a Parent Teacher meeting...side your kids and not the teacher...

The last weekend was also nothing great! Was at home most of the time...and my movie of the weekend was "Get Smart"...its a nice movie but then again its just the kinda hollywood movie that will be a big hit with people in India...I found it funny for about 40 % of the parts rest of it was downright silly..however Anne Hathaway is H.O.T.T.T.!

There was a serial called "Mungerilal ke haseen sapne" based on how a government official starts dreaming at work about all the big things in life. When you start work as a consultant you see all these partner-level people buzzing in and out of office, booking tickets to exotic locations of the world, rattling off stock market numbers with utmost ease and talkin to CEOs on the phone ...and then suddenly the Mungerilal in you comes out.

So there is this guy (probably a manager) who sits next to me and one of these days his phone rings and he goes like "Yes Dr. Mallya ...tell me"....and I start imagining everything from free flowing Kingfisher beer to easily available Kingfisher women...!! If any one at work reads this blog...I am fired or probably sent to a project in the deserts of Rajasthan for "Ram Bharose tool works"

Anyway...its the Mungeri man in me who says bye bye!

Weekend to Weekend!

2008-07-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

There was a time in my life when I lived weekend to weekend....every weekend was such an interesting story in itself that it left you waiting for the next weekend with all eagerness...and suddenly as I start work again, my weekend mania has just started kicking up ...here is what happened...

1. Watched "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na". In Hyderabad I used to die to watch movies on the big screen. The damn place just has two theatres where they show Hindi flicks...I mean 2??? And ironically it is the city in Indian with maximum number of theatres ...but all regional!

Coming back to the movie..I was eagerly waiting for this one but trust me it fell half short of my expectations...it was so teeny-boppy-happy-bubble gummy-extra sweet that it left a bad taste in my mouth...there are some bright spots and the music is hummable but its a very silly flick...I mean at the end Imraan Khan rides a horse to the airport to stop his love! And we have a climax!

2. Shopped till I dropped - The first salary was credited last monday and boy did I shop...Poore ghar ke badal daloonga was the motto...the wallet is 15000 lighter but then I am happy...The credit cards/debit cards are out and they aint going back in!

3. Had a mini ISB party at Rohan - Meghna's new abode on Saturday night...The drinks were great and so was the food.....what a house they have got...I mean its a "Kothi" in the name of an apartment...good fun meeting all the ISB gang...

Work front is looking up...have a deadline this friday ....have to make a plan for all consulting events that Accenture will hold at ISB this year and present it to a Partner...

I will be free-er than usual next week ...have been working my ass off for some time now....Till then...here is happy weekend to you all....

A month old at ACC...

2008-07-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

I finish a month at Accenture tomorrow and ISB already seems like a long looong time back! Anyway, was in Mumbai for work for a couple of days and met all my homies ...also went to Hawaiin Shack, Toto's , Zenzi and Hard Rock Cafe ....I mean in a space of 2 days ..thats a lot of going out! And yes thanked god that I do not have to go to work in Mumbai rains...

Things at work are hotting up ...but then you know how consulting firms are ...They will prosecute me for any mention of the nature of work I do...!

Just have this big debate in my head going forward...In the space of a couple of weeks I will have to decide whether I wanna be based out of Mumbai or New Delhi...all said and done ...Delhi saves me a lot of cash. If I spend 20, 000 on my flat here I will get a beautiful house in a good location....unlike Mumbai where I might just get a room in a "chawl" in the middle of slums...but then Mumbai has the most wonderful people and the best places to chill out at ! Hmmm...mind says Delhi but heart screams Mumbai..any suggestions are welcome

And a few weeks back I had predicted a Netherlands VS Spain final....Ok so I got one of em right....but what joy for the Spaniards !The cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Zaragoza...will be celebrating till the next edition of Euro!

I cant explain how important weekends become when you are working...friday nights are like liberation ....every weekend is such a different story! As someone in a house song once said "I cant waittttt...for the weekend to begin"!!!

Till then ....I promise that I will be more regular at blogging ....the legacy as they say will continue...!

Chow

Dead Man Walking...

2008-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

The reason for this late blog ( I have never ever taken a break so long) is that I am literally dead man walking right now. I just had assignment after assignment and that pretty much consumed all of my weekend. Consulting as they said has its shares of challenges ( Had to use a politically correct word...it wont be too long before office people start reading this blog ).

And the project work suddenly hit me you know. One day I was sitting in the office mess all chilled out waiting for the clock to strike six and then suddenly, almost the next moment I was in the war sone - I had 20 windows open on my lappie and poor me was trying to extract data from the most obscure sources.

Anyway have been meeting ISB people and everyone has been settling down into work and life. But the bottom line is that everyone has really become busy. Just yesterday I was telling someone that although I love working and for me work life is more of a stimulator than student life...I hardly have the luxury of time I had in ISB....except on weekends...

Euro 2008 - Well my interest in the tournament got over last night when Netherlands was kicked out by the Russians...all hopes on Spain now...

Travel has just started .... Might be in Mumbai this weekend for work...and in Cal in the weekend after that....first salary day after ISB beckons !!!

The Rushed Blog

2008-06-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am in a state of confusion. ISB was so hectic...so got damn hectic but I used to blog a minimum of 3 times a week. Now that I have started working and have no upcoming exams or assignments or other "B-school" things...and quite some time on my hands...blogging regularly has become a challenge. But I guess the people tend to blog more when time is scarce.

One week of working with Accenture is over, actually one and a half weeks....it has been quite a cool week and have started working on two small assignments....Here is a cool incident...

So my manager at work calls me to his work station for the first time ...and imagine...u walk up to a manager in a consulting organization after you have done your MBA for the first task...and he says...
" Hey Kaustubh, We are doing a presentation to some partners of the firm tomorrow on what has been the pattern for book closing for Indian firms over the last 4 FQs...I want you to do some number crunching in this regard"
For a moment, I was like blank...then I thought book closing ----> accounts-----> Mark Finn -----> Term 1 -----> 8.15 am class ----> Must have slept through ------> DAMN !!!!!
Gradually, with some help I was able to do some work !!! Some of the projects are wonderful to work on....should be fun!

I heard that first term grades are out at ISB....! Thank god I am out of ISB coz the days when grades were released were the worst....I also heard that the student elections are over...all the best to everyone who won....people at ISB tend to be shortsighted ...so my advice to all post holders will be to remember that although its very very nice (at ISB) to be important ....it is extremely extremely important (in life) to be nice....!

And that my friend shall be all!

Oh yeah ...EURO 2008 ...what a feast ....my take...A Spain vs Netherlands final....come on...i mean have a heart ....these two teams are way too talented to not have won the euro/world cup over the last few years...they deserve it...well atleast one of them does....

My first blog from Acc

2008-06-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

"Acc" - that is the NYSE name for Accenture. Today is my second day at office and trust not much has happened as far as activities are concerned. Here are the highlights

1. Submitted a bunch of papers as a part of entry formalities, messed up some of them which left me really irritated; this seems to be a highly process oriented company

2. Everyday before I come to work I can book a seat at any location where I may want to sit. Like away from the AC, near some friend of mine ...and all that Jazz

3. Just got bestowed with a DELL laptop...now I have a spare one! Baah...lifestyles of the rich and famous

4. Will be travelling to KL very soon to attend some sorta training...so I can see myself bungee jumping from the petronas already

5. The crowd is much much more decent as compared to my previous organizations....some real smart people

6. Accenture has tons of people from IIMs in their consulting practise...so when they are asked which college they just say ...A or B or C....mere mortals like me have to spend time speaking out more letters

7. See some guys rushing around office...saying stuff like "Book me in Frankfurt at the meridien" or " Book me for LA to Paris tonight"...hope I get the chance to utter such words asap!!!!

8. Last but not the least the office location is fantastic....from movie theatres, to restaurants, to pubs, to bars...!!

Tullee - Ho!

The Vacation ends...

2008-05-27T00:29:00.000-07:00

9th March, 2007 to 2nd June, 2008. You may ask what is the significance of these dates in my life. Well 9th March last year was my last working day and after a good 1 year and 3 months I start work again come this Monday. The debate as to which life is better (student or working) still continues and since I start work this Monday I need to jot down reasons so that I can be as excited as I had imagined...Here goes

1. Pay Day - After ISB, pay day should be a day of some serious partying. I dont think I would have ever seen so much money credited to my bank account ever on a pay day! I am excited.

2. Consulting - Well I will try and see what the hype is all about. The travel, the people, the extended hours, the tight deadlines...lets see how this bug functions.

3. Drinks after work - My office is surrounded by a lot of places to have a drink after work, I hope colleagues and the likes are as supportive of this idea of mine.

4. Better weekends - Weekends tend be a lot more fulfilling and fun once work starts. As students of ISB weekends and especially Sundays translated to only assignments and group meetings.

I think the above are enough ( atually reason no. 1 is enough) for me to be excited about Monday. Fingers crossed. !!!

Things in my mind...

2008-05-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Driving - With tons of times available, and the delhi weather relenting once in a while, I have been just taking my car out for spins, spins and more spins...

Sports Fest - With my joining date still some time away I am waiting for the sports fest in June...I mean Euro 2008, Wimbledon, 2 international cricket series...its going to be orgasmic

Blogging - Just got hooked on to Amitabh Bacchan's and Aamir Khan's blogs...how they have been raping certain people through what they write. Reading Sumantra's, Prashant's and DD's blog from the ISB CO 2009. I can't even begin to tell you how similar are the feelings of students going through the year at ISB. And guys you all must have seen the madness surrounding the mid terms...end terms are even worse... a 3 point someone CGPA is better than a 3.99 CGPA

Media - I think Indian media has reached a deplorable state...Channels like IBN 7, Star News and Zee news have become the nadir of news reporting...they make murders twice as horrific, affairs twice as steamy, matches twice as exciting...I wish somebody creates some regulatory authority..

Life - Will be blogging about some developements in my life very soon...till then nighty night!

What difference can the click of a button make

2008-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Time - Around 10. 00 PM
Venue - My room in my house in Delhi
Mood - Anticipation

So I was watching Set Max (Channel No. 21 on my TV) and my daily dose of IPL was in full swing. Knowing that Shoaib Akhtar would be ready to play for the Kolkata Knightriders for the first time today had me excited with anticipation since morning.

Wasim Akram, probably one of the finest artists one has ever seen on the cricket field made a comment on Shoaib playing the IPL. He said, "Once Shoaib sees the light, publicity and babes at the IPL he will perform". It was like he could read into the future. Even before the match began, the speedster was omni present...giving interviews, hugging SRK, jumping around. And when the match began..what did Mr. Rawalpindi do...bowled at an average speed of 147 Kms/hr knocking out the best IPL batting line up ( Sehwag, Gambhir, AB Devilliers and Manoj Tiwari) within a space of 3 overs of fire spitting pace bowling.

The crowd at the Eden (about 60,000 +) was going crazy. The true essence of IPL was realized when Sehwag was caught behind off Shoaib and the whole crowd jumped of their seat. Who would have thought that a Pakistani cricketer would be given such support (on getting an Indian out) in the city considered to be the Mecca of Indian cricket. SPORT does bring people together.

And then I happened to change channels to CNN IBN (Reversing channel 21 to 12 on my TV set).

Breaking news has become an often abused term in media circles. But to see the calm city of Jaipur being devastated by 7 bombs killling 60 people and injuring 150 was as disturbing as I can ever imagine. The crying faces of relatives, the blood spewn all over the roads and the chaos in a town where your own countrymen do things which you or I would do on any normal day made my blood boil with anger. Last year we had a bomb blast in Hyderabad...never knew who was behind that one. Some Bangladeshi terrorist group has taken responsibility for this attack. But really who wants to know? What I would wanna know is why ...oh why is such terror happening? If Pakistan and Bangladesh groups do own responsibilty then what power on earth denies our armies access to them? Are we as citizens as insensitive or as irresponsible to not consider that national security has actually gone to the dogs...why do MPs have to walk around with police convoys of 20 men???????!

Fuck this shit man....it has no answers...and to top it all off...some politician was saying on TV, " The govt. condemns this attack but we are doing all we can to increase national security ".....you know what fuck you ! And then I realized that we as human race have come so far that nothing ...may it be films, technology, sport or culture...nothing can actually bring us together

What difference can the click of a button make!!!!

Jobless Randomness....

2008-05-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

I was reading some of the blogs that I wrote last year this time around...Must have been the second weekend of Term 1. The splash marketing case, the accounts quizzes, the eco mid-term and all the madness surrounding it! Boy, some of the pieces were so good to read, I could almost imagine myself sitting in my room and blogging and feeling like I did one year back...I am a good blogger...! And cheers to that

But then this blog has been titled Jobless Randomness....So we had a mini ISB party here in Delhi last night...Me, Shubhankar, Ankush Wadhera, Sid Singh, Greishma, Radhika and Shruti were there in this place called "Indo Chine" ...and here are some highlights of what happens when a bunch of jobless educated fucks get togther to re-live glory days...

1. We managed to run up a bill of 10,000...and then when the bill came all of us looked at each other like we all just had water! All the security deposit that was re-imbursed by ISB into our accounts is fast evaporating

2. The girls left ( which in retrospect was a very good idea ) and the 4 guys decided to stay on ( which in retrospect was a very bad idea )

3. Mr. Wadhera ( who cracked BCG and who was ranked 4th at ISB in our batch - which I still wonder how ) transformed himself into Kimi Raikonnen and was driving at the speed of some 400 km/hr and that too drunk....yeah Mr. BCG himself!

4. Then we guys went and met Rohan Lepps ( another famed ISBian from CO 2008 who is getting married as I write this blog ) . We called him out of his house and what will four drunken guys do to a batchmate who is getting married within 24 hours...well we tore his shirt off...I mean like at 2 in the night, outside his house...crime rates in Delhi I tell ya...

5. The night ended with some kick ass food at some dhaba in CP....where we were eating like such pigs....that the beggers around the dhaba thought we were one of them ...I mean seriously none of the beggers was asking us for money....

Ahhh well we also pee-ed outside somebody's ex-girlfriend's house ....Dad did say to water the plants daily!

Need blogging material!

2008-05-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

There is nothing much happening right now. Met up with Shubhankar, Sid Singh, Jatin and Shaurya yesterday but then apart from that not much blogging material. There was this really funny story which I heard about...

Two of my friends from ISB...joined this leading Real Estate firm ...at their first day at work they are like going through documents and stuff and once they have done as they are told...they ask their boss as to what is to be done next...So the boss says " Well ummm...there is a TT table on one of the floors...so why dont you guys play TT"...and my friends, after 16 lakhs and a highly tough year at one of the best institutes in the world ....end up playing TT for about an hour on their first day at work...

Lesson - Rec Center is as important as Classrooms...

I have been watching the wierdest movies...! and yeah the EPL is drawing to an awesome end...I just hope Wigan beats ManU in their last match so that Chelsea have a shot at the title...

I really feel like starting work now man...but my joining date is still about 25 days away and trust me everyday I get the feeling that whatever I learnt at ISB is fast evaporating...! Scary!

The updates

2008-04-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

I wish the second half of the movie was shorter and crispier ! Enjoyed it anyhow

And here are a few mechanical updates from my side which will be able to remind me of this phase in my life when I am reading this blog in 2057

- Am on a DVD watching spree...watched Johnny Gaddar yesterday which I quite liked. Followed that up with Taxi 9211 which was so yuchhy that I cant tell you. Today I watched Race and liked it again. I dont think there are hotter women in Bollywood as compared to Bipasha, Katrina and Sameera ...I wish they were the angels and I was Charlie! Watched Tashan too and simply loved Bacchan Pandey in the movie !

- I am neck deep into sports. The IPL has caught the fanatsy of the nation and arent we all glad to have the witnessed the most famous slap of the century. Read an article in a British Newspaper saying that England will never allow a club to be owned by a movie star as Britishers are all about tradition and history. You know what they can shove all the tradition up their ass coz India has quite emerged the center of world cricket and its a pity no other country can match up. They can do away with the dancing girls though.

- This Saturday is my first ISB alumni meet. Hope to meet a lot of people from the CO 2008. Will be good to catch up with other jobless people, sip on beer and hopefully listen to "Rise Up" in a Delhi Bar. Plus mates Shubhankar and Sagar are coming down this weekend...!

- Read a couple of nice blogs by students from the 09 batch. Keep it up guys. And the kinda CP and professor jokes they write about is exactly the same as last year. ISB is such a perfect 1 year business/operational model that the only thing that changes are the students...and yeah the fees !!

- And as I write this blog Liverpool take on Chelsea in the 2nd leg today...I hope Liverpool wins it now after Barca's loss last night ! Please god !

Rest all is chillin...I am falling in love with Facebook though and can't help but shift loyalties completely from Orkut !

The silly observations of the spotless mind

2008-04-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

So I was watching this Hindi movie called Goal (Yeah that Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal shit starring Bipasha Basu and John Abraham)...So there is a sequence in the movie which goes something like this

Bipasha (To John) - Mere saath ghoomne chaloge...date pe? (Why couldn't she have said "Let's go out or something"...why did she have to make it sound like she was a pick up girl)

John ( In response) - Kyun? (Thank god he did not exercise his verbal talents)

Bipasha ( Continuing from where she had left ) - Kyun ki main bahut sexy hoon !!!

( I mean who the f*** says that ! And to think of it ...she plays the role of a doctor in the movie ..who in my opinion doubles up as a crass talking whore)

John has a very sheepish smile on his face ( He is as disgusted as all other viewers )

Bipasha ( Who is really on a roll now) says - Waise tum bhi bahut sexy ho !

( I have seen flirting and of course I have flirted ...and trust me this is the last thing you should say in Hindi or any other language while trying to attract the opposite sex )

With dialogues like these we still wonder why no Indian film made it to the Cannes this year...ask Bipasha!

Just another day in paradise

2008-04-23T11:59:00.001-07:00

CHILLLLLAAAAAAAAAXXXX!

As much as I miss ISB and partying with 400 other crackpots in an exotic setting till the cows come home..I love this phase of life as well...I know that never ever in my whole life will I have the same amount of luxury with time as I have right now..

- I wake up at 11.00 am and love the chai-biscuit combo - No walking up to Goel from SV1

- I watch some movie between breakfast and lunchtime - No quadie comes to bug me for the remote or put on something which everyone can watch

- I then take an afternoon nap - Yes an afternoon nap which was extinct the moment I step foot into the ISB campus...And its not like I put an alarm to get up (No assignments, No take homes)

- Wake up to again dabao some sandwiches or some kinda milk shake or something...which is good quality and doesnt charge me exorbitantly like our folks at the ISB cafe

- Then its time for IPL...with the thought of no classes tomorrow!

Lots of people told me that my blog excited them about ISB...trust me life after ISB aint that bad either....that is if you can consume upto 6 meals a day, watch non sensical movies endlessly and sleep like a sloth!

As the people who go to the shittiest burger joint in the world say..I'm lovin' it!

Back on the circuit...

2008-04-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I returned to Delhi after a hectic orientation week for the class of 2009. From what I saw and heard from the C0 2009, I am sure they are well on their way to having an awesome year and placements at the ISB. I am sure that all the gyaan that the alums gave will be deciphered by them in due course of time. I also hope that somewhere down the line the alums dint pass the message that only office bearers at ISB are able to do club/school related activities. A lot of other people were super achievers in their own rights and were not post holders. Each and every student no matter how small or big is an equal stakeholder of the school which I think the CO 2008 was unable to implement. Anyway for the CO 2009 - you guys rock!
The silliest part was me missing my flight back from Hyderabad to Delhi. My oversleeping habits need to be curbed as soon as possible. I woke up at 10.00 am for a 10.15 am flight, still rushed to the airport (which was an hour away) and asked the SpiceJet personnel if the flight had left...He gave me one sick look....
Anyway now all I have to do is watch TV, browse, sleep and eat like a pig....I also want to start reading Corporate Finance again....I dint understand a word of it the first time I read it!
Laters!

When in Delhi...Do the Delhi-ites!

2008-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

So I am in the capital and life aint that bad at all...Went on a mini back pack trip across the city today and did the things which have almost become a part of Delhi folklore. Had some amazing observations to make. So here goes, my mini tour diary...

Left in the blistering heat (In April, Delhi is as hot as most other places in India in May, June)...took the metro from Dwarka Sector 9 to Karol Bagh which is a good 15 odd stations away. The Delhi metro has really put Delhi in a separate league altogether. It is a wonderful example of when money is invested (unlike Mumbai) with a little bit of common sense (unlike Bangalore) wonders can happen.

I used to visit Karol Bagh as a kid to buy "Bata ke Naughty Boy" school shoes. The place (Karol Bagh) after 20 years remains just the same. Noisy and so congested that it can put an ant hill to shame. But the kinda cheap stuff that you get there ...especially all the shoes that you get at Gaffar Market ! I mean boy oh boy ! ended up buying a couple of pairs. My sister who is not really a shop-a-holic...she is something much worse....I mean if she sees a pair of shoes or a bag which she likes...she goes hysterical...! For her Karol Bagh is like Mecca...she bought 4 pairs of shoes...I mean thats my cummulative count of footwear brought over the last 10 years. Anyway after that we headed to this very famous food joint called "Roshan di Kulfi" which is a Punjabi version of the sentence "Roshan's Kulfi" (How insightful was that !!!!)...I devoured a Chole Bhature ka plate followed by a Kulfi Falooda....There is nothing which beats Kulfi Falooda at Roshan's ...if I make a list of 50 things to do in Delhi...this would be in the top 5.

Anyway, I leave for orientation of the class of 2009 day after. Seems like yesterday when our orientation got over....! There is this negative thought about ISB that persists in my mind ....I think I will blog about it later on....everyone's in a happy mood right ...and so am I !

Nightie Night!

Life Post ISB...

2008-04-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Come over to Krishna's ....we have some beer and we are watching F1". Sagar called me and said these exact words as I was just about to finish up with the last bit of my packing. As I walked out on to the lawns of SV1, I saw a "GATI" truck and tons of boxes and pieces of luggage. The lawns had a very forlorn look to them...everything seemed a lot less brighter. I also made a trip to the atrium on the last day ...and trust me I have never had a sicker feeling in ISB. The atrium was like a cemetry, it was dead quiet and absolutely without any people. I remembered it from the days of core terms or from the days of b-school competitions. It used to be the hub of all activity. Anyway, then I headed to my last meeting. Krishna's quad had Neha, Sagar, Anubhav, Anmol and Khyati....they all were having beer and watching F1 but they all had the same sad look on their face. It was a tough watching so many people leave within a space of two days. The last party at the events lounge went on till 7 AM....what a blast that was....saw half a dozen people with tears in their eyes...telling you it was a very tough week....!

Now I am in Delhi...being so jobless...have channel surfed about 50 times...had about 4 major and 3 mini meals...taken a walk ....checked my gmail/yahoo/orkut/facebook about 2 times each..! Miss the picturesque view from my room window...but then hey it is a brand new day and a brand new life...Have to make the most of it....

I know most of the people from the class of 08 would be missing ISB terribly...but then guys why are we sad that we all are no longer at ISB...shouldn't we be happy that all of us got a chance to be there in the first place....To more reunions....!

P.S. - At ISB, I used to crave for sleep ....right now, its almost the perfect setting for a 10 hour nap in my room (in my house in Delhi) ...and I am completely wide awake....hmmm!

This is the end....my friend

2008-04-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

The sun is about to set .....

Mr. Jim Morrisson said long ago...

This is the end,

Beautiful friend,

This is the end,

My only friend ... the end

All good things must come to an end and so does ISB...this might be my very last post from ISB premisis (I will see if I have the time and inclination to pen down another post). The blog was called "ISB and more" and now that I have talked about ISB quite a bit, the emphasis will shift on "more" in about a couple of weeks.

So when I look back what do I have to say about this year which was by far the toughest year for a lot of us....well here goes..

1. For me personally it was a tough year. I was a good student in school and an even better one in college. I used be in the just about every activity in school and college. But then you come to ISB and you are asked to compete with 400 individuals who are exactly like that and even more. In that way ISB was a great humbling experience.

2. The network is something that I really enjoyed. Getting to know so many people from every background was an experience I had never had. I would suggest anyone who is going to be a part of this institute to attend batch/section events and get to know people on a personal level too. The only thing to note is that the way to sustain and utilize such a network depends on how you keep in touch after college too...hope I am able to keep in touch with most people.

3. There are somethings which I wasn't too happy about as well. Sometimes the competition is too intense for a non sensical reason. Sometimes people think its nice to be important but not as important to be nice. Sometimes there is overhype which can easily be avoided. But then you take the bad with the good.

4. I would like to emphasize that although I come across as being slightly less enthusiastic about studies, I think one must put in a good amount of effort there. I dont say grades, as grades have had no correlation with the salaries or roles received this year. I say studies as there are some wonderful, practical things to be learnt and the faster you learn it the more fun it will be.

5. In the end, squeeze out life at ISB. If you are an insomniac its even better. But do loads of things from studies, to club activities, to parties, to getting drunk in the afternoon, to sports, to watching cricket in the quad, to doing nothing during term breaks, to taking trips....life may or may not be too short but this one year just flies by!

So that's it friends...I just came back from a 3 day beautiful holiday at Dandeli forest reserve by the way. Did rafting, rappling and treks et al. Loads of fun that!

Yeah so that's it. Have this amazing in built capability of being numb during good bye times. So inspite of the fact that I will miss blogging about ISB from the comforts of my room and letting my fingers connect with my brain, I dont feel emotional...just numb.

So Class of 2008, cheers to all of you and all the best for a wonderfull life ahead.... I have heard a lot of proverbs about life but the one that has really stuck in my head is that "No pain, No gain". So now that the pain is over....get ready for the gains...

Class of 2009....all the best to you all too....see you during orientation....

And to the other people....well the journey has just started....keep reading...!

Adios Amigos and good bye till the next post from wherever!

100 % MBA

2008-03-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

8 terms -

A total of 31 subjects -

Each subject with 10 classes each -

Each class worth 2 hours of precious time (opportunity cost funda) -

That makes it - 31 x 10 x 2 = 620 hours...

And here I am on the 27th of March ,2008 sitting through the last 2 hours of those 620 hour figure...

It was the 29th of April, 2007 when I guess I attended the first class in Term 1 the suject being "Financial Acounting in Decision Making"...

And then began the struggle...assignments, group meets, b-school competitions, interview prep and the blah blah...I think I can finally say that I am a 100 % MBA...!!!

p.s. - Yeah..I have no end terms, no take home assignments...come 2.30 PM today...and I will be done with Term 8...kinda wierd feeling taking over me right now...not sad, not happy ..just blank!

Where do I start...

2008-03-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Balle to the most freakin' amazin' Holi (Location - SV3 mirror pool)

This has been one big helluva break from blogging. Not that I was up to anything constructive just that I was having some good fun. Term 8 has totally lived up to expectations. No worries, not many assignments and everyone chilling. This weekend was another historic one. And I associate historic with the kind of Holi celebrations we had on campus this Saturday. The dhol, the DJ, the food, the people, the water sprinklers, the drinks, the ambience was just about perfect. The scene at SV3 mirror pool from a distance was almost undescribable. I am sure that this was the best holi I celebrated and might be the best one that I will celebrate for a long time to come. And that is where the saddest part of the weekend was. I mean the Holi celebrations and the party on Thursday night were so good that suddenly on Sunday night it dawned on me that life will be so mundane suddenly after ISB. No Thursday night drunken revelries, no "killer" sessions in SV1 lawns, no ganging up in each others quad and doing nothing for hours. But then I have left a hostel (my engineering college one) in the year 2003 and trust me it has to be the hardest thing I did. Whether leaving ISB has that same kinda feeling in me remains to be seen.

The rest of the weekend was spent in a wonderful party on Thursday night, followed by the movie screening of "Once Again"on Friday - a 2 hour movie made by one of my batchmates. Considering how pressed we are for time and what the budget for the movie was the effort was just amazing. Went out to dine to a couple of places on the weekend....Zafraan Exotica...loved their Murgh Makhani ...and Laguna (for thier brunch)..where the food was just bordering between horrible and yeauuuuuch !!!

The other thing is that I will be staying back or rather coming back for orientation. Imagine seeing 400 odd new faces in this campus. In a poetic sense, ISB is slightly brutal for it is so grand, picturesque and beautiful but then it is so professionally run that one day after graduation and you have to leave campus. It starts preparing itself for a brand new set of people even when the current batch has not thought about leaving. It doesn't allow time for you to say good bye to such a wonderful institute.

All the gyaan sessions that I talked about will definitely happen on the blog. But for now .....that's about it !

The countdown has begun...

2008-03-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

So today is March 16th of 2008. I guess in an another 14 days all classes will be over. Term 8, has such freedom in the air that inspite of just 14 days remaining attending classes has become such a pain. After 14 days will come the last week on campus. Something called as the disorientation week. ISB authorities not only want the date but the time at which you will leave campus just to make sure that you are out. The stage is set for the class of 2009. I am sure another set of dynamic and brilliant individuals soon to be a part of ISB. I can almost feel how excited one is before you join a b-school and that too such a great one.

This weekend was another one where we did everything but study. Just loaded EA sports ka cricket 2005 on my laptop which makes me sleep at 5 am every morning. Went for the dinner at a batchmate's place last night and boy boy did all of us have a good time. I mean the food was just about perfect and the drinks , well just about strong. This was followed by a short trip to the nightclub touch which was so crowded that it was like being in a can of sardines or rather a sauna. The highlight of the trip was seeing the new indian cricket star Rohit Sharma at touch. Priyanka kudos to you for having spoken to him.

Really wonder what I should write in my last blogs from ISB. I remember back in office, before joining ISB, I used to follow blogs very regularly. I think blogs are best when they are honest. Would you all ever want to read about a blog where I discuss my views on "Child Marriage"...well if I was Taslima Nasreen maybe then you would wanna but not otherwise. I try to write about things which are for public consumption. Mine is what you call a "Masala Blog". I write coz I want people to read, even if I dont read it, people should. Anyway I am about to start writing about my entire experience at ISB starting day 1 over the next couple of weeks. Let me go out with a bang !

Happy Birthday to me....

2008-03-10T23:15:00.000-07:00

And yesterday, the 10th of March happened to be my birthday...! Wanted to put up this post yesterday but due to astonishingly low levels of blood in the alchohol in my veins allowed me to postpone it by a day. It was a very special birthday indeed with mass dunkings, surprises, cricket match victories et all. Our team reached the semi-finals of the inter-section cricket tournament and today is the semi-final with the defending champions and arch rivals - section D.

Birthdays are an ambiguous time for me. You expect things to happen and hence you are never at ease. Also the phone keeps ringing till a point it becomes irritating. But this times b'day was special never the less.

Here is my wishlist for any one who would want to send me a gift..

1. A 3 BHK in Bandstand, Bandra...ok 2 BHK for those who might find my demands a bit unreasonable

2. A trip to Goa and back with a set of my five favoritest people

3. The trophy for the inter-section cricket tournament

4. The best house music in the world - Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk and the works

5. A new pair of swank shoes....ones that characters outta "Ocean's Eleven" are likely to wear...

These are a few of my favourite things!!

What ISB means...

2008-03-05T21:06:00.000-08:00

As I, along with 420 of my batch mates, move towards graduation day posts like these would become far more frequent where I would be in "gyaan" session mode. There are 421 students in the batch of 2008, I believe that next year it is gonna increase to 450. With every name that you hear off and with every face that you see in an ISB batch comes along a story. A story of success, failure, hard work, doubt and lots of other things. In short each of the stories is unique and hence the respect or understanding of that story behind every person is an art that must be perfected.

ISB means different things to different people. Some might wanna stay in their rooms, utilize the comfort of living in such 5 -star facilities, watch TV and not attend batch parties. Some might wanna go out - Touch, Ahala, Liquids - you name it and be here to have a ball. Some might wanna work hard and not care about networking or social events or any of that jazz. Some might wanna come and be everything a hardworker, a club president, a party goer, a sports freak. Or some might wanna be just sports freaks. The very quick thing to realize and be at peace with is ISB actually belongs to each one of these personality types and they all are equal stakeholders of the course.

So a guy who goes to rec center every evening may find it wierd that there are some people who dont wanna go to the rec center at all but then he has to understand and respect that his own drivers and his own goals are different from the one who is slogging his guts off. Who is right? Both, coz both of them are trying to optimize their times while at ISB.

Just to tell you a very interesting anecdote. So pre placement week I was talking to this batch mate of mine about salaries. This friend of mine is married and has a daughter. And he told me that he would be happy with a salary which allows him to save anough and give his daughter a comfortable life, great education and ofcourse marry her off with aplomb. Now for a moment I was like "Jeeeeeez man! Dont you want travel and perks and client engagement and all that jazz!!!" but then I thought and I was like maybe he doesn't ...mebbe his drivers are different and I will never be able to realize it ...!

When you start respecting people and trying to question why they would behave in a certain way before you question/criticize that way, it just adds to your people skills and allows you to be at peace with other persons' actions. ISB is everything to everyone and it is as much for the "party going page 3er" as it is for the "dean's lister" as it is for the "I don't wanna be noticed to much-er"....PEACE!

P.S. - Posting a pic from saturday's party...pallavi, me and jayati!

The perfect weekend!!

2008-03-03T02:02:00.000-08:00

And after a long long time, I just about had the perfect weekend....lets see why!

Night cricket

That's the new rage in term 8 ...hit the tennis court with bats and tennis balls at say 8.30 PM. Switch on the floodlights and play cricket till its 3.00 am in the morning! Have been doing well with the ball but my batting has gone awry. We also have an inter-section cricket tournament going on. There are 16 teams from the 6 core term sections and they have been divided into 4 pools of 4 teams each. The venue has an electrifying appeal with the beer, the music, live commentary and power plays...and ofcourse all this under lights and great weather.

A great batch party

After the cricket got over this saturday, there was a party organized with the theme being "punk hairstyle". Good ol' me is very protective about me hair so I wouldn't style it up even if the world were to stop. It was also a party where I ended up having loads of fun! The reason was that there was a "before party" at mah pal Sri's place which I missed. I heard bottles of Tequilla were devoured at the "before party" and hence most people reached the party absolutely drunk whereas I was sane. It was fun listening to drunken conversations and watching people dance "like no one's watching". It was also a kick ass party coz the DJ was playing some killer house music and I just love house!

And the icing on the cake...

What else could you ask for? That you wake up on a Sunday after loads of alcohol on a Saturday and have an India-Australia match to look forward to which starts at 9.00 AM and that too a final. What else? That India actually wins that final and Sachin scores a century!

Last but not the least...

I had a small assignment to do which was due for submission on Monday morning. The subject was called "Leadership Lessons from World Literature". The course along with the professor, Rajeshwar Upadhyaya is fantabulous. I had to make a presentation on the Greek epic, Odyssey. Two things..

a) The Odyssey is a kick ass story/film to read/see!

b) I was working for this project with a very admired person of our batch, Colonel Vijay. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him even though for a brief period of time. The man has seen it all, he has lead a 1000 troops into battle with Pakistan. It just amazed me to hear him talk of his experiences..be it carrying wounded soldiers or scuba diving. He was telling me how ISB has been a breeze and how he has had a wonderful time. Well considering that he has achieved much more than any of us can imagine and taken on challenges which others can only hope, I am sure ISB would have been a breeze. Sir, hats off to you and it was an honour!

Well this weekend...the gods were definitely smiling

Term 8 commences

2008-02-27T03:26:00.000-08:00

So term 8 has commenced here and from counting months to graduation we are into counting days. Sorry for the late update after the placement season but I was chilling out after 7 terms of hard (hardly??) working. Term 8 was always the enigmatic term. People have plans of doing something everyday. So yesterday me and some guys got hold of a tennis ball and bats at 1. 30 am in the morning and played till 6.00 am in the morning after which all of us hit coffee day, had an iced eskimo and went of to sleep. What a day! or should I say what a morning. It was by far one of the most fun days I have had at ISB. So I guess in that case Term 8 has started living up to its reputation. I am sure this month will also whiz by at the speed of light just like the rest of the year.

How life changes in an year. Last year this time I was completing my exit formalities from Zycus (my ex company) and now I am about to complete my exit formalities from ISB. Wonder what will work in consulting at Accenture be like. There are rumors that about 40 % of the batch has got placed in Mumbai. This inevitably means that any night outs on Saturdays in Mumbai is going to make you bump into a dozen ISBians. Mails have started flowing around asking resident Mumbaikars to help out in search of apartments.

I don't know whether I will staying back for orientation week for the CO 2009. I guess I won't due to some stupid ISB policies; anyway all the best to the next batch. More gyaan from me will flow during the rest of the month about the what's hot and what's not at ISB. I will probably move to Delhi to spend some much needed time at home and then probably go for a short holiday. Then over to Mumbai once again to start a mad life in the mad city! Yeiiii...

Hayden called Harbhajan an "obnoxious little weed" ...I request all Indians to do two things in response

- Pray India beats the Aussies in the best of 3 final

- Aussies are given the most unhospitable treatment when they come to India next year

Till then I will carry on my night cricket escapades !!!

P.S. - Just finished watching the movie Sliver...Wierd ass shit that movie ...but I got to feast my eyes on Sharon Stone who incidentally shares her birthday with another great looking personality...ME !!

The Placement Week - Wrapping it up

2008-02-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

So as of now, only 5 % of the batch remains to be placed. The main reasons for those 5 % are

- They might be looking for something very specific
- They would have offers from companies outside the placement process
- They would have opted out of placements to become entrepreneurs

Well intelligent reasons all of them...
So how have the placements been this year? I am a small time blogger and to answer such a big question would be flirting with danger. But then most of the people have got amazing packages and terrific roles. Anyway I have been trying to cover placements in detail so I will end it all by penning down my takeaways from the entire process

DISCLAIMER - These are my views only and in no way (even if conicidential) do they represent the views of the school or any person I may have interacted with at ISB

1. Its hype
I really could not understand the fuss about placement week. I agree that there is trauma of not getting shortlisted and not making it through to the interview rounds...but then when you are competing with 400 of the best minds in the country, it will not be a cakewalk. Even many of us just fret when we dont get a shortlist. Rather than spending time by brooding the best thing to do is to start refining your Resume and customizing your EOIs. But trust me dont fall for the hype.

2. Everyone gets it
I asked myself often after drunken nights "Yaar saala naukri lagi ki nahin". Well i asked myself that question because I was drunk. With ISB on your resume, a good GMAT score and decent work ex all of you will be able to get a job.

3. Career Switchers
I know that there are people who would want to get into marketing or finance after having done engineering and having worked in a tech company for say 3 years.
Now if you are a person with 3 years work ex in an IT company and expect an astronomical salary, a VP post and an exotic location ...it's not gonna happen. If you are looking for a career switch be rest assured that your compensation and role will be discounted.

4. Preparation
Consulting - Do the cases....I think its very important to revise concepts from stats, microeco, corp fin, investments and operations...nothing more..
Finance - Just have to read newspapers and prepare you core fin course...although I am no authority on fin preparation as I never prepared for fin
Marketing - Kotler is more than enough I guess...
But trust me apart from a personal interview prep there is only as much that you can prepare for an interview! atleast thats what I think
But the personal interview has to be nailed...writing down of all responses is imperative

5. The Grades question
There was always this question during any alum session "Do grades matter?"
Here is my take on it....
For consulting - I dont think anyone with a CGPA of less than 3.5 after 4 terms got a call from McKinsey and BCG. But doesnt mean that everyone over that cut off got a call from these two companies. I think these are very important for any consulting shorlist
- A resume which exemplifies the skills you have that are needed for consulting
- A CGPA of 3.5 + for BCG and Mac and maybe 3.35 - 3.5 for ATK and Accenture
- Spikes - What you have done, you have done...you cant go back to your school days and take part in the national chess championship again! So take part in B-school competitions, in social events, in sports and you might have some decent bullet points

6. It's not about the money honey !
Well 20 lakhs pa is not always better than 15 lakhs pa. The role I believe is most important. Do ask yoursellf if this job will keep you going for the next 2 years ! Measure your exit options, the work life balance, the industry rather than just counting the number of zeros...In our batch people have rejected McKinsey for other options !

Anyway I have given too much gyaan...from next post onwards it will be just about all chilling out @ ISB...and trust me you would wanna hear me on that ! LATERZ

Day 2 and Day 3 and lots more

2008-02-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

Writing this blog at the start of Day 4. The placements are going on at good clip and hopefully everyone should have a offer they want by the end of the week. 50 % of the students might have already accepted offers and are out of the process. Volunteered for a company by the name of Computer Associates and figured out that the work drains you physically and mentally.
In the middle of all this, my heart cries for a very good friend of mine whose brother has met with a serious accident and he has had to be with him at hospital all this while. I wish that god gives him strength for all this and I want him to know that he is a part of a much bigger family at ISB who are with him in thought and person during these tough times.
There is not much to write about as I think a more comprehensive picture will emerge at the end of day 5 to 6.

Day 1 @ placement season

2008-02-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Well first of all news regarding me. I accepted the offer from Accenture from their Management Consulting and Integrated Markets division. I was happy with the role and compensation so there goes. Placement week is over for me and would have wanted to volunteer today but woke up feeling sick.
There were a lot of interviews on Day 1 and I hear about 130 offers were made though I have no idea of how many offers were accepted. All consulting firms are through I guess. There are so many stories that have come out of Day 0 and Day 1 that I can write till the cows come home. I have heard stories of dramatic turnarounds, horrific endings and funny happenings. I know that there are some students from the batch of 2009 who read my blog and here are the things that I would just want to tell them before they even start with the placement week.

- The placement week is over hyped. I dont mean one should not prepare but please associate no crazy thoughts with it. Everyone gets a job.
- Grades are important for consulting but trust me there is no guarantee that one will make it through to consulting just on the basis of grades
- All should have realistic expectations before coming to ISB. People with 3 - 4 years work ex. come and demand salaries 4 - 5 times of what they were earning before. Some might get it too (lucky stars maybe) but is it reason for disappointment when someone doesn't...NO EFFIN WAY!

I am sure I will have a lot to say and write before the week ends...I will keep you all posted...

Day 0 - You Win Some, You Lose Some

2008-02-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

What a day it has been! tiring to say the least! Day 0 just wound up here and the consulting firms have started eliminating people after multiple rounds of interviews...Joy for some, sorrow for the others, misery for some, elation for the others...But people hang in there...nothing is the end of the world. On a lighter note I have never ever seen..

- So many black suits on a single day

- So much rescheduling of time slots

- So many people walking around in a "I am dazed" look

Here are my experiences...

Company - HUL

Role - Supply Chain Manager

No. of Interviews - 1

What I thought of to be a personal interview and a light hearted chat turned out to be a stress interview...the guy (interviewer) wanted global gyan and how

In a span of 30 minutes he asked me

- How will the Beijing olympics impact the commodity market in India? Screwed

- What is the state of the retailing industry in India? Screwed

- What is the exchange rate between a yuan and a dollar? Knew something..

- What is supply chain? Managed to save my skin

- How many million Euro is 100 crore INR? Messed this one up...silly me

- What is the one dirty thing I have done in life? (I dont know what he exactly meant)

- Why supply chain ? and other blah blahs...

Result - S.C.R.E.W.E.D. Got a first round ding from HUL...they told me to *beep* off!

Company - Accenture
Role - Analyst
No. of Interviews - 3

Gave three interviews with Accenture. Most of the panel was really sweet in all the three interviews. Had to solve around 3 cases and then had a PI. But thankfully have made to round 4 which starts tomorrow again!

The mind is numb, the eyes are weak...but have to stand up and be up and running to avoid getting eliminated in the last round of Accenture tomorrow...its a game show out here ! Who dares wins !

P.S. - Just heard in hush hush voices that unofficial offers to people have started pouring in! Yeeii...way to go mates!

On to Day 1...ADAG, Barclays, Aditya Birla, Amazon, Citigroup, Enam, ICICI and Morgan Stanley to join in the fun tomorrow...best of luck to all interviewees...

One step closer...

2008-02-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

All right...so now we have moved into touching distance with placement week...Day 0 is tomorrow and the there is a nervous buzz on campus now .... the atrium is totally empty...no one is talking any academics at all...just shortlists and interviews...! The application count has reached a whopping 12000+ by now! Day 0 will have some of the biggest names in corporate India trying to screen the class of 2008. From McKinsey, BCG and ATK to Hindustan Unilever, Barclays Bank, ITC and Microsoft alongwith so many others. Over 200 companies in the next 4- 5 days...hmmm!

Today we had a mock interview day organized by the consulting club where each student interviews 3 of their batchmates and then gets interviewed thrice...the whole thing functioned like a well oiled machinery...very VERY good effort that

I somehow feel that the entire student body at ISB functions like a stock market...once you hear that a role in a company is good..the news spreads like wild fire...the result is that 75 % of the batch ends up applying...then again if one person gets the news that the alum who joined a particular company last year is not happy with the compensation...boom..share prices for that company fall like hell...

Anyway ...wish me luck for day 0 ...have HUL and Accenture lined up!

And yeah Happy Valentines...

Placement Fever Baby!

2008-02-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, and everyone is by now thinking of just one thing...And that is "Where are they going after the next week is over". Inspite of ISB being ranked as the 20th best school in the world, the mad rush for jobs is something to see. I have planned to cover the madness of the days leading up to Day 0 and beyond in detail on my blog so that years down the line when I read it, I can say "I was there"

- All the consulting and I - banking companies will set up camps on day zero considering that they have a large number of people to interview and lots of interview rounds

- Day 1 is when other diversified companies and other niche consulting firms start coming to campus. I think 50 % of the batch should be placed by end of Day 1

- Day 1 is also the day when most of the counter signed FIFs (Final Interview forms) will be released by CAS. I have always always ALWAYS doubted this rule coz it makes no sense to me

- From Day 2 onwards the scene gets quite interesting as pressure will really start kicking in seeing other people get placed

- However, in the end of it all... I just hope that anyone who is reading this blog gets the job they want...but then its hard to get 421 people placed and even harder to make them get jobs that they actually wanted

I had the wierdest interview yesterday...Holcim in its second round told me that they will get back to me in two weeks and inform if I have made it to round three ...and then they sent me a ding letter !!!! Strange is the word...and stranger it shall get !

87.5 % MBA

2008-02-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Term 7 got over yesterday. It was by far and I mean by far the most chilled out of all terms. I had taken three courses, 2 of which had no end term exams and no final project submissions. With that I am left with a near-20 day gap till classes start again. I just have to prepare now for interviews and keep applying to the few jobs I am interested in. While I am writing this piece my mind keeps going back to the day when Term 1 exams had just got over. I never thought the move from 12. 5 % to 87.5 % will be so fast. Anyway now that it has happened, great ! I was watching an Imran Khan interview where he said "People who live life getting nostalgic about the past are more unhappy than other people". Hmmm! I guess I have some learning in store there.

People on campus have already started thinking about what all they will do in Term 8. Back Pack trips to Goa, a night full of tennis and beer at the tennis courts, tonnes of movies every night. Well it should be reason enough to celebrate considering that placements would be over and never again will we all be in a school again atleast not with the same set of people and the amazing surroundings. I really do hope that everyone gets the jobs they want. I dont want to sound preachy here but then the very fact that ISB adorns each of our CVs for the rest of our lives is the best thing before any job or any role.

Rest all is chilling. Sometimes I blog because I feel like writing. Today I feel like writing and how. Just came back after a heavy breakfast, its over cast and cold in Hyderabad nowadays and on such days ISB actually looks like a European castle more than an MBA school with its amazing lawns and short bridges and stuff.

Mom, if you are reading this blog...I will start preparing for PI from today..trust me! Rest all is fine...happy 87.5 % folks...just one eighth more to go !

Calmness amidst the Rush

2008-02-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

What the campus is doing...
Preparing for placement week with eyes closed...industry analysis, case prep, marketing...shoo shaa !
What Mr. Kaustubh Verma is doing..
Getting up late, watching TV, playing tennis...and yes youtube.com

What ths campus is worried about...
Which job? What profiles? What salary?
What Mr. Kaustubh Verma is worried about ..
Will India's young one day team be able to stand up down under?

What the campus will do after placement week is over...
P.A.R.T.Y.Y.Y.Y.Y.
What Mr. Kaustubh Verma will do after placement week is over...
Start applying for jobs..

What the campus wants to do in the next 5 years...
Take corporate India by the scruff of their neck..
What Mr. Kaustubh Verma wants to do in the next 5 years...
Backpack from Sikkim to Jaisalmer

I mean seriously, I am worried now..but the placement season is well on its way...the placement preamble is out (some nitwit made it), the tiering of the companies is done, people are talking DAY 1/DAY 0 and all..phew ! I better start doing some PI now...

Anyway here is my state..
Arecelor Mittal - 1st round dinge
Holcim - No news after 1st round...
ETA Star - 1st round dinge
Punj Lloyd - Day 1
Accenture - Day 0 ( Boo Hoo ! )
Global E - procure - Signed the FIF ...fingers crossed...

Till then its trying to act as if I have placements coming up, spending some time in the library and making some PI notes and all...

By the way I lost in Tennis today...yet again ...6-1, 6-2..I will improve !

Feb we met !!

2008-01-31T23:46:00.001-08:00

I AM ON A MOVIE WATCHING SPREEEEEEEEE !!! (LOVIN' IT)

So will Feb be the month when the destiny of our lives is decided ? Noooooo way...Have a look at this....when you are in the 10th standard ...u feel that the board exam is the end all and be all of life...cousins you dint know existed are calling to wish you all the best....your parents are contemplating a trip to Vaishno Devi...look back at it now...what were the board exams...what was the fuss all about....

With B-School placements, I am sure it will be the same thing ...ok so you wont get a 30 lakh + job...SO? you might get an opportunity to date the CEO's daughter 2 weeks into the new job...it all evens out man..! No, but seriously all the b-school placement hype is the media who cant look beyond pay cheques....anyway

I do not , repeat do not bash the media. It has become a trendy thing to do that. But, but ...but there are times when responsible editors comeup with the most random bull shit you would have ever heard of....

There was an SMS poll on CNN IBN asking the question " If India is a bully in World Cricket"? So its an Indian news channel asking somewhat an anti-India question from a primarily Indian audiance. The results 40 % said YES and 60 % said NO....and the dumb ass news reader says "Clearly all of you believe that India is not a bully..." I mean SHUT UP !

Anyway its been a happy week, got one more short list...have about 5 till now ....got dinged in 2 first round interviews already! Lets see what happens....but the worrisome part ..I dont prep at all ...

Just day before yesterday I came back from class at 5 , played tennis for 2 hours and came back home to watch three movies ....

Taare Zameen Par ( Loved the little kid and the movie, its wonderful to see Aamir handle such a beautiful subject so beautifully...lessons for the likes of Karan Johar/Farah Khan who have made it a point to take the Indian movie Industry backward)

Shootout At Lokhandwala ( Very Impactful again ... though just too much gore...must have seen some 1000 people being shot dead...)

Dus Kahaniyaan ( Really liked it...specially the plot between Manoj Bajpai and Diya Mirza)

Phew ...signing off ..long post !

From boys to men !

2008-01-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

And there are boys and there are men....but there are men who are boys...or should I say BOYZZZ ! Meet the boys who have made "SV1 drinking sessions" a part of ISB folklore.. these get togethers start when most of the campus is either sleeping or studying i.e close to midnight...it ends up with either guitaring sessions, gossip or the proverbial "yaar aaj bahut ho gaya ..". Kudos to the boys who have made normal nights into mad ones...and mad ones into insane ! I would like you to meet ....

Name - Kaustubh Verma

Alias - Chennu

Skills - Writes non sensical stuff on blogs

Name - Vaibhav Roongta

Alias - Recharge

Skills - Imitates Sunny Deol better than Sunny Deol himself

Name - Sreecharan Veeramachineni
Alias - Shehenshah
Skills - Only guy in the world to have done hip hop dance moves on "Dandiya" night

Name - Shubhankar Dongre
Alias - Lukkha
Skills - Mera naam shakti....Mein ek chotta sa nannha sa...baccha hoon...aaoooo!

Name - Sagar Oak
Alias - Jugga Baba
Skills - The name speaks for itself...its never "pegs" of drinks....its "jugs"

Name - Roger George
Alias - Raaaaja !
Skills - One liner king - eg. " Aaj kal we boys are going too far haan !"

Name - Adarsh Jhunjhunwala
Alias - Bond...Jhunjhun Bond
Skills - Useless...!

Name - Anubhav Prashant
Alias - Makkad
Skills - He is the second most happening guy from Bihar on campus...u know who no. 1 is !!

Name - Anmol Puri
Alias - Gube
Skills - DJ Daytripper

Name - Anuj Kacker
Alias - Kracker
Skills - "Whats the scene"...??

If you are a prospective recruiter....hire these people ..and forget that you ever had a company...! now that was meant in a good way...no seriously

ISB : Superpower 20:20

2008-01-27T21:12:00.001-08:00

Yes, It has finally happened ... ISB has been ranked as the 20th Best B-School in the world in its first year of participation in rankings. These rankings were released by Financial Times and you can read about them here

http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/mba

It is the only Indian B-School in the top 100...Yup no IIMA, IIMC or IIMB...which rely more on reputation than student/placement quality anyway !! ISB as a policy has not taken part in any national B-School rankings as it was never meant to compete with the national B-School...ISB's vision to compete with the Whartons and the Kellogs has been announced to the world....Yeaaaaaaah !

Its our turn...its our time !...Rock on...

Striking the century...

2008-01-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

Yeiii...its my 100th post and whoever said its quality and not quantity that matters...well I would chose to ignore that too...I would love to look at all the archives of my blogs once I am 50...maybe I can tell my kids to continue this blog...(But I don't think they will be as jobless as I am...I hope not)

Anyway quick updates...

- If you wanna believe it, Arcelor Mittal dinged me after that stupid godforsaken interview...maybe they did not want NON-VEG eaters

- Have started playing tennis regularly for 2 hours every evening..Lovin it, Lovin it ...Lovin it..!

- Waiting for an interview this Saturday with a Dubai based company...suddenly interviews have a farcical connotation in my life...

- I would have a lot of things to write on people, things, ways and faux pas at ISB during term 8...the reason of not doing the same in term 7 is this word called "Political Correctness"...bwahaha

Thanks to so many of you out there for reading my non sense...i appreciate it when people are as jobless as me !

Fly me to the moon...

2008-01-19T03:19:00.000-08:00

Fly me to the moon...
Let me play amongst the stars...
Let me see what spring is like on ...
Jupiter and Mars...

In other words...
Hold my hand...
In other words...
Baby kiss me...

Fill my heart with song...
And let me sing for ever more...
You are all I long for...
All i worship and adore...

In other words...
Please be true...
In other words...
I love you...

Fill my heart with song...
And let me sing for ever more...
You are all I long for...
All i worship and adore...

In other words...
Please be true...
In other words...
I love you...

Wow !

Quite amazing that

2008-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Loads of stuff to say...

Scene 1

International Hockey player Viren Rasquinha will be joining ISB as a part of the Class of 2009. He has played hockey for India at the World Cup, is an Arjuna Award winner and was a part of the team which won the youth hockey world cup...Hmmm talk about an impressive profile ...quite amazing that

Scene 2

Professor in 8 AM "Advertizing" class - So what is the punch line for Nike ?
Sleepy Student - I WILL DO IT !
Class - Bwahahahahaha !
No offence meant to the person who said it but ya was funny..quite amazing that

Scene 3

Interviewed with Arcelor Mittal today. Second interview for me after Holcim...excerpts from the AM interview

Interviewer - Hi Kaustubh
Me - Hello
Interviewer - So whats your family background?
Me - !!
Interviewer - Are you a veg or non veg?
Me - !!!!
Interviewer - So are you the only son?
Me - !!!!!!
Interviewer - Do you have a girlfriend?
Me - !!!!!!!!

...quite amazing that

Scene 4

Interviews are well on their way ...everyday you see a bunch of people waiting outside some random room ...folders in hand ...wonder what placement week will be like if this is the prelude...

Scene 5

Am in love with the Vodka brand "Finlandia"...I dreamt of bathing in a waterfall of Finlandia last night with " Raam teri ganga maili ho gayeeeeeee " playing in the background! Kick ass vodka ...I hate smirnoff now ! ...quite amazing that

Laters...

All by myself

2008-01-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

What type of a blog should I write is often a question that I keep asking myself every time I sit down to blog. The weekend has been quite hectic so far. People on campus are prepping, prepping and prepping...case preps, YLP preps, marketing preps, investment banking preps...they hop from one group to the other with the thoughts of saving corporate india from the blushes..Add personal interview preps and working on your CV to that picture and you have work for a mid sized army...not to forget that classes and assignments remain just as much with the only difference being that nobody really cares anymore...well atleast I dont !

Tons of companies are lined to come to campus...Pre placement talks are on in full throttle...junta is heard saying things like " A salary of 12 Lacs...that's it ???" or " 90,000 dollars is too less for the US "...Anyway with placement week about to kick off soon enough...watch this space for more bewildering and highly irrational stories...

In the mean time ( during most tough times infact ) I have converted to rewind mode again...If this was mumbai and I was in the same time of the day..(It's 7.30 pm on a Saturday night) ..I would be making calls...Which movie? or Which pub? or Who all? or just What all? ..baaaaaaah !!! I need to get outta this mode by 8.00 pm if i have to complete the work at hand...

Just came back from the session conducted by Ali Potia (CO2007 alum)on personal interviews...could relate to most of the things he said..I maintain that PIs are less of an issue for me coz I love talking...but the issue is the short list...I just coined a phrase for that "APPLY. APPLY. NO REPLY"

In the meantime, and this was just a freak observation, all the McKinsey and BCG shortlists eat, drink, live, watch TV, remain together...its like an elite group of "Me Mac Shortlist...who you"...! I have been accused of taking digs at IITians ...but then you should see them sucking up to alums from consulting companies on campus...!! wow...thats a shit load of sucking up !!! LATERZ !

P.S. - What's a blog without a candid opinion !

So much has been happening...

2008-01-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Life

Just came back from Delhi after a good four days...To say that Delhi is freezing would be an understatement (especially after hot Hyderabad ). There I am sitting in a T-shirt when the plane lands at Delhi airport and the announcement is "The temperature outside is 2 Degrees centigrade". But all in all it was a trip to delhi in winters after a long time and i loved it .....By the way went to a place called "Chinese and Thai cafe" in Gurgaon...and believe me you know you are in delhi (or NCR) when people are doing bhangra on a Deep Purple song in a bar! Saddi Dilli remains.....

ISB

Term 7 has started and the focus has completely shifted from studies and attending classes to preparation for the interviews...and EOIs and resumes...Going to classes itself has become an absolute formality..I have been allotted one of the three subjects that I had bid for this term...its time to do something..Got my third shorlist ...fingers crossed ...

Sports

What a test match it was at Sydney...I agree that Australia is a far better team than India and the Indians could not even bat out 70 overs on a half decent pitch ...but who is Ricky Ponting to talk about sportsmanship?? Michael Clarke...the little dog had the balls to wait for the umpire's decision after edging a ball to first slip...when has that ever happened in cricket? And Andrew Symonds....he should not be too upset about being called a monkey if he looks like one !!!

Worries

Was going through my cousin sisters profile on Orkut ...She has quite been the apple of my eye ...however she just turned 13 and it was pretty distressing to see this picture (Below) on her profile.... question for my female blog readers...is it usual for 13 year old girls to like such pictures...????? Answer needed !

75 % MBA

2008-01-02T04:40:00.000-08:00

At this stage of life I once again evaluate what all I could have been ....

a) The blue eyed boy of Bollywood...ofcourse I would have to be a lot better looking

b) An Indian cricket team pace bowler ....could have been in Sydney right now..with the BOYZ

c) A rockstar...need I say anything more...

As of now I am just 75 % MBA. The song for the season is "Hit me Baby one more time" by Britney...rather "Dinge me baby one more time"...After Mac, AD Little and BCG ...Oliver Wyman thought of my CV as just another piece of paper...Anyway going home today (to Delhi )and not in the happiest mood even though I had been looking forward to this day for so long !!!...On top of that my quadie shouted at me for playing loud music in the afternoon....

Grrr.....life is not right...anyway resilience I feel will be tested over the next month as placement season catches on...I am feeling slightly knocked down already ! see ya later

Closing out 2007

2007-12-30T00:12:00.000-08:00

There have been so many things which have been written about going on from one year to another like how a new year should be able to fill someone up with hope and expectation and all those other positive words. But I have never ever understood the hype around New year..why should the sun set on one particular day and the sun rise on another assume so much more importance as compared to other days...Just because the Roman calender has 12 months with December 31st being the last day of the year, it gives us reason to believe that the day after that will be the harbinger of hope and all that crap ! Anyway everything about new year lacks scientific and philosophical reasoning....but on a lighter note ...HAPPY NEW YEAR...May the next year be full of hope and excitement ...hehehehehe!

So how was 2007 for me ! ISB, ISB, ISB....what a revelation in every sense...the highs were definitely the people, the parties, the learning...the lows were the humongous amount of work and the never ending assignments...but all in all I dont think any year has whizzed by so fast!

However 2007 ended on a positive note for me ...after the Macs and BCGs threw my life's work in the bin...Holcim was kind enough to shortlist me ... its a swiss company into cement production...but the question is do i wanna go out of India....and do i wanna do cement after years of doing oil and gas....read my posts before ISB and you will find out how much I hate the likes of construction sites et all...

Anyway....I am off...see you all on blog space very soon....and I hope I continue blogging through 2008...cozijusluvit

P.S. - Yesterday while studying for my Consumer Behaviour exam...I played RJ for an hour...I used to talk to some imaginary people and then play them a song...studying for exams brings out some wierd mechanisms to pass time !

Of Jobs well done and holidays...

2007-12-23T01:51:00.000-08:00

My very own personalized Santa .....and I don't need gifts no more !

Sorry for the long break and to chill you all out ...wishes for a very merry christmas...May Santa be there for you with a car when all you wanted was a key chain ! May he be there with you with an A- when you were 0.5 marks above average ...and may he be there for you with the sun when all you had expected was darkness...! There was so much happening on campus that I barely had the time to sit back and have my space on blogger. Anyway here goes....

a) Solstice , Solstice ...Solstice - two really cool parties, one really amazing lounge and the most mesmerizing concert later and lots more later...we just had a blastful weekend. I hope every day in Term 8 is like a mini Solstice.

b) "Mac" hoon na - With McKinsey shortlists out a big pain is off the backs of all the people who kept wondering all year long whether McKinsey overlooks grades while shortlisting. The clear answer is that "NO" they dont and that was no rocket science. The faster ISB gets released from Mac Mania the better it is....Nah its not a sour grapes issue at all...I always have felt that these people along with BCG should be treated like any other recruiter on campus...which is not the case...!!!....Anyway lots of companies due to come on campus....I shall wait !

d) Rest all is chilling...Me off to Delhi on the 2nd of Jan and really looking forward to it....and just a week more to go for 2007. What an year it was ! Crazy, maddening , rushed, sickening (at times)...some very extreme emotions emerged....on to 2008...tata!

The Indian Ocean Concert @ Solstice.....Mesmerising is the word

Just an earth bound misfit !

2007-12-17T12:31:00.001-08:00

Do you ever feel that the world was full of insensitive people ?

Do you think that you knew you were right and the whole world was wrong?

Have you ever been taken for granted?

Have you gone out of the way and did something to receive insult rather than acclaim?

Have you been upset and not had many people around you to understand the situation?

Do you think that u were far nicer that this world would ever deserve?

How would you feel if your friends turn their backs on you ?

Are you the kinds who detests politics in any form ?

Do you cringe when you see insensitive and rude people prosper ?

Hmmmm....guess I have not been so cross in a long time now...I am fuming...but trust me tomorrow is a new day and I have been through shit before....

Da Relaxation

2007-12-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

The third weekend of Term 6 just passed - And this was by far the most relaxed weekend in the middle of the term so far at ISB. I just cant believe it that I have just one assignment to submit tomorrow morning and nothing else...So i gave my tired mind a break...had two booze parties, slept till 11 everyday and did a bit of my ELP...! Went to a very page 3 kinda party last night and bumped into a friend of mine from Mumbai who I met in Mumbai when he was taking acting classes. The dude has a kick ass Telugu movie lined up and will be releasing shortly...All the best mate

Last year this day I was treating all my friends at Hawaiin Shack in Mumbai . The reason for the treat was me getting into ISB and for them it was not having to see me for another year . They made sure to drink every ounce that was on offer that day. The bill resembled the tax collections of Vietnam!!!

The next weekend is Solstice people! There will be a lot of alums on campus. There was a proposal where the ex alums could stay with the current students in the quad....my list of the hottest looking women in the last 3 batches is out if it comes down to chosing alums you can stay with ! But then it should be a fun weekend...there is an Indian Ocean Concert ( I admit I am not the Band's fan as such but then what the hell), and then there are a lot of sports thingies happening on campus which will be an operational issue in itself....how do you divide 600 adult people into different teams without anyone being left out and get through with all the sports in a day...and we are talking multiple sports here !

Anyway after years on Orkut I opened a Facebook account ...and I found some people I never thought I ever would...like for instance my ex girlfriend with her baby!!! now that did tell me that I am no longer a younger man anymore...u probably wanna go back and chill a little bit so that I can go get some Oil of Ulay ka "Anti ageing cream"....

P.S. - A classic photo! This photo is of all "Prefects" from the 1999 batch of Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan. Spot me if you can...I was a chubby kid..not that I am quite slim now...but then smoking has helped

Oh what a feeling!

2007-12-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

Just saw my yahoo mail with tonnes of mails pouring in. The reason - R1 results for the batch of 2009 have been declared today. I was exactly in the same position an year back ...15th Dec, 2006 ( around 2.40 PM ) was when I received the SMS. I still have it on my cell. For a moment I was numb, but then when it finally sinks in you wanna shout out real loud. I am sure a lot of other people musta felt that way. I think I called a few people up and then went down for a smoke and while I smoked listened to "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclair on my I-Pod. Heady heady ...HEADY !

Hard luck to those who dint and all the best to the people who are on the waitlist ! ... But for those who made it....MarkStrat, Kota Fibers, The Delhi Metro Case, MGTO and the food at the Goel Dining hall await you with baited breath !!!

P.S. - Start practising your spamming skills

It's almost over

2007-12-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

Just a few days back the ASA (the staff managing all the academics) here just sent an email to the batch of 08 to start the bidding process of Term 7 electives. I for one got a slightly crazy feeling after reading the mail. Did they say Term 7 ? That leaves us with one more term and then finito...ISB is passe ! Hmmm...it IS almost over ...I sometimes really try to think what will I be doing exactly at this time of the day 5 years from now..Or where will I be...what state my life will be in...it is slightly mind boggling to even think on those lines forget substantiating it..Does all this writing make any sense to you anyway !

Coming back to the weekend..I had a painful weekend really speaking..just had too much work with 3 major assignments and a B - plan competition...ISB day just got over a few hours back...big hullabaloo with a big cultural show and stuff...Amit Yadav ji , if you are reading this...I think the play took the cake ...was really well done amidst a bunch of really shoddy performances...

Just dont have any thing funny to write as off now...but probably just not in the state of mind as off now...too tired...

A word on the marvellous century by Yuvraj Singh...Picture this, you know you are one of the most talented batsman in world cricket, you are trying to break into an Indian middle order which is full of "been there done thats", you get one opportunity against your arch rivals in a test match, your team is 61 - 4 in the first session, you walk in and smack a 169 with a strike rate of 80+! Sometimes sports throws up the best romantic thrillers known to man kind!

Rest all is chilling....guess what! I have decided to bunk the only class I have tomorrow...need to detox myself of all the work I have done this weekend...so I get up late tomorrow, cook some sausages, read the newspaper and watch some cricket...Wow...its good nite for now

And that's a Photo Blog

2007-12-06T22:46:00.001-08:00

Some stunning pictures of ISB !

The Dome

The Lady in the Learning Resource center

A view from SV-3

I think thats the view from Rec Center

The atrium

Found all of these on the common server...really like each of them so posted them...And congrats to me pal Sri and his fiance Seema....Sri but you still cant mess with me...the party last night was great by the way !

Rise Up

2007-12-03T05:08:00.000-08:00

If anyone can get their hands on the new ( well come to think of it its an year old now ) Yves Larock track called "Rise Up" would be doing themselves a favour. I have almost driven myself to the brim of insanity listening to the song over and over again. I generally do that..when I like a song too much I listen to it so many times over and over again that I am humming the same song in my sleep.

On the work front the subjects this sem seem to be a lot more interesting than last sem. Negotiation Analysis is a treat. Consumer Behaviour has had two very interesting cases over the last two classes. Pricing is I think the fine line between Costing basics and Marketing so its pretty cool too...and why I am "Gyaan"ing right now...

On every other front ...hmmm...life is a bitch..! This weekend after the ILS we headed out to Touch - One real good happening nightclub in Hyderabad...we went to a private party after that which had the most free flowing alcohol ever! Me and AJ got into the most interesting conversation after a couple of drinks...we tried to analyze "why you just cant get talking to any random girl at an Indian Bar"...but then my take on it is that it is an "intentions" ka problem -

If you see a random girl at a bar and try talking to her , she must be like "Hell...how desperate?"...well very hard for people to imagine that if you meet a stranger you are also allowed to have a perfectly clean conversation ! and not exchange numbers at the end of it...but then if you wouldnt have wanted his/her number would you have bothered talking to her in the first place....

In Management we call it the chicken and egg problem hon...!

The rat race continues..

2007-11-29T03:12:00.000-08:00

After a literally blissful weekend, the grind here of term 6 has started once again. There are 10 things to do on my "To do Post it" and I wonder whether I have the enthusiasm to take any one of them on !

So the weekend was good fun, went to F Bar, then did a bit of shopping ...also managed to catch a movie at last - "Goal"....I had the following observations to make

- John Abraham and Arshad Warsi dont look like footballers from any angle

- Bipasha Basu in one of the scenes uses a dialogue like "Tumhe pata hai...Mein bahut sexy hoon"..Cheeez !

- Indian movie making needs to get out of certain mind sets. They managed to squeeze in an item number in a movie centered around football...

Term 6 has come along with a portfolio of new subjects like every term does. Apart from that with solstice and ISB day coming up ( ISB is turning 6 this year ) there is a lot that I would want to do besides the regular routine of assignments, submissions and resume making

I am really excited about one of the subjects I have taken this term. Negotiation Analysis should provide some fodder other than normal curves and wierd equations. I also like Consumer Behavior...

The batch as such is now getting all geared up for placements. There was a batch party this Tuesday and some 40 ppl turned up...there was a McKinsey session happening with some live case discussions so the rest of the batch had a clear choice to make....These McKinsey and BCG people need to be whipped when ISB becomes a bigger brand....saalon ne apney baap ka school samajh rakha hai !

My grades ....I had given up on them a long time back ...now its just a question of saving myself from utter humiliation...I am pretty shameless by the way...so the threshold is pretty high ...or low...or whatever...

I wonder when this fuckin maddening screwing...rat race is going to stop...just when ....alums say people cry when they are leaving ISB...tears of joy anyone ????

62.5 % MBA

2007-11-22T00:43:00.000-08:00

And as off today I am more than half way through my MBA....The music in SV 1 I - 06 ( My quad ) is playing loud and clear...the fridge is stacked up with beer for the weekend...just to drown the sorrows of Logistics and Supply chain ! But the night, or should I say that the afternoon is still young and so are we ! Moving on to term 6...see you there !

The reasons...

2007-11-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

So ok I have been absent for a week now...but I have been upto stuff! I have been upto...well...ummm...errr..welll...I have been up to...nevahmind lets move on.

Exams here at ISB again ! And I dont think I would have underprepared for an exam as much as I have for the exam I have tomorrow...Marketing Services...As my friend Sid Singh puts it " Yaar iss exam mein to wahi likhna hai jo bachpan se seekhte aaye hain "....well good on you mate..no one has ever cleared by doubts so well!

I am looking forward to 6th term more than any other term...well might not be the right time to say it but man this year has gone by like the speed of light...I had heard that ISB is a fast paced course and stuff but before you realize it BANG !...u are in term 6 and placements have started!

Talking about term 6 ...we have the ILS coming up, then there is an ISB day and then Solstice !..Yeiii...so much daroo to drink will be on offer...

Foot-in-mouth event of the day

I called up one of my friends and asked her whats up ...and being the super confident female that she is , she said she was buying lingerie....
Being the idiotic moron that I am ....I could have said a million things to that ..like "what else" or like "ok...hows work"....but i ended up saying "Oh Lingerie...umm...what type?????????"

kill me..please

That's all folks...

The "P" word...

2007-11-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

CHILL OUT DUDE....IT'S JUSTA SHORTLIST !

P stands for Perplexed..

A friend of mine messaged me on Orkut today morning saying that he wanted to apply for the PGP batch of 2009. He asked me the following questions...

- Can I do part time MBA from ISB?

- Does it have a branch in Chandigarh (Out of all the places in the world)?

- Which year am I in i.e. 1st or 2nd...

I mean you dont want to be rude to such people or laugh at them but I wonder did he even go to the website of ISB before wanting to do an MBA from here ! Wierd

P stands for Projects..

I have been bombarded with the number of group projects I have to submit this term and what a bunch of sleepless night am I looking forward to...I wish there was one , atleast one subject in ISB where you can get 100 % marks for attendance...! Marketing Services, Marketing Research and Business Valuation...! The bag of world garbage is about to get heavier in the next week

P stands for Placements..

The shortlists are out for about 3 companies by now...as I had heard from alums I dont see much pattern in the shortlists..more are due next week...I saw a bunch of CAs going to the temple (Deustche Bank shortlists are soon to be announced)...

I am telling all of you reading this blog...just chill..not the best, not the smartest but the coolest ones conquer placements...so go smoke a joint, listen to Bob Marley and chillax !

Now that you know what P stands for....I will do Q, R, S and T tomorrow !

Saturday Night Fever

2007-11-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Its a saturday night...10.22 PM to be precise...the campus is at half of its buzz generating capacity as almost everyone has gone home for Diwali...I just came back from dinner and I have not seen an emptier more silent atrium before...quite spooky...came back to my room and started working on this dumb ass Marketing Research assignment...what a pain...I mean to start off with I hadn't even heard the name of the company...and to top it all off I have to define the companies Marketing problems....Eaaaarrrrrgh !!

And when you are in a state like this...whats the worst that can happen...well all my guy friends in Mumbai just called up that they were at our favourite drinking joint in Mumbai listening to some good music ...such times are rare between guys because generally their girlfriends/wives keep them busy on weekends...and this was one of them..all my friends just chilling at a bar, talking getting drunk....hmmmm!

I have a load of assignments to look forward to and its a Saturday night...which reminds me just an year back I was in Bangkok ...what a trip that was...I think I will finish my work today and drink myself to death !...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2007-11-05T04:10:00.000-08:00

The duality of Human Nature is a long conversed topic. Its been on since ages. As a kid there are no other characters that have fascinated me more than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll of course is a leading man from the world of science, one you would never suspect of bad demeanour, one who is not easily swayed. At the stroke of Dusk , he just consumes the potion and Kabooom ! Out comes the nasty, crazy, muderer, womanizer version of him Mr. Hyde. From killing members of parliament to romancing women this guy does it all. Fascinating aint it !

The other famous movie to depict duality was THE MASK .....Stanley Ibcus (Jim Carrey) is a bank manager suffering one of the worst phases in his life. He is full of self doubt and no body even cares for his existance. He stumbles upon a Mask which depicts the face of the ancient God of mischief for the Inca warriors. Lo and behold rest is history. Nothing is more fascinating than the duality of human nature.

We all know that there is no one who knows us better than ourselves. There is a part of all of us that is hidden, secret maybe even latent ( something that you dont know about yourself ) from the rest of the world. We all are Dr. Jekylls, we live lives of a Stanley Ibcus on most days....but then is there an Inca god of mischief inside all of us, is there a Mr. Hyde ( though not as extreme ) which wants to come out every now and again. Is there a personality type after all???

I shall be wondering !!

The Art of writing a Resume

2007-11-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

For all the people on campus, The "CV" or the resume has become more than a piece of paper. It has become a document which describes the reason of their existance. I had a full off day today (bunked the only class I had) and thus started the mission of trying to glorify each and every miniscule achievement of mine (Trust me their aint a lot...I am a certified Bangkok tour guide but apart from that nothing much). So I went through a couple of resumes before making mine and this is what I learnt in a nut shull

Abbreviation
What you did (WYD) before ISB
What you wrote (WYW) in your resume.

WYD- " Took part in a sack race in 3rd standard and finished last"
WYW- "Actively participated in track and field events in school. Pioneered the alternate usage of equipment used to store agricultural waste"

WYD-" Took a new joinee at your work place and showed him the way to the loo"
WYW - " Lead a batch of new recruits to align them with the business model of the department "

WYD- "Travelled from the client office to the home office in a bus rather than taking an auto for project related work"
WYW - "Pioneered the concept of operational efficiencies at office adding significantly to bottom line figures"

WYD- "Went to a slum as a part of some corporate social responsibility initiative and vowed never to come back again"
WYW- " Championed the turn around of slum XYZ by spending a record 12 weekends straight in the slum as a part of corporate social responsibilty in last company"

WYD - "Had a one night stand with a hooker who charged you twice the amount she had promised"
WYW - " Part of a nation wide drive against prostitution taking key initiatives"

Get real people !

P.S - This is a lighter vein kinda post...for the less blessed ones who thought this was serious...I would wanna go through your resume!

Peace !

November Rain!

2007-10-31T03:51:00.000-07:00

Where I mentally am when the lecture is going on !!

It's suddenly slightly chilly outside. The wind is not that soft anymore. It rained here in Hyderabad last night and I think the temperatures have suddenly dropped. Time for me to get my Jacket out! Having grown up in Delhi where the winters are quite killer, I remember going to school in a blazer and shorts !!! I mean i know youngsters dont have too much fashion sense but then u really cant exploit it!

So how is it gonna be over the next 4 months. We are almost on the verge of the placements now...they asked us to choose are electives for term 6. So basically all that is left is terms 7 and 8. And that's about it. Then you are back to weekends where you can actually go out for a movie on Sunday. I am sure the first time we all go out for a movie on a Sunday night after ISB we will be slightly worried about an assignment submission on Monday morning !

And the second thing which is in my mind right now....Whatever happened to studies all of a sudden...I have not been studying at all...no pre reads, no enthu for CP also and did not even look at the book yesterday. Every class puts me off to sleep. I migrate. I think of beaches, and wine, and sports and se..and then when I migrate back into class...we are discussing things I havent even heard of !

Anyway ...that's what happens when you put a man who loves a guitar more than grades and finesse more than finance in a B school...have said it again and again...just because the star IITian scored 96 in his Investments paper and I got 69...he will never be able to roll joints like me !!!...and there is more to 69 than an Investment end term paper score ...IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN ...!

I know what you did on your last blog..??!!

2007-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

"Logistics and Supply Chain ....Out of the 50 students in the class there are some 25 IITians and most of the stuff after that becomes over head transmission..."

Thus wrote Kaustubh Verma in his last blog ! Dead and burried ...let's move on

The scene - A mid - class break for the Logistics and Supply Chain class. Our Professor Mr. Milind Sohoni is watching the class get back in after the 10 min regulatory break.

Suddenly he says...

"Kaustubh"

Me - "Yes"

Milind Sohoni - " Not OVER HEAD TRANSMISSION yet right ??"

Me - ( After a second of recollection and a pathetically stupid smile ) "Oh !!!"

I guess he knew what I did...on my last blog !...shucks

Coming Back to life !

2007-10-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

AN SV1-LAWN SESSION ...

And then there was light ! I finally managed to drag myself out of the stupor that had descended over me the last weekend. It's not like I am alive and kicking ...but I am looking up. My mom is coming tomorrow to see me. She will be here for 2-3 days. Things I need to do before she gets here

- Clean my room

- Not even remotely have any thing that resembles a cigarette in the quad

- Drink the beer in the fridge ----> throw the bottles in a dustbin outside ISB -----> refill the space in the fridge with health drinks

- Pay some of my friends to talk some good shit about me ...considering its a tough ask they might charge a hefty premium

Anyway I am kicked about her coming. Might get to eat some home food !

Things on the education front ain't looking that upbeat! Marketing Research - will leave that for fellow bloggers NM and RA to talk about..I generally write about gud stuff ...Bwaahahahahah !

Logistics and Supply Chain ....Out of the 50 students in the class there are some 25 IITians and most of the stuff after that becomes over head transmission...

Marketing Services is a nice subject...have a pretty interesting group project coming later in the course , hope that works out...

and then the last one Business Valuation takes the cake ...I mean I sit in the first row and I am totally clueless and sleepy

Last night we had another SV1 drinking party. An SV 1 drinking party is a conglomeration of the some of the best guzzlers on campus from all the 6 sections. The conversations move from the absurd to the wierd to the outrageously crazy. Here are some of the most common topics of discussion....

- hottest girl on campus
- why ISB should not have grades at all
- CP jokes
- affairs
- why none of the girls look at us
- placement mircales at ISB in the previous batches ( its more a hopeful topic actually )

anyway ! the spirits were up last night...it kinda helped !

Where am I ?

2007-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty lost of late. I reminisce too much. I contemplate. I smoke. I spend more time with my Ipod and lesser time with anything else. Of late if you would have noticed, my posts havent been the usual non - sensical funny stuff. They have been strange, more in touch with my alter ego rather than my life at ISB. There was a Dandiya night today at ISB and the colour in everyone's clothes, the sparks in everyone's eyes and the smile on everyone's lips was there to be seen in the 10 minutes that I spent at the Dandiya venue. Yeah ! yeah ! I know "what a spoilsport" you might say. Why wont I wanna wear fancy clothes, twirl around with sticks in my hands and try and make eye contact with cute chicks while all that twirling is going on ! But for the ten minutes that I was there for, I felt like an outkast ! almost like I din't belong amidst all the happiness !

But I have not been up to all that over the last week and worse still I haven't had a reason to locate for my mood. Its not like I study in my room...I browse, get up, go outside and smoke ! and then the cycle repeats all over again every two hours. Hmmm! Mebbe its coz there is no more structure in life. The core terms were like " Everyone's doing the same thing and you dont have a choice ". But now everyone's doing different stuff. I have had to prepare a separate excel sheet that has info about all my study groups for all the various subjects not to forget the other tiny meeny groups like for case competitions and stuff !

Or Mebbe its the bigger picture syndrome. I look at the bigger picture when I wanna scare myself. Fought for a seat at ISB, worked hard for the first four terms, hopefully will get a decent job ( which is all I want really ) ..so what ? or rather then what ? Will that be the start of another mountain climb...competition at work, work-life balance, pressures !

Anyway on an even more morose note , someone told me that Electives are chill....well I dont think so...I have 4 assignments to complete tomorrow. 10 -12, 2 - 4, 6 - 8 and then 10 - 12 again. There was a time in my life when I used to wake up in the morning and immediately check the clock not for assignment scheduling but for seeing how fast can I get into cricket gear and play till the cows come home !

But then you know , that's life. One of my friends told me that I tend to write stuff making it seem like ISB is the best place on planet earth. So this one's for you Pradyot and any other person reading this blog....Life aint always a bunch of roses, in ISB or otherwise...Imagine I am in a mood like this and there is no one around, no beer in the fridge and its 3.22 AM ! But as Sting once said "It's a brand new day"

P.S.- Ruchita if you are reading this one...remind me not to smoke during MKTR breaks...bwhahaaahah

Tagged....

2007-10-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

I feel....like reliving my engineering college days all over again
I dream....that I have scored a Test century on debut in Australia against Australia
I live....life kingsize
I despise....rudeness in people, it doesn't take much to be polite
I love....a great game of sport and the company of certain people
I fear....losing my near and dear ones
I hope....that when people think of me they smile
I try....to be funny a lot of times
I fail....whenever I try to be funny
I enjoy....drinks/movies on a friday night the most
I choose....to be aloof
I can....never let comfort or enjoyment in life take the second place
I wonder....if there are spirits, ghosts and UFOs
I was....shot dead near a shopping mall in my previous life
I will....be reborn as one half of a twin pair
I am....A CRAZY DIAMOND

I am back...

2007-10-15T12:16:00.001-07:00

Of Sunsets, Sand, Shots, Sweat and a Shitload of Sexiness....GOA

I am back. Slightly tired, slightly apprehensive, slightly nostalgic, slightly excited ! Where were we when we last met ! Oh yes I had just finished my term 4 exams and was about to start of with my 10-day-break between term 4 and term 5. I have never had a faster 10 day period in my life. I mean the break just flew by ! But here is the news of whats been happening and whats not been happening !

GOA

A bunch of ISBians (including me) went to Goa for about 4 days. Bike Rides, shorts, beaches, frisbee, Mambos and Titos and loads a good food and drinks were the order of the day! Everytime I go to Goa ( This was my 8th trip I think ) I have done some wonderfully different things ...this time's activities

- Have never ridden a bike for so long in a period of 4 days. 5 of us on 5 different bikes went to Old Goa ...good shit that.

- Discovered a couple of nice places like Curly's at Anjuna and Kavala near Bagha.

- Had some of the most amazing food ( I tried shrimps for the first time...loved it , I also had crab for the first time ...hated it and by the way I had something called Chicken Vindaloo...It was so spicy that it was like sitting in a sauna )

Anyway , all in all I wish we could visit Goa during season time ...there are a lot of places open in that case. But anyway Goa is goa...it never ages , and it's beautiful and you would never wanna leave her !

TERM 5

Term 5 has started here and I have Marketing Services, Marketing Research, Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Business Valuation using Financial Statements are in my kitty. There are not only newer subjects..there are new seating arrangements ( for every class that too ), new study groups and you have to carry your name tags to every class. Anyway lets hope for a happy term 5 for y'all and me !

INNOVATION CHALLENGE @ DARDEN

Before I went to Goa. Me and my team took part in the Darden Innovation Challenge. We had to devise a Marketing Roll out plan for Whirlpool. I dont know how we will do but one thing is for sure, when you sit in a group and brainstorm on a creative idea the chances for a conflict are high ! But anyway in a nutshell...the submission was a good simulation of making a business decision in a team...good stuff that!

AUSTRALIA DESTROYING INDIA IN THE ODIs

What happened to the 20 - 20 stars of the Indian team. Andrew Symonds said that India's bus ride in Mumbai after winning the TT world cup was a bit over the top and it spurred Australia to beat the crap out of India. Look what Andrew has done to India over the last two weeks. But that's the story of Indian cricket over the last 4 decades. They have always been in the league of "Could have beens".

EID CELEBRATIONS

And last but not the least, we are celebrating Eid at ISB tomorrow and believe it or not I ( along with a bunch of people ) am planning to sing Qawalli....hmmm...let's see..

The reason for the long post....Nothing really ....just felt like writing ! ...be happy Y'all

Pros and Cons of a 1-year MBA

2007-10-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

And I think this must be my most relaxed post in the last couple of months. Its term breaks here and life has been pretty chilled out over the last couple of days. As regular followers of my blog would know, ISB had some 58 teams taking part in the Darden B school innovative challenge. Me and my team were also one of them and what started out to be a 2 page document ended into a workload of some 20 + hours in two days. And that too working on it , starting from the day after the exams get over was very very exhausting.

But then since I have some time on my hands today, I can talk about things which are issues I have a lot to say about. I have often heard people talking about the pros and cons of a 1 year MBA at ISB. Or should I say 1 year MBA anywhere vs a 2 year program. Here goes

Pros

- It really challenges you in terms of the amount of work required . Although we crib about it a lot , I thing it will hold us in better stead through out our careers.
- It's a faster way which it is of course but then in a booming economy you would want to get back to the industry asap . Reduces opportunity cost.
- For people who want a leadership position in their current line of work its the perfect course to do. I am not saying that career shifts don't happen , they very well do but then you have to work more hard for a career shift in a one year thingy than a two year one.
- Last but not the least , a one year course generally takes students with experience. ISB has probably the most diverse and super student body as compared to any insti in the country. And hence the learning from peers aspect is so high because you meet so many people from so many different fields. I also think that anyone who is considering to do an MBA must work for about 2 years and then the MBA becomes much more value adding.

Cons

- The biggest con is the grasping of so many managerial concepts in such a short span of time. There are subjects that I have encountered during the last six months that I have been facinated by. For eg. Global Economics was such a beautiful subject and I really enjoyed reading it but then all you get is 5 weeks to finish that up, so you are a bit ...ummm...rushed !
- The time for doing some other work which is non academic which includes any thing from working on a project you like or even going out for a hike or movie is so less. We really find very little time to explore our campus also.

Wow what a long post I just wrote , tired !

50 % MBA

2007-10-04T04:41:00.001-07:00

Reaching the half way stage

And finally after 4 core terms we reach the half way stage. Just came back after writing the 2 exams - SAIT and MGTO and have another two to write tomorrow. As is the "culture" ( I hate that word all of a sudden ) with my blogs I confess that I will be too drunk tomorrow to even realize that I am doing an MBA , forget remembering the fact that I have done half of it.

This is the toughest day of any term by far when you have written two papers ( which equal 4.5 hours of intense concentration ) and you have another two to go. Right now my eyes are blurred , my head is hurting and I can puke at the sight of another book but then I think the decision to do a one year MBA has its exhausting moments ! Anyway ...more posts later !

Last day for Sec "C"

2007-10-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

We Danced together.....

The partying had its side effects....

But then we said the bye bye's together too....

There were some "Talli" times .....

But then ...in the end ....we were just one mad section !

Today was the last day of Core Term classes ! How we moved on from a bunch of strangers to a bunch of people having great fun in class and outside it was amazing to experience. From the Baba Ramdeo's ( only Sec C can understand that ) to the Rocky Mountains ( again only Sec C ) ....We have had a smile to share and a story to tell after all classes...! Years down the line when I talk to someone I hope I am able to say ..

" You know , the CEO of XYZ Corporation...he was in my section in B school "

All the best for the end terms y'all ...love

Approaching the midway terrain

2007-09-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

That 70s Show @ ISB

Again I blog after a substantial gap but then thats life ! Sitting in the LRC now and trying to study for an Investments quiz due in about 2 hours. Was just thinking about a comment someone mentioned in the mess today

She - " Dude, I like your blog"

Me - " Oh , Thanks"

She - "It's what I call a Masala Blog"

Me - "Masala Blog...&^*(*#$"

So how should I open my blogs now "Welcome to a new post on your daily doze of masti and masala "!!...

Talking about life here...well another term has zipped by and I mean it was not just because of the work pressure ( which I must say was a relief after term 3 ) but it is the shortest of the four core terms that we have attended. Just four months into it and we are hitting the end terms in the next week !

The electives have also been bid for , for term 5 . I have decided to manage my portfolio of subjects by taking 6 Fin subjects + 6 Marketing subjects + 3 Ops ! In the fin world , we often refer to "dumb" people as poets and I am one big poet as far as Finance is concerned. My decision to take Finance as a major was

- Most companies prefer Fin majors

- I am weak at the investments side of Finance but I hope I can give Corporate Finance jobs a real shot

- Operations and Marketing seemed like an odd option !

The coming week has work piled up before and after the exam. 58 teams have registered from ISB for the Darden Innovation challenge ! I mean come off it , enthusiasm has boiled over to stupidity now !

Last but not the least I installed a "Stats" tab on my page and had 1000 page loads of my blog in week 1. Hmmm , good to know that so many people read your blog but then it can work the other way if say a potential recruiter is reading it ! Say come Feb and I go for an interview..

Recruiter - " So Kaustubh Verma hmmm...I read your blog "

Me - "Oh thanks"

Recruiter - "So tell me why should I take a poet for a Corporate Finance job "

S C R E W E D !!!

ISB Interviews et al !

2007-09-23T02:52:00.000-07:00

So a lot of prospective ISB students have been asking me about some tips and all for the interviews to be conducted by ISB for the coming batch. Well, I wrote a post long back on yahoo groups on the same so I will try and recollect most of it !

1. Read Interview experiences - Browse through the several interview experiences that have been written over the last few months . Even PagalGuy is an aweosme source for all this . It will give you a general idea of what questions to expect .

2 . Read your essays real well - I dont think anyone will crack an ISBinterview without reading the essays . Advice - Focus on the weak parts .If you have written you were part of a club . Ask yourself why havent you continued some activity in that field . Just read them 5 times over again.

3. Be Specific with your answers - I dont see a lot of this being discussed on the forums but be very very VERY specific with your answers .If they ask you why MBA....tell them the domain and functionality that you would eventually wanna get into . Dont say "Because I want to lead a team or I want to get into a managerial role ". Tell them "You want to get into Operations and mainly SCM . And you want your decisions in these fields to be based on fact and study rather than experience " . If they ask you whatcan you do different from other IT profs. Be very specific again . But do not go overboard. I mean with 3 years of work ex. dont say that I did "strategy" and "made bottom line investments". In a nutshell, have an industry and functionality you have in mind given the choice.

4. Dream Job - You all must have an idea of a dream job. Please read up about the dream company and its operations . I had written Shell . And they asked me how many countries does Shelloperate out of . When I said 134 , I drew a few smiles . So read up about your dream job and the company you wanna end up in.Its operations , coresectors , the name of the CEO.

5. Confidence - Be confident during your interview . Not Pompous .Confident . There is no mantra for this . Just feeling from within that on your day you are the best candidate around. Or one of the best . Feel that way.

6. Mirror Talk - Sit in front of the mirror and ask questions . U will be surprised that your facial expressions are so got damn easy to read and interpret . Plus it gives you a great insight into body language .

7. Case questions - Dont worry about the case questions part ( For eg. How many mobile phone users in India?) . All they test is a logical approach . There is no right answer . So relax . And remember there is a large domain from which the case questions can come .and you cant prepare for all of them.

8. Smile - It helps . Enter with a smile and leave with a smile . Smiling and even a slight sense of humour goes a long way in relaxing your nerves and easing anxiety . It tells the panel that you are not a nervous wreck and adds to point no. 5 .

9 . Be yourself - There are only a few basic questions that you can prepare for Why ISB ? , Why MBA ? What after MBA ? Any questions for us ?5 year and 10 year plan ? Why this dream job . Rest of it ....be impromptu please . Say what you feel is in your heart . They asked me What is my biggest achievement besides work ? I said playing the Guitar!!!!!!!!...Now i was like "What did i say ....moron "...but i guess it was what i felt !!

10 . Read about ISB - The last question will be "Any questions for us " .Please base your questions on the info on the site. Dont repeat the age old questions ...ROI ???...Jobs ???..Salary ???...if you want to get into finance...ask about the faculty ....if you want to get into a company...ask how u can call that particular company to campus !!!

Disclaimer - These are just my views and in no way should be generalized. Post your questions in the comments and I will answer em !

My blog post....8th April, 2008

2007-09-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary,

What a week it has been! Term 8 exams, all the exit formalities, the laptop being taken out of the ISB network, the last round of parties all culminating in the grand graduation ceremony attended by the entire batch and the parents of most of the students! Seems like just yesterday that I walked into this beautiful campus unsure and excited. Time as they say has flown by. Around 30 of us will remain to conduct the orientation for the batch of 2009 whereas half the junta moved out of campus yesterday and I think the remaining moved out today morning leaving behind the last of the Mohicans ! By the way the class of 2008 rocked the placements this year and how.

The 29 of them have gone to see a movie but I decided to stay back ( thought would catch up on a little bit of sleep ) . This is quite literally the worst decision I have taken in some time ( staying back all alone on campus that Is ) and ironical because it comes just on the eve of the graduation of my MBA year ! Ha !

Took a walk around campus and was stunned to see no cars in the SV1 parking area. The mind and the eye were just not willing to coerce on the sudden change of surroundings. The buildings, the lawns, the flowers, the pathways, the lights, the concrete towers all remain…silent, waiting ….but there were no people, no one to look up to and smile at , no one to raise a hand to , no one to have a conversation with on assignments, food, placements, studies..girls !! I thought of all the times when I wanted to rush to my room and met someone unexpectedly …cribbing about the time lost on a polite conversation, I wished someone shouted my name out, asking me to accompany him to the mess or take a walk to the rec center !

Already morose I made my way to the atrium. The lovely wind encapturing piece of architecture was silent for the first time. No one sitting on one of them wooden tables trying to submit an ELP report, no box placed outside the TA offices for an assignment due Monday morning. How I wished for the first time in my life that I see a box placed there. Trinetra was still there , closed . Ahhh ! all those mails on Trinethra’s quality in term 2 and 3. Mannn ! It was like a dagger through my spine !

If the day hadn’t got any worse I went to Coffee day for an Iced Eskimo! Just felt that someone would walk out of one of the elevators while I was sitting there with a course pack in hand. The coffee tasted strange , or was it the fact that I had no one to share a conversation with and hence the concentration on the taste for the first time. But by now I wanted to get Nostalgic . Went to the Café ! and guess what just as it has become a habbit with me , looked around for someone for a light for my ciggie ! I don’t think I was ever able to appreciate these small gestures even though for burning my lungs !

A trip around would not be complete with a trip to the LRC … The images of the first mid sem flashed acrossed my mind , I could actually find no chairs to sit on if I wanted to study in the LRC then ! And here I was, 51 weeks later…trying to offer my life for someone to be sitting there …on one…just one of the seats !...just about anyone !

Went up to floor number 5 , and saw the SV3 Mirror pool..the Thursday night parties were to die for in this beautiful location..but all I have to look forward to now is Friday morning work ! I would give up a hundred other assignments and a thousand other speaker series to attend one more party…to all the people getting drunk together, dancing, celebrating after a week of classes and lectures. Parties that lead to further drinking sessions of a lesser public nature.

And then, I looked at the swimming pool in the rec center ! How many times have I run away trying to escape dunking … It would be so cool if someone could dunk me right now and I would get back at him at the next session ….A slight tear rolled down my cheek ! But that’s ok …Men do cry !

Back in 4th sem , the arts and creativity club organized a blogging competition with one of the topics as “ Four terms down or four to go” ! I think today I realized that it was never 2 , 4, 6 or 8 terms down…it was always 12 months to go and they have and how ! Don’t think can write anymore !!

Kaustubh

Of Delays and Surprises...

2007-09-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

As the sun sets on another weekend..

Sorry for the long break once again. Erratic blogging is a bad habbit and I shall get out of it very soon. Inspite of this term being one of the easier ones in terms of the assignments , there are tonnes of other things to keep you occupied and make sure that there is no extra time ( which is the main aim of ISB after all ) ...

This was an interesting weekend

- Captain Gopinath from Air Deccan was here yesterday. He came in a chopper and all and all the students at ISB were like a bunch of street kids seeing him land and take off !

- Google had their pre placement talk in ISB yesterday. I loved the way the guy started the presentation " How many of you googled this morning " . I think 90 % of the audience raised their hands.

- In a few hours I will be off to attend Mr. Big Mac's PPT ( Pre Placement Talk ) . And by big Mac I do not mean Mc Donalds , but McKinsey and Company. The much coveted consulting biggie on campus.

- But by far the most interesting event was the intersection cricket tournament that me and my friends had organized....we played on the tennis courts which of course has lights operating when it gets dark ... It looked like our very own Sydney cricket ground

And I won a blogging competition organized in ISB for my post on networking ....A professor at ISB complimented me on my blog as well......and just when i had started thinking that people hardly read my blog...no comments over the last 4 posts ! SNIFF

Come on people...show me some love !

ISB on NDTV !!

2007-09-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

THAT'S ME ON NDTV PROFIT

Hey there ! The first week of Term 4 is over and so is the first ( and i guess the only ) party. All the other weekends are pretty tough as this term is a short one and we have classes on fridays also to compensate for the 10 day break that we are getting after the term exams. Yesterday NDTV profit aired an episode on ISB which featured a lot of students. The topics were mainly related to Globalization and Inclusive Growth and stuff ! Thank god for arbit CP we all did a good job to whatever was thrown our way !

Last night there was a Retro Theme party organized by F Bar here at ISB. Awesome work by all those who made IT work ! And after two days of attending events and classes and cricket matches ( the intersection cricket competition is also on by the way) ..today is the day of finishing up all the work that has been piling on my desk.Anyway have a good sunday y'all !!