Reflections on a lazy weekend..

It has been two weeks now. Since that night I boarded my first international flight with a medley of feelings- apprehension, excitement and of course missing family and friends- on going to a strange place to take up a role in an area where I had little expertise. Hong Kong is not really that far from India and my communication channels with near and dear ones are still intact, thanks to the fact that I live in 2012. But with me being yet another normal human being- a creature of habit- any change in my life is generally not met with a warm welcome.

The travel was smooth; the accommodation, though small (as every place in HK is), is comfortable enough. The only problem I faced (and still face, to an extent) was with the most primal means of survival- food. In a place where chicken is considered vegetarian food, we had to go around explaining that what we wanted was something with "No meat; No chicken; No Pork; No beef; No egg". In most places we were met with weird looks from the hotel waiters. One particular guy, who was totally shocked, shook his head vigorously thinking of how such homo sapiens could exist in the same place that he inhabited.

Hong Kong is cleaner, more regulated and definitely more automated than India is. It is a pleasure to travel to anywhere here. I do not see India even nearing this place's standards in the above criteria any time in the next decade. But, are all those needed for India? There is some fun and excitement in life back there. Uncertainty over public transport, unruly traffic and people who always think of ways to surpass rules- don't these make living in India exciting and lively, using one's senses all the time, being alert and in short, being human and not a robot?! 

Any day, I'd prefer living in my dirty and non-automated India eating dosa, sambhar and vada instead of a pack of microwave-heated bread that was purchased after carefully reading the ingredients.

Hong Kong is very good as a holiday destination- not as a place for everyday living. 

But, a bit ironical as this may be with what I have written above, it is living in Hong Kong that has taught me some basic daily household chores! Whether my knowledge of financial markets has increased or not, my ability to cook my own rice and wash my own clothes has been honed really well :) Looking forward to 7 more weeks of this different way of living!

    

'Term'inated

Okay, I am one-third an MBA now. Almost, that is.

It has been a mind-boggling ride so far. Term 1 initiated me to the system and showed me the various aspects of life outside home. But the most strenuous and memorable one was the second term, which deserves this blogspace.

On day one of term 2, a senior at the breakfast counter gave me a warm welcome with "If you survive this term, you can survive anything within and outside IIMB. All the best!". Apprehensively, I began the term. The academic load was minimal, compared to the previous term. It was more than compensated for by the much-dreaded "Summer Internship Placements". Days were filled with Pre-placement talks, pizzas, resume mentoring, preparatory group formation and getting back to school and college teachers to verify your accomplishments that you never gave much thought to, back in the good old days.

As the days went by, the shortlists started arriving for the much-hyped "Day Zero" firms and preparations took a serious turn. The Summer heat was on! Well into the wee hours of each morning, the consulting aspirants were seen cracking cases and making guesstimates while those inclined towards finance were invariably found sleeping with books open on macroeconomics, derivatives and puzzles, or reading up on M&As, sectors and valuations. Newspapers- those non-white-coloured ones we booked in the first term with dreams of reading "Business stuff" (but never did anything beyond dump them in a corner)- started being respected and read religiously. "The Economist" became The Bible.

Those were the dark days when no one was happy on campus. While the agony of the non-shortlisted candidates was obvious, the shortlisted people were bothered about impressing the company representatives and ensuring that they beat the fellow shortlisted people in getting that dream job. There were just a handful of guys cool enough to either remain nonchalant or sign out of the process to pursue their dreams.

Well, everything scheduled to happen will invariably happen whether you fear it or not; so did the "Day Zero" on the 9th of November. The beautiful MDC lawns were filled with people in dark business suits, looking smart at the outset. A deeper look into everyone's eyes revealed the tension within. The following five days were a medley of cheers and tears. Gratitude for the unwavering support offered by the senior batch in helping us all get through those days is etched deeply in every junior's mind. Come November 14th 2011- we were all back to our childhood in a way- cheering, applauding and celebrating the end with champagne!

And the campus started looking more beautiful. Though a mountain of assignments, projects and quizzes eagerly awaited our return to academics, we were not worried. Life was more chilled out than ever. The four weeks from then to now remain a blur of strenuous academic activities, all going late into the night, but done on a light note. 

Surprisingly, Spring has come after Summer to our campus! And it shall stay on. 

P.S. Again, I left the campus for the vacation with the strong belief that friends make life beautiful and cheerful, during times good and bad. :)

Exploring Inward...

"What is this life full of care,

There is no time to stand and stare"

- these lines occur to me daily, as I rush past the lovely campus, on the way to some class or quiz or getting some Assignment printed. 

Just what am I doing here? Is all this madness justified? Well, yes. Once you start to look at this place as something that adds value to you, not merely in terms of academic grades, but something more, you will realize the worth of being here. 

I have been learning a lot since I came here - and the learning that I did for the mid-terms last week was just a negligible fraction of the whole. The best thing about IIM B is the diversity of people I get to interact with. I frankly did not imagine that a CA-CS who quit SEBI would be my batchmate when I mentioned "diversity" in my SoP! What was an abstract term then, makes a whole lot of sense now. 

And my development as a person is taking a new dimension, these days. Overcoming flaws and trying to identify and interpret the true me are everyday activities here. There have been moments of happiness as well as those of disappointments. Overall, I am learning. To Live.

A Fortnight later!

The fervent packing, the farewell, the train journey, the visits to all relatives and finally, the ride to my home for the next two years! It has been two weeks since I spent my first night here in this cozy room (I am one of the lucky few who got the new block rooms at the hostel here) but everything that happened since then seems to be one crazy blur in my memory, with no sense of date or time. 

The Orientation week had me freaking out (Ah! Proof that I am a normal human being!) and wondering why I even thought of CAT in the first place. What seemed to be endless hours of torturous sleep deprivation, now seems fun! The "official" team activities were both enjoyable and enriching!

The next week was a faster whirl of cherished memories. The classes - some good, some globe - end here at mid-day. Aarambh 2011's drama practice, general body meetings and activities extending well into the next day had us well-occupied. There was a point when, walking alone amidst the trees at 3 a.m., not unlike a zombie, I wondered what had ever happened to that kid Shilpa who was afraid of ghosts in the dark!! 

Aarambh happened yesterday and was a runaway success with our skit being very well appreciated! :) The Exhilaration was fantastic after all the group effort! 

As I gear myself up to face the tsunami of Assignments, tutorials and quizzes, amidst other stuff here, I shall do whatever is within my capacity to visit this space with updates on life @ IIMB or some of my insights which shall truthfully obey Sturgeon's Law!

A Memoir

I remember the first night she spent here, in my proximity. Seven years ago. A scared 14 year old, she jumped up at every minute sound- real and imaginary. There was an instant when she almost ran outside, to her parents; but stayed back due to some magical willpower. And she has stayed, ever since. 

She mostly reads in my company; she occasionally tattooed on me, played ball with me and shared with me every exam scheduled for her. She loved to collect Harry Potter paraphernalia and went about it furiously. Then came this queer contraption she sat with often. She fiddled with it continually and the device even sang for her, played movies for her and had her enraptured. I was jealous- her long contemplations, face-to-face with me, were remarkably reduced. Still, I tolerated it. I was happy to see her study hard and bore her occasional barrage of French words at me, with patience- maybe she was in for something good, though she was always cynical about it. 

To the world, she appeared to be a nerd. But I knew better than that. 

Then there came a time when she was in a mild dilemma. She almost left me. But she chose not to, for several reasons (and I am sure that missing me was one of them!). 

The four years following that most fortunate decision have been the most interesting ones for me. I have seen her in various moods, going through phases- good and bad, making mistakes as well as a few right decisions. I am happy to say that I have truly stood by her through everything.

But even the best of times must come to an end. And she is leaving me. She will return, occasionally, for a handful of days at a stretch. But it will not be like the old times. 

Oh, come on. I should stop feeling bad. In fact, I should not feel anything at all. After all, I am just a wall in her room. 

What after +2?

Yet another academic year has ended and a fresh batch of school pass-outs are now ready to enter college. When I saw the results of the Tamilnadu State Board for Std.XII, the one major feeling that overcame me was Relief! 

Relief that I had completed this four years back and didn't have to face the competition of a batch that has produced 120 students with 200/200 cut-off (for Engineering admission).

That apart, I've also been playing the role of a career counselor ( :D ) to quite a few relatives and friends. The one thing that is unshakable in all of them is the belief that a degree in Engineering is the one and only elixir in their lives. Looking back by four years, I find that I was quite determined about this degree too, that is, after my earlier career choice of journalism was ruled out. Did I have any particular reason for taking up this course I've been through these four years? Frankly No. It was one of the best available options for my rank and its "scope" was highly spoken of. Hence, I cannot completely criticize those 198.somethings and 199.somethings for their choice of Engineering. But the advantage of a B.E. degree is restricted mainly to the college from which one graduates. 

The various factors that people consider for choosing among several similar colleges are: 

• Faculty
• Infrastructure
• The most important one - Placements

Faculty- this factor is no longer relevant. Even in some of the most respected colleges, all you find is a handful of professors who know their subjects and are in the profession for something more than the monthly cheque. But it is a fact from personal experience that a really good teacher will make one love the course and study it in depth.

Infrastructure- This too, does not matter and can be obtained with a few hundred crores of rupees (which should not be a problem with the private businessmen who start Engg colleges as more of an investment). 

Placements- This is where the hitch arises. The companies that recruit in masses from most of the colleges do not offer job profiles suitable to the knowledge gained through the four year course. Relevant jobs (the really good software jobs and the core jobs for hardware students) are offered only to students from the cream of all colleges. 

A very important factor that is not looked into properly by the diehard engineering aspirants with lower cut-offs is the peer group. However high one's aspirations may be, if he/she is part of an unmotivated group, it doesn't take long to lose focus.

The gargantuan demand for an Engineering degree is understandable. In four years, you start earning 20-30k per month which most students' parents didn't earn until they reached their 40s. But what I'd give more preference to is the suitability of the candidate to the job he takes up. This is where our Indian Education system's serious flaw comes to mind. 

For a Science group higher secondary student, any degree other than B.E. or MBBS (at ANY college) or their approximate equivalents like the integrated MSc (at a few reputed colleges) is a shame to hold. A friend openly told me this when I advised him against a B.E. at a college that would suit his cut-off. The reason for this - jobs cannot be obtained easily if you are not a B.E. holder.
We all prefer a stable life. Fulfilling our personal passions with respect to career is not as important as keeping our family happy and satisfied with that steady monthly salary. But at the same time, we are not as independent a society as in some Western nations. We are family-oriented. We like sticking together rather than live as strangers under a roof. All these are things I love about Indian culture. But this in itself should not be a deterrent to following one's passions. For this, we need the families' and at large the society's support. They don't need to do much. Allow enough space for the "other kind of" professionals to exist and achieve whatever they are talented to do, in life.

Red vs. Blue!

Feb 14, 2011: Coimbatore was draped in Red. Banners, Hoardings, Boards over petty shops and what not! 

The reason was not Valentine's Day.

It was the arrival, in Coimbatore, of "Times of India"- a newspaper that never had a dominance in the South. The loud entry was accompanied by aggressive marketing strategies, including a one year subscription for Rs.299/- which also entitled you to the gift of a very useful travel bag. People naturally signed up for it, in hordes; my household included. My uncle's family, based in Mumbai, has frequently endorsed ToI and regretted its non-availability in Tamilnadu. They felt that "The Hindu", which is easily the King in the Ring of South Indian Newspapers, focussed too much on regional news only. 

I was all set to experiment this new flavour each morning. Especially, as this was the time I used to scour newspapers hungrily for GD/PI preparation, an extra paper meant extra knowledge to my simpleton mind!  

ToI's entry here was a cause of serious concern to our dear old "The Hindu". They tried to advertise themselves too. Suddenly, many a bus-stop had a backdrop of their blue hoarding with a picture of a cute family reading their traditional newspaper. I was completely amused!

ToI was very articulate. Lots of attention-seeking images and nuggets of news in bits and pieces of message balloons strewn around. I initially liked it. Like most human beings, I prefer pictures to words and it was good to see a colourful paper. They announced a contest "One Day in the Life of India"- asking for entries in various categories- comics, photos and jokes. The shortlisted entries made good food for entertainment. But I realised I was leaving out something when I read ToI. And that something was nothing other than my mind. I was enticed by the loud captions and colours; I took in silly jokes. I was reading more gossip-stuff than real news that mattered. The one column that brought me back to my senses was the one on Parties going on in the city. I was shocked to see that they found it worth reporting who came to which party dressed in what, spending time how and with whom, etc.! Seriously who'd give a damn about all this, maybe except those party-freaks who got pictured in the paper?!  

Meanwhile, my "The Hindu" was still there. Quality reporting. Top-class language ( I once thought I'd identified a usage error in the paper and sent them an email. They called me back to clarify it! Such a huge organization cared enough to clear the doubt of a college girl they might as well have ignored! ) And Absolutely No Gossip. The supplementary editions made good reading, as usual, with no nonsense. There was good humour in the words of Indu Balachandran in Sunday's "Magazine". Wow, I even remember the writers' names as I type now. Goes on to show the impression the paper has made on me. 

ToI's crass reporting became obvious to me when they put up the news item of a boy from my college committing suicide in the hostel. Well, the data given in the report was illogical and did not corroborate with my knowledge of my college's functioning. Maybe they were given wrong facts. But publishing every word heard without giving a thought to verifying the data obtained is not responsible journalism. Come on, which 20-year-old will take his life due to wheezing problem?! Has common sense become so uncommon? The Hindu had no trace of that news item.

Blue has won my permanent respect. They surely don't focus on the South Regional news alone. Which Indian newspaper got the rights to the WikiLeaks India cables? And I'm just happy with the amount of other International and National News I get from "The Hindu".     

ToI, I shall take a leaf out of your book to learn marketing strategies. Your entry was good. But sadly, your core workforce (at least here in Coimbatore) is not up to the mark, to retain the attraction you gained.

Road to the "B"eehive!

Okay, this is it. The post that I have been hoping to write for a long time. The journey to the start of the most exciting phase of my life!

I have written time and again, in this blog-space about my managerial aspirations. 

Many people have asked me, "With a cgpa of 9.84 why don't you do Technical Research or do higher studies in Engineering?". A senior once explicitly told me that MBA is for people with bad academic records in Engineering. 

But I did not see MBA as an alternative to a technical career. It was not an escape route to me. An MBA (or rather the Post Graduate Program in Management), to me, would complement my career. 

Okay, now that sounds like a too wise and polished-for-the-interview kind of statement, right?

But it happens to be the truth. I frankly did not have such clarity when I first decided to do an MBA. It was quite an immature decision triggered by:

• My interest in Extra-Curricular activities
• My inability to do as much as I wanted (and as I could do) in the extra-curricular field due to my being the "day-scholar-girl-in-ECE-possible-nerd" - easily the worst position to be in for a girl with ambitions to hold positions of responsibility
• My discovery of the talent I had in covering up blunders and the joy I derived from the few organizational things I'd done in college

The Not-So-Good Start..

So, early on, I enrolled for CAT 2009 full-time course at T.I.M.E., though I was eligible only for CAT 2010. The classes were fun (though it was full of seniors!) and I particularly enjoyed the Verbal Ability classes handled by a spectacular teacher. I was enjoying English classes for the first time since the heavenly days in Std. X at school!

Though I attended the classes regularly, I never worked at home for CAT. The laziness was due to the extra year I had to prepare. The MockCAT season started for CAT'09 and I attempted the mocks with zilch preparation. Though I knew that the analysis of a mockCAT is more important than taking the mock itself, I rarely did it. The early bird strategy was backfiring and I was helplessly falling down the pit of not knowing what/when/where to start a serious prep for CAT'10.

The Revival..

Then came the Blessed SMS from T.I.M.E. in December 2009- "We are starting Revision Classes for CAT'10 aspirants who joined us for CAT'09 classes" 

And during those classes, which mostly ended on an inspirational note by our QA/DI coach, I got to know Bala who was also working with me for an event in Kriya'10. Post Kriya, we decided to team up for CAT prep. 

And we worked. Hard. Maybe it could have been harder. But it was much better than the laggard state I had previously been in. 

The Fever..

The mock season started. I was scoring mostly around 98%ile, with a rare 99%ile and a relatively more common 97%ile. There was also one mock where I reached the late 80s which left me depressed and in self-doubt. But these scores kept me on my toes and I never lost focus. I knew that as a General Category student I needed a 99+ to get the coveted calls.

I used to work out Quants during classes at college; a couple of teachers even caught me in the act. But, incredibly, they let me off, wishing me success :-O

Prep gained momentum with the weekly toppers' batch classes that introduced me to many serious students who shared innovative ways of solving problems. 

The Test..      

November 3, 2010, was the day. 10.15 a.m.-12.30 p.m. The exam turned out to be weird. With wrong questions and the obscure normalization, I had no idea of how things would turn out. Discovered, to my dismay, that I had made 2 silly mistakes in DI. Waited for Jan 12, 2011, impatiently.

The Call..

Quant: 98.49%ile [ :) ]

DI: 88.77%ile   [ :( ]

Verbal: 97.65%ile [neutral]

Overall: 98.70%ile 

I was terribly unhappy at 00.30 hrs on 12/01/2011. Due to the General category, my chances of top calls were very bleak. But my past deeds came to my rescue and I got a call from IIM Bangalore :) 

The Introspection..

Time for me to do some Qualitative thinking instead of the Quantitative one. I looked within me for the true reason I'd been working away furiously all those months. Those reasons I'd mentioned earlier seemed too childish and irrelevant, though they formed the seed of the thought process. I saw how management was part of every activity we did. Even in our completely technical project "Voice-Controlled Robot" I found a lot of management aspects. And I enjoyed the power-point presentations of the work more than the MATLAB coding- which is reason enough ;) 

I tried to express my purpose as clearly as possible in the SoP. 

The Interview..

The day before April Fools' Day. I'd done a decent job on the essay on Social Networking. The Interview was a random psychometric process, with me voicing my opinions on God-Men, Maoism (enacting a Maoist!), Films and Censorship. It was incredibly short (one-third of the time that every other candidate had spent inside!) and I was not sure of the result.

The Result..

April 18, 2011. A night out with the F5 button on my keyboard. The site was hacked! What an omen! I dragged myself to bed at 1.30 a.m. but sleep was elusive. The results came conveniently after 13 more hours. 

The "Congratulations!" message took time (and ten views) to sink in. 

Well, the work of one year has paid off. And I'm on my way to Bannerghatta Road, to the place which is popularly called the one to "B"e in.

The rigours of the curriculum and activities do look a bit scary, but I am ready to take it on.

Adios!

Disclaimer: A longish one, this just-released-from-the-drafts post might attract "Yawn" reactions. :)

"You have done, in these four days, all the lab work that you have never done in your past four years"- a teacher joked, upon our recent completion of a relatively simple job. This kick-started the cliched train of thoughts which I boarded to go down the still more cliched lane of memory.

What have I done in the past four years?

I decided to breeze through the time period briefly.

Have I enjoyed life in this college? Not really.

Can I quantify my learning here? My non-academic learning should be well over a thousand times my academic cgpa over the same denominator. 

First Year..

Started with Josh and eagerness. Happiness that I got to choose the college I want to join. Getting used to the fact that there can be two Physics labs in a campus and not reaching the correct one on time will result in being told-off. Hourly attendance. Freedom to bunk. New Friendships. Fights. Movies with friends became a matter of habit. 

Second Year..

IV, Intrams: Possibly the best time of these four years. We were never united as a class, both before and after this period. And the third semester comes closest to what can be described as "enjoyable". Subjects like Analog electronics and Electro Magnetic Fields were really brain-stimulating! After all, this blog was conceived while studying them :) Got to know a good lot of friendly seniors; even did my first mini project! 

A short stint at Reliance Communications, Mumbai for an In-Plant training after the second year served the purpose of changing my "Mujhe Hindi malum nahin" to "Mujhe Hindi thoda thoda malum hai" :P

Third Year..

I Block!! The 135-step climb to the classes (while the elevators were reserved only for faculty members and physically challenged students) kept us fit throughout the year! We started working on Embedded Systems, celebrated a "Batch" Day with only the girls and started taking placement prep tests. A tough period for me, for I didn't want to risk opting out in favour of an MBA and simultaneously hated learning C/C++ in greater depth. I preferred Quant Books to "Let US C" or "The Complete Refernce to C/C++" , earned the wrath of the Placement Representatives, being an unyielding girl, went unprepared for the first mock interview (which turned out to be a blessing actually, helping me get in touch with two Great Seniors I still adore) and skipped the second mock interview! YLGC'10 was fun and I decided to attend more Model United Nations conferences. And then there was Kriya. The joy of organizing and seeing my words on the official homepage were temporary. The most valuable thing I got out of Kriya'10 was my study partner. I don't prefer group study usually, but without this guy, my CAT prep would have never gained momentum.

Fourth Year..  
I started planning for my life beyond this college. Fervent B-school entrance prep, laced by occasional studying of Engg subjects (the occasions being the Internals and Semesters!). An enjoyable Model UN Conference at VIT with Bala & Sathya provided a respite from studies and made me richer by Rs.1000 :) 
An incredible first-shot placement success. Several lessons, learnt on the personal front, added to my mental maturity. 
Jobless Project-work sessions. Realization that even without flexing a single muscle for your project, you may gain the maximum score of 9/10 in the Project Review (err.. I'm not sure if this has yet been officially renamed as "Fingerprint-Attendance Review" in honour of the component that counts). You may have broken your leg in an accident, you may have attended interviews or you may have just casually bunked college. Everything seems to be the same here. Absence is absence. Legitimate and Illegitimate reasons don't appear distinctive.
And finally... The Nearing End! 
Am I nostalgic? Will I miss this place? 
The answer happens to be a loud "No!"
There were good moments; so also were bad, worse and even worst moments here. Each of those has contributed to my evolution in the past four years. For these, I thank you, PSG Tech.

Demons on Tar

"Road fear and Exam fear are the two fears I've never had and will never have" - so said a 16 year old Shilpa who was studious and raced town buses on her BSA Ladybird! 

I have strongly stood by my statement till date, well, literally till date!

This very evening, a motorbike screeching past, too close to the right of my vehicle and a not-so-pleasant experience of being sandwiched between a carefree push-cart vendor and a car whizzing along, left me with something like an electric shock in my heart.  Is it sane to call yourself fearless of a blind demon slashing away in all possible directions? 

Possibly, the speeding car that rammed my vehicle's front panel and left my circulation system short of a few hundred millilitres of blood (or whatever quantity is sufficient to soak a sandal and drip over), has made me more conscious and cautious on the road. 

My two-week bus travel post the accident made something of an early bird out of me and on resuming my two-wheeler ride to college, I found that it was actually possible for me to start earlier than (the usual) 8.30 a.m. to reach the 10 km-away college before 8.50 a.m.! Travelling in a relaxed mood, I have been able to observe my fellow road-commuters. A surmise that applies to a majority of them is this- An Absolute lack of a sense of coexistence! Eight out of ten people seem to possess a book of traffic rules that reads:

• Your own job is the most important! Get to it as quickly as possible; never bother about anything else.  
• You may start as late as you please; but ensure that you always reach your destination on time!
• You don't have to slow down at cuts or U-turns; the  moron driving straight ahead with no clue as to your sudden arrival in front of him shall pay for his ignorance.
• Jump the red signals; the recently installed cameras near traffic lights are actually for screening people for bike-stunt ads.
• The noble pedestrian has all rights to cross the road with no regard to the vehicles coming ahead; the road, after all, was built using his tax money!
• "Keep Speeding" is the mantra; "Keep Left" is outdated.
• Horns that sound like a pack of wolves' howling are the in-things.
• You may remove the silencer of your motorbikes, to draw attention to your sleek assembled bikes and your cool riding stunts.
• Helmets are for sissies who prefer safety (haha! what danger can ever befall a hero?!) and don't mind hair loss!! 
• You may even start your bike without a key (well, some new technology will crop up) but never ever start it without both your ears plugged to your I-Pod or Cellphone with its media-player belting out your favourite songs!  

There are definitely more of these and might be observed by yours truly in the days to come.

I admit that I used to be a very fast driver pre-feb 18,2011. But now my eyes are wide open to the road around me. I'd always believed that if I ever met with an accident on the road, it would be by my mistake. Alas! I was shown that there was atleast one guy who was a more careless driver than me. 

Does everyone need to pass through such an ordeal before he/she realizes what I have realized?!

Fear, may be uncalled for; Awareness, most definitely, is needed!

The Sine Curve called Life

Life is such an amazing thing! It has put me through a vast gamut of emotions in the past one week.

The week last started with a visit to the lab where we do our project, with the least of hopes, for we had been going in circles, trying to resolve a recurring and seemingly incorrigible error. We had no hopes of wrapping up the project and were sad that we may have to disappoint the most wonderful project guide one may get. But wonder of wonders! A slight change to enhance the compatibility between certain sampling rates and there we were with our almost accurately working code. We later learnt that a 100% accuracy can never be obtained in practice! :D 

Then came the trip to Delhi. I was a little tensed and the usual thrill of visiting a city for the first time was somewhat missing. The vast Delhi University campus left me in total awe! The Group Discussion and Extempore (where I was lucky to speak on Hogwarts!!) processes went decently well. The Interview's gruelling last part left me apprehensive and I returned, with no big hopes. 

On return, a news of a certain unjust occurrence reached my ears. Though I knew the right way to handle it, I was also aware that I was not mature enough to accept injustice with nonchalance. The declaration of the final admit list of a B school (whose written test I had failed to clear by a whisker) added to my woes and I felt that I was at the very rock bottom, then. No words of consolation or advices of "ignore-it-it-doesn't-matter" could penetrate my thick skull. 

The next day dawned and I was sure that the soon-to-be-declared results of my Delhi trip would be negative. After all, I had run out of luck long back, in my opinion. But I was ready to face anything. Talking to a respectable person who gave me neither consolation nor advice but just hard facts from her life, made me bold enough. 

The dreaded results came in due time. Opening the pdf, I found the names of some famous Puys and felt happy for them. Suddenly, just beneath the name of one of the most respected people in Pagalguy, I found my name and roll number!! I couldn't believe it. I reopened and refreshed the pdf some ten times and took out my admit card to verify my roll no.

I am getting to do an MBA this year!!!  

Well, the sine curve of life has started moving upwards for me. I am well aware of the fact that it will start falling again, sooner or later, but I am prepared for it :)          

The Case of The Missing Blogger

'The Social Network' won Three Oscars today. But its real victory has been on a much larger scale, over this very Blogosphere. 

I joined Facebook around the end of May 2010, basically to get in touch with my old schoolmates and relatives who live far away. But it turned out to be nothing but a pointless chat platform, with most of the people commenting on your statuses and photos being the ones you actually interact with daily! 

The popularity of these social networking sites is mainly attributed to the human mindset. We tend to get bored, looking at long pages of text which will require more time than what our average attention span lasts for. A mere :) or :( on your wall will attract a good number of likes and appropriate comments (albeit in inappropriate cool or rather kewl lingo). 

Sharing photos of everything from your latest lunch with friends in a nearby hotel to a random bee on a flower in your garden, eagerly pressing the F5 button for comments and likes and visiting friends' profiles for updates- can easily be a very popular pastime today. 

Facebook also has other apps. Farmville and Mafia Wars provide gaming attractions while you can create/like any number of pages, describing anything from a popular personality to an institution at the corner of your street. 

Sharing videos, writing notes (by far, the closest to blogs) and getting to send your friends virtual gifts on their birthdays and anniversaries.. Mark Zuckerberg has created (even if not conceptualized) a revolution of sorts in the human interest domain.

Each creation has an equal and opposite destruction. The victim of the latter is the free flow of thought that leads to enjoyable prose in blogs. My blog has been a victim, yes. And I have been distracted and diverted by fb. 

Still, thanking the rusted iron gates of my mind for not being permeable to Twitter usage and subscription to further social networking sites, I shall end on a hopeful note that I shall be back on Blogger sooner rather than later ;)  

Yet again.. Another year in review!

This is the one post that I have been consistent in writing, since the inception of this blog. I remember completing my review of 2009 in a sort of last minute haste. This year I have the luxury of a copious amount of time in hand to collect my thoughts and put them across :) 

Ah 2010.. "Eventful" would be too inadequate to describe this year! A vast gamut of personal experiences- pleasant and otherwise, combined with a world waking up to a whole lot of important issues (none of which this indolent girl has posted about :-/ ) have made this year more important than a mere conclusion to the first decade of a new millenium. 

On the Personal Front...

I have definitely grown up substantially! And No, GlaxoSmithKline shall not take credit for this. The growing up process that they claim their drink enhances, has not occurred! Relationships- their making and breaking- have helped me realize myself. Realization of what core values I respect and expect in people I mingle with, has made me take pride in the ethics I have imbibed implicitly. The second half of this year saw me learning a lot more than CAT basics and 7th semester ECE stuff. 

Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, 

departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.

I have been inspired by a few such great people, who have already achieved some success in their struggle for the well-being of deserving and talented students! Juxtaposed against certain societal equals whose driving force in taking up one of the most noble professions is nothing beyond the monthly cheque, these people's lives and their actions are a lesson in the true meaning and spirit of communism, unblemished by the Ayn Rand-style-hypocrisy! For the Rand follower in me, this has been a good experience at viewing the other side of the coin. 

On the other hand, I have also had trysts with the true-Rand-style pseudo communists who do stuff that are supposedly "good for all", giving "opportunities" to all. Ha! Comrades, Communism is not about sacrificing Talent at the altar of Incompetence!

I had two major losses in the family this year. A friend who came home for the first time early this year asked with awe "Are all your grandparents alive?". I replied with extreme happiness "Yes!!". There couldn't have been a moment I have damned more during this year than that. I have no one who now responds to my calls of "Manni.." or "Paati..". 

I gave the much-anticipated Common Admission Test and followed it up with three other entrance exams. I have displayed extreme competence in one of the three mentioned in the latter part, displaying my acute inability to distinguish between printed words- "saturday" and "sunday". The result of the possession of such skills has been the absence of a certain "Shilpa Suresh" in a certain PDF called the IIFT GDPI shortlist. The CAT is very much on the wall! In fact, CAT 2010 brought out the Humane Nature of the IIMs! To err is Human, isn't it? ;-D

Now for The Bigger Picture..

Let me now tear my eyes away from the mirror and look at the world around me! There has never been a shortage of movies in Indian cinema depicting Corruption! Guess it's now time for the Real-Life-anti heroes to have their heyday in the media. King Cong has  given the sack to Suresh Kalmadi (the genius who welcomed Princess Diana with Charles during the CWG Inauguration :-D ) and Ashok Chavan, on grounds of revising "Charity begins at Home" to "Everything Monetary reaches the society after serving home and family". The currently-hot 2G scam involving Namma ooru Raja is nothing short of the Biggest Ever Act of Corruption in the history of, well, everything. Even Vijayakant has not reeled off such a huge number in any of his statistics-revealing punches! The harmful side-effects of Radiation are very much in focus!

Obama came visiting and took the easily-impassioned compatriots off their feet with impressive prepared speeches and a few diplomatic replies. Say the things the Indians like to hear and they'll love you! Mr.BHO stuck to this wise one-liner and had a successful stint here, hinting at the goodness of India being a permanent Security Council member while his Secretary of State had been more veracious in opining on the issue, as revealed by Wikileaks. 
Ah Wikileaks! The Sensation of 2010. The Talk of the World! I love it for the one purpose it served- Showing a spade as a spade and a club as a club! No diplomatic sweet-talk or nonsense involved. Just plain true facts! For a person like me who has experienced the frustration of trying to get one just need satisfied (and failing eventually) by traversing the layers of bureaucracy and coming across hypocrites and sycophants, there can be nothing more refreshing than the Simple Straight Truth! Don't we, the people, deserve it?

There does exist, one class of people whom I do loathe more than the hypocrites and sycophants.  In fact, this lot's right to exist is seriously in doubt. The child-abusers. How on earth can they even dream of inflicting pain and horror on the blooming buds of the garden of the Earth? I was satisfied to note that one such non-human who had murdered a couple of kids from my town was shot down by the cops.

Alright, now that's enough cribbing for one post, I guess. Let's face the facts. The World around us is Ugly. Unfair. We can't realistically hope for a radical change in a mere three hundred and sixty five days. But we can definitely hope for a marginal improvement in the right direction. The issues in the spotlight now should help raise the public awareness and create a better place for us to live in. Let organizations like "Fifth Pillar" which promote anti-corruption flourish! Let more people get back their lost cellphones like my mom did :)  and fewer if not none, lose them in the first place! Hoping to crib about fewer things in the next year's post :)

Joblessness- Or is it?

The romance with this began two years ago..

As we tried (in vain) to fool the rickety kits in the Communication Engineering Lab into functioning agreeably, I used to throw jealous glances at those super-seniors seated in the Impact Lab, with not a single care in the world- yes, no observations/records,no classes, no assignments and absolutely no written tests! "Wow!! What won't I give to be in their shoes now.." used to play at the back of my mind every now and then.

Come sixth semester, and there was a fresh batch of insouciant seniors out there in the Impact lab! By then, I had made up my mind- No Internship! This kind of joblessness needs to be experienced before I plunge deep into the corporate world, not to resurface for a good forty years or so. 

And Now.... I sit in the same Impact Lab, not knowing what to do, chit-chatting, shuttling between TestFunda and PagalGuy, checking mails every fifteen minutes and of course discussing means to bypass the attendance system. Work on the Project shall resume in due course of time, but as of now, it's just time to chill out and actually sort out those things I've always wanted to do, but never did, citing a lame lack-of-time as reason. These six months, I hope, shall see me learning a few life-lessons (for instance, a life-sustaining skill such as cooking!) and working towards the realization of some long-cherished dreams..        

Coping Without..

I've contemplated,
Many a time;
Those brief instants-
Of madness- I'd call them.

On the way home
In the school-bus,
During Thunderstorms and
Those nondescript moments
Whose roots are known to none.

Imagination is Bad-
I'd declare to myself.
A shake of the head,
And then back to
The bliss called normalcy.

But now I'd say,
Imagination was Better-
Much Better than This.
The Pain. The Void.
Reality makes them Worse.

Those warm trails
Burn my cheeks in solitude.
To dam is more agonizing.
Bonds hurt when broken, with
One end on the earth and the other beyond.

Would it hurt less,
Had the bond been weaker?
I ask myself.
A pang clears my head.

Each smile, Each story,
Each dish you made for this brat,
Each non-pampering reprimand,
Each pet-name,
Is worth an ocean!

That tingling laughter,
That voice,
Those phone-greetings,
That last kiss and the last hugged-sleep-
Remain evergreen. Be it two months or two centuries.

In Muse Mode...

As I read Jan's text on friendship day, realization suddenly dawned on me. This is the last chance for most of us to celebrate the first Sunday of August, as students!
I take a trip down the memory lane, though the heavy Forouzan textbook on my lap suggests a different form of activity for now.

I do not remember when exactly we started celebrating Friendship Day. I never knew its purpose and did not care enough to find out. It just meant fun, pure and absolute, in our good old school days. Running around on the First Monday of August, a scissor in one hand and a roll of "Friendship Band" in another hand, we used to tie the cut out pieces of the band around the hand of anyone we even remotely knew. There was a lot of competition on who got the maximum number of bands on her hand. Some even had bands extending upto their elbows on both hands! Cycling back from school, I remember trying to show off my hand and seeing how many people noticed the "Status Symbol" of any middle/high school kid.
Those days of innocence were gone soon enough and there occured two phenomena in my life- College and Cell Phone. Text messages on the value of friendship became substitutes for the affectionate and eager fingers that tied the colourful bands around my hands. Tying bands in college was "childish" and never practised. We had once contemplated tying Rakhis to all guys in the class ;) but Friendship bands were obsolete!
I feel sad as I respond in the negative to the messages from my school friends asking if I'd attend the Alumni meet scheduled for tomorrow. Though I had been looking forward to this meet for months, it must be postponed now. Whether or not I shall succeed in the endeavour I plan to pursue instead of attending the meet, No One Knows! Hoping for the Best!
Shall update this space on my Cisco-adventure, even if it becomes a misadventure, resulting in my having lunch at home on Monday with alternate plans buzzing around my head...

An Incredible thought that worked!

Placement Special Classes- The words that were anathema to me two months back. I would happily spend any number of hours at KT, racking my brains with Quants while I'd simply loathe spending half an hour doing C Snippets. I was just that way, and no amount of requests or even orders delivered with hard-concocted glares from my PR Yasoda (who, by the way, is otherwise an Epitome of Patience) could change me. "Give me an apti paper; I'll solve and return it in ten minutes. Give me a C paper; Forget it."- was my attitude. Placements were something I had failed to visualize in the near future.
Suddenly the P-fever caught up in our college last week with the much-hyped D.E.Shaw(10.5-12 Lakhs per annum) coming in first and rejecting all B.E. candidates. Along the trail came ThoughtWorks on Friday. I attended the Pre-Placement Talk and decided that I wouldn't go beyond the first couple of rounds at the maximum. (J2EE is considered most basic there and I knew nothing other than a little of C/C++).
After breezing through the Logical written round, I faced an interesting coding problem, upon solving which, I was shortlisted for the Technical Interview the next day. This was where the jitters began! My software knowledge was almost next to nothing and I had to attend an interview along with CSE and IT students who were skilled in languages I hadn't even heard of!!
The interview brought me a flood of relief as the panel member wanted to check my understanding of previously learnt concepts and analytical skills rather than question me on things I wasn't familiar with. Still, unsatisfied with my performance, I went home. After lunch, came a call from my PR- "You are selected for the next round. Come as soon as possible". Absolutely befuddled, I rushed to college, to find Yasoda grinning happily and handing me a "Complete Reference to C++" text, saying "Ithu varaikum epdiyo vanthutta. Take an effort and prepare for this round. Get placed, Shilpa. Do your Best!"
Moved by her concern, I did make an effort to read that gargantuan book. For ten minutes. Then followed a sheepish grin at her. She couldn't help smiling. We put the book away and started chatting! My only preparation for the second interview was asking the questions posed to the people who finished before me in that five-hour gap. It was then that my respect for Yasoda grew rapidly. A girl who has opted out of placement, having no business other than giving me company in the serious Waiting hall, sat there more patiently than me, encouraging and helping me keep my calm. For a question on an electrical circuits (posed to a friend) she even called her father (a TNEB employee) to get the doubt clarified!
Astonished, Awed and thoroughly Happy to have such a selfless girl for my PR, I went and attended the second round confidently. Towards the end of it, I put forth my wish to be a Business Analyst, which, I think, made all the difference. After a comfortable chat (HR interview) and a short written test, the boy PR congratulated us! Two ECE students were part of the Four who finally got placed!!!
Yasoda's smiley-filled message reached every inbox even before the offer letter was lodged between my fingers! She was absolutely thrilled. Untiringly, she had bought something for us to eat, at 11 p.m. when I was inside the cell!!
We exited the Placement Cell, 30 minutes short of midnight, ecstasy writ all over our faces. Explanation to watchmen, drive on a rain-wet road, walk to the hostel, friends receiving us and Food! at midnight :) :)
A wonderful day (and night)- through and through!!

Tribute to the Bravest and Most Lovable Woman in my life

Manni.

That is how a baby born in 1990 was taught (by her naughty little cousins) to call her maternal Grandmother. The baby has now grown up and she still can't think of calling Her Paati or anything else. She is just that. My Manni. A very special Person in my life.
It was a poem that I wanted to write on Her. But I am not good enough to write a poem on a Poem.
Born in an orthodox Brahmin family, She was steeped in tradition; She followed every custom and performed every ritual religiously. She lost her father when She was five. Yet, She managed to finish Primary schooling even in those days. Married to my Thatha who was then in the Air Force, She multi-tasked easily, keeping every one of her brothers and sisters-in-law happy and rearing five children with the meager salary from thatha who would be posted in some far away regiment. She was possibly unaware of the word 'finance' but she managed the finances of the family very well. All her kids were well-fed and very well-educated. I remember Her telling me, a week ago, that She used to feel proud when she saw Her five children study harmoniously under a single light bulb.
She was the Best Wife. The Best Mother. The Best Mother-in-law. The Most Best Grandmother. Always ready with a welcoming smile, She was the embodiment of Hospitality and Goodwill.
"Nee aathukulla vandhaley galagalappa irukum. Enaku athu romba pidikum."- Her evergreen words to me. She loved my constant chatter and I always sat beside Her, listening and nodding, for her stories were always amusing. We did have our differences. I never believed in rituals, constantly questioned their relevance and showed reluctance in obeying them. She used to dislike my wearing pants and shirts, for She was taught to believe that those were inappropriate for girls. But, over the time, She got used to them and She herself bought jeans for me once. A Navarathri gift. That was a festival She always celebrated with passion. And I, without knowing much of the reasons behind the fest, just followed everything to please Her. Our Love and Bond matters more to me than the reasons behind rituals do.
Her Cooking- The Best on Earth. My mom's great culinary skills are just a reflection of the original Genius in Manni.
The past two weeks have been a gift to me. An opportunity to serve Manni. I shouldn't probably ask for more. But, all I need is just one minute- in the morning of last Saturday. One minute where I could have spoken to her; told her where I am leaving for and heard those wonderful words I always craved- "Maharaajiya Poittu Va"
P.S.- I am no longer an Agnostic. I am no longer confused about the existence of God. For I now know my God's identity. I have seen God-with all the virtues required of a God. I have grown in Her hands. I have slept in Her lap. I feel Her Heavenly Love. Here and Wherever I go.

Did You Know that...

1. There are 10 sequential steps to be followed in overtaking a vehicle on the road?
2. There are 3 types of Parking?
3. You must check 6 parts within the bonnet of the car before driving away in it each morning?
4. The minimum distance between your vehicle and the one in front must differ with the speed as follows:

one car's length at 15 kmph
two cars' length at 30 kmph
three cars' length at 45 kmph
..........and so on?????

Well there are more such rules. But in a country like ours, these are useless, at least until a mammoth revolution takes place, changing the way we think, act and yes, DRIVE. Till then, these rules (especially the last one which is the most unfeasible, IMO ;) ) shall find their uses only in putting pitiable 20 yr-olds to sleep, when they take the effort of waking early during a vacation and in consuming a few minutes of your precious time spent in reading this post ;)

Life is So!

Faster than the Fastest,
The Winged Being-
So very existent,
Yet so intangible-
Flying by, brings
a rush-
Leading to Melancholy.

Why so fast?
Why so late?
Seemingly contradictory-
Yet so meaningful.
A part of life-
Painful, yet inevitable.