I was recently reading about ‘experiential marketing’ on ‘Marketing Practices’, a blog by an IIM L professor on how marketing has evolved towards it. The example of HUL coming out with websites like ‘I am beautiful’ for its products like Ponds, Dove and Lux where customers share their product experiences from which HUL gains customer engagement are all recent examples of experiential marketing. I too have an example to showcase something on the same lines.
Today, I was travelling from IIM C to Delhi on an Indigo flight. As soon as the plane was level in the sky, the airhostess rolled their cart with food items. On asking them for a Coke, which unfortunately they were out of stock, I was quite surprised when after sometime they came back with a glass of Pepsi, offering it to me free of cost. They said that it was theirs and were not feeling good that they were not able to serve their customer well.
I believe that even though Indigo is the most low cost airline in the Indian market today; such experiences would delight the customers. This would ultimately lead to customer retention and royalty, with this becoming a win-win game for both the parties involved.
PS: just waiting for the Indigo IPO to happen ;)
Sunday, October 10
Tuesday, September 21
CV
got done with CV making
what i learnt
1) IT work-ex does not count as 50% ppl have IT work-ex. If you want to show that you have done something different, do something different.
2) for finance, it is your acad record that matters. So, if you can still come up with a lot of patents, papers etc. , please do.
3) for consulting, considering that there are only 20 jobs in the big 4 for 1 campus, be different. National archers, international chess players, pilots after engineering, helicopter training, conquering mountain peaks, all count. Show that you have taken some initiatives. Be an entrepreneur, help NGO scale new heights. Winning national level case study competitions gives you the oomph.
4) for marketing have a lot of positions of responsibility. Manage big events somehow.
5) certifications give you added advantage. CFA for example.
6) the extra I in IIITA would always hurt. keep that in mind.
7) some guys can have a CGPA of 10/10 in undergrad. how would you compete with them?
8) National football players. Well, some of the recruiters might know them. Why would recruiters want know you?
i know that these might sound like big words. They are. But then, there are bigger achievements of people whom you will meet at elite institutions. Preparing for CAT is easier compared to such accomplishments.
Now just think about this for 2 minutes. .... ' how ready are you to give the CAT?'
what i learnt
1) IT work-ex does not count as 50% ppl have IT work-ex. If you want to show that you have done something different, do something different.
2) for finance, it is your acad record that matters. So, if you can still come up with a lot of patents, papers etc. , please do.
3) for consulting, considering that there are only 20 jobs in the big 4 for 1 campus, be different. National archers, international chess players, pilots after engineering, helicopter training, conquering mountain peaks, all count. Show that you have taken some initiatives. Be an entrepreneur, help NGO scale new heights. Winning national level case study competitions gives you the oomph.
4) for marketing have a lot of positions of responsibility. Manage big events somehow.
5) certifications give you added advantage. CFA for example.
6) the extra I in IIITA would always hurt. keep that in mind.
7) some guys can have a CGPA of 10/10 in undergrad. how would you compete with them?
8) National football players. Well, some of the recruiters might know them. Why would recruiters want know you?
i know that these might sound like big words. They are. But then, there are bigger achievements of people whom you will meet at elite institutions. Preparing for CAT is easier compared to such accomplishments.
Now just think about this for 2 minutes. .... ' how ready are you to give the CAT?'
Sunday, July 18
Agony
Close those eyes.
Try to see those dots in the black sky, like stars.
Shimmering bright. Moving down.No, right.
And then a sudden push and to the top.
Off they go.
And these red and green and blue dots.
As if dancing in tandem, slow, with elegance.
And then this Tandava, like Shiva circling, with fury, the energy causes this spark, and, then the flames.Like Shiva circling.
And then the rain, the wetness.
Drops, like filling the thirst of the flames.
And then, agony.
Agony can be beautiful. Enjoy it.
Try to see those dots in the black sky, like stars.
Shimmering bright. Moving down.No, right.
And then a sudden push and to the top.
Off they go.
And these red and green and blue dots.
As if dancing in tandem, slow, with elegance.
And then this Tandava, like Shiva circling, with fury, the energy causes this spark, and, then the flames.Like Shiva circling.
And then the rain, the wetness.
Drops, like filling the thirst of the flames.
And then, agony.
Agony can be beautiful. Enjoy it.
Sunday, May 23
The Language
Languages are funny. In a very recent chat with one of my friends, even though I wanted to appreciate her being sane, it came across as if I wanted to mean otherwise.
It is said that words are stronger than words. Right now, even I am feeling the same. Hope she forgives me.
I saw Kites yesterday and even though I might not give it a review which might make someone shell some money for it, I would still say that I did like the concept of the language sans the words. I like the way Hrithik and Barbara were trying to communicate through emotions, through their teary eyes, or the smiles.
I believe that in this information age, where everything is in white and black, we have somehow forgotten the art of alternative communication.
In the few days before going to IIMC , that is exactly what I want to learn,in the form of painting or music.
Just to express myself better.
It is said that words are stronger than words. Right now, even I am feeling the same. Hope she forgives me.
I saw Kites yesterday and even though I might not give it a review which might make someone shell some money for it, I would still say that I did like the concept of the language sans the words. I like the way Hrithik and Barbara were trying to communicate through emotions, through their teary eyes, or the smiles.
I believe that in this information age, where everything is in white and black, we have somehow forgotten the art of alternative communication.
In the few days before going to IIMC , that is exactly what I want to learn,in the form of painting or music.
Just to express myself better.
Saturday, May 22
Monday, May 3
THOUGHTS ON HRM
I was just wondering what the driving force is for a man. I understand this is a very abstract as well as a very subjective question. But seeing Chak De India for the 10th time made me ask that.
But to break down this question and to give a bit of a direction to this article, let us take into consideration all the organizations that we see around us and how in particular an organization can develop from various aspects to this question. The first and the foremost kind of organization that we see around us all is the one which is in us , ourselves. As we move to the higher layers of the hierarchy that is the society, the next layer is the institution of family. With the trend of nuclear family coming in, the extended family layer has somehow disappeared. The next sense of belonging comes from the schools that one goes to. May be the reason that the schools find a place therein is because the time that one spends there and in due course the friends that one makes and the learning that one imbibes in in there. Analogically, it should be the corporation that one works for which should come in the next layer of ones social hierarchy. Unfortunately, for many organizations, that is simply not the case. Why, let us think on that front.
What I like about Chak De is the temperament that the coach shows towards building a team. Before the players actually starts playing, what the coach indulges the individuals to do is to build the team. Having seen the IT industry for the past few months, the time that the organization has to build the team is quite less, and moreover unfocussed, with the individual being in as many as 5 teams. In this globalized world where every organization is short on time to roll its products, alternatives need to be found to build this organization.
Below I would be discussing about methods on how to build such an atmosphere for the junior employees, who mostly work for only 1 team and who have the luxury of time at their hand. The same may be from my 3 months of experience or just a result of my imagination.
I believe the lunch table is the most important place where such a thing can be done. It is extremely important that each of the players (yes that is what I consider each employee to be) share a common interest, so that there is no barrier in the flow of information. I believe that in addition to the responsibilities of the team manager to give direction to the product that his team is developing, the soft skills of giving direction on the discussions on the lunch table are as integral to his job. Software in many aspects is a projection of the real world in the digital format. Imagine the efficiency that an organization would achieve when the philosophy of software or the design aspects of their product and a debate on the type of pattern a product is based on gets discussed at the lunch table. Also, due consideration, time and attention should be given to each member of the team, surveillance by the team manager, giving everyone a sense of belongingness and appreciation for them pitching in their ideas. Is there wastage of time in arranging the whole team to go for lunch and making the others sit while a slow eating person finishes his food? The trade-off would always be there, but well, it would be better than them browsing social networking websites individually.
This brings me to the second method on how to make the team gel. Allow employees to share social information as well. With the kind of job that they do and the kind of hours that they put in working in IT, it would be impossible for them to perform at their best without some break. Let that be done in the form of discussion on an article or a video session or a tutorial or a really funny joke that they would have read in a magazine or heard on the radio. Let them be a bit informal amongst themselves. The team manager should facilitate the same, but not become a part of it, lest he is started to be taken for granted. In addition to the same, have a methodology of monitoring the time that an employee spends to browse such websites, and let them be aware of it.
In my observation, employees in a rung of the corporate ladder learn and would try to ape either the ones who are immediately above them (in a vertical organization) or the senior most (team manager in a horizontal organization) in their corporate reach. Both of the classes should be made aware of this special responsibility. The loyalties and the sense of belonging that an individual develops for an organization are set in the first 100 days of his work there. It is this sense of belonging ultimately that drives an employee. In addition to inculcating this feeling , it would also give this employee that his team members and in a broader sense the organization cares for him , his efficiency, his knowledge enhancement or simply wants to know him better. An informal relationship between the employees does not really hurt, till the time it is not competing with the employee’s service time.
To top this whole up, a team outing or just eating outside on the weekends would be a great idea, and better with some of the members being topsy-turvy with the team member. Or a game of Werewolf or T.T during their breaks.
I know ‘Chak De!’ is a bollywood flick and the chances of something happening like that in reality are very slim, but getting inspired and giving such things a thought never hurt anyone.
But to break down this question and to give a bit of a direction to this article, let us take into consideration all the organizations that we see around us and how in particular an organization can develop from various aspects to this question. The first and the foremost kind of organization that we see around us all is the one which is in us , ourselves. As we move to the higher layers of the hierarchy that is the society, the next layer is the institution of family. With the trend of nuclear family coming in, the extended family layer has somehow disappeared. The next sense of belonging comes from the schools that one goes to. May be the reason that the schools find a place therein is because the time that one spends there and in due course the friends that one makes and the learning that one imbibes in in there. Analogically, it should be the corporation that one works for which should come in the next layer of ones social hierarchy. Unfortunately, for many organizations, that is simply not the case. Why, let us think on that front.
What I like about Chak De is the temperament that the coach shows towards building a team. Before the players actually starts playing, what the coach indulges the individuals to do is to build the team. Having seen the IT industry for the past few months, the time that the organization has to build the team is quite less, and moreover unfocussed, with the individual being in as many as 5 teams. In this globalized world where every organization is short on time to roll its products, alternatives need to be found to build this organization.
Below I would be discussing about methods on how to build such an atmosphere for the junior employees, who mostly work for only 1 team and who have the luxury of time at their hand. The same may be from my 3 months of experience or just a result of my imagination.
I believe the lunch table is the most important place where such a thing can be done. It is extremely important that each of the players (yes that is what I consider each employee to be) share a common interest, so that there is no barrier in the flow of information. I believe that in addition to the responsibilities of the team manager to give direction to the product that his team is developing, the soft skills of giving direction on the discussions on the lunch table are as integral to his job. Software in many aspects is a projection of the real world in the digital format. Imagine the efficiency that an organization would achieve when the philosophy of software or the design aspects of their product and a debate on the type of pattern a product is based on gets discussed at the lunch table. Also, due consideration, time and attention should be given to each member of the team, surveillance by the team manager, giving everyone a sense of belongingness and appreciation for them pitching in their ideas. Is there wastage of time in arranging the whole team to go for lunch and making the others sit while a slow eating person finishes his food? The trade-off would always be there, but well, it would be better than them browsing social networking websites individually.
This brings me to the second method on how to make the team gel. Allow employees to share social information as well. With the kind of job that they do and the kind of hours that they put in working in IT, it would be impossible for them to perform at their best without some break. Let that be done in the form of discussion on an article or a video session or a tutorial or a really funny joke that they would have read in a magazine or heard on the radio. Let them be a bit informal amongst themselves. The team manager should facilitate the same, but not become a part of it, lest he is started to be taken for granted. In addition to the same, have a methodology of monitoring the time that an employee spends to browse such websites, and let them be aware of it.
In my observation, employees in a rung of the corporate ladder learn and would try to ape either the ones who are immediately above them (in a vertical organization) or the senior most (team manager in a horizontal organization) in their corporate reach. Both of the classes should be made aware of this special responsibility. The loyalties and the sense of belonging that an individual develops for an organization are set in the first 100 days of his work there. It is this sense of belonging ultimately that drives an employee. In addition to inculcating this feeling , it would also give this employee that his team members and in a broader sense the organization cares for him , his efficiency, his knowledge enhancement or simply wants to know him better. An informal relationship between the employees does not really hurt, till the time it is not competing with the employee’s service time.
To top this whole up, a team outing or just eating outside on the weekends would be a great idea, and better with some of the members being topsy-turvy with the team member. Or a game of Werewolf or T.T during their breaks.
I know ‘Chak De!’ is a bollywood flick and the chances of something happening like that in reality are very slim, but getting inspired and giving such things a thought never hurt anyone.
EVERYONE’S A DOG….OR A CHICKEN
The discussion of the need of a gym in my life has crept-in in all the conversations that I have with my family. Sometimes recurring seven or eight times a day when I talk about finding myself a girlfriend ( kindly note how important the search is to me that I am talking 7-8 times about it in a day …. And that too to my family … and yes…forgive me if the word ‘finding’ is offensive …. Yeah … I am a feminist … if that lets me gain some brownie points) and the only roadblock I can identify that in so many years of my existence why I haven’t been able to do so is the lack of a Sunny Deol body.
I don’t look that bad … just to keep everything straight .Except for the unasked potbelly that I get after every meal of the day for a few hours, the rest of the time I am quite lean to look at. My sister tells me that that’s like the ‘in – thing’ but I believe it is only to keep my spirits high. Thankfully she understands the need to do that. For a 21 year old guy who has been written off by all the girls he has met as just another sweet and fun guy (well …. I like them considering me that, but not just just that …. Come on…) it can be pretty hard to hit the gym. How can one let the balance sheet of exercise be so skewed that except for getting a hulk-kind of body, you get no other benefits, after shelling about 15 KFC buckets at Talwalkars each month.
According to some experiments conducted in the wild wild west, a dog needs daily snacks to learn a newer trick or to forget a bad habit, little electric shocks to tell him to mend his ways in a course of a month (the nature of the experiment confirms that it was indeed conducted in the west where they are so wild not to understand such an intuitive thing). The results of the same experiment are also employed in organizations where employees are given smaller tasks and are rewarded with every new trick(read technology in the IT space) that they learn ( Dear Tom , Dick and Harry …. Yes! Your job is no different than Tommy, Cherry or Goldie learning their own set of tricks.)
And so even I am in the search of my mentor (this is much better a word. I wanted to use ‘master ‘but well that would have given my to-be girlfriend a wrong idea. I am not looking for a client-server configuration , I want our relationship to be on the P2P pattern … well , just to make myself clear ; and then people ask me how I am that optimistic. And yeah! I can sometimes be that geeky … just in case that helps my profile in your list of prospective candidates , hoping that I am there) , who would give me the snacks( :P ….) when I do my trick right( go to the gym ) and give me electric shocks ( well , don’t take that literally ) when I act bad ( skip the gym). Constant appreciation is needed.
But Alas! This is the same viscous circle, who would come first in my life, the girl or the gym. The chicken or the egg question needs to be answered…..just to draw an analogy. But in reality, I am the chicken …. who is enjoying his KFC.( better get rescued by the beautiful girls of PETA before the Kernel fries me up.)
I don’t look that bad … just to keep everything straight .Except for the unasked potbelly that I get after every meal of the day for a few hours, the rest of the time I am quite lean to look at. My sister tells me that that’s like the ‘in – thing’ but I believe it is only to keep my spirits high. Thankfully she understands the need to do that. For a 21 year old guy who has been written off by all the girls he has met as just another sweet and fun guy (well …. I like them considering me that, but not just just that …. Come on…) it can be pretty hard to hit the gym. How can one let the balance sheet of exercise be so skewed that except for getting a hulk-kind of body, you get no other benefits, after shelling about 15 KFC buckets at Talwalkars each month.
According to some experiments conducted in the wild wild west, a dog needs daily snacks to learn a newer trick or to forget a bad habit, little electric shocks to tell him to mend his ways in a course of a month (the nature of the experiment confirms that it was indeed conducted in the west where they are so wild not to understand such an intuitive thing). The results of the same experiment are also employed in organizations where employees are given smaller tasks and are rewarded with every new trick(read technology in the IT space) that they learn ( Dear Tom , Dick and Harry …. Yes! Your job is no different than Tommy, Cherry or Goldie learning their own set of tricks.)
And so even I am in the search of my mentor (this is much better a word. I wanted to use ‘master ‘but well that would have given my to-be girlfriend a wrong idea. I am not looking for a client-server configuration , I want our relationship to be on the P2P pattern … well , just to make myself clear ; and then people ask me how I am that optimistic. And yeah! I can sometimes be that geeky … just in case that helps my profile in your list of prospective candidates , hoping that I am there) , who would give me the snacks( :P ….) when I do my trick right( go to the gym ) and give me electric shocks ( well , don’t take that literally ) when I act bad ( skip the gym). Constant appreciation is needed.
But Alas! This is the same viscous circle, who would come first in my life, the girl or the gym. The chicken or the egg question needs to be answered…..just to draw an analogy. But in reality, I am the chicken …. who is enjoying his KFC.( better get rescued by the beautiful girls of PETA before the Kernel fries me up.)
Affirmative Action
I feel like taking a long sojourn and travel India. In just more than a month and a half, I am going to join amongst the most coveted institutions of India, IIMs. With the reputation of going to the place comes the responsibility of what the education imparted there is going to teach us. That is exactly why I want to travel the length and the breadth of India; to spread a bit of awareness amongst people. I believe that it is a very small time to do that, specifically for the purpose I want to derive from it. And so I would start from my family and the peripheries of it.
It pains me to see that most of the candidates coming from the affirmative action of reservation constituted by the government of India into the hallowed portals of the elite IIMs are the ones who have done their under-graduation from another such national institution of repute. Since it has not been more than 3 years when reservation for OBCs was made they might be exempted from being in our sample set. But nonetheless, the government has invested us tax payer’s money in their under-graduation study.
The problem that I see in the implementation in the affirmative action and its rewards not being realized by the ones who really need is the lack of accounting in the same. It is understandable that when there is no record of a student, the accounting of whether the student is genuinely in need for reservation is extremely difficult. But cannot a centralized database of the students of national universities be made? I believe the system of book-keeping is there, my alma- mater had, what just is required is sharing of the data. And with the UID project going to realize itself in the next four years; we could have this accounting happening at the grass-roots level. At least a considerable amount of seats can then go to the ones who actually deserve it.
But I cannot see that happening. With the state of politics in our country, I have my doubts about any member of the parliament coming up with such a suggestion in the near future. Nor is altruism an inherent part of us. What then is required to at least let everyone know that there is something like a reservation for them. One of our chauffeurs and his family at my place come under the OBC category. Talking to him just a few days back after seeing in first person the fallacies in the implementation of the so called affirmative action I realized that he had no idea what reservation is. He knows that the Dalits have found their new found power and confidence due to their vote bank, but how?
Hope the government realizes the latent potential in spreading the news into the rightful candidate’s ears. Hope the rest of the General masses spread it through word and mouth rather than feeling sad for themselves. Hope the UID project realizes itself on schedule, a rarity in our nation. Hope education rises above being just a dog eats dog business for students. Hope.
The above would not mean benefits in the short run. The gap between the deserving and the benefiter is huge. But it would guarantee that the ones who have taken benefit once are again not standing in line once again for the benignity of the government. In two three generations down the lane, may be the lines would actually be made of people who actually need that benignity.
And I hope to see , and I know it is too distant to be seen , but even though the government has it lines, nobody actually wants to stand in them .
It pains me to see that most of the candidates coming from the affirmative action of reservation constituted by the government of India into the hallowed portals of the elite IIMs are the ones who have done their under-graduation from another such national institution of repute. Since it has not been more than 3 years when reservation for OBCs was made they might be exempted from being in our sample set. But nonetheless, the government has invested us tax payer’s money in their under-graduation study.
The problem that I see in the implementation in the affirmative action and its rewards not being realized by the ones who really need is the lack of accounting in the same. It is understandable that when there is no record of a student, the accounting of whether the student is genuinely in need for reservation is extremely difficult. But cannot a centralized database of the students of national universities be made? I believe the system of book-keeping is there, my alma- mater had, what just is required is sharing of the data. And with the UID project going to realize itself in the next four years; we could have this accounting happening at the grass-roots level. At least a considerable amount of seats can then go to the ones who actually deserve it.
But I cannot see that happening. With the state of politics in our country, I have my doubts about any member of the parliament coming up with such a suggestion in the near future. Nor is altruism an inherent part of us. What then is required to at least let everyone know that there is something like a reservation for them. One of our chauffeurs and his family at my place come under the OBC category. Talking to him just a few days back after seeing in first person the fallacies in the implementation of the so called affirmative action I realized that he had no idea what reservation is. He knows that the Dalits have found their new found power and confidence due to their vote bank, but how?
Hope the government realizes the latent potential in spreading the news into the rightful candidate’s ears. Hope the rest of the General masses spread it through word and mouth rather than feeling sad for themselves. Hope the UID project realizes itself on schedule, a rarity in our nation. Hope education rises above being just a dog eats dog business for students. Hope.
The above would not mean benefits in the short run. The gap between the deserving and the benefiter is huge. But it would guarantee that the ones who have taken benefit once are again not standing in line once again for the benignity of the government. In two three generations down the lane, may be the lines would actually be made of people who actually need that benignity.
And I hope to see , and I know it is too distant to be seen , but even though the government has it lines, nobody actually wants to stand in them .
Monday, April 12
My IIMC interview
o.k. This post had to be made. Because the call got converted. Serendipity. I always liked that word. It came true. I like the statements I hear ;" I am proud of you". The surprising thing is that I did not have any tangible preparation. May be that makes me more happy.May be because I was not expecting it to be converted. More about the interview below.
Venue: IIFT, Delhi
Date:March 24th, 2010
First the GD :-
Topic: Every Child should have a bank account.
Was the third or the fourth to speak in a group of 10 or 11. While the others had accepted the topic and were discussing how to bring it forth , I started to question the topic itself, whether it is required or not ( with an example of a mother selling her new born daughter for Rs. 10 in Orissa ). Then discussed about the funding , the money , who's initiative it should be, transparency and accountability in the whole process , tried to draw an analogy and contrast with Qatar where there is such a scheme. I did not come up with other meaty points because the other guys were busy discussing that.
When I look back I guess trying to make one's identity is quite important. Try to be different , but not off-beat. And try to discuss the topic from all angles.
You must take a few mock GD's just to know how one should participate in them. Fortunately I attended 3 in a workshop , observed 2 there and participated in 2 at home.
The next was PI.
Three people : I guess 2 professors (P1 and P2) and an alumni(A) and me(I)
Salutations:
P1: Tell me about your hobbies in brief.
I: Sir , I read non-fiction and popular fiction.
P1 : Not many people read these days.Name 5 Indian fiction authors you have read.
I: ( named some 7-8 ..... recollecting them .... looking in hindsight ... I guess it came forth as being natural)
P1:These are all popular ones. But you said so.
I:(smile)
P1: non-fiction?
I: Taleb , Gladwell
P2: (interrupting) k...tell me what is so special about 371.
I: (thinking ..... P1 leaves)
P2: 3^3+7^3+1^3 = 371
I: grin.... yeah
P2: give me another number like that
I: sir can I solve some equations?
P2: here ... pen and paper...
after 10 seconds.
P2: 370 .... laugh
I: yeah ... (as if its krypton , I guess I get excited because of such situations)
P2: that is lateral thinking.
I: Bono.
(A cuts across)
A: why are you wearing a suit?
I: sir , I wanted to put my best foot forward.
A: you think we are not when we are wearing shirts?
I: (with a smile) Sir, its amongst the most important things in my life.
A: you must have taken coaching. Coaching institutes tell you to wear suits for interviews.
I: Sir , I did not take any coaching. I prepared on my own.
A: You are wearing suit. Coaching institutes tell you to wear suits. You took coaching.
I: That is hyperpolating it to a very high degree.
A: (observing the way I was sitting) Are you confident , under-confident, over-confident?
I: previously I used to be under-confident, now I find myself more confident.
A: Why these jalebi answers?Can't you be crisp?
I: I try to be as elaborate as possible to be clear.
P2: what is your percentile?
I: 99.5 . I am amongst the last people selected by IIMC for interviews.
P2: How many ahead of you?
I: Those who were selected , I don't know.
P2: How many candidates wrote the CAT>
I: 2.2 lakhs.
P2: so?
I: sir I said I did not know how many selected.
P2(smile): how do you know you were amongst the last?
I: it is there on your website sir. I searched it all up.
P2: we are done.
I: Thank you sirs. It was really a pleasure giving my first interview.
Friday, February 12
Anyone played Mafia ? Werewolf?
It is an awesome game. We play that daily. About 25 developers. It gives amazing insights into game theory. The best situation that I could relate to was when the lone-wolf tried to kill the wolf-cub and how the other wolfs attacked him , making way for the villagers to lynch them!!!!
Gave a situation so much related to real life ,something which we see during the coalition politics in this country where the lone-wolf can be a candidate whose ticket is funded by a party so that this candidate can reduce the vote bank of some other party. And somehow this candidate screws up , ultimately helping the other party.
Viman told me that the game was actually an experiment in a psychological institute.
But more than that , the game gives me a platform to interact with my officemates and know them better.
I now realize how distant the academic course curriculum is from the industry requirement.
I wish we had a course in web development , I wish I had done the HTML scripting during Effervescence. And yes , get your hands dirty.
If some of my juniors read this , learn some web technology and yeah at least do your HTML well. It will give you a jump start.I wish I would have listened to my mind some 2 years ago.
Bhavin is one heck of a cool guy. Which CEO is in his office in three-fourths and a T. I saw him wearing that!
Buzz is the next word?
Tuesday, February 2
first day@directi
Boy! job is ... k, i have been told to evaluate everything for sometime , so i won't give my judgments but well .... given a desktop with 2 screens ! they are something like 2 19" readers! that's something that i have found , well , amusing.
It is not much different from the college environment , something like we have when some project is there and a brainstorming session has to be done! It is quite free.
i have been told quite a number of times not to call people sir and madams. well 4 years in an engineering college trains you to be so , I now need to come out of that groove.
there are lots of girls , for an engineering college guy , who had 15 non-males in his batch of some 180 odd students , that is like paradise ! i don't know why i am remembering the paradise that "akhmed the deadly terrorist" on youtube wanted to go to , i hope it does not turn out that way ;)
the best part is nothing is banned over here , the environment is so that anyone does not abuse the bandwidth.
there was quite a glitch the evening before we(yanu , another intern from my college) and I landed . there was only one room in the guest house , and from what she and I comprehended of the hindi that the frontdesk guy was speaking , he wanted us to put up in the same room for the night. that was well quite a shocker! anyhow , for all those college mates who would take sadistic pleasure in imagining the same , well , she slept that night in another hotel altogether. but well that was quite humorous nevertheless.
inductions , as all the presentations , are boring , no matter it is from a good-looking lady or a pot-bellied professor.
lunch and dinner are from TajStats , its a subsidiary of the TAJ , lunch costs 30 bucks. it has both , indian and green cuisines ( the word for that is not striking me). My fruits requirement is served.
Coffee seriously is rejuvenatory. I had that today(my second day and well , have been feeling good since then). there are some 6 varieties of tea. I will try them out with due course of time.
the first thing that my team did play werewolf. not my team , but well who all were willing. it's a fun game. yanu apparently has a liking for it , wanted to go for it even today. we did , spent some 2 hours on the 7th floor of the office. It is fun seeing people lie.
oh! i almost forgot , juice is free, and amul products and some other stuff which i have not tried out till now .
the TT table is always occupied. For a guy who can never make the ball land on the table , and who ends up playing badminton there , well I cannot show my skills in public. I am still trying to find out a time in which that could be possible.
It is really fun hearing sockets and pipes and kernels and loads of other technical nitty-gritties being just puffed up at random from places.
There is a lot of things to be learnt. i wish i would have listened to my mind and been proficient in web technologies. I would like to be in some time.
the most shocking thing of mumbai is the size of a green patch that they call a park . I mean a kitchen garden can be bigger than that.
it is nice to see the local trains cross each other from the other side of the glass . thankfully it is sound proof.
have to find a place for myself. I want it closeby so that I do not have to travel in the mumbai traffic.I want it to have like a real park. I guess i am asking for a little too much.
It is not much different from the college environment , something like we have when some project is there and a brainstorming session has to be done! It is quite free.
i have been told quite a number of times not to call people sir and madams. well 4 years in an engineering college trains you to be so , I now need to come out of that groove.
there are lots of girls , for an engineering college guy , who had 15 non-males in his batch of some 180 odd students , that is like paradise ! i don't know why i am remembering the paradise that "akhmed the deadly terrorist" on youtube wanted to go to , i hope it does not turn out that way ;)
the best part is nothing is banned over here , the environment is so that anyone does not abuse the bandwidth.
there was quite a glitch the evening before we(yanu , another intern from my college) and I landed . there was only one room in the guest house , and from what she and I comprehended of the hindi that the frontdesk guy was speaking , he wanted us to put up in the same room for the night. that was well quite a shocker! anyhow , for all those college mates who would take sadistic pleasure in imagining the same , well , she slept that night in another hotel altogether. but well that was quite humorous nevertheless.
inductions , as all the presentations , are boring , no matter it is from a good-looking lady or a pot-bellied professor.
lunch and dinner are from TajStats , its a subsidiary of the TAJ , lunch costs 30 bucks. it has both , indian and green cuisines ( the word for that is not striking me). My fruits requirement is served.
Coffee seriously is rejuvenatory. I had that today(my second day and well , have been feeling good since then). there are some 6 varieties of tea. I will try them out with due course of time.
the first thing that my team did play werewolf. not my team , but well who all were willing. it's a fun game. yanu apparently has a liking for it , wanted to go for it even today. we did , spent some 2 hours on the 7th floor of the office. It is fun seeing people lie.
oh! i almost forgot , juice is free, and amul products and some other stuff which i have not tried out till now .
the TT table is always occupied. For a guy who can never make the ball land on the table , and who ends up playing badminton there , well I cannot show my skills in public. I am still trying to find out a time in which that could be possible.
It is really fun hearing sockets and pipes and kernels and loads of other technical nitty-gritties being just puffed up at random from places.
There is a lot of things to be learnt. i wish i would have listened to my mind and been proficient in web technologies. I would like to be in some time.
the most shocking thing of mumbai is the size of a green patch that they call a park . I mean a kitchen garden can be bigger than that.
it is nice to see the local trains cross each other from the other side of the glass . thankfully it is sound proof.
have to find a place for myself. I want it closeby so that I do not have to travel in the mumbai traffic.I want it to have like a real park. I guess i am asking for a little too much.
Friday, January 29
From next Monday , I would be working ; it seems strange , how would I be able to sit in one place for so long . 30 minutes and I need to leave my seat. Dad tells me that I would now have to get a bit trained.
The reputation that Directi has created this year round around the campus' is formidable . I need to learn technologies , like real fast. I hope I would be able to do that.
Right now , I have just started practicing CS again . They said Friday nights are gaming nights :)
Being involved in the placement committee for like more than 1 and a half years was a very enriching experience.The 6 of us were a tight team , or so I presume. It gives you a newer perspective on things , making some 80 calls in 2 hours , working your ass off . One of the HR people told me indeed to rest , I was walking as if someone had poked me from behind. It really seemed like that.
This was this Ms. R of one of the companies. Real Bitch! One has to be thick skinned with such people. I don't know from where had she got an MBA degree , could not manage even clerical work.
I want to document this stuff somewhere . The reason is that you always get books referring to the Ivy league colleges' placements and how to go about it. Not for places like mine , where sometimes , we literally had to compromise on our ethics and morals , and give many slot zeroes.
We have actually made a suite of software tools for mass mailing , database management and contact acquisitions that someday , you may see in the open source domain , or we may just forget that ... anyhow.
I am thankful to my MBA prep that sandpapered my rusty brain . One should not leave putting it to task , better oil it regularly.
Hostel has ended . Good news is that most of my friends made it to the best places. As we put it , it's not always about your grades , though maintain them , some of my friends were not able to make the short lists because of them. Damn grades!
Hostel has ended . How I wish there was a rewind button ; the way I enjoyed my last 6 months , had I enjoyed these 3.5 years like that. And yet I would have been at these very emotional crossroads.
There are new times and new things to come .
Why this abrupt pause in the thinking?
Saturday, January 16
Placement Preperation ;)
What comes out of boredom.......
Caress me , when I go still
carry me , when my legs do not have the will
Hold me , when I am about to fall
When I feel weak , be my wall
Kiss me, when I need the warmth
Right me , when I wrong
Guide me , when I fail to see the light,
When I do shiver , hold me tight.
I see you here in every line
I am so proud that you are mine.
You make me feel like the morning dew
I am sure , I am in love with you.
Friday, January 8
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