One thing you learn during an MBA is that your engineering degree is as useless (as the adage goes) as a comb to a bald man... and that the commerce you scorned upon when you were in high school are the strongest force here...
yeah the underdogs become the hunting hounds... their performance hounds you... they are everywhere solving any goddamn problem or case - and even if it were something in hard-core chemical engineering...
most of the top ranks, about almost all of them go to the CAs... they solve economic problems and quantitative probability... they can write pages of p&p gas and also write IT-B bullet points... they can solve cases involving chemical sales and also strategise for transformer sales... man give the engineers a chance... the inferiority complex is compounded everyday...
and today was the heights of it... yeah literally the heights...
the p&p tower building contest... our group, as were the others, equally composed (or rather proportionately composed) of engineers and commerce grads... but what happened was a total take-over here too by the non-engineers... though some occasional acknowledgement was made of our existence, we were not even part of the design team... talk of core competency...
so the materials cost was calculated and estimated height of the tower was given... though we did not actually get to build the prototype... all we engineers could not hide the smirk on our faces as we knew that these bloody commerce junta have bitten off more than they can chew... we won't get our hands dirty by pitching in... there was enough chaos already... material costing was their core comptency, tower building was not...
when the 3 minute contest started, the enthusiastic commerce junta pitched in and started building... end of 3 mins there was a shaky and chaotically colored tower from which we took off our hands put their to keep the building from falling after threats of disqualification from the prof...
we went back to our seats and saw that the other groups too had done some good job... and our tower like the rest stood the test of the bench-thumping-quakes...
and the judgement was made - we had missed the quoted figure by half a centimeter... and the others had of course exceeded their quoted figures... but the tallest standing tower was - no points for guessing...
We don't need engineers any more... just CAs are enough...
Engineers beware - your jobs are no longer safe...
(Please note: I got nothing against CAs... I am scared to think where I would have been without the 2 of them in my group... :) )
BANG THEY BASANTI
I saw the movie 'Rang de Basanti' and i don't like it... i am a heretic... because i think with the organ i am supposed to use for that purpose... others use the organs that are used to pump blood or something else...
so wot was wrong with a movie that scores no thousands no millions of people are going to like or already liked...
the concept was too good... 5 directionless youth... do something for the country... that is a very socially relevant theme...
the music by ARR... who could deny the greatness of it... not even dissatisfied ones like me can argue with that...
the actors ?... no way man... they were all too good... aamir khan, atul kulkarni, madhavan, and siddharth... and the rest of the gang too... they were all too good and too natural...
too natural... may be that is the reason... too naturally impulsive...
the first half of the movie was interstingly fresh... the build-up for the mega event was good... though the turn of events were predictable the path was enjoyable... so what went wrong ?
i could not digest the fact that 5 + 1 of the nations youth die so cheaply without causing a scratch in the glass... what happens... madhavan dies in the MIG crash... and the corrupt minister denies that there is anything wrong with the planes and that the fact that the pilots are immature and unqualified is the cause for their deaths...
so what happens - our band of heroes get a pistol and shoot the minister down. result: the minister is given immediate martyrdom and elevated to patriotic status. what do these guys get in return - death and a horrible one at that... and the point that they are so casual about losing their lives is very disheartening...
the heroes thought with their heart - very impulsive decision to kill the minister in the first place... without an evidence to show that the minister was guilty of corruption you shoot down a minister - which obviously in today's era of accepted terrorism, the praise went to some unworthy parties.
next - they decided to turn themselves in ? man you expect to kill a corrupt guy and expect his friends to give you shelter and good food and take you to court to testify against themselves - in short commit suicide ?
i really did like yuva... no in fact, i loved it... michael achieves his dream... he gets elected to the house and is now in a position to make a difference... he took the fight to the enemy... and of course he didn't die in the process... though of course he did get hurt... or say Indian (an old movie of Kamalhassan) - he survives and he has achieved what he wanted - fear of corruption... so why do these rebels or revolutionists (as i would like to call them) have to die ? why scare the already fearful population of the repurcussions of their positive step ?
so what did they achieve - the nations students were stirred... the nation was stirred... so what if 5 families have a loss of their son, some their only son... a son who they lavished love and affection for almost 25 years... but it is ok... they are only a small part of the population... the rest have their eyes opened... they have voiced their opinions against the corrupt government... their blood boils and their eyes are full of vengeance... they want change... they want to eliminate corruption...
why they - WE... i am part of this population too... i am also angered with the injustice of corruption... i too am stirred by this movie and am ready for action... so, what am i going to do ? i don't know yet... but i will surely do something against corruption and other society evils...
but let me first settle down in life... let my exams get over, then my placements, then once i am financially secure, i will certainly do something... till then, whenever some idiotic youth takes an extreme step of sacrificing his life to generate awareness, i will keep voicing my opinion...
so wot was wrong with a movie that scores no thousands no millions of people are going to like or already liked...
the concept was too good... 5 directionless youth... do something for the country... that is a very socially relevant theme...
the music by ARR... who could deny the greatness of it... not even dissatisfied ones like me can argue with that...
the actors ?... no way man... they were all too good... aamir khan, atul kulkarni, madhavan, and siddharth... and the rest of the gang too... they were all too good and too natural...
too natural... may be that is the reason... too naturally impulsive...
the first half of the movie was interstingly fresh... the build-up for the mega event was good... though the turn of events were predictable the path was enjoyable... so what went wrong ?
i could not digest the fact that 5 + 1 of the nations youth die so cheaply without causing a scratch in the glass... what happens... madhavan dies in the MIG crash... and the corrupt minister denies that there is anything wrong with the planes and that the fact that the pilots are immature and unqualified is the cause for their deaths...
so what happens - our band of heroes get a pistol and shoot the minister down. result: the minister is given immediate martyrdom and elevated to patriotic status. what do these guys get in return - death and a horrible one at that... and the point that they are so casual about losing their lives is very disheartening...
the heroes thought with their heart - very impulsive decision to kill the minister in the first place... without an evidence to show that the minister was guilty of corruption you shoot down a minister - which obviously in today's era of accepted terrorism, the praise went to some unworthy parties.
next - they decided to turn themselves in ? man you expect to kill a corrupt guy and expect his friends to give you shelter and good food and take you to court to testify against themselves - in short commit suicide ?
i really did like yuva... no in fact, i loved it... michael achieves his dream... he gets elected to the house and is now in a position to make a difference... he took the fight to the enemy... and of course he didn't die in the process... though of course he did get hurt... or say Indian (an old movie of Kamalhassan) - he survives and he has achieved what he wanted - fear of corruption... so why do these rebels or revolutionists (as i would like to call them) have to die ? why scare the already fearful population of the repurcussions of their positive step ?
so what did they achieve - the nations students were stirred... the nation was stirred... so what if 5 families have a loss of their son, some their only son... a son who they lavished love and affection for almost 25 years... but it is ok... they are only a small part of the population... the rest have their eyes opened... they have voiced their opinions against the corrupt government... their blood boils and their eyes are full of vengeance... they want change... they want to eliminate corruption...
why they - WE... i am part of this population too... i am also angered with the injustice of corruption... i too am stirred by this movie and am ready for action... so, what am i going to do ? i don't know yet... but i will surely do something against corruption and other society evils...
but let me first settle down in life... let my exams get over, then my placements, then once i am financially secure, i will certainly do something... till then, whenever some idiotic youth takes an extreme step of sacrificing his life to generate awareness, i will keep voicing my opinion...
MBAs and humility...
"Hi, My name is ... I have done my MBA from..."
doesn't it sound good ? i had always dreamt of this intro of mine (of course ever since i joined my first company and decided that i was too young to get into the job grind so early). in india, it is the general perspective (mine too) that mbas are gods if not demi-gods... they do the work of 10 men, in a fraction of the time and they don't make mistakes... of course they are paid very high salaries, but are we not above all these materialistic pursuits.. :)
yeah baby... being an mba elevates you to super status... people start looking up to you... and why not ? 'I' wrote the painful and toughest test of managerial aptitude - the CAT and emerged on the tops amongst about a hundred and fifty thousand and ever increasing competitors. 'I' made it into a top b-school through their tough scrutinizing interview and GD and group-interviews and essays and psychometric tests and management aptitude tests and what not... and 'I' am among the few that have been selected - with the success ratio being about 1:100, that is something to cross the post-CAT stage...
now enters the first stage of realization and it hits you - there is about 30% of the population in the form of non-engineers who have already done some of the majorly important subjects that you never even had an inkling about their existence... so there goes the 'A' grades.. but that is ok guys, the remaining 70% is with you... and you sleep peacefully...
but whammo, while you were sleeping a part of the 70% had remained awake and gotten the knowledge transfer, though not completely... but still there is enough knowledge in their heads now to at least automatically nod whenever the prof says something in a language like greek or chinese... so there goes the 'B' grades...
now all that is left is the 'C' grades. but what do 'I' care... marks are not everything in life... so chill yaar, there is a lot of time till the exams. party on and watch movies all you like even if it were the worst movie of the century and you are watching it for the 124th time... but come exam eve, you cannot remain awake beyond midnight becos the moment you touch your books you fall asleep - reason NO PRACTICE... but the last part of the 70% have some grit in them and somehow manage this one night - resulting in them getting into a low C grade... bu twho cares: a C is a C is a C...
but were are you ? 'D'rowning.... after all the clowning, wodidja expect ? i am splashing around helplessly and hopelessly groping around for any small tip of a lifeline...
PS. this is when you realize that the part of the 70% that back-stabbed you were not actually turncoats... you failed to read the signals. they were participating in the events and winning prizes and accolades and fame...
what does the first year in an MBA do to you ? it makes you think -
"it is time that 'i' realized how small 'i' am."
doesn't it sound good ? i had always dreamt of this intro of mine (of course ever since i joined my first company and decided that i was too young to get into the job grind so early). in india, it is the general perspective (mine too) that mbas are gods if not demi-gods... they do the work of 10 men, in a fraction of the time and they don't make mistakes... of course they are paid very high salaries, but are we not above all these materialistic pursuits.. :)
yeah baby... being an mba elevates you to super status... people start looking up to you... and why not ? 'I' wrote the painful and toughest test of managerial aptitude - the CAT and emerged on the tops amongst about a hundred and fifty thousand and ever increasing competitors. 'I' made it into a top b-school through their tough scrutinizing interview and GD and group-interviews and essays and psychometric tests and management aptitude tests and what not... and 'I' am among the few that have been selected - with the success ratio being about 1:100, that is something to cross the post-CAT stage...
now enters the first stage of realization and it hits you - there is about 30% of the population in the form of non-engineers who have already done some of the majorly important subjects that you never even had an inkling about their existence... so there goes the 'A' grades.. but that is ok guys, the remaining 70% is with you... and you sleep peacefully...
but whammo, while you were sleeping a part of the 70% had remained awake and gotten the knowledge transfer, though not completely... but still there is enough knowledge in their heads now to at least automatically nod whenever the prof says something in a language like greek or chinese... so there goes the 'B' grades...
now all that is left is the 'C' grades. but what do 'I' care... marks are not everything in life... so chill yaar, there is a lot of time till the exams. party on and watch movies all you like even if it were the worst movie of the century and you are watching it for the 124th time... but come exam eve, you cannot remain awake beyond midnight becos the moment you touch your books you fall asleep - reason NO PRACTICE... but the last part of the 70% have some grit in them and somehow manage this one night - resulting in them getting into a low C grade... bu twho cares: a C is a C is a C...
but were are you ? 'D'rowning.... after all the clowning, wodidja expect ? i am splashing around helplessly and hopelessly groping around for any small tip of a lifeline...
PS. this is when you realize that the part of the 70% that back-stabbed you were not actually turncoats... you failed to read the signals. they were participating in the events and winning prizes and accolades and fame...
what does the first year in an MBA do to you ? it makes you think -
"it is time that 'i' realized how small 'i' am."
In life, you never get what you deserve... only what you negotiate...
how many times have you bought a book from a platform shop for half the price quoted by the shopkeeper and felt happy for some time... only to be shattered by the remark of a friend that he bought the same book from the same shopkeeper for much less...
once on a visit to palika bazaar, i chanced to see the book that i had been wanting to buy for so long... price quoted - 250/- ... now was that a random number that came to the guy's mind or was it really worth it (pirated of course) - it was anybody's guess... still anyways, i have been in delhi long enough to chuck my benevolence and i was planning to do my mba... so i decided to put my negotiation skills to test... and voila i got it for 60/-... a 10 rupees increase from my initial quoted price... then the shopkeeper gave me these final parting words "though i am selling it off at a loss to you, i will make it up with someone else"... that made my day...
to reality - the nego skills prof gave the above statement "In life, you never get what you deserve... only what you negotiate..." on the last day of the lecture and the incident was among the first things i remembered immediately...
the frequent blackmail letters (also known as resignation letters) that are used by people to screw their manager's happiness and spend their vacation on company's expense abroad... man do the silent observers, who don't have the nerve to negotiate hate you for all the privileges that you receive... the bone of contention here is not the company's wish to retain you because you are irreplacable, but the way you adopted to get what you wanted...
how many restaurants have you frequented and how many times have you asked for a discount flashing your company / college id cards... is it because you cannot pay that measly 10% when you can pay the 90% ? or is it the mental satisfaction that the restaurant manager respects you as a customer who can bring in more people... whether he gives you the discount grudgingly or beneath a false smile, a discount is a discount is a discount... :)
right from a measly meal discount to your salaries, you only get what you want if you ask for it... people who evaluate you are both dumb and stingy... you need to give them an easier job of identifying your qualities for which they should pay you, and then make them pay for it...
man i am capable of doing it and i deserved it, but i have to fight for it...
once on a visit to palika bazaar, i chanced to see the book that i had been wanting to buy for so long... price quoted - 250/- ... now was that a random number that came to the guy's mind or was it really worth it (pirated of course) - it was anybody's guess... still anyways, i have been in delhi long enough to chuck my benevolence and i was planning to do my mba... so i decided to put my negotiation skills to test... and voila i got it for 60/-... a 10 rupees increase from my initial quoted price... then the shopkeeper gave me these final parting words "though i am selling it off at a loss to you, i will make it up with someone else"... that made my day...
to reality - the nego skills prof gave the above statement "In life, you never get what you deserve... only what you negotiate..." on the last day of the lecture and the incident was among the first things i remembered immediately...
the frequent blackmail letters (also known as resignation letters) that are used by people to screw their manager's happiness and spend their vacation on company's expense abroad... man do the silent observers, who don't have the nerve to negotiate hate you for all the privileges that you receive... the bone of contention here is not the company's wish to retain you because you are irreplacable, but the way you adopted to get what you wanted...
how many restaurants have you frequented and how many times have you asked for a discount flashing your company / college id cards... is it because you cannot pay that measly 10% when you can pay the 90% ? or is it the mental satisfaction that the restaurant manager respects you as a customer who can bring in more people... whether he gives you the discount grudgingly or beneath a false smile, a discount is a discount is a discount... :)
right from a measly meal discount to your salaries, you only get what you want if you ask for it... people who evaluate you are both dumb and stingy... you need to give them an easier job of identifying your qualities for which they should pay you, and then make them pay for it...
man i am capable of doing it and i deserved it, but i have to fight for it...
working sundays
A beautiful Saturday spent idling around and towards the end of the day let your hair down and party on till late into the night... loud music blaring and ending with a very good movie... some friends over at the house for a pizza party... wake up real late the next day - a Sunday - with no work to do, but rest for the entire day with a light pleasantly painful hangover of the previous night...
crash !!!
sorry to wake you up, but welcome to reality...
you actually sleep late the previous night not because you want to watch a couple of movies, but because you were finishing that nagging Financial Management assignment to be submitted the next day in class... actually the CAs do it, while you sit next to them nodding - sleepy dazed and tired after the long lectures of the day wondering how the CAs seem to be such a bundle of high energy... well coming back to sunday morning, you are actually forced to wake up at 7:30 am otherwise you will have to make-do with deos (this may work out becos your neighbour in class has probably done the same thing if not forgotten to buy the deo 2 weeks before when the schedule actually had a half hour slot free...)... ok "7:30 am !!!" you may ask... well the prof is a visitor so he likes to see discipline - everyone in class by 8:25 for the lecture that begins at 8:30... that is you should have a breakfast by 8-8:15... the prof does not give a break until about 10:30...
now 2 hours of non-stop FM may sound nice on radio, but not live...we can't even switch it off... then after the break which is about 20 extended minutes people drag their feet into class... becos the topmost part of their body wants to sit in the class, however the rest of the body wants to escape... but sorry you are not spared... another 3 hours pass by and you secretly imagine your prof to be prof.Binns (the ghost teacher in the harry potter series, who no one pays any attention to...)
Now it is 1pm and there is a mad rush to the mess... is it becos people love the food... nope... it is just to gulp in some stuff and do some reading for the surprize quiz that shocked our way down the stairs... converting a bunch of slow relaxed happy students into stressed schumachers whose only aim is to stuff in some food for the stomach and also for thought before 2... man it surprises you how much irrelevant stuff u can cram into yourself within that 1 hr none of which is asked in the quiz...
Quiz over, you move on to the next mega ordeal of another set of classes which actually run from 2:15 to 7:55... the accuracy in the timings maintained lending a sense of relief to the masses (but god only knows why...) at the end of the day, it is not over yet with pre-reads, post-reads and mind-reads for the next day's planned surprises...
Man these guys really make you appreciate your ex-boss...
crash !!!
sorry to wake you up, but welcome to reality...
you actually sleep late the previous night not because you want to watch a couple of movies, but because you were finishing that nagging Financial Management assignment to be submitted the next day in class... actually the CAs do it, while you sit next to them nodding - sleepy dazed and tired after the long lectures of the day wondering how the CAs seem to be such a bundle of high energy... well coming back to sunday morning, you are actually forced to wake up at 7:30 am otherwise you will have to make-do with deos (this may work out becos your neighbour in class has probably done the same thing if not forgotten to buy the deo 2 weeks before when the schedule actually had a half hour slot free...)... ok "7:30 am !!!" you may ask... well the prof is a visitor so he likes to see discipline - everyone in class by 8:25 for the lecture that begins at 8:30... that is you should have a breakfast by 8-8:15... the prof does not give a break until about 10:30...
now 2 hours of non-stop FM may sound nice on radio, but not live...we can't even switch it off... then after the break which is about 20 extended minutes people drag their feet into class... becos the topmost part of their body wants to sit in the class, however the rest of the body wants to escape... but sorry you are not spared... another 3 hours pass by and you secretly imagine your prof to be prof.Binns (the ghost teacher in the harry potter series, who no one pays any attention to...)
Now it is 1pm and there is a mad rush to the mess... is it becos people love the food... nope... it is just to gulp in some stuff and do some reading for the surprize quiz that shocked our way down the stairs... converting a bunch of slow relaxed happy students into stressed schumachers whose only aim is to stuff in some food for the stomach and also for thought before 2... man it surprises you how much irrelevant stuff u can cram into yourself within that 1 hr none of which is asked in the quiz...
Quiz over, you move on to the next mega ordeal of another set of classes which actually run from 2:15 to 7:55... the accuracy in the timings maintained lending a sense of relief to the masses (but god only knows why...) at the end of the day, it is not over yet with pre-reads, post-reads and mind-reads for the next day's planned surprises...
Man these guys really make you appreciate your ex-boss...
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