Feeling low? Go watch Shawshank !!!

Hi Buddy,
If you have been following my blog regularly then you would have realised what kind of elusive role I have been performing in my own online diary. Huh!!! Yup I am busy....won't say like hell....but yes, a bit. Given the kinda scenario everyone is seeing around, and given the fact that I am in so called placement committe of my B-School, I can't help but to wallow in this busy-ness. Ok, coming to the point, I am not in a mood to write a long one today. But I was dying to write after one of the recent turning points in my life. Ya, it seems to be one turning point till now ( let me be in this bliss). One night, a few days ago, I was feeling too stressed out and zonked to nerves becoz of various reasons (MBA makes you learn optimisation - at least I hoped so). I met our dear Rutz infront of College gate. Guess what? He asked me how I was. Great !!! I replied the same "Great".
Then he gave me the age old consolations I have been hearing for last few months here. " I can understand. This job takes your real test. Hmmm.....But I am chilled out".
"Ya, That's bcoz you don't know what's ahead".
"So, AFTER all these errands that you run for full day and night, .....Do YOU know what's ahead?"
"No, So what? At least I am fighting and trying to survive".
"All Globe buddy".
"Ya, I know. But what to do? And you know, we have an Exam tomorrow.....Welcome to India where cows eat hay.....I need a break, that too desperately".
"Hmmmm, Why don't you watch Shawshank? I have seen it at least 10 times."
"Why 10 times you jerk! You could not understand it at the first go?"
"He he he .....too smart! No seriously, It's gem of its kind."
"OK"
"You should see it tonight, It will refresh your mind."
"Hmm...I have heard about it from many of my friends, but could never get an actual opportunity to watch it. Is it a love story?"
"Ya, Love for hope.....hope for love..."
"Hmm...."
"No seriously, I think we should ask each and every champion to watch it. The story is about a jail named Shawshank. And the story .....I won't say it...You watch it for yourself. I can guarantee that you won' t be same after watching it."
"OK, I have my portable hard drive, pleasse give me that...."
"Ok"
Around 4.5 hours after this conversation, I had watched "SR" and this flick was on top of my spirits.....This movie worked for me....atleast for few days.....( better than the progeny of VM). Still now, this movie is all over my mind. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
I liked few of the quotes in this movie and I am writing them down for your reading.
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1. All I ask is three beers a piece for each of my co-workers...I think a man workin' outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion. (Andy)

2. Dear Red, If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend, Andy.

3. I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free. (Red)
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I belive this is one of the best movies I have ever watched in my life. One of my chilhood freinds used to say me about this but I could not watch it till few days back. I won't say anything more about this one since I don't wish to spoil the potential excitement It will cause when you watch it. The intoxication is par excellence....
No reviews' for this one .......sorry buddy. If you like the movie please comment on this post.

Why we feel the way we do now?

Uncle Bala - A story by Matt Golosinski

‘Keep reinventing yourself’Accounting professor Bala Balachandran takes his own advice and begins a new journey after a distinguished, decades-long Kellogg tenure
By Matt Golosinski

“I’m not re-tiring. I’m not even tired,” quips 71-year-old Bala Balachandran, and he says it with such good humor that you laugh along with him, enveloped by his warmth and cheer. It’s this spirit, coupled with his insights into managerial accounting and forecasting, that have made Balachandran an influential member of the Kellogg School faculty since 1973, when he arrived with formal training in mathematics, engineering and industrial administration. (Among his many academic credentials is a doctorate from Carnegie Mellon). This year, the J.L. Kellogg Professor of Accounting Information and Management is stepping away from full-time teaching to spend more time with family, but he intends to remain engaged, in Evanston and elsewhere, as he continues what has been a lifelong dedication to education.
“All people are equal, regardless of color, religion, whatever,” Balachandran says. “We are all together seeking some knowledge.”
In addition to producing more than 75 articles and serving in editorial capacities for peer-reviewed journals, Balachandran has been broadly active in the Kellogg culture. A snapshot of his efforts over the last 35 years would include his leadership as chair of the Accounting Department (1979-1983), his tenure as director of the Accounting Research Center (1985-2006), his enthusiastic promotion of experiential learning initiatives like LEAP and Global Initiatives in Management (GIM), and his role in starting the India Business Club and India Business Conference.
“We were the trendsetter for the entire country,” he says of the conference. “We were the first and best, and others copied us.”
On the global stage, Balachandran helped create Hyderabad’s Indian School of Business (ISB) — an initiative launched in 2001 that drew on resources from Kellogg and the Wharton School. He is also founder and honorary dean of the Great Lakes Institute of Management in his hometown of Chennai, India. That school, whose motto is “Global mindset, Indian roots,” opened in 2004.
“Education everywhere is my theme,” Balachandran says. “Kellogg is the seed, but the seed should not be eaten. It should be cultivated and shared worldwide.”
His efforts have earned him distinction, as well as legions of friends and admirers from among leaders in government, business and academia, such as India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tata Group Chairman Ratan N. Tata. For his contributions to education, in 2001 India honored Balachandran with its highest civilian award, the Padma sri. In 2007, India Abroad named the Kellogg professor to its list of “50 Most Influential Indian Americans.”
Said longtime colleague Professor Robert Magee: “Bala has provided excellent service to the academic accounting profession … and has been a true Kellogg patriot.” Dean Dipak C. Jain, whom Balachandran “warmly respects and admires for all his achievements,” pointed out the importance of the accounting professor’s role in chairing a strategic committee in 1985-1987 that influenced the school’s direction at a key time. “Bala helped us put Kellogg on top,” Jain said.
In honor of his retirement, several colleagues, including Donald P. Jacobs, Kellogg dean emeritus, Roger Nelson, retired deputy chairman for Ernst & Young, and Harry Kraemer Jr. ’79, former chairman and CEO of Baxter, have led a campaign to raise $1 million for an endowed professorship at Kellogg in Balachandran’s name.
For his part, Balachandran considers the emeritus dean an inspiration and “part of my family” “If I succeeded, it’s because of Jacobs. He was the force behind me, supporting those efforts.”
Balachandran’s efforts have been informed by a desire to make “nonlinear jumps” and dream big — being sure to execute too. Getting things done collaboratively is something he relishes. In fact, he views networking as a critical leadership skill but defines it in terms of nishkamya karma, or action done for its intrinsic value, without expectation of returns.
“The point is, I don’t try to get something for me,” he says. “If you try to network with a selfish agenda in your mind, the outcome won’t be good.”
It’s that perspective that Balachandran is taking with respect to the GIM trip — his last — he plans to lead next spring in India. He wants his students to meet Ratan Tata, among others, and gain an appreciation for what it takes to be a global leader.
“If you are at the top, everyone wants to take you down, so you’ve got to keep inventing and reinventing yourself,” he says. “You should not be satisfied with ‘the best.’”

( An excerpt from Great Lakes Mailbox)

We are the Champions !!!

Hey All,
I joined Great Lakes on 23rd April. One month just flew by. No one could even feel the whiff..... The first term here is about to end. And what a term it was!!! We covered Financial Accounting, Macro Economics, Psychology,Marketing Management, Chinese, assignments, projects, field trips, guest lectures by CEO's and Presidents and Vice presidents, and what not...
It was hectic boss...And sad part is that it's just the beginning of our academic year...he he he ...

The life here in Great Lakes runs at breakneck speed. Being a one year course anyone can expect the life to be hectic here. A normal 2 year MBA program is spread over a span of 16 months of Academics( 2 year consists of Leaves, Internships e.t.c.). You may expect that compressing 16 months course into 12 months would not be a big deal; But sadly, it is. The rigour here is much more than most of the 2 year colleges. Since these two colleges in India - Great Lakes and ISB run on same pattern of Academic rigour, the companies take a cue while visiting in the Placements season.
Our Placement figures have grown exponentially year after year. This year the unofficial figure is about 9.8 to 10.5 lacs per annum for every student. It's much because of the kind of students Great lakes takes through its efficient screening model. Every student in the college is having work-ex. The average work-ex is around 42 months. A significant %age of people are with International Work-ex. People come from various stalwart companies in global platform. A majority of Junta here is engineers. I am so lucky to be studying with so mature and genuine professionals who are hell serious about their careers. The kind of group interaction which I have experienced here is unmatched. Nothing could have been better except the IIM's and ISB.

Its been 8 years for ISB and 4 years for Great Lakes and both of these colleges are soaring new heights. ISB was ranked 20th by FT amongst all MBA schools in world. They have done a commendable job by coming up in all the rankings. You must go to ISB to get a feel of the growth there. They are indeed smart Marketers. And indeed Great Lakes is on the same Platform, but it's 4 years younger than its elder counterpart i.e. ISB. And 4 years is quite a less time for any college to come up to that level where Great Lakes has reached. This why we haven't participated in any kind of ranking of MBA schools conducted nationally. But soon we will be doing so because lot of not-so-worthy colleges get overrated and ranked above us. The campus of Great lakes is coming up by March 2009. Its a Platinum rated environment friendly building which will make it one of the best college in India. It's coming in acres of land and the whole plan resembles a 5-star Hotel cum Academy. The location is on ECR near Mahabalipuram.

The Faculty here is awesome. We have likes of Bala Balachandran ( He is the Captain of this Ship called Great Lakes), Srinu Srnivasan, T.N. Sheshan, Nirmal Gupta, Paul Prabhakar, Surya Sekar, Lalitha Maheswaran, coming in from Ivy League colleges, ISB and IIM's to teach here. Goldratt (The Goal), Philip Kotler are other big names who have graced the dais in Great lakes. Indeed Great Lakes is one of the few colleges in country having such a star-studded faculty.

If you wish to know more about Great Lakes then please visit these links.
http://greatlakes.edu.in/

http://greatlakes.edu.in/testimonial.php

http://greatlakes.edu.in/businessAdvisors.php
Thanks,
Ciao.

My MDI's GDPI Experience

Hi there...
It's been long time again.
I'm in Chennai facing the heat. You are allowed to infer any meaning you want to, since Chennai is hot, real hot. The humidity here sucks. People tell me that there are three seasons in Chennai - Hot, Hotter, Hottest. Still there are few folks who maintain that the situation will get better by July. I sincerely hope so.
Well!!! , About the post title...Yes dear...I'm writing this post to share with you my GDPI experience for MDI Gurgaon' PGPM course. ( PGPIM was similar)
First things first.
I was lucky to get a call from MDI PGPM since last year MDI had called people with %iles above 98%ile only. May be because of my unusual profile they gave me a call after I got a 97.1 %ile in CAT 2007. I was dead sure about the call from PGPIM (Int. Management.)Course since the last year cut off had hovered around 95%ile.
My PGPM and PGPIM interviews both were scheduled for 25th March in Mumbai.

Venue: HMTAC Dadar.
Date: 25th March 2008
Time: 0900 Hrs.
PGPM:
I reached the venue 30 minutes before the schedule, registered and took my seat. I was carrying my business suit in my hand and was reluctant about wearing it. Finally I decided not to wear the suit as it was too hot out there. I talked to some guys there. I realized they all had got better CAT score than mine. I should not have talked to anyone as I felt kind of an anxiety creeping in my mind.
Never mind. My batch was the first batch for the day and we were led to a room which was supposed to be the Group Discussion centre.

GD:
I had 10 guys (including me) in the GD. Topic given was -
“Media role in society, Is it getting overboard?”
The fellow who started GD spoke only once and then we could not hear his voice all through the GD of 15 minutes.
The 2nd speaker was a strong one. I spoke after him. The GD turned out to be a decent one. I participated well and I ranked myself somewhere 2nd or 3rd best speaker in the group. I got a nice feeling after I got out of the room. Later I learned the best speaker in my group was a 100%iler (Name – some Mittal from NIT Surat). Tough luck for me guys!!!

PI:
I was called 1st in the Interview room. There were two Profs in the room- one of them was old and one was middle aged.
Old guy- O
Middle age man- A
Poor Me- M

M- May I come in Sir?
O- Yes please, are you Abhinav…..Sinha ?
M- That’s correct sir
A- Hmm…..you spoke about the Rahul Dravid in GD?
M- Yup!
A- So you seem to be fan of Rahul Dravid…
M- I like him, but I am not his ardent fan. I prefer watching Tendulkar. I supported his stand since he is a nice human and he has done a lot for country and media should not start blemishing his image. I felt about it and thus very objectively I put forth my views in GD.
A- Hmm…..so you are a righteous person
M- Just smiled
O- Ok Abhinav, you are from Merchant Navy, right?
M- Yes Sir!!!
O- What is your qualification?
M- Sir the degree name is B.Sc Nautical Science from T.S.Chanakya

O- You have cleared IIT JEE 1999. Then why you decided to go for a normal graduation? You cleared JEE and joined a B.Sc ?

M- Answered with a smile all the way.
O- What is the difference between T.S.Dufferin and T.S.Chanakya?
M- (Hmmm….so he knows about Dufferin) Sir I am college junior of a person who got training in T.S.Dufferin as T.S.Chanakya is its progeny.
O- What is a Nautical Mile? Tell me as if you are explaining to a layman.
M- Answered properly
O- Ok tell me what’s the point in doing an MBA course?
M- Explained….convincingly….he seemed to started liking me.
O- But don’t you think that the life in corporate career will be very tiresome compared to the easy going life of sea?
M- I don’t think so sir and I will give reason for that….Life on ship as perceived from outside is not very easy. We live away from family and civilian life for continuous 6-7 months under mental and physical stress which would frequently push you to edge. You need to have strong nerves to handle the pressure on ship.
O- Tell me boy, is this the reason why you want to leave navy?
M- Smiling…..No sir , I have told you the reason why I wish to do MBA….and for doing MBA I have to leave ship. Leaving ship is the effect and not the cause.
O- Hmm…..Tell me what do you know about Shipping Operations?
M- Told properly…..( I had prepared it well after the Great Lakes GDPI)
O- How is Logistics different from Supply Chain?
M- I tried to answer …..but he cut me short ( Lucky me…..I didn’t know answer the properly)
O- Tell me what do you know about the Charter Parties?
M- My forte!!!!! He was impressed.
A- Ok Abhinav, tell me what is your long term goal?
M- Answered
A- Hmm…..But for that do you need to do MBA?
M- Yes sir ….that’s a major prerequisite for my goal.
A- Ok, Why do you want to join MDI Gurgaon for that?
M- Blah Blah …..
A- And how many courses are there in MDI?
M- I started enumerating all the courses….
A- Which other calls you have got?
M- Sir IMT Gzb, Great Lakes, MDI Pgpm and MDI Pgpim…..
A- How were your other interviews?
M- Sir my Great Lakes call is converted, waiting for IMT’s result and right at the moment I am quite positive about MDI Pgpm conversion.
A- And why do you think so? Haan …ek Baat batao bhai Sinha ji…..How do you rate yourself in this Interview?
M- Sir I think I am doing well.
A- You are not nervous….eh?
M- Smiling …..No sir. Rather I am delighted to have such a nice interview.
A- Thank you Abhinav…..Well sir ji, mera ho Gaya …..Aapko kuchh poochhna hai? (Looking towards old man)
O- Nah, Even I am done. You may carry on boy….all the best.
M- Thank you sirs,
O- Just send the next guy in….
M- Sure sir. Have a good day sirs.
( I walked out smiling….)
This was one of the best interviews I ever faced for MBA entrance, but still, MDI guys gave lot of weightage to CAT score and less weightage to GDPI Performance….and thus they gave me long waitlist rank. ….sad!!!

Now, results are out and getting revised and at the moment I am waitlist 695. (Tuff Luck)
I converted MDI Pgpim call and IMT Gzb- Fin but decided to go with great lakes since it suits to my needs. MDI Pgpm was a dream unrealized…..but again, Life is not about getting all your dreams but to have faith and to keep dreaming…..
And today, in Great Lakes, I am again dreaming…..La Vita e Bella.

Shaurya : Movie Review

I am back to Mumbai after a weeklong vacation. As always, I decided to relax by indulging into my favourite activity and walked into my favourite theatre-Adlabs. I had not decided on the movie to watch. In fact I was keen on watching D-War. But the timings forced me to take tickets of this not so greatly publicised movie- Shaurya.

Cast: Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Javed Jaffery, Minissha Lamba, Deepak Dobriyal e.t.c.

Director: Samar Khan

Plot:

Siddhant Chaudhary ( Rahul ) and Akash Kapoor ( Javed Jaffery) are officers in Indian Army and fast friends. The army appoints Akash as prosecuting officer in case of court martial of a junior officer Javed Khan (Deepak Dobriyal). The charges on him are that he killed his senior officer during one of the search operations in Poonchh village in Kashmir on point blank range.

Akash asks siddhant to take up the defence side so that he can easily argue and win the case. Rahul Bose is initially seen to be very careless and indifferent kind of officer. Minissha Lamba acts as a journalist who investigates the actual case of Javed Khan. She ridicules Siddhant when she finds that he didn't even had any details of the case which he was supposed to defend. This pulls Siddhant deep into the case where he realises that he was being very casual. The movie slowly sees him becoming more devoted officer in persuit of geeting justice to Javed Khan. In this course he meets Brig. Pratap (Kay Kay) and he has to call him to court as Kay Kay Menon was the main stirrer who had framed Javed Khan into court martial. Siddhant goes through an elightenment phase after which he devotes himself completely to defend Javed Khan.

Strengths : Kay Kay Menon, Deepak Dobriyal

This movie is loosely inspired from the famous hollywood flick " A Few Good Men". And one man who does splendid job is Kay Kay Menon. I wonder when indians will recognise this man's talent. I have not missed a single movie of this man and I feel he is one of the real actors in industry.

Shaurya is another feather in his cap.

Another man who needs a brief mention is Deepak dobriyal who portrays the dejected Javed Khan. Thought the role is very small, but he is able to deliver impact in his charachter.

Weakness:

Another bollywood flick "inspired" from hollywood. This is my personal opinion as I saw many sequences in movie as repeat telecast of " A few good men". For a person who has not seen AFGM, Shaurya is an issue based movie. For me, its a movie which wanted to do an "A Few Good Movie" but just to play safe, brought in the issue of communalism in Indian Defence. The screenplay was average. Few songs , which seemed to be forced into the plot, were pathetic.

Similarities between "A few good men" and "Shaurya":

Story of defence court martial, the hero inexperienced lawyer, the hero son of a famous defence officer, the villain being a pure sadist and highbrow guy, lady factor in movie who initially has friction with hero but later cooperate closely to solve the case......e.t.c.

Overall a good movie for general crowd. I doubt that this will be a box office success as the publicity has not been a forte of this flick.

My ratings :

Originality - 0.5 star

Acting - 4.5 stars for Kay Kay .....2.5 stars for rest

Songs- 0.5 stars

Direction - 3.5 stars

Overall - 3 stars

Please comment on my review.

My Great Lakes GDPI experience

Well, I've been late in posting my Glakes GDPI experience. Here it is ...

Date- 15.02.2008

Venue- Andheri Recreation Club, Mumbai.

Time- 0800 hrs.

It was a relief kind of GDPI after the Machchi bazar IMT GDPI.

The GD started at sharp 0800 hrs.

GD:

10 participants , all present. The panel consisted of Capt. Yadav from Seaarland Shipping and another Unknown Sir. To assist them a current student was coordinating the GD formalities. The Student explained us the rules and told how the GD would progress.

Topic given - Aha !!! it was a case study...

The case was about employess of a software firm living in tier 2 city in TAmilnadu complaining that they were not getting equivalent remuneration and career growth as compared to their conterparts in Mumbai office of the same firm.

What should the firm do? Is the demand of employees in TN justifiable?

The initiator was a very smart fellow ( I think the name was Naidu). He gave us a very good start and the GD continued in smooth manner. I did a small goofup wherein I was pointed out by Panelists that I was not listening to my team members in GD. From that point I knew I had to crack it big time otherwise it was a lost game. I made it a point that now I would do the max talking . I noted down all the salient points being discussed and then tried to make an interim summary and quoted explicitly that " Sir I was intently listening to my friend X who talked about point Y and I think even Z's point Q was quite worthy for a thought." I wanted to make an impression that I am not a bad Listener. That helped me in breaking ice and I think my GD performance was good ( Atleast not bad) overall.

PI:

3 panelists,

p1- professor 1, this fellow was around 40-45 , slightly bald and seemed to very strict.

p2- prof 2 , an old and jolly kind of fellow...

L- only lady ( i think she was one of the current student, though not sure about this)

M- poor me!!!!

They read my profile for 5 minutes before calling me in .When I entered room, the jolly old guy stood up to greet me. That reminded me of Capt. Vaz in old MMD ( he did same thing in my 1st orals for 2nd Mate- He had failed me in all 3 functions). Well, coming back to the PI, I greeted everyone.

P2- So you are a merchant navy officer?

M- yes sir ...

P2- Ok , age old question for you.....Why did you join Merchant Navy?

M- I am fool , I am fool.....I was not ready for this. Ye question to Chanakya mein Placements mein poochhte the ( uth jaag musafir bhor bhayi...GMD)

Framed an answer on the spot and they seemed to be convinced.

P2- So now after 5 years in your shipping carrer you seem to be disillusioned with your Uniform...eh?

M- Well sir , that is a general perception. I have got a different opinion about my switchover to Corporate career and I would like to share the same with you sir .....

P2- please go ahead and enlighten us dear...

M- All blah blah of Why MBA.....( I left a cue for the next question...)

P2- hmm....nice reasons...What's your long term goal ?

M- Big funday, answered very energetically..... P2 stopped smiling ...L started smiling...

L- Well then how come an MBA help you in your Consultancy firm...You must leave shipping only after your Master'S License.

M- Gave nice reasoning....

L- Well in that case you won't need our placements ?

M- Ma'am I told that It's my long term goal and I would embark on to this only after some years in Corporate career.

L- Wat's your Dream Company?

M- I would love to work for a shipping company in a strategic profile handling operations and logistics of the firm .

L- Can you name anyone company ...

M- yes ma'am ...Maersk is there, P&O Nedlloyd, Stolt Tankers, Shell....

L- impressed by the answer ...smiling ....

P2- Ok you seem to be a weak person ......u r sensitive .....tell me an incident where your sensitivity was ....hmmm hurt ? ( ye kidhar se aayaa bhai ? this was surely to push me into the corner)

M- This was like deathknel....I was completeley lost ....what did he just say ? why did he ?ok .....the answer , I have to answer .....( i took atleast 20 seconds to start.....kasam se)

Blabbered an incident which i created impromptu...( here my throat went dry and my tongue literally started sticking.....shit!!!! I did not wan it to slip it out of my hand....I asked for a glass of water and they guided me to it )

P1 - Lets talk something about acads? ( this man made a late entry but was a real knowledgable and stern kind of person)

M- Sure sir...

P1- you seem to be a Maths Guy...Aryabhatta hmm....Maths Olympiad....? MAy I ask something from Maths?

M- Sir I would try my best to answer your questions.

P1- Wat is fav topic in Maths?

M- Sir , during my preparation for IIT JEE the fav topics used to Calculus, Graphs and Co-ordinate geometry. But since I have been away from it for a long time , i.e. around 8 years, you may find me uncomfortable with some typical questions in these areas.

P1- hmm....smart...!!!! chalo .....tell me something about Logarithms.....

M- mustered up whatever I cud ...

P1- Hmm....tell me something about someone who told total angle in a triangle is 180 deg.

M- Sir the name was Euclid, he was a Greek mathematician .....

P1- Ok, tell me something about a mathematician who died young in 20th century....

M- Sir, I would like to guess.....

P1 -go ahead

M- Srinivasa Ramanujam? ( I was confident but not100% sure)

P1- hmmm......ok ....What did he do for Maths ?

M- Sir He was in ......Cambridge.....and his guide's name was .........Prof. Hardy....And he did lots of contributions for maths ....he died at very young age because of ....tuberculosis....

P1- I asked you , what did he do for maths...?

M- Sorry sir , I don't have much idea of his academic accomplishemtns , just a general knowledge about him ...

( everyone was smiling .....)

L - I seee that this Mr. Vikas Pandey is all gaga about you in his recommendation letter , also the captain ....Sumanth ....right ......so what does mr . Vikas say to you .....after getting into IIM from shipping ?

M- Gave a beautiful answer .....

P1 - have u studied statistics in grads ?

M- no sir , it was during my school .....

P1 - ok what do you read in non - fiction .....( mind you ....i had written that i love Fiction novels)

M- Sir I like to read fiction novels , and i cover non fictional articles given in news and magazines .....

P1- you don't like Non- fiction ...?

M- sir I didn't say that , I said I read non-fictional articles given in Magazines , but never tried to read a whole book ....

P1 - who is your business idol?

M- Sir Dr. Narayan Murthy ( i had prepared it very well)

P1- what do you know about him ?

M- gave his full profile given in wikipedia....

P1- hmmm.......do you know the valuation of infosys when he shifted his base from pune to bangalore ?

M- sorry sir .....

P1, p2 and L together started lecturing and discussing about Mr. Infymurthy.....

L- ok tell me mr. narayan murthy embarked onto software growth , likewise what is going to be the field going to grow like software?

M- hmmm....Ma'am nanotechnology , .....

p1- what about ethanol?

M- sir I have read about it a lot while i went thru the global warming thing wherein it was said that ethanol is being used as alternative fuel and it will replace crude oil and hence its importnace in coming years ....

P1- ok i'm done ....( smiling ) you people want to ask any question ?

L- yes ....hmm....tell me the growth rate in logistics sector last year in india ....

M- Sorry maa'am , I don't know about this .....( jaaate jaate maar li meri )

L- that wud be all mr. Sinha....you may carry on ...

Thankyou Ma'am , thankyou sirs .....Have a good day ....

So that was all , the gd was ok and Pi was quite unpredictable kind of....

But I was lucky that I got through in main list of admits......Thanks to evryone who helped me.

Race : Movie Review

Hi there!!!

It's been quite a nice Friday for me. Woke up late, did some pending paperwork, posted the documents through our dear DTDC "express service" where they promised me that they will deliever my consignment within 3 days !!!

Thereafter I headed for this one movie which has got ubiquitous trailers running on every damn channel nowadays. You guessed it correctly buddy, Its "Race".

Finally It's here...

The name is properly chosen as this movie shows all kind of F1 inspired cars, music, babes, skin show et al.

By all odds, a delight for boys. The people who have loved directors Abbas-Mustan's earlier released movies like Ajnabee, Humraaz, Naquab, will surely like this movie.

Cast: Saif, Akhshaye Khanna, Katrina, Bips, Anil Kapoor, Sam Reddy, Dulip Tahil .....

Director: Core-2-duo directors- Abbas Mustan

Plot:

The movie is set in South Africaand is about a race of one-upmanship between two step brothers Saif( Ranbir ) and Akshaye (Rajiv). Bips is lady love in life of Saif who is incidentally an upcoming model. Kaif ( apni katrina ....aur kaun) is the PA of Saif ( he owns a stud farm and indulges in Betting on horses). Saif is shown to be a stud himself who loves adventure sports and is a cool shrewd person. There's an initial narration by Anil kapoor's voice for viwers since they(the actors as well as the darshak junta) are about to go for a hell of a racy story ahead. The plot unfolds into frequent flashbacks and accidents. Akshaye along with Bips as accomplice plans an accident and subsequent death for elder bro Saif which would ensure a huge insurance claim of 100 million $ to him. Just before the interval you even see Saif dying after a steep fall from a high building, and apna Anil bhaiya (investigating inspector) coming in with his irritatingly naive assistant Sameera Reddy to investigate the so called "murder/accidental death" of Saif Bhai. After the intermission Kaif who was till now in background, comes forward and claims that she was married to Saif a day before his death and thus the insurance money belongs to her. Then another shock, then another , then another ......the shock saga goes on till the movie ends.

I am now quite familiar with mindset of this director duo Abbas Mustan. When Saif died , I was sure he will come back ( don't you remember Bips coming back in Ajnabee). This director duo doesn't believe in killing the main character of movie before the climax. Like all Abbas Mustan thrillers, this movie also shows two men striving to outperform each other.

Strengths- Saif, Akshaye, South Africa, Sports Cars, Stunts, Atif's song, thrills

One of the best performances by Saif and Akshaye Khanna. Saif has looked gr8 in his stubble.

The locations used for shooting the film are quite nice. The cars you see are Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche e.t.c. Wow!!!!!

Stunts are awesome especially the one in which Saif drops from air into a speeding car and then stops it at the edge of cliff. Atif's Song -"O jaanejaan , dono jahan meri baahon mein aa...." is melodious and I am still humming it. And finally the strength of AbbasMustan duo is the thrill they pump into the plot and once again they have been successful in it.

Weaknesses: Sameera Reddy, Anil Kapoor, too much of skin show, some hiccups in plot, too many twists and turns.

Sameera Reddy is the unwanted sore who shows immature acting skills and wears quite plunging neckline "poshaak"in vain hope to revive her lost dream of bollywood stardom. Anil Kapoor's role is not so well prepared. He uses hackneyed dialougues and stale expressions. If someone asked me what is the colour of movie, I would say Skin Colour. Like most men, I do enjoy watching female body, but an overdose of it is surely no-no. The movie has so many twists and turns that even a roller coaster ride in Japan would fall short in giving you the kind of thrill as well as pain. Yes Buddy!!! A 10 minute ride is ok but 2.5 hours roller coaster ride leaves you devastated.

Finally ratings...

The movie would prove to be a box office success as it is the right time to release with holidays and festivals around the corner.

A sure delight for youngsters , especially boys.

I would give points out of 5 stars.

Story- 3.5

Acting- 3

Direction- 4

Songs-3.5

Overall Movie- 3.5 /5 stars

As always, Thanks for jheling me .....Please, do comment on my review.

My experience in IMT GDPI

I felt I should share my GDPI experience of IMT in my blog.

So here is the blow by blow description of what happened that day . Hope it helps someone appearing for GDPI for IMT Gzb.

I reached centre 1 hour before the schedule so that I cud get a feel of what all things were going on in GD. It was quite helpful since I learnt that nearly all the GD's were chaos (fish market basically). My schedule was exactly at 1230 hours and the process started by around 1430 hrs( poor show !!!).

1st , the GD:

16 participants ( a definite recipe for fish market)

3 observers from Insti.

Only one girl in group and 3 guys in suit including yours truly.

One of the moderator/observer ( later I learnt he was a Professor of IMT nagpur) took the charge of the GD and briefed us about the rules .- 1 topic to be chosen out of two by draw, thereafter 2 minutes to think , 8 minutes to discuss , 1 minute for everyone to summarise , and later 3 mintues to write a summary. In all around 30 mintues for one batch.

The lady was asked to pick up the destined chit of topic . Lady luck shone and we got a very nice topic of " We should not believe in the lines of our palm because even people without hands have got future".

I jotted down my points. The GD started , 3 seconds and somone interrupted the initiator. The war had started. Within next 1 minute the discussion turned into a GF ( group fight). Thankfully I enetered 3-4 times by raising my voice just above the chaos and luckily got heard by the group.

I gave examples of Napolean Bonaparte and Lance Armstrong. The biggest mistake I did was that I cudn't summarise properly in writing. Chalta hai.

Over all , one of the best GD's conducted that day. I was kind of satisfied with my performance.

2nd , the PI:

3 panelists ( same as that in GD)

P1- Professor 1, Seemed to be the most intelligent guy. I could never hear his voice, was surely a "machher jhol saunge bhaat"( he was just observing me and just used to shake or nod his head)

P2- Professor 2 , who took charge in GD ( elderly , bearded guy)

L- Lady in Army ( calm and supportive kind of lady , seemed to be an ace in communications)

M- poor me !!!

So here is the conversation which followed in that room for next 15- 20 minutes.

L- So you are from shipping ?hmm...... nice career !!!Tell us about yourself.

M- told with gr8 enthusiasm....got cut short

P2- So why MBA ?

M- answered with few hiccups...

P2- why not something in chartering or shipping only ?

M- answered with zeal....

P2-you seem to be hiding something

M- I don't know of something which I am trying to hide.

L- No we feel that you are leaving shipping because you wanna shift to shore job...

M- ( gr8 job detectives ...go fish) tackled in very beautiful manner , and here my bangla friend Mr P1 started nodding heavily and seemed to be totally convinced.

P2- OK ...nothing related to your family life ? something like you wanted to give more time to your family ?

M- In this question I just decimated all their hopes of stressing me ...Nice answer...lady seemed to be too impressed.

P2- tell me what all things you have studied in grads

M- told him all the shippy funda

P2- can you tell me what kind of engines are fitted in Mumbai local trains ?

M- ( irada kya hai bhai ? maar lo , mauka hai dastur bhi hai ...maaro maaro, kuchh nahi bolenge )

I acted as if I know the answer and did the the mistake of answering ( I should have said" sorry no idea dude").

P2 - do you really know anyhting about marine engines ?

M- ( nahi re baba) No sir , I was on deck side , It's more of a management kind of profile rather than technical. The technical part is looked upon by Marine Engineers.

P2 - then what's the use of clearing IIT JEE?

M- ( go and ask the people who designed this system) Answered with poise and they acknowledged it .

P2- so what specialstn r you going to take up in MBA?

M- Finance sir ( did big mistake , here comes the bazooka !!!)

P2 - what r your long term goals you said ?

M- Told

P2- Then how will finance help you in doing it ?

M- treied to frame an answer on the spot ...they guessed it

P2- ( now turning into total devil) you seem to be confused about your goals Mr Sinha ,

Asked me some rapid fire technical terms from Shipping Commerce......... , do you know about these things? these things are not taught in Finance dear .

M- I was on backfoot now , but still tried to hit a six like Dhoni on backfoot.

Explained him how finance wud help me in realising my long term goal ( here they started shaking their head)

P2- An MBA in operations wud suit your profile Mr. Sinha

M- I was totally confused by now ( if i eat my words , i stand out as laggard and confused , If i insist , I get a label of bullheaded)

I just smiled ( sab gud gobar)

P2- Well I'm done with.....do you people have any question ?

No No

Ok Mr Sinha , Do you have any question ?

M- Asked .

P2- answered.

Well that wud be all. Thankyou Mr . sinha

Thankyou sirs, thankyou ma'am.

Would you like me to send the next guy in ?

Yes please , that wud be gr8...

Sure sir...

The lion walked out of Jackals' den.

(edited on 3rd April,08)- Ok guys, I converted it !!!! (PGDM-Finance)

The results are out and I am selected but Great Lakes is more promising and only one year ( opportunity cost blah blah....) thus not very keen to join IMT Gzb.

Thanks again for jheling me ...

I would post my experience of Great Lakes GDPI also . That was complete delight...

Till then, Ciao...

P.S. I love You: Movie Review

Well, sometimes there's only one thing left to say...
This is the tagline of the new hollywood release which I saw 3 days ago in my favourite theatre.
The movie name itself was catchy enough to attract me to ticket window. Here I would like to give a review of this movie which is actually based on a novel written by Cecilia Ahern.
Plot-
The movie starts with a couple i.e. Gerry and Holly fighting over common marital issues of kids and larger apartment. They make up quickly and the movie starts with the casting. Next you see that Gerry is dead due to a brain tumor and this has left Holly devastated. The movie then shifts onto a novel kind of plot where Holly gets letters from dead Gerry .(these letters were written by Gerry himself when he was alive )
These letters assign 'tasks ' to Holy which actually help her to ease her journey of life after Gerry's loss and transition into a much sedate phase of life as a shoe designer. The movie is filled with intermittent surprises and shocks. The background score is too good and locations chosen for shooting ( especially the one in Ireland) are awesome. Special attraction is the irish accent of Gerry and the innocence of Holly's love. Hillary Swank ( Boys don't cry , Million Dollar Baby) has done great work and shown her mettle in handling the role of a widow. Lisa Kudrov ( FRIENDS fame) is as silly as always and makes the audience break into frequent giggles. The movie is too good for couples and an eye opener for folks who tend to fight too often.
Overall , a fresh feel movie recommended for couples.

Cast:
Hilary Swank as Holly Reilly Kennedy
Gerard Butler as Gerry Kennedy
Lisa Kudrow as Denise Hennessey
Gina Gershon as Sharon McCarthy

Rating- 3.5 stars/5

Do watch the movie and comment on my review.
Thankyou for jheling me...

In Retrospect...

Hi there,

I know that I have been away for long long time. As I was going through blog , I realised that I have been very irregular in writing posts. Thats not what I had planned when I started this blog. Afterall this blog is my online diary of my journey. The journey to eternity... and I should have kept it filled with my day to day experiences. But sadly , I was not upto the mark.
Dear Blog , I will try to keep up from now.
Well , when I look back I realise I have almost taken my leap, the leap of faith.
It indeed wasn't a blind leap. You can never be sure of a blind leap; you must have some calculations and backup in place.
It was quite a calculated risk and It seems to be paying now.
The first post was when I was going to attend my 1st class at IMS vashi .
It was a maths introduction class.
And here I am today , cracked CAT not so big time but decently enough to get calls from MDI , IMT and Glakes. Converted the call from Great Lakes and currently doing all those loan formalities in order to buy time for cracking MDI pgpm.

I know wherever I go, I'll be happy.
Lets see whats in store for me ...
La Vita e Bella...