Another day in the Rat Race.

For Stinky Rats: If you succeed in cheating someone,dont think that the person was a fool but realize that they trusted you more than you desereved.

For my friends: There's no free lunch. And if you are eating one, you are the customer. Period.

Yeah !! Don't get surprised. Neo can be real blunt at times. But this post is going to be all qabalistic to trick and avoid the search engines as I don't wish to kill some zombies.

Here it goes !!

It was one of the most weird Saturdays in my life recently. Literally went into a temporary remorse.
Felt too sad for some people whom I met. I even met myself, yet again, in the mirror, after meeting them.
Life is so bloody complex at times. We could imgaine at this very moment, we could have full control of of our life and then the very next moment you would not even feel like taking the next breath.

Met some zombies actually, to be precise, as you must have felt at the onset.
They wanted me to join their zombie land full of false aspirations and false commitments of legal methods of suicide. Actually, I could see through their so called "charismatic" stupidity.
People can sometimes get so foolish just to gain quick money that they actually end up loosing it or a part of it.

I could relate them to the person that I used to be a few years ago. The utter chaos that was !!
Lost my right leg in those chaotic times. Though I have regenerated a new one in last few years but still the old wound hurts and till today I walk with excruciating pain.
Man !!

Sometimes I tend to counter my own conviction. Predictable me !!
Am I going in right direction ? Does this path lead to the place where I used to dream of ?
Or we all are the oblivious inhabitants of this murky zombie-land where even I am one of them ambling ahead with a snarling and blood dripping mouth ready to devour on first soul I meet ?

The Rat Race !! At it's best. What else ?

Sometimes we just are so much ready to jump a bungee that we forget to check the harness and tackle if it's gonna sustain the strain. What next ? You expect some miracle ? Ok. Let's do maths. Maths as to: If your body from this height fall into cliff without any tail attached anywhere, then how many pieces your body would be finally broken into ? Assume g=9.8 m /s^2 and height=100m.

Agreed, Analysis Analysis Analysis ... Paralysis !!
But with zero analysis how far you could go?
You challenging common sense ?

Why sometimes people tend to forget common sense ? Just because forgetting it would bring them a notional pleasure ? But what if this "dream" or so called "orgasm" never ends ?
May be it would end up all your bridges to safety and security ..... won't it?

So much so for so called "quick bucks" ??

All the best to zombies. I don't belong to their land. Never.
Puked the bile out of my tummy. Now feeling better.

Ciao, Bona Notte !!

Neo.

Gangs of Wasseypur - 2 : Movie Review

"Baap ka dada ka bhai ka , sabka badla le liya re hamara Phaijal !!"

India has finally got it's Coppola / Tarantino / Guy Ritchie..... Vindicated huh !! :-)

In Vashi Adlabs today night, people stood up and clapped when the credits started rolling. Two Thumbs up to Anurag Kashyap and GoW team. Respect !!

Plot: Much more gripping and engrossing than the 1st part. Ruthless gory crime everywhere all the time. It won't repel you. At one point in time I felt that movie is digressing from core but the way script bounced back, it never allowed me to take a moment to relax and focus away.

Strengths: Almost everything. Acting, Songs, Story, Dialouges, Screenplay, Editing et al.....

Weaknesses: None whatsoever !!

Nice to know that Shamshad got treated in Bokaro :-)
Go watch it, avoid Kids, Can take ladies this time along with as the tharki Sardar Khan is not in this one, missed Manoj Bajpai though.
Rating: 4.5*

Gangs of Wasseypur - I : Movie Review

Bawaaseer !!

Bahut Badi ho gayi ho !!

Maange Jo babuna, prem nishaniya !!

Man !! An action packed 3 hour trip to an evolution story of crime and life in a small village in south bihar through the meandering plot around witty events, rustic locales and contemporary culturual snapshots ....

Take this : Super music adaptation and presentation through songs -
1. Jiya ho Bihar ke Lala, Jiya ho hazar sala  .... tani nachi gaayi sabke man bahlaave e bhaiyaa !!

2. I am a hunter, she want to see my gun, when I pull out by, the woman start to run !! Hum Hain Shikaari, paakit mein lambi Gun ... !!

3. O Womaniya ... ahha womaniya ... Badle rupaiya ke dena chavaniyaa, Saiyyan ji jhaptte, to hona hiraniya !!

One hell of a movie but still can't ignore the flaws ... :-)

Plot: The story ranges in 3 generations starting in pre-independence era and extending to mid 1980's in Chhotanagpur's coal belt. The charachters in the story are involved in trade / loot of coal and scrap iron.
Shaihd Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) a coal-dacoit-turned-mining-gunda gets murdered by his master, the coal mining mafia-turned-politician Ramadheer Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) with close support of the Qureshi/Butcher community who have a generation old feud with the Pathans (Khans). Shahid's son, Sardar Khan (Manoj) vows revenge in a halaal manner rather than jhatka and he keeps cutting his adversaries in that easy-easy-severing fashion all along the plot !!
He marries a spitfire "womaniya" Nagma (Chadda) who inspite of all philandering escapades of her husband stands by him through thick and thin. There's another "hiraniya" Durga (Reema Sen) who seduces Sardar in tempting as well as hilarious sequences. The movie goes onto throw ahead various charachters one after another making audience wonder why the heck so many actors ?? Imagine veteran actor like Yashpal Sharma coming in for a cameo as dual-voice singer for a marriage party.
On whole, the movie shows the intricate fabric of crime, law-lessness, venegeance, adultery and feud in the protagonist Sardar Khan's life. Dark in details, the movie would never inspire a soul, but would just spring open a dirty pandora's box of these once-upon-a-time-mafia-controlled-geographies. You would either love it , or hate it ..... but you wouldn't be able to ignore it.

Good Part: Songs (Sneha Khanwalkar rocks!!), Manoj Bajpai, Comic sequences, Richa Chadda,  Nawazuddin(Faizal). Infact acting performance of each person in movie was exemplary, And last but not least - apt dialogues (forget those expletives)

Bad Part: Confused plot, too many charachters, too fast at some points while too slow at others, too much of gore, cow abattoir scenes (yuck !!), charachter of Manoj was too complex with more shades of black than white, audience may forget as to what was the motive of protagonist to keep himself bald ? And yes, too lengthy a movie !!

Several times watchable. Must for you, if you have lived in North Indian belt ever.
Don't ever assume or pray it to be a family movie. It actually can't. One of the best from Manoj Bajpai's works till date. He looks real. But out of all these, one man who makes his presence felt through his skinny body, like-Amitabh-hair-style and piercing eyes, is the Sardar's younger son - Faizal (Nawazuddin). Last time we saw of him was in Kahaani. Super expressions indeed.

Girls can and should keep away if they dont want to see too much of gore and "touching" expletives. Mind you, The movie is rated -  "Adult".

The 2nd part would be out soon. Seems like Anurag Kashyap's going the Francis Coppola way !!

Revised Rating: 4*/5* ... Can't believe I did this :-)

Chalaa Taani
Neo.

Shanghai : Movie Review

Here is a quick review of the new release (relatively 7 days old, as of today) - Shanghai.

Plot:
''Sone ki chidiya, dengue malaria, gud bhi hai, gobar bhi, Bharat Mata ki jai."
It's a song from the flick. In fact the whole plot revolves around this central theme.

Bharatnagar, a fictional town, is undergoing a revolutionary face lift SEZ exercise named as International Business Park. Mr. Krishnan (Abhay Deol) is the Vice Chairman for this government aided project (an IAS officer). A certain Indian-US-based college proffessor Mr. Ahmadi (Prosenjit) is against this project and is trying to create a mass revolution in residents of the Bharatnagar. The story starts getting interesting as soon as Ahmadi is assasinated through a via-pawn-executed political plan. The other protagonists/charachters get in the plot as they were linked to either the site of Ahmadi's assasination or the person himself. What comes ahead is a series of dirty yet realistic events which lead the audience to know as to who the real culprits of Ahmadi's murder were and how the charachters reacted / responded to various events in their lives.

Strengths:
Abhay Deol, Farrukh Shaikh, Kalki, Emraan Hashmi, Pitobash Tripathi, Script, Imported Kamariya :-)

Weaknesses:
Dibakar Bannerjee (Director) should have been bit more elaborative when the movie explains/lays out the stand of protagonists because almost all of them have chequered roles. This negligence leads to confusion in minds of layman masses in audience as to who has a postive role or who is negative. In fact a kid behind my seat was shouting at his mother "Mom, Abhay Deol is good guy or bad guy ??" Having an extreme slant towards mindsets of Shyam Benegal or Govind Nihalani, can sometimes cost you serious revelue losses in commercial cinema.

In fact, what I quote as the weakness above, is of great strength in front of a discerning audience.
The protagonists, with shades of gray, show you various colours of their roles. It makes the movie look convincing and real-life inspired.

Abahy Deol is the dark horse who yet again impresses in a well crafted and well executed role.  (Please ignore his not-so-perfect tamizh accent dialogues)
One person who unexpectedly surprised me is Kalki. The last time she impressed me was in Dev D (Yes, I could not watch her flick - "The Girl in Yellow Boots"). The scenes in which she reacts to police in hospital and the one, in which she finally meets the murderer Anant Jog, are par-excellence.

Yet another trivia: This brings Farukh Shaikh and Supriya Pathak together after long long years.
Last time they worked together was in the wonderful "Bazaar".

I would have loved the movie much more hadn't it been yet another fact-accepting, submissive and dark story.
Imaginative but thought provoking movie where the good man knocks out the bad man off the ring is always a mass as well as class entertainer. e.g Singham, Ghulam etc.

My Take: 3.5*
(Could have been a 4* movie, if some inspiring/motivating climax could have been thought of)

Chalaa Taani,
Neo.

The Nocturnal Recruit

Just for Fun !!

Narrator: An anonymous fictional cadet sailing on a product tanker ship in early years of 2000's.

The Excerpt:
It was a cold misty night in Black Sea (An almost landlocked sea in Europe) Cold as in 2 degree celsius below zero and significant wind blowing over deck. That makes a bad combo indeed.

Chief (Boss) called me in CCR (Cargo Control Room, from where all the remote operations of valves and pumps used for cargo/ballast/heating/transfer takes place) after the usual 4 to 8 watch on Bridge.

He seemed to be tense.
One of the two ballast pumps (ballast is sea water taken in ship to maintain its stability in absence of full load of cargo) was not functioning.

"Be ready to go to pumproom !!"
(Pumproom: a feature majorly present in tankers, a section between cargo area and ship's accomodation, having the cargo/cleaning/ballast/heating pumps ).
"OK Sir"
I was like (Not aloud)  - " For what? At this time ? It's cold outside, I don't wish to venture out at night ... Has to have some reason"

"The ballast pump number 1 is not online today. Engine room told me to manage the whole thing using only the 2nd one"

"OK? Night time Ballast ?? At sea ? " My mistake - I asked this one aloud.

Ignorance used to be a real bliss then.

"You better learn something, else one day you would turn out to be a loser officer"

"Sorry Sir"

"Ok, we have to exchange the whole ballast of the ship keeping the ship stable all the time and before reaching our next port"

"Your royal colleauge is not fit for handling this at night on deck. I have asked Pumpy (Pumpman) to help us. See here, this paper. This is the whole plan for the operation. The intermediate loadicator printouts are given along with. You take care that she remains within this blue line all the time. Pumpy doesn't know a shit about these stress reports. You better start taking lead or else I'll have to think something else for you. And this paper is to be kept safe. It's not for wiping your shit off your ass, got it ??"

In next 5 minutes, he explained the whole thing to Pumpy too. At that point in time, it was all hebrew to me.

What's this crap ?
Why does he need me to do this ?
Why isn't my royal colleauge being asked to help??
Night is same for both of us, right ?

Pumpy was good. He informed me that it was being done so that we comply to the ballast water management rules present in country of our next port. The water was supposed to be pumped out in phases, and then taken inside tanks in phases, alternating the whole tanks' set using dump valves and pumps as and when required. All during this the whole ship should remain in complete upright condition and it should not shake a lot. The programs were designed in a fashion that would tell us whether she (The Ship is always female .. :P) will behave well or not.

So it started - At Mignight.

Control of whole pumproom was shifted to CCR.
My first steps - Report to duty officer before going to deck, line up valves, check the soundings, If needed take ullages from corresponding hatches, check the loading program at every stage changeover, go to pumproom every hour and record each and every thing in chief's CCR Log.
Pumpy would be in cabin, standby on walkie talkie. All from 0000 hours till 0600 hours. Deck lights to be asked for only if you really need it.
And all alone on deck.
Alone part was bit scary, and I could say only one thing - "Let's see".

I didn't even know what was I walking into. Just plain ignorance made me say yes to everything till it finally came to me. "It" was a big thing for me that night.


At 0020 hours, after reporting to bridge, I opened the accomodation gate.
Brrr.... It was freaking cold. I ran for my parka kept in changing locker which was accesible only from deck.

Wore it tightly around me, donned the helmet and gloves and started for the Pumproom. Steel stairs led me down by 18 meters near the bottom plate and there were the valves I needed to operate before I started the pump. Next 5-7 minutes, I was done and up near pumproom entrance again.

I just turned to go back inside the accomodation when just due to curiosity I glanced the deck through corner of my eyes in peripheral view. It looked scary. The same beautiful deck we all knew in daylight, looked like haunting loom at night with light mist adding to the magnitude of darkness. It was my first night at sea when I was all alone on deck, with no deck light, I told to myself - WTF !! How would I go there near ballast tank domes ??  Forget it !!


I started telling myself - "Ok, lets see ... There's first time to every thing in life."

Back in CCR, I felt warm and waited till I could get back some air in lungs. After 10 minutes I was done with the whole "starting" thing.
Pumps were roaring so much so that vibrations were audible even in CCR. I waited for 30 minutes till I donned my parka again to go to deck.

Afetr calling bridge on walkie-talkie, I moved out of the accomodation. No deck lights !! One flashlight and that too was freaking almost discharged. I had my ullage tape with me.

While walking towards forward most ballast tank, I never tried to look over my shoulders. I just kept on moving towards 1 port ballast tank. After I reached, religiously, I placed the flashlight on deck to keep my ullage tape in vision and opened the butterfly nuts of tank hatch cover. I hated pulling the hatch cover up since it always gave a weird sound. That sound was always accompanied by a horrific sound of gushing sea water in ballast tanks beneath. I quickly lowered my tape's sinker and soon I got the water surface.

*#cking 4 meters only.

Another 14 meters to go before I could changeover the valves to ballasting mode from de-ballasting. It's going to take jolly good amount of time.

No problemo ... Lets see.... I swear to whatever shit god exists today, I had no intention to look anything above my waist level. But just due to curiosity, I raised my eyes to eye level and then automatically they wandererd up and up and up .... and then round round and round .... I could not see anything around me !!!

Wait ... Am I awake ?

I looked around once again ... I could not see anything indeed ...

Had I gone blind ?

I looked down at the opened hatch cover of ballast tank, the place where I was engaged all the while till now.

Yes, the ballast hatch, it was there, but little hazy.

I got it. Our ship had entered in a deep fog. Since this was the first time with me, I was terrified to the dna's inside my blood cells. I called up 2nd on walkie-talkie, "Sir, Is it foggy around the deck ? Can you see me ? I am near No. 1 starboard ballast tank dome with my flashlight on"

2nd Officer replied, "Yes Tweety Bird, I can see your flashlight. It's hazy down there. You come back to accomodation fast. And don't bump into any of those vents and pipes!!"

I could not see anything even through my flashlight, it was just a long loom of it which lighted the fog around me. How could 2nd think that I would come back to accomodation "fast" ?

I was thinking to first find out the safety walkway lines and then follow them back to accomodation when suddenly I felt ...... as if ........ someone is standing behind me.

My heart skipped a beat ... may be two.

I don't know how I could garner that courage, but I turned around to see ...

Nothing ... again.
It was all gray (thick fog).

Not in a mood to waste any more time there, frantically, I reached to the nearest offset of safety walkway and I found it exactly where I expected it to be. I started moving towards the accomodation finally. By the time I crossed the midship locker, I was almost running. It was like a feeling that you experience when you are struggling for air under 12 feet of water column inside swimming pool and you start rising to surface. It seemed like finally I'll be out of this dreadful dungeon.

And .... Then "it" happened.

I saw a human figure.
He just crossed my path ahead perpendicularly in lightning speed.
From left side to right. I was petrified.
I could not follow this figure because my eyeballs got jammed due to sheer shock. I must have went blank when I tripped on my own leg and crashed into a vent pipe ahead.

Luckily, I didn't hit it that hard. It could not stop me from regaining my speed towards accomodation, though, sans the flashlight now.

---------- To be contd.

Rowdy Rathore: Movie Review

Didn't want to, but on "public" demand had to watch "Rowdy Rathore".

One time watchable, if you can.

It's like Ravi Teja in garb of Akki :-)

Good part:
Akshay, Sonakshi's oomph factor, action and some comic scenes which keep coming and going.

Bad part:

1. Weak script, badly utilised strengths in script e.g. how can you tell audience repeatedly that there's a double role and try to get excitement at each appearance;

2. Weird dialogues of Sonakshi and Nasseer and whoever that villain "Titla" was (Please , but non-bhojpuri accented people should not speak bhojpuri, it sounds pathetic)

Made for mass and certainly not for class. One good thing is that the movie has nothing inhibited. Movie's posters showed - "naya saal naya maal", "faulaad ki aulaad", "Don't Angry me", "Bheegi Choli, Happy Holi" and "Ek ticket mein double dhamaka". These "taglines" clearly tell of its intentions and the genre.

It's not going to massage your logic neurons. Don't dare try that !!

The movie would just vellicate and that's what you are going to pay for, if you do ... :-)
Rating: 2.5/5.0

Chalaa Taani !!
Neo.

Save the Gasping Elephant !! It's our mother after all ...

GDP at 5.3%: India now a gasping elephant, says HSBC today. Found this in ET today. I am not an authority on this but my common sense about macro numbers go like this : Here we walk into the vicious circle of "greedy or dumb power centers => policy paralysis => inaction => corruption in supply side => inflation=>bank rate hike=> low liquidity=>less demand => slow down => loop closes at bank rate" only thing you can control to come out of this circle seems is to remove the torching leg from greedy ...... to inflation ... apply some growth stimulus by pushing in the blocked infra projects ... and you have a recovery on the plate ... seems simple ... but it's certainly not that simple ... but is it actually even that tough ?? Pranab da is blaming it on Euro crisis ?? And NDA is calling a bandh ... again causing additional policy blockages and billions of money lost due to inactivity ?? No worries ... there are too many professionals to take care of this ... will wait ... dekhenge .... agli kisht mein ... humlog :-) Chalaa Taani !!

Kahaani: Movie Review

"Kahaani" is worth a watch ... And as it seems from the promos, It's not a sad dark story of a struggling pregnant woman in an even darker city of "so called" joy ... In fact it's a perfect set Suspense Thriller in a typical "Byomkesh Bakshi" style and yet another "Heroic" performance by Bidya ...er ...Vidya Balan ... To conclude, I would rate it several notches better than her work in "Dirty Picture" ... Shotti !! :-) ...
Signing Off,
Neo.

Sab Maya Hai ...

Read Today: Ex CM Mayawati's officially "declared" humble earnings of political career = 112.43 Cr INR.
I would love to see face of her voters when they come to know about this.
Can we reach at this amount by compounding the principle amount every day ?
What was principle amount ?
What rate to compound with ?
Was it due to a Side Business ?
Surely it would be a task to earn so much money through legal means in so small career on a salary of an MLA/CM/MP. Wouldn't those businesses take her mind off from the work that she was supposed to do as leader of a state for 5 years ?
A definitive case study for analysts as to what would be the IRR of a 5 year government in UP. You know the inflow amount and timing, right? Let's not account this declared amount in sheet. Do a rough estimate !!
He he he :-)
By the way, they tell it's all gifts .... Gifts from whom ?
What is the current source of income of those gift-giving-kind-hearted-once-upon-a-time-used-to-be-dalit people ??
Still surprised how the hell Taj Corridor case, Statues, Parks, Birthdays, Flying Sandals and Food Tasters controversies got subdued ??
Incredible India Indeed !!

Blood Money: Movie Review

Blood Money: Waste (of) Money
Good Part: Kunal Khemu and his boss
Bad Part: Forgot counting the flaws, Still, broadly they are - hollow direction by debutant Vishal Mahadkar, poor script, over-simplistic story, hackneyed dialouges, over drama, etc.
Avoid spending money in theaters. DVD or satellite channel would be a good medium to watch it if you're bent on to it.
Went to theater only because of Kunal Khemu because I generally like him after his work in Kalyug and SuperStar. And he did justice to his role designated, no doubt.
Incidentally, Director has screwed up big time and shot himself in the foot.
He should not have taken up such a good theme if he didn't know how to craft a movie around it.
 My Take - 2 Stars.

Agent Vinod : Movie Review

Agent Vinod: Worth Watching, Paisa Wasool ... 3.5 Stars ...
Bestest Features: Saif, Raghavan, Action, Music and especially "Raabta" Song :-)
Flaws: Some weird dialogues like "Yaadon Ki Baaraat", Kareena jumping in to dance a sensuous mujra in full public inspite of being an undercover (Too Bollywoodish) and Kareena's fate at the climax (Too Hollywoodish) ...
Well crafted, ultra fast paced screenplay and not-for-slow-receptors-would-not-wait-to-explain kind of boys' movie shot at numerous exotic and despicable locations both !!
Thank god "pungi" was not part of the movie actually ... :-)
Should cover it's expenses and post a decent hit on Box Office.

Chala Taani.

Abhinav.

Turning Around !!! Turning turning turning ....

Finding peace within ..... life seems like a jigsaw puzzle wherein I am the bloody one of the pieces being moved here and there .... someone else, not know to you, plans your moves ..... and that person seems to like you ..... is it god? is it you, the atman, the smart ass ?

Someone says in Advait Philosophy, the creator is within and not separate ..... then how come all those creators create trouble for each other ...? This world is running at a frenetic pace .... No time to think ..... keep running ..... for what ?

Is it justified ?

If we all are part of that so called Atman, then WTF we are not connected to each other ? Is this life a punishment phase inflicted onto our eternal being .... so that we come here in this unorganized planet and live a life witnessing agony all around ..... Am I getting cynical ? I pray no..... It's a phase buddy .... Chill maaro .... Beleive in Karma .... as you have always .... It's **cking powerful ... the Karma ....

A Motley Life

It's been around 2 years now since I last posted anything here. May be I got too busy in enjoying the assorted bag of sweet n sour toffees called life after joining the so called corporate world. Yeah !!! Can some other reason give you more peace ?? :)

Today, I stand as a more mature person than what I was when I posted my 1st post. Life taught me one thing very firmly in last 2 years. And it is one of the simplest morals you learn in your value building subjects in school. Good times or bad times would keep on coming and going and they are never permanent.

What you need to do to tackle the ups and downs of life is again very simple theory.

Never go overboard in good times by indulging beyond limit or forgetting who you are and never lose hope in bad times. Grounding is a big anchor in life. And as always, Anchors are there to save ships from drifting in dangerous zones. May be you won't get meteoric rise but having firm grounding ensures that you don't get duped into a meteoric fall too.

Every thing in this universe has a fundamental value and sooner or later everything arrives at a point wherein in attains it's fundamental value. The key to growth in life is to strengthen the fundamentals. That helps really .... else everything just appears to help.

Papa was correct, you can run a long route faster to beat the time, but there are no short cuts in life.

And for being lucky again you have to follow a single point agenda - Think and Act Positive.

The success of this theory in popular domain depends on a condition that how many people actually understand the real meaning of term "being positive".

Life seems much more crystal clear after few donkey years. Few more as input would certainly bring more peace in life. Life is not only beautiful, it's consequential.

Enjoy every bit of it with either a pinch of salt or few pints of beer !!!

Cheers !!!

Neo.

Yum Bee Yay !!!

It's been so long...since I last posted something here. Well!! I could have, but I could never get into a perfect mood where I feel completely stirred to write something. November 20 was long back....man!!

Today is the Labour Day - 1st May (Navigators have a different definition of MayDay - so let's avoid using it for 1st May).

On 28th April, I was awarded my MBA (PGPM) in convocation ceremony at Chennai Trade centre. The Chief Guests were Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Mr. Jamshyd Godrej and Mr. Adi Godrej along with our own Dr. Bala (Uncle Bala!!).

Every camera man in the auditorium was waiting for that coveted glimpse of all graduation caps in air. I had a similar experience when we all T.S.Chanakya 2002 cadets flipped our peak-caps in air after the announcement of our course completion. No one else apart from students can understand the sacrifices and efforts that go behind this day.

I had my own share of good and bad times in Great Lakes. Certainly good ones are more clear in memories. This one year MBA is one of the most extreme courses offered in Management education field. Additionaly we are going through one of the worst times in world economic history. It is a bad time to pass out of MBA but as the saying goes, with every calamity comes an opportunity. Well, it seems to be true for many people in our academy. Our batch is getting handsome placement all around in various industries. Few of the large companies, which could have taken in good people at lower prices this year, backed out completely from coming to placement. They were rapidly replaced by numerous medium size and small size companies who queued up for getting the country's best outgoing MBA grads. Great Lakes is certainly one of the top 10 performers in Campus Placements 2009 all across India. The main reason why companies like to come to us is that we all Great Lakers have prior experience before joining MBA. We all know what goes in to bring value for our employers i.e.the corporates and thus our payback period for employment is considerably less compared to the MBAs who join the B-School without having any prior experience. Slowly the demand of the experienced MBAs is picking up. I am sure that soon all MBA schools in India will put a mandatory cap of experience in admissions. Well, if they don't, they will fall behind schools like Great Lakes and ISB.

I am happy that things are happening the way I wanted them to. And certainly this is a happy phase of my life. I have undergone a sea change in my view about my career after MBA.

MBA is not an elixir which will turn a non-performer into a super-employee. MBA is a course which gives you a smart and mature perspective of all those things which every business in this world entails. It doesn't necessarily mean that you become an MS Excel god or an SAS-SPSS geek. It's lot more than that. In short - you start looking towards business with some different eyes.

Think over this !!!

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.