UPDATE:
July 4th, 2006
Due to the possibility of a modelling assignment anytime this or the next month, I will be delaying the bald look till further notice. Hell, I forgot to factor in this ritual that the senior batch of MBA students have to undergo every year. I wouldn't want to look like a don to the recruiters who flock this place. Sorry to disappoint you folks!
I am planning to go bald. My sis has given strict warnings against it. But then what do cute 11 year old girls know about the sex appeal of bald men (read about it somewhere!) ... ;)
Jokes apart, just want to try something different. And since there is no girlfriend, wife, mistress who will threaten to leave me if I do take the step, I've decided why not? Just wait till the current crop of hair has reached its threshold length. I'll post the pics of the bald and the beautiful. ;)
June 30, 2006
June 29, 2006
Relationships
No, this is no boyfriend-girlfriend post. I am in the mood for gyaan, especially given the fact that I have some free time today and that I haven't posted regularly for quite some time. So here goes.
Business is driven by relationships. Think about it. Good relationships with customers get you loyal customers. Good relationships with bankers get you better financing options. Good relationships with suppliers eases working capital requirements. Good relationships with employees increases your productivity. You get the drift?
Sadly, almost all B-Schools in India (I dunno about B-Schools abroad) do not have a single input on how to manage relationships. There are tangential courses on Personality Development, and most are electives to the streams of Human Resources or Personnel Management. There is a course on CRM (Customer Relationship Management) but as far as my knowledge, it has been classified as an Information Management elective.
So what does that leave us with? Management graduates who are more attuned to quantitative models and methods rather than relationship builders. It does not help that the large number of MBA's we generate these days are engineers, who love to play around with math. Management unlike math is about ambiguity. As managers you got to make the right decisions from very hazy scenarios. There is no 2+2=4. No exactness. There are many soft issues which need to be taken into account.
But engineers (most of them) hate subjects on the topic of Human Resources or Organisational Behaviour. There are two schools of thought. One, the freshers who cant understand jackshit of how HR / OB concepts are applicable. Two, experienced guys who have cursed their HR Dept. all their working life. At the end of the day, walk into any class on HR / OB and you'll see bored faces. This is compounded by poor faculty in many parts of the country who cannot relate theory to practice.
There is hope though. In my interactions with fellow MBA students over the past one year I have been able to feel a latent opinion that networking is important. How to go about it, and establish strong relationships from nominal contacts is something that has yet to take off. So unless you have it as an internal attribute, you may never develop or hone your relationship management skills in a Bschool. It may take you years of being close to customers, employees, partners before you manage to establish relationships with all of them. And if I can do that over that long a period of time, even after going to a BSchool whats the point in spending time in one.
As I said earlier, think about it.
Business is driven by relationships. Think about it. Good relationships with customers get you loyal customers. Good relationships with bankers get you better financing options. Good relationships with suppliers eases working capital requirements. Good relationships with employees increases your productivity. You get the drift?
Sadly, almost all B-Schools in India (I dunno about B-Schools abroad) do not have a single input on how to manage relationships. There are tangential courses on Personality Development, and most are electives to the streams of Human Resources or Personnel Management. There is a course on CRM (Customer Relationship Management) but as far as my knowledge, it has been classified as an Information Management elective.
So what does that leave us with? Management graduates who are more attuned to quantitative models and methods rather than relationship builders. It does not help that the large number of MBA's we generate these days are engineers, who love to play around with math. Management unlike math is about ambiguity. As managers you got to make the right decisions from very hazy scenarios. There is no 2+2=4. No exactness. There are many soft issues which need to be taken into account.
But engineers (most of them) hate subjects on the topic of Human Resources or Organisational Behaviour. There are two schools of thought. One, the freshers who cant understand jackshit of how HR / OB concepts are applicable. Two, experienced guys who have cursed their HR Dept. all their working life. At the end of the day, walk into any class on HR / OB and you'll see bored faces. This is compounded by poor faculty in many parts of the country who cannot relate theory to practice.
There is hope though. In my interactions with fellow MBA students over the past one year I have been able to feel a latent opinion that networking is important. How to go about it, and establish strong relationships from nominal contacts is something that has yet to take off. So unless you have it as an internal attribute, you may never develop or hone your relationship management skills in a Bschool. It may take you years of being close to customers, employees, partners before you manage to establish relationships with all of them. And if I can do that over that long a period of time, even after going to a BSchool whats the point in spending time in one.
As I said earlier, think about it.
June 28, 2006
Summer gyaan
And after I'm through with it please do not come searching for me with a sawed off double barrel shotgun. Thats the precise reason why I had 'gyaan' factored in the title of this post.
Well it all started off with me getting my posting at Corporate Strategy. After going throught the strategy course in Term III, I was convinced that this was another faff job. Not to question the professors credentials, but more as an expectation gap. Well thats how I started off, with faff, in the first review due April end. Shockingly, the guide shot it down and thankfully, he dint castrate me. We have been so used to the method of strategising in cases without knowning the context of the situation that we have become champions at rattling arbit fundaes on comparitive advantage, co-operative strategies, Porter's five forces, Red & Blue oceans, BCG matrix, etc. What happenend at ABG was different.
After the April review, I was urged to start reading history. Yes, history. So for a week all I did was read the stories of the industry I was working on. After that I had a fair idea of how the industry had moved over the years. In short, I got into the context of my work. The project suddenly came alive when I understood the background of work and the future implications of my work. History provided the base to understand competitor actions, which in turn helped to understand the motivations behind those actions, which finally led to isolation of their strengths and crytalised into the way they evaluate alternatives (which is what strategy is all about). Then of course you got to validate your hypothesis (as to how a competitor evaluates alternatives) by looking at their annual reports, law cases, analyst reports, etc. (The finance part!)
By May end, I was done. Better still, I was able to strategize for the business unit I was working on. I divided the critical factors for alternative evaluation into three main categories and devised a model. The model was short and to the point. It captured everything I wanted to say, each category described by one word that stood for everything within it. I showed the model (just the model, without the background, context and the research) to a friend, a fellow MBA student, and a pretty decent one at that. Guess what he told me? "What gas man! What the hell does this mean?" I presented the same thing to my Dept. Head. This time after updating them on the background, context, and the research analysis. "Excellent" was the reaction.
The point I want to make is this. In B-Schools we are presented with the tip of the iceberg. This may not neccesarily be the fault of the case writer, professor or the student. Companies are wary of revealing much especially in a market as competitive as today. But we can surely do a little better with some background information; and I'm not talking of the little paragraph before the actual case begins. I'm talking of the stories of the industry. What caused the change, why did the industry move the way it did, how did they evaluate their alternatives, and so on. Without it, strategy is and will always be faff.
Well it all started off with me getting my posting at Corporate Strategy. After going throught the strategy course in Term III, I was convinced that this was another faff job. Not to question the professors credentials, but more as an expectation gap. Well thats how I started off, with faff, in the first review due April end. Shockingly, the guide shot it down and thankfully, he dint castrate me. We have been so used to the method of strategising in cases without knowning the context of the situation that we have become champions at rattling arbit fundaes on comparitive advantage, co-operative strategies, Porter's five forces, Red & Blue oceans, BCG matrix, etc. What happenend at ABG was different.
After the April review, I was urged to start reading history. Yes, history. So for a week all I did was read the stories of the industry I was working on. After that I had a fair idea of how the industry had moved over the years. In short, I got into the context of my work. The project suddenly came alive when I understood the background of work and the future implications of my work. History provided the base to understand competitor actions, which in turn helped to understand the motivations behind those actions, which finally led to isolation of their strengths and crytalised into the way they evaluate alternatives (which is what strategy is all about). Then of course you got to validate your hypothesis (as to how a competitor evaluates alternatives) by looking at their annual reports, law cases, analyst reports, etc. (The finance part!)
By May end, I was done. Better still, I was able to strategize for the business unit I was working on. I divided the critical factors for alternative evaluation into three main categories and devised a model. The model was short and to the point. It captured everything I wanted to say, each category described by one word that stood for everything within it. I showed the model (just the model, without the background, context and the research) to a friend, a fellow MBA student, and a pretty decent one at that. Guess what he told me? "What gas man! What the hell does this mean?" I presented the same thing to my Dept. Head. This time after updating them on the background, context, and the research analysis. "Excellent" was the reaction.
The point I want to make is this. In B-Schools we are presented with the tip of the iceberg. This may not neccesarily be the fault of the case writer, professor or the student. Companies are wary of revealing much especially in a market as competitive as today. But we can surely do a little better with some background information; and I'm not talking of the little paragraph before the actual case begins. I'm talking of the stories of the industry. What caused the change, why did the industry move the way it did, how did they evaluate their alternatives, and so on. Without it, strategy is and will always be faff.
June 17, 2006
I'm Back
Im Back! *Saying it with the syle of Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire* ;)
Almost been 3 weeks since I made a post. The last days of the month of May were spent making presentations to the top brass at The Aditya Birla Group. From first impressions they seemed to like my work. And I also like the place. The more I think of it, it seems the only place where I can get a profile of my choice, rather than the analytics / MoFS (Marketing of Financial Services) / etc. types of profiles that are on offer here.
We interns had a great time at Gyanodaya making our presentations to HR, enjoying the good food, the fellowship with other interns and last of all the party at COs at Lower Parel. That was the grand way we brought the summers to an end.
A small vacation to Mangalore recharged my batteries. Especially the travelling. The Matsyagandha express chugs through the picturesque Konkan and the advent of the monsoon the week before made the place look even more beautiful. It had been 3 years since I had been to Mangalore and the place surely has changed. For one, many people understand Hindi which is a HUGE improvement from the days when I visited Mangalore as a kid. Roads have improved in many places. And though I didn't visit the city I'm told that much has changed there too.
Come the 11th and it was rush-back-to-college time. Unfortunately, I fell sick. Not one of the best ways to start the new academic year. Travelled by Kingfisher this time. A relief from the Dhakkan days. No waiting at the airport, no delay in takeoff, no hassles, all the women staff smile in this half flirting way that makes you smile back and keep smiling long after you've they've seen you off. A good flight. My first good flight.
Well thats the story so far. Watch this space for more updates!
Almost been 3 weeks since I made a post. The last days of the month of May were spent making presentations to the top brass at The Aditya Birla Group. From first impressions they seemed to like my work. And I also like the place. The more I think of it, it seems the only place where I can get a profile of my choice, rather than the analytics / MoFS (Marketing of Financial Services) / etc. types of profiles that are on offer here.
We interns had a great time at Gyanodaya making our presentations to HR, enjoying the good food, the fellowship with other interns and last of all the party at COs at Lower Parel. That was the grand way we brought the summers to an end.
A small vacation to Mangalore recharged my batteries. Especially the travelling. The Matsyagandha express chugs through the picturesque Konkan and the advent of the monsoon the week before made the place look even more beautiful. It had been 3 years since I had been to Mangalore and the place surely has changed. For one, many people understand Hindi which is a HUGE improvement from the days when I visited Mangalore as a kid. Roads have improved in many places. And though I didn't visit the city I'm told that much has changed there too.
Come the 11th and it was rush-back-to-college time. Unfortunately, I fell sick. Not one of the best ways to start the new academic year. Travelled by Kingfisher this time. A relief from the Dhakkan days. No waiting at the airport, no delay in takeoff, no hassles, all the women staff smile in this half flirting way that makes you smile back and keep smiling long after you've they've seen you off. A good flight. My first good flight.
Well thats the story so far. Watch this space for more updates!
May 27, 2006
The innovation that is 'Orkut'
There was a spam doing the rounds recently of how Mr Orkut Buyukkokten, the coder from Stanford was making money at the speed of light. The mail stated that whenever you send a friend reqest, scrap, add a person as a fan, etc etc Mr. Orkut makes money. The objective of this post is not to quantify the cash that Orkut is making. (Some say he may be the richest man on the planet in a few years. Ironically his office is in the 'Gates' building.) The objective here is to celebrate the innovation that is orkut.
Orkut.com is a website that helps you to get in touch with other people. It is much more effective than other sites since to become a member of the network you need to get an invite from an existing member of the network. Thus making it difficult for bots to enter. The website helps people stay in touch, meet old friends, and last of all make new friends. When one becomes a member, you fill up a e-form that takes a lot of data like hobbies, interests, demographics, etc.
So whats so great? Well since the network is 'trusted' because of the invite barrier, you get more reliable people and hence reliable data. As I write this, orkut has an estimated 20 million strong membership and believe me its addictive. Who would not like to get in touch with old friends. Its one of the most difficult things to let go when you change locations. So its safe to assume that a huge percentage, somewhere around 70-80% will be active. That makes 16 million people chatting up, flirting, and most important giving valuable information about themselves. Which marketer would not give her / his left b00b / b0ll for such information. At the same time the members enjoy, they have come in touch with their long lost friends. Its a win-win situation. Which is what makes orkut such a great innovation. I wouldn't be sursprised if Mr. Buyukkokten becomes the richest man on the planet or is getting those big bucks. He might be selling the data to Market Research firms. (Would have loved to put the mail here too, but sadly I dont have a copy. Anyone reading this please mail it to me at xcesstorque [at] yahoo [dot] com.)
However there is a caveat. Orkut for all its 20 million members is mainly popular in India, Pakistan and Brazil. But considering the way it is spreading it will take little time to expand into emerging markets like South East Asia, Eastern Europe, and the other parts of South America & Latin America. Also, orkut is popular among the age group of 15 - 30. Yes it could take a quite a few years before the current crowd ages and we have representation from all age groups. People might also argue that only the internet savvy are profiled. Ah well yes .. thats a valid point. I guess customer profiling can be done only for this section of society. However in the future almost everything will be online. Almost all middle class kids today have email ids and orkut is growing at a frentic speed. Since I joined orkut (somewhere around October 2005) till date, membership has grown from some 6-8 million to the 20 million odd members in just 6-7 months.
So marketers here lies your potential goldmine. All your fundas of segmenting, targeting, positioning, etc can be got in a jiffy. The worlds largest database of what customers want! Phew and to think it all happened because a geek mixed his interests of social networking and coding.
PS: While researching for this post, I came across a link as to why Google bought orkut. Read it, its interesting!
My orkut profile is here.
Orkut.com is a website that helps you to get in touch with other people. It is much more effective than other sites since to become a member of the network you need to get an invite from an existing member of the network. Thus making it difficult for bots to enter. The website helps people stay in touch, meet old friends, and last of all make new friends. When one becomes a member, you fill up a e-form that takes a lot of data like hobbies, interests, demographics, etc.
So whats so great? Well since the network is 'trusted' because of the invite barrier, you get more reliable people and hence reliable data. As I write this, orkut has an estimated 20 million strong membership and believe me its addictive. Who would not like to get in touch with old friends. Its one of the most difficult things to let go when you change locations. So its safe to assume that a huge percentage, somewhere around 70-80% will be active. That makes 16 million people chatting up, flirting, and most important giving valuable information about themselves. Which marketer would not give her / his left b00b / b0ll for such information. At the same time the members enjoy, they have come in touch with their long lost friends. Its a win-win situation. Which is what makes orkut such a great innovation. I wouldn't be sursprised if Mr. Buyukkokten becomes the richest man on the planet or is getting those big bucks. He might be selling the data to Market Research firms. (Would have loved to put the mail here too, but sadly I dont have a copy. Anyone reading this please mail it to me at xcesstorque [at] yahoo [dot] com.)
However there is a caveat. Orkut for all its 20 million members is mainly popular in India, Pakistan and Brazil. But considering the way it is spreading it will take little time to expand into emerging markets like South East Asia, Eastern Europe, and the other parts of South America & Latin America. Also, orkut is popular among the age group of 15 - 30. Yes it could take a quite a few years before the current crowd ages and we have representation from all age groups. People might also argue that only the internet savvy are profiled. Ah well yes .. thats a valid point. I guess customer profiling can be done only for this section of society. However in the future almost everything will be online. Almost all middle class kids today have email ids and orkut is growing at a frentic speed. Since I joined orkut (somewhere around October 2005) till date, membership has grown from some 6-8 million to the 20 million odd members in just 6-7 months.
So marketers here lies your potential goldmine. All your fundas of segmenting, targeting, positioning, etc can be got in a jiffy. The worlds largest database of what customers want! Phew and to think it all happened because a geek mixed his interests of social networking and coding.
PS: While researching for this post, I came across a link as to why Google bought orkut. Read it, its interesting!
My orkut profile is here.
May 26, 2006
Killer Silence - The latest addition to the Strategy toolkit
Today Man has inched closer to implementing quotas as the means to the upliftment of those belonging to 'Other Backward Classes' (OBC). With the BJP also supporting the move and infact going one step forward to suggest implementation in minority institutions also, my worst fears have been confirmed. Caste politics looks set to win.
Since I'm a Management student and my friend circle includes many management students a lot of talk doing the rounds deals with what imapct will quotas have on the IIMs. The Big 3 IIMs were having plans of going global. WIth the quotas system coming into place, the only way to maintain an equal number of meritious students will be to increase seats. If they do not do so, there will be an erosion of their intellectual capital. Not to suggest that the reserved guys are bad, but that the balance will suddenly shift from current levels. If they increase seats, it puts a huge strain on their infrastructure as they are already bursting at the seams (read this). This seriously hampers their global (or any) expansion plans.
At the same time, private management colleges have been quite. The strategic silence has a lot to do with them significantly becoming big players in the cluttered field of management education dominated by the Big 3 IIMs. So where does that leave us? The 6 IIMs, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, NITIE look set to take a hit. Others like XIMB (Oriya quota), NMIMS (Gujarati quota) will get their share of the action but how much stands to be debated. The biggest gainers on the face of it look to be MDI, XLRI and SPJIMR. Of the three, MDI with its aggressive growth in the past few years and even aggressive plans for the future seems all set to power its way ahead. It strategically launched the post graduate HR programme two years ago. It has an international MBA programme starting this year. It has links with major BSchools across the world and has very strong European linkages in France (ESCP-EAP, EDHEC, Aix en Province), Germany (Wuppertal, EBS, HHL), Denmark (CBS, Aarhius), Italy (Bocconi), Poland (WSE), Austria(Vienna University), Belgium (Solvay) etc., Lately it has been catering to niches like Energy Management, Public Policy, Armed foces, etc. SPJ has on the other hand been developing strong niches in Entreprenuership, family business, etc. I do not know of their growth plans but I'm pretty sure they are planning big. XLRI have already set up centres in Dubai and Singapore. They have also come up with Satellite programmes. Other players like the IMT Group, the Symbiosis Group, IMI, Somaiya and the others in the Xavier fold will also look to grow in prominence.
Maybe all this is wishful thinking. The IIMs have earlier played masterstrokes at nullifying competition, notably in BSchool rankings, by refusing to be part of them thus making it an IIM versus non-IIM competition. What do they have up their sleeve this time? Are any aces left? Its a wait and watch game.
PS: In no way am I happy that reservations will been enforced. This post is not and should not be seen as sadistic.
Since I'm a Management student and my friend circle includes many management students a lot of talk doing the rounds deals with what imapct will quotas have on the IIMs. The Big 3 IIMs were having plans of going global. WIth the quotas system coming into place, the only way to maintain an equal number of meritious students will be to increase seats. If they do not do so, there will be an erosion of their intellectual capital. Not to suggest that the reserved guys are bad, but that the balance will suddenly shift from current levels. If they increase seats, it puts a huge strain on their infrastructure as they are already bursting at the seams (read this). This seriously hampers their global (or any) expansion plans.
At the same time, private management colleges have been quite. The strategic silence has a lot to do with them significantly becoming big players in the cluttered field of management education dominated by the Big 3 IIMs. So where does that leave us? The 6 IIMs, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, NITIE look set to take a hit. Others like XIMB (Oriya quota), NMIMS (Gujarati quota) will get their share of the action but how much stands to be debated. The biggest gainers on the face of it look to be MDI, XLRI and SPJIMR. Of the three, MDI with its aggressive growth in the past few years and even aggressive plans for the future seems all set to power its way ahead. It strategically launched the post graduate HR programme two years ago. It has an international MBA programme starting this year. It has links with major BSchools across the world and has very strong European linkages in France (ESCP-EAP, EDHEC, Aix en Province), Germany (Wuppertal, EBS, HHL), Denmark (CBS, Aarhius), Italy (Bocconi), Poland (WSE), Austria(Vienna University), Belgium (Solvay) etc., Lately it has been catering to niches like Energy Management, Public Policy, Armed foces, etc. SPJ has on the other hand been developing strong niches in Entreprenuership, family business, etc. I do not know of their growth plans but I'm pretty sure they are planning big. XLRI have already set up centres in Dubai and Singapore. They have also come up with Satellite programmes. Other players like the IMT Group, the Symbiosis Group, IMI, Somaiya and the others in the Xavier fold will also look to grow in prominence.
Maybe all this is wishful thinking. The IIMs have earlier played masterstrokes at nullifying competition, notably in BSchool rankings, by refusing to be part of them thus making it an IIM versus non-IIM competition. What do they have up their sleeve this time? Are any aces left? Its a wait and watch game.
PS: In no way am I happy that reservations will been enforced. This post is not and should not be seen as sadistic.
May 23, 2006
'Decoded' ... My take on the DVC
Many people have been asking me my views on the recent spate of controversial films that have outraged Christians all over the world. From the many movies the one that is in the centre of media attention is 'The Da Vinci Code (DVC)' mainly because it has sold 40 million copies (legally) and almost double the official number illegally. That makes it a billion odd copies which means that somewhere around 16% of the worlds population has read the book.
Now what does the book suggest ...
1) It says that Jesus Christ was 'made' divine by the Emperor Constantine.
2) That Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a girl child between them
3) That Jesus Christ has taken the place of worship that essentially belongs to the 'woman' (In this case, Mary Magdalene). An ancient form of worship practiced among early Christians.
4) That Opus Dei is an organisation which is entrusted with the duty of keeping the 'code' secret and exterminating those who come close to revealing the code to the world.
What Dan Brown implies....
1)That the Bible has been manipulated through the ages to its present form
2) That there is a lineage of Christ existing in the world.
3) That an organisation of the Roman Catholic Church spreads terror and kills people if need be to serve their objective
Now my take ...
Christianity was no dount one of the most powerful religions during the Middle Ages primarily because the it spread rapidly in those countries which were colonising the world. So we had Italy become a major centre for Christians because of The Vatican was in Rome. Slowly, the countries around the Mediterranean especially Spain and Portugal becoming countries where the Church ruled supreme and had important links with the rulers of the land. Eventually much of Europe was in the Chriatianity fold. When these countries started colonising, parts of the world like the Americas were introduced to Christianity. Till today places like the countries of Latin & Central America, Spain, Portugal & the Philippines have a strong influence of the Church.
With uncontrolled power comes corruption and the Middle Ages saw the Church playing a part too with the Pope selling indulgences, Galileo and Copernicus and so on so forth ... Yes there could be no denying the fact that there could have been manipulations here. But these might have had to do with the rituals, rites and traditions that have become part of the Christian culture. I am not in a position to judge the extent and magnitude of what manipulations that took place, but I seriously doubt wholescale manipulations like making Christ 'divine'. The Old Testament and the New Testament (the two parts of the Bible) are exclusive. The people writing it were different and the Jews who follow the Old Testament till date are waiting for the Messiah, the Son of God. So the divinity part of it is not in doubt.
Jesus married to Mary Magdalene? My opinion is that its a non-issue. For me the teachings of Christ are what matter and not his personal life. A little background on Mary Magdalene ... she was a prostitute who later gave up the trade to follow Christ. She was very close to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and stood by Him throughout His agonosing last moments before He was crucified.
Did they have a kid? Again a non-issue. What difference does it make if Jesus was married or had a kid? It doesn't change who He was as a person nor does it change His teachings.
Now about Jesus taking the place of the 'woman' ... As mentioned earlier Jesus was the Son of God, and according to the mystery of the Holy Trinity is God Himself. We Christians have chosen this as our channel of belief to satisfy our spiritual and religious needs. Other faiths have other channels and I respect those choices. God is absolute and there is no Man or Woman with Him. Its the incarnation that we believe in.
Lastly, regarding Opus Dei ... the Church may have been corrupt at certain points in time (That may also be reason that all but 2 or 3 of the 350+ Popes in history have been Italian!) but certainly under no conditions has anybody formed an organisation that will kill. Particularly since there is nothing to hide. No secret to keep. Even if there are, it is not worth killing for. The modern Church is today one of the most proactive and liberal organisations in the world today. It has provided for pre-marriage counselling, pre-birth counselling, platforms for healthy exchanges between teenagers, sports, sex-education, cathecism and a whole lot of activities that are not persent in many communities. If there was anything worth telling, it would be out by now, there would be debates, a Papal conclave of Prefects, Bishops, Archbishops & Cardinals would gather to discuss changes and its implications.
Thats my take... thanks for a patient listening ;)
Now what does the book suggest ...
1) It says that Jesus Christ was 'made' divine by the Emperor Constantine.
2) That Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that they had a girl child between them
3) That Jesus Christ has taken the place of worship that essentially belongs to the 'woman' (In this case, Mary Magdalene). An ancient form of worship practiced among early Christians.
4) That Opus Dei is an organisation which is entrusted with the duty of keeping the 'code' secret and exterminating those who come close to revealing the code to the world.
What Dan Brown implies....
1)That the Bible has been manipulated through the ages to its present form
2) That there is a lineage of Christ existing in the world.
3) That an organisation of the Roman Catholic Church spreads terror and kills people if need be to serve their objective
Now my take ...
Christianity was no dount one of the most powerful religions during the Middle Ages primarily because the it spread rapidly in those countries which were colonising the world. So we had Italy become a major centre for Christians because of The Vatican was in Rome. Slowly, the countries around the Mediterranean especially Spain and Portugal becoming countries where the Church ruled supreme and had important links with the rulers of the land. Eventually much of Europe was in the Chriatianity fold. When these countries started colonising, parts of the world like the Americas were introduced to Christianity. Till today places like the countries of Latin & Central America, Spain, Portugal & the Philippines have a strong influence of the Church.
With uncontrolled power comes corruption and the Middle Ages saw the Church playing a part too with the Pope selling indulgences, Galileo and Copernicus and so on so forth ... Yes there could be no denying the fact that there could have been manipulations here. But these might have had to do with the rituals, rites and traditions that have become part of the Christian culture. I am not in a position to judge the extent and magnitude of what manipulations that took place, but I seriously doubt wholescale manipulations like making Christ 'divine'. The Old Testament and the New Testament (the two parts of the Bible) are exclusive. The people writing it were different and the Jews who follow the Old Testament till date are waiting for the Messiah, the Son of God. So the divinity part of it is not in doubt.
Jesus married to Mary Magdalene? My opinion is that its a non-issue. For me the teachings of Christ are what matter and not his personal life. A little background on Mary Magdalene ... she was a prostitute who later gave up the trade to follow Christ. She was very close to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and stood by Him throughout His agonosing last moments before He was crucified.
Did they have a kid? Again a non-issue. What difference does it make if Jesus was married or had a kid? It doesn't change who He was as a person nor does it change His teachings.
Now about Jesus taking the place of the 'woman' ... As mentioned earlier Jesus was the Son of God, and according to the mystery of the Holy Trinity is God Himself. We Christians have chosen this as our channel of belief to satisfy our spiritual and religious needs. Other faiths have other channels and I respect those choices. God is absolute and there is no Man or Woman with Him. Its the incarnation that we believe in.
Lastly, regarding Opus Dei ... the Church may have been corrupt at certain points in time (That may also be reason that all but 2 or 3 of the 350+ Popes in history have been Italian!) but certainly under no conditions has anybody formed an organisation that will kill. Particularly since there is nothing to hide. No secret to keep. Even if there are, it is not worth killing for. The modern Church is today one of the most proactive and liberal organisations in the world today. It has provided for pre-marriage counselling, pre-birth counselling, platforms for healthy exchanges between teenagers, sports, sex-education, cathecism and a whole lot of activities that are not persent in many communities. If there was anything worth telling, it would be out by now, there would be debates, a Papal conclave of Prefects, Bishops, Archbishops & Cardinals would gather to discuss changes and its implications.
Thats my take... thanks for a patient listening ;)
May 16, 2006
One trip down memory lane .... Reservation with sleeper class, please
There has been a big outcry against the Reservations Bill that the Honorable HRD Minister has pushed into Parliament. Will it get passed? Looks certain by the way PC and Man are going about it.
It seems like a drive past memory lane for me....
Long before Arjun Singh even dreamed of the welfare of OBCs, engineering students in maharastra were going through similar difficulties. I still remember 27th May 2000 when I held my XII standard result in my hand and exulted at hitting a 95.66% in Physics, Chemistry and Maths combined. I was crazy about Telecom then (attributed to herd mentality), and thought that securing a Merit seat would be easy. In those days we had a system of Merit Seats and Payment Seat. The fees for the Payment seats being almost 5 times the fees of a Merit seat. Also having worked hard over the last one year at the XII standard State Board exam, I wanted to secure admission to a well known college ( ... Since we all know brand names make a huge difference ... )
Imagine my shock when inspite of having a Bombay rank of 561, I could not get a Merit seat in a decent college. Bombay had 131 engineering colleges affiliated to Mumbai university in 2000. There were about 10 decent colleges each having intake of 60 for all streams, Some ministers blessings, made many colleges revise intake to 90 a lil' later. Yet here I was with Telecom being 3rd option after Information Technology and Computer Engineering, still not able to get a Mert Seat. Why? Becasue there were reservation tally ran somewhat as follows:
15% Scheduled Castes
7.5% Scheduled Tribes
2% Nomadic Tribes (1)
1.5% Nomadic Tribes (2)
1.0% Nomadic Tribes (3)
19% Other Backward Classes
1% Displaced Kashmiri Pandits
1% Physically handicapped
2% Some other shitty quota (I think it was displaced people along the Maharastra Belgaum border)
1% Defence personnel
1% Govt of India
To make matters worse, the Govt introduced 30% reservation for girls. So if you were a guy, you had 35% (15% went towards 'Open Category girls and 15% in 'Reserved Girls category") of 48% 'Open Category Seats' only. That made 16 seats for 'Open Category Boys'. In a private college there were 50% Merit and 50% Payment seats. Meaning for a guy like me I would get to choose from 8 seats only! In government colleges there were 16 seats for 'Open' boys
Doing the rounds of the admission process, Dad and me came across one of my college friends who was taking up the issue of reservations in the Bombay HC. We joined a forum of like minded people, spent some cash and hired MP Vashi, a prominent Mumbai lawyer to fight our case. We got a stay on the admissions. We thought it might lead to something fruitful. But the decision got a 'tareek' and the student community was losing out. Finally admissions comenced in September, some 3 months after the whole thing started, just because students were losing out if the term started late.
Through some divine intervention, I decided to take up Mech at VJ. It took me one full year to accept the fact that I was cheated. (Its a different thing that it turned out to be the best decision I took in my life!) I was bloody mad with the system. Went to the extent of lamblasting some guys in my class who had taken the backdoor entry. These guys were well off economically, yet they claimed to be backward. It was the same story in all other institutes. The irony of it all was that in the same class we had a student with 45% PCM. Thanks to the 'Reserved Girls' category. It was crazy. But I was alone.
TIll today nothing has changed. And thats where I say that nothing will change. Because for every guy who is against reservations I have seen 10 guys for it. One of my classmates wants to write to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister (possibly God too!). What a waste of time. Others want to go on a morcha. The morcha is supposed to comprise of a handful of MBA students. Will Delhi fall? I doubt. On the other hand we have a multitude of poor, uneducated people who attend political rallies in villages hoping that 1% of the speeches materialise. They think that such measures will really improve their lot. So they all go out in huge numbers and vote. The first year MBA students will not, I dont think even 10% of them exercise their franchise. Caste politics will win, the morchas, petitions, blah blah notwithstanding. Letters to the PM, FM, God will be used as toilet paper. My Dad wrote files and files of complains to the BMC (Bombay's famed Municipal Corporation) and they had just moved their little finger. Morchas will lose steam when classes begin. The noise will become a whimper when exams begin. The whole movement will be put to sleep. History will repeat itself, just like it did in 2000.
I hope I am proved wrong.
It seems like a drive past memory lane for me....
Long before Arjun Singh even dreamed of the welfare of OBCs, engineering students in maharastra were going through similar difficulties. I still remember 27th May 2000 when I held my XII standard result in my hand and exulted at hitting a 95.66% in Physics, Chemistry and Maths combined. I was crazy about Telecom then (attributed to herd mentality), and thought that securing a Merit seat would be easy. In those days we had a system of Merit Seats and Payment Seat. The fees for the Payment seats being almost 5 times the fees of a Merit seat. Also having worked hard over the last one year at the XII standard State Board exam, I wanted to secure admission to a well known college ( ... Since we all know brand names make a huge difference ... )
Imagine my shock when inspite of having a Bombay rank of 561, I could not get a Merit seat in a decent college. Bombay had 131 engineering colleges affiliated to Mumbai university in 2000. There were about 10 decent colleges each having intake of 60 for all streams, Some ministers blessings, made many colleges revise intake to 90 a lil' later. Yet here I was with Telecom being 3rd option after Information Technology and Computer Engineering, still not able to get a Mert Seat. Why? Becasue there were reservation tally ran somewhat as follows:
15% Scheduled Castes
7.5% Scheduled Tribes
2% Nomadic Tribes (1)
1.5% Nomadic Tribes (2)
1.0% Nomadic Tribes (3)
19% Other Backward Classes
1% Displaced Kashmiri Pandits
1% Physically handicapped
2% Some other shitty quota (I think it was displaced people along the Maharastra Belgaum border)
1% Defence personnel
1% Govt of India
To make matters worse, the Govt introduced 30% reservation for girls. So if you were a guy, you had 35% (15% went towards 'Open Category girls and 15% in 'Reserved Girls category") of 48% 'Open Category Seats' only. That made 16 seats for 'Open Category Boys'. In a private college there were 50% Merit and 50% Payment seats. Meaning for a guy like me I would get to choose from 8 seats only! In government colleges there were 16 seats for 'Open' boys
Doing the rounds of the admission process, Dad and me came across one of my college friends who was taking up the issue of reservations in the Bombay HC. We joined a forum of like minded people, spent some cash and hired MP Vashi, a prominent Mumbai lawyer to fight our case. We got a stay on the admissions. We thought it might lead to something fruitful. But the decision got a 'tareek' and the student community was losing out. Finally admissions comenced in September, some 3 months after the whole thing started, just because students were losing out if the term started late.
Through some divine intervention, I decided to take up Mech at VJ. It took me one full year to accept the fact that I was cheated. (Its a different thing that it turned out to be the best decision I took in my life!) I was bloody mad with the system. Went to the extent of lamblasting some guys in my class who had taken the backdoor entry. These guys were well off economically, yet they claimed to be backward. It was the same story in all other institutes. The irony of it all was that in the same class we had a student with 45% PCM. Thanks to the 'Reserved Girls' category. It was crazy. But I was alone.
TIll today nothing has changed. And thats where I say that nothing will change. Because for every guy who is against reservations I have seen 10 guys for it. One of my classmates wants to write to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister (possibly God too!). What a waste of time. Others want to go on a morcha. The morcha is supposed to comprise of a handful of MBA students. Will Delhi fall? I doubt. On the other hand we have a multitude of poor, uneducated people who attend political rallies in villages hoping that 1% of the speeches materialise. They think that such measures will really improve their lot. So they all go out in huge numbers and vote. The first year MBA students will not, I dont think even 10% of them exercise their franchise. Caste politics will win, the morchas, petitions, blah blah notwithstanding. Letters to the PM, FM, God will be used as toilet paper. My Dad wrote files and files of complains to the BMC (Bombay's famed Municipal Corporation) and they had just moved their little finger. Morchas will lose steam when classes begin. The noise will become a whimper when exams begin. The whole movement will be put to sleep. History will repeat itself, just like it did in 2000.
I hope I am proved wrong.
May 10, 2006
Mera bageecha hai Japani
Yesterday's Mumbai edition of the 'Times of India' (front page bottom) carried an interesting story. It seems that 14 elected representatives (lil' corporators actually) and a 'Tree Expert' of the Pune Municipal Corporation decided to go to for an all expenses paid trip to the city of Okayama in the Land of the Rising Sun to study preservation of trees and gardens. The greater objective as stated ever so humbly with reverence for public welfare is to build a Japanese style garden on the lines of the Korakuean. (we'll call it the K Gardens)
I would love to visit Pune after K Gardens is built. In fact I'm looking forward to trekking through bad roads, wading through polluted rivers, drinking toxic chemicals and bathing in sewage before I reach the succour of K Gardens. Won't that be wonderful. And for this very luxury, the citizens of Pune will have to pay a small price. i.e. Foot the bill of these 15 clowns. For all I know the trip to K Gardens might actually be like taking part in those reality shows a la 'Survivor' except that on reaching you may be a lung short and toxins in your body for company.
Thankfully two men have decided that they'd rather have both lungs and minimum toxins, hence a petition filed and won, complete with the blessings of the Bombay High Court. In fact, the good ol' HC has not totally dumped the plan of K gardens. Who would not like a stroll down there, after a hard day of making hard decisions like the men with white collars and black coats do. Hence the judges have kept options open for our 15 scholars, albiet at their own cost. "Education is expensive" they might have said with a grave look just before the gavel landed with a thud.
Now comes the best part, and what follows will speak of the ingenuity of the Indian politicians who have as in the past gone down with guns a-blazing. With true soothsayer-isque powers our 15 scholars foresee trouble, and they have made an alternate proposal to visit J&K! Are they trying to convert Pune into another Dal lake? They are not telling
I would love to visit Pune after K Gardens is built. In fact I'm looking forward to trekking through bad roads, wading through polluted rivers, drinking toxic chemicals and bathing in sewage before I reach the succour of K Gardens. Won't that be wonderful. And for this very luxury, the citizens of Pune will have to pay a small price. i.e. Foot the bill of these 15 clowns. For all I know the trip to K Gardens might actually be like taking part in those reality shows a la 'Survivor' except that on reaching you may be a lung short and toxins in your body for company.
Thankfully two men have decided that they'd rather have both lungs and minimum toxins, hence a petition filed and won, complete with the blessings of the Bombay High Court. In fact, the good ol' HC has not totally dumped the plan of K gardens. Who would not like a stroll down there, after a hard day of making hard decisions like the men with white collars and black coats do. Hence the judges have kept options open for our 15 scholars, albiet at their own cost. "Education is expensive" they might have said with a grave look just before the gavel landed with a thud.
Now comes the best part, and what follows will speak of the ingenuity of the Indian politicians who have as in the past gone down with guns a-blazing. With true soothsayer-isque powers our 15 scholars foresee trouble, and they have made an alternate proposal to visit J&K! Are they trying to convert Pune into another Dal lake? They are not telling
May 6, 2006
Now thats what I call GUTS
Ever sent a chill down an ACP's spine? Read this
I used to follow all rules by the book, before I realised that I was at a disadvantage if I did. Its people like Swaroop Srinath who teach me that its not always the case!
Rock on man. Just as you wanted have linked your post.
I used to follow all rules by the book, before I realised that I was at a disadvantage if I did. Its people like Swaroop Srinath who teach me that its not always the case!
Rock on man. Just as you wanted have linked your post.
May 5, 2006
Thus spake the Lord ...
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against their parents, and have them put to death"
The Holy Bible, Matthew 10:21
The events of the past few days and ultimately Pramod Mahajan's death have had this verse from the Bible rankling in my head. Ever since I have been hearing it at various Church readings for years, I never understood the meaning nor thought that such a thing is possible. Yes I have heard of fights about property, fistfights, a sexual abuse case, etc and what not. Shooting your brother in broad daylight, intentionally, coolly walking off; all for not being treated well? I don't think so.
Even last year when some middle aged man killed his father and buried him in the wall of his bedroom, a la 100 Days (a decent Bolly flick for its time), I refused to believe. There are psychos who do crazy things. And in a world of over 6 billion, you get all sorts of people. And then there are always the newspapers who dramatise things in such a way that the frontpage has a headline screaming 'Corpse excavated from apartment wall', in such a way you'll never know what actually happened.
Such events have been becoming extremely regular and that's what scares me. Hope that prophecy doesn't become a trend.
The Holy Bible, Matthew 10:21
The events of the past few days and ultimately Pramod Mahajan's death have had this verse from the Bible rankling in my head. Ever since I have been hearing it at various Church readings for years, I never understood the meaning nor thought that such a thing is possible. Yes I have heard of fights about property, fistfights, a sexual abuse case, etc and what not. Shooting your brother in broad daylight, intentionally, coolly walking off; all for not being treated well? I don't think so.
Even last year when some middle aged man killed his father and buried him in the wall of his bedroom, a la 100 Days (a decent Bolly flick for its time), I refused to believe. There are psychos who do crazy things. And in a world of over 6 billion, you get all sorts of people. And then there are always the newspapers who dramatise things in such a way that the frontpage has a headline screaming 'Corpse excavated from apartment wall', in such a way you'll never know what actually happened.
Such events have been becoming extremely regular and that's what scares me. Hope that prophecy doesn't become a trend.
May 4, 2006
Think about it
"In selling to poor people you have to treat them like producers and not consumers"
Think about it. It has been the reason a particular company has been extremely successful in reaching out to low-income groups and has made them and their families customers (oops!!! ... producers) for life. This statement was made by a person who has been instrumental in driving such schemes. India's rural marketing andlow-income scheme gurus might just have something to chew on here.
Think about it. It has been the reason a particular company has been extremely successful in reaching out to low-income groups and has made them and their families customers (oops!!! ... producers) for life. This statement was made by a person who has been instrumental in driving such schemes. India's rural marketing andlow-income scheme gurus might just have something to chew on here.
April 29, 2006
Errata: to an earlier post
First I apologize. Many people have been asking me about the post 'The truth behind BSchool PLacements' and I have come out with revised figures. With the help of the most famous ManDevIan on pagalguy. So here goes
I revise the average post tax in hand to 35-37k (thats a hefty 20% increase). Means pre-tax you will be getting around 52-55k types. (Again as I said, its a lot of money .. but thats beside the point here)
Hence you can count 6-6.5L plus the other heads that pull it up to those numbers that newspaper reporter's love to talk about.
Have fun! and please prospective BSchoolers this was just in response to clarification. I'm not glorifying my institute here. Please do not select a BSchool based on the reported figures. Instead like the Alchemist said 'Follow your dreams! And the whole world will conspire to get you there' ;)
Have fun!
I revise the average post tax in hand to 35-37k (thats a hefty 20% increase). Means pre-tax you will be getting around 52-55k types. (Again as I said, its a lot of money .. but thats beside the point here)
Hence you can count 6-6.5L plus the other heads that pull it up to those numbers that newspaper reporter's love to talk about.
Have fun! and please prospective BSchoolers this was just in response to clarification. I'm not glorifying my institute here. Please do not select a BSchool based on the reported figures. Instead like the Alchemist said 'Follow your dreams! And the whole world will conspire to get you there' ;)
Have fun!
April 25, 2006
Handshaking Vs The Corporate Life
I miss Siemens. Rather it would be more appropriate to say that I miss the Siemens culture. My day at Siemens began by shaking hands. I was the first person to board the company bus and so anybody who came onboard would shake my hand.
It all began with induction, where the HR Director, Mr Anil Nadkarni would shake our hand first thing in the morning. A firm handshake, it almost jolted you out of your lethargy. You could actually feel the zing of the man. Then everyone would greet you with a handshake. I had never done so much handshaking before.
On the job, everyday from 8:15 I'd go to inspect my line. And being at the end of the factory farthest from the office, I had to pass through the relay, contactor and switches lines. On the way I shook hands and greeted many. You could actually feel the warmth of the place. Over the next year handshaking became a way of life. It is really a good way to greet people. I was told that it wasn't prevalent in the offices. (Today I understand what that means)
The office culture is very different from the shop floor at Semens (I say that coz I have seen shop floors at other companies and though it looked great it didn't feel great). Desk jobs suck! All you interact with (rather most of the time) during your work is a stupid box which will accept anything you type and show it back to you on a screen (How brilliant!). Your arse pains from the constant sitting and you can actually feel your tummy expanding in all directions. Worse, everyone seems to be engrossed with their boxes. There is no shouting, hollering, ranting that takes place. The clanging of machines, pneumatic devices et al is replaced by the dull humming of the AC. There are no opportunities to roll up your sleeves and indulge in grease and oil.
Worse still no one shakes hands. I still remember my Boss coming first thing in the morning to shake hands with each member of the department. Pity, it never happens in an office!
It all began with induction, where the HR Director, Mr Anil Nadkarni would shake our hand first thing in the morning. A firm handshake, it almost jolted you out of your lethargy. You could actually feel the zing of the man. Then everyone would greet you with a handshake. I had never done so much handshaking before.
On the job, everyday from 8:15 I'd go to inspect my line. And being at the end of the factory farthest from the office, I had to pass through the relay, contactor and switches lines. On the way I shook hands and greeted many. You could actually feel the warmth of the place. Over the next year handshaking became a way of life. It is really a good way to greet people. I was told that it wasn't prevalent in the offices. (Today I understand what that means)
The office culture is very different from the shop floor at Semens (I say that coz I have seen shop floors at other companies and though it looked great it didn't feel great). Desk jobs suck! All you interact with (rather most of the time) during your work is a stupid box which will accept anything you type and show it back to you on a screen (How brilliant!). Your arse pains from the constant sitting and you can actually feel your tummy expanding in all directions. Worse, everyone seems to be engrossed with their boxes. There is no shouting, hollering, ranting that takes place. The clanging of machines, pneumatic devices et al is replaced by the dull humming of the AC. There are no opportunities to roll up your sleeves and indulge in grease and oil.
Worse still no one shakes hands. I still remember my Boss coming first thing in the morning to shake hands with each member of the department. Pity, it never happens in an office!
April 22, 2006
1000 hits (and possibly screwed too)
Past few days have seen unprecedented traffic on my blog. Thanks to some soul on pagalguy.com who has advertised my link and has probably made parts of my personal life public. Though I started blogging way back in June 2004, almost two years ago, I installed the hit counter on November 30th. Even so, there might not be a big lag in actual versus official dates coz the blog was not visited frequently. Returning visitors were Venkee and Milan.
Which puts me in the soup. I know some of the faculty who read pagalguy, especially following the interview reviews pertaining to MDI. Now our profs are sure to have read my posts here. Which means that I am screwed. Anyways I had my opinion and I voiced it with backing.
So much for the other side of publicity!
The site stats thrown up by Bravenet.
How I wish that graph were indicative of my investments!
But since MDI happened, Guru Bhobe (blog)has been a regular. Along with Ronnie and some others. Bhobe is a revolutionary poet in the making. Ronnie is MDI's arse (coz everyone likes to kick it!) Sorry Ronnie ... had to say it. For all their efforts, they could never make the graph look the way it is today.How I wish that graph were indicative of my investments!
Which puts me in the soup. I know some of the faculty who read pagalguy, especially following the interview reviews pertaining to MDI. Now our profs are sure to have read my posts here. Which means that I am screwed. Anyways I had my opinion and I voiced it with backing.
So much for the other side of publicity!
April 11, 2006
Mumbai -- A changed city
Mumbai has changed. And for the worse. For the past few days I have been stumped as to how can a city that was once known for its hospitality, relative safety for womenfolk, and many other adjectives (that do not come to mind at this unearthly hour) have become a nightmare for its residents.
Today I was conned by a taxi-driver on the way to work. Sad. It was my first day and this guy takes me for a ride around Worli. The same thing would have been unthinkable in the past. So much for the trust of Mumbaikars.
My parents tell me that crime is on the rise. Young call centre employees get mugged at night. Though Im not a big fan of the BPO industry still this is sumthing that never happened or were rare before. Nowadays its very common.
Women are not safe. Flashing is a common phenomena. Especially in deserted streets and quiet neighbourhoods. Whatever happened to Mumbai. Its getting scary.
Today I walked back from the station. Just for kicks. The road to the station is blocked with autorickshaws all over the place. Usually I skipped between vehicles to walk from the station to the bus-stand. Today there wasnt possible. The place sucked. Worse none of the rickshawallas wanted to take a fare to Orlem??!! All the ricks are driven by young Biharis. Dunno whether its their attitude that is killing the city.
Long time back we criticised the Shiv Sena for the 'Mee Mumbaikar' campaign. Everyone got up and against it. But then, post that we havent done anything to preserve the culture of this city. We have allowed it to go to the dogs. Atleast I can clearly notice the difference. Wonder whether that was a right decision then?
Today I was conned by a taxi-driver on the way to work. Sad. It was my first day and this guy takes me for a ride around Worli. The same thing would have been unthinkable in the past. So much for the trust of Mumbaikars.
My parents tell me that crime is on the rise. Young call centre employees get mugged at night. Though Im not a big fan of the BPO industry still this is sumthing that never happened or were rare before. Nowadays its very common.
Women are not safe. Flashing is a common phenomena. Especially in deserted streets and quiet neighbourhoods. Whatever happened to Mumbai. Its getting scary.
Today I walked back from the station. Just for kicks. The road to the station is blocked with autorickshaws all over the place. Usually I skipped between vehicles to walk from the station to the bus-stand. Today there wasnt possible. The place sucked. Worse none of the rickshawallas wanted to take a fare to Orlem??!! All the ricks are driven by young Biharis. Dunno whether its their attitude that is killing the city.
Long time back we criticised the Shiv Sena for the 'Mee Mumbaikar' campaign. Everyone got up and against it. But then, post that we havent done anything to preserve the culture of this city. We have allowed it to go to the dogs. Atleast I can clearly notice the difference. Wonder whether that was a right decision then?
April 6, 2006
Of old times & old memories
The thrill of coming back home is almost gone. Rather now in retrospect I think it was the thrill of getting out of college and acads for the next 2 odd months. Had a great first day at home and it ended there. The next day I took a walk just like the days when Audrey and me took our long walks. This time I was alone.
Every corner of Orlem brings me back some memories. Every place I have been to every street I walked, every eatery, stall, bend in the road, etc. clanged at my head and rejigged old things. I never thought I could remember things so well. Each step I took had a past to it. I just could not escape it. Also was the first time in 10 months, ever since I left for Gurgaon that I went about the place.
Damn I cant even look at my clothes. Almost every pair of clothing I have also reminds me of some crazy moments, happy times. It has been a bad flashback. I always thought that I could get on and have lost the past behind. But it was easier said in Gurgaon than done in Bombay.
Felt like a sailor in an old Konkanni movie who left home, news came that his boat was capsized and people assume him dead. Years later he gets home, now nobody recognises him and his house is gone and his wife marries another guy and his kids dont recognise him. Dont remember the name of the movie but can feel just what that sailor was feeling.
Hope this shit ends soon. I wanna move on.
Every corner of Orlem brings me back some memories. Every place I have been to every street I walked, every eatery, stall, bend in the road, etc. clanged at my head and rejigged old things. I never thought I could remember things so well. Each step I took had a past to it. I just could not escape it. Also was the first time in 10 months, ever since I left for Gurgaon that I went about the place.
Damn I cant even look at my clothes. Almost every pair of clothing I have also reminds me of some crazy moments, happy times. It has been a bad flashback. I always thought that I could get on and have lost the past behind. But it was easier said in Gurgaon than done in Bombay.
Felt like a sailor in an old Konkanni movie who left home, news came that his boat was capsized and people assume him dead. Years later he gets home, now nobody recognises him and his house is gone and his wife marries another guy and his kids dont recognise him. Dont remember the name of the movie but can feel just what that sailor was feeling.
Hope this shit ends soon. I wanna move on.
April 3, 2006
Air Dhakkan - The epitome of uncertainity
My love affair with 'Air Dhakkan' continues. This time I was asked to pay up 700 quid for excess baggage. But thats not the reason I'm pissed. People with more baggage than me have happily cleared the check-in. Ok that was tolerable. I was already at bursting point, but still it was ok. Im mighty pissed because everytime I book my tickets on Dhakkan I am subjected to uncertainty, risk, ambuguity and irresponsibility. Not only that I make long distance calls to convince near and dear ones that all is ok. Also I spend a fortune at the airport quietening my stomach. Then I will land at my destination at some godforsaken hour and have to shell out 25% extra as night charges. All in all I spend a lot more. So much for low cost fares. Even the airhostess' are rude. The seats are crappy. (I can take normal seats but I surely dont expect a torn seat with the sponge peeping out). It seems I am not alone. The best part is that none of the groundstaff have a clue about what is happening. I talked to the control room behind the check in at Delhi airport and he told me my flight was on time inspite of me getting a message the previous day that I was delayed by an hour and half. Better still the check in people contradicted what the control room said!
But these no-gooders still get customers! And how? Apparently they have the lowest fares. Their fares are marginally lower than all other carriers. Hence the psychology of the consumers when buying tickets is to go for Dhakkan vis-a-vis other airlines. At that moment they do not have an idea of the other atrocities that Dhakkan will inflict on them. It will be just a matter of timebefore Dhakkan will be unable to attract customers anymore.
Another thing that gets my goat is that Air Dhakkan is always delayed. If not the weather, its 'operational problems'. It always has to hover around airports for 15-20 minutes per flight until its lands. Dunno what Gopi and his team is upto. However, there is a magazine called 'Simplifly' in every seatpouch which speaks of the wonderful service levels of the airline and a few pages have to be extolling the leadership and managerial skills of the CEO. If he is what he claims to be he better do something quick. There are also glowing tributes from customers. (Wonder who these people are?)
And then of course, is the fact that the airline has been reduced to a luxury bus. As soon as the plane lands and while its still taxiing to its terminal, people get up and open the overhead hatches to get their cabin baggage(??!!) WTF! Reminds me our Mumbai locals where we get up from our seats one station ahead to avoid beeing unable to alight! Last time I flew on 1st Jan and the plane was smelling of puke. God knows where this airline is headed!!!
But these no-gooders still get customers! And how? Apparently they have the lowest fares. Their fares are marginally lower than all other carriers. Hence the psychology of the consumers when buying tickets is to go for Dhakkan vis-a-vis other airlines. At that moment they do not have an idea of the other atrocities that Dhakkan will inflict on them. It will be just a matter of timebefore Dhakkan will be unable to attract customers anymore.
Another thing that gets my goat is that Air Dhakkan is always delayed. If not the weather, its 'operational problems'. It always has to hover around airports for 15-20 minutes per flight until its lands. Dunno what Gopi and his team is upto. However, there is a magazine called 'Simplifly' in every seatpouch which speaks of the wonderful service levels of the airline and a few pages have to be extolling the leadership and managerial skills of the CEO. If he is what he claims to be he better do something quick. There are also glowing tributes from customers. (Wonder who these people are?)
And then of course, is the fact that the airline has been reduced to a luxury bus. As soon as the plane lands and while its still taxiing to its terminal, people get up and open the overhead hatches to get their cabin baggage(??!!) WTF! Reminds me our Mumbai locals where we get up from our seats one station ahead to avoid beeing unable to alight! Last time I flew on 1st Jan and the plane was smelling of puke. God knows where this airline is headed!!!
March 31, 2006
MDI Unplugged! - Part One
Possibly one of the most beautiful campus' in India. Spread over 16 acres of flora, lawns, architecture, red bricks, hostels, and gyaan
The Change Masters gate entrance to MDI
The view from inside the gate
'Gurukula' - Academic block in simple terms means 'Where lectures are held'
The front entrance to Acad block - 'Renaissance'
The backdoor entreance to the 'Acad block'
'Jhaji' - The hole in the wall @Acad block from where we source our in-between-lectures meals!
The Change Masters gate entrance to MDI
The view from inside the gate
'Gurukula' - Academic block in simple terms means 'Where lectures are held'
The front entrance to Acad block - 'Renaissance' 
The backdoor entreance to the 'Acad block'
'Jhaji' - The hole in the wall @Acad block from where we source our in-between-lectures meals!MDI Unplugged! - Part Two
The NMP hostels. These guys are usually senior managers from PSU cos and they get a whole lot of facilities an their mess is more or less a 3 star hotel!
'Taksha Shila' - The NMP reception, lounge, and the upper floor is their '3 star' mess!
The Scholars block - The offices of the professors and the Director.
The Scholars building in all its glory
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