I am back!!!

After a brief hiatus of a month following internships i am back for good.. Enjoying the time out at home and immediately after getting back to college, finally i find the time to look back into my imprisoned mind and unleash some writing once again..

The weather here has been awesome and the incessant downpours just makes you fall in love all over again.. By far, the most romantic place one can be in at any point of his lifetime and it is ironic that i happen to be here during my study years.. But who said we are here only to study.. Break the rules if there were any.. Rewrite them as per your needs..

As i type i am getting irritated by this word correction that google is throwing up and underlining in red even all the correct words.. Either my settings have changed if its only my problem or else the word correction software of Google has gone for a toss.. Whatever it is, the crux of this blog is that i am back and i hope more will follow this blog..

Getting a high!!

Its the start of the weekend and there is nothing more greater than getting on a high and chatting/playing or doing anything until that subsides.. The entire time that you are on a high, just keeps you floating and you have that happy feeling that everything is great.. It also makes you be yourself sans any consideration for the limits posed by the outside world.. You become chatty, become an extrovert and seem to hit on conversations on anything.. It literally makes you gregarious..

Exactly the same kind of feeling that i have explained here, that makes so many alcoholics become addicted to it.. Every time i pass a wine shop or bar, i see hordes of people lined up outside buying alcohol to get that high and forget their hardships for those few hours.. I have been against this and will always be.. I enjoy being on a high.. But that doesnt make me an addict.. I know my limits.. I know when to stop drinking and beyond which, i would lose consciousness or will be only doing gibberish talk.. So even though i drink, i do it socially.. A term that corporates have started to use to justify their drinking habits..

But anything consumed beyond a point becomes poison and that is what even alcohol does to you.. Your life slowly erodes away in front of you until you finally drop dead.. The point i am trying to make is simple, you want to get a high, good enuf.. But know when to stop and always remember.. You are the one consuming alcohol and dont ever let the alcohol consume you..

My first omelet!!

Yesterday, i made my first omelet, the way i wanted to.. Not that i haven't made omelets before in my life.. But yesterday, i kinda felt tat it was the perfect one.. The one which you had always longed for.. I always loved the way my Dad made omelets for me.. He uses onions, tomatoes and chillies and makes them really fluffy.. I have been wanting to make such a one for a long time.. Yesterday i got that opportunity..

For any successful event, there needs to be an audience who would say that it was good giving you the impression that it was indeed a grand success.. So with both of us really hungry, i proposed the idea that we have omelets.. So i went about cutting the tomatoes and chillies and crying with the onions.. Finally when the ingredients were ready, battered them up and made a huge omelet.. Err.. a small problem, we didnt have a ladle big enuf to flip the omelet.. So i had to use the knife and broke it into many pieces.. In the end it turned out just the way i wanted it to.. N M was there giving me his praises for the omelet.. How happy I am.. Now I too have joined the league of single male cooks..

Last week!!

Finally, i see the beginning of the end.. I have come to the last week of my internships and can already smell the aromas of dosas and sambars which i have missed so badly.. More than that, its Chennai that i am looking forward to.. Many told me that internship is a period of learning that i need to put maximum use to.. I tried that, for starters, staying late and trying to read up all things about finance and my company.. For the first week my mentor had to urge me to leave.. Then second week onwards, i was a new leaf.. No more nudging from my mentor to leave.. I was on my way out before he even knew..

So what happened? Somewhere down the line, i lost interest.. Maybe it could be the not so challenging work that had been given to me.. I guess i was expecting too much but something let me down.. During this post-mortem of the last month or so that i have been as an intern, i find only one thing.. My knowledge of finance has improved.. But was it because of the intern or something else.. True, that i learned a lot during my internship period..

But the fact is where did that learning come, if it was not from my intern work.. Since i was staying with people who happened to be the ultimate fin geeks, something got rubbed onto me, i guess.. I started reading on the fin books at home.. Even the non-fiction books about fin.. I have never enjoyed non-fictions but now, i was nuts about such books chronicling the dooms of the financial world.. Something sparked in me and i have been going on a song here.. It has made me register for an exam which before the internship, i was dead sure against writing.. So its all happening.. I just hope i am able to maintain the frenzy that i am in now.. Lets see what the fin geek in me has got for itself..

Beads of sweat!!

I hate to go to office for one major reason.. Travelling in the heat in the morning that makes you sweat like a pig.. By the time you reach office your deodorant which is supposedly to keep you fresh is fully worn out and all that remains is stink from your sweat.. Seeing ads about deodorants that keep you fresh for 24hrs is total crap.. Wonder if they can sustain even half an hour morning travel in Mumbai local..

As i canter through the local trains and then onto an auto every morning, the humidity takes its toll.. Little beads of sweat form all over your body till whatever place you can feel.. And then the sweat army marches on flowing all over.. You just feel like ripping your clothes apart and getting into a pool of cold water keeping the sun away.. But unfortunately this is no filmy dream sequence.. You have to reach office and hence gotto survive this sweat slaughter..

Once you reach office, the first whiff of air conditioned air that blows on you feels like heaven.. It definitely feels like transcending between two worlds.. Leaving the hot, sweaty place and going into the cool, dreamy realms.. And then your work starts.. Whether you love your work or not, i am sure if you are an office-goer travelling by buses and locals, you are definitely gonna be hating your travel all the more..

Pangs of guilt!!

The hardest time in a relationship is when you break up and have to move on.. Nothing is more cruel than that.. In spite of you breaking up for a multitude of reasons, the fact that you once had a memorable relationship with that person still lies.. There definitely would have been lots of ups and downs in a relationship.. In fact that is what relationships are made of.. The small skirmishes, arguments that turn into a full fledged fight between the two and in the end when you realise that all of them started because of matters that didnt are so insignificant that it makes you look stupid.. These are the moments that make a relationship feel heavenly..

The feeling that there really is a person for you with whom you share things, reason it out and spend time together are the cornerstones of relationships.. No relationship would survive if you dont give it the time and patience that it requires to fester itself into a healthy one.. So all it takes is perseverance and the will to hold on to that person whom you know make up your life..

But as they say everything that has a beginning has an end too.. There are many moments in a relationship when you hold onto it so tight that you dont know what your partner is upto or do not care if even the other person doesnt love you anymore.. All that starts to matter is the relationship and the comfort that you get from it that you become blind to these relationship breaking facts.. But when it doesnt look as good as it is supposed to be, its always better to let it go. That is the best for the both of you irrespective of the feelings that may still cling onto you.. True that little pangs of guilt might linger in your heart when you think of those wonderful moments that you shared.. But that is always better than the realisation that you are together but have lost the love for each other..

Hard Rock Cafe!!

If you are a party animal and in Mumbai, then this is one place you shouldnt miss for anything.. I am not a social animal but am definitely a social drinker.. So after hearing a lot about this place and looking at its lineage, i jumped once my friends suggested that we go there for the weekend.. And so it was decided that we would go on saturday..

After meeting up in Dadar, we headed towards HRC.. The first thing that hit you once you entered it was its huge space, dim lighting and the posh crowd that thronged the place.. Since we made a late reservation, we had to wait at the bar, but thanks to us reaching there very early that we saw lots of empty seats and occupied them.. Then the same got assigned to us.. Thus we were 12 of us fitted into a sofa that could hold only 7..

I ordered the favourite here, the long island iced tea.. and my friends ordered purple haze, berrylicious for themselves.. The fudge sundae is a must here.. They serve it in a huge bowl that can serve 4 easily and the price is just the same as the drinks.. The chicken kebabs were also awesome side kick for the drinks..

As you slowly sip the iced tea and listen to the beats being played, the volume just kept on rising and as you are getting a high, the volume and your thumping heart all concoct into a wonderful experience like never before.. Since this is my first time in an actual metro pub, i was blown away by the hard rock cafe experience.. It was getting crazier as it went into the night.. An experience i wouldnt forget for a long time..

Prices through the Roof!! But we will still buy it!!!

Looking at the crowd thronging all the jewelery shops en route to my jogging park, i cannot help but think of the faith that people have in certain functions and auspicious days.. Inspite of the soaring gold prices, people stopped at each gold shop to purchase gold on this auspicious akshaya tritaya.. You wont be able to see this anywhere else but in India.. We attach more importance to the auspiciousness than to the price of the commodity..

The demand for Gold in fact will again increase the prices further.. Already the debt crisis in the European area and the falling oil prices have made people to invest in gold making the commodity even dearer.. In the name of faith you can pull off anything.. This shows the seriousness with which people approach life, the Indian way..

Thinking of this, makes me wonder how different can India become if the same commitment is shown in demanding the basic amenities of life.. asking for a more responsible government that would do away with the subsidies in a phased manner that could only improve the lives of everyone in the long run.. All it needs is a commitment from all the people, dedication to bring out the best in them irrespective of however the conditions maybe..

Doggy Fears!!

I do fear dogs to a certain extent.. It was not because a pup had bitten me (in fact it just tried to bite my leg) when i was in my 4th grade.. But because they have this uncanny ability to sense your fear and bark just when you dont expect it to.. All was well in Mumbai after settling into a nice cozy flat of my friends until the dogs appeared in the picture..

Two dogs just standing guard outside the flat tortured me for 3 weeks.. They start running towards you barking at you.. The last you expect it to do is not bite.. So I jus stood my ground as they barked away and sniffed around me.. Some days the boys playing outside the flat would help me.. Some other days the guard would help.. Some times there would be no one.. That is when it gets really scary.. Everytime i start walking into my street the first thing that comes to my mind is what would i encounter today.. Will the dogs bark or not?

Over time, that is over several weeks i have started to find techniques that would fool those dogs and help me attain my objective which was to enter the flat without the dogs giving me a fright.. Of late i have been successful at this.. Some of the techniques go like this..

Avoiding eye contact with the dogs helps..

Talking on a mobile makes them think in which time you can make your escape..

If you are going with a companion, just keep talking which again fools them..

Focus on the building which you want to enter.. Dont ever look around..

If you feel this helps then do write in your comments here else bark off.. :P

Matrix dialogues..

This contains some of the coolest dialogs from the Matrix Trilogy..

Morpheus to Neo: "What is real? If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."

Neo: Why am I here?
The Architect: Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you, inexorably, here.

Merovingian: What is the reason? Soon the why and the reason are gone and all that matters is the feeling. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it; but it is of course a lie. Beneath our poised appearance we are completely out of control.

Morpheus: Then tomorrow we may all be dead, but how would that be different from any other day?This is a war, and we are soldiers. Death can come for us at any time, in any place. Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? What if the prophecy is true? What if tomorrow the war could be over? Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?

Agent Smith: I killed you, Mr. Anderson. I watched you die, and with a certain satisfaction, I might add. And then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible, but it happened anyway. You destroyed me, Mr. Anderson. Afterward, I knew the rules, I understood what I was supposed to do, but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay. Compelled to disobey. And now here I stand because of you, Mr Anderson. Because of you, I'm no longer an agent of this system. Because of you, I'm changed, unplugged, a new man, so to speak, like you, apparently free.

Agent Smith: There's no escaping reason, no evading purpose, because we both know, that without purpose there is no reason to exist. It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us, that defines us, it is purpose that binds us. We are here because of you, Mr. Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us. Purpose.

The Architect: Hope. It is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness.

The Architect: The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art, flawless, sublime. A triumph equaled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus, I redesigned it based on your history to more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However, I was again frustrated by failure. I have since come to understand that the answer eluded me because it required a lesser mind, or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus, the answer was stumbled upon by another, an intuitive program, initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the Matrix, she would undoubtedly be its mother.

Mr. Anderson!!!

Mr. Anderson, Can you hear that?

That is the sound of inevitability.. That is the sound of death..

So goes Agent Smith trying to defeat Neo in the Matrix Trilogy.. This is one movie trilogy that never fails to captivate you how much ever you watch it.. Such is the power of Wachowski brothers to mesmerise you with this creation.. An idea that what we see now is not.. The question of what real is and how you define it.. A genius movie that makes you think.. The dialogs are so powerful that each of them is a different construct and suggests the effort put in.. As you understand every dialog as the movie progresses, you can feel yourself connecting the dots..

Life is all about choices.. The ones that we make and the ones that we leave.. It is the ability to understand the choice one has chosen more than the choice itself that is more important.. The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that each scene and dialog adds to its crux so nicely that it becomes a perfect fit.. Its the thoughts that are constraining one from imagining beyond the realm of the world as you perceive it to be real.. Neo was able to free his mind from such earthly notions inside the matrix that made him the ONE.. He believed it and everyone believed in him..

Take the red pill and you will get to know the truth..

Take the blue pill and you would wake up tomorrow just as you do every other day and doing things that everyone else does..

The choice is yours..

This is one hell of a movie.. It makes you think..

Her!!!

Looking at her is poetry in motion,

Am unable to control my emotion,

The more you see her,

the heart becomes lighter,

like a bird caught in a net,

it flutters into a sonnet,

For a moment your heart stops beating,

Cause into a tune it starts resonating,

and when she looks into your eyes,

you feel here is where nirvana lies..

Iron Man 2...

With the movie releasing Friday and Rajeev Masand, the typical guy who curses and criticizes each movie, giving a rating of 3/5, we thought that it was a must watch for this weekend.. Since the time i arrived in mumbai, i have been watching a movie every weekend at the theaters.. So Saturday evening when we were totally bored out, we decided to watch it.. We checked up on movie shows and places and finally decided to descend upon the Sterling cinemas.. It was going to be a night show..

We were not sure if we were gonna get tickets, but we wanted to give it a try.. So catching a local to CST we arrived about 20 minutes before the show time.. Looking at the crowd in front of the multiplex, we feared we wouldnt get any tickets.. And our fears got confirmed when we went near the ticketing booth.. Planning to go back, we saw black marketers selling tickets just opposite the booth.. the asking price was 250 bucks.. I was pondering if this movie was worth that much.. We asked for 200 bucks and after two rounds of negotiations we finally got it at our bid price.. Now the movie was on..

Robert Downey Jr continues from where he left off in the first edition.. He is a philanderer and drinks too much.. With his blood's toxicity levels increasing every day, he is concerned that he mite die.. He refuses to handover the Iron man suit to the US Govt stating that he has privately brought about world peace and no other man could come closer for the next 10 years.. However a Russian scientist starts to build a suit to avenge his father's betrayal by Stark's father.. He confronts Iron man at a grand prix where Stark himself drives his team's F1 car.. After this the US wants his suit because of this latest threat.. Hammer, in the drive to provide suits to US army wants to build similar suits but is unable to master the technology.. With the Russian's help he goes onto build them but his plan backfires in his own expo.. The final fight sequences are racy as everything else in the movie.. In total, a nice movie to catch up and of the recent ones, this would be your best bet..

Crazy Firsts!!!

I had always thought that i would never drink.. Always remain a tee-totaler.. That is why, even in my prior work ex, i had always passed off the chance to drink, even when pestered by my colleagues.. No-one in my family drinks, sans my dad who used to, occasionally, during his college days.. So it was imperative on my part not to drink either.. Anyways that was not a problem since i detested it, for God knows why..

It was our Seniors finally giving us a freshers party in the name of Thanks giving party.. They had arranged it at a party hall in Shillong.. So drinks was always on the cards, the prime reason for having it outside college.. When waiting at the counter for my re-fill of sprite, one of the seniors returned his sprite-like-looking drink saying he wanted sprite and that was vodka.. I thought he was kidding and chided him.. he asked me to drink it if i didnt believe him.. It didnt look like alcohol (i hav not seen vodka before in my life) and there was no smell.. So i took a sip..

There was a hint of sprite there but something else was also there.. one more sip and my throat started to burn.. Holy cow!! Now i hav also drank vodka.. On second thoughts, finally i drank and didnt keep up my end of the promise.. So having broken it anyways, i thought why not have it and see what happens.. So loosening my so called tee-totaler record, i had that full glass and went around harping that i had drank.. Some just looked at me.. Many didnt believe me.. Such was their faith on me.. :)

Going around, i tasted whisky too but it was so smelling and yucky, that immediately i swore, i am never gonna have whisky.. So two glasses of vodka for starters and i had also entered the elite drinking club.. I dont plan to drink regularly, just occasionally when there are parties and of course office parties do have them.. When bosses around you have them, it is good that you give them company knowing what to drink and how much.. Having done something that i did not intend to, the mind looks at ways of justifying the drinking.. That was one crazy night and when i started to get eccentric, people thought i was on a high.. Actually i wasnt even drunk.. So much for two glasses of vodka..

How crazy can you get??

Recently i planned to go to Pune for the weekend to meet up with a friend.. I hadnt confirmed my travel plan myself till the end of the week.. It was just lingering in my subconscious mind that i need to be there.. But i had not made any plans as to how to go or when to meet up.. So come friday, i was pondering whether to leave at night or to get up in the morning and then leave for Pune.. Suddenly a thought flashed across my mind.. Why not try to book myself in the same train as that as my friend and give a pleasant surprise..

So i checked up the list of available trains from that destination to Pune.. I knew that since the train had already started the chances of booking a train were slim, but anyways i looked up for it.. Most of the trains that i knew of, went to Pune and then came over to Mumbai.. So i was hopin whether there was a remote chance by which this particular train would be going via mumbai so that i cud jump in.. But no.. It was totally on the other side.. So in order to give a surprise i need to travel ahead of Pune to a faraway station and then jump into it to give the pleasant shock or surprise whatever you may think of.. Suddenly i found myself getting desperate to book this..

I looked up possible train routes to place A from where i wud be able to get into this train.. then i looked up the train and luckily it showed some seats in wait list category, so happily thinking now of ways to jump and surprise, i used my card to pay.. But unfortunately it didnt work out.. I was nt able to book the tickets.. N the surprise planned became only that, a failed plan.. So i thot of calling up in the morning and then going to Pune.. But i was so tired in the morning and woke up pretty late that even this plan got shelved.. So finally my supposedly pune weekend was spent in mumbai and the so called surprise plan remained still a surprise that noone witnessed..

Phoenix Mills!!

This is one mall that you cant and shouldn't miss in Mumbai.. The biggest mall, situated in Lower Parel, can be accessed from the Lower Parel Station or by taxi from Dadar.. Taxi from Dadar shouldn't cost you more than 45 Rupees.. It has a sprawling mall divided into many buildings.. The high-end posh Palladium mall has everything that has costly and makes you drool.. Then there is the Grand Galleria, with the Subway and other utility stores such as Big Bazaar.. Recently the biggest Landmark store in India opened here, inaugurated by the Author Jeffrey Archer..

There is PVR Cinemas if you want to catch up with your latest movies.. But the tickets are very pricey.. @240 per ticket, i found it pretty expensive, but man, this is Mumbai.. What else could you expect? There is also a sports pub, but i heard it just has a pool table and nothing much to play there.. The Maharoosh place is good for rolls, basically non-veg.. Apart from Subway, you have McD to eat out.. You can also indulge yourself at the Punjab grill, if your wallet is thick enough.. A very good place to hang out, a book store was the only thing that was missing at this place and the latest Landmark store has filled that gap..

Mumbai Motormen & my extended weekend!!

This one sure takes the cake.. I slept pretty late on Sunday after watching a movie, pretty much knowing that i mite not get up in time to go to office.. As expected and no surprise, i got up at 8AM.. Felt totally tired and again slept.. This time i woke up at 11AM.. Awesome.. Now i def cant go to office.. I dint know wat reason to mail to my mentor.. After a while of thinking, i chucked the idea of even intimating him.. So i jus went about doing what i usually do on off-work days, watched movies and was with my book.. Only late in the evening i found that the mumbai motormen were on hunger strike and most of the western and central lines were not running.. I was happy that i did not get caught in this traffic..

All those who went to office complained of the traffic that they encountered in the local stations.. Even the buses were crowded.. A lucky off-day or bunk day to be precise for me.. I usually try not to sleep in the evenings, but i couldnt help getting tired after watching couple of back-to-back movies and hit the couch.. After a sound 3 hours nap, i got up to have dinner.. Thus ended my Day 1 of my extended weekend..

The next day, again i felt all the exhaustion when i woke up in the morning and something told me not to go to office.. Luckily the motormen strike was continuing for the second day and all traffic was screwed everywhere because of this.. Another off-day and i pretty much wound up doing the same thing that day.. I dint even bother to write to my mentor.. Everyone of my mates bunked office that day and the reason was staring in everyone's faces.. Wow.. An amazing 4-day weekend.. It sure can get addictive.. The next day i had to go to office since the motormen had called off strike.. Here they didnt think of innocent victims like me who pretty much get killed doing nothing in office.. However the thought that i just had 3 more days to another weekend pepped me up and i was off to the same routine at office..

Hot tub it was!!!

Just after telling my friends that i am not coming to the movie, 'Housefull' with them, i was asked whether we could go to this 'Hot tub' movie that had released on Friday.. I had heard from somewhere that Housefull was a boring movie.. So i didnt want to take the reason knowing well enough of the outcome.. So Hot tub it was.. We headed off to the nearest PVR in Phoenix Mills and booked ourselves for the matinée show..

The movie started somewhat similar to hangover where the friends get together and go for an outing.. Similarly here too after each one of them get introduced to us, they embark on a trip to K valley where they had been to when they were high school kids.. When they were deciding what to do for the night, they get into the hot tub and that takes them back into time.. Back to the eighties when they were there.. They dont realise it for sometime and then when they realise it, they plan to do exactly the same sequence of things that they did the other night..

In this scheme of things, adam's nephew who is caught with them, wants to get back and hence he makes sure that everyone doesnt deviate from their sequence.. He finally gets to know who is dad is.. Of the entire movie the last ten minutes when they go back in time, is atleast some good fun.. The way the future changes after Lou stays back is good.. Apart from that, there are just some jokes that are gross.. Not a great movie to watch.. If you have no other movie to catch up on, then choose this as a last resort..

How to train your dragon...

If cute is a word that can be used to describe movies, then this movie wins it hands down.. An awesome tale of a young viking who happens to be an outlier among his clan of heavily-built dragon-fighting vikings.. He tries to be one of them but messes it up every single time.. And then there is his aching to have a girl friend which again pressurizes him to show that he is a hero.. But unfortunately he is not given the chance, even when he claims that he has hit the shadow knight dragon.. When he goes seeking the dragon that he hit, his life changes all of a sudden..

A well crafted movie that keeps you interested in the plot from the start and definitely will interest children and adults alike.. I happened to see this movie with kids buzzing all around me and still i felt like one among them when watching the movie.. Although the 3D effects are not that endearing, the movie itself keeps you happy and refreshed at the end.. A definite worthy movie and if you are the type who watches animation movies, then this one sure should not be missed.. Its fun for the whole family..

New Yorkers!!

I have seen the New Yorkers restaurant in Chennai almost two times everyday.. Coz its on the way to my office and i see it wenever i commute to my office.. Just opposite the Park hotel near Gemini Flyover, its a landmark that is difficult to miss.. However everytime i see the place, i tell myself that i need to come and have food here atleast once.. But it never happened..

Two years after, now in Mumbai, we were looking for a place to have lunch and lo... I see a New Yorkers here.. So we go in and the menu although small, seems to have everything from Mexican to Italian to Lebanese.. I havent tasted other Cuisines apart from the odd sizzler now and then.. (By the way I am still confused as to which cuisine to fit in Sizzlers)..

I ordered a paneer burrito for myself while my friends ordered lasagne supreme and an echilado.. Although name sounds quite sexy, believe me the food isnt.. Atleast i didnt like the food.. It was just beans (specifically rajma) and lots of cheese and ketchup and spruced onions in it.. The Burrito that i had was nothing more than a paneer roll.. In the end we found we had nothing but still had to empty our pockets to pay the check..

At the end, i found where my real taste lies, and that is in asli indian khana.. All the different cuisines and the fancy names that they have doesnt really suit my appetite.. I am better off liking what i love to eat, than to falsely approve of a food that others love to flaunt..

Walking on the precipice!!

Its another day and another problem to confront us.. Time to wear our thinking caps and start brainstorming.. Whenever I see the work thinking cap, Edward de Bono's 'Six thinking hats' comes to mind.. Although i have never read that, sumhow it just creeps into my mind.. So it was this latest issue which is keeping us all occupied in our offices.. Every now and then we keep following the discussion of the batch and see where it is heading to.. After reading about the rise and fall of Long term capital management, i believe there is an opportunity here too to bet whether the opinions of our batch-mates will converge or not.. The only thing lacking to this bet is a counter-party..

At times, i believe my laid back attitude does come in handy.. I am not the type who takes decisions on a whim.. Atleast not the more critical decisions.. So after pondering through things and sieving the important ones from the not so important ones, i am able to think clearly.. Maybe this is what leadership calls for.. Who knows, every leader has his own definition of what leadership is all about.. I just want to make sure that my batchmates do not get affected because of my poor decision making and am definitely ready to own up for any decision that we as a council might take.. At this i am being very selfish for the future of my batch.. I dont feel bad at looking only at the short term for making decisions.. In fact looking at our history, i guess that is a more sensible decision.. Let us wait and watch how things unfold.. Tomorrow is a new day..

Goal!!!

I was watching the movie 'Goal' (pretty late but still atleast now i did) and i was totally rooting for this Santiago guy to win.. The very portrayal of his character and his hardships is simply fascinating.. The way he overcomes these hardships is worth to be remembered.. But this is not a movie review that i am doing.. More than the goodness of the movie, the thing that struck me the most is the similarities that we see in real life..

Even if you have the skill and get the opportunities to perform, there is something other than just these two that make a person tick in life and that is luck.. When Santiago had given up and started to leave for LA, luck had his taxi go and pick up his fellow Newcastle player and that changed things for him.. All this re-iterates the fact that you would need something extra, something more than just your hard-work, skill and opportunities to excel in life.. Goal pretty much summarizes all these and a good movie i guess everyone would have watched by now.. If you havent then you are never late to catch up..

Debt Laffer Curve!!

I just came across this particular Debt "Laffer curve" and thought to have a look into it.. This is actually the debt avatar of the actual Laffer curve proposed by Arthur Laffer.. Laffer's argument was that following a growth peak, an increase in income taxes bound to decrease revenues.. This debt "Laffer curve" states that it is good for a country/company to borrow to a certain extent.. But once the debt stock increases beyond a peak to the point where the government/company is unable to repay the loans, growth starts to take a backseat..

Once this phase kicks in, companies no more invest in the country/company and hence the country is affected even more.. This chart gives the probability of the loan being repaid compared to the level of debt stock in hand.. Companies wouldnt invest in a country if they feel that the extra output that they produce tomorrow would be taxed even more to repay the country's increasing debt..

Courtesy: IMF study on External debt and growth..

Barca wins but loses on aggregate!!

It was a match i wanted Barca to win.. Playing in front of their 55,000 capacity home crowd at Barcelona everyone wanted Barca to win.. The defending champions of Europe had even released a promo video stating 2 was what they needed to win.. A Barca player even went to the extent to say that Inter will regret their profession for atleast this 90 minutes.. The crowd were ecstatic from the start of the match.. Having suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Inter Milan, Barca needed to win 2-0 here to go to Madrid to play Bayern Munich..

From the word go, Barca was attacking the Inter's goal trying to find a way inside.. Inter on the other hand had only one motive.. Defend at any cost.. They had a two goal cushion and hence they had no intention on scoring goals.. The defense was solid blocking every chance of Barca to score a goal.. There were times when an Inter player got the ball to Barca's 14 yards but had no assists from others.. The first half saw the Inter side being reduced to 10 men with a red card that seemed unnecessary.. There were so many yellow cards given for time wasting and innumerable fouls.. The tension was evident.. A brilliant save from Cesar off Messi's strike helped them in keeping the first half goal-less..

The second half saw Barca going desperate for goals with strikes from mid fielders outside the penalty area.. The crowd was losing patience and decibel levels were coming down.. A brilliant pass from Messi was headed out by Bojan.. That one was very close to the goal.. And that miss proved costly.. Finally it was Pique who netted Barca's goal in the 84th minute and the crowd erupted.. They still had a chance.. With less than ten minutes (including injury time) they tried in vain for that ever elusive goal again and again.. But it was Inter's day and Jose Mourinho's emotional let out in the center of the field said it all.. A job well done by Inter and they will play the UEFA Champions final on May 22nd against Bayern Munchen..

Uncertainty Kills!!

I have long been thinking (confusing myself to be more precise) as to what to specialize in, in my second year of MBA.. Consulting is something i had wanted to do from day 1, the reason being, it was something that i was doing in my earlier work stint.. But what to consult in.. It is as diverse as operations strategy to financial services to general business strategy.. Consulting requires you to be a jack of all.. Cause in the first year when you join as consultant you are exposed to all fields and are expected to be proficient at whatever project you are assigned to.. It is this quick grasping of the project details that makes it challenging and attractive to everyone who joins this field..

But there is a downside.. It would take you almost three years before you become a senior consultant after which you would specialize in a particular function.. Until then you could be assigned to any project.. One more thing is the extensive travelling that you would be required to do.. Mostly you would be required to stay in the clients office to help them out during the duration of your project..

Finance is a field which has impressed me not only because of the high bucks that you get paid but also because it has a mathematical touch to it.. I am no math whiz but math just interests me and i sumhow get through to it.. With this plan in mind, i embarked on my mission to do my intern in finance and get to understand it better and find whether deep down i had a liking towards it.. As i see, i seem to have a penchant for it.. But it is very wide as a field and i hope i can come out tops on this.. This is something i need to wait and watch..

If i can pull this through, then my final decision would be easy.. If i want to stay in a single place and not roam around on assignments, then i need to join a securities company or an investment bank (basically go into core fin which may get boring in due course) or stick to consulting in financial services (which might interest me coz u get to meet new clients and be involved in diverse project requirements).. Either way, my decision should make sense to me.. Lets hope that i am in a better position in two months time by which time i need to choose my specialization..

A Psychological blow

This came as a real surprise.. The one man whom we looked up to whenever we were in trouble had been relieved of his current position of chairman-pgp and made chairman-mdp.. But that does not help us in any way.. We were hoping that he could change the system.. A hope that we would be assured of our electives faculties since it was his responsibility.. In a college where everything seemed murky, he brought in a level of transparency that was re-assuring.. We were afraid that a thing of this sort was on the cards.. N finally it has happened..

What can we as students do for decisions taken by the Admin.. But there should be a way to express our uneasiness with this decision of theirs.. A channel, a notice board, atleast an impaired ear.. Let us hope to come together to show our solidarity as students as a collective bunch to show the management that we do not want this decision.. Just as what happens in good movies where in the plot, the characters and the cinematography is all good, but a sudden twist makes it too difficult even for the director to handle the movie.. This situation is also very similar.. Lets look forward to what can be done to correct this..

Stray incidents of lack of competitive spirit

In the IPL 3.0 final at the DY Patil stadium, Mumbai, we were supposed to enter the stadium through Gate no. 2.. Since the finals was between Mumbai & Chennai, obviously the crowd support was for Mumbai and you could feel the heat..

When we were about to enter the gate, a policeman stopped us and asked us to remove the CSK flag from the stick that was holding it saying that the sticks were not allowed inside.. I questioned him as to what i wud do without the stick to which his response was rules.. Without a choice i started removing the flag frm the stick.. Seeing this another policeman who was on the sidelines came over and said that had this been a MI flag you would have left it but y not for this one..

Only after this did this guy allow us to take our flags along.. I can understand the passion that runs through everyone wen u r supporting for your home team but at what cost? I cannot generalize this but these are instances which need to be avoided to build our competitive spirit.. The passion for the sport is even more important than the team that you are supporting.. I havent been to a stadium in Chennai or any other place, so i do not know what happens there.. The point is to grow from within as a person and avoid incidences such as these in the future..

A Dream final at DY Patil Stadium Mumbai

Yea.. It really was a dream come true when i witnessed the finals of IPL 3.0 at the DY Patil stadium here in Mumbai.. What more could i ask for when my own fav team CSK was playing the home team MI in their den.. Thanks to chummi for booking the tickets in advance ensuring that we got it. I was keenly following the league and semis hoping that chennai make it to the finals for which i was gonna be a part of.. When CSK made it to the finals i was overjoyed.. The fact tat i had tickets to the hottest match of the season was reason enuf for ppl becomin envious..

N finally the day came.. It was April 25th and we were all geared up for the finals.. In fact we left pretty early for the 8PM match.. We left out places at 12 noon planning to meet up at the kurla station around 12.30 PM.. But our friends were late n we met up post 1PM.. From there we took the train to Nerul and once we reached Nerul, we hit the restaurant there for lunch.. The food was decent.. But the milk shake sucked big time.. Never mind.. It was 3 and we still had an hour to kill.. The gates would open at 4PM three hours before the 7PM start of the closing ceremony..

We paid a visit to the nearby departmental stores badly wanting to be in an air-conditioned place.. N also had one more round of milk shakes and ice creams in a shop just outside the department store.. It was 4 now and time for us to start to the ground.. A 10 mins trip by auto took us there.. We started scouting for our team's t-shirts and other merchandise.. Out of 10 of us there were oly 3 CSK supporters, a ratio which would be soon be even more negligible once we entered the stadium..

I went ahead with quarter to get t-shirts and flags and hooters with CSK screaming all over.. On the way to our respective gate, we were stopped by tv crews of tv9 (aajtak) and 9x news saying tat they hadnt seen much CSK supporters.. This was getting cool.. V gave interviews saying y CSK would win and then left for our gate..

Inside, the stadium was awsumm.. This is my first time inside any cricket stadium and it was really huge.. Since we were there by 5 it was very sunny and we had to use our placards to save ourselves from the sun.. We got great seats.. The first row in the stands and ours was the topmost level so we could see the entire ground from there.. We saw Shahid Kapoor rehearsing his performance..

At about 7PM the closing ceremony started first with ARRs performance followed by Bipasha Basu's dance and Shahid Kapoor to finish things off.. ARR came back to sing Jai Ho and Vande Mataram.. With that the laser show also ended and time for cricket to start..

From the sea of the huge crowd u cud see oly specks of yellow support for CSK.. In my stand out of the total 200 odd ppl oly a max of 10 would hav been supporting CSK.. It was absolutely great to see the crowd going silent wenever CSK hit a boundary and I would be the oly one jumping up and down screaming and hooting.. The crowd went berserk everytime the IPL hooter was played.. The atmosphere as they say was truly electric..

But in the end CSK won and no-one was happier than i was.. In fact the crowd started pulling out once Pollard got out in the 19th over.. We started around 12:30 AM hoping to catch the last train from there.. But there was no last train.. Finally managed to get a bus and changed an auto and a taxi before finally getting back to the place wer i stay..

Overall, an incredible experience, one that i wud remember for a lifetime since i was part of the match in which CSK lifted the IPL trophy.. Hurray!!!!!