Rayil payanangalil

Some of our most memorable events occur during chance happenings. Prior to 30s I always used to prefer buses even for long journeys - I have covered Mumbai to Chennai by bus during student days. Of late however, due to covid largely I have reduced travels. Recently, I decided to try out a train journey and it turned out to be quite fascinating.

It was an intra-state travel for about 8 hours and I experimented with a Shatabdi (well, there's a lot of buzz about Shatabdi, Vande Bharat and the likes, so why not give it a shot when the opportunity comes!) for the return journey to Chennai. I booked the Executive coach though it wasn't really required - I was pretty much gathering proof for what I heard. (Pro-tip: Stay in touch with 2k kids - they are well-versed with latest happenings than you think! Before booking the tickets, I had a casual conversation with my office colleague who turns out to be a 2k kid. When I mentioned the word 'Shatabdi' his eyes lit up - he went on and on about how good the FOOD in the train is and the way soup and tea are served in cutlery! SOLD!)

Prior to boarding, I was expecting something like, for lack of a better expression, flight-like seating. But I was wrong. The moment I entered, I realized the seats were wayyy more comfortable than flights. Thanks to state / central government or whoever is maintaining these trains! Being an evening to night journey, the passengers were served snacks and coffee first. More than the food, it's the experience that matters - you actually FEEL like sitting in a restaurant that moves! And what's more - I was in the window seat with great views of the countryside.

And in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by...

You do not get this experience in flights - a combination of good views + good food (I am not saying food on flights is bad - it doesn't need to be told). Okay, the coffee wasn't great, but the snack was good. There was also a sweet which was quite delicious. After gulping the goods, I was slowly losing myself to the beautiful views on the right side provided by the window seat.

To my left, the seat was empty. In the seats behind me, there was a couple, likely senior citizens, and the lady was watching mega-serials with headphones (I respect people who wear headphones, because these citizens do not disturb the general public!). To my front, there was a couple with a small boy who was rather quiet and ahead of them were the middle seats. The middle area in the compartment had four seats where people can sit facing each other and the seats are separated by a table (like a typical 4 seater table in restaurants) - I do not know who designed this but this makes lives interesting. There were five ladies, aged between 40-60 (these are my guesses) seated in these 4 seats - they were beginning to play Cards! And I am reasonably confident that these four got to know each other only during the journey NOT before! They started with a game which everyone knew (probably Rummy) and got bored after a while. Then, the senior lady who looked like she's from Kerala, gave them KT about a new game (I don't know the name) which they started playing. It is hard to guess whether it was the game or their nature in general, but as the game progressed, their voices became really really loud - there was a time when I began to dislike the journey.

Soup was served, which lifted my mood for a while. I must say the soup was brilliant, and yes, it was served in good cutlery. It was a Knorr soup packet which had to be mixed with hot water and consumed. Probably it was the AC, or the view, or the ambience overall, hard to say, but this soup at that moment was bliss. There's a distinct feeling of luxury about traveling in Shatabdi which is hard to describe in words. On seeing the lush green grass and mountains in fading sunlight, your heart feels lighter. The point where sunlight passes through the train's glass window and falls on you inside an AC compartment while travelling around 80-90 KMPH... a level of warmth that multiple attempts at adjusting your room's AC temperature at night armed with bedsheets cannot equal. For a city-dweller like me, this was quite refreshing! I added some salt to the soup.

But you see, not everyone consumes soup. The cards gang continued their entertainment with progressively increasing decibel levels through the evening without taking any breaks. I was expecting some member in the compartment to lose his/her patience and shout at them but no, nothing of that sort happened. Suddenly, one uncle seated near them looked like he was going to talk to the crowd and he did. But guess what, it was a normal conversation - no complaints! The Kerala lady moved back to her seat after a while, the now four-member gang continued to play, unhindered by the exit of one player. The chatter continued without any loss of volume. I thought of telling them to lower the noise, but couldn't gather enough courage to do so. Besides, I do not like to spoil anyone's party so I let it go.

There's always a silver lining - it was time for dinner and the next set of delicacies arrived... Piping hot rotis with curry, rice and dal, all served in a perfectly packed manner. I have travelled in AC compartments in the past, but this level of quality was something I was not used to! The pure sight of the dinner in front of me reduced the volume of the ladies - there is something about food that alters your senses and focus areas! With noise fading in the background, I treated myself to the Rotis first, followed by Dal with rice. And yes, there was Curd, thick! When I thought this was all, we were finally served ice-creams! Long live Shatabdi.

Post dinner, we were fairly close to Chennai Central. This was the time the Cards games were finally beginning to end. Once they ended, the conversations should have also ended but no - they continued talking about life in general and started exchanging phone numbers. The nearby uncle also started giving his views about life and YOLO! True, that.

Back to Chennai, office, traffic.

One big learning for me from this trip is to travel more in trains whenever the opportunity arises!

Until next time, Incredible India!

Who's the Greatest?

 A few months ago, there was a lot of debate on who is the GOAT (Greatest of all time) in Tennis. The debate was largely between Federer and Nadal, and some people brought in Djokovic as well (somehow) into this discussions. When you are reading this, if you are able to recollect some of these discussions, it is time to take a deep breath.

Context is important in any discussion, so let's take a bird's eye view first.

These three gentlemen have won a total of 57 grand slams. (For those who contribute to these discussions without knowing what a slam is, this one is for you - there are 4 championships that happen every year in the beautiful sport - Tennis- the Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open).

For these slams to happen in the first place, it takes a minimum of 15 years even if taken continuously without any gap (of course, they did not win ALL slams every year in the last 15 years but am intentionally not even getting there). If you are someone who follows any sport, let alone Tennis, you will understand that 15 years is a really long time. 

For people who were born in the late 80s and early 90s, this is the entire childhood gone in watching these gentlemen play. That is enough fortune to watch them play. Let that sink in. Have you ever seen any individual sport dominated by three players for such a long time? I doubt. Some might compare, but it's a futile discussion. Frankly, it's hard to imagine any other trio dominate the same sport in the near future. 

Coming to the point, apart from the journalists and others in the know of the matter who write for a purpose, for common people, discussions like these are absolutely meaningless. Information is available to all, thanks to the availability of social media, memes and what not, the comparisons are endless - Federer/Nadal/Djokovic, Kohli/Smith, Kohli/Tendulkar...

This got me thinking...

They (Federer and all) won so many Grand Slams, did I win at least one? Okay, not a great question to start with... Let me try again.

I assume they get up in the morning and play Tennis.

Do I play any outdoor sport at all? No.
Do I think of playing outdoor sport? No.
Do I at least get up early in the morning? No.
Okay, do I think of getting up early in the morning? No.

What qualification do I have to talk about these people.

Hmmm...

Observations in Rural India

It was one of those rare difficult days in office after which I returned home to read something and face the next day with extra enthusiasm. I stumbled upon one of my favorite topics from B-School life - the 3 box solution. An interesting interview of Prof VG on this topic can be found here. His closing comments had a lasting impression on me "It (The Three Box Solution) applies everywhere. Not just business, it applies to churches, universities, non-profits, countries/governments, and to personal life. The central idea in the 3 box solution is that the future is now. The future is not about what you need to do in the future; it’s about what you need to do today to create the future."
Those thoughts enjoyed a good rest in my mind for quite sometime. A little later, I had to visit my hometown for a few days due to personal reasons. A walk around the town, and there were telltale signs of a beautiful, idle town that could become unlivable in the near future:

• The town has a population of around 70,000 as per 2011 census. One could expect it to be around 100,000 in 2017.
• The area of the district is 55 sq. km. according to government records. For the sake of discussion, the entire city is about 5 KM from the centre on both sides if we plot X and Y axis.
• Let's get to the point. At least 800 to 1000 two wheelers could be spotted in the town quite easily, which left me wondering - where is my town heading?

To put things into perspective, you can walk through the city in 45 minutes to 1 hour. How did so many vehicles come on roads? One can always argue that the purchasing power of citizens has increased over the years and folks are buying stuff. Nevertheless, a town as small as this was never built to carry so many vehicles.

In a city like Chennai or Mumbai, the roads were built to handle the traffic to a great extent. In towns like this, the streets are largely small, agraharam-type with no parking spaces. And four-wheelers are not yet taken into count. Add some 200-250 four-wheelers and you can already hear the town breathing with life-support. It can be stated with some level of certainty that many tier 3 / tier 4 cities in India are in this state right now so far as transportation infrastructure is concerned. Is there a way to improve here?

Let's try applying VG's strategem!
What's in box 1? Managing the present. The current state of 'stuffing in' automobiles into the town must reduce. The conditions of roads must improve to better suit free flow of traffic. This needs government will.
Box 2 is critical. It is never easy. The baby boomers' culture of "Get a job, get a bike, get a house" must go. Alternately, they can look at a bicycle-led lifestyle for office commute. And see how beautiful life is! And some other habits like, you know, following road rules would do the town a world of good!
The biggest difficulty with box 2 is that, there will be people in power who would have grown up this way. For them to challenge their own beliefs and get to work is not going to be easy!

Box 3 needs a visionary at the helm. Probably the easier way to make smart cities would be to target tier 2 / tier 3 towns since they are a whole lot smaller than the metros. Moreover, it is simpler to get buy-in from small town folks. Get some inspiration from cities like Amsterdam which have moved towards bicycle-led lifestyles! Once it is started, there will be no stopping.

The forces of Vishnu (box 1), Shiva (box 2) and Brahma (box 3) need to come together to make India a better place. If India lives in her hundred thousand villages, it definitely retires in these towns!

Not all rook endings are drawn;
Not all strategies are gas!

Until next time,
Adios!

Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal.

Morning scenes at the airport

This happened in February 2017.
It was one of those days when I had to catch an early morning flight (Read: Indigo) to Mumbai from Chennai on a business trip. Needless to say, it is hard to pay attention at such times, well I woke up early at midnight to reach the airport. Due to some reasons unknown to me, I suddenly became wide awake. "Let me try and look around", I told myself. The result was an enriching experience!
The scenes are hard to describe, however, I will make an attempt.

- The rush was pretty much IN. At least 80% of the population were hooked to their mobile phones and walking fast to the destination. Whether the flight will take off as soon as they reach their gates is something only they can answer.
- A contemporary woman in saree calmly walking towards security check, with what looked like an iPhone on her left hand and a branded handbag on the right. One could guess that she is quite successful in her field, going by the sophisticated appearance
- Paatis (Accomplished grandmothers of Tamil Nadu) with their extended family finding a way through the queue before the entrance, Tam Brahm uncles carrying color printouts of the tickets and speaking in English and Tamil intermittently about their young ones in the Bay Area. Their veshti + viboothi combination deserves a special mention! Somehow a good-looking Sardar was in-between this Hum Aapke Hain Kaun family, appearing totally lost.
- Not all white and whites are nice. There is always a white and white guy who is a nadamaadum nagai kadai (Walking jewellery shop), whom I will not make jokes about for obvious reasons.
- You can never miss the random foreign tourists with that native language-speaking 'dude' who acts as an ISO certified guide, knowing everything about Tamil Nadu, more than Google.
- The random girl (who might fit as a candidate in Roadies) with T Shirt + Jeans + Overcoat combination whom some people always hope will sit next to them but will always end up in the next row
- The bald businessman with a frowning face answering heated calls on his Blackberry, the smiling business traveller in suits who smiles at everything (just like yours truly)

- To top it all, the big Indian Flag showing us all how we are possibly the only nation that is made of differences rather than similarities!

From that day onwards, I have paid more attention to things around me. Life, as it is, offers us a lot of joy - it is an intoxicating experience!

The next time you are boarding an early morning Indigo, stay awake at the airport!

Until next time,
Have fun!

An eye-opening lesson on sub-cultures!

"Traveling. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a story-teller" - Ibn Battuta

One such official visit made me stumble upon a totally different culture that existed in a small part of a large organization, and how! Of course, I had come across traces of this culture in my IT days, but seeing it in real is a different experience!

MUM to MDU

Mumbai was a city that never let you sleep and Madurai does not sleep. In both these places, I have slept a lot. Of course, there is a lot more to these places than mentioned above. Good or bad, I will be at fault if I do not talk about culture after mastering in HR. Although I will express stuff in a mellowed tone, 'coz this is a temple city and I fear God!

1. Stop, Halt, Proceed

Life in Mumbai was fast, in true sense of the word.

From entering a train in Andheri local station (am not mentioning Dadar) to boarding ferry near the Gateway, it was congested, noisy and "mad", for lack of a better word. Madurai, however, is cute and slow. Anything can be reached in half an hour's time with traffic - there is that amount of predictability here. Minimum fuss.

“Country things are the necessary root of our life - and that remains true even of a rootless and tragically urban civilization. To live permanently away from the country is a form of slow death.” 

― Esther Meynell

2. Get, Set, Go

Transportation seemed to be an issue at first when I landed here. I was very happy to know Ola existed. But that's how limited your vision is, if you sit in four walls under an Air Conditioner in the Head Office and think all things are bright and beautiful everywhere in the country! Reality was different...

--- Ola booked--- 5 min ETA.

"Hello ... Sir..."

"(destination informed)"

"Ok sir, 5 minutes, reaching... cash ah ola money ah"

"Ola money"

"Half hour aagum sir, tyre puncture" (It will take half an hour...)

And that's how I got my 'Welcome to Madurai' wake up call.

Autos are not helpful either. They charge you proportional to what basic food items cost at an airport.

Transportation was never a problem in Mumbai. You just hop on to the nearest auto, pay by the meter, get down, board a train and reach the destination.

After coming from that kind of sophistication, Madurai was a shock. Later I figured out the only way to survive here is to get a personal vehicle.

One big lesson learned: All that talks about staying asset-light and surviving with Ola/Uber are good only for the metros. Auto companies will stay for a long time.

(The fact that Madurai roads are getting too crowded for automobiles to ply is something that locals and governments here have to worry about; not my headache!)

3. Indulgence

Well, yeah, MDU is a tourist spot for the good. It's a very good retirement city. Okay, I can't hide the fact that it's really hard to find places to hang out in this town (it's difficult to call Madurai a city).

Continental breakfasts, tea cafes and brunches are long forgotten. Here it's about idlis, jigarthandas and kothu parottas! At best, there are different varieties of the items mentioned, but that's as far as it gets.

A few choices of movie theatres, fewer options for entertainment - if you know what I am talking about. You really need a hobby to pass time!

4. Quality of life

I don't know the exact numbers, but am sure the average life expectancy in Mumbai is rather poor, around 60 years.

In this town, it's fair to say the quality of life is much better - the air people breathe, the stress levels, the noise levels... are all at acceptable levels. One stroll in a park and the difference was stark. At night, stars are visible in Madurai sky; the only stars visible at night in Mumbai were in Prithvi theatre. If you go to a terrace in the evening or night, you get breeze here, compared to Mumbai where all we get is more noise, heat and aroma of freshly heated oils in pav bhaji or tabelis.

5. People

One thing common to MUM and MDU is that people are generally helpful. While Mumbai people are usually not respectful, MDU is just the opposite - "Anne, sollunga ne!" (Everyone is a brother here!)

It's unfair to compare these two places - one is the Vegas of India and the other one is a tourist spot for history-lovers / art-lovers at best. While it's easy to say it's just a matter of time before one gets adjusted to this town, nothing is farther from reality. It takes a lot of effort from an individual to adjust in a place like this. Not all places are cool once you finish MBA. The fact that same sentiments are shared by all the Sales (pronounced 'Mar-ke-ting) professionals across India is a satisfying feeling (yeah, right!).

Conclusion:

There's a reason why many Headquarters are in Mumbai. May be it's just because corporates work too much, eat too much, "<insert>" too much - and Mumbai facilitates those! Considering the fact that MDU has given me a chance to not get drowned in the sea of madness and immerse myself in what I really want, well, I can live with this! I have seen a lot of Facebook check-ins from random locations of late, largely from far off destinations away from routine life. For me, Madurai in itself looks like a holiday, a long one. Slow and peaceful!

“Country life has its advantages,' he used to say. 'You sit on the veranda drinking tea and your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells good. . . and there are gooseberries.”  - Anton Chekhov

Adios, amigos!

(Fact to be noted is the author is not from Mumbai!)

Lessons Learned in MBA Life

As the "1-year-10-month-course" (Prof CDG's words) comes to an end, I finally got some time to reflect on my journey here at NM in particular and Mumbai in general. There are a few things I will share, which I thought would be helpful for others who are embarking their MBA journey this year and in the forthcoming years. And some of you could reminisce on the past few years too! Needless to say, these are my personal views - take it or leave it. Take the good things and leave those you don't like.
p.s. This is not a Scoopwhoop post!

Lesson 1 - Read books

I wish someone was there to tell me this earlier. More often than not, this habit will keep you sane, from the hustle and bustle of MBA life. MBA life was mostly busy, and this helped me relax.

Lesson 2 - Invest in friendships
This is not like school days where you automatically become friends. You need to spend time with people. Time is a luxury good in these two years, meaning it's not easily available.
I have been fortunate to meet a few good men (and women) over the past two years, and they have made my life special. Also, some old friends have come of age - life's looking good now. To make best use of this lesson, take time out to make a list of 15 people who matter to you the most - and stick to that list. For more on this, read 'Busy' by Tony Crabbe.

Lesson 3 - Have a strong value system
Values are simple - honesty, integrity. Old school stuff, but important nevertheless. Easy to talk about, easier to forget in real life - especially at the pace of life we lead here.

Lesson 4 - Be ethical
In one of our discussions, the dean, quoting some research, mentioned that MBAs are one of the most unethical people in the world. I don't disagree totally with him. I have seen things personally as well.
Ethics, according to me is simple - use common sense and do the right thing. Remember this great man, next time you face a conflict of ethics:

Lesson 5 - Less is more
One of my biggest lessons from first year at a B-school. Doing more things, accepting everything that came my way, took me no where. As a blessing in disguise, I was not in any committees in the second year and that helped me realize what is important to me in the long term.
Do a few things that will be of value to you in the long run, say 'No' to everything else. That does not mean being selfish though. There's a difference between being immersed in something you like and being submerged in a sea of mess!

Lesson 6 - Let go
There are many things that seemed unfair to me in first year. Later on I realized there was nothing that could be done to things not under my control. So I let go of those stuff. In the process, the clarity I attained was unbelievable.

Keep doing good things and forget the rest, it always worked for me. After all, self-actualization is more important than instant gratification on Facebook!

Lesson 7 - Sleep well
Some friends and faculties have often said that sacrificing on sleep is okay. On hindsight, I can tell with some amount of conviction that it is not okay. I tried sleeping on time and waking up early for a few weeks - those weeks I was more productive in the classroom, more attentive and felt more energetic throughout the day.
I maintain my stance as I write today!

Lesson 8 - Eat three meals
Skipping breakfast isn't cool, it is just sad! Manage time well. On the rare days I skipped breakfast, I was found thinking about food at 11 AM while the lecture was going on - it's not a good feeling.

Lesson 9 - Punctuality is cool
Murphy's law will work here - you never know when the faculty will close the door at 9 AM for a 9 AM lecture. But it will surely happen when you are late [happened to me!]
Punctuality is a good thing, even if there's no one to appreciate it. Over time, I have picked up the habit of carrying something in PDF format to read in waiting time. Five years down the line, I am sure a culture of punctuality will make difference in organizations.

I've made a list of these people!

Lesson 10 - Pursue hobbies
I have seen people with a wide spectrum of hobbies - travel, painting, reading fiction, working on fitness, music, chess... the list is endless. These folks seemed to have a better balance on life, a calming presence and a better head compared to those who didn't have or pursue hobbies relentlessly.

That's about it. Ten is a good number to round off!

In between this hectic life, I have managed to play chess in some beautiful campuses across India - XLRI, SIBM Pune, NITIE, SP Jain, NMIMS and KJ Somaiya. I also managed to visit IIT-Bombay and IIM Indore for other competitions. Overall, this has been a great learning experience.

On a lighter note, I could well be the strongest Indian chess player ever to have an MBA degree from an elite B-school in India :P (For once, let me blow my own trumpet, why not!) So somewhat qualified to give some gyaan!

Thanks to the few great people who made this journey memorable!
ak

Royal thrillers at SP Jain!

It seemed business as usual on a sedate Saturday afternoon for the NMIMS Chess Team (ak, Neel, Rahul and Akshat) After winning first two games with a certain level of comfort with Neel and Akshat, I went to attend lectures from 11.30-14.00, with finals slotted at 3 PM. I came to know later that it was a semi-final at 3.

Of course, Rahul joined our team for the semis. When we were paired against SP Jain, I knew it was going to be tough. Shyam's SP Jain team has always been a formidable opponent to us since first year. This year was going to be no different. However, the magnitude of competitiveness was on a whole new level this time around.

Disclaimer: This post contains chess notations and some technical terms. Please bear with me if you can't understand - they were all important for this post. All said and done, Chess is a royal game... for the classes!

What the FAA!

It's high time I say something about this. I scored a 'D' in FAA  (by the way, FAA = Financial Analysis and Accounting) and I consider it one of my biggest achievements in MBA, no kidding. Till the results came, I had my heart in the mouth. Whatsapp didn't help much. This is what happened before results came on Whatsapp/Telegram

'9 failures'
'What?'
'Yeah, Nine'
'Someone post the scores please'
One good samaritan went to the college notice board (so much for technology), clicked pictures and posted in Telegram (Whatsapp never worked in college wifi in 2014). 38... 39... 40... 42 (my roll number) ... heart pumping...

Road-less travelled!

Every MBA student, at least from premier B-schools, has times when he feels he needs to discover himself. Be it his plans about what job to take, or more generally what to do with his life! For me, well, I just felt I needed a break from routine and wanted to unearth something that was missing or was present earlier that didn't come up of late! Of course, your favourite professor teaching Emotional Intelligence has some part to do in this (For those who don't get this last line, EI is a wonderful subject, by far one of the top 5 in my MBA life)

Of course, everything needs a little bit of inspiration. When one of your close friends undertakes a solo trip to Goa, you definitely get inspired. More so if she motivates you to do the same. And of course, with some pushing by others too, I overcame by initial hesitation and booked tickets to Lonavala (thanks to IRCTC it works well even at 2 AM these days!). At the last moment, one push came from my classmate, he said "Go go, if not now, then when!" That moment... sealed the deal.
"You need your support groups without which, life will still be fun but not so constructive!"

Grab something to eat. It is going be a long post!

Outsourcing the spouse-finding: Climax

To all those who have missed the prequel to this, click here
"If something is not your core competency, outsource it and save time and money"... and heartbreaks!

அனைவருக்கும் வணக்கம்!
Straight ah matterku போவோம்...
Let's say the hero was just doing his business from stage one. ("மூடிட்டு அவன் வேலைய மட்டும் பாத்து இருந்தா...") His parents find him an alliance.

Resources and Capabilities: He would have had a lot of time to explore his personality, build his career and become better. Not much costs and time involved prior to marriage or engagement, except for the sourcing cost. Your resources (parents and relatives) are fully capable of finding a good match. You don't have to build any capabilities. It is an asset-light strategy.

Competitive advantage: Easy (சப்ப மேட்டர்!) He would have got into the best colleges / universities and/or started his own business and/or other stuff! May be he may not have some advantage over others, may be he has changed his game altogether. It's so much easier to focus on one thing at a time than having some nagging text messages all the time.

Yada yada yada... Superior happiness!
"There's always more than one way to reach the destination. Look around."

There's been an interesting video doing the rounds in YouTube recently. Well, arranged marriages are cool. No big fuss. Parents decide - 11 times out  of 10, they are right. And they do know what's best.
And this is not to say they are marrying you against your wish. Assuming you accept and then it is a proper arranged marriage.

Benefits:
1) Straight to the finish line without much hurdles
2) Strong support system - doesn't break often
3) "If you can fall IN love, you can fall OUT of love. No guarantee in that. 'Arranged' is a safer option"
You don't want to find one more thing you suck at, right? Leave this to parents! :P

Tradeoffs:
1) It's not going to be a lowwwwve marriage. That's alright. Strategy is all about deciding what to do and what not to do. There's got to be some tradeoff - you can't have everything in life. Look at what happened to Continental Airlines when they tried to emulate South West.
 நான் என்ன சொல்ல வரேன்னா "ஆணிய புடுங்க வேணாம்!" (What I'm trying to say is, don't pluck the nail)
2) There are people who say "How can I marry someone without knowing him/her at all?"
Hey, come understand me, you have 5 years time. I know people who have said "ஐயோ T.Nagarல ரெண்டு வீடு போச்சே!" after a breakup. Think again! There's no such thing as loyalty, faithfulness in this world anymore. Broken glasses are always replaced with new ones, mostly without much crying over them :)

If you are of the adventurous type, try living with someone in arranged marriage. It's worth it. Our previous generations have done it extremely well. Sure you can do the same. Our generation is better in everything right? Better them if you can!

There's a traditional aspect worth enjoying - all the mantras (if you are a Hindu, others please imagine something I don't know what happens in other weddings) and everything - it's an experience in itself. And the food, relatives, friends, musical instruments. If you can't enjoy 'that' music you are struggling in life!

Coming to the I-am-a-very-modern-person types. Some 'stuff' for you
1) You don't care about the past right? Everyone has a past. Accept it. Still, this strategy works
2) You don't believe in dowry system and other traditions? Men: Stand up and say No. Women: Do the same. Still, this strategy works
3) Bored of dates and fooling around? Try this. Thank me later.

Coming to the traditional types...
1) Soup boy / girl? This is your only resort
2) Waiting for someone special? உனக்கு straight ஆ 60ம் கல்யாணம் தான்! அப்பா அம்மா சொல்றத கேளு! நல்ல வருவ!
3) Fell in love by mistake? Never too late. Escape or face facts! :P
And yeah, do MBA!

Like sarcasm, 'bro'?
"In a love marriage, you marry your own girlfriend. In arranged marriage, you marry someone else's! Sounds hot, right?"

Yeah, deep. [Same for women. Not being sexist]

In B-School you don't learn management alone, you learn a lot more. Putting it in a different way, it teaches you management only, but you can learn a lot of other things, starting from philosophy! And you understand people better. May be it's got something to do with age, doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I have never had so much clarity about many things in life than I have now. Hence this post!
Yeah, it's a little brutal and more realistic than usual. But then, you know...

மீண்டும் சந்திப்போம்!
Au revoir!

___ing the spouse-finding: A strategic viewpoint (Part 1)

"Wow what a cute couple!!!"
"Made for each other"
"Awesome" [ with 'N' number of hashtags ]
If you are one of those people admiring facebook posts like that one and wishing fervently that it happens to you some day in the near future, I am here to throw some cold water on your face. And for those people who are double (my favourite term for those who are not single) right now, I don't give a damn. Love, dating, relationships... are way too overrated in this digital world. And social networking websites, Whatsapp, Snapchat and other communication monsters have convincingly sold this point to the larger population that it's the 'in' thing to find that special some one during college days or school days for posterity.

These buildups (a South Indian slang word which means building a mountain out of a mole hill) are usually followed up with some home-cooked stories about arranged marriage, all of them showing arranged marriages in bad light. Now that I am nearing 'that' age inevitably and interacting to some extent on those lines, the time has come to give some enlightenment to the world.
Now that the context is set, get ready for some gyaan!

MBA Life - One year done!

One year at NMIMS has gone like a dream. It might sound cliched but in a B-school life mostly goes in autopilot mode. You never ever stop to reflect and dwell upon things you do, or don't!

MBA is radically different from engineering or IT life. For highly individual personalities like me, the transformation has been a little difficult. If I could divide my life over the past six years before June 2014 into 3 buckets, it was all similar in one way or the other.
1) Chess - Prepare, play, eat, sleep, repeat
2) Engineering - Study, write exams, go for tournaments, repeat
3) TCS - Sign in, Do coding, Leave
It was all quite simple, yet immensely meaningful. I had loads of time to stand and stare, enjoy music without a slightest feeling of guilt, wake up sans the sound of cellphone alarm, in a nutshell - a lot of control over what I wanted to do.

Enter NM, and none of this were even remotely similar to my lifestyle. Nothing is individual here. May be I wasn't good enough, may be I was, I can't pretend to know the answer to this question. But I know this for sure - most of the Management students don't know what they are doing either; and first year is something that is too fast for most of us. It's just an environment of total noise and everyone just tries to dance to something that's not exactly musical.

That's not taking anything away from what this colossal institution has offered me, something that every lucky soul that lands up here gets for free - the experience of meeting various kinds of people, the crazy lifestyle and Mumbai. Whether we learn good management subjects are not, students do become philosophical at least once a day!

From my own experience I have seen a variety of people - some good souls who are quite honest about the fact that they have no clue and work towards finding something worth pursuing, some annoying creatures who do anything under the sun to put one extra line on their CV, the CGPA mongers who pretend to have a life outside numbers, some very intelligent people who make a mark in everything they do, a few good friends for life, hypocritical species who say anything to the gallery and shamelessly go back when time comes, the list is endless. The hardest challenge was maintaining one's individuality in this environment. And I am not making this all up - find out for yourselves!

The climax was the internship. The experience was amazing. Due to obvious reasons, I am not commenting on it, but it was definitely an above average experience, more than what I expected it would be. And I did meet people who were better in character than the average individual back in my college. All is not wrong with the corporate world.
"There's still 'good' in this world"

The end of internship is really the end of an era. A summer internship will never happen again. So will another full year of college life. The remaining nine months, I pray God, will be as exciting as the first 12! And I wish to be put up a better performance.

On that note, I wish all the juniors (as a responsible senior), the very best for their last gig at student life. Am pretty sure you will think about your IT life more than once during your stint here. Remember me then!

See you soon :)

Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal and do not represent the institutions mentioned here in any way.

Mumbai – Dating OK, Marriage NO!

 Mumbai. Really?

Crowd

Good or bad, Mumbai is just way too crowded. You got to feel for Mumbai, people come here to make a life for themselves and the influx of population is just inevitable. But that’s none of my concern; if it’s crowded it’s crowded and that is it. A spade is a spade! Compared to Chennai or Delhi or Kolkata, Mumbai scores for the worse.

Still, it’s Mumbai man!

The fact that people are nice here is no justification for the fact that the crowd is okay, which brings me to the next aspect.

Whose Goal is it Anyway?

Some people and management from all the NMSL teams arrive at the ground. All teams were supposed to be present on the inaugural day.
Chandru: Pallavi… Pallavi, where are you?
(Jha calls to find out that Gangstars management were still in their photoshoot)
Chandru: Okay, let’s see if the other teams have arrived. Krusherz?
Dawar: I guess they are a little slow… Remember the auctions?
Chandru: Oh yeah…
Dawar: Dream Kickers are here.

Doke was busy with his mobile phone. “Hey guys, what, no ‘#SirDoke’ in facebook and twitter today!? ” Rhea was hooked to her tablet trying hard to get 1000 likes for DK facebook page. “Any ideas guys? Shall we upload selfies? Shaleen what do you say!”

NMSL 3.0 Auctions – Part II

NM Shooterzz
Shooterzz is one team whose auctions largely depended on one man – Ishan Jha. He more or less ran the show entirely for the team. Ably supported by Gagan, Nikita and ex-Shooterzz bloke Shrey Arora who is the owner of the team this time around, this lot managed to put up a really decent show at the auctions. They seemed to operate with a definite plan in mind. Solid in defense, solid in approach, Jha decided whom to go for, and whom not to.
May be, the approach to game and life is pretty similar to most sportspersons (including yours truly!)    

Under control: NM Shooterzz – Putting the best man in driver’s seat

NMSL 3.0 Auctions – Part I

The auctions held last Sunday evening was a whole lot of fun. Kushagra Patwa and (Mr!) Tanuj Baru truly rocked the show and helped a great deal in the smooth conduct of the auctions till the end. The session which started around 5PM ended only around 8.45PM with all teams fighting it out for the best possible squad.

Let the a(u)ction begin! (Baru, Patwa)

Let’s see how the teams fared in the auctions… the hits, misses and much more.
NM Gangstars
“No team has loyal followers, as much as Gangstars does!”

NMSL 3.0 – A run up to the auctions and the exhibition match

MBAs are good businessmen – can handle pressure well, use money wisely and make critical decisions in short spans of time. All these are easier said than done. What do all this have to do with sports? When the sun sets on Sunday evening (Dec 21), the teams of all five NMSL franchises will be tested on all these skills and much more when the auction for this season of NM Soccer League begins. It’s not going to be easy.
“Sports is serious business”
The fact that Mr.Tanuj Baru is expected to co-host the auction adds much weight for the Super Sunday here at NMIMS. All teams have a virtual fund of $1,000,000,000 each, to play with.
This is how things stand at the moment for the five teams.
NM Gangstars

NMSL 3.0: A Curtain Raiser to the most-awaited sporting event of NMIMS!

“When it’s January, it’s time for action!”
While there are many ways to welcome a new year, NMIMS has its own way of doing it in the beginning of a calendar year. Not sure how many professional B-schools have this kind of kick start (literally!) so soon in their scheme of things. We do things differently!
Cometh January, five big teams will be competing for ultimate glory – the Championship of the hugely successful NM Soccer League. This edition will be a continuation of our success story from last year, and the players will be looking to continue the rich legacy left by NMSL 2.0. Let’s have a look at the teams and how the story looks like so far …
NM Gangstars

Team Owners: Pallavi Kini, Amulya Goomer
Position Last Year: Winners

Love can kill… A perspective on stirring moments in Cricket

Some stories in sports remain forever. Some great, some pleasantly great, some not so pleasant to remember. Cricket has been, and always will remain a dangerous sport.
May 12, 2002
St. John’s Antigua
Test matches were worshipped that time. Anil Kumble, India’s crisis man was hit by Merv Dillon when he was batting at number 8. He just spat out blood and kept batting. India made 513 for 9 and declared. The story does not end here.
The following day, Kumble showed the meaning of dedication for generations to remember. He came out to bowl with a broken jaw, something that was never seen before in the history of the game.

And trapped the great Brian Charles Lara, leg before wicket for 4. He bowled 14 overs in a row! This episode stands testimony to how some people keep their love for the game in high regard. When asked the reason for taking the risky step, Kumble replied, “I didn’t want to sit around”. That sums up his approach towards the game! That’s about the real ‘Jumbo’ of Indian cricket! Sachin recalled this incident on Kumble’s retirement saying Anil had a big heart and that this was a match he would never forget.
Fortunately, no injuries happened when he was sending down these 84 balls! Of course, he would have known this; the love for the game can make people do different things!
One gripping image to show his joy – and his celebration after the wicket…

The match ended in a draw, dominated by batting. Remembered for Kumble’s bowling!
20 February, 1998
Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka
Raman Lamba was fielding for Abahani Krira Chakra against Mohammedan Sporting in Dhaka’s Premier League, when he was summoned from the outfield to go to short leg.
Khaled Mashud was captaining Abahani Krira Chakra in the absence of the regular skipper. “I brought on the left-arm spinner for that one over and after three balls I decided to change the field. I looked around and I saw Raman and asked him to stand at forward short-leg.” Mashud asked him if he wanted a helmet but Lamba said that “it was just three balls and so it wouldn’t be a problem”.

other players gathered around me to celebrate, I looked for Raman. He was lying on the ground.”
Lamba was well enough to get up and after reassuring fielders he was okay, unassisted he slowly made his way back to the dressing room. The team doctor told him to lie down and gave him water to drink, but after a few minutes Lamba told team-mates he felt unwell and was rushed to hospital. By the time he got there he had lost consciousness, and after he suffered convulsions, surgeons operated to a remove a blood clot from the left side of his brain. A specialist was flown in from Delhi but returned almost straightaway, saying there was no hope of recovery.
Aminul Islam, the former Bangladesh captain, recalled “I was the new man in and asked Raman if he was okay. He said, ‘Bulli (Islam’s nickname is Bulbul) main to mar gaya’ (I am dead, Bulli)”. Three days after he was hit, Lamba’s life support was turned off with the approval of his family. Lamba died on February 23, 1998.
There ended a story of a great man who was a motivation for players like Aakash Chopra among many others in New Delhi. He also played a formidable role in the development of Cricket in Bangladesh.

The incident doesn’t affect just one person. Mehrab Hossain could not sleep for two or three days after he played the shot. He even went on a break from Cricket, then returned and went on to play for Bangladesh.
This incident wouldn’t have had a mention here if Lamba had not died. Things would have been forgotten if those three balls were normal ones. Sports is always cruel, every sport has its own will. Nowadays whoever fields close in, makes sure to wear a helmet – which was in this case a hell-met! Of course, his photos would have been viral if we had had internet and social media back then.
These two incidents have one thing in common. Kumble knew he was taking that risk. Lamba didn’t pay heed to his Captain’s words. We can argue that no one can anticipate these things to happen, but then, well, I still feel Lamba could have worn the helmet. Kumble’s risk was much lesser; still, the modern rules wouldn’t allow him to play in that condition I guess!
The next incident is so cruel because it can happen to just about any batsman in the world.
25 November, 2014
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Phil Hughes was batting on 63* when he was knocked unconscious by a Sean Abbott bouncer. Apparently, the ball struck an unprotected area just below his ear. The injury was a rare (only 100 of these have been reported in history and just one of these was cricket-related) but described type of blunt cerebro-vascular injury called a vertebral artery dissection which led to subarachnoid haemorrhage. In simpler terms, he died after a few days on November 27.

The events that unfolded are well-known to all. Here’s a video tribute by Michael Clarke that might leave you in tears. Again, the bowler Sean Abbott would be having some worst days of his cricketing career now, probably his lifetime of 22 years. The sheer mental trauma could be indescribable. Cricket is a mental game too.
I have always felt the umpires were not safe. I couldn’t believe when I read the news a few days ago.
29 November, 2014
Hillel Oscar, an Israeli umpire died after being hit on the jaw by a ball. He did try to escape but it hit him anyway. He was 55. Seems he was of Indian origin. Newspapers reported that he even suffered a heart attack after being hit by the ball. May be that’s got to do with his age. Still, it is a very sad incident.
The next time Dhoni hits a straight one and the Umpire ducks, BE SCARED! I don’t think the umpires have a change of survival if the ball hits them straight on. I mean it, considering the quality of bats these days.

How much protection is enough protection? Cricket can never be fully safe – and nothing is fully safe anyway. We cannot have baseball helmets in Cricket! The one thing that drives everyone towards the game is sheer passion, nothing else.
Test Cricket makes men out of boys. And these men are heroes, forever.
RIP Phil Hughes, and the Umpire.
And God give good health to Sean Abbott.