HMTG

Good to be back !!!

2007-07-01T02:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back!!! After what seems like ages since my last post, life has been a roller coaster of sorts. So gonna give a glimpse of what happened to from where I last left, Term 5....looks like ages now. Coming up in the next posts are the usual Exec's of Terms 6 thru 8. The placements season, unwinding in T8. The break before work, updates on whats going on in my life .... wink wink...and also general musings. Promise to keep this blog ticking. Hello ....out there.

HMTG.

Term 5 - exec summary

2006-12-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Term 5 was a race against time. 5 fin courses in 5 weeks was alwasys going to be a difficult proposition. This task make more difficult by some difficult times domestically :-(. Nevertheless, lets get to the interesting parts.

Had the following courses, Prop Fin, Adv Corp Fin, Fixed Income, Options and Futures and Feco. Prop fin was a good course made elementary, it was all about cap rates, mortgages and debt service. Some interesting stuff about CMOs. So not a very great course.

Feco, Mudit was awesome, contemporary thoughts and some insightful things were discussed, moi yet to grapple with all the stuff CAPM has to offer yet. Good course, I guess this is the foundation to all finance, if stocks define finance and the underlying of all stocks are volatility and returns. So enjoyed the course.

ADCF, hmm..a big let down, did get as much out of the course as I had expected to, neways was a good learning experience, that the amount you learn is proportional to the amount of effort one puts in. So no great qualms here..

Options and futures...was all about Hull, didn't get a think of what was thought in class. I love derivatives !

That apart, moi was involved in the Capital Markets conference and was instrumental in getting the event together, which was a grand success but for the ISB junta participation.

Participated in the Hyd 10K run, and completed it. It was around the Hussein Sagar lake and had an impressive turnout of around 2K ppl, including Sameera reddy :-). Maybe this is one the things I would remember about Hyd in the times to come.

Placements, big hearbreak. No DB no GS no ..blah..bhah..so moi bit disappointed.

HMTG.

Yo Bangalore ! Yo Term 5

2006-10-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

Bangalore this time around was more about Infy mates, UVCE mates and some good food. Sis had come down for diwali, so was an occassion for all of us at home. Giri as usual was at his best with Sw**ty, all ga ga. Took me to this new chinese joint at KML, called Yo China, good ambience , good food and more importantly , undiscovered. I've nevered enjoyed chinese noodles as much as I did the other day. And how can we miss our good old Corner house. Pusp, Lala and Kiran were all doing good business for Diwali, Gold sells big time during diwali.

Back home at 12, read about a zillion mails, I had accumulated over the terms, slept like a baby. Sunday was loong...had to meet Mathew and Deepa ( what a lovely couple they make, but for the SAIT session at khemka, I would have made it to their wedding in mal land). Neways, got them a lovely bronze statue ( or at least I thought it was good), CCD at KML is pretty cool for such a occassion, nice garden setting and all. Met up with Randy, dude is all set to app to some big shot B schools next year. Then next up was the big get-together with Mads/chets/amit/sarika/bindu ..... Decided to meet at 3/4 chinese ( chinese again, thinking about it I come to love chinese food). But before that some godly stuff, Mom thought that I had almost become an atheist, so had me accompany her to the temple ! ( big occassion that ). So in the evening , met up with my mates, chattet about the good old engg days ( akki roti, munches, badami - e - halu ...), ended in the same old uvce style, Corner house.

Sunday, morning, almost missed my flight back to Hyd. Reached at around 11, and had to pick my bike from Kachiguda station, and then drive back to Gachi....what a nightmare, I cannot for my life tell where G...is from K...! Neways, reached and then began my never ending saga of classes ( or my misses ). Term 5 in a nutshell, 5 courses, 1 Mapi, 1 IS, 1 Langauage, 2 I banks. has made my life a big time warp.

Visited RR's house y'day, Pragna rules.

Adios, HMTG.

May the force be with me !

2006-10-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Good news first, had been to Bangalore. Enzaid. <>, now after the eventful SAIT, I decided to get some goodies for Ash, so the ever dependable Mr S, decides to accompany me to LS or HC. So we three head off towards HC ( S, me and my Pulz). Reached HC, got some toys, some tees, some sweets from Pullaz, and dined at SS ( good food, nice exp, nice price). So I returned all happy about life, full bliss and a state of euphoria. Slept well again.

Now, when we wake up late for an exam the previous day, and when you realise that you don't have an exam today, the human mind is programmed to think that its vaccation time, am I am human. So even though I woke up in time, didn't realise that I had an AdCF class, but I acted a bit smart thinking that since I can't attend the OPFR class in the eve, would attend it earlier, so went to the class, just to see Pinks asking "where the f.*** were you" in as many words, realised that SD did a good session on Fin case anaylsis, so now had to change plans, had to attend a hours lecture in another class in he evening at 5, had to catch a train at 7. Receipe for disaster. Attended the Options class, attended the Prop class, attended half of ADCF, and by then it is 6:15. Am still at campus, holy shit.

Rinkle and Surya warn me that Kachiguda is far away and I had to leave early to make it, but somehow I've been brought up to believe that things just can't go wrong with me. Oh !

Took out my pulz, not trusting an auto for speed. So started ripping towards a vague direction towards K..station. I didn't have a clue as to where I was going, just assumed that most of the junta on the stree were going to the station, so just followed the traffic ( believe me folks, this technique works). At about 7 pm, I was about 1 km from the station, Rinkle called to tell me that the train had left ( pity that she had to travel alone, coz of yours truly, and to add to that, the anxiety of trying to reach my mobile). Neways, the worst was yet to come.

I was caught using a mobile on my bike, without a helmet, without a Hyd registration, and without my RC. To cut a long story short, I was let off scot free, glib pays folks.

After about an hour, was at an APSRTC counter waiting for my volvo to Bang, Mom came to know about this, and was all too worried. Finally reached Bang, the next day at 10.

Home, sweet home is where the heart is, and where the biggest diamond is.

HMTG.

Arrgghh....it 9:30

2006-10-18T01:55:00.000-07:00

Today should go down as one of my most memorable/dramatic days in my life. It all began about 2 weeks ago, when the SAIT exam was postponed to a later date due to non availability of text for a few studends. After some hoopla about this, things settled down for an exam today. As it has always been, a 10 day term break did not quite prompt yours truly to study for the impending exam. Last night, finally decided to open my books and was at it till early morning, finally decided to go to bed with the confidence that my alarm and my cell phone would not let me down and I would not let them down either. So moi good into deep slumber.

When I finally woke up it was 9:30...my Exam was supposed to start at 8:30. Somehow didn't panic a lot, was confident that the TA's would let me take the exam( not sure why I had this, but in hindsight it isn't very unlikely that they would have denied me entry). Also was sure that if given entry, I should still be able to have a decent crack at the exam. All this happens thought occurs in exactly 30 secs, the next 30 secs is spent dressing up , picking up my keys and a pencil. I ran towards the acad centre ( not very sure of my seating plan either, buy vaguely knew that it was ac6 or ac4). Meet Borax on the way, thatz when my heart really sank, could someone let me in once ppl have finished the exam and left, luckily I was in a great hurry and didn't think too much, borax , a star as he is, said a few soothing words, said "It's 120 questions, easy and that there was some goofup and students were given 30 mins extra", I felt a bit better. My name wasn't at ac6, so headed to ac4, found my name and entered.,

Without looking at the TA, signed the attendence sheet, she was a bit surprised, she said that some had already finished the exam and left, think about an angel, she let me take the exam. Had a quick look at the time, it said 9:40, the TA also said that I would not get any extra time, so had to finish the 2 hr paper in 50 mins flat.

By now most of the folks has left, and I must've been the only soul in the class yet to start. So me got cracking, luckily for me, there were no surprises, and also not much of "memory recall" questions, so had a decent crack at the paper. In the meanwhile the TA, who knew that I had just woken up from sleep offered me some horlics. Was a very kind gesture, and all the while was asking me to relax and said that I hadn't lost much as ppl had finished the paper in 30 mins. Finally finished the paper on time, revised only half the questions, after which I had to hand over the paper.

I would not have felt very great for such an exam, but given that I could have so easily woken up at 10:30 and got an F, made me feel good, Thank God for his mercy.

Thatz if from me today, somehow I didn't like term4, and it showed in my committment to the subjects. Neways, what an experience.

Wake me up......

HMTG.

Term 4 - Break

2006-10-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

My term break is effectively over, come MAPI and its official. I've learnt quite a few things during this break, more about myslef, about life and what it takes to chill. Sometimes things are good, and good they are only till they last (now this is what I call profound) and like all things, all good things come to an end. The mind is too feeble to fathom the complexities of life, human emotions and Destiny. It is akin to the universal law of gravity, where each object influences (by virtue of force) every other object in the universe, the human intellect can do only as much to understand a simple action of one person on the millions of ppl around him/her. All the mind knows is of the immediate obvious, the rest are left to a more divine being to comprehend. Well cutting back to the theme, the break was good. Rejuvenating and more importantly gave me time for myself. Caught on to a few vices, guess they were always on the cards.

Term 5 looks exciting, 5 fin courses, and add to that the I-banks which are gonna be on campus and an IS. It is all about knowing your destiny, what it takes to get there. It is hard to find that inner voice which eggs you on, but it is only as hard you make it out to be.

The next good think was orkutting, wow....where have you been KR, our nation casts its lonely eyes on you....was a fab experience to catch up with loads of buds. Good time catching up with them, all out there just to be yanked and spoken to. Good fun.

SAIT, is scheduled for Wednesday. Going home this thursday for Diwali ( home sweet home). Have been missing Diwali at home for some years now, so Momz all happy for it. So herez one for T5..cheerz

HMTG.

It aint over !

2006-10-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

It aint over till the fat lady sings.....

A soul in tension thats learning to flyCondition grounded but determined to try - learning to fly, PF

During my engg days, in one of the DEC labs, I muttered to my groupie, "if one lives life hoping he would die starving" ( don't remember the context, but somehow remember the words). Now about 10 years hence, it is on just one thing that life hinges on "Hope", Nobody can beat Freeman's eloquence in Shawshank Redemption, so moi gonna nick this one, here goes.

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. "

Well it all comes down to this, hoping against hope. When the writing is on the wall, when the mind says its all over, it is the indomitable spirit of the heart which still keeps the flicker of success alive, the ability to change the inevitable, the will to transgress, the will to stay on course, the will to destroy obstacles, the will to win and the will to say "I hope". I am a firm believer of the human will, which is only next to divinity. Nothing, absolutely nothing deserves more respect that sheer human will, and it in this will that wars are won or lost, kindoms vanquished and minds conquered.

How often we forget, the simple sentence we used to practise cursive writing, Where there is a will there is a way. Now, with wisdom on my side, I'd say "Where there is a will, there is more than one way". Go K....Go.

HMTG.

The TRUTH shall set you free!

2006-10-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

When in doubt, when in turmoil, when in pain, when unsure, when in need, when in happiness, when in admiration, when in gratification, when in love, when in hate, when in solitude, when in dejection, when in rejection, when in tension, when in peace, when in distraught, when in serenity, when in illusion, when in reality, when in exhilaration, when in pleasure, when in joy, when in helplessness, when in strength, when in a shadow, when in darkness, when in light, when it aches most.....Tell the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set you free.

HMTG.

Term 4 - Exec summary

2006-10-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

If you didn't know what struck you down, and you have this lingering feeling of having to write an exam after a term break, you are not hallucinating on dope, you have just woken up to term 4. Lo and behold, at mighnight you get a mail saying that the SAIT exams have been postponed ( not before Jammy sends out those express SMSs).

A quick heads up on my term 4 days, had GSBC ( oil, politics and ethics) and Human development. Very interesting stuff, good profs AKSK from NAC rules. INVA was OK. SAIT and Banker, did a great job to turn a what could be a boring subject into an interesting one.MGTO, yet to appreciate if XYZ was still a CPO, but a very insighful course, atleast tells me that I got some work to be done on some aspects. Exams were OK, SAIT is on next week.

As the term came to an end, we had a good show put on by Shailesh/Jam/Harleen and Co. All the snaps across the terms were made into a movie and shown to the entire class, special awards were distributed too. I got the "golden handshake" award, which I was too flummoxed to understand at the instant. I was good fun, SecF rocks.

As all good things come to an end, so did Group F7. Not very sure I ended it the right way, we had Rashi's and Surya's birthday party at hot shot place which hosted Sania Mirza ( was a chinese place next to Ohri's), food was good and Ayez mom was around( thanks for the MGTO help aunty). Rashi's dunking was a wild frenzy ( I would post the pics in exactly 1. 3 light years). Had good fun, and some bad times. I think I did find my DESTINY.

It hasn't been very easy with that....

HMTG.

Term 3 - Exec Summary

2006-09-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

Phew , what a term we've just had. I know it is no excuse for not blogging, but somehow blogging seems such a luxury these days. Getting strainght back, Term 3 was a very hectic term, a lot of Finance courses. Wow! what an experience, it made me realise what I really love to do, its to Fin. I had ended term 2 with a slight inclination towards Marketing, after the excitement about MarkStrat, but felt that there wasn't much of a fit for me (I still consider that I can Market things big time), but it somehow does not give me the "gratification that Fin gives". So heres goes, I have since decided that I would like to dedicate the rest of my life to Finance. Especailly corporate finance, Brealey and Myers were an awesome duo who should be given some credit for my transformation, and so should Suren. The feeling is good, the same kinda thing when I said "ho" to engineering.

CorpFin apart, we had another good course OM, though many found it a bit of a drag, moi felt it was awesome, althought I felt that it was more of an "extended aptitude test" into the 3rd term of the MBA course. Ram Bala is a guy I would remember for a long time, more so because of some insensitive souls who just don't know how to put oneself into another shoe, For heavens sake folks, stop being so keyed up about those 14 old lacs. Neways, a gentleman to the core, took it in good spirits. A key moment, when in one class, he just wanted to extend it by a few minutes, when some souls just got packing, the resigned "OK, thats it then" from him summed it all. Wokays then, life goes on, will say a hello anytime if I indeed meet this gentleman on the streets, btw he is Nahar's batchmate.

ENTR ( God ,I still can't spell it without an effort) and MADM, the former should have been a 1/2 credit course, and Srinivas the TA should have thought the latter. No great news for these. This apart, a couple of interesting things are happening in and around me ;-).

Drove down to BEML/? about 15 kms from here, on a saturday evening. Sunset drives reminds me of the days of lore, some how the missed bus to Bangalore is what comes to my mind during such times, can I ever forget that.

Had some placom meetings, YES ! Did some work on that front the 20*20 thiing was a hit. Need to work more on that now, had a couple of good parties TDS and our SV3 mirror pool. One good moment, we won the bidding game in MADM, F7 rules. Also, had a good laugh listening to the various presentations of KOTA fibres, God what a day.

That apart the exams were great, such a good feeling. Spent it at TDS, KANK happening and so did Kill-Bill, God I love UThurman. Some other firsts in life, went to a film studio. RAMOJI ( pics next time) and had some general masti during the term break. Some sould searching too...thatz term 3 for you. Hello term 4 in a day or two.

HMTG.

Term - 2 - closing notes.

2006-07-29T05:12:00.000-07:00

Time is of the essence I would like to say, but alas it sould so lame. So here I am, having finished term 2, sitting in the atrium and waiting for people to show up for their placement preference info. So let me reminisence about the term gone by.

Term 2 was a roller coster, Markstrat became a bit lame towards the later decision cycles.DMOP was awesome, Milind Sohoni was a gem. Real star, some great concepts learnt in DMOP options pricing, protfolio optimisation etc.Marketing-2 was OK, some more models BASS, LOGIT etc, but some real good conjoint studies. I'm sure it will prove useful later. But the gem was MacroEconomics, really enjoyed the course Krishna kumar and Ravi bansal were good, all the news I had been reading all the while just began making sense to me. Comp strat, such a good subject made drab.

Neways, just some more updated, got into the Placom. Aikya mom came and gave us some hope of a family away from home. My Birthday happened, and I was dunked. Football fever, watched the finals at Khemka, did well in my exams. Had a good presentation skills workshop. Think I'm losing weight.

Thatz about Term - 2, more on T-3 soon.

HMTG.

Term 2 - opening game

2006-06-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Term 2 has been very very hectic. Just about a week, and we have done/learnt loads of stuff. From comp. strat to MarkStrat to DMOP to MacroEconomics. Term 2 is turning out to be a very hectic term. Very competitive in all the sense of it. The profs are good. KK, GurV,Juneja and PDesh.

Nothing exciting but studies and more of assignments, decisions and maket share. Finished our First decision and didn't too well, now am determined as hell to crack the market this time.

ELP, the big thing. Formed a group with Ad,Prab,Ket and Nish. Planning to do something in marketing. Hopefully things should fall in place. Classes are during the afternoon this term, so sleep has been a bit erratic. Term 1 results are expected anytime soon, hoping to have done well.

That apart, just another week for my B'day. Hope I have some good news to share with you all.

Random notes : H'day has just started getting its monsoon. No time to watch the WC'06.

Keep the peace folks.
HMTG.

Home sweet home....

2006-06-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Back in Bangalore for the term break. God ! It feels good to be back at home, and being able to see "Ash" is bliss. What a beauty. So a lot has happened in a week, with many firsts.

As reported earlier, my exams were a different experience altogether. It is not often that I was preparting at "home" even minutes before the start of an exam. That the exam was at the rec cetre did help us. This again was a first time for me , giving an exam in a audi. I know this might sound trivial, but this also made me see my first open books. Didn't really know that a page of notes also constituted a cheat sheet. But then, life has plenty to offer, day in day out.

Partied hard on the last day of the exams. B and C rocks. As I had to catch an early morning flight to Bangalore, couldn't sleep. So spent the time watching the first test b/w India and WI , which India drew ( which it could have won so easily). Trupti, an angel at SV 3 arranged for taxis for everyone, so didn't have to bother about transport to the airport.

So blurry eyed, I reached the airport to find about a million ISB'ians flying to either Delhi, Bom and b'lore. Hy'd has a very small domestic airport, and so comes all the woes of boarding early morning flights. The flight was a very small one ( ground clearance of just about 6 feet). Thought the flight lasted only 1.5hrs, I looked like ages to me. Party because I hadn't slept the previous day. ( talk about relativity).

Finally reached Bangalore, and what a time I've had for the past four days. Never been so relaxed all my life ( guess probaly after my 12th, but then too I had to worry about my Engg/Med stuff). Slept like crazy, never knew I could sleep for so long. Met up with friends Giri, Lala, spoke to Arasan. Watched loads of TV, eat like mad. Mom is the best cook in the world. Ash was bliss, making her sleep, feeding her, altogether a new and wonderful experience.

Wached MI3, a not bad movie I would say, but was a bit of a let down. Watched the curtains of WC'06 go up. My take is Eng has a very strong chance ( just surfed to see that Eng beat Paraguay 1 -0 ). So flying to H'bad tomorrow. Have an 8:00 am fight. So would be back to the grind again. Heard that Term 2 has an awful no. of assignments. God help me.

Have a great time folks, Football rules.

Random notes : WC reminded me of Diya Loney....all cosy in the US.

Ciao.
HMTG.

Term 1 Ends

2006-06-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of Term 1. Went to Bottles and chimneys ( B and C - for the toungue) and had a gala time with the rest of the section F folks. The place was good, music OK. Since most of us were dying for the exams to get over, the party was extra special. More so given that people skipped the SV 3 party for this one. Now for the exam bit.

Accounting - Mark did a fantastic job to set a paper on expected lines ( read based on quizzes). Stats - Richard "God" of stats, also was a pretty good paper. Eco - The perennial problem, was bad. Not that Vohra set a bad paper, just that we expected more quant and equations in the paper.Marketing - Well, this was the other way around. we should have expected this knowing Raju. More quant and less descriptive answers.
So in all, was a different experience. Studying at my studio as late as 10 mins before the start of an exam , had never done this before. Also, the open books and the basket ball cournt turned examination centre. Not bad for a bargain I would say.
Now the best part, Term 1 break. Most of the folks are travelling to their hometowns. Such is the level of camaraderie in ISB that some kind sould has arranged for taxis to ferry us to the airport ( many of us are travelling in the morning and it doesn't make sense to book separate taxis). So all set to go to Bangalore.

Would like to post some snaps next time around.

In the Grind of things....

2006-05-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've missed reporting some more mundane stuff happening on campus. For instance, the Birthday dunkings, a tradition inherited from our seniors and followed very religioulsy. Attached is a snap during Dz B'day. This usually happens at midnight, and along with the dunkee there are a few regulars who always end up in the pool. I've gone into that once, trying to dunk Pie....

Well, that taken off my mind. Other things worth a mention, is our friendly sarovar. It is an election item and all our netas talk about taming Sarovar. But alas, only Jam seems to understand, they are here to stay. They are the "all in all" here, they take care of food, student villages, engineering, the grocery store. So it pays to like them. These days, it is almost instinctive to walk down to Goel for lunch/dinner and catch up with some regular ( Gurd..), it is amazing how some ppl have exactly the same hunger pangs..to ..time index synchronisation, that we end up at Goel at exactly the same nano second.

My studio, nothing interesting happening, just that pochaiah, the friendly sarovar guy comes in day in day out to clean up the apartment only to find that he also has to wash up my dishes ( mostly bowls, from my breakfast cereal). That apart, the mid term eco paper was out, did reasonably well. Stats is due sometime this weekend. We have our end terms next week, so have got a long week ahead. Things are beginning to look a bit hectic now, loads of assignments ( both individual and group), studies, cold calls , LDPs, ELPs , PGP forums, CAS forums, Knowledge sharing sessions, Auction theory classed, accounting quizzes, accounting projects, case read up, newspapers, ....zzzz..

Mom, sis and ash are doing good, have booked my tickets to Bang on 7th, so after my end terms it is gonna be "home sweet home".

Random notes - Most of my sec mates, lost their elections. Read a nice quote - Failure is temporary, it is the act of giving up that makes it permanent. ossum quote.

Thats it from me guys, till the next time.....adios.

HMTG.

Another week gone by....a whole new perspective dawning.

2006-05-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Just to put things in context, we has lotsa stuff happening to us over the last 10 odd days. Our eco assn., finally was through after on last could has a zillion flip flops, threatning to go all bonkers on the slightest hint of a "better" soln. Well, my G has an amazing ability to justify that the "world is indeed flat, if most of the other G thinks so", well mez the biggest contributor to this profound line of reasoning. Lets leave it to rest, we had other stuff too. For eg. our mid terms, had it for stats and eco. Eco reminded me of some memories, not all of which are sweet. But nevertheless was an experience.

Followed the mid term, with a mother of all parties at SV1, by the wives. Take a bow, the better halves. Was cool, had hyd house serving dinner. The music was good, the perfect setting for some beer and good old fashioned gawking. Oh ! yeah , we had to dress up in pairs, no talk of that.

Had guru's b'day on the same day, and the eco frustration was all directed on him. Had most of my sec getting dunked, more on this glorious tradition later. So with that my weekend had begun in all earnest.

The other thing worth noting is the inter sec f-ball tourney, my sec did well to reach the semis ( why did I not play! I'm yet to demonstrate my utility to the honchos, till then , Ill just stick to reporting). BTW, E won 13-2 against SecC. Hail piero.

What am I doing at this late hour, Game theory still continues to haunt me, vaguely remember studying it in my previous incarnation, and being severly mutilated at my feeble attempt to proclaim my "understanding of games", but hey, another day and fresh pair of trousers.

Thats it folks, some random notes.
1. See some potential COI happening in my G
2. Booked my Ts to Bang.
3. Have to slog it out for the next 2 weeks.
4. Have loads of stuff to do ..... and more of it...zzzzzzz

HMTG.

another week chugs...

2006-05-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

True to any other day, today was crazy. Just when most of us were expecting to wind up for another weekend of quizzes/assignments and studies (with or without a TA), our good ol'folks down at SV3 had plans for a shorts and skirts party, add to that a mini pool ( with water ) as the dance floor. All ingredients for a wild party. Sure was !

Now, that I have become an irregular at blogging, my updates about my last week. My eco quizzes are turning into a nightmare, I just don't think like an economist. But some late rear week action has given me a ray of hope. My group has done well with our assns, lost out on a triviality. Have my mid terms next week, so have to come up with some decent stuff by then. Accouting is fun, really began thinking it as a drag, the ENRON and WorldComm cases did pep it up a bit. Mark(Kellog) is good at keeping us awake.

Statistics, Bob(Wharton) is doing a fabulous job, any other person teaching it would have made it look like a burden. The fun part is that he expects folks just to do one thing "take decisions". That is good.

Ansari if good. Makes marketing look like it is all a business needs to survive. But hey, I haven't had all my core courses yet.

The best news, my neice has gotta a new name , Ashwini. Sounded cool to me. Had a big naming ceremony and all, sad that I wasn't around.

Am attaching my study group snap, all suited and booted.

Looong Weekend

2006-05-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

The last day of classes this week seemed like the last day of school for many, to an extent to me as well ( just that I took my acc quiz on thursday). So here goes, we've had a week of classed and boy what a relief. Things have swung into action at a mighty pace. Assignments/blacboards/study material. All this is new to most of the junta here and is good that such state-of-the-art stuff is being experienced by many.

For me, classes happen in the morning and are usually over by midday , oh the good old UV days. A siesta is not uncommon these days, but the 1/2 hour thing has worked wonders for me. The only nagging worry is that my breakfast cereal is just not holding till midday, by when I am famished beyond reason. So need to have some breakfast b/w breaks and that gives me creeps.

And well have told you guys about my Group F7. It rocks. We have V for Yo! land, RG from Miranda, AG from ND, S from a PSU and our very own PP. Although a tad slow in finding each other, things are slowly but surely turning into a shade of a nondescript colour. Finished our assg today, and boy what a logistical achievement. Yes, we just have gotten to first names. Yes , have gotten to know quite a few guys here, so getting the name right in itself is an achievement.

Well, haven't explored HYD a lot, been to Jubilee hills, courtesy AG. Had to take him to Apollo, and boy what a ride that was(triples) on a 45 deg road. Also, been to Ohris, to celebrate the start of our long weekend. The highlight being that we dished out 1200 for a platter and that DR got all worked up with the hotel manager for that. Had a good time though and got a chance to see Banjara hills in all its glory, and also got to see the fab roads of HYD.

Campus life, is cool. Lunch/Dinner at Goel. Studying, chatting and news browsing and our so eternal Himmesh's songs on TV( most of the junta are sic of him now).

Well, thatz it for now. Have loads of stuff happening in life right now, but just don't think have the time/energy/enthu to key it. So herez moi bidding adios, till we meet again.

Random notes : Got a 74/78 on the quiz, and without any help may I add.

Cheerio folks,
HMTG

Round 1

2006-05-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yes ! it literally was. Had a round of all courses for T1. The profs are good, managed to get up in Time( when was the last time i had cold sweat). Magec, Finaaco, Mktg and Stats(sometimes economics doesn't really help you to choose b/w devil and deep sea, no scarcity here though).

On a serious note, junta have well and truly got into the grove, Yours truly of course doesn't understand what that means, I live in a groove. Some how things for me has been OK, now if Murphy was around, he would be wispering, If all goes well, then you aren't going where you though you were going.

Some other incidents did bother me today, ( nah ! not CP ) - the shootinns at Doda ( not very good), the bus accident ( tragic ) and Vadodara ( what can I say ). This coming from the most well developed state in INDIA is a shock. Neways, some good things are happening, My little neice has settled cosily at Koramangala, Bangalore in the same house I was born into ( almost a million years ago). Don't really know when I might get to see her.

Random notes : Diligence Triumphs

HMTG

I am an Uncle now.

2006-04-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

My family has a brand new member, my neice. She was born y'day at around 11:30 am ( 29 April).

It is a pity that I am not with my Sis at this moment of immense joy. But hey, God bless the child. Mom is mighty pleased that she is a granny now. She has been waiting for this for so many years. At last God heard her prayers.

I am sure my neice is a sure sign of all the good things to come. I really wish I could see her.

Here at ISB, last week I had my preterms, had taken accounting. I wasn't like any sort of revelation. Learnt about balance sheets and how to balance them. Had a couple of parties, Dipti's birthday and our Section F party.

This week I got to do what I always yearned to do, Live life my way. I've settled well into my studio. The classed were b/w 8:30 and10:30 so had the rest of the day at my disposal. Really enjoyed the time/freedom and empowerement.

Term 1 starts in all earnest from Tomorrow, have loads of reading to do M.eco, stats, Mktg and Fin Accounting. Amit's handout looks classy, so the class must be good. Have a trading game tomorrow.

Random notes : Still making new friends, learning to live by myself, the Fed case discussion at my place was cool.

The news of Taliban killing surya is really sadenning.

HMTG.

First week at ISB

2006-04-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Day two :

Started with the Dean giving doing the opening honours, followed by ARang, asking us to take charge. It was inspiring, and then the HCV ( honour code violation ) syndrome started. Time and again , everyone standing at the lectern gave us more "gyaan" about HVC. It is almost a dreaded term now. I feel that such a thing is nothing new in education, after all one was debarred from college in Engg/Elsewhere if found cheating.

Then came the handover sessions, and loads of gyaan. The profile of 2007 ( with all the star chefs and gold medallists, basking in glory).

Then we had the welcome dinner, althougth the food was ossum. Nature played spoil sport, it started pouring cats and dogs, the atrium just could accomodate all of us without getting wet.So had to get back to our GOEL hall. Was fun all through, felt reassured when the alums told us that the welcome party was still ON.

We had the party at SV3 at the mirror pool, althought it was raining, the "spirit" of ISB never stopped flowing. The music was good, the crowd was good, the rain gods bestowed their blessing and lo...the party was on till 3 am. Then the came out the funnel. STOP.

Day three :

Loads of sessions, the PGP structure, ethics, CAS, CCA, counselling and finally the dos and donts of media communication. Although not very enjoyable sessions, was vitally important for our stay at ISB.

The next event was the "treasure hunt", although the clues were easy, it needed a lot of running and the aim was to get accustomed to the various offices/places at ISB. Had fun here, Pinku and Surya were the start of the show, literally running from Pillar to post.

Then the gyaan sessions started, one after the other, Consulting club, Marketing Club, Finance club and not but not the least the Bhakti club by ATA.

Also had the mock GMAT test, and my sec the samrtied smelt if from a mile and paid the price, least points on this front.

Day Four :

Bind Unwing : This was a team builging activity and was hosted by Sushma ( bangie ). Was fun, had the three legged race, came up with a trush game. Came up with a name and theme ( and presented it). Ours was called Biryani.

The chinese knot was ossum, although we never got around solving it. Then came our engineering gurus who designed EGGITAL which was designed to hold an egg thrown from the 2nd floor.

Day five :

Had our section gyaan, by AnMenon. Came up with our war chant...F...U....N. Found it cool. Then had some to do's and loyalty/legacy gyaan. Cricket was in the volley ball court. Found the rules really strange. Neways, we had our first match against GoDGo. We lost by 6 runs, but I felt we were the better team, just if we hadn't given all those extras. Then we had mixed results in Frizbee...lost the first one and won the second. Neways, had some really good fun with the games and finally had my first dip in the pool.

Had more gyaan at night.

Day six :

Nanhi Kali. Had to do some community service, so headed to First Lancer school in Humayun nagar. But as these guys were having their exams we had to go to another school. Had a good time playing with the kids. Neerja anchored this NetImpact initiative and it was awesome.

Played, Follow the leader,kho-kho, dog and the bone and our very own Hyderabad express. The kids were very very energetic and were almost at a frenzy on meeting us. Distributed some biscuits to the kids and left feeling satisfied about brining some happiness to many a kid.

Day seven :

Learnt more about art. Careers and had the awesome talent night. Must tell you folks that the amount of talent my class has is truly amazing.

Saturday night was fun. Went to TDS , had my first hookah. Had a good time, had my first 3 am dinners by the pool ( with Mani )

Sunday morning...the circket was good, although my mis-fieldings showed the number of years I was away from cricket.

Have a great week ahead folks.

HMTG.

First Day @ ISB

2006-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

This week has to be one of the best weeks in my Life. New place. New ppl. New Life !.
This place is really awesome, it sometimes make me feel that I am in a totally different land and almost feel that I am living a brad new Life. Feel really good about being here.

Let me quickly recap the events as they happened.

Reached Hyderabad(kachiguda) on Saturday ( 15-Apr) at around 5:20 am ish. Boarded an auto to Gachibowli. The city was still asleep, and most of the businesses were yet to open for the day, and as expected did experience a very weird feeling of stepping into an alien land ( the typical babu from town coming to a new village....and enjoying what he is seeing). Well, did enjoy the beauty of Hyd at dawn, and was amazed to see the wide roads. In about an hour reached ISB. The security guy, directed my auto the exec housing as the housing was yet to be finalised. The sheer size of the campus was breathtaking, and when I reached the exec housing the front desk informed me that my housing was indeed confirmed, also found a printer for my cas declaration and admission declaration forms.

So finally headed to SV-III (K-01) , the Sarovar guys were very pleasant, after an inventory check finally checked into my Studio. My first flat, felt really good about this. Had dream of such a thing all my life.

Well, coming back to my registration, it was scheduled at around 12:30. But went there ealier, as I hadn't received my loan confirmation, thankfully it was all sorted quickly. Then was the registration process, it was well organised. So by around 2:00 was done with my registration. Had some lunch and the rest of the day was just about meeting people. Loads of them.

In the evening, my luggage arrived and so did my bike. This took about an hour. Then it was just hanging around with other folks, went to the rec centre and got some GYAAN from Mani at the pool , about the dunking thingie. Chilled out and then called it quits.

Great day !!!!

HMTG.

Last day @ Infy

2006-04-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a whirwind 4 day in my Life. Just one word for it "Ossum".

But before that , the incomplete story at Infy. Reached office only to find that Soumya would not be able to help me get out. Then had the "loan guarantor" fiasco. Thanks Jayant, for some quick thinking. Then had to go though the entire Manual separation process to get my Rel Letter. Between all this, NG has organised a leaving party for me, cut a cake and all that. Clicked loads of snaps and gave a speech as well ( Got a tie and a display prop for my effort).

Yes, I sent out the adios mail which had a million names in the circulation list.

Was at office till 3;30 and I had to catch the train to HYD at 5. You do the math !. Neways thanks to the guy who gave me a drop on his 2-wheeler did manage to make it to Railway station. Of course, Mom and sister helped me a lot that day, they are my "real" strength.

I had typed some content for this post on the Kachiguda express, but forgot to transfer to my MemKey and lost it as ISB formatted my Lapton. ( Got my laptop today, would be posting my ISB experiences later tomorrow).

Random notes : Loads of new names to remember, the 4 days look like eons.

HMTG

The legend retires...

2006-04-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

Since my childhood I had always thought that the day "Annavru" passes away there would be a holiday declared in Bangalore/Karnataka. Well it just happened. Today has been quite a day, with Dr. Rajkumar passing away. I have been a very BIG fan of DR and will always cherish my memories of watching the black and white , King/queen movies of DR. There used to be times when I used to sing things like "namma devuru Annavru" (Our God is DR). His is one of the very few voices I can easily remember. May his soul rest in peace.

That is not the only thing that is weighing very heavily on my heart. Today happens to be the penultimate day at Infy(due to the holiday tomorrow), and some of my plans have been tossed in the air. Yet to draft my adios mail. Boy ! it might get very emotional. I have a special attachement with Inf. Yet to see that all my exit formalities are completed by Friday. Also, need to pack up my stuff, bike etc as Anshul is planning to get the truck guys to pick my stuff tomorrow morning.

Treated Guru, Gans and Prem at the La Terrace (second visit in as many days). Had a good chat ( found out that my idealism hasn't died down completely). Each of us had unique plans. Prem wanted to settled down teaching. Gans wants to get into Politics and Guru wanted to quit his job and just do what he feels like on that day.

That apart, Arasan in struggling a bit( guess there is too much stuff on his plate). Y'day, finally got my mobile talking to my comp( thanks for the dongle Lala). Now I have a huge task of consolidating all my stuff and burning my CDs.

Cracked the Quant preterm test and did fairly well in the Business statistics test ( so would not be required to take any preterm course for these).

Thats it from me folks. Have a great day ahead.

This might just be my last blog from Bangalore/Infosys.

See you all in Hyderabad.

HMTG.

Destiny

2006-04-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Met Asfaq after almost 4 years and his opening sentence was "Hmm...are you doing anything about your tummy" - This coming a day after a bird told me that I have considerably slimmed down came as a convoluted shock. Now where am i going with my weight. My weight in the UK was sub-** and the next day I landed in Bangalore is cross ** by 2 kgs, Now i know that latitude impacts G and that impacts weight. Now if someone were to ask me my Weigth, I'm going to calculate my weight in a country which has the least G ! I' m annoyed as I haven't eated the Onion Dosa, i got this evening for Aunty and Mom.

Now coming to Ashfaq, had called him on Friday and he was on his way to Bangalore, even with a fever. So felt good. Also had plans to go to Sharan's wedding and Prasanna's engagement, that these funtions were in Tumkur, make my cancel my plans ( also my state of affairs were all that great to afford this break). So got my DL after 28 years of existence and shopped for some other accessories. Thanks Giri. And BTW, my HD has crashed and finally have to dump my comp of 10 years ( did my Nedit - a text editor on this one ). A bit of nostalgia. Have been biking around quite a bit ( have a black Pulsar). I'm digressing again, Ashfaq, had to meet up at Barristas at Barton centre, but with half the bangalore ppl already overflowing we decided to catch a coffee at the Barr joint at St Marks road, place is cool ( Hi Fi and all). Did my usual selling. Somehow things don't change b/w friends.

Headed off to get some shoes ( even ashu wanted to shop for some formal wear). Now as my weight, my feet too poses problems. I have a size 12 with the feet XXL wide ( my prev shoe has given me such a conch that I will remember to shop for shoe with care). Went to a Metro store , the salesman was super cool, must have tried out at least 25 shoes, before I got into a comfy one. I took almost an hour.

That done, walken into Clifftons ( I've been shopping here for almost 6 years for suits/blazers and formal wear, so know all the folks out there. As they didn't have my size 46 had to come back empty haded. After some more chat, bit ashu farewell.

Sunday a brand new day, as my Sis is expecting, there was a photo session. Also visited Punarvasam. Was a thrilling experience, seeing young kids have fun is a treat. Vivek has been volunteering with this org which helps mentally retarted/physically retarted kids for some time now. I inted to contribute to this org. Mani is a dedicated chap running the whole show, met him at this cloth shop. More about this and pics/videos if someone tells me how to transfer them from my N6600.

That apart, nothing much happening. ISB is generating a lot of positive vibe. I hope I contribute as much as I want to, to make ISB a global brand.

Random notes : Shame at Guwahati ( crowd erupts at rain washes the cricket match). Students are angry with reservations. I love Himesh Reshammiya

HMTG.

Stamp paper - err what ?

2006-04-07T04:09:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are asked to get 3 stamp papers of Rs 100 each and the bank don't have them. Do you get 6 Rs 50 stamps or do you get 3 Rs 200 stamps? Well I just did both, the only thing is that I returned the Rs 50 stamps.

Well it all started with me coming in to office and feeling a bit uneasy about my Loan thing. So wanted to know who SBI strike was coming up. So googled up and found that the previoius 3 times the idefinite strike had once lasted 47 days. Now that scared the sweet out of me. With just around 8 days to go, I had convoluted images of me begging ISB to let me in, I'll pay the fees later when the strike ends ! Shiver..shiver..

So decided to do what my namesake had asked me to do, get signed stamp papers from my Gurantor. Now that is not a very good thing to do. But BS is a gem. He agreed. But there was a problem, BS was heading to Delhi at 1:00 pm, and I was stuck at the boondocks. Now had to rush back to a SBM branch and get the SP and get them signed. Took an auto to KML, went to SBM and then the SP fiasco ( not sure if I would get away with this ) and then headed home to get my bike to off.

And yes, today is special as I have made a very good investment. Hope it makes me super rich. That apart nothing much happening. BAU and more chit chat with NG. Blogging is really catching me thick and fast, never knew ppl could be so funny and creative. Guess I'll have to revive myself or else I might be starin into "null voids"

Random notes : I'm crazy( just found out from the 1 billionth person). Intend to shop like crazy this weekend.

HMTG.

Mixed Feelings.

2006-04-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today has been a roller coster ride for me. Started off well, as I woke up late and I got to see my favs Channel V and MTV. I really like watching/listening to Music in the mornings. The only reason I don't get to do that enough is becoz dad has all his life reacted thus "Why watch TV early in the morning" - So there is not habit at all, only longing. Yup ! Dad was away today.( and I'm almost 50 now and still can't get over this inhibition).

So watched TV till I felt I was getting late for getting my DL. Reached N.A.S aroung 9ish and shelled out some serious dough, I did not even have a LL. So had to pay for it. Met the RTO, he asked a very innocuous question, have you got your bike, to which I proudly replied "YES" (sic), now how did you drive you bike here without a license ( Hmma...ahhhha...ooopss..). Neways, the money always does the trick. So the guys applied for a LL in double quick time, and I headed to the driving test ( In the meantime, BS has come down to get his IDL and ran into complications, and hence did not get much our the the visit to the friendly RTO). The test was a farce, just had to do one round, I zip-zapped, no honks, no indicators, but still managed to pass the test.

All done, was ripping through Hosur Road at 60 kmph, was lucky today, as apparently there was a huge Jam and ppl took like 2 hours to reach office, so good reason for coming late. Then the good news, Sit..set my LWD as 14th. Boy, Did I do a good job at negotiation, and manipulation ( as the situaltion 2 hours later was totally diff project wise). Neways, M...mailed asking about my views of greed !!. Guess I amuse her quite a lot. Neways, made me think about parivaar and my commitments ( i've sponsored a child ( boy ) for a year today). Thatz good news.

Then the bad news started, Sun..is really struggling, no clues as to where this guy is going. Neways, all happend after my LWD is fixed, Jim too dropped some bombs , to which ramki panicked a bit ( again after the LWD has been set). Am worried a bit, about not having my loan sanctioned as yet ( hail SBI, hail pensions).

Took my team out for some snacks, to the terminal. Did find some amusing ppl as usual ;-0.
Have plans to meet AG. Go home and sleep. But not before I put in some more stuff...

ISB placements rock. Medha Patkar, we Love you. I love M/M/M.

HMTG.

First Lessons

2006-04-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

Had a good time this weekend. Apart from meeting Ravi(was a revelation, how times can change a person/his perpective and approach to life). Was OK! Had some coffee at CoWorld. Before that did some things I had to do(fixing my zipper for instance) and which I couldn't procrastinate any further. Neways, for the record, I had to attend to some urgent domestic chores. Accounting did give me a scare, so much that I asked Lala to give me some of his accounting books ( that he gave me my first lessons in Management would form the latter part of this post).

Had a good long chat whith Ashu ( coll mate, we plan to meet up this weekend, if he makes it to Bangalore). B... had called up and as usual started talking about $$$$. He just got into Unilever as an asst CompSec. Talk veered to She...., and how she is making 13L/M. I almost fainted, but then getting an AIR7 is no joke. B... has promised to give me an into sometime. How good is that ?

Sunday morning was F1, as usual had to fight for the TV with no less than 2 million ppl at home. Was interesting, but somehow I managed to sleep half way thru. Neways A...won it. Kimi was not too far behind, so there is still some hope left. Been to Ge... aunty's house for lunch, Gir...was a bit funny and aunty was exlainign how Har...did a good job of helping a drunk jack ass. Y'day was a big day for Mom, finally after 6 years, I got her to Infy, ( Gee..and Gir.. also accompanied us). Had a good time explaining all the "fundoo" buildings at Infy, and also telling her that "I used to work in this building X years ago). My guess is that she enjoyed it thoroughly. Went back home to find some guests waiting for my Mom's attention.

A great cook that she is, she make some "Obattu" for them/and us of course. Did carry them along to BS's house. Jas..was too happy to see Mom, and the vice versa is true as well. Gur...pampered mom to some IceCream. How difficult is it to be diabetic.

After all this, still had to go to Lala's place and get the Acc..books. Reached 4th blk at around 8:45. Talked for a while and then shopped for some more acc material. Chatted about my career aspirations( I had never articulated it better in my life). Had a some "street tips" from Lala, it was a pretty interesting talk and lala wanted to go on ( only if the shop could have been open till midnight). But then, lala said one thing that made me happy. "I feel I have company", given that he plans to expand his business, makes me feel happy about myself. If anyone knows me better, it should be Lala. He is a better judge of yours truly than myself.

Did try to catch up with AnGupta, but then he was already in the midst of his grub, so was turned down. So, pretty productive weekend, and Oh! forgot to mention. Was blogging quite a bit over the weekend, and was happy for Sim/PT. They are a kind who I guess are gonna be buddies for a lifetime, at least for some time in the near future at Mum...

India has done well to get to close to 300 at Goa. Now the result would depend on how best we get those 10 wickets.

Have a good time folks.

HMTG.

Friends

2006-04-01T03:15:00.000-08:00

How many times have I wondered about how good I was at making friends. Where has all that gone ? Do I think I am from Mars these days or is plain arrogance. Or is it that I just don't care enough ? Whatever the reason, I'm losing friends thick and fast. Maybe the bonding is not so strong enough.Have almost lost touch with most of my Engg coll mates. Is it that most of them are in the US or is it plain lethargy. Friends at work, have a persistence of vision time > time they remember ppl. What life ?

Was reading Simz blog, and wondered why I don't have so many-many friends (or do I know why ? Some ppl are born great, some achieve greatness and some have great looks ). Did I commit the mistake of the century by opting for Stud acco. Or is it more fun with some cool quads. Time will tell. Am meeting a friend after 10 years ( met for a hi in the interim ), but it is sorta weird, enough for the friend to ask "Whatz going on in your head?".

Have decided to put some more "thought" into my Blog and not just journal my life ( unless I would like to remember it when I lie, waiting for the angels). Yes, Sometime soon , I would literally count the number of friends I have ( or would I have the courage to do so). How many friends do I have who would die for me. Maybe I'm just not looking, it wasn't for no reason that I got a shirt and tie, at M&S that too. Am feeling that I might just let a golden opportunity pass, by just not knowing how to balance $/n and Friends. That I had a fight with my neighbours servant ( for torching up leaves and letting pumes of smoke into my house). I have good acumen I must say. Did a damn good job of it. Gives me the "go-get-it-kicking-a**" tempo.

Will I delete this mail, once posted. Not sure !

Went up to meet Ventak, and the realisation that ppl have been getting into Inf LRC is giving me nasty complexes. I played the same game, dilution sucks. Never mind, ISB still holds some promise for me, unless something bigger/better gets the better of me. What ? Cryptic bugs just got pandemic. Talk of influences.

My accounting is not something I can write home about , so clicked the register button. Will read up Stats, so that I'm not too embarassed sitting in a class studying something I cracked a 50. Sis is too fussy about things these days ( but guess , its for my own good).

How many forwards do I get ?

HMTG.

Ugadi....

2006-03-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

This Ugadi was the best I've had in many years.

Well it all started off rather inauspiciously. My company did not declare a holiday for UGADI and this was the cause for a heated discussion on our BB. I think I did well when ppl started throwing BrickBats at me, but finally the HRD had enough, and finally received a call from them. I didn't have to apologise though, thatz my bit of "hard" reasoning with the guys from the HRD. Felt good that I stood up for something, which I believed was right. Kicked some a** in the process.

That was on thursday, so decided to take a holiday for UGADI, Mom was very happy that I was back in INDIA for UGADI and the last thing I want to happen is I get stuck up at work and not be with her.

Ugadi day for absolutely fantastic. Sang the "Yuga UGADI kaledaroo..." to Mom, which has been the tradition for that past 10 years or so. Mom was full khush. Sis and Suresh were at home, watched some good programs on TV and had the pooja at noon. Called up DM and he agreed to come home for some evening snacks. Picked him at Sony world and he enjoyed the Obattu/Vada. Had some good discussion about MBA/Post MBA/careers etc. Nice person to talk to.

Post DM, felt a bit nostalgic about my mates. So went to meet Chetal G..., had been to his house last UGADI as well. His mom and dad were at home, and they brought up the dreaded M word.Now I'm almost immune to it. CG was cool, happy with VSign. Chatter with Ashu in chennai for some time, talked about investments ( talking of which, CG is worth almost 2 crores now, can you beat that). I felt ashamed for not having done enought, but its never too later, right.

So after some more eating and chatting, headed back home . But not before I paid my customary visit to the Ganesha temple at KML. Anshul G.. called up to let me know that he was back in Banga....so should make plans to catch up with him as well. Went back home to find Venkat Uncle waiting for me, now this was a bit embarassing, haven't spoken/visited him for years. I've promised to meet him this weekend. Then went to meet my good old Ravi, hmm...to much nostalgia here.

Ended the day with a visit to Geeta aunty and Giri, they would be joining Mom this suday to infy. So that ended a very memorable UGADI. Somehow, life has just turned a shade of rosy pink for me. It has been years since I've felt so good.

Hope you guys too had a great UGADI

HMTG.

Snaps for posterity...

2006-03-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Snaps from my Last assignment in the UK.

From L to R : Mathew, Akhil , Moi, Anand and Arasan ( sitting )
***********************************************************************************

Jim C's lunch (17-mar-06). Clockwise. Brian, Arasan, Moi, Tester, Jim M, Jim C and Pam
Place : CafeNaz, Brick Lane
Menu : Buffet
**********************************************************************************

More to follow

HMTG

ISB meetings

2006-03-27T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yup, finally met a fellow (to be) ISBian, DM ( hard working, smart and dedicated chap). My guess is that he is a next big thing in the construction biz. That apart, had some good coffee ( with mosquitoes ) at CD. A lot of things were planned but just didn't happen over the weekend, am conscious of the differences the luxury of home makes to your life. Am being pampered a lot, but trying hard not to gain weight. Oh ! I forgot to tell you ( my buddies ) that I've re-joined the gym at work.

Talking about the gym at Infy, it is a treat to work out here, simply amazing. It is located in the terminal ( with all its futuristic glory ) and has some state of the art equipment. So apart from that, I'm having first hand lessons on "employee empowerment". More on that later ( BTW, is later ever going to come).

Met up my old school mates Lala ( hes married now, can't believe that). Vikas and BL ( now the proud owner of a jewellry shop at 4th block). Had loads of plans to go about reading some serious stuff, but ended reading IOC ( not that I'm complaining).

And to the find of the century, I purchased business today which featured the best CFO, and in the shot featuring MDP, I saw Bibek in the Background, and I was all excited about that. For brining it to his notice, BS has given me the annual reports of Infy ( now thatz a deal, with Payal P... on the cover)

Only sore thing, haven't met any new P's

Hope you all have a fab evening.

Consulting Skills..

2006-03-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

This is the training I've been attending for the past two days, although it was very interesting , didn't get anything tangible from the course ( yes the material rocks). It was facilitated by Vikranth bhat...Did meet a few interesting ppl as well ( ;-0 ). Training apart I've got loads of other interesting things happenning in my life. ICICI approved my Personal loan ( got to look out for a MF now). Started my gymming at Infy Bang. Enjoying good cooked food at home.

Life is a tad busy now, yet to do some shopping , electronic purchase etc. Plan to do it this weekend. Plan to get Mom to infy this/next week. Have started reading Iacocoa y'day. Good book I must saw ( this follows from the Monk * which I just couldn't complete).

Quote from the book. "Why walk when you can run". Good motivator, I need tonnes of it.

Have a blast folks.
HMTG

Back in INDIA

2006-03-21T03:32:00.000-08:00

Finally I'm back in INDIA. But before I start about my experiences in INDIA, let me brief about the last few hours in the UK and the final flight home.

Sunday morning was a biz lazy, saw Fischicella ( sorry ! ) won the GP at Sepang and Alonso, came 2nd ( Yawn ! ). Missed the entire race to sleep and saw the presentation. Then began my packing, my room was in a mess so it was a Big Deal. M..called to hand over the package. Hmm....will I ever forget the walk down the lane !

Went up to NG house, surprised to see her in a Priety Zinta look ( with specs and all ), got confirmation that they would be joining me for lunch. Asked MP to book tables for about 15. Bala and Co and most of the invitees turned up, had some good time together at CD ( I'm bored to death with this place now..., but something pulls me towards this place always -- it is dead cheap out there ;-0 ).

MP and Aras gifted me a shirt and tie. Went back home , with only Debs at home, a bit disappointed that I would not be meeting my buddies before I leave. So called up Akhil and he confirmed that he would be rushing back home just in time.

Managed to click a few more photos and also managed to get hold of Akhil. Then the cab arrived at 5, but not before bungling Tavistock Court for Tavistock Gate. Neways, he was our good old Frank ( he has been ferrying me to the Airport for the past 3 years). Good guy, he was listening to the commentary of the fulham-chelsea match, and he just couldn't stop smiling when fulham beat champions chelsea. Finally reached Hearthrow at around 6:15.

I quickly checked in ( Jet has very good ppl at their desks) and then decided to have some grub. Went to BKing to get myself some ChiRoyale. Had a sump meal and then headed to the immigration. Went to my gate, and found that I had to wait for another 45 mins before the plane doors were opened.

Got a very comfy seat next to the window , with the seat next to me empty. Wow...when was the last time I has such a good time in the flight. Jet airways rocks. Watched 3 movies. Parineeta, Shivakasi and Hulchul ( the last when I was half asleep) and did not catch a wink of sleep for the entire duration of the flight ( Oh ! the excitement). Reached Bombay at around 11:00. Got my baggage, got through the immirgration and finally managed to get to the domestic airport ( the temp. was around 32 and the fact the india was struggling on the 3rd day of the 3rd test agaist Eng didn't help my spirits a bit). Had some somosas and a coke for lunch and lazed around in the longue, the gates opened at 1:30 . The final flight to home stared at 2:00.

Here too, the seat next to me was empty. The airhostess was a Punju ( name : Manprit ) and she was good, courteous and polite. She almost persuaded me to have lunch when I said I didn't want anything ( as I had a bloated tummy ) for lunch. Reached Bangalore at 3:30. Was out in double quick time, the Inf.. cab was waiting for me, so no trouble for transport. So I was back again in the dusty roads of Bangalore which I so dearly missed. Reached home at 4:30, sis was at home. Mom came in a couple of mintues later. Boy, home sweet home, what a place to be !

Have a good time folks.

HMTG.

Rolling off...

2006-03-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

March 17 was my last day at RBS, and boy what a day it turned out to be. The day did live up to my expectation of an eventful and gratifying day.

Had to collect an envelope from M...so woke up early, but since M....woke up late, we couldn't meet up. Reached office at around 9ish, had to complete some changes to my CR project. Completed that in double quick time. Jim C took us out to Cafe Naz for lunch, it was a very good place ( considering it was at Brick lane ) and the food was excelent. After chit chatting about Jonathan Ross, the Nugget and the Apprentice. We decided to head back to office. Now Jim M has other plans, so we went into a pub and got ourselves drinks. I started talking about my "the" affairs of my state. Had a good time here, the highlight being Aras gulping down a Guiness in one go.

We now headed back to Goodmans fields, but we spotten another pub at the end of the street, so we had to go in. After another round, during which aras peronformed his usual trick, we finally decided to get back to office. Was around 2:30, I had another leaving drink planned at 4 and I had to get the approval for my CR. Shot out the approval mail, to which Jim's response was in the tune of nanoseconds. Now that sorted, I had to clean my desk. Big task that, and also get my "personal" stuff copied onto my TD. Binned most of the papers and stuffed the rest into my bag, and asked Brian to copy my stuff as he had an XP. Now, Atul lead me to a room , to give me a farewell present. I had not expected this, and i was a bit drunk. They gave me a book with everyone signing on it. Have not openend the book yet. Gave a small farewell speech, which was basically telling everyone as to how much I learnt from them. Vivek also chipped in with his bit, saying how well I picked up stuff and my client interaction skills. It was very touching, some were shocked when I said that I was heading to ISB. Shrirang had personally shopped for the book, good gesture.

Now, my drinks at White swan pub, reached at around 4:15 with Vivek, Debra joined us soon. Had a good time , with all having a good lauch. Shrirang relealed my plans to the RBS folks as thus..."kumar is gonna have a touch year ahead, and if does decide to join Infosys he would be very high in the corporate hierarchy". This had its effects. After some more drinks we decided to head back. I thanked Jim and Brian at Aldgate east station , telling them that it was a pleasure working with them. It was indeed.

At home, Deb and Akil has got some more drinks to have a party at home. Got some food from Rupaali and got drunk a bit more. Wathed HAASIL ( more about this sometime later) and finally hit the bet.

Saturday, has been a bit hectic. Bibek had gone home with Bhabiji and Jas to complete my Loan application. Sis then sent it off to hyderabad. Now I had to do some chocolate shopping , which I managed in doubly quick time ( have been doing this for 3 years now). Finally the feeling of going back home is settling in. I have a lunch planned for my other RBS folks at chennai dosa tomorrow. My flight is at 9:00 pm tomorrow, flying Jet.

My next update would be from my motherland INDIA

HMTG

Meet the Gupta

2006-03-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

There is something about the Guptas, apart from they being good cooks. Day was pretty ordinary, except that M....gave news about some stale acco. Called up home, Mom and Sis are pretty excited about me going back after a long time.

Life becomes very interesting, when you meet someone and all you want to do is throw open your life and reveal you deepest secrets , personally I feel that it is all to do with equal reciprocation. Accompanied NG home, was quite a revelation. Being a topper and being so down to earth , married to an IITian ( CompSci that) made a pretty good talk.

Thatz it from me.

Have a good time folks

HMTG.

Divine coincidence....

2006-03-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

I must have seen the Gods when I woke up. After all the terrible things that happened to me y'day, this can only be the reason.

Met M..in the morning, ranted about all the things going wrong. Travelled to LB together, whilst she was doing her SO-DO-KU. Promised me coffee with hubby this weekend. After which , I called up home and repeated this, sis was very disturbed and gave me some advice. The day was going good when Kam, asked me if we were going out for Lunch. I said YES.

Jim, Kam, Brian , Aras and myself walked to MirchMasala and had a very sumptuous meal, with all starters , main course and all. This was the first outing with the team and was good. Had a good time, had a couple of Confs ( during which I completed the Metro du ku ). Called up home, just to make Sis and Mom confy. Headed home with Lochan.

Saw M..outside our car at LB, asked her to get in. Gave her the Metro du ku ;-). Walked home with her, priding my apartment as posher than hers. M...has promised me the help home details tomorrow. Will try my best to help.

Now my worries, Sis hasn't received my loan docs, and I haven't received my Cam. Work at Bangalore is going at a snails pace.

Keeping my peace ! Now you know the coincidence.

HMTG.

Leaving problem....

2006-03-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

My company has given me a date of 28 Apr as a release date. The next day is the start of T1. Can't believe that they are doing this to me. Can't they see, that I need to be at H'bad on the 15th. This was one of the many problems I had today.

Had ordered a cam from Pixmania, who promised a 3-5 day delivery. After 24 hours, they mailed me asking for a bank statement as an address proof, as I didn't have a fax machine at home, had to wait till today to send them a fax, prompty they reply saying that the stock was over and they would despatch it once in stock. Was furious with this, blasted the Cust serv. rep. Finally cancelled my order with PixMania.

Ordered the same from Amazon, paying separate delivery charges for each of the Cam, Stick and Bag. Hoping for a 3-5 working day delivery ( this 3-5 day thing is so frustrating). The same applied for the mail I sent to Sis , she is yet to receive it. It has been almost 5 days. She has to get it in time for her to send it by the 20th of March. So frustration here as well.

Finally, called up M..to ask for some acco for a friend, but shez staying with her hubby ! ( period)

Hope I have a sane tuesday !

HMTG.

Meet the people

2006-03-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Well this weekend was caracterised by one thing, PEOPLE. Met loads of them. Will start with what happened on Friday. NG was outside as she had locked herself out, and her friend was with her. Now I am their friendly neighbour, so had to take charge of charing her Mobile. Did that out of considerataion. Did get to chat up her friend, will ask M..about some housing help. Or should I ?. Well that was the first of the many acquiantances I made over the weekend. Ordered my DSCP200 at about 3 in the morning ( Raj...got me a promo coupon on the net which gave me a £7 discount)

Saturday, was mostly dis-oriented as I had an upset stomach, thanks to the channa batura ( with 1/2 kg oil ) I had at Chennai Dosa ( I met about half of my office junta here). As though that did not embarass me , the chair and tables are so awkwardly placed, that you literally stick to each other. Did not enjoy it a bit.

Marched on, wandered aimlessly at WhitGift, pseudo shopping and trying to find MP some WebCam as his GF was desp to see him. Now that we didn't achieve what we had set out for, did some shopping at SaveMore and headed home. Pseudo slept for some time and then got up to go to MP house. and Oh ! Met Vineet and Hari at CD.

MP's house was awesome, Deebu ( my Mal hero lookalike) , GV, MP, Saith.., Thillai and srijith were at home. Won the ArmWrestling competition, even without arm wrestling, that is the power of the toungue. After that, sat down to have some good food. Had some good dessert and then some good old chit chat. Then sat down to watch Gajjini ( I kinda like Asin). Slowly junta started to move out ( probably they had seen the movie , but the interesting part is I got my way in the screening of the movie). The show ended at 2. Walked home, just to find Raj and Atul watching some Sean Penn movie. Raj asked for an omlette as he hadn't had any lunch/dinner and I was in a good mood not to oblige. Slept at 3.

Woke up to watch the "Match of the century" live on the internet. Boy whatta match. SA chased 434 to create a new World Record. Enjoyed it. Lazed around, gymmed and went to Park Hill Park with Arasan, who had come down to meet me. Akhil returned from INDIA and got some of his friends ( Anand and Shanbag ) . And Oh! Atul was here , the whole weekend. That made it a truly People's weekend !

Not so good news about the camera, they want some Bank proof , which I need to fax them tomorrow.

Thantz it from me folks, mez feeling too sleeepy today.

HMTG

Thank do...

2006-03-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Plans are afoot to get some leaving drinks to my folks out here in Londres. Have spoken to a few guys out here and all are very positive about it. Hope to have a great time here. Folks back home are very eager to meet me, it has been a long winter.

This winter has seen some good times as well as bad ones, the implications of the decisions taken now are probably going to dawn upon me in the years to come. But life goes on, bolder !.

And yes, made a £30K deal in two hours. This was my first, deal/sold experience. The earlier ones were more or less planned, but this one was a coup. Things moved really fast. Made me believe that I was born for such roles.

I have promised myself never to get back into the shell I've put myself in the last 10 years ( '96 was a bad year for me).

Plans for saturday, Camera ! Camera.

Thats it from me
Adios

Memorable day...

2006-03-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

Today has been a very memorable day. Well lunch with M...at Tiffin bites and drink with Atul..at Bar one. Both rich in perspective and content. What a day. Fab.

Sis called up in the morning to inform me that my Demat linked account has been fozen, now I am racing again time to get my ESOPs vested. I have risked a lot to get them. Now I get this news, and I use the F..word on the phone. Patethic. Now sometime she would ask the question as to why and for how long have I got into this habit of swearing. Tried to make it up by saying that I would stand to lose lacs if I didn't get this deal. If you are staying away from home and if you have don't have any control on anything, let alone your bank account. Sis was worried that I would get tensed, and asked me to calm down. Had gotten up late and this put me back by almost an hour. So left home at round 9 am.

As this was not bad enough, I caught the wrong train ( I was totally lost today), caught a train to Victoria. Today was supposed to be a big day and this was not the way I had planned to begin. Got on with it, and changed at Victoria and got onto the District line, only to reach office at around 10 am, things weren't rosy at work, DOCs has goofed up bit time, and there was one tracker that I thought was a CR , Mike got the stick for it, but Arasan completed the change in doubly quick time and all wells that ends well.

Lunch with M....God please help me remember this day. Was rainning , had agreed to meet up at McD's at Liverpool station, reached there at around 12 and waited for sometime before M..turned up. Decided to go to Tiffin bites, M...explained as to why she had turned up a whole week late, I was only hearing not listening. Such clear conscience and such clarity of thought. Unblemished. Ordered for some food, and settled at one of the tables. M....had a lot to talk about, all the charities and all the social work. I never felt so inferior in my entire life as I felt today. The whole setting , raining , small shop opposite one of the most famous stations in the world is quite a setting. M...also taked about going to ILI, she has promised me to lead me to Mani, and a couple of other infoscions who are involved in charity work. This has changed me ! Thank you M...

Went back to office, and boy Arasan rules. He has been a phenomenon. Handling all things by himself. He will go a long way.

Drinks with Atul....boy the whole setting, raining, twilight, the read buidling view of RBS from bar one is similar to the day I returned home after Vinay got into IIMB. Just that I was the man making the moves. Atul is a man to watch out for, a man of value and substance. Had a couple of drinks and discussed a lot of career moves and strategies. He is CEO material.

And yes, called up the bank and because of providence ( had made a transaction a couple of days) and this saved me. Called up Sis and conveyed this to her, made her happy.

Thats in from me folks, a good memorable day.

HMTG.

Intent of Disengagement....

2006-03-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Finally put in my papers today. Realised my folly soon enough, when Sit..came up with a May day exit. Had a discussion with Sit..and Shir..., they would have to consult others before deciding when to relieve me, that would happen on Friday. Probably would have to coax them into relieving me ealier. Managed go get my Loan papers sorted and have sent it to sis back home and have mailed BS about what he needs to be my guarantor. Hope this goes fine. Life is indeed strange, some months ago, what seemed like a life's reward now just seems so ordinary. I guess "perspective" is something one should never lose sight of ( now how to avoid that preposition at the end).

That sorted, work was a bit hazy today. Not sure how I spent almost 9 hours simply lost in deep thought. Also, managed to wake up from my slumber w.r.t to my ESOPs. Now the logistics of getting the huge amount is another nightmare I need to grapple by the 15th of this month. Out of 12 months ( 4 months consitute insider tranding window ). Should get this done though, but as usual breathing very hard to what seems like a simple thing to many. The trick is not to just to win the race , but to do so without breathing very hard.

I am totally loosing sight of the other things in my Life these days. I guess at some point , one must just come out clean, open up and take and present life as it is. Black and white. Felt really heavy, when Shri..and Sit..made references to future education. Did well not to lie, but then why I did not tell them ?. Why ? Sit...has been very kind to me. He DOES deserve to know where I go.

Will tell them about it tomorrow ? First thing. See, I am beginning to feel good. Did go the gym today, was late and the gym was a bit deserted, and this made me feel even worse. AG has been kind in getting my transport sorted.

Seperation is always painful. As it the case of my first school, if some one asks me my company while sleeping, i wouldn't be surprised if I say In....

Hope I have a good day tomorrow.

HMTG.

Saturday night fever...

2006-03-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Y'day was crazy. Atul had come over to croydon to get himself a house ( he is planning to get wed this summer and wants to get his wife over to London). So after a frantic session of shopping and paying £15 for unlocking my SIM was back home to some great music and wine. As usual after a few rounds had to shop for some more ( at 11 in the night). Was real fun as all were on the net, Das was up with his usual shaadi dot com, Raj too caught the bug , and Atul was busy catching up wth his friends and yours truly was overlooking all these. It was fun to see ppl chatting over lost GFs, crushes and the usual MC ( maada...). Atul and I had a long winding discussion about career progression, which was interrupted when a neighbour came in at around 1 am and pleaded to keep our voices down. In all it was fun.

And Oh ! Friday was quite a day too. Spoke to Sit...about my immediate plans and he was a bit taken aback. Well not quite sure if it was a welcome thing as he promissed a discussion but it didn't materialise on Friday ( assuming that Monday would be a long day). In the melee managed to break a plate in the Canteen, GOD knows what I was thinking that I dropped the entire tray at the counter (my omlettes and finger chips). The lady was kind enought to get me another plate without charge.

With regards to the ISB front, there is no dearth of confusion about the loan procedure and all in a mad rush to speak to Mr. Kumar ( no wonder he must be feeling very important by now). I think that I have the situation under control and i know what I need to get my loan. My dear friend Bibek ( I promise to write about my best mate in the near future) has agreed to be my guarantor and my good old sis has agreed to take care of the logistics in Bangalore. I have decided to take the loan from SBI ( there is something about the name that attracts me, probably because it has an INDIAN in it). So things are looking pretty OK on this front.

Cricket, boy oh boy what a day at Nagpur , just when the whole world was thinking of a much anticipated draw, India sprang a surprise when they chared to the wining total towards the end, it was Harmison with his two quick wickets that saved England from a strategy goof up. Well played INDIA.

Domestic news, Raj has settled very well into our house, he cooks and is always cheerful. Really cool bloke. No news about M...as yet.

Have a great week ahead folks.

PS : a lot of junta at Bangalore, H'bad are meeting up to know ppl better to build early networks, am missing all the action there.

HMTG

Introspe3ction...

2006-03-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Y'day and today have been very bad as I've been intospecting , thinking all the mistakes that i've made over the past 5 years and thinking about the heights I could have achieved and the humiliation I could have avoided. There is something in me which makes me different from other, just can't even ride the tide when others are doing so. Am trying to convince myself that I had bigger and grander designs in Life and it is towards that the the universe is plotting to help me reach.

Arasan is a star ! after much tempering arasan is back at his best and is handling his responsibilities very well , that has allowed me to relax a bit ( and give me more time to contemplate , and so some reading). It was snowing in London today, all that while there was sunshine. Sal, liked it. Bala tried talking to me, speaking about K....exploits at ISB.

Talking about ISB, did send out a few mails. Making and maintaining friends is something I have to learn actively.

Did not speak to M..phone not answered/mobile switched off. Really need to sort this out.

Hope to wake up tomorrow, stronger and clearer. And bolder.

Have a good time folks.

HMTG.

Know thy mate...

2006-02-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, the ISB admit group rocks ! There are loads of mails floating around congratulating people about their admits and a bit of flirting as well ( selective reciprocation etc. ). Anyways whatz life without such fun !.
Prasanna, Rishi and Hari got their Job band changes. Wished them well. Such things don't matter to me these days. The 5 years at Inf has taught me to see the bigger picture and not loose the woods for the trees.
Tomorrow is going to be a BIG day, would have to "negotiate" M. This has a significant bearing on the next phase of life. Keeping my fingers crossed and hope to let my silver on my tongue to shine. Fortune favours the brave. When you have nothing to lose, you hardly give it two hoots in heaven.
Well, that aside. Need to get my act together and complete all my oustanding tasks like unlocking my V3, shop for my folks back home and also start thinking about getting my vested shares. Boy ! I am so clumsy with them.
The Loan is also to be sorted and needs some work on it, Sis is helping me with it ( she is always lucky for me ). Have to call up Bibek / Krirti and Pra and let them know about my decision. Need to really thank them for their time. Also, am planning to take some driving lessons when I reach Bangalore ( a whole lifestyle change is on the cards).
Have to get myself a DSC at any cost this weekend, would miss out on loads of snaps.
Wokay then folks. Oops...regarding the title, well am in the process of knowing...Yumm.

HMTG.

Mom and Sis made it...

2006-02-26T00:09:00.000-08:00

Feeling very Happy today. Mom and Sis successfully completed the Land deal. Kudos to them, the way they handled it is exemplary. Good work done family. Finally I feel I am in control of my entire life. Know my future ( also planning to talk to M..) , got the site, matched my B acumen with my co-workers and am happy that all my years of reading and observing has had a profound effect on the way I think.

Work@RBS is good, am managing it very very well. Got a CRR 2 this time , am sure I would have got 1 if given the right project ( read very visible project). Also, the week also showed that I perform well under stress ( after all managing a 17.5 transfer sitting in London requires talent).

At 16 Tavistoc gate, 2 Tavistock Road. Akhil has left for his cousins wedding, would be returning after a couple of weeks. He is one person I feel that I should have contacts ( networking ) with , very helpful person. That apart life@croydon was boring for the entire week. Gymming did not happen very regularly ( Das and Raj were stranded outside so had to rush home mid way one day). Y'day went to Taxi No. 9211 ( pathetic is a work I use very generously here). After which we went to YATES a local pub cum DISC. Danced a bit and generally had a good time.

Regarding M...well lets see how things unfold this week, am keen to get this as It would bring in the much needed balance in my life, much depends on how I get the message across ( let my persuation be with me). Also would be speaking to BS this week, planning to use him as my guarantor.

Would be buying some thing for GIRI and everyone this time. They have been of phenomenal help. I am conciously improving my people caring skills ( and am starting from home).

That apart Life is cool and hey Bush is going to ISB ( now how cool is that)

HMTG.

Remote Transactions....

2006-02-23T04:43:00.000-08:00

I don't feel empowered enought in the 21st centuy. Well the story is, Sis and Mom like the BSK site and agreed for the registeration this saturday ( from the planned date of 27th), and they expected me to take care of the dough. Now the problem is that my bank puts restrictions w.r.t the amount I can transfer online. So had to find ways of arranging it. I managed to handle the situation very well ( first test of my crisis management skills and also my persuation skills). I managed to convince Kav in Infy that it a fax from an authenthicated source should be good enought for her, to which she finally agreed. So had to go to Knightsbridge and get the fax / scan sent to Kav from there. Now I reach there with great difficulty ( forgot to take the location and how-to-reach guide) and when I did explain the situation , the lady in the bank started her usual hands-off talk. Now I had to get this lady to speak to Kav and given the notoriety of the 0800 number of Infy chances were very low, finally after a zillion attempts managed to get hold of Kavs. Now after much deliberation she got the the lady at the bank to send here the scanned copy of my letter and passport ( given that I could not send a fax from RBS propery, send the wrong side of the letter) things looked pretty safe. Only to find out later that Kavs mail server was slow, so had to forward the scanned documents to her again. Now her printer wasn't working so she had to go home without making the transaction.

Another anxious day, woke up at 5 and called Kavs, now she said that she would complete the transaction right away and did it. Called up home , just to find that Mom and Sis left to the Bank... how do you like that for timing.

BTW, M...replied. Work and Gym going good. Planning to shop for my DSC T5 this weekend.

HMTG.

Nuclear quagmire..

2006-02-19T02:44:00.000-08:00

India is heading straight to the nuclear quagmire and appears to be in a hurry. In its frantic rush to sign nuclear treaties left-right and centre, I guess it has lost direction and strategic vision. The much talked about J18 aggreements not only stacks the odds heavily against INDIA but also might be counter production to INDIA basic need to go in for such nuclear deals. Nothing is lost yet, if INDIA does push in for clear distinguishing CIVILIAN and NUCLEAR reactors and also reserve the right to maintian the list ( dynamically ). Unless the directions of nuclear energy is firmly planted, this would lead to another protracted issue which our Nation currently faces ( for not having dealt with earlier when we got Independence).

Chirac is currently touring INDIA and hope we strike some sanity to our Nuclear deals. Also, Singh is going to issue a suo moto tomorrow ( I think ) in both houses regarding the nuclear deal with the US. As of now the nuclear establishment is against such a move by INDIA.

Karnataka, is going backwards with it losing the FAB city project and with Infy planning to set up the largest campus in H'bad.( all this for some tax holiday). Can't understand why the IT sector still needs Tax holidays ( with all those stellar profits). Anyways, Infy had some problems with the govt of Karnataka ( and hence this move). Not good to Karnataka at all.

Apart from these, I had a pretty good weekend thus far. Had a good send off to OP and also shopped at Oxford street with Akhil. Got Suresh a Moto RAZR V3 ( hope he likes it), also shopped at Lillywhites. Here is the intersting bit, for a first time I saw a thief ( shop lifter) beingh chased by the security guards ( his ccomplice was caught ). He guy just ran ahead of us and for a moment I thought that I should have sopped him, but somehow didn't do it ( just not used to doing it I guess).

Saw Zinda ( a bit disturbing movie, apparently the south Korean version is worse) and kinda liked it. Enjoyed Pati..patni aur who with my flatmates later saturday night.

Hope you all have a very good weekend.

HMTG

Lost the plot...

2006-02-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Literally, I had asked my sis to get me a plot at B'ari - VI stage, Mom really liked the site and when we approached the seller he told that he had just accepted an offer of 1000 bucks and had to wait till today to see if it was still in the market ( got news that we have lost it) but the other one which is north facing is available and we would be offering the advance on Monday. So although I have a temporary set back , am well on track with my long term plans and also in a way it was good that I did not get the second one as it give me the option to keem my equity investment intact. Also did some cheeky stuff to get the maximum personal loan ( lets see how that goes). Should plan my finances and my life more carefully from now ( the new Kumar is Born). Also OP is going back this weekend ( cool chap, wish him all the best for his wedding).

all quite on the work front, UAT is all smooth sailing. Have orderer Lee Iacocca. Hope I get it this weekend. That apart , have done a lot of inspection over the past couple of days and have realised that I've got to rein in my anger ( probably need an anger management course).

Am planning to return to INDIA during the second week of March, that gives me enought time to do all the stuff I need to do ( license, books, loan etc ..etc).

BTW, Akhils treat was fab ( at Banana leaf , opposite the first resturant I went in the UK sheesh mahal). That apart nothing interesting happening...so looking forward to a happy weekend ( but hope the rains don't play spoil sport).

Wokay folks have a great weekend.

HMTG.

Of Raincoats and B'days....

2006-02-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days have been pretty unique. Let's start with the bad news, as I had mentioned earlier I had watched Raincoat and muttered how silly Ash's fears were when she thought that she would get locked in a bathroom with nobody to help her. Well, I experienced it first hand ( before that we have had a replacement for OP , RS , he has been with Patni and accenture before joining Infy). Oops... I forgot Akhil's B'day party.

So here goes, Monday was Akhil's birthday, so we stayed up Sunday night to throw him a surprise party. Das got a chocolate cake ( Yumm....) and we had a gala time, poking fun at each other and the usual cake smudge.

trouble started Monday morning, RJ got stuck in our Bathroom ( the knob just wouldn't work ) and for a moment we all thought that we had to break open the door , luckily RJ managed to open the door ( and I didn't bother to know how ! ). So after Monday's usual day at office, I returned home to hit the gym. Totally forgetting the incident in the morning I locked myself inside the Bathroom ( luckily for me Das was at home , but sleeping). After my initial attempts to putup a brave front I yelled for help ( Das finally woke up from his slumber) and tried opening the door from outside , after all our attempts failed we decided to give RJ a call and get the "open sesame" magic. All he told was that he used the scissors. I had earlier tried with the scissors , but knowing that it could be done with the scissors I tried harder and managed to open the door ( Important physcology lesson ). The day continued terribly when I went to Somerfield to purchase some toileteries, was anguished when I didn't find them. Frustrated I headed to the gym...

Today has been BAU, just that I have finally decided to jump into real estate. Sis and Geeta aunty are doing all the hard work, lets see how it goes. Tomorrow is Akhil's Birthday party. And oh ! BTW the UAT is going at a snails pace ( who cares anyway) !

HMTG.

Sunday Times....

2006-02-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

Friday Updates : Finally got the UAT region build underway , after a bit of a mix up. Can't believe I said that "I don't have the time for it" to Irene. Nevermind that was a low after a hectic week. Arasan has been picking up stuff rather well lately. Hopefully things should be OK with the UAT.

India won the 2nd ODI at Pindi. Felt good, but have a sneaking suspicion that India might trow away the guard and fall to its old rot. Nevertheless good to see Tendlia and Viru back in action. Did go in to office y'day only to see Jim working ( what did he think of me coming in to office on a saturday, me had to send the lousy Declaration to HSBC and also had to do some study with regards to my Loan). Didn't do much on the loan front, hopefully my sis should take care of it (haven't yet decided on my guarantor

OP treated us at Tikka Masala y'day. It was great , good food, good service and no crowd. Saw Raincoat again, was a good but a depressing movie. A must see. Ash has given a tremendous performance, and BTW news is out that Ash and Abhishek all set to wed. Thats it from me, heading to DIXONs to lay my hands on a DSC T5.

Adios - HMTG.

First move

2006-02-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

Had a chat with my Managers at work hinting about my future Leardership aspirations. I guess they were a bit taken aback when I said stuff like "professional preferences overrides personal preferences". Nevertheless I might have to sign off as a Project Lead , but thatz OK.

At work, things are a bit Haywire, the UAT build did not proceed as planned and is at risk of not being ready by the UAT date ( 13th feb). That apart work has been very cool. Jim and Brian are AWOT ( away on trainings). So this have given me time to think about buying a site. Spoke to sister about this and see was very encouraging. All I saved for my American dream would eventually end up in my quest to acquire some land in my Home town ( Bangalore).

Good news..got my DELL laptop , amazing looks , absolutely loved it. The delivery was very professional , asking me the delivery time as well.

Signing off ..HMTG.

RDB...

2006-02-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

Had a frenetic weekend ( literally). After the chennai Dosa treat on Saturday, watched Lakshya. Thoroughly enjoyed it ( for the record, it was my first view). Priety and Hrithik are amazing. The theme is good, well shot and realistic ( for late birds like me, if you intend to watch it, please do miss the mountain treak towards the end). My flatmate Das, said that Laks...was life changing for him ( good for him), but did not feel anywhere close to that myself. So was a late Saturday night.

Sunday morning was dull and lazy till Lochan called to say that he would be going to the National science museum ( this was planned and aborted on saturday, so came as a bolt). It was 10:30 and he said he would start right away. So given my state ( I hadn't even brushed) so said no, then my GoGetIt ( alter ego ) called up Lochan seconds later to say yes ( It can be done). So hurriedly brushed and went to the Station. Akhil was going to Clapham so before we closed our main door he asked if I wantet to go to RDB in the evening. Again this was carried forward from last week so had to say yes ( totally forgot about the dinner I was invited to by Mathew). Did a quick check and confirmed that the show was at 5:40. So had to finish my museum browsing by 4:30. Heading for more trouble.

Took the 11:31 to Victoria, said tata to Ahil. Reached Vic, changed to Circle and was in South Kensington at around 12:10. Went into the museum and after seing the great steam engines felt I was running out of steam. So went into the Restaurant and caught up some lunch. Just then the rest of the Junta ( who disappeared to drop off their luggage in the cloak , returned with the proposal that they wanted to see the "Walking on the moon" 3-D movie by iMAX. This would again take an hour ( time crunch), I said OK and went to finish my lunch.

Later watched the movie ( my first 3-D movie , with glasses and all). Then broke up with the rest of the pack and began to explore the museum myself. Saw all the great steam engines, differential analysers, calculators, CRAY I, ships, planes etc. Had a good time. At 4:30 called it a day and left for vue@croydon.

Reached croyond at around 5 and had a burger at the station ( man I was hungry to the core), finally walked to the cinema hall just to find that my friends hadn't purchased my tickets. Had to wait for them after I had purchased my tickets. They arrived just in the time for me to catch the opening credits.

Then began RDB...probalby one of the finest contemporary urban young movies with real life type dialogues ( Aamir wooing sue with su-kar mere man ko...could relate to it). The next couple of hours was fun. Got a missed call half way through the movie ( knew it was Matt). The movie got over by around 8:45.

Went straight to Matt's place, boy what a rollicking time I had ( total bindass fun). Had a splitting head ache though, had loads of coke. Matt prepared some cherupaier. Fooled around with Saithaly and Thillai. Had dinner and headed home at 11:30. Then crashed.

HMTG.

Chennai Dosa...

2006-02-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

The weekend has been very good so far.Started it with Mangal Pande ( The rising) and it depressed me a bit. But today has been really enjoyab le, did go out to Whitgift with Akhil and Adarsh(akhil's pal) and shopper for some sandals and tracks. This has been one of my first real shopping experiences at Croydon, discovered Centrale and went up and down quite a few tronic shops to fing my DSC T5. But to my dismay did not find the black flip model I was looking for, so It would be another round of searching.

Chennai dosa was good, although it was a bit too overcrowded ( the effect of being the only authentic south indian resturant in the area). Had some Dosa's , vada's and some good old filter coffee. Have got a few cassettes for this week's matinee ( Lakshya and Raincoat) , should be a good watch.

The week ahead would decide my JB, hoping to become a Project Manager this year. Well this is important because it would decide my Job after my MBA. Neways, thank god for the peace I've earned for myself.

Miss Home.

HMTG.

DELL ...too edgy

2006-02-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Dell mailed me that they could not contact me and hence could not proceed with my order ( not acceptable at all). Couldn't they contact me via mail. Did receive a call from the office and they wanted my official mail ID. They just don't trust anyone, inspite of giving my office address they could not confirm my address ( as it was registered against Natwest and not RBS as I had said). Now would have to wait till tomorrow to confirm if they are indeed happy with my identity.

Hip Hip Hurrah....

2006-02-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

Finally the system test for my application got kicking, after 2 gruelling days of multi party trouble shooting it was precisely at 5 today that we got the all clear. Y'day we had issues around the dreaded LinkID and what an experience it was to get 3/4 ppl looking at various consoles and monitoring a transaction as it passed from the WebSphere to the CTG to the Host. Boy, it gives me the kick.

Finally managed to confirm my DELL order to Uday, so am expecting it by the 7th ( it is a silver DELL, inspiron 6k). Yet to look out for my other stuff, but given that I've managed most of my stuff around work, I should find the time for it in the next few days.

Also, gave Arasan some royal treatment today ( for his good, I would like to believe) but his efforts to get the ST working, put aside any bad taste. Back from work early, didn't go the gym , but went to SaveMore instead to get our Daily bread ( chappatis) and curd. So it would be back to GodFather-2 today.

Signing off ... Kumar.

Pandemonium....

2006-01-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days has been total chaos at work. Things just have fallen apart, not due to anyone's fault or anything, just that things fell apart. This has scared quite a few people that we might just miss our project deadlines, but am confident of making them. Work apart, am pretty much settling into a rhythm w.r.t to my gymming and sleep ;-).

Y'day, OP was blabbering in his sleep ( cursing and all) so here we go. Would be going to the gym today as well. Would be calling up home,and then winging up early. So not much to write ( or I'm just plain tired).

BTW, Barani won some awards at ISB and I feel happy for him ( he does do a good job, keeping ppl like me in the groove). Haven't yet decided as to whether I would want to attend the Pre-term ( strategically would want to go after April, based on how things turn out in the next couple of weeks).

Wokay then folks, have a good day ahead.

HMTG.

Bunti aur Bubli...

2006-01-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

Has been one of the best weekends I've had over a looong time, basically just chilled this week. No major worries ( B-school, project etc), twas just chillax.

Woke up late y'day, browsed a lot and just lazed around, until at around 3:30 when I decided to hit the gym ( so that I could take some rest on sunday and not feel guilty), so did a good routine , that really made me feel good. Retuned home in time ( was around 10:30 IST) and called up home, was good chatting to mummy and sis ( basically a long list of do's and don'ts). Neways both sounded happy , and Mom gave me a list of things to get for her and sister ( and also Suresh, my BIL). Then decided to have a hot shower ( absolute bliss after a good workout) and was feeling really good. So decided to go the video parlour and get some movies , got BnB and boy I'm glad that I did so, it is a rocking movie ( really love Rani in this , he was my fav for some time, till Saathiya came along). Neways, had a rocking time with BnB on saturday eve.

Sunday, was cool too, watched Federer thulp Marcos to get to his 7th Grand slam , and saw the IND-PAK match finally looking to produce a result ( after the first 2 matches in the series were drawn) not sure if is good news as India is in a spot of bother. Neways, saw a bit of BnB ( especially the naach balliye.. number, which features Shamak Davar). The choreography is amazing, with the disco style moves. My roomie OP is getting married so wanted to take a few pics, so had a photo session in the morning ( the sun was out and the weather was georgeous). Really felt good to be around today ( like one of the childhood saturday's when there would be no one around, and me and my sis would catch butterflies).

Have almost finalised on my Digital camera ( going for a DSC P200 cybershot) and am planning to place my DELL order tomorrow. Also, had planned to take my flatmates out for dinner ( once lost a bet to OP, as to who was at the door, how silly can I get). But since OP's had to attend the going-back-offshore party of his colleage, has to push this to next weekend.

Neways signing off on a very a happy note.

Wish you all have a very great week ahead.

HMTG.

Celebrity Big brother...

2006-01-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

Today was the final day for CBB, and as expected chantell won it. Michael Barrymore finished runner up. Was a fitting finale to the 3 weeks of sheer entertainment. Really wanted Dennis Rodman to have stayed in for more. Any ways Devina McGall did a fantastic job as she always does.

Apart from this, today was a very happy Friday, no fires at office did well to please a couple of colleagues , did well to write up the DOCs involvement /engagement initiative. Had the conf between Edinburgh/London. Again had chips for lunch.

I left office really early today , at 5. Hit the gym, had the good old routine. Really felt good. Hope to keep up the tempo for the next couple of weeks. Again did not finalise the deal with DELL, probably am awaiting some divine intervention here.

Have someplans for the weekend, buy the Japanese Mgmt book Akio Morita ( I can't even spell it) and also finalise my gadget lists. Time is running out. Have to get my act together. News today, HAMAS was elected into the parliament, Mittal steel is swallowing up another competitor, Dharam Singh is all set to lose his chair. Rang de basanti rocks ( had a heart burn y'day when my house mates saw the movie). Neways planning to watch MUNICH sometime this week.

Am at peace with myself today.

HMTG.

Republic day...

2006-01-26T13:01:00.000-08:00

Today being a republic day , and the news that India would become the 3rd largest economy this year is good news. Work wise nothing much happened today, just that a couple of nagging issues had to be resolved. Almost finalised on the my Laptop, would go for it tomorrow.

Did not to to the gym today as I wanted to recuperate from 2 days of hitting the gym. Called up home , and there were loads of complaints waiting, apparently Mom is eating a lot of sweets ( diabetic ) and also not taking her medication properly. Need to get this sorted when I reach bangalore. Also, had a heated discussion with Dipto regarding the Profits of RBS ( he claimed it was £18b, and I contested that, turned out to be £8b).

Went out with Arasan and Atul , had a good time. Tomorrow is a dress down day, so should be fun.

Ciao,
HMTG

Jama Jam Gym....

2006-01-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Good news - Enrolled in a local gym, this has been due long time. Was paying membership fees for about 3 years without really hitting the treadmill ( at office ) , now that I've just got about 3 months to get back to shape I'm very keen to be regular this time. So I did visit the gym y'day and today. The gym is called "energize" and is OK, good ambiance, non intruding staff and on the whole a very good place. So there has been a bit of change in my daily schedule, am leaving office early, about 6 ish ( yes in my standards it is very early) and hitting the gym at around 7:30 and I'm in bed by 11 ( a good 2 hours early). Lets see how I am able to keep up the tempo.

Y'day at office was crazy, was arguing with Jim about a non-existent tracker which he raised as a show stopper ( I don't really like being pushed around - IT is a partnership after all), so did a whole lot of talking, neways got this sorted today and he was very happy with it. So with it all the caveats have been fulfilled.

Laptop - I had some interaction with the ISB yahoo group and was good ( was about my LAPTOP), also managed to get a deal with DELL ( Uday is the man , looking for some discount) , yet to finalise it.

Didn't call up HOME, feeling bad ( Mom had asked me to call...sob sob). Arasan has joined me here at London and is still that non-chalant guy I knew, so guess it would take me a while before I induce some "corporate etiquette" into his behavior.

In general, feeling very excited about my future ( Anup Upadhyay our GEM has a rocketing career, and his interview did inspire me, IIMB grad , hez the talk of the town). Today was very interesting , opened up a leat at DOCs ( one of our vendors), so am mighty pleased with myself. Am supposed to write a enagagement opening document tomorrow for our Programme Manager to pursue it.

There is a good movie on TV today at 9 ( GodFather-1) so would be watching it. Kamal just popped into my place now, apparently his flat mates dumped him and went to "Rang De Basanti" no sure if it is a good movie.

So tomorrow is going be pretty relaxed no gym, no trackers, no tension. Would be finalising my Laptop and also do some browsing. Have a great day folks.

HMTG

Just another manic monday...

2006-01-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered why Mondays are so lugubriuos and tiresome, more so if you have just completed a major deliverable and have a long hiatus before the next phase kicks in.

Well the real spot of bother is that I don't have the keys to my flat ( yes as mundane as that), so will have to kill some time before I head back home.

Work front, well things are shaping up well, my hard work for the past year has been recognised ( let's see if it boils to some "real" benefit). Haven't yet discussed my future with anybody at work, so It might come in as a shock to many.

On my personal front, had planned to enroll myself the gym, might just do so even now. Also, have posted s0me queries about my Laptop to some queries , hope to sort out my lapton by this week. Yet to figure out my Cam, iPod etc.

Had some fun @ work today, Kam seems to have a great penchance to look into the nitty gritty of stuff to come up with "undocumented software features", so had to negotiate some Defects with her. Also, delegating work has its own bliss.

Need to sort out loads of stuff, like a "to-do" list before I hit the home run, like dining with X,Y and Z. Handling my finances has taken a back seat, need to sort that out desperately.

So in short, loads of stuff to do, but this monday thing just bogged me down today ( I didn't have corn flakes today and that has made things worse).

Bye for now, heading to register myself in the gym next to E.Croydon.

Cheerio, HMTG.

I know where I'm going

2006-01-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

It is a very gratifying feeling when your efforts have paid off towards your destiny. I'm quitely savouring this moment. Called up home and confirmed my plans , they were as happy as I am, especially mother who was a bit worried that I might get very upset about my rejects. I have learnt to focus on my positive future than worry about the things I've lost. It has not been easy for me, almost 2 long years. But I'm happy that things are beggining to take shape. The first real manifestation of the good news was when I treated Matthew Pallan ( my team mate - who helped me with my application) to some good Indian food at chennai dosa. The weekend has been a quiet one , was home all day y'day, saw HAASIL again, absolutely loved it. Gowri , Badri shankar are amazing. Irfaan apparently won an award for his performance.

Well my gadget plans are afoot, planning to go for an INSPIRON 6000. Haven't yet shopped/looked for other stuff, plan to do this this week ( I should be relatively free this week). Am planning to read some Management literature from today.

Had a very good weekend overall, had some good talk with my flat mates.

Hope I have a good week ahead ! ciao.

HMTG.

New Year : 2006 - Jan21

2006-01-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

HowManyToGo

The new year has been a roller coster ride for me. It started with frantic/crazy hours of work ( whoever said that the offshoring model works). Well as an onsite project co-ordinator I had to shoulder responsiblity for the project and ensure that it see the light of day. So for starters was awake till 3 am UK time, just to catch folks coming into work at Bangalore. The team is a bit inexperienced so had to handle all their technical questions. My RBS project manager Jim Mallidine has been very cooperative with other project related issues and so has the project BA Brian Rodrigues. So the first week was all slog trying to get the software delivered in by the 3rd. The rest of the week was spent in trying to link up the Java world and the Mainframe components. Had issues with CICS regions not being up, this really put me in a spot of bother since folks at Bangalore weren't able to do any testing.

The link testing environment was finally ready , but was not in time for us to complete Link testing. So had to raise a CR to get this pushed to the 16th to which Jim was happy to oblige. So the next week too was spent in sorting out BLAPI issues and also some data related issues. Finally managed to get the link testing done by the 16th. The week 16-20 was to be spend in Handover testing. After some trouble with Group1 and Documents solutions ( the other components in my application) finally managed to get the handover testing through in flying colours. This means a lot to me as I was involved in the project right for conceptualising to final delivery of the project , doing this with all the difficulties I faced technically and managerially makes is very sweet. I think that my relationship with Jim has helped sometimes dilute a potentially explosive situation especailly with those CRs with no costs.

Well, the year to date has been very gratifying in every sense of the term. I am happy that I've sailed pass through probably the last few "challenges" the software world has to offer to me. This leads me very easily to my next topic of significance. My B-school applications. I've had some good resposes from some US B schools, but I feel that strategically India holds much promise. So I might be spending my next fews years in INDIA.

To break the suspense, I have been offered admission to ISB , class of 2007, which I have accepted ( incidentally I've just transferred my acceptance deposit a few hours ago). The prospect of being at ISB is very exciting. Have seen Bharani's blog and am very impressed with LIFE@ISB. I hope to be more regular with my blog henceforth.

Today being a saturday, none of my flat mates ( Akhil agrawal, Debarshi Das and Om Prakash Kesari ) are up. So am the early bird today. Intend to begin my shopping spree today. Need to get myself a Laptop, Camcorder, Digi Cam and some other gadgets. So lots of exciting things to write / discuss over the next months/years !

Wish you all have a very good saturday as I am hoping to have.

HMTG.

MBA-plans

2005-11-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

Seeing the world go blogging about his/her MBA plans. I too am tempted to post my experiences here. To start off :2004

Unsuccessful attempt to bell the CAT/XAT etc : year of dejection ( but absolutely resolved to make it the next time)

2005 : Appeared for the dreaded GMAT and came up with an impressive score ( don't wan't to get/give complexes here)

Felt confident of getting into some top US B-School. Apped to

MIT-Sloan
Stanford
Ross(UMich)
Tepper(CMU)
Fuqua(Duke)
ISB

Have interviewed with Ross/Tepper and Duke.
Expecting interview calls from ISB/MIT/Stanford in December.

A long winter ahead ( hopefully should be made easier with some admits)

~Kumar~

Welcome to my abode.

2005-03-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks for visiting my blog, I intend to publish my thoughts on various issues / non-issues of things around me. I am particularty interested in the affairs of the Middle-east , the foreign policies of the US ,the china Vs India comparison and of-course INDIA.