life...at ISB...

Life at ISB took a different turn for a lot of people today. We just completed with our bidding system for the electives. With 4000 points in everyone’s kitty…to be distributed over the 4 terms…people displayed fabulous levels of game theory concepts. Here are a few of them:

• If you bid at 800 for a course and it clears at 400, you get 400 back. Hence, some dudes came up with the grand idea that if they bid 1000 a piece for 4 subjects, they will surely get all of them. And then will get points redeemed based on the clearing price. What they fail to understand is that everyone is thinking the same way…!

• No no…is their argument. Even if everyone thinks the same way…everyone gets screwed. Right?...wrong…! with 200 people expressing an interest in marketing and only 120 landing with a course of their choice (at the high bids) there will be 80 odd people who shall have the points to play the same game in the next term. And then the original set will get screwed…!

Anyways…after a day of horrible rumor management, collusions of the highest order…and ‘underpromisin – overdelivering’…the results came out this evening. Some disappointments…a sense of relief primarily.



The term is coming to an end…and so are the core courses. From now on begins a revision path…building on the concepts of these 6 months. With an all FIN portfolio…I shall be against the top brains of the batch. And its not going to be easy. Lets see how it goes…

Life…at ISB…has a lot to learn from…!

~a

my world...your eyes...

after much deliberation i decided to showcase one of the best works that has come out from the camera.

needless to say the photographer's talent in this case is negligible. its the subject that makes the entire art come out prettier than it ever was. she is R... and this is my world...your eyes...

~a

fun weekend...rocking week...

Phew…! Long weekend…great time…loads of word got done…and loads got added…!

Friday was the midterm of Management of Organizations. I regret not having taken my calculator along with me…the numericals were mindblowing. We had to calculate NPVs of decisions…how the option value of mistakes change from profile to profile and how exactly does the Carnegie model help the financials of company. And if that wasn’t enough, there were some 15 questions to be answered in 75 minutes…

Yah right…!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday went totally in Druid Duels II. The marketing club debate. There were 2 topics…India as a brand and what it represents, who are its customers, competitors etc…and what makes Ekta Kapoor and her serials tick? M and I thought about it a lot…researched the net…read text and text…and then finally chose the topic that we feel represents the true essence of every India…something that’s close to everyone’s heart and is currently the most raving topic of discussion. Ekta Kapoor and her serials…!!!!!

Not to mention that 9 out of the 13 teams that made it to the finals also though that ekta Kapoor was worth spending 4 hours of their lives.

We stood 2nd…! Lucky day…M was really impressive…

Saturday night was rocking though. So I sit down at 12 midnight to watch a movie…but before that I put my clothes for a wash. The movies ends at 2.30 and I go to pick up the clothes…anticipating the sweet Tide smell to fill my living room. What I find to my horror is that the machine wasn’t working…it hadn’t bloody moved an inch since I had left it there 2.5 hrs back…! And then the front door of the machine wont open. It just wont. I started calculating the loss…for god sake the jeans itself is worth some 25 bucks…(after depreciation…!)

And so I call the maintenance guys…they come after 20 odd minutes…force open the door…I sigh in relief…then put the clothes in another machine…and then wait for another 1.5 hrs before that damn machine churns out fresh clothes.

I sleep at 5.30 after a battle well fought…!

Got up at 11.40am…yes…that’s exactly 20 mins before the time people call afternoon…!

Met with some people..sat down to study…met with some more…study…dinner…chatting…movie…sleep…Monday morning…!

And this afternoon we get the awesome news. The research paper that U, S and I were working on has got through the top 3 ranks…and we are to attend the inauguration of the Brand India Summit on September 30th in Mumbai for the awards…! Wasssaapppp….!!! :)

I am really happy…these guys worked their bum off for this…and I am just glad that my incidental presence fetched me the shared recognition…

And best of all…R has a conference in Mumbai till the Friday…SO I AM GONNA MEET HER…how cool is that…!

Rocking week…looking ahead…

~a

Meetings...meetings...

I haven’t had so many meeting in my entire career (spanning an illustrious 2 years…!!) as I have in the past one week. Its like Brownian motion dude…from one point to another…with no interior sense of direction. Crazy…!

But fun…!

Working some bit on Poseidon. It is going on good…though the progress is slightly a cause of concern. However I am sure that given the competent team handling it…things will be on track pretty much soon.

Then, I am conducting a quiz tomorrow…the teasers for which have been running for the past 4 days. I managed to get some good responses from people regarding the same…just hope that the turnout is complementary.

And last of all…the classes…phewwwww…it is crazy…! The MO gentleman is in my ‘point of view’ one of ‘that kind of part’ professors whose sole purpose is to make an interesting subject die a natural death… ‘therefore’ eliminating all ‘point of views’ in that ‘kind of part’…! And if you didn’t make any sense of what was that…JOIN IN…!!!

The IA prof is still on his bullet train with hindi subtitles…! And as the course deepens in mystery, its not hard to see why the ride ahead will not be smooth…

Mudit bid us adieu…and it was a class very well taught. Genuinely. He is a fun guy…and nowhere did it come across that we were his first MBA batch. Pretty impressive.

Banker saab…(IT) is one hell of a proponent of the outsourcing model. Well…he has done that effectively for his course. And the worst part is that people get points for absolutely random CP. Eat this…

Student X: “mobile industry has a lock-in, since I cant use a T-mobile phone for a sprint connection. It is locked…”
CP points awarded…and that’s fine
Student Y: “thts not true…the cellphones can be unlocked nowadays”
CP points awarded…!
Student Z: “there is a place in delhi where I can get the phone unlocked”
CP points awarded…what the…???

But then…the great CP is not hidden as well…and I am just glad about that…!

There are a lot of attractive competitions that are coming up…looking forward to participate in them…some awesome exposure…and not to mention shit-loads of moolah…!

Should be a fun weekend…

Bain turned pain

So…a senior partner from Bain Singapore and a Manager at Bain India (BCC, Delhi) had come over to explore the possibility of recruiting from ISB this year. I believe we are up against IIM C, which makes the ‘battle’ tougher and challenging. And I guess at some level even if we loose, it will be a well-accepted ‘defeat’.

However…this isn’t what was best about the visit. The 2 gentlemen sat through our classes and apparently both the profs and the students did a remarkable job. So Section A and B…thanks a lot dudes…! In the evening they wanted to have a small gathering of 30 off people…whom they could address and then interact with. Now…the statistics is easy…349 students…30 to select. We could have had elections…but there wasn’t time…we could have selected 30 based on the way they dress but then the idea was squashed. So ultimately the class reps were requested to send in the names of 8 odd people…whom they felt could do a good job of impressing the Bain guys.

Needless to say…Bain turned into a pain…with students criticizing the methodology used…etc etc…! Personally…it is hard to judge whether they are right in acting so. However, I do know that the 30 chosen are in no way better than anyone else on campus. And definitely nowhere near indicating that they will ultimately see through Bain in the placements. So if you look at it…30 had to be chosen…and 30 is a slightly smaller number than 349…so people would have been left out…one way or the other. It is unfortunate that people had to be left out…and I am sure it was not an easy choice for whosoever making it.

Anyways…

Life has been hectic like anything this week…assignments flooding us left right and center…with a few new ones coming in from the top as well. Have been fighting the same with diligence so far…hopefully will be able to sustain the same.

Got the corporate finance end term…did horribly bad…can’t believe myself…! So here is the deal…marketing bad…finance bad…IT will be bad…what the hell do I major in…? I wish they had home science…(G…heheheh!)

Loads to look out for this weekend. Section C has its last party together…! Am hosting a quiz this Saturday…then assignments as usual…onam celebrations…so pretty packed…and should be exciting…!

Life’s good…

~a

at this precise moment...

there are things that i hate about myself (and not surprisingly...such moments generally happen every 86,400th second...and last for 86,400 seconds...!)

• there are 3 mails in my inbox to which i havent replied to...and i was supposed to do so 3 days back
• there is still chapter 8 of Investments that i havent read...when i was supposed to...6 hours back
• there are still clothes lying in my room (with enough bacteria to make the clothes walk...!) waiting to be washed
• there is still the GSB article to be read for tomorrow
• there is still the retro party night that i didnt mention so far in my blog...and whose pics i havent posted
• i still feel the need to blog and not attend to the above

but then...life is all about 24hrs...right...and i guess i am managing well.

the last 3 days have been hectic...non-academically. friday nigth started with the competitive strategy paper viewing (an exam that i gave in my past life when i used to work as a goldsmith in birmingham!). did bad when i look around...but then cant help it.

then the retro night party took place...which rocked like nobody's business. A - thanks dude for the wonderful organization. you deserve all the accolades coming your way...i know how much you put into each event that you organize. keep it up.

the party had people looking at their craziest best (and some people acting at their craziest best...for information sake...we have a 'tina turner' on campus...!). V rocked...and M was looking truly retro. even N was good...and so were so many others.

saturday started early morning with a case competition. it was on the channel V and MTV rivalry in india...and designing strategies for both. went well...we expected the 1st position...got the 3rd one...and missed the 4th by one point...! so much so for over confidence...

today was good fun...attended an outstanding talk by Mr. T. N. Seshan...one hell of a gentleman. truly brilliant...in thought and in action. then studied for a bit...had an interesting conversation with G...went to the Bullfight (inter section debate - conducted amazing well by S and S) and now back to studies.

its technically the time when i should switch off and say bye bye...so...you are free to wander off to another webpae..cause what follows is most probably not of any concern to you...

S: always know who you are...and always respect for that. do not let anyone take away the pride that you should feel in being you...

E: no matter who you are...where you are...what you do...there will always be people who will like you. and you should derive your strength from them...and remember...you look really pretty when you smile..! :)

R: i just love you...the way i have loved no one else.......ever....!

~a

Geek Redefined...!

Every 93.5 years…there comes a geek. A geek so geeky that even god looks at him in amazement and goes, “I didn’t make him…!”…and yet, this geek is someone whom everyone can relate to. He not only comes down to the level of lesser mortals…he actually behaves like one of them. However, everyone around him realizes his genius…

One such geek is our Investment Analysis prof. that guy is god…! He is awesome with his flow…his teaching…and his concepts. Flowing effortlessly through the entire class. And as I had mentioned (in my previous blog)…the speed is something that’s complimentary. A caterpillar might think that he is speed of light or something…

However…the funniest part about Prof. Subrahmanyam is his sense of humor. Its Indian…and its impromptu…and best of all…its vernacular.

Scene 1:

Prof spends some 7 minutes explaining a concept…and at his speed you can guess that this is an hour of content for some ‘other’ prof. He ends…and calls on the hand that had risen some 2 minutes back.

A: “can you repeat it again…?”
Prof (to himself): “what the…”
Prof (to A): “kyon confuse karma hai logon ko…chalo…I will try once more…”
And so he explains…this time even better than previous…and then goes, “bas…main itna hi samjha sakta hoon…aur mujhse nahi hoga…”

Lost in his own world…he manages to charm us…somehow…

___________________

Have been working on the marketing research paper as if we were born academicians or something. Its painful…reminds me of MSU…and its painful…

The SAIT presentation happened today. Went awesome…great work done by P, J and A. The content was amazing…and the business presentation workshop actually showed results. Too good guys…!

Got the grade for the MDM course…the one we had taken in our previous birth. Did better than I expected we would…so am happy. However the mid-term for Operations Management hasn’t gone that well…but what the heck…

______________________

So…some decades back I had sat down to see one of my fav movies…and realized that movies such as it are extremely rare. I allowed my thoughts to go further…and actually came to the conclusion that more often than not most movies fall into the same category. They always show the same things…always have the same storyline…

A look…:

1. If the hero starts dancing on the road…he makes sure that everyone on the streets were enrolled in Shiamak Davar classes…cause they all know exactly how he will dance…!


2. any bombs placed in any god damn location will always show you in the largest possible font size the amount of time that remains for the explosion. Time for the hero to get cracking.


3. Invariably, 9 out of 10 times…the hero manages to dismantle the bomb when exactly 1 second remains. The remaining 1 time…he dies leaving behind his love…who ofcourse never marries…!


4. The Eiffel tower can be seen through any window in paris.


5. A good police officer can ONLY solve a case when he has been suspended. He looses his power as soon as he taken back in…if at all…


6. Cars will explode instantly when struck by a single bullet. Same goes for the villain as well…and ofcourse not for the hero…!


7. If being chased…the villain will always take refuge in the Ganesh Chaturti proceedings…ANYTIME of the year…!


8. Prostitutes look gorgeous…so do maids…and so do secretaries…(duhh…!!). The hero’s sister on the other hand will have to sit through a 3 hour long operation to make her look like a female…!


9. All heroes can play the guitar…and the piano…and the saxophone…and the drums…and the violin…alongwith the gift of the gab to come up with profound lyrics...ANYTIME…ANYWHERE…


10. And finally…the best one…if staying in a haunted house, women have to investigate any strange noises wearing their most revealing lingerie…!

And that my friends…is what I do at ISB…(I mean…write non-sensical stuff…not roam around in my fav underwear)!!!

~a

The shit is hitting the fan...

And here are the remaining facts:

1. All exits to the room are closed…so we cant escape


2. Since there are 349 heads people think that the shit wont hit them. They don’t realize how much of it is actually there


3. Some people, called alums, had apparently been there before. And they told us that there are no fans in the room…forget the shit part…!


4. So basically…we are screwed…!

Welcome to term 4

Only one word will define the composition of the above. Assignments. And no…you wont have one every 10 days…not even one every week…but one every day. Each and every single day. This is ISB and we are like this…no questions asked…

“Excuse me…could I have my 15 lacs back…?”
___________

The day was hectic. The schedule this term has 3 classes on Tues-Thurs and a class each on Mon-Wed. and given that the term is technically only 4 weeks…we have classes Friday as well…with random timings. The profs are interesting though…

The investment one (Prof. Subrahmanyam) is the biggest geek ever. His speech could give the rajdhani a run for its money…and he does this with his eyes closed. It’s like stevie wonder singing some rap song…awesome fun. And he is good…though I have a feeling that it wont be so as we proceed. Investment is not like…lalalalalalal….ohhh…look what I got…A grade…!!

SAIT (short for the 1st IT course) was good too. Prof Rajiv Banker has, one…a funny way of speaking…two…great sense of humor when it comes to his presentations. The entire presentation was mixed with cartoons from galsbergen (www.glasbergen.com) and they are quite funny.

MO (organizational behavior for the layman) was kind of disappointing…for us and for this dude called Erik Peterson. He was the subject of the case that we discussed…and boy…what a year he had. We read case (A) and (B) and towards the end it was evident that Peterson was screwed…in terms of his workplace performance. However…it didn’t stop there. The prof gave us case (C), (D) and finally (E) and it kept getting from bad to worse for Peterson. He eventually committed suicide in case (E)…!

And with the assignments…it wont be a surprise that the next batch of ISB will read a case on all of us…how we died fighting for our rights…please…for god sake…no assignments every day…!!

~a

PS: I remember that I have to post my take on ‘movies and what makes them successful’. Next post…pukka…unless something else exciting comes up

Sob..!

Term 4 started with a bang. I felt miserable (and I really mean it…no matter how cheesy it may sound) the entire day about R’s departure. It was truly the best time we have spent with each other. I now realize what those poet types mean when they go about…”it was like a dream”…

Sob!

Well…to give it what it deserves…term 4 did start on a positive note. Mudit (Government, Society and Business) was truly a pleasure. To be frank, better what I had expected off him, through my informal interactions. Apparently the Investment prof is also quite good…so it seems we have competition for bhagwaanji…!

Then worked on a research paper that U, S and I are working on. Well…so far only they have worked on it…I have been the “oh yes, that’s a brilliant idea…lets do it” sorts…better known as the ‘comment always…work none…’ guys…!

Then had the ELP class. The MD of Ma Foi had flown down from Chennai to meet us. I wasn’t present through most of the meeting…however I did get a gist of what’s required off us…which is a small word known to the English language as ‘everything’. However…the project per se sounds pretty interesting and am sure it will be quite stimulating and challenging…

There was a talk by the regional manager, Asia of IFC – the investment arm of the World Bank. Pretty impressive…actually lemme rephrase…pretty interesting. The work that they do and the way they differentiate themselves from other investment banks. And I am particularly interested since they are based off Delhi…which is orgasmic for me at this point of time…! (

Really looking forward to a wonderful 4th term…have loads lined up…

~a