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It’s the herd effect…or maybe everyone is actually housing the same feelings within. Suddenly all the blogs are talking about the same things…

…how ISB has changed them in this one year…
…how they shall miss this time…
…how what the alums said turned out to be EXACTLY true…we didn’t think so at that time…
…how…
…how…


So why not…another one in the chain…


Then: There are smart people…not so smart people…and some people who choose not to be smart…
Now: There are smart people…smarter people…and some people who just can’t help being smart

Then: How hard can a 1 year MBA be…I mean…24 hours in a day…that’s close to 86400 seconds dude…
Now: Yeah right…!

Then: Stock prices increase because people buy them…or what do I care…as long as they increase…
Now: Hmmm…so that’s how they move…u can actually write an equation to explain the human behavior…!!!

Then: Relationships formed during an MBA are similar to relationships that you form with the driver in the car next to you…while waiting at the traffic signal
Now: Yeah right…!

Then: ok…I do know that it shall be fun…but aren’t these guys exaggerating…for god sake…its jst a course right…!!!
Now: Phew…! That was some ride…! Once more…!

Then: I am worth atleast 10+ in the job out of ISB
Now: Why the hell was NIS even paying me in my last job…did I know even shit…!

Then: If you are nice to people…people will appreciate that…all the time…who wouldn’t…!
Now: Yeah right…!

Then: People are awesome…no matter who they are…where they come from…what they do…and whether they like you or not…
Now: People are awesome…no matter who they are…where they come from…what they do…and whether they like you or not…

Then: life’s good…
Now: ditto…!


~a

Longggggg time…! A combination of feasibility and laziness…!

Had gone down to delhi for 5 days…! Wasn’t really planned till very close to the departure…following which I requested R to fix up meetings with a gazillion people…! And chalked out m itinerary. Had an awesome time…as always…the weather was mindblowing…it rained like crazy one night…and the effect lasted for the entire trip.

Also watched the memoirs of a geisha. Very nicely done…beautiful art work…though the story is something only a native can truly appreciate. I for one couldn’t understand why a 40 year old would once ‘make’ a 12 yr old fall in love with him…so much so that she grows up to become a geisha one day and be chosen by him…and lo behold…after 20 odd years that does happen. Ofcourse the fact that these 20 years don’t show on that man…is a different movie altogether…! The story was close to the taboo series…! :)

Met with a lot of people as well. and R didn’t stop bragging about my compensation…something with the right intention but with disastrous effects on my face…which usually turned blood red and was chosen by the guy sitting on the next table as the most expressive face of the year..!

The flight out of Delhi was a pain in the most sensitive part of the anatomy…! Scheduled for 8.00…it left at 11.45…and I was finally in my room at 2.45am…! Thankfully…met with a very interesting Canadian couple…husband working at Bangalore for the past 1.5 yrs…in a company that is into movie animation software Maya (the same was used for the movie Matrix…30% of which was done at the Bangalore site). Unfortunately…they are closing shop in July and moving back to Canada. They say that India has become costly for them…! Which is pretty weird. Because everyone here is being fed on the ‘low cost market’ dose…!

It was fun though talking about their experiences here at India. It was funny how we got started though…! There was this gentleman in the queue for the boarding pass. He was carrying luggage which would have probably kept an entire family running for a year. And Air Deccan was probably experiencing the worst day of its existence…! So huge line buildups…and what nots. And suddenly this gentleman ‘feels’ that the dude behind him…has managed to break the line and come ahead. And he starts off…BLAHBLAHBLAHALBHA $%#%*&%&@%#@^@#…ofcourse it takes only 1 microcell in the human brain to figure that if you are in the line…have a ticket…and there is only 1 guy who has managed to creep ahead of u…then the chances of you getting on that plane is almost 110%…!

But no…! sher-e-punjab…! Picks up a fight…! And guess who is right behind that guy in the line…yup…the Canadian couple…scared out of their wits…almost peeing in their pants…! So I basically asked them to simply step aside…handed them coke and large popcorn…and give them the enjoy go-ahead…!

Anyways…

Came back this Monday…and have been lazing around and busy doing that ever since. Placements almost nearing an end…so large plans are floating around for the remaining time at ISB. From dunking the dean…(??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!)…to trips to Goa…to parties and what have yous…! Seems to be a good time ahead…!

Something funny happened on Monday. I get a call from a Hyderabad number

Caller (a girl): Hello…is this Mr. Ankur
Me: Speaking
Caller: Good morning sir. I am calling from ICICI. We give off something called personal loans. Would you be interested…!
Me: (Give off…???? Wtf…!!): ummm…no…thanks for asking
Caller: OK sir. Sir…one more thing…what does Ankur mean…?
Me: (Ankur means answering the most wacky question ever asked by a telemarketing person)…ummm…it means a seedling…why do you ask?
Caller: ok sir…thank you…

?????????!!!!!!!!!!

Any clues…????

~a

I would say that the person in the post is incidental. It was simply the President of the US who had visited us…not an individual. This can be validated by the sheer fact that the placard displaying his identity also said Prez and not bushes and hedges…!

The experience was amazing. The setting was perfect. The atrium had never looked prettier! And the school never as excited.

He was scheduled for 1225 hours. We had to start assembling at 1000 hours…which we did. The security was tight…the frisking was equivalent to the US port of entry…! These ‘manual scanners’ must have the weirdest feelings within…about their job. I mean…how cool…or the opposite of it…is it to feel 300 guys in under an hour. And I mean…feel…believe me…if you are thinking on ‘those’ lines…you are actually not very far from the truth…!

So we take our seats and it’s a wait for the next 2 hours. We had good fun though…cracking monkey jokes…general arbit CP…trying to second guess his jokes…and very soon it was 1210. at that precise moment we heard the copter fly over us…the pre had arrived.

The next 15 mins were very similar to the pre-interview experience. The butterflies in your stomach suddenly realize that there is more room for them to dance than they ever thought…! And my stomach…oh u bet…there is an entire airfield…!

In comes Condaleeza Rice with Rajat Gupta (Chairman ISB Board and what not…check the link…!!!) I don’t know if you felt this…but it’s a pretty weird feeling when the person whom you have seen so much on TV…read so much about…is suddenly in front of you. its not a feeling of “oh my god…she will feel I am nothing as compared to her…”…but more like… “oh my god…she is actually real…and lo behold…looks the way she always does…!!!”

And then…

“Ladies and Gentleman…please welcome the ambassador Mulford…and the president of the United States”

And in come the 2 gentleman. It was pure basic instinct for everyone to get up. For all that he is worth…no one can deny the gravity of his post…

What followed was a 1.45 hour session with a select panel…and us as the audience. Some observations:

1. He was definitely wittier than I though he would be…very impressive…
2. He is totally bullish on India…!
3. And he was repeating this so much that he didn’t quite end up answering the exact questions that were asked…!
4. He has made some bad decisions in life…and we won’t ever…come to know why. But I do accept that his is not the best position in the world…I mean…I don’t for one envy his position…because everything that he does shall always have opposition. But then he has to take a stand…
5. “American is a nice country…and Americans are decent people. They are nice. You probably don’t like America because of me…”. Now that’s a humble statement according to me. I didn’t think this guy was capable of saying something like this…

Overall…great experience. Wonderful opportunity for ISB especially to put itself on the world map…which has started in a tremendous way with the kind of publicity this visit has provided. Phenomenal to say the least.

After his departure…students were interviewed…I was too…! By TV9…that’s the world famous Hyderabad channel…watched by close to 23 people…22 of whom work for the channel…! But what the heck…atleast someone watched…! :)

The 1st 10 mins of his time at ISB:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060303-3.html

~a

Today…I want to write so much about something that I can’t…! I am feeling helpless…at some level amazed at the image people actually have of me…and the difference between that image and the one projected to me. I then wonder if someone actually knows me…the real me…does someone really understand what I stand for…and why I say the things I say…and do the things I do…

Suddenly all that you have done…is not worth it…anymore…


Chuck…


So the big news…Bush is tentatively scheduled to visit ISB on Friday. It is not confirmed as yet…but then I don’t think it will be confirmed till the last minute. So the preparations are on full swing. The security is tight…we had a briefing this afternoon on the same…and its all very exciting. It is surely a matter of great honor to host the president of the US…and the person in that position is merely incidental. The visit will surely add a lot of value to ISB…in terms of recognition. Yah…this also makes us a possible terrorist target…! :)


Just came back after spending some awesome time at the amphitheater. I just love the cool night breeze on campus…it’s the best thing in the world. I simply lay on the grass…closed my eyes…and felt myself being lifted up…towards the sky…! There are times when I really miss astrophysics…! Sigh…!


Life is chilled out during term 8. Have taken 4 courses…

Negotiation: Awesome start to the course. The prof is very nice…and the sheer thrill of learning something such as negotiation is pretty strong. Looking forward to an exciting time in this course…

Retailing: Simply an add-on. Am not a marketing guy…and this was just one of the few marketing courses that I could have taken. The prof seems decent…definitely very knowledgeable.

World Literature: Rajeshwar returns. This guy rocks…if I could be even half as read as him…I would kiss my own feet. I mean…he is astounding…his oratory skills…his depth of subject…and the way he holds his audience is awesome. Rocking…!!!

Behavioral Finance: Quite contrary to what I thought this would be. Was really looking forward to this…but then the 1st class is perhaps not the best measure of its worth. Lets hope for a better time ahead…



Waiting for Tuesday…


~a

Only 2 more to go…and I am sure they shall convert very soon as well. I realize that its not the best position to be in…when people all around you are getting jobs and celebrating…but then I respect them for holding on to their nerves and not giving up. that’s what makes me so proud of them…and I know that this very trait of theirs shall take them far ahead in life.

Records are being broken left right and center. Record for the highest domestic and international package ever in Indian B-school history has already been established. And it doesn’t stop here. The number of people who have got placed in the 1st 6 days itself is phenomenal.

A very disturbing email was sent by an R2 applicant about the ISB placements this year. What makes the entire situation worse was that the ‘details’ had come from a current ISB student itself…who ofcourse was no where close to senses when he spoke. Things written in that email make you wonder if that last strand of intelligence had also died an unfortunate death in that ass****’s mind when he gave off the ‘real scene’…!

All this makes you disillusioned. And I hate to be writing all this here. But I need an outlet. If there is one thing I could wish for right now…its to catch hold of that guy…shake him up…so hard that he realizes the difference between ignorance and reality.

People…and this is especially for students coming in…need to understand a few things about ISB. And I shall act as the preacher today…

1. This is the basic…and if you get this…you will get whatever you want. ISB is not…repeat…IS NOT…a magic wand that shall get you to where you want to be. YOU WILL TAKE YOURSELF THERE…AND ISB SHALL MERELY FACILLITATE.

1. Which means that if you are looking for a career shift…from say IT to finance…you shall have to do that much more. It won’t happen just cause you are a fin major.

1. ISB is a lateral school. We are not in the business of closing our placements within 3 days. We have…and will always have…month long placements…wherein people shall negotiate on roles, compensation and the toilet paper brand used in the office…for eternity.

1. And hence…companies that comes during the 1st 7 days…are not the only companies that come. There is almost a 50% increment on that base…if not more.

1. With 279 students…and the average comp as 10.1 lacs (last yrs stats)…everyone does not get more than 10 lacs. That’s precisely why the average…the sum of all salaries divided by the number of students…get it…is 10.1 lacs. Hence…there are people less than this number as well…

1. The reason for this is the fact that not everyone pays the way the consults and the I-banks pay. Their business model is different. If an entire industry is surviving because of cost arbitrage then please don’t expect them to pay the equivalent of Bill Gates’ salary…! Please be realistic.

1. …don’t think that anyone in ISB doesn’t want you to get a good job. Everyone at ISB is working towards the same. So please trust the system…and support it. and even if you wish to criticize it…do so by entering into it and suggesting improvements…

1. And lastly…it is not that the top rankers get the best job. I wish I could share the stats of this yrs…but if we do a ‘CGPA adjusted compensation’…some guys will shock the toppers…! The entire thing is to simply stay focused…work towards your aim…network…leverage upon the batch strength in terms of its experience…and…pray…!

Today was a sweet day for the marketing group. ABP and Reliance gave off some real sweet offers. Almost everyone in the marketing domain got placed within hours…and the roles and compensations are sexy. People are bloody leading radio stations…and entire west regions…and what nots…! Awesome…

If everything goes fine…then I shall be closing my books tomorrow and can plan for a nice party and a delhi trip. Lets see how it works…


Apart from that…nothing else…! Yah…the Jessica lal case was quite shattering. Was feeling horrible for hours because of it…and almost broke down this afternoon while watching her sister’s interview. The system sucks…and what sucks more is that I don’t want to do a thing about it knowing very well that I should. I just don’t have the balls…bastard me…!


Sorry for the post…its not my usual…

~a

Never celebrated it…didn’t ever feel the need to…

Never bothered a heck about it…definitely didn’t buy someone a rose for 5K at an auction (and yes…this has happened in front of my own eyes…the very same with which I see…!)

Never thought it was even worth spending 5 microseconds on…there were better…far more important days to consider…


But what the heck…someone (and a marketing genius…would be my best guess)…has created the day…very smartly passed the entire buck onto some St. Valentine (who for all practical purposes was a divorcee…who cares…!)…however has managed (to near perfection) to move an entire generation towards the concept of the same. Impressive…

To this gentleman…and the feeling of love that permeates much beyond a single day…

Happy V Day…!


~a


PS:

• ISB has an awesome candlelight dinner scheduled for this evening. God damn it…I have my BCG dinner as well…! Career 1st…! :)
• Except for a few…many shortlists haven’t yet poured in. with placements starting Friday…I expect the new few days to experience a deluge of announcements. Damn my weak heart…!