Random Thoughts

The year that was 2012 for me. January The winter of Indore got colder and grimmer with the Lateral Placements starting in the 1st week of Jan. But the cold and gloom did not last long. It was all bright and sunny at least for me after the first week of Jan. February Feb zoomed past in merry making and placement parties. 26 Hills became the home away from home for many of us. March Sense of ending zeroed in. Two years of MBA life came to an end. March ended with Convocation and saying good byes to many of our class mates. Some am sure will meet with and some probably not. But nevertheless, there is always hope. April Spent mostly in watching TV Series and waiting for the joining date and location. It was a relief that I did not get Chennai as my joining location, instead Kolkata welcomed me with 85% humidity and 40 degrees summer. May - July New place, new life, new friends. Explored Calcutta and its night life. Pub hopped, eat out almost every alternate day. In s...

After a gap of 10 years I am at home for Diwali! May the festival of light bring new hope and determination in your life! Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali!  

There is no limit to creativity. People find new and unique ways to express themselves. While most of us agree that for a Consultant, life revolves pretty much around power points. But what if you become so conversant with powerpoint that you start using it as a medium to express your creativity. You start creating art form using power point. Well, does this sound unreasonable? Have you ever imagined that someone could create a painting in PowerPoint? Yes, that is what my friend Rishabh Sachdeva is doing these days. He has created a Facebook page called  Power Painter , where he uploads his awesome Powerpoint art work. The whole concept has gone viral and in less than a week there are already 110+ likes and the whole concept is getting wide recognition and is highly appreciated by people on the internet. Do checkout the " Power Point Art " its pretty awesome. Photo source: Power Painter Artist: Rishabh Sachdeva             ...

So who will be the next president of US of A? Well, you might be thinking why would an Indian really care about who wins the US presidential race this year? Well, because we are all really living in an interconnected world now. Ripples in one side of the world become tsunami somewhere else! More so because last time when Obama ran for the top post, I must say that I was one of the millions who were inspired and believed in the promise of "Change" that Obama had promised. Things were really looking down then. Financial crisis, Iraq war, Afghan war, unemployment and so on and so forth.  Well, after four years probably am as confused as the Americans are. Did Obama deliver on his promise? Well, the economy may not be in great shape but its not that bad. The Obama care seems to be decent. But do I still believe in "Change" that Obama promised? Perhaps not! The first presidential election debate this year highlighted Mitt Romney as a serious contender for the O...

Finally got a chance to watch the movie Cocktail . I must say that the concept of the movie is good. The movie highlights the typical Indian male psyche.  While Deepika , the party type girl, is awesome when you are in college or you are casually dating, Diana is modern but with traditional values. So if you have to settle with someone, which type of girl would you choose? Deepika or Diana? I really liked the 1st half of the movie, its full of good songs and some good comedy especially when Saif  is doing the Sheeila ki jawaani scene. However, after the intermission, the movie slows down and get all sticky and emotional. Deepika comes out as a real bitch and Saif does not look good in the serious role. Howeever, Diana Penty does a great job and is looking really cute. Verdict- *** - Its a one time watch!

There is something special about Honey Singh and his music. Perhaps its the combination of the suffix Yo Yo and the name 'Honey' that sets a different expectation altogether. This chap makes some really cool Punjabi music and the videos are glossy and kind of contemporary. This year during Niloy's birthday on 14th Oct, I got hold of the complete list of Honey Singh songs and we played it till the guard from the apartment came and asked us to slow down the volume. Honey Singh's music is catchy and in particular I liked Dope shope, Brown rang, Angrezi beat. Check them out:

Well, I am really excited to see my peer reviewed grade in the 1st written assignment. This is the first time I am getting exposed to peer assigned grading and I cannot believe how well this works. The statistics and graphs that Daphne Koller had shown in this Ted talk make a lot of sense. In the Gamification assignment 1, I received a peer reviewed score of 10/10 and my own self assessment using the grading rubric was 10/10 and my self accessed grades and peer accessed grades have a perfect match not just in the grading but also in the "What I liked.." and "What could have been better sections..". This is really awesome. Gamification has been really a great course. More important to me because am trying to apply the concepts in one of our client's business area. Also Prof. Kevin Werbach is really cool and has a very engaging style of teaching. I love his approach and the three ink stylus that he uses in the course lectures. While learning on Coursera ...

Ever since I got into a project last month, life has become hectic and the time crunch has started chasing my plans. Suddenly, I am in the center of multiple things. From writing newsletter articles to selling a consulting asset and creating white papers. Multiple people and multiple tasks are now seeking my attention. The time crunch has become severe more so because of the BSCM certification that I am giving in mid September and the Coursera courses that I have enrolled in. But I must say I am enjoying this! The time crunch is forcing me to prioritize and make efficient use of time, thus am learning better time management. Because of so many things happening simultaneously, I am multitasking. The best part is that nothing has been neglected till now. What I am really happy about is that I have completed each and every assignment and Quiz on Coursera . The learning has been great and I am getting variety of tasks and learning. All I hope is that I continue this streak and m...

What is one constant struggle that thousands who live abroad or those who live a bachelor's life in India face everyday ? I am sure smart people such as you, who are reading this blog might have already guessed it. Well, the answer is food, or rather Indian food (the so called Ghar ka Khana) :) It is not that easy task to adjust one's palate to the western cuisine or to the 'dhaaba' food, especially for Indians who have been pampered with delicious home food for years. Not only is eating out expensive but also it is not very healthy. Many times the food available in the restaurant or the 'dhaaba' is too oily or too spicy. Believe me, having eaten out both lunch and dinner for almost 2 years in Bangalore and having lived in Zurich for 6 months, I have really understood the craving for home cooked food that one gets. At times its depressing, especially if you are abroad. But can this problem be solved? How do you overcome this problem and get the food that yo...

TED Talk on Coursera .

 I think it all began with MIT Open Course(MIT OCW). MIT  had made the class materials available online for free. With this simple initiative, thousands of students benefited across the world, however there was one drawback with MIT OCW , the class room experience was missing. There was no interaction with the professors and the education was rather of incomplete- it did not replicate the class room experience-peer sharing and learning was missing.  Last year Stanford started a new experiment and offered three courses online-      Machine Learning ,  Introduction to Artificial Intelligence  and  Introduction to Databases . Lecture videos were posted by the professors and students had to submit assignments and take quizzes. People who completed the minimum requirement were awarded a "Pass" certificate. Thousands of people participated in this experiment and thus began the new era of education. Coinci...

As the new batches join various B School campuses, I think it is apt time to share some gyan about the various clubs, committees and fests. Most of this gyan is based on my experiences and the experiences of my friends in various other campuses. During the first few weeks the students in the new batch are wooed by the seniors from various clubs and committees. Let me give you a sneek peak into what the different clubs and committees have in store and how useful they are on your CV and for overall personal learning and development. Placement Committee Let’s face it guys. Most of the students join B School for placements. Placement Committee is one of the most coveted committee on the B School campuses. Those who get in this committee not only have great visibility about the various opportunities but also hone skills such as managing expectations, negotiation and networking. The potential recruiter insight that you get as a placement committee member helps you make better career cho...

At least  6-7 people had recommended me to watch The Warrior , however I procrastinated for more than 4 months. Today finally I got the chance to watch the movie. And yes now I understand why so many people had recommended it. The Warrior is an awesome movie. It delves on the intricacies of human relationship. Although the context of the movie is "fighting", the real fight is that of human emotions and it embodies the spirit of never say die. Recommend that you watch this movie, if you haven't watched it already. Thanks to the movie, I came across the "About Today" song performed by The National band. Just love this song, nice and soothing music and good lyrics.

If you are in Kolkata and want to get in shape without doing any weights, then I would recommend that you check out Soumen's workout . It been a week since I joined it and I have already started seeing the effect within a week. Hopefully by end of three months I would be back in shape again.

After more than two months, thanks to the lack of money, I ordered a couple of books again. This week am planning to read the 1984 and A Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Both these books have been on my reading list but somehow I could not get hold of these books. I am hoping that with these two books, I will be back again into the reading business.

Its almost a month of living in the city of joy, Kolkata,now. The city has a great heritage and culture. The food is good and familiar and you can see good faces around. Park street is the life line of the night life of the city. But places such as Salt Lake and New Town, although good are really far off. Life is more or less like Bangalore. Weekdays- office, weekends- Malls. Let me share some of the common myths and realities associated with this place. Myth- Kolkata is really a cheap place. Reality- Not really. If you are working in IT and don't want to stay too far from the office then am sorry to say Kolkata is not that cheap. The area in and around Salt Lake is definitely as costly as Bangalore and Hyderabad. Myth- Transport is easy and good Reality- Not really. Esp. not many Volvo buses. Given the soaring temperatures, its very difficult to make a long commute in the WBSTC buses. Calcutta is like a US city when it comes to transport. If you have a car of your own, th...

With more than 3000 page views, this blog has reached a mark where I can publish the analytics which i find really interesting. Surprisingly the number of page views from US is more than that from India and the third largest page views come from Russia!! Windows leads the OS based analytics, followed by Mac, Linux and other Mobile OS such as  Android etc. The page views exhibit a similar distribution as is the actual market share of the OS market In browsers Chrome leads the way followed by Firefox and Internet explorer.

It’s really funny to read the  editorial  in the Chinese government's mouth piece Global Times. The article is kiddish and has certain traits of alarm. While India celebrates the success of the Agni V missile test, China seems to be brimming with anger and contempt. For instance the editorial states that "India should also not overstate the value of its Western allies and the profits it could gain from participating in a containment of China. If it equates long range strategic missiles with deterrence of China, and stirs up further hostility, it could be sorely mistaken.", clearly showing China's alarm. Other instances such as "India should not overestimate its strength. Even if it has missiles that could reach most parts of China, that does not mean it will gain anything from being arrogant during disputes with China. India should be clear that China's nuclear power is stronger and more reliable." proves that China is not ready to accept ...

Adages capture the wisdom to centuries in just a few words. I wonder why we keep ignoring them. For the last couple of days I have been following this age old wisdom and it  just feels great. I get up early in the morning at 5:00-5:15 am and then go for a walk. Am planning to start jogging again from tomorrow. The weather in Ranchi has been fabulous for the last few days. Occasional rain and clouds ensure that the maximum temperature is not very high and as a result the mornings and evening have become really pleasant. I hope that I would be able to continue this regimen and thus become 'healthy wealthy and wise'. So come on folks, all of you who are reading this post, buck up!! Invest your time in your well being and stay healthy!! What a way to start a day- a 6:30 am blog post!!

Its been a week since I received my joining date and location. After the initial one week induction from 24th April at Chennai, I will move to Kolkata, which would be my primary work location at Cognizant. Coincidentally, I have got allocated to the Retail industry. Lets see what's in store for me there?

My curiosity about Indian mythology was kick started after I read the book Myth = Mithya by Devdutt Patnaik last year. This book provides an easy to understand contemporary style understanding of the Indian mythology.  While I was reading Myth = Mithya , some of my friends were reading a fiction on Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of destruction, written by Amish, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta. Well, I resisted the temptation to read this book because I was fully immersed in the rational arguments that Devdutt Patnaik had given in his book and did not want to pollute my rationality with fiction. However, I decided to read the book after my old roommate from MIT, Shashi , recommended it. With so many of my classmates having the book, it was not that difficult to get hold of a copy. I started reading the first book of the three books Shiva Trilogy, The Immortals of Mehula. Well, having read the book I must say that it is a gripping story and Amish churns out a whole new pers...

  Well have been watching a lot of TV series these days. In the last few weeks I have watched five seasons of House MD, two Seasons of  Big Bang Theory, one seasons of Doctor Who, Season 7 of How I Met Your Mother, Season 1 of Heros, the debut season of Suits and Season 1 of The Dewarist.

The culmination of all the cases, assignments,projects, competitions, exams, quizzes and many more things came when I received my certificate at the 13th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Management Indore. From a participant in the PGP program, I am an Alumni now. The phase of my life called the 'B School' has come to an end now!!

Am starting on my journey to Indore to attend the Convocation ceremony. It would probably be the last time when the entire batch will be on the campus at the same time. Mr. K V Kamath, the former Chairman of ICICI Bank and Chairman of Infosys, would be the chief guest of the ceremony. Hoping to have a good time.

Another good movie from George Clooney!! The movie revolves around how a lawyer and a sole trustee of a big property tries to reconnect with his daughters after their mom goes in coma. He discovers something about his wife from his daughter and then goes on to meet someone who had a role in it. Watch it for Clooney's cool and composed acting, a good story plot and good Hawaiian background and music score.  My Rating: ***1/2 Well, Hawaii is really beautiful. It's on my list of places to see now.

United States of America is really a great country. It is a place where people get the opportunity to bring out the best in them and pursue the American dream. Am sure you would be wondering what has triggered these lines and awhat is this all about? Well currently am reading The Art of Choosing written by Prof. Sheena Iyengar . The book is very interesting and gives us an insight on how we choose to do things, why do we make the choices that we make  and so on and so forth. But what is really brilliant and inspiring is that Prof. Iyengar is almost blind right from her childhood and  that despite of her physical set back, she has achieved so much in life. Well am not saying that she was not capable of but what I am really implying is that perhaps this is what America is all about. It empowers you and brings the best out of you. Frankly, I haven't heard of any Indian with a similar physical disability who has achieved something a great as Prof. Iyengar...

So someone who has the b**ls to take a bold step in the name of reform and do some service for the country is punished for doing his job well? When almost every party is in consensus that the hike is good for the giant machinery that carries millions of Indians everyday. Even the goddamn Unions approved the move!! But no the 'didi' is the ones who pulls the trigger while the 'surd' look meekly and runs for shelter under the spaghetti mommy's desk . All that the woman wants is a remote controlled dummy. Well, if this is how our country is going to be ruled then God help us. 

Today when I head to our usual hang out,26 Hills, I won't get the IIM discount which until now had helped me knock off the tax charged on the food and booze. Yes, this evening when I returned my ID card, I made a transition from being a participant and became an Alum. Till now I am not having any feelings as such. Well, lets see if this will remain the same way tomorrow when I actually leave campus. Maybe if not tomorrow I might get some feeling when I come for Convocation. But, something inside me tells that I will maintain the status quo. Lets see, it will become clear in the coming days.

Love the song called 'Maaya' from Indian Oceans and Mohit Chauhan, its very addictive. The Dewarist has been a great discovery. Kudos to Monica Dogra for doing such as fabulous show.

In the sixth term I got an opportunity to take electives that had a touch of psychology in it. These included behavioral finance, investment philosophy and neurology of decision making. These electives were offered by the visiting professors and hence were better that those offered by the permanent faculty. Through these electives, I got a sneak preview in the behavioral and neurological factors that affect decision making and management. I think Psychology as a subject is really very rich and it is a pity that it does not get much recognition in India. Perhaps, we should have some central social sciences universities on the line of IITs and IIMs only then can this field of study improve in this country.

Caution: Readers' discretion is advised. The views expressed here are completely personal and the point of view expressed here will vary from individual to individual in the same batch. I am not responsible for any fall out arising out of your reading this post on this blog. Someone asked me on my views on whether a new student should join IIM Indore given the batch size. Well, I will try to cover certain aspects that will throw some light for future applicants. Having spent two years here and more so because I am part of the first graduating batch of size 450, I have developed an understanding of things that work and that do not work at Planet-I. I believe that these views are more pertinent for people with 3 or more than 3 years of work exp but nonetheless these views are universal as well. Although, I believe that freshers have very little at stake in studying at an IIM, be it L,I K ,S or any of the new IIMs. As far as the size of the batch is concerned, yes 450 is a huge...

When the clock strikes 10 tomorrow morning my last class at Planet-I would come to an end and so would a whole era. It all started on 11 th July in 2010 but somehow I don’t remember which my first class was? I think somehow our brain just remembers the outlines and not the details.  Well, these twenty months have been quite a journey. On many counts Planet-I surprised me and at times fell short of my expectations. I think the perennial Indian problem of not that great teacher continues even at the IIMs. Had it not been for the visiting faculty, many of whom had 15-20 years of industry experience; probably I would have rated the faculty quality as really low. Joining an IIM after four years of work was something I was not very sure of. In fact in June 2010, I had almost made my mind to go to the US but then something changed. However, given that most of my class mates had similar work experience dispelled those doubts. But life at Planet-I has been terrific to say the ...

Came across this beautiful song from Rolling Stones while watching House TV Series. Awesome lyrics and so apt. Rock and Roll, i am so much in love with thee.. I saw her today at a reception A glass of wine in her hand I knew she would meet her connection At her feet was her footloose man No, you can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want And if you try sometime you find You get what you need I saw her today at the reception A glass of wine in her hand I knew she was gonna meet her connection At her feet was her footloose man You can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want You can't always get what you want But if you try sometimes you might find You get what you need Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh... And I went down to the demonstration To get my fair share of abuse Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration If we don't we're gonna blow a ...

Yesterday I finished reading   Steve Job's biography   and I must say that it is the best biography I have ever read.  I found the initial part of the book very very interesting. The really liked the way the book discusses Steve Jobs thought through, his adoption, his inspirations from the counter culture, dropping out of college with a firm belief to do something better, his dislike for authority, the cross over from a hacker to a business man, the work in garage and his passion for perfection. I felt exhilarated while reading the start-up story. It is really the small-small things that make such a huge difference in perception of a company- something that Steve and Apple excelled at. One thing that is very striking in the book is the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Silicon Valley in particular and the US in general. Form getting industrial designs to getting a precision work done in a factory, things just fall in place so fast in the US!! Wonder whe...

Today I watched the movie  Up in the Air again. Somehow I find the movie quite close to my heart. One of the reasons why Consulting is my preferred career choice is because it would give me the opportunity to travel. Every time when I have been Up in the Air  I have felt at home. The airport, taxis, announcements i just love them. I also love Ryan Bingham's philosophy in the movie - 'Life in a suitcase'. Overall a good movie and one that I can relate to.

In my last post Mega Sale , I had mentioned how companies are flocking to the IIMs and other B School campuses to hire talent at affordable prices. But it seems to me that the party is over. The placement scenario across IIMs is looking down. Offers per company is down and lot of recruiters are not turning up to the campuses, although there are a few exceptions where few companies are coming back and opening more profiles. I guess the winter chill has percolated down the job market as well.

Have you ever chased something and when you got that thing wondered was the chase really worth all the trouble? Or have you felt the longing for the wilds when you hit the plains? And what if you don't have anything in sight, immediately to chase? Are you one of those who get scared when things feel like settling down? Are you of the type who get anxious at the thought of a safe and settled life? Well, suddenly a sense of emptiness has taken over me. As I enter the final month on Planet-I the thought of going back to work and corporate life is making me nervous again. Somehow am unable to imagine that I will have to drag of myself to the 9am-6pm job. So was it meant to end this way? Something within me is rebelling to try out something new, start a new crusade, seek a new goal, start a new chase and run again. But are there somethings worthy of a chase? Imagine that there are somethings, but which one should I choose? Which way to go? Or is it time just to hang my shoes...

Yesterday the New York Times published a news report in which the news reporters Charles Duhigg and David Barboza reported that the conditions in the factories of Foxconn, one of the big suppliers at Apple is inhuman and that there were deaths sometime back. Well, this report does not bring something new, factories in South, SE Asia and China all have rampant inhuman practices. Nike faced boycott and protests in the US which forced the company to act and hold its suppliers accountable. Nike now has much better working conditions in the factories of its suppliers in SE Asia. IKEA is one company that has got a lot of success in collaborating with its supplier to adhere to its supplier code. Perhaps companies such as Apple must take a cue and do something to improve the work conditions in the factories of its suppliers. Although the news report highlights similar inhuman conditions in the factories of companies such as Dell and Samsung, I felt that the report was biased agains...

In 2009, I got hold of a copy of the Satanic Verses  while I was in Zurich. Actually a friend who was travelling from London asked me what should he bring for me, and I requested him to bring the Satanic Verses. For three months the book was just lying on my table. Occasionally some of my friends would borrow it but would return it within a couple of weeks. Most found the book very heavy. It so happened that I was travelling and did not have any other book to read so I took the Satanic Verses to read on the train journey. Once I started reading I could not keep it down. I found the start very captivating. The story starts with two protagonists, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha,  both actors of Indian Muslim background, falling down  after the plane bomb blast. In a miraculous transformation one person transforms into  In a miraculous transformation, Farishta takes on the personality of the archangel Gibreel, and Chamcha that of a devil. And th...

Facebook is abuzz with new campaign videos of The Times of India (ToI) and The Hindu . While the ToI started the battle, it seems to me that The Hindu had the last laugh. The Hindu's video captures the essence of the spirit of the ToI, write and publish what sells (read Sex and Hollywood). In my opinion, there is no newspaper that has the same journalistic analysis and rigor that the Hindu has, perhaps the Indian Express comes a distant second. 27/01/2012 Well, let me decipher the marketing elements of the campaign. Times of India goes for a 'Frontal attack', wherein the ad/video has a Tamil tune, post its launch in Chennai. The Hindu retaliates and uses 'Attribute' based product attack.  The dumb people and the 1,2,4, 5.. pages ad just pick the key associations that readers have with ToI and the Hindu puts up a brilliant attack. This campaign which was started by the Times of India uses the principles of Integrated Marketing Communication, i.e. controversy f...

What would you do if you went for shopping at Louis Vuitton and got the best merchandise at through away prices? Am sure if you have some additional money and budget then you will buy some more stuff. Recruiters at the various IIMs are experiencing a similar 'boom'. With the lateral placements in progress across many IIMs and other reputed B Schools, recruiters are coming in huge numbers and hiring the best talent at affordable salaries. Unlike previous years when most of the IT and Tech companies did not get the best talent pool from the IIMs, this year has been different. Rank holders and the 'Fin' guys are accepting offers from IT Consulting firms. Chinks in the Armour of the IIMs are becoming visible now. Many of the 'Fin' companies that come to campuses prefer freshers and try to diversify their workforce by recruiting fresh faces, while many people with 3-4 years work experience and certifications such as CFA and FRM watch from the fence. In fact one ...