Whispering Shadow

A journey is not defined by: where you come from where you go A journey is defined by: how you get through your time how much fun you have how you manage crisis who joins you on the way who walks away from you midway who seeks your help who you seek help from who promises to call you back once it is over who calls back once its over where you take breaks where you run out of your supplies when you almost quit what you take back home what you forgo why you took the journey in the first place

A culture that sank into the skin Pace that could make endurance go thin A new life in a new home We lived like the Romans in Rome Fighting, winning, playing and enjoying Adopting the best ways of surviving When all seemed lost, despair was in sight Came sparks of brilliance or luck gave respite Battered and broken, yet united Every achievement and joy celebrated Higher thresholds reached each time Bending the rules was no big crime Time flies; it is the season of ′lasts′ Shadows of the impending end it casts Nostalgia has set in; memories breach the mind There is so much that has to be left behind The buildings, the people and times we have had May be gone for good, which is sad The learning from experiences is here to stay Yet, on new paths, we may again go astray There is fear we are institutionalized Unfamiliar surroundings may leave us surprised “Where is the good in the good bye?” many ask, “Why is it such a painful task?” We travelled together in the same direction But let us no...

One Drink Down: Hi Riddhi and Namita Two Drink Down: Hi Ridddhi and Namitta Three Drinks Down: Hi Riddhee and Nameettaa Four Drinks Down: Hi Rikkee and Nimita Five Drinks Down: Hi Risky and Nimipa Six Drinks Down: Hi Whisky and Manipa And then he says: You are laughing on me thinking I am drink. But I am not drink. I'm sorry! (comes and hugs all the guys, one by one) Maaf kar de yaar. I am sorry! After some time: Saale main tera khoon kar doonga.. PS: Inspired by a true story!! ;)

Like a typical management student, I will begin this post on my first year at a b-school with statistics. In the past academic year at MDI, I have met and interacted with nearly 600 students who were strangers to me before I came here. Apart from students, I must have attended at least 3 dozen sessions by the acclaimed and not-so-acclaimed executives, senior managers and achievers who have come and spoken about why they are doing the best thing on earth. I have given 43 exams, 86 quizzes and submitted at least 20 projects. I have seen two placement cycles of 630 students. Three festivals and six loud, crazy parties have passed by. Been a part of two elections and become secretary of a club in the latter one. Lastly and most importantly, I am sure I have slept only 4 hours a night on 75% of the days (not verified, could be higher!). The frantic pace and the shocking numbers are perhaps the least pronounced change in my life. What has changed from my engineering years is, the rate of bon...

Satisfaction manifests itself in different ways. Satisfaction could come from the sense of achievement, peace, joy or relaxation derived from any one of the many activities one could possibly do. But the beauty lies in the fact that its effect leave an imprint on your head, a scar one wants to see over and over again to relive those times that have been. Again scar may not be the perfect word to use in a positive connotation but I simply use it as a last symbol of an event that led to strong emotions. I was scarred twice in the last fortnight. Two very different reasons led to two very different results but gave me the same amount of satisfaction. The first event I am talking of was my rafting trip to Kolad. The dense forests, the pristine waters, the unpredictable skies and the beautiful flora and fauna looked even prettier when observed from the quiet and fast moving rafts. There was no way I could have seen and absorbed so much natural grandeur in so little time. When added to the a...

Swines passed it on to humans. Humans passed it on to other humans. Some of the other humans came to my campus. Some of those living on the campus caught it by the virtue of ill fate but survived the scare. Some are lucky to have not got it still. Some have escaped it right in time. Those in the latter two categories may still not be completely out of its danger. The clock is ticking. Panic is increasing. People are leaving. Sounds like a typically d-day scenario of a movie. But it's true! I never thought I would have the opportunity to witness the panic of being stricken by the most hyped illness in the world. I shouldn't be sounding excited about it, but I can't deny the fact I am as excited as I am worried. In an otherwise extremely planned schedule for the next 3 months, most would have thought nothing could go wrong. But it did, and how, and how soon. If I could analogize the H1N1 virus with the Joker in the Dark Knight, it perfectly represents his ''agent of c...

Though the Time Machine in the H.G.Wells' novella may still be a distant reality, I have managed to discover its not-so-close substitute in the form of a b-school. It seems just yesterday that I landed at MDI, fresh and full of apprehensions about what the coming few months are going to throw on me. I have become one-sixth of an MBA since then, I have given 14 exams and 28 quizzes in the process, submitted around half a dozen projects and haven't quite realized where was it that the learning has happened, though I am certain it has. It is as if all the actions were involuntarily performed by a unknown side of me. What has happened more consciously is that I have been promoted from the nocturnal creatures to a qualified insomniac. Seniors say if you are sleeping too much, you are not making the most of your time in a b-school, which I partly agree with. Say for instance the last week from Monday to Friday, I slept for 4,5,3,4,2 hours per day respectively everyday. And sometimes ...

I don't know why I am writing this on my blog. It was 10:15 AM. I was in such deep sleep that only a canon shot could have awakened me. Or so I thought, until I was awakened by the ringtone of my cell-phone. I cursed the caller. Someone would have to be cruel to awaken a harmless soul from his sweet slumber. I heard a familiar voice. Once my brain had finished its daily booting routine, I managed to identify the owner of the voice. It was MS, my classmate and friend. I don't remember which language he spoke in but what he said vaguely translated to "Are you not coming for the lecture?" I told him that I was. I reiterated that the lecture was only at 10:15. That's when he broke the news to me "It's already 10:15." I went like "Oh F***, not again." Had it been any other phase of my education, I would have bunked with pleasure. My philosophy used to be "Why put in an effort in waking up for a boring lecture which again puts you to sle...

I just finished my lecture on Human Behaviour in Organizations (HBO) and have my Marketing Planning and Managerial Economics lectures coming up. The beauty of a b-school is that when you are doing the stuff you are supposed to do, i.e. study, you feel sleepy and when you are doing everything else that has no correlation with you becoming a manager, you are awake. It is involuntary. Which is why they have quizzes. Like today, our HBO teacher comes in and says I have a surprise for you. The whole class roars "No Quiz!!" Having a quiz is less surprising than not having one. But then 10 minutes of staying awake through those 10-20 questions is not as painful, is it? It is definitely less painful than a thirty page case study which you have to make a presentation on with one day's notice (my sympathies to my friends in HR). But then we don't start when we have 24 hours in hand, it is too un-manager-ly. We strongly believe that it is important to learn to handle crisis now ...

If I said the last post came after ages, this one has taken many more!! Time has flown by, all of a sudden, leaving me without much time to let any feeling of farwewell to sink in. Ironically, it has been the longest one month of my life. In addition to the expected preparations, tying the open ends of the threads of my life in Mumbai was not easy, especially when they are entagled with all the lives that have touched me deep in there and made all the difference. I also had important people to meet in Bangalore which made an added demand on my limited time. Amidst all the chaos, I didn't realise when I reached Gurgaon and how my first week in Gurgaon went by. Matter of factly, it was an incredibly long one too. I slept 3 hours on an average every night, with 45 minutes being the least in a day and 5 hours being the most. I had an option of paying up fines for sleep, delay and indiscipline (sleeping in sessions, stooping on the desk, etc.) but it was the easier way out. I chose to ...

One attempt, one call, one interview, one convert, one hell of an institute!  For a change, I surprised myself on my birthday. (c)All Rights for the logo are reserved by the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.