Saturday, June 27, 2009
Welcome to SPJIMR-Road to Success
Monday, June 22, 2009
Serendipity
My living room faces the serene most part of our college -SPJIMR, Mumbai.... I pull up a chair on to my balcony watching those thunderous clouds calmly cover it with a blanket of dew drops....no aggression...no fidget. Just pure love and I call it love as I associate emotions to everything that’s beyond my understanding. And nothing so beautiful as a cloud pouring over a forest can define love. Unconditional love!
Nature is our elixir to living.. we have all read it some place…some where but today as I sit, open arms embracing it in me I know why it is said so…
I usually walked back home from my office...not tired but neither upbeat...nothing new..but today something was different and I feel this cool breeze flowing all over me…the same I feel when Its night 2 and the forest wind wishes to blow...it has a magic to soothe you…those who haven’t lived near one will never know the feeling of flying…slowly and calmly…
I was morbid that day…walking back home wasn’t that great either as I was preoccupied with my ever restless mind, asusual... I slammed the door as I entered…and I wonder how “coming back home to someone” seems entirely out of place when u start living alone…sometimes you are happy to find the solace of living out of the human mess that runs around you day in and day out. My hpstel room has glass shutter. So when it rains we pull those glass walls over and let the coolness come in, that day I just lay still.. lying on the floor of my room, drops of rain wetting me mildly… and I lay still…
I closed my eyes and like a movie reel everything ever happy to me flashed around me .
I saw me along with my two other friends playing football in the middle of the night with mud all over us...I saw my mom brewing coffee and me getting wet endlessly in my garden. I see swooshing all over the city up on a racer bike with my best buddy on the wheels…I see my dad painting intensely a snowfall in Russia…I see driving…driving farther and farther alone in an empty road when its 5 in the morning.
I see standing alone in a white sand beach with a boat sailing far east…I see walking and talking the world over with my sister…I see looking into the eyes of serendipity standing in the fields of my college…I see love holding a hand in pain…I see hope in a drop of tear for the unsaid affection…I see two mad friends bike racing….I see floating in the pool with night being bluest of blue and stars shining all over me….I see running … running behind a bus madly to follow it….I see anger for not forgetting the loss…I see passion to find Cassiopeia, the cluster of stars….I see faith in losing loved ones…I see me dancing in the high in trance…I see friendship beyond boundations…
And then I see me standing at the end of a road, my dad at the other end urging me to walk towards him…when I was less than three …. The earliest memory I ever had and the happiest I’ll ever have.
I open my eyes…
And I see nothing…no hope...no love...no fantasy...no fear…..
How beautifully my life has come to a fraction still…to a stillness that has no answer even to an anguish as deep as losing heart beats…to a stillness which is as black as a forest in the night. And how I wonder nature is elixir to us…
I know loneliness is surreal…it’s difficult to define. But it exists in love and hate…it co-exists till our existence diminishes into the sands of time. and there’s just one reason for it to survive within us to let us know what we are worth of…to let us know why we would still get up and walk back home every single night just to ‘hope’ that tomorrow we might live just another moment which we will never forget for the rest of our lives…which we would see when we close our eyes …no inhibitions…no regrets!
“And when I reach at the end of the forest, looking at the joy of following trees after trees...just like kids...counting berries and feeling the wing beneath my feet I know my walk Is done and I know that the walk was worth to remember all my life…
Your own!!
Indrajoy
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Inarticulate Man
i didn't get the opportunity of going through all the blogs ( i m a real lazy bum, my friend Hanoz will vouch for that ), but i did go through sum of them . it fills my heart with awe and a sense of inspiration of what people have achieved in such a short span of time.. the diversified roles that they have played, has inspired me to become an all rounder and not rectangular (both literally and figuratively), as what i am now.. which brings me to myself
well i m really an ordinary guy who just got lucky in getting admitted to this prestigious institute. as for my nature, you may call me an optimist with a touch of being unrealistic to sum extent . but then that the way i m. for those people who are tuned in to the tv series "Friends" , i m a bit like chandler :-)
well that's me .. whew cant believe myself that i had written so much about myself. i m not an essayist but i do sometimes write poems . here is one of them which i hope will summarize about me
my mind churns with ideas
i don't know where to keep them
if i open my mouth to speak,
i know i will be shunned then
through space n time
i thought i had traveled far n wide,
but when i look the people around me
i feel that i m just a child
but that day will come soon
when i will be known by everyone
be it bouquet of flower or string of verbals
i will be hated n loved by everyone
well that's it for now.. will meet ya on 18th
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The countdown begins....Prologue to our journey.....
& as has been the case in the past month….I always chose the 2nd alternative….
Thnx to all the wonderful pfc posts and doubts wala threads on orkut….I now exactly know where to book my seat during the pfc test….
Thnx to Larry page & Sergey Brin, the number of mails in my mail box is restricted or reading the mails wud in itself be a pfc…The mails on "new laptop" have put me 2 shame….if only these mails wud have come in 2 yrs ago before I purchased my laptop…I’d have known there were so many options…daaammnnn…
Somebody was touted as being the guy who’d decided to attend meets in all cities…..ended up attendin the hyd meet…bang meet…almost ended up attending the delhi meet…Unfortunately dat somebody was me …:-(
People who hav resigned from their jobs were busy adding up to their friends list and scrapbook…Except for the “ghanan ghanan” posts, thnx to all the other posts I now know
1) I don’t have 2 do ne laundry
2) how local trains in mumbai run
3) info for all guys who wore lungis that no lungis were sold in mumbai
4)whom I need to go to if I need a thread and a needle
5) and most importantly for me…whom to get to for an mp3 player….an umberella......dvd having friends season-8….they are all supposed to be in my room but I cant find them and I dont have to go searching for them now….My work ex certi is also missing…If only som1 had posted about dat :-(
The kudos mails were pleasing to the recipient but they did manage to bring out the inherent wrath in a few. “Yaar koi bhi ladki kuch bhi info ya mail degi tho hazaar log well done & thank u karke mails daalte hain…Wohi ladka mail bheja tho ek bhi thnx kuch nahin….bahut na insafi hai”….
For some life@sp may not be as rosy as it would be for the others…..
Like all manirathnam movies let me take you to the future a bit....
One fine Friday morning when at SP, our hero Raj is up and ready for the ordeal….
Raj : Darling zara gaadi ka keys dena….mujhe college jaana hai….
(jhaadu and belan come flying towards him flung by Mrs.Raj)….
Mrs.Raj : Barthan maajne ko bola tha…..ghar ki saaf safai karne ko bola tha…khaana banane ke liye bola tha....ek bhi kaam nahin kiya….aur sahib zaad college chale…..sab karke jaana ….hafte bhar ka quota….(Followed by a couple of kicks and punches by Mrs.Raj)….
This is the future…..For wat happened in the past check out the web vivaah invitation of our mate Rajesh….mate.. my sympathies are with you…
But your web invi was just awesome ….all the best :-)
Moving on, one fine day, I was in my usual slumber when suddenly ******* pings me…
******** : Abeyyy…breaking news....orkut main dekh…jaldi….ek nayi ladki hai jisne ekdum jhakaas threads start ki hai…
Me (deep in slumber) – hmmm
******** - Abeyy….mujhe lagta hai woh koi ladka hai fake id main…sp ke chaaron list main uska naam nahin hai….
Me (deep in slumber) – hmmm
******** - Kya kar raha hai tu….sooo raha hai kyaaa….
Me – Haan bewkoof….Cupid se meri baat ho rahi neend main….disturb mat kar
With reference to the “Single or committed” thread : Ronaldo and Shane Bond might have "ruined" a few chances but otherwise,Cupid takes no time to strike…Everyone's tryin to do a Chetan Bhagat by “finding their love during MBA”…"Some" have already convinced cupid…..I was no different in my quest to do so and hence the deep slumber I was talking of earlier…
Me : Cupidddd….Plz bless me…
Cupid (With a disgusted look) – Even YOU want to find love….Now that’s asking too much
Me (Sharmate hue) – Yaa…plzzzz
Generous Cupid : Ok…Here you go….I grant you your wish….As you have no love interests now here is the love I grant you…. you will fall in love with operations in the next 2 yrs…
How well cupid read my mind :-P
I’m glad thr are 2 varuns in our batch…..coz after this im sure he’ll take half of the kicks I deserve…Thnx mate….
Well…The countdown has begun…Hoping to have a gr8 2 yrs ahead with all the “fully faltoo pappus, lalloos, chattus, zoozoos, bond gals and bonds” out thr….
Looking forward to meet you all….
Cheers!!!
For all the light hearted : All characters in the above post are purely fictitious and do not bear resemblance to anyone living or dead....Any resemblance is however purely coincidental :-P
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
late lateef!!!
sorry for joinin in so late but im not the very blog kinds..
I am Anchal Gupta..a humble graduate(B.Com(H)) from Shri Ram College Of Commerce,DU.
This was my first attempt of cat..dint have a very gr8 percentile to make it to IIMs n all..but luckily sp happened for me..n that too finance specialisation..people have posted profiles here which can really be boasted about but ive a very simple list of credentials..acads have always been my forte..n thats the only thing i can REALLY boast abt..
so class XII was 97.5%
class X was 95%
Grad:73%(awaitin my final yr results though)
CAT:some 93.3 percentile(i kno its really bad)
XAT :some 97 percentile..
apart from that ive been a part of college societies like the commerce society,english literary society,book club etc..have been involved wid social service since school..
my other interests include reading-Paulo Coelho bein my favorite..i also enjoy swimming..
i guess i shld end this blog asap..before i ve stones welcomin me in sp..
heres sendin a warm hi to all my pals in sp..lookin forward to meetin u all really soon!!!
The Curious Case of CD….Who???
Hey everyone!! Finally i'm here...before I start with my Ram Lila:)…I would like to say, I happened to go through quite a few posts and my reaction wouldn’t be very difficult to imagine. I was like GOOD GOD!! What profiles!! N a plethora of script writers arriving at SPJ:)…now I know why SP rocks n why it would continue to do so…Anyways getting back to what I’m here to do…
Born n brought up in Hyderabad. Dad is from Punjab n Mom is from U.P. but I’m a hyderabadi at heart, minus the telugu though, could never really get a hold of the language. Have done my tenth n twelfth from hyd and my engg. from VIT (I’m talking abt Vellore Inst. Of Tech., not the one in Pune…I’m sure our very own Classical Pratul will get this one:)). Took up biotechnology as my stream coz I honestly don’t know why? Something just told me that this is what I have to do, but then after four years I’m glad that I did and hopefully I’ll be doing something related to that. I graduated in 2008, got placed in CTS…kyunki IT industry mein toh job kisiko bhi mil jata hai…tried for jobs in the biotech industry, but wasn’t getting a good profile n guess what?? CTS deferred my joining date and by how much, I’m supposed to join them on 28th Dec, 2009…now that’s called HARD LUCK! So happened to try my hand at various MBA entrance exams and now thanks to SP, I go around telling people I never really wanted to work in the IT industry:).
- Co-Authored a technical paper published in the journal “Current Science”.
- Authored a technical paper published in VIT IEEE Magazine.
- Participated in quite a few plays during my Schooling.
- And have done a bit of Social Work.
10th – 83%
12th – 89.5%
Engg. - 8.77/10.
Call- Profile Based (Marketing).
CAT - 92.48; a real bad day!! :(
XAT – 98.13
My SP interview will definitely be one of those experiences that I’ll remember for a long time. Though I had an edge coz before my SP interview I had already managed to clear IIFT-D. So was pretty chilled out…but I did not want to get rejected in the very first round. First round wasn’t really great…I really doubted my chances. But then I got through and it felt like I made it in, even before the second round happened. Second round was the weirdest interview I have ever attended:)…had no clue as to what happened in there…but I knew that I made my mark…and so here I am.
About my interests…well I’m crazy about football...just love playing the game. I hope I manage to find quite a few guys who share my enthusiasm about the game and we happen to find time for a few games as well. Am a fan of the Panthera genus…particularly Panthera tigris.
Really looking forward to meeting you guys at SPJ. Hoping that we’ll have a great time there.
P.S.: CD- Chetan Dhawan:)
The road to SPJIMR !!
What a year it has been!! … If I sit back and take account of the year 2009, I would slap myself more than a couple of times and give myself a pat on the back. Details on the same follow. But before I get there I must mention this. I spent the whole day in office today reading blog entries by rockstars, guitarists, violinists, karate champs, poets, singers, sportstars, debators etc. etc, not to forget the percentiles and percentages (which in some cases made me feel dizzy). Hail all!! Speaking of myself, the diversity stops at sports and music, just to make things clear, playing-sports and listening-to-music, NOT vice versa. I have tried my hand at everything, from kabaddi to golf. Some achievements here and there in related areas is what earned me a call from SPJ, yes I am a profile guy!!
Anyways, coming back to the year 2009, in my case it will not just be remembered for the SPJ success. Mine is a classical case where I will cherish the journey more than the destination. The journey has been long. Longer than it should have been. 4 years of preparation to get admission for a 2 year course defies all logic!! Okay, so let’s board the time machine.
CAT '07: The run up to CAT '07 was a tough one. Loads of work at office and little time apart from that. Had put my best foot forward inspite of all that. Screwed up DI. Got an offer to travel onsite. Accepted! Bunked all other exams. 2 days after I travel I get a call from SPJ. Alas!!
July '08 - Nov '08: Every single day I thought of getting down to pen and paper already having lost a lot of time. But it finally came down to the last 2 days.
CAT '08: Not much hope as I walked in. As an experienced campaigner, I didn’t find it too difficult to keep myself busy for the 2 or so hrs. Post exam the familiar "I screwed up" feeling followed.
Week after the CAT Sunday: An on-site offer yet again!! (Is this some kind of a screwing strategy?) This time with incentives added, one of them being a lot of friends from office travelling together. And just for 2 months. I gave the nod. Did not fill rest of the forms. But was sure of getting a call from SPJ keeping in mind the trend in the last 2 years. SPJ didnt disappoint :)
The fun begins ……..
Jan '09: Travel to China. Thought of preparing for the interview, but with a 9 to 9 office schedule it was like mission impossible!! Most of Jan I was sure that I would return much ahead of time for the interview.
Feb '09: Work started piling up and the chances of returning for the interview were fading real quick. Time for Plan B. The falling sick drama. It had to be serious and it had to be real. But there was a twist in the tale. I had tickets booked for a pleasure trip to Beijing late Feb. So the onset of the ailment had to be timed to perfection.
Late Feb '09: Beijing happened. Missed my flight on the way back!! A night at the airport, starbucks, Mac and a home made video of my random thoughts on anything and everything. (For all you guys, if u ever wanna record your thoughts, record it on cam. Its 1 helluva experience!!)
Mar '09: Time to execute plan B. What should the disease be?? (Lymphopsychoma of the intestine ?? he he …) Whatever it is it should be good enough to get everyone concerned! So I decided not to go too technical on the medical front and decided on "blood-in-the -sputum-don’t-know-what". The confession was followed by a medical test by a chinese doc who shoved like a 100 metallic instruments down my throat expecting to find an alternate source of energy there. Results negative!! Plan worked to perfection!! I had to go back to India for further diagnosis!!
Twist in the tale: Return date was decided as 24th of Mar, the day of my interview. Damn!! Damn!! I had to come up with another lie. On the spot!! And I came up with "I have to go see my family doc who knows my med history and he is travelling abroad on 23rd. So I have to be there by 22nd at least". A voice in my head kept saying "What the hell are you saying??". But they bought it!! Voice in my head says "Well done!!"
The return: It was the most unpleasant journey ever!! I lost my laptop. I knew where I left it. Just a 2 minute walk back to fetch it but I couldn’t. Bloody international borders!!
Even without any preparation, I had a feeling that a convert was possible!! After all, you win some, you loose some!! I had already lost enough. I guess God was just being fair and making up for the losses that i suffered. After reading the experiences on PG, I thought every1 had an equal chance and I was no hot-shot. But then came the first list and my name honoured the SPJ website!! So after 3 years of work-ex, 4 years of CAT-ex, innumerable mock tests from all possible coaching instis(and not to mention the lost hours of sleep on Sundays), a couple of sacrifices and a whole lot of lying, I made it !! The hangover still remains!! :)
Some facts and figures for those interested: %age 77, 90, 86.6. %ile 93.39(CAT), XAT bunked, no other calls. Extra curriculars include state level TT, and some prizes for sports in school. Award for paper on "Plagiarism detection" (inspite of 4 years of dedicated plagiarism in college ;)), scouts and some achievements at work. (not enjoying typing this boring stuff). I got no idea what got me in, but for now I am just trusting the interviewers better judgement!!
As a person, not an extrovert. Not really an introvert. Very very short attention span. Rebellious to anything that requires effort. Always game for an adventure. Love challenges. Daring for sure. Do first think later. Love travelling. Love eating (have had octopus, snails, frog etc. So nothing is beyond me!!) . Share an affinity for the unconventional. I goof up very often, each time bigger and grander than the last. (with the lost laptop the bar is set really high now, am scared of whats to follow). And yes, I generally make a very bad first impression.
See ya all at college :)
P.S.: This was my first attempt at writing. Please excuse me if I am not too articulate :)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Living the dream...
Well, let me start off by sayin...since 21April & aftr interacting wit a few batchmates, i feel lik Santiago from d movie Goal2-Living the dream..playin along wit d likes of Beckham, zidane..4 real madrid(i m sure all d footies here mustve seen it, n hav a clue wat i m talkin bout)....
my story hasnt been any diffrnt, infact worse...coz santiago was atleast talented...
ya...thats d way i m..big time movie buff...alwaz relating everythng 2 some movie or d other...
So, i m living d dream....actually, as i m a fiercely independent person, getting 2 liv in a hostel on my own, is lik d icing on d cake....so its lik living two dreams.... :-)
I wont bore every1 wit my profile...any1 interested in it can ping me, i'l fwd my profile-sheet 2 em...;-)
I m d quintessential avg mumbai guy who slogs hard n parties harder...who luves his vada pav n swears by the reliance/efficiency d local trains ...who makes instant buddies wit d fellow hanging @ door commuters...is proud dat his 7:40 churchgate fast is the true spirit of a secular india, whre all dat matters is dat u get 2 ur destn. on time.
I m a littl bit of many things...i hav frnds who range rite 4m addicts, to MTech n NASA techies...can talk bout philosophy,spiritual elevation/detachment & sensual pleasures with d same dexterity...from sacrificing everyting 4 acads..to getting boozed out on goa beaches....from donating blood..to giving bloody noses(relax, it was a long time ago, swore nevr 2 repeat dat feat)...
i believe u gotta try diffrnt things get a hang of d bigger picture...i hate monotony...u tend to get so lost in a monotonous existance...that u bcum blind 2 d world beyond...
Coming bck 2 SPJ...I can totally relate to what aditi was talkin bout when she saw her name on d 1st list...in fact i kept refreshing that 1st list page all week...jst to make sure that i reallly indeed did make it...it took more than a week for the reality to actually sink in...coz it has been such a rough ride so far...with Damm Murphy's law kicking in everytime....take last yr 4 eg: be it big project deadlines jst b4 cat or breakups jst b4 xat...or anothr big project deadline jst b4 the SPJ GIs.
Anywaz..wit jst 90%ile in both cat n xat(talk bout consistency!!)..SPJ was nuthin short of a dream. Thanks go d 4 small mercies that they hav a profile-based call ka funda.....looks lik d few worthwhile things dat i hav done in life pulled me through....
Anywaz...i m realllly lookin fwd 2 d 18th..d big day...a new beginning...new frnds...new fundas...new stratergies...new challenges....
Its gonna b a big thing 4 an avg joe lik me 2 b sitting wit giants....hopefully i can emulate newton 1 day..n repeat his famous cliche..;-)
i hav known d SPJ campus since i was a kid, as my shcool is on d same campus...its gonna feel lik goin bck 2 school...
I dunno whethr 2 say more or not...bt i guess lets leave d rest 4 campus....;-))
Another vegabond on the loose...
Ok..so here I go again...jet setting once again from the cosy comforts of Delhi where I have been nestled for the last 5 years.. to Mumbai where I belonged for 13 growing years of my life...
Actually its almost written down some where...and so forces of nature transpire that every few years I get to skate board to a different location...from 'Bambai' (dts wt it ws called then...meri jaan!!)..to Jaipur...to Kolkatta...to Bombay(thanks to the swish town side crowd)...den came Delhi..and then finally back to where my heart always belonged..aamchi mumbai(Hail the MNS.. unite all:)..I of coz have to thank my dad for his sarkaari naukri for this;)
Yeah...so enough on my globe trotting expeditions..lets fast forward to the day i got the call from SP Jain......i thought..there was some error for sure..amongst the Stalwarts of finance...it was higly improbable that some one with such a "random" streak of arbit achievements would make it through in the Profile based call list..So..in a fit of excitement..paranoia...hyper tension...exhilaration...superr perspiration..n gawd knows wt al..i asked my parents to log in and check once again if it ws really my name or some "judwa behen" making an appearance at the most inoppurtune moment...!!
All confirmed...I decided it was a "random" stroke of luck...and went in for the GI...of coz needless to say I was highly optimistic of not making it...!!
Double whammy....!!!surprise..Gawd has actually decided to drop in the silver spoon twice...I made it in the First list for finance...for 1 whole day I remember being in a state of Shock...those around me couldnt believe..that i can actually be that quiet and non-"talkative" for sooo looong...(that was mean though;)!!!
Any way...all said and done..I hopped on board the SPJIMR Cruise..though secretly I am not at all looking forward to seeing the liner in the troubled waters unleashed by Mumbai rains..(i dont like them verry much...!!especially when the memories of wading my way through thigh deep gutter waters and then writing an exam like that flood my mind!!!)...
I am not taking the pains to mention any of my feats...they will appear miniscule and in fact would put the term "miniscule" to shame...(Yess....i have already read the posts below mine:)...I know I love to wallow in self-pity..bt like Ritika very rightly said..its just to hide the Verbosity under the garb of modesty..lol
I enjoy doing practically anything and evrything under the sun that can give me an oppurtunity to unleash my creativity...from drawing to painting(which comes alive extra ordinarily at the time of exams when i dont even need the Canvas or brush...just the pencil and empty spaces in the textbook do fine:) ..writing poetry...to creative writing...debating...talking for hours on end(i know it doesnt involve creativity in any form..but soo whatt..i loowwwe itt!!)...to playing the keyboard...dancing...just about any thing at random...!!
I am a very open person...enjoy interacting with people from different walks of life...I like to believe I am a very comfortable person to get along with...I am always joking around and nick named the "clown" for no reason!!......I am overtly realistic in life (gets taken for Pessimism)...Not aggressive at all...Would love to join Karuna and admit honestly..I am extremely "Lazy"(that explains the early arrival of this post;)....and I love putting the foot in my mouth:)
But what the heck...!!!
As long as I made it to SPJIMR....i guess i have done and do everything just right!!!!
P.S:- Kindly overlook the spellos...the author is majorly under the infulence of "SMS" Lingo symptom...that makes "random" appearance every nw n den...:)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
one fone call that changed my life...
I was pretty aware of the possibility that an impending danger may befall on me,starting from a falling tree,a thunderstrike,or a lampost directly falling on my head,such was the ferocity of the storm.Nevertheless,I managed to reach college in one piece and met my classmated and juniors.The treat was nice and warm,and though the weather played a spoilsport,a fair share of the passionate gourmets of our junior batches managed to turn up themselves,much to our delectaton and contentment.After the treat was over,i returned to the hostel and was chatting with my friends.It was 3 pm in the afternoon.The clouds were rumbling badly and the weather forecaster predicted the advent of another storm that night.Till 3.05,all that i Knew was,I am safe in the hostel room,and im leaving for Scmhrd pune on the 30th of june morning flight.Yes,if i had missd it earlier,i wud have joined the PGP course of scmhrd from june1.
The clock struck 3 and the gossip continued.The weather moved in its own sweet will.My fone rang.Normally ,my cell fone is always on the silent mode,but it was in normal volume that day.A person called to tell me,"Indrayan,Are u Interested in taking up the PGDM course in SPJAIN,u are in waiting list 1."...Presto...and voila..What followed was a quick shock and awe,followed by an anxious expectation that am I going to convert.Time passd quick,and a second fone call confirmed my admission by 5 that evening.A scream followd,an elixir of esctasy and delectation,necessitating the immediate need of hugs and congratulations from al the friends whom I was gissiping with.....I slept late that night..But perhaps the best sleep in 22 years.....[:)]