This Blog is Moving

Like a lot of other people, I am moving the blog to Wordpress.
All the previous posts and comments have been moved to:
http://snapshotsfromwimwi.wordpress.com

All the world's a stage

I am acting in a play produced by IIMACTS (IIM Ahmedabad Theatrical and Cultural Society) called 'Badi buaji...baap re baap'.
It's been a fun month of practice, some tempers flaring and two days of performing at Natarani, the theatre owned by Mallika Sarabhai, herself PGP 74.
And I got the greatest kick out of being applauded by the audience for my performance, a 2 bit role but a vital one.
The entire team of 30 has worked hard and everyone will be mighty pleased when this play successfully completes 3 shows Oct. 2,3 and 4.

Thoughts from an alumnus

Harsha Bhogle, famous cricket commentator and quizmaster on ESPN, is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. Recently saw a video of his, of a talk he gave in the auditorium on campus.

Had many wonderful thoughts: why live life like its a 100 m race? Why get into a job thinking about exit options and early retirements?
He says, "If you choose your first job based on the salary it offers, you might be making a mistake. Choose a career, that is what you came to (or should ideally come to) IIMA for." Maybe someday, when the day zero fever subsides and the media stops blaring the crore-plus salaries, maybe then some of us might get some of this perspective.
To end the talk he recited 4 lines of his (and my) favourite Urdu poetry:

"ख़ुद ही को कर बुलंद इतना
की हर तकदीर से पहले ,
खुदा बन्दे से ख़ुद पूछे,
बता तेरी रज़ा क्या है?"

Dobaara mat poochna

Placement season brings a media frenzy to the IIMs...and 'leaked' reports that misrepresent the fact in both directions.
This is a blog by someone from IIMB
http://whoiscb.blogspot.com/2009/06/oh-you-are-from-iim-you-must-be-earning.html about the reaction of an IIM grad to the way people behave with you these days.

The moral of the story: If you've asked someone from an IIM his/her salary or placement details etc. DOBAARA MAT POOCHNA!!

Isn't summer over??

The thing about growing up in Mumbai is that you assume summer's over once the rains come down...it 'drizzled' in Ahmedabad a couple of times last week and has gone back to mid 40s celsius with high humidity. It truly is hot as hell.

On other things, have been taking a lot of interactions for Beta...media cell will be coming up soon.
It promises to be taxing. But then only 2 midsems! The academic pressure of PGP 1 is nowhere to be seen.

More on tuchchadom at WIMWI to come

A second beginning

Beginning the second year at IIMA...classes in the old campus...different study groups for each elective...a new batch of fachchas.
The almost 'animal' exhilaration of screaming Muggo Fachchon Muggo.
Our tuchchas are gone...much has changed.
Hope to be more regular in posting on this blog.

Food for thought...

Read these words while surfing the net today... 

But he was at Wharton now, where perception is reality, return on investment is all that counts, and the only fires worth putting out are the sparks inside ourselves.

Can/should we replace Wharton by WIMWI?

The Final Countdown....

About 500 classes,
almost 50 exams,
innumerable quizzes and cases
.
.
.
this is what it has come down to.

4 days,
7 papers,
.
.
. the first year at IIM A is about to end.
Might blog between the exams...else, see you at the finish line.
This does express how most, if not all of us, might feel 4 days from now.

"The last few days, I felt like a prisoner of war, inching towards the border inch by inch. Today is the moment when I've just crossed that line, the line which represents liberation. Freedom !"

http://sleepless-in-iima.blogspot.com/2006/04/liberation.html

The end is nigh

I know I wrote the Churchill quote a month or so ago, but we are into single digits of the number of lectures remaining this year.
There are 2 reports to go, some Media Cell work, the Convocation on Saturday...before we go into the last set of exams.
Everything seems a jumble and there is large scale cleaning to do...from my room to my mind.
3 day break post-exam and then to BRICS securities for my introduction to the corporate world.
Can't believe I've gone 25.5 years without working!!

WAC-ked out!!

WAC stands for Written Analysis and Communication...a course where we read, write and most importantly run.
It could be a case analysis or an article on an industry, we must write it up and submit hard copies in class between 3:45 and 4:30 on a Saturday evening. If you are a minute late, you lose a subgrade- this leads us CG-centered WIMWIans to run our unfit backsides off to reach class in time.

Why don't we start early enough to not have to run you ask... because whether it is WAC or OM...
we believe in 'Just In Time'!!

The 9th month

The next couple of weeks are full of assignments and presentations and quizzes.

When someone wondered out aloud, why the last few days of fachcha-dom were so full of pain I came out with amazing insight.

We have been here for 9 months...and the pain is maximum in the 9th month (isn't it? I think that is a safe assumption even though I have no 'experience').

It's getting hot in here!

Today the mercury touched 37 degrees C. In the next 4 days, Google say it'll touch 38.

I still have a month to spend as a fachcha. Lots of work to do as well, lots of reports to write...not so many quizzes. Maybe IIMA will teach us what 'burn out' is in more ways than one.

Slot 6 begins

As the last slot begins, I look back to try and figure out what I've learnt. All I see is this mass of information, cases and solutions that makes no sense to me. Lack of time to digest what has been taught may be. This will be followed by my summer internship and then a rocking (I hope!) second year at WIMWI.
I take recourse to Churchill's words when I say : " This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end, but, it is perhaps the end of the beginning."

Reconnect...

Things have been crazy in the last few weeks...need to catch up with family and friends.
Haven't used gmail chat or anything like it for more than 10 min for 2-3 months I think.
First there was Chaos, the cultural fest, then Leverage 2009- a VC/PE conference and exams this week.
I need a serious reconnection. Looking forward to the 3 day break next week to do some of that.

On the other hand, got into IIMA's Media Cell- will be in charge of Media activities for Chaos 2010.
Chitranshu is heading the team. Looking forward to being a part of this major effort. Will also try to keep updating this blog more frequently. Given the motivation levels to do anything after trying to just keep up with the activity around me, that will be a major effort too.

For a fun and exciting description of how messed up life can get at IIMA, refer to Kaka (dorm senior, batch of 2005-07).

Khalbali at WIMWI

Chaos reigned at IIM A as we had 4 days of Khalbali. It started with a performance by Pt.
Hariprasad Chaurasia, who entertained us by informing us that he became a flautist only after he did not get into IIMA. Aren't we happy the selection procedure is as tough as it is, for it 'weeded out' India's greatest flautist.
The next two days had all kinds of activities going on, including an excellent quiz by Diwakar Pingle.

Aside: The authorities had threatened to have classes during Chaos, and I had the idea to post a notice at the mess , "Quiz at 2.30 in RJMCEI". That strikes fear in the heart of every i-banker and consultant in WIMWI land.

There was an interesting reunion of 5 Somaiya people in IIMA, though 2-3 others missed it.
Mohit Chauhan (of Masakali fame) was the final pronite artist and he did a good job of closing Chaos 2009.

Chitranshu (Matty) is the Chaos 2010 co-ord and we can look forward to another version of the same well-managed madness.

Interesting times indeed...

The old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times" has taken a brand new meaning for those in b-school especially the ones in India.
The fallout of the economic crisis, how it has affected the world and India is as interesting as macro-economics and finance theory can ever get. Figuring out how we got into the mess we are in and how can we get out of it and the efforts going on worldwide are lessons that teach better than any classroom lecture.

As I've written previously IIMA started a course on Business Ethics this year and what better way to put ethics in business into perspective than the Satyam fracas. Markets crashing, commodity prices jumping everywhere, people bungling...interesting times indeed.

Election fever

So Barack Obama has been elected and the LS elections are near...WIMWI is in the grip of its very own election fever. Elections for posts in the Students' Affairs Council are even nearer.
PGP-1s vote for their SAC this Monday. Campaigning was in full flow till 11:59:59 pm 14th Jan.
Now, no more 'pitching'...what was nice was that there never was any 'bitching'.

The cultural differences between the 3 institutions I have attended so far:
1) KJSCE: The Gen Secy and the rest of the SAC was selected by the faculty. You can imagine what might have followed, though I think our SAC did really well.

2) IISc: Will have its own elections soon. Regional biases, some campaigning bordering on intimidation and definitely tarring the other candidates.

3) IIMA: Clean, well-spelt out timings and guidelines for the campaigning. Ppl campaigning without bad-mouthing others, just the way 'ideal' elections ought to be carried out.

Recently, my sleep timings have receded into the early hours of the morning, though not as much as Tamba's (he sleeps at 6 am or later...making me wonder why he sleeps at all??).
Interesting effect WIMWI has.
Have a couple of ideas for blogs ...so stay tuned.

Fooled by Randomness

While there is a great deal of care taken in WIMWI regarding the grading procedure (understandable given the extent of importance acads and your CGPA carry) there still exists some amount of randomness in it.
Exams are graded in quite a random way sometimes, you write something thinking that is the answer only to be told something 'more' was expected. If you say that the question does not ask for that analysis, you are told that is the way the professor wants it.
Assignments are declared to be presentations and written reports are demanded with unbelievably tight deadlines. Component weightages are changed and flexed in a way that to the naked student eye seem arbitrary.

I take this in my stride saying this is another way of training us for the big, bad world out there which has no intention of being fair. WIMWI has found a way to fool us by randomness.

The beginning of the end

Back from a hectic 7 day vacation, the grind begins from tomorrow.
9 subjects, WAC is back and its back with a vengeance.
Fin 2, Marketing 2, OM 2...they are all here and they are bigger and badder.
The last term for the seniors, Chaos, Sangharsh ( the IIMA-IIMB sports meet) ... lots happening around me.
Strangely, it feels nice to be around the campus and in my room.
As a senior said today, "This is the last lap." And I hope to make it count for all it can.