Alcohol is an excuse. Its an excuse to let world see through the veneer with which we hide our insecurities. Its an excuse to give the world a sneak peek into the burning hidden expressions. It is not that alcohol has some chemical combination which lets it all pour out. Its an excuse to pour out everything you wanted to say and this very fact bemuses me. The only time I was drunk also I knew everything I was doing very clearly. There was nothing that ‘under the influence’ which led me to do things that I would not to do if I was sober.

Its funny how a complete ecosystem is created in a ‘sitting’. People are more receptive, more open, less judgemental and of course more ‘naughty’. Receptiveness to naughtiness also is higher. Hypocrisy at some level?

If we are not able to face our and others self while sober or we are ashamed of it, then I am not sure if alcohol is performing the act of a temple or confession box. I feel sorry for this. Its a dependency we are living with and giving it the name of a social habit. Having said that i am not so anal about it. Its a good excuse to meet. Good excuse to talk. Good excuse to resolve fights. Apparently Harivansh Rai Bacchan’s glorification ‘Madhushala’ calls it the only place where more friendships happen than fights. And we need reasons to celebrate.

Remembered a video I watched of a man I respect speak about this drunken act. Lets see if it gets you high enough to think about it.

World saw a lot in 2011 – Anna, Egypt, Warald cup champions from India, Dhoni’s shaven head, djoker becoming serious, another “dubuk”( I like that sound for a sinking economy), telangana demands, what happens when wiki leaks and on and on…

Then what did I see ( Been a Bschool grad whom travelling eluded) ?? – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Varanasi Marketing the FMCG way, a company which taught the world how to sell, a part of a team which helps people ‘sell’ themselves( We call it finding their fit/making their careers/getting placed), beautiful people by face and by heart, personal personality etc confusions, the ever so present career choice making (this one included some really big risks), myself clamoring for some peaceful time, elections(my own), the usual success and failure

<<Clearly I am not good at summaries. So let me bore you a little more if you chose >>

Am again at my coolest muse – Career. Giving gyaan is so much more easy than doing stuff. One day I am telling my juniors why someone should pick up something as a career choice and next day I am trying to picture myself in difffffferent roles.( For first time the Gandhiji sweet story makes sense). Realized I could sell. And that opened up a host of choices( atleast in head – from headhunter to FMCG marketer to retail owner to a consultant ) A consultant sells his ideas and as my first line says giving gyaan is kinda easy. So I am choosing this ‘easy’ lifestyle where you know life just tiptoes on the balance of work. But in true consultant style – What you ‘define’ as life matters . So consulting is where I will be. This means a lot of PPTs, lot of clients, lot of frequet flier miles, lot of working hours and a lot of talking in the future!

BSchool gives you people to compete with. What it also gives you a chance to meet some of the most amazing people. Life is more peaceful when it is less judgemental. Was truly gifted with more people closer to heart in and out of Prabandh Nagar( Hindi for mgmt colony – our location in Lucknow). Great friends in short times and short travails. Oh whattay high!

Time, Self, Sleep, Leisure, Travel, Photography, Tennis, TV, Hyderabad, Icecream, Sambhar, Gult movies – Are some old friends who deserve a lot more attention from me. High time I started getting back to each of them.  I really miss you guys. You mean a lot to me.

Lost my first election. Let me blame it on democracy. Its called the external locus of control. But I am really happy I contested for something I believed in. Some learnings and ‘findings’ which I desperately needed. Could I ask for more?

Ate so much of Awadhi food. Learnt so much about Singa land. Got good at interviewing(not getting interviewed). Learnt marketing pretty well. Broke a few rules. Made some. Got a hang of cases( Not beer cases – still not entered that category ).

Hope you guys learnt much more during the last one year( No RGgiri in this one). Hope 2012 brings and end to all that you want to end and calls for a new beginning. Its all Maya or Mayan??

PS - Everyone has a place in this world, Placements take time

PPS – I generally write the year end post after a night out on 31st. Guess this time I wanted to make it more boring.

But realisation is much more fun than education. That is what I have realised Changes can happen to the strongest of values, beliefs and principles. And it is good that they can be changed because nobody is perfect ….EVER. And this need not be a very unsettling thought also. I am sure nobody knows or will ever know what their impenetrable inner core is. It is like the concept of God. A strong belief that He is there is as powerful as the God Himself.

Don’t pay too much attention to the title. Its a name of a course I chose as an elective where we are taught how change happens and how we should manage it. Powerful yet limiting. Its a tribute to its existence.

Superficial changes are easy to notice. Changes from being a morning person to a what is a morning person, from the gyan taker to gyan giver, from a cheerful I can handle it attitude to a focused I want to handle it attitude – Some boring and interesting changes. But something somewhere has surely changed, dont know where.

Kurt Levin applied to real life -

Unfreeze change freeze – the circle of life

Few things happening around which are seemingly irritating, a few things that are happening to me which are helping me learn and a lot more random things. 4 more months to go in an IIM, a long corporate career after that(hopefully), lot of friends on the verge of getting married- an uncertainty that has plagued our innocence

The irritating stuff first. I sometimes keep wondering if the world is going forward or backward. I am no expert on deciding what is forward or backward. Its all Karma to do that( another topic for a late night discussion). A little off topic but apparently there is a silent revolution of ‘slow food’ and ‘slow cities’ starting in the west to counter the crazy rat race. Sounds interesting for interest’s sake. But this is not something I am really bothered about. INTOLERANCE. I was in the belief that the world was moving towards a more openness looking at article 353 and Sunny Leone in Big Boss 5. But in quite a contrast, I saw a rally protesting the use of ‘Lakshmi Bombs’( Context – Lakshmi bombs were these super cool Diwali crackers which every child took pride in when he used to light it of the candle) These bombs apparently were the in things even when my dad was a kid. And suddenly people realised that it was against the Hindu religion to burn them and are protesting against it!. Now if a religion can be moved on such flimsy lines, where is the question of belief? Nevertheless I decided to blame the media. Whatever.

Things around me. BREAKING RULES IS NOT COOL. Che Guevera was not a hero because he broke rules. I agree the system is bad( Blanket Statement) but how does breaking the rule help??? Steve Jobs CHANGED the rules of the game. He did not break them. I find it quite amusing when my cousin proudly proclaims how tactfully he copied in exam in front of a family audience. #Iamnotoldyet

Random finishing statement -

Its ok to be a Soup Boy( now that atleast you are famous), but atleast try to be a non-vegetarian one.!

Random food stalls everywhere, Fine, Rules, Little India and the big Mustafa,Iphones, shortskirts and long legs, can can,  Clark Quay, the sound of the beeps to enter the MRTs/buses, the sound of the heels strolling past the tiptoeing floors, the “lah”s, people lost in the smartness of their gadgets and reallllllly long night life

Two months here and maybe it seems to you like I haven’t liked the place so much. But I do now. Sometimes seeing is not believing until its clearly shown. People make places special and there have been enough new/old friends who made me feel completely at home here. And yes this has been quite a home for two months. So what is in this place that makes it special? Does it have a culture?? I have asked this question to so many people and so many times that it took an Indian who is on the brink of taking an Singapore citizenship to explain me what Singapore means to her. Although she put it in a little cheezy way, I seem to agree with everything that she said.

Here goes:

Governance : this i really like. surrounded by huge corrupt nations i think this country has managed to keep its corruption under control and the way it has been governed surely is remarkable.. yea its too strict too many rules.. but nonetheless, isnt the nation going ahead?so much foresight so much planning..

Excuse the number of smiles. She is a happy person

Two months in Singapore I have been interning in Procter and Gamble. The world leader in FMCG, it surely knows how to sell. And I surely learnt a thing or two about selling and a lot more. Shaving and formals are the only things I can complain about in this place.(Google spoilt me)  though not a norm I was happy being the sincere intern and of course learning a lot

Eat with him

Deal money with him

Travel with him

Such simple thought but very powerful. Especially travel. Travel is one thing that has really helped me know this one person really better – ME.  Everytime I travel I seem to learn something new about myself . The reasons for travel could be various but the biggest souvenir is always this. The only learning which you can apply every moment right from when you have learnt it.

On a different tangent – There seems to be a dip in the energy/enthu level in my travel travails. Signs of ageing? Need that push which lets me be me.

As one of the biggest proponents of travelling alone, my biggest reason – It is the only time you can live by YOUR ACTUAL choice. You will never know it until you do it. It is not what you think it is. All the individuality/ego and all will look very small when there is nothing to compare with. Bigger Perk(or smaller) – eat when you are hungry and sleep when you are tired – no concept of ‘lunch-time’ or ‘night time’. Really sorry for so much gyaan again – this MBA I tell you. All righteousness aside – only one kind of learning stays – Experiential Learning. What say my dear friends?

After-thought:

Friends come and go. True friends stay on till the party is over to help clean up.

a. Stare at it

b.Fill up theory for problems(given data)

c.Think about how to express it on FB/Blog

d. Look at the distress levels of others in the class and feel a little better( our grading is relative )

e. All of the above

What I chose? Option E    ……………………………..!@#$%^ #FML

It is just the first of my 6 exams of term 3 which will call it a year for me in IIM Lucknow.  Now for option C. What all came across my mind that I wanted to write about? My experiences in my first year. After having thought of what it would be like and actually experiencing it, I realised it is actually contrary to “popular belief”. A few(many) things I can distinctly call out .

There is a dhaba on campus. It is called Fauzi. It also has a TV. And interestingly enough Zee Cinema is the only channel that plays on it. I watched a full length Telugu movie dubbed in Hindi. Hilarious

Our mess has a TV and as not expected the only things we watch are sports and trailers. I have never seen NDTV Profit on it.

Most eateries on campus run 24 hours.  The  business generally starts only after 12.

On any given day, there will be more people in the library after 10pm than before. And the issue section closes by 9pm.- There is AC and it is happening.

This is to all my VIT junta. Anyone can enter any hostel at any time .

We have a gym. The only time it is busy is in January(resolutions time), before placements( its all about looking good) and when there is an aerobics session for the girls

Whatever people think about networking in IIMs is true. People need a reason for association. And it is competitively encouraged. Hostels,sections,committees,regions,mother tongues, clubs , UG colleges, idols – you name it and there will be a group for it.

Blame it on the hecticness of the course. People always need a reason to party. Every ‘group’ mentioned above has a fresher party,farewell party, placement party, monthly party blah blah. Do we have the time for it? We make it.

To add to this there are the Insti parties. An all nighter where people drink and dance to forget. And they do.

Most of the sports happen under lights and are mostly all night long. It brings the college alive. There is commentary,there is sledging and there is action.

Not just people, but even buildings are called names in Campus. Samanjasya is the auditorium, Annapurna is the mess, Patanjali is the guest house. Complicated enough for a non sanskrit educated South Indian to get offended.

Birthdays are dreaded. You never know what you will end up with on your head by quarter past midnight – Coke,Ketchup,flour,maggi,coffee,moong dal, cake( we get one specially made with old cream), mayo,redbull,egg,tomato and then the spanking with chappals.

The Holi I played here was the dirtiest and the best ever. We have a fountain pool where every one is just flung(literally) into.

Lucknow has about 5 malls. End of exams, any mall you visit, you will find 1/5th of IIM there.

The world famous Tunde kabab has an acquired taste. And off late I have started loving it.

Gyaan is free for all here. Everyone shares it. Neccesary or not, it is always dispensed. and by everyone.

Placements are huge. They bring out the best and worst in people. You can see the best of solidarity and the worst of nervous breakdowns. It is the time when the men and women are differentiated from the boys and girls.

We have a horrible male/female ratio. major demand supply problem. Another avenue to compete.

Our business concalave is called MANFEST. Before you start judging, it is the biggest management fest in India. But it was publicised more for the Swedish band ‘Pain of Salvation’ playing for the first time in India. talk about priorities and promotion.

Our college band is called 3.4. There is a board on the highway which says IIM 3.4kms(off the highway). Kind of a landmark for most of us.

It is not always fun.There is huge amount of mindless competition.But lot to learn. From books and from people.  I miss home and my earlier workplace but I like this too.

…And I better start studying for my next exam.

Grandpa left us this year. Someone to whom I owe all my cultural inclinations. He taught me what family means and this meaning is my biggest strength and strongest influencer. Festivals without showing off my new clothes early in the morning to him feel so incomplete. Tried getting up so many times wishing that all this was just a part of a long nightmares. But guess he needed to take some rest. Miss you Thaathayya

The year seemed to be filled with alternatives. This time it was not about choices but of chances. The dearer alternative  always eluded me. Be it the school I joined or the work I wanted to do. But as they speak of in economics – “In the long run” everything is a part of the race.Maybe I enjoy it. It is all about getting to that imaginary finish line which is farther than the horizon.

Simpler stuff. I am back in School. The hostel,mess,exams,quizzes,fests,classes and  gangs are all back. I am going to be an MBA- a post graduate .My dad will be breathing a sigh of relief looking at this. He was scared that with all the Google pampering I will end up just a graduate.( but whats wrong with that?? …anyways). IIM is an interesting place to be in. Survival seems to have new meanings here. It is not just about doing well for yourself, it is more about doing better than the others.For the uninitiated, it is called RGgiri (relative grading). But all this competition has a different feel to it. At any point of time there is so much to do here that boredom has evolved to different definitions.

The weeks before joining college were another interesting phase. Leaving Google, the aaram of Hyderabad, those lazy weekends, the company of my gang, familiar faces and places, comfort of home for something that is projected as ‘hell’, unknown to the outside world was to say the least – intimidating. But there was a small pleasure I was deriving out of this. The pleasure of a traveler who is planning to visit an unknown island. It was totally worth it.

Google left me with so many good memories,so much learning and a Nexus One ( got one on my last day in Google)

Started doing a lot of interesting stuff in school now. And just back from a relaxing vacation. It is going to be a squeeze that could make me laugh or cry. But I am so looking forward to it. But the vision is blurry,literally- North Indian winters are crazy.The fog is the only thing visible clearly. Survival is another thing on my to-do list

2011..now that I am on the wrong side of 25, Lets see what you got in store for me.

Another attempt to get ‘regular’ with blogging.

Self Criticism(The manager way) : “It is great for a first attempt with graphs. You have good potential. As you go along you will get better with experience.Even I was like this in the start.”