Could I ever replace !

It has been 6 months since I am out of college. It has been a mixed bag feeling, though I am happy to be in a place where I wanted to be in, I left a lot of things behind me, in search of unexplored waters of life ! In this quest of new things, I really miss quite a lot of things. My life has never been the same with out them, specially my friends from college !

I really miss ...
The business news and the pink papers
The early morning lectures
The shairis of Kumar Gaurav
The melodious songs of Vineet
The evangelical talks of Astha
Stern and never give up arguments of Khobragade
The "group" presentations
The fun of solving the cases
The numbers filled Deshpande sir classes
The debates and discussions in the classrooms and away
The lectures of Gods in the class rooms
The colors in the campus
The birth day celebrations
The exam fever and the night outs
The last minute entries in to the college gate
Drishty and the preparations for it
The never ending talks in the auditorium
The Chicken lollypops and the feast after the HR meets
The lab sessions of Prantosh baba
Dilip Bhav's vada pav
The xerox materials before the exam days
The struggle for the requisitions
The trading tips and gyaan of Sandeep bhai !
The economic times quizzes
The news hour and mind boggling cases of Ramashastry sir
The helmet rules and the red/black lists
The placement season fever and the preparations
The unending examination spree !
The puzzling and confusing rules
The last moment goofups
The temple and the library
The campus gossip
The internship projects
The DJ nights and the fun
The Diwali crackers and the Pongal payasam
The least understood Jr. Bala sir's Finance lectures !
The winter breakfasts in the urban cafe lawns
The World cup matches on the big screen
The long bike rides to Lonavala with friends
… and much more beyond what can be put on this !

A tribute to one of my favourite writers

Peter Roebuck for me was an equivalent of god at writing articles on cricket and whenever I read his master pieces, I relished them and revelled at the thought process of the best cricket writer.

He was much more than a cricket writer; he was the voice of cricket – He was very vocal, yet lucid with his views, he was assertive yet rationale with the perspective. Frank and blatant some times. Every piece of his is a lesson in cricket and cricket writing. He was a cricket intellect to the core and his passion towards the game was absolute. He never indulged in jingoism and his emotions were unadulterated towards the great game; rather the only affection he seemed to have was cricket.

With a cricketing brain like none, Roebuck had the forte over the English language at his command and combined with the proficiency of the game, Roebuck actually created magic with every sentence he wrote.

For me there is no single favorite piece of cricket literature written by him, but plenty. Every new article of his was just a tad better than the previous one.

Through his writing I learned (or still learning) why is it important for a sports scribe to be unbiased and how to view the game not as a casual observer, but as a bull-headed critic. He was a writer with no holds bar approach when it came to his perspective, his views or his ideas. He was never diplomatically correct because he never tried to be in that position.

His pieces on Glenn McGrath, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman would make an average baseball loving American fall in love with these legends of cricket. Reading about his idea of Test cricket would make the idea of ODI and T20 cricket pitiful.

His was a voice to reckon with and his take on cricket was like a holy grail. He was not only shrewd but was downright witty and entertaining.

I am deeply saddened by the death of Peter Roebuck but he will live through his articles and would be remembered as one of the greatest cricket writers ever. Rest in Peace Peter.

Bryan Adams

I got back from the Bryan Adams concert. It wasn't bad. We kept walking all the way up to the entrance and lucky we were, to walk right in! But my friends choked when security checked their cameras and told them no cameras were allowed at the venue - huh ! I am yet to discover the security reason behind it. Why do they allow certain mobiles with cameras and not SLRs ? Strange!. 

Great night, we were far from the stage but we could see him and the band really well. The highlight for me was when he said My name is Bryan. Here I am'. He took off his song 'Here I Am' from that point – The crowd was excited when he just stringed through our ears the first tune of “Summer of 69” everyone got into it and was loud and singing and dancing. Played all the hits “Baby you are gone”, “18 till I die” and some new tunes as well. Bryan Adams singing songs that you and me would have listened more than million times but still listening those songs from Bryan is for sure to get goose bumps.It gave me a great feeling to sing along to the hits from the 90's. The stage was a constant flurry of excitement and completely into the aura of rock music.

The sky was sparkling with beautiful stars here and there and a huge round shining moon. Bryan was standing under the cool and beautiful gray shiny sky and entertaining the crowd. His voice roared through the miles in the air and I was totally in trance watching the sky, the star, the moon and the rock star, watching him singing, the whole sight was mesmerizing.

Hey Stars! What’s special today? Why are you shining too much? Stop! Isn’t it too much for my small eyes, huh I know they never listened to me. Just I could see another me in them with full packed excitement; All the way they were brilliance, twinkle, glint, radiance, and sparkling along with the rock star Bryan. All the more Bryan asked a lady to come on to the stage to sing along. She made her day! Lucky she. She took home T shirts signed by Bryan to her friends as well. Wow! The entire picture was food to the eyes and music to the ears. He sang around 20 songs including “Let’s make a night to remember”, “Please forgive me”, “How do ya feel tonight” “Running to you”- but it was not enough for all of us.

The crowd was kept in a constant trance and was simply electrifying. Bryan kept the pep talk on and trying to communicate to the audience. His light-heartedness was infectious. He has such a unique way of captivating and relating to his audience. I think after this astonishing experience, I now see Bryan Adams with even more respect than I did before. I could see that Bryan Adams’ impact on me and I hold the piece of evidence, that even when you climb the highest ladder of success, you can still remain grounded in your sense of reality. My eyes kept filled with plenty of colorful wonder as the music played on. The hyperactive guitarist scott, who was never at a standstill, wore a path in the floor running back and forth. The light works kept me craving for more.

Everywhere excitement, I noticed that there were bouncers, security guards and traffic policemen posted on every nook and corner. However, they could not do much to stop the madness. Thank God nothing of that sort happened. Bryan said Thanks and goodnight twice asked the crowd to go home but all of us were not ready to leave him. He left his guitar down and stood for a sec looking at the crowd. That was really fun to watch him the way he was teasing his fans. After he gave two more songs and signed off himself saying - Its fantastic night! Good night! God bless. The mood was ecstatic and upbeat throughout the show. I enjoyed every moment of the show and shouted madly . It proved to be a big treat for all the fans of Bryan Adams.

What a start of 2011 year! Hearing Bryan sing live was the experience of a lifetime. The concert was one of the most electrifying and enjoyable moments of my life. It was better than MLTR concert which I attended couple of years back in Bangalore. Rahman's rain concert is still the best for me ! The feeling of being in a world of rock music was just amazing. The event was worth the experience which I will remember for days to come.

Stumped !

Too much time on hand and too little work to do these days after getting placed ( and with the placement season in full swing) meant that I can do a little research on one of my favorite areas: "CRICKET". 

I have been trying to understand Duckworth-Lewis rules which were framed for this game in times yore. Though there is no information about the algorithm they used on the internet, I could find a paper submitted by Duckworth and lewies. I was curious to find the function used by them to calculate the percentage resources available at any point in the game.After some research I found that they used a non parametric asymptotic function in two variables, which has an exponential decaying constant.
 
Z(u;w) = Z0(w)[1 - exp{-b(w)u}].

 
This raised a lot of questions in my mind
1) why asymptotic function, when every match has fixed no of overs for a team , especially in One days where D/L method is used more frequently ?
2) How can the resources be considered to be same for every wicket! Common, a school kid in India also knows that Sehwag who opens is far more dangerous than an Ishant Sharma for sure while batting!
3) The table uses the above mentioned Function to fit the curve on data of all the cricket matches . But wouldn't it be more practical to plot the curve or fit it depending on the data of just that particular ground or based on the the matches played between those two participating teams instead of generic stats of all matches?

So I am thinking on those terms. As of now, I figured out tentatively that, Weightage has to be given to each player based on his previous record and then incorporate that probabilistic variable in the function to differentiate a Sehwag from Ishant sharma or a Petersen from Anderson.

The Function can actually be calculated real time by having the previous data of the teams on hand while the match is being played and various projective techniques can be fitted (which would then be dynamic) during the match using Excel tools like what if analysis or Solver.

The second Issue to be blogged on is Umpire referral system. I fail to understand why is all the fuss about the probability of Technology not identifying the unnoticeable things on the ground. The name ‘UDRS’ is clumsy, and the UDRS implementation has been just as clumsy.

UDRS for those who don't know is short for ‘Umpire Decision Review System’. This system allows the batting and fielding side the opportunity to challenge the decision of the on-field umpire. But there is a proviso: you cannot challenge after two failures! Why two? What is so sacred about two? The argument for limiting the failed challenges to two is that every decision would otherwise be challenged, and this would unnecessarily delay the game. It is also intended to appease on-field umpires who might ask: “what the hell am I doing out in the middle?” Restricting referrals to two is actually making things worse. For example, one of the two Indian referrals would perforce be reserved for Virender Sehwag if he is playing; and the second might be held back for Sachin Tendulkar. This is ridiculous. We have also seen situations where a blatant umpiring error could not be contested because both the referrals had been used up. Indeed, we also know of instances where a batsman has abused a referral: he knows that there is a faint nick, but he also knows that technology is unlikely to spot it! So instead of walking, he asks for a review.

Today’s avatar of the UDRS is essentially a compromise. We want to use technology, such as Hawkeye, Hot Spot, Snickometer and Super Slo-Mo, but we don’t want to offend the umpires. This can’t go on. We have to quickly choose one of the ‘umpires only’ or ‘technology only’ options.The latter is much more likely because cricket is, what mathematicians would call, a ‘discrete’ game: the game moves forward step by step, or ball by ball. Tennis is discrete too, as indeed is American football. Football, on the other hand, is ‘continuous’.If we reflect for a moment, we will realize that technology is easier to implement in discrete games than in continuous ones. The next ball in cricket can be delayed to confirm an lbw decision, but a football game cannot be halted to verify if a player was really offside or not!

That’s why the future is much more likely to be ‘full-blown’ UDRS. In this set-up, the best umpires are not in the playing field … they are seated next to technology-based outputs. Every appeal will be reviewed; every decision will be technology-driven. The umpires in the middle will essentially be lackeys: they will call ‘play’, count the six balls that make up the over, ensure good on-field behaviour, signals boundaries or dismissals (after hearing from the chief umpire indoors), peer at light meters, hold the bowler’s cap and, if they feel like Billy Bowden, do a little jig to amuse the crowds. But they would still be required to call no balls (because that’s a real time decision).

The ICC tells us that the best umpires get 93% of their decisions right, while UDRS-assisted decisions are 97% right. These statistics try to impress, but ignore that one of the 7% wrong decisions could completely change the course of the match. A better way to estimate performance is to ask how little did the umpire’s performance affect the eventual result of the match … and it is here that UDRS will perform much more impressively.

The trouble with ICC is that it is fearful of technology. A decade and more ago, ICC asked Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) to come up with rain rules that could be computed on the back of an envelope, because they feared that a ground in some corner of Bulawayo might not have access to a computer. This meant poorer targets not because the D/L model was deficient but because ICC’s mindset was flawed. Today, ICC has similar fears about UDRS technology and its costs. But they will eventually discover that full-blown UDRS is indeed the way to go. I am in for UDRS, join the brigade if you are with me.

108 Facts about Telangana

108 Facts About Telangana

Ayodya Verdict Crux

Verdict Crux

MBA - The flip side

 As a professor professes, Marketing is not general knowledge for sure, but I still don't agree that its specific knowledge, Its more of common sense + sensitive thinking + intuition.

95% of what we learn in MBA is not seen/implemented in the market.

People lack the flexibility to mend and adopt the models learnt in college.

Industry is projected as a battle field before joining, but I feel it is a game with lots of breaks in between, the one who takes a longer break always looses.

MBA is learning a lot less in lot more ( time/money )

There are not more than 11 subjects an MBA seriously needs to learn to get in to business.

Having a prior work experience definitely helps. I really mean it.

Diversity of back grounds in class is a hyped phenomenon, many a times it wastes time of many who already knew certain topics. Benefits are picayune.

Indian MBA colleges, lack quality "FACULTY", I know I am making a huge proposition here! My college also has only 10% geniuses, 40% Good, 20% average and 20% bad and 10% worst faculty on board. The top 10% only command respect.

Very few doubts are clarified in the class, the veneer of belief only becomes clear after "research"

In MBA, copying from one source is called plagiarism but copying from many is research. One needs research most of the times, in presentations, assignments, case studies etc.

Only 50% of what we learn in MBA is useful, I wonder which.

As a professor, first thee should brand self.

MBA helps understand reading a pink paper better. MBA is a Jargon dictionary.

MBA also teaches you how to knot a tie :)

MBA without Internet can't be thought of! Present generation wonders how they did MBA when there was no internet.

Half of the case studies solved during MBA, can be solved even if you are in 10th class.

MBA is actually not taught and also not learnt in the right spirit.

All you find yourself in, after completing MBA is little knowledge, lot of debt, married ex girl friend, more pressure and 404 page not found error.

PS: I ain't a looser, but one of the toppers in my class; I missed a strike at IIMs by a whisker BTW. Never bunked classes, didn’t flunk any paper, never goofed up in interviews, GDs etc but now feel what's life without any excitement!, join the brigade if you are one like me.

Lonavala Trip - Executives on Run

My Summer Internship Project at Panasonic

Panasonic Air Conditioners Project

The Advertising World

Probably this is the first time that I am here to brag on something which I don't normally like to, on the net. A subject which I fell in love with after joining my MBA. I don't still say that MBA has to be for 2 years by the way. I feel useless subjects are taught almost 84.4 percent of the times. "Brand management" is one subject which I liked from the core of my heart, which I enjoyed most by solving all those out of the box cases etc. There was no surprise when I scored 98 out of 100 in my brand management exam. Brand management I feel is married in a way to Advertising and Integrated marketing communications. IMC always fascinated me for the simple fact that It proved me wrong as I always thought I knew every thing about advertising when I realized I knew nothing. I always loved the romance of advertising. The unexplored intricacies and the depth always caught me spell bound. Advertising, in its profound and deep sense of the term, reminds me of all the embroidered drama, inflated emotions, mellifluous jingles and colorful myriad pictures that form a beautiful collage of incidents and brands and consumer and the beautiful relationship of romance that they share is manifested through this patchwork.

Take a brand like Cadbury’s; won’t you say you love Cadbury’s ? Won’t you feel close to this brand – something that you are possessive about, something that you can identify with and feel comfortable with? And how! Imagine a situation where Cadbury would not have been advertised! Would you feel the same connection that you feel right now? No! Somewhere – lines like ‘kuch khass hai zindagi mein’, ‘Asli swaad zindagi ka’, ‘khaanewalon ko khaane ka bahana chahiye’, ‘rishton ki mithaas’ etc have etched in our minds. We feel nostalgic when we recollect the girl dancing on the cricket field in the Cadbury ad, our mouth waters when we recollect the swirling melting chocolate shown just before the Cadbury pack shot… Thus advertising is that magical elixir of romance that creates the sparks between the brand and the consumer. Since ages, advertising is used as a medium of communication. However, today this medium is not just that. It is a means to feel emotions, indulge with the brands, create rippling effects on the consumer and above all make them feel warm, special and important.

Advertising takes the consumer through that romantic journey where the consumer first gets acquainted with the brand, then tries to find more information about the product, makes the first purchase, expresses his likes and dislikes, and after he likes, he becomes a loyal customer. Later discounts and other offers make him feel special and wanted and thus the romantic journey of the brand and the consumer carries on for the rest of the life.

When one considers high involvement products like a car or a diamond set, people collect more information as they are in the process of making a purchase decision. One can just imagine the quixotic, dreamy and indulging process of a woman buying a diamond set (say for instance Nakshatra diamond). Since it is popularly and truly said that diamonds are women’s best friend – the romantic buying journey is even more exciting. The lavish and extravagant Aishwarya Rai Nakshatra diamond TVC creates the first bounce of mawkish feelings towards the brand as we repeatedly see the ad with glaring eyes. It is not just wishful and dreamy but establishes a space in your heart that lightens up every time you see the ad. Just imagine the sentiments in the consumer’s heart when he or she has just bought Nakshatra diamond earrings. It is this particular feeling that advertising slogs to create in the heart of the consumers. It is that moment when you come home and adore yourself in the mirror with those earrings and the happiness you feel is the same when you are being loved by your special someone…

Many criticize that advertising lures customers into a pit of false dreams and hopes. But doesn’t advertising offer a stage for you to romance with your favorite brands, watching them evolve, feeling connected with the characters in the ad, dancing with imaginations about the product, flaunting your purchases, loving your brands, creating long lasting relationships with things you use, feeling nostalgic, experiencing emotions and above all making you feel so special against the rest of the world! Advertising is truly a romantic indulgence! I will surely want to land up there.

Bitter Business - Why Ambanis are never revered Biz guys

Infotel, a relatively, unknown player in the telecom  business, was the sole winner of a pan-India licence for BWA spectrum. Many well known telecom players like Vodafone, Tata , Idea and Reliance Communications backed out, saying unreasonable prices. They bid an astounding sum of Rs 12, 848 crore. On the day, the results were announced Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries announced that they are acquiring 95 % of Infotel for Rs 4,800 crore.

Infotel is a small Internet Service provider (ISP)  run by Anant Nahata, son of Mahendra Nahata, promoter of the infamous Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited ( HFCL). Readers may remember that HFCL had bid irrationally in 1995 acquiring 9 licences for mobile telephony ( 2G). They did not have the financial muscle to roll out the same and eventually telecom minister Sukh Ram bailed them out. Even then it was rumoured that HFCL was actually a front for the Ambanis. Readers may recall that HFCL had bid the highest as licence fees and Reliance Telecom had bid the lowest. Reliance got some category C circles like North East, West Bengal, Orissa etc for peanuts.  When HFCL did not pay up the licence fees , Indian govt not only lost over Rs 20, 000 crore in revenues, in several circles the roll-out of GSM got delayed by 2 years.

Now by acquiring Infotel and announcing it openly on the day the BWA auction results were announced, it is clear that HFCL was just a proxy for Reliance. As the Ambani brothers ironed out their differences and worked out their non-compete clauses, Infotel  the front for Mukesh Ambani was bidding for BWA. For doing the task, the Nahatas have got their Rs 4800 crore ( ?) and 5 % equity in Infotel.

By paying Rs 12, 848 crore for spectrum and additional Rs 4800 crore for Infotel, ( roll-out costs are extra)  apparently Reliance is entering what is essentially an Internet Service provider ( ISP) business using wireless technology. ISP is a business, not unfamiliar to Reliance and Mukesh Ambani-Manoj Modi duo ( Most of the Reliance Infocom top-team continues to be with Mukesh) . Reliance had an ISP service which was marketed under the name “Only Smart.”  This ISP business did not make any waves and can be dubbed a failure. This service was discontinued when Reliance Telecom changed hands from Mukesh to Anil’s. Reliance Infocom when it was launched, Mukesh Ambani during his visionary speeches, used to mention how ‘data’ business would be much bigger than ‘voice’. Reliance Infocomm was only entering ‘voice’, read ‘mobile phone services’ business , just as an additional service, the focus being data. Readers would remember how using the ‘wireless in local loop’ licence Reliance entered mobile telephony through back-door , creating a controversy. This controversy led to several changes in regulations and Reliance is now well entrenched as the No 2 player in 2G. All the so-called superiority of CDMA over GSM has been dumped, with R-Com clearly going for GSM in 2G and 3G.   

Once again Mukesh Ambani is back in his visionary role and is talking eloquently about the prospects of broadband.

“We see this as the next wave of value creation opportunity in the wireless broadband space,” says Mukesh Ambani, who is the world’s fourth richest man, said in a prepared statement. “We believe this will pole-vault India’s economy into the digital world at an accelerated pace while creating next generation tools that will enhance productivity and create world-class consumer experiences.”

“RIL sees the broadband opportunity as an opportunity to be in the forefront in providing world-class 4G network and services,” the company said, suggesting the scale of its ambitions. “[The] initiative will usher in a wireless broadband revolution in both the urban and the rural areas by providing end-to-end data solutions for business enterprises, social organizations, educational and healthcare institutions, and Indian consumers.”

 Most analysts are apprehending that Reliance and Mukesh will once again get a back door entry into the mobile telephony space using the BWA spectrum. As of now Internet telephony within India is not allowed. Once Reliance has rolled out their infrastructure for broadband, it is apprehended they will cleverly manipulate the regulators and policy makers in Delhi, in the name of low cost of telephony for ‘aam aadmi’ to open up Internet telephony. Remember, papa had said that domestic call should be cheaper than the price of a post card, the promise of Reliance. In public, politicians want to make policies that benefit the ‘aam aadmi’ , as long as they or their party is adequately compensated in private.

On earlier occasions, HFCL ( proxy for Reliance ?)   got away without honouring their licensing contracts and sabotaging India’s cellphone industry. Through back-door Reliance  entered cellphone services industry, which was an unfair competition to the existing players. Now the apprehension is using BWA, Reliance would make a backdoor entry into cellphone services  yet again by getting cheaper spectrum. 

The history of telecom industry in India is marked by a series of scams. So, what is one more scam. Politicians and businessmen create scams, media and bloggers cry hoarse about them. All in a day’s work

IPL - Bet its More than just cricket

As I was watching news regarding the IPL controversy, something stuck my mind. The IPL has turned murkier, now with a new avatar, as a combo of the top 3 entertainment industries of the nation, Cricket + Bollywood + Politics!

The hysteria has never died right from the day one the IPL has started; it has seen the either extremes of madness. The Pakistan players’ inclusion, Franchise selection process, the bomb blasts, the racist comments, the betting drama, match fixing allegations, the taxation episode, the underworld connection, everything made it even more "Indian viewer oriented".

Mr. Modi is a man of steel and he donned the play of resurrection every time he is punched down hard with some allegations. In light of all the controversies surrounding IPL, I think one brave step to avoid a little feud, from this war would be legalizing Betting in India. Gambling is socially acceptable in India, but not legally, it is this dichotomy which is at the root of the periodic bouts of headlines about betting and match fixing that comes out to haunt us every now and then. The IPL format seems to be tailor made for betting, and it would have benefited for good, if betting was made legal. Declaring something illegal does not mean we can wish it away, the bets continue to be laid, under the table, instead of, on the table. So proper legalization would also circumscribe criminalization of Indian sports, illegal rackets and money laundering.

The IPL controversy should serve as a wakeup call to the Government on the need to make betting legitimate. I feel that the bans are never a solution to a problem; they drive the activity in the dark, outside the formal system which makes it un regulatory. (Though the government draws a thin line, on where one can bet- i.e. games involving skill and games of chance, the demarcation is often ignored). Betting is allowed in horse racing as it is a game of skill and not a game of chance. But there is a lot, who argue why lottery is legal in certain parts, and they are right, for, the discriminating line is crossed by the government itself.

Detractors argue that unfettered gambling could lead the public to social and financial ruin. This is noble argument but erroneous because gambling is ubiquitous. Everyone benefits from transparency and disclosure of information, poor included. There is a patronizing assumption that poor does not know what is good for them, even though they gamble all the time when they elect political reps. we never think of counter factual. But is the present system of “Ban on betting" good for the poor, assuming they ought to be controlled against their own vices? Not really, as they resort to unregulated bootlegging type gambling. We may not get transparency if it is legalized but we will get translucency and it is done in many countries like UK, Australia already. The "regulated Betting environment" which even brings huge taxes to the government. By the way I owe a treat to few of my mates, for DC lost in the Semi finals!

That same old feeling of...

Time : 3.02 AM, Pune.Discovering the dormant side of me
The night after compleating my first Exam PPM in MBA

When in night I see the stars,
their light seems to vanish the dark,
but i feel a scare in my heart
I don't know what triggers this fear...

When i see the sun in morn
its scorching heat falls on my palms
and it seems my throbbing heart would never calm.
I dont know what triggers this fear...

When in cold winter days
the wind blows over my face
i feel the chill
as if the wind is going to kill.
i dont know what triggers this fear...

When in hot summer days,
the loo hovers like a ghost
i feel that its hot trap would engulf my soul
i don't know what triggers this fear...

My dolorous heart, my sickening fear
for the day is near
when i would be killed by fear!

Sleeping in seminars?, Here is a way to change all !

What did we do in all those boring workshops for 10-12 hours a day, and those guest lectures, which no one had any idea about what they were talking, they included!

Being an aspiring entrepreneur, I came out with this unique start-up strategy. Venture capitalists are welcome :)

The proposal is simple, before your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare your "Bullshit coupon" by drawing a square 5X5 or 6x6.

A prototype is below

Strike off each block when you hear these words during a meeting, seminar, or phone call. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout BULLSHIT!! (Raise your hand if you can't utter in front of your faculty, guest or Manager) Believe me those boring meetings would never be the same.

Here is a database to help you:

Strategy, Synergy, B2B, Out of the box, Customer delivered value, Revisit, Take that off-line, 24/7, Out of the loop, Value added services, Win-win, Think out of the box, Proactive, Fast track, Return on Investment, Knowledge base, At the end of the day, prototype, Touch base, Client focused, potential, Ballpark, Game plan, Leverage, Economic viability, Legacy, Real time, Push, Sequentially, Core competencies, USP, Scalable, Due Diligence,  Market Leader, Wow Factor, Bottom Up, Target Audience, High Level, Expectations, Sustainability, Knowledge Base, Sub Optimal, Demographics, Empowerment, Technical Requirements, Multitasking, Outsource, Corporate, Networking, Prospects, Bottom line, Benchmark, Result-driven, Mindset, Cascade, feasibility, Core Business, Bottle Neck, Scope, Resource

My desk project on Merchant Banking

I am flattered by our professors comments with my desk project on Merchant banking.
I have scored 8/10 BTW

Merchant Banking

Guys Rule ! I mean., Guy's Rules...

1) Yes, pissing standing up is more difficult than peeing from point blank range. We're bound to miss sometimes.
2) If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
3) ALL men see in only 16 colors, like windows default settings. Peach and pumpkin are just fruits, not colors. We have no idea what mauve is.
4) If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
5) If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
6) Sometimes, we are not thinking about you. Live with it. Don’t ask him what he's thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss topics like navel lint, Indian Monitory Policy, Future ICC tournaments.
7) Get rid of your pet. And no, it's not different, it's just like every other.
8) Shopping is not sport.
9) Anything you wear is fine.Really.You have enough clothes and too many shoes.
10) Your ex-boyfriend is an idiot, your brother and Dad probably are too.
11) Ask for what you want. Subtle hints never work. Please.
12) Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers.
13) A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. You need a doctor.
14) Your Mom doesn't have to be our best friend.
15) Foreign films are best left to foreigners.
16) Don't fake it. We'd rather be ineffective than deceived.
17) It is neither in your best interest nor ours to take the quiz together
18) You definitely lack in logic, accept it.
19) Anything, said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. All comments become null and void after 7 days.
20) If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad and angry, we obviously mean the other one.
21) You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done- not both.
22) Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
23) We don’t normally take a leave unless ill or its urgent, and I was not the one whom you saw at the mall.
24) Columbus didn't need directions, and neither do we.
25) Don't cry, we really have no sympathy, we hate it !
26) The relationship is never going to be like it was the first two months we were going out.
27) No, we do not know what day it is. We never will. Mark anniversaries on a calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand. Its Ok.

Comming up >>>

Rules which girls have to know about guys ..

Gauging Harsha

Yes, writing a book review is harder than writing it, I compleatly agree. Latest assignment of writing a book review to a book which I have not already read was challenging and pretty tough, after going through many sites and reviews of books, I thought I have learnt the straight drives and cover drives of it, What better book to choose to write a review on than a Book which had written introduction by Sachin,The Mastro himself . The Book brought two people whom I admired a lot, together. One Sachin Himself and the other Harsh Bhogle.

I couldn't resit my temptation to buy this Book at landmark, though it was costly. "Out of the Box: Watching the Game We Love" - By Harsh Bhogle, The subtle way he drives home the serious points is simply amazing.When Harsha first came into the commentary box, he brought with him a rare sense of excitement, a deep regard for the game's traditions and a profound empathy for its players. There was,the boy-next-door image attached to him too, which, once he had found his feet in television, made him the first superstar of the game in India who was not actually a player. Amazingly, after two decades Bhogle retains the enthusiasm and a child-like wonder that communicates itself to the listener. There are no fans like 12-year-old fans, some one once said, and Bhogle is a 12-year-old fan bringing the game into our drawing rooms without the cynicism or world-weariness common to journalists. This is remarkable. Nor is there word-weariness, if this book, the short pieces in which were written first for the Indian Express is any indication. The first of the pieces was written some five years ago. For a traditionalist, it is surprising that he begins with the Twenty20 - he was associated with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL - before moving on to Test cricket and assessment of the great players.

Harsha really writes well, and conveys to the reader a sense of immediacy, even urgency, as he comments on India's matches, looks forward or throws a backward glance, and occasionally gets personal (some of the best pieces, incidentally, like his column on the 1983 World Cup triumph). This is both the strength and the weakness of the book. The immediacy captures a moment, but occasionally suggests that the tyranny of the looming deadline has triumphed over the need for what he himself calls "weightiness". In a crisp summing up in the preface, he says, "While television rewards spontaneity, the written word demands weightiness. It is a completely different genre but one that is crippled by insensitivity to words."

Yet, there are enough gentle strokes of the brush, especially in the player portraits, that make up for this. Rahul Dravid, he says, "is like the musician plucking each note carefully, a scientist doing a titration where each drop matters. Sehwag might wonder at the need for it." The metaphors come thick and fast, and the comparisons are bang on target. I have two grouses, however. One is the felt need to occasionally cater to the lowest common denominator by dragging in Bollywood to make a point, and the other is the lack of insider stories from a man who has seen Indian cricket, indeed world cricket, from inside out. It would also have been good to have some of his early writings, from the days when he was less rushed and wrote with an innocence that was charming. But that isn't his fault. This is a collection of columns from a specific newspaper over a certain period, and such columns have their limitations. It would have been lovely, too, to have had anecdotes about his colleagues in the commentary box, and stories of the people he has interviewed with such a wonderful combination of "weightiness" and fun. Bhogle's best work is yet to be anthologised, and for fans everywhere like me, that is something to look forward to.

Dreams unlimited....

1. I dream of waking up with a six pack abs and hair that John Stamos would envy.
2. I want to wake up to a day with no chores and many friends to catch up and party with.
3. I dream of singing 'Tu Jahan' to my girlfriend.
4. I dream of having a girlfriend in the first place.
5. 'Papa kehthey hain' is my song. I want to be live up to it.
6. Though I secretly wish to be the world's most popular person (I don’t know for what), I would be satisfied if meeting or talking to me would bring a smile to peoples’ faces.
7. Frankly, I cannot help everybody in the world, but I would do everything I can to see all my friends always smile.
8. Reaching the top position and staying there is probably the toughest thing to do in any field, I want to be the second best in everything I do.
9. Sometime in my life, I want to be something different from everybody else and want everybody to be proud of me for being good at that.
10. The best compliment I want, would be "I trust you", especially if that came from a girl.
11. I am waiting for some special girl to walk into my life and change it forever, for the better.
12. I really like to learn. I wish I got teachers that really like to teach.
13. I want to be at a high position (second high) of a company and overhear my employees talk about me as if they worship me.
14. I really like to sing., I wish I had a better voice.
15. I am still waiting for my dream friends group with 2-3 guys and 2-3 girls who trust each other with their lives.., trust is the keyword.
16. I am still waiting for a lot of things to happen.

I like to dream, dreams give you things that you haven't got or don't get in your real life. Dreams give you motivation and inspiration. Dreams dig out things hidden deep inside your mind that you were not aware of. Dream as much as you can., enjoy your dreams. Treasure them. Dream on, dream on, Dream until your dream come true ...

Is it bad to be a lil selfish... ? I guess not ! I'm happy !

Just trying to figure out when I had written this post, which laid buried in the drafts till I discovered it today ! hmmm probably about 3 years back when people whom I "thought" as best friends flew away abroad, got married etc with out even calling me to say something... It seems I was really heart then, but now, In retrospection, I am not, this is probably called maturity I suppose!  Read on... 

This is a long post and something you probably never thought you would hear from me. This could change people's opinion about me, but I am true to my blog and to my friends. You deserve to know the real me but at the same time you have to understand that I am not a cold hearted robot. I am still the same Chichi u know me as. I am still learning the meaning of life and I have learnt that not everything is or can be perfect. Life is not a fairy tale, it is more like a horror movie with a lot of humor and a good ending.

Times change, many things change with time, people around you change with time. What do you do? Nature has provided you with the answer and it has worked for thousands of years. You evolve, you adopt. I have been in that process for sometime now, knowingly or unknowingly I have been evolving. Might sound a little unscrupulous, but in today's world the evolution principle of "survival of the fittest' has became really important and that is to live a little selfishly.

Be generous and give something to others and they will keep asking for more. Not just materialistic things but emotional stuff like your love and attention. Some people are never satisfied. Try to be a goodie-goodie and before you know they are the center of your universe and your life revolves around them. I am not advising you against this, just do it for those who really really deserve it.

As far as charity goes, I am not an extremely generous guy but I am not stingy or a penny pinching guy. I am a practically generous guy. I say give away when you have just enough for yourself. Yes you can argue against it saying all nice stuff but hey... that is how I think.

I was very nice to everybody and NEVER lost my temper, and what did I get in return? People took advantage of the fact that there is nothing that would make me angry and I would just shut up at everything they do. They made me wait long hours, never listened to me, played some real cruel jokes with me, took me for granted in everything. Friends can have that liberty with me all right but everything, EVERYTHING has a limit. I have had enough and I have evolved to the situation. I speak my mind out now. I express my anger, sadness, disappointment and annoyance when and where I need to. Sure some sparks fly but there is no fire. They would probably feel a little bad, but so do I and the best part is that these kind of things don't happen again.

Did I help everybody who asked for help? Yes, I did. Do I still do? Well, to most of them! Those few who were excluded during the evolution process are 'takers' and not givers. I don’t help others for something else in return. Least I can expect in return is appreciation. Don't even have to say thanks, there are other ways of showing it. I know some people who after doing a lot for them shamelessly ask me what I did for them. They deserve a slap rite across the face but my moral ethics hold me back. Gratitude is what separates humans from chimps and those who don't have it should be picking fleas from others backs and eating bananas.

Friends, good friends, best friends. I never had these 'classifications' all my life, until recently. All my life I treated all my friends the same, the only difference being, spending more time with a few than others, which I couldn't really do much about. I treated everybody like my close friends. God gave me this gift, that people easily confide in me. I have always mistaken that trust to be a sign of them being my close friends and it hit me hard when I knew it wasn't true. Call somebody your best friend and the other person sometimes doesn’t even want to talk or meet you coz their priority is somebody else, that could be one of the worst feeling you can have.

You get what you give as far as your "love, attention and care for somebody" goes, I say give what you can get back. I have given too much attention and care to a few people. I don't regret it but it is sad that I didn't get back as much.

Live life ( jussssssst a little selfishly) .... Love life ( a lot selfishly ) !!