Its Official! Bajji and Symonds Tie the Knot!!

I cant believe it... after all this time... this what they really wanted.

A good clean marriage :)

Pregnant Pause...

I had the best weekend ever… if crouching in front of the TV and watching it with bulging, droopy, watery eyes if your idea of fun. On the other hand, if you are like most ppl and prefer going out somewhere on a weekend, then… well, I dint get any of that… All thru the weekend I was stretched out in front of the TV as if I was about to give birth. And if a mid-wife were present, I’m sure she would have pulled one bundle of joy outta me by the end of it all.

Why was I in this predicament you ask? Well, the speakers to my TV conked out and the only way I could listen to the sermons from the holy box (and by that I mean program information about upcoming bikini shows on FTV) was to connect my earphone to the damned thing and slop 2 feet from the screen. You will appreciate the difficulty and gravity of the situation. Here I am, watching the TV with all the intensity and reverence that I’ve always held towards it, but with no space to maneuver, it was a constant struggle between man and machine to see who will buckle first.

Well, I can proudly say that I won the struggle for supremacy albeit with a god damned pain to my rear end, not to mention my spine (the good thing is now I know for sure that im not spine less)

DINK, DINKY, SITCOM... the urban acronyms

was so insulted the other day! An acquaintance used the filthy D word on me! He called me a DINK! How utterly insulting! Dude, I’m not a DINK… I’m a DINKY… Hello… will u keep up with the times please… But seriously, what id really like to be is DINKWAD… but as it stands I’m a DINKYANDE.

I know what you are thinking… that I’ve gone bonkers? I’m way ahead of you buddy, I’d gone bonkers a long time back :P But that’s a topic for serious discussion at a later point in time. For now, lets get back to and stick to the insult I had to undergo. I’m quite sure most of you would have heard of the word DINK. But have you ever given it a thought? Have you ever thought of what it means? Have you ever thought of what it does to people who are called that? It’s shocking I tell you… shocking!! Sob… Sob…

DINK is part of a wide array of urban acronyms that have bloomed since the 1970s – 80s in the western world and like all things western which takes 2-3 decades to reach India; we are now exposed to this fantastic phenomenon ourselves. Talk about aping the west! Sometimes I think we are on a path to negative evolution as so rightly illustrated here! :)



Coming back to our post modern urban acronyms, its fun to see what each of them means. As the famous line goes – “In the beginning there was the command line…” Oops! Wrong line. The real line is “In the beginning there was nothing... Then God said ‘Let there be Wi-Fi’” and so began the lifestyles that gave rise to these now iconic acronyms. And boy, they come in different flavours… one for every aspect of post modern urban life.

Starting with the basics, one of the first acronym to have been coined was YUP (Young Upcoming Professional) which eventually became YUPPIE. YUPPIE is a HIPPIE who works except they are far from being HIPPIEs. YUPPIE stands for Young Upcoming Prosperous Professional. In simple terms (s)he is a self-centered egoistic, materialistic, very mobile, gadgets and gizmos loving, on the hottest wheels and carry themselves about in an air of bluff heartiness. As they get older and become team leads and managers they metamorphose into MUPPIEs (Middle-aged Upcoming Prosperous Professional). Basically much older and wiser(?) YUPPIEs. And like Canara Bank, nothing changes with a change in Logo does it?

DINK (Double Income No Kids) – Both partners too busy with personal and professional life to have kids to bother them. This is a fast growing breed. And if the breed grows beyond control, there goes human race!!! What with all the work pressure and fast paced life, sprinkled with impotency and a touch of poor health, its no wonder the breed is growing.

DINS (Double Income No Sex) – I would reckon many DINKs are also at this place in life. Atleast no sex with each other ;)

NOK (NO Kids) – These are couples who may or may not have a double income, but they surely do not want to have kids. Just like DINKs, they value their independence and freedom too much to have a screaming demanding baby demand attention.

DINKWAD (Double Income No Kids With A Dog) – A variation of the DINK but with a yearning for unconditional love and gratitude which they get from their sweet cute doggie.

DINKY (Double Income No Kids Yet!) – Mostly a Confused desi or too busy at the present. But there is hope. These couples will sooner or later succumb to social pressures and have their bundle of joy. This will earn them the right to metamorphose into DEWKs, SILKs or worse, SITCOMs or SINKs. Once this happens, life comes full circle and the couple can’t wait to go back to being DINKs! Basically, all hell breaks loose and they can’t seem to tie their loose ends!!

DINKYANDE (Double Income No Kids Yet And No Dog Either) – Basically life sucks. They are no closer to being a DINKY than being a DINKWAD.

DEWK (Dual Employed With Kids) – They are poor people. Not monetarily, but poor for time. They have money and lots of it. They can buy all the happiness for their kids but don’t have the time to be part of it. They burn their asses out to earn even more so as to give even more to their kids to make up for lack of time. Typical catch22 situation.

SITCOM (Single Income, Two Kids, Oppressive Mortgage) – I have no words for them but I do extend my heartfelt condolences.

SILK (Single Income Lots of Kids) – It’s a war zone out there. Parents struggling to keep the boat afloat, kids struggling equally hard to sink it!!

And then we have SINK (Single Income Numerous Kids) – On the brink of bankruptcy. And looks like it’s the lady who works. The guy has no other job!!

Apart from this we also have,

BURP - Branded Urban Rebuilding Professional
MURP - Massively Urban Rebuilding Professional
SLURP - Single Literate Urban Rebuilding Professional
TWURP - Totally Wholesome Useless Rebuilding Professional
SYRURP - Sexy Young & Restless Urban Rebuilding Professional
SNERT - Snot Nosed Egoistical Rude Teenagers.
YAVIS - Young Attractive Verbal Intelligent Successful.
KIPPERS - Kids In Parents' Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings.
SINBAD - Single Income No Boyfriend And Desperate.

And where do we all go from here?

GLAM - Greying, Leisured, Affluent, Married.
PODWOG - Parents Of Dinks WithOut Grandchildren.
WOOF - Well Off Older Folk.

Go figure!!

GLIM - GD/PI

Saturday, 8AM, BVB, Race Course Road. I was part of the first Bangalore GD/PI batch of Great Lakes Institute of management, chennai for the year. Reached there at 7 AM (Yes, I make it a point to be much earlier than necessary as I hate the concept of IST – Indian Stretchable Time ). And the security guys were not even UP!! Anyway, ppl started trickling in by 7:30 AM. And caught the first sight of a GLIM student by around 7:45AM. I don’t know his name, but I had met him when he had come to Bangalore for the GLIM tour in September, 2007. He soon led us to the waiting area where our GMAT/CAT scores were validated.

The whole process, according to me, went very smoothly and to my surprise, got over in just over 2 hours. This was very pleasantly different from other interviews I have faced and I have to give a Thumbs Up to the organisers and students from the current batch who came for the process. Very well executed and done. In most other institutes, it normally takes an entire day and would amount to a logistics nightmare. That dint happen here (At least not for my slot, not sure about the rest) Only negative I saw in the process was that none of the organisers thought of introducing themselves and putting the candidates at rest about the entire process. Apart from this, all went like clock work.

There were around 17 ppl in the 8Am batch. We were split into 2 groups. I was the first one in group A. Both an advantage and a disadvantage in my opinion. Advantage coz my interview was scheduled as soon as I came back from my GD. Disadvantage coz I (and no: 10 in the Group) was sitting the closest to the GD evaluators (rectangular table, evaluators at one head of the table) and also coz I had to crane my neck to get a view of most ppl in the discussion.

My case based GD topic was “Mr Y is a small hotel owner who caters to the middle class providing good local food and low prices. 2 new hotels come up in your vicinity, also aimed at the middle/upper middle class. The new hotels are multi cuisine and offer online ordering of food for specific time etc. but Mr Y does not want to get into all these gimiks. What marketing should he do in order to survive?” The GD was OK... Not too much of fish market, though there were very strong ppl there. GD was for 15 mins, but we were asked to conclude much earlier. (Maybe the evaluators felt we weren’t doing justice to the topic). When we were asked to conclude, we got into another round of discussions!! Over all I was not too happy with it.

After the GD, we has the personality profiling test. 24 sets of 4 words, choose the words that most (M) and Least (L) describe you. 7 mins. This is one area where you should NOT (yes, NOT) think. You need to mark the first thing that comes to your mind. Since the questions are related, if you try to fudge some answers to make you look “better” (again its debatable if a persons personality is better than someone else’s), it will be caught in some other qn and you will come out as not consistent. Keep in mind that there is NO right or wrong answers in this. It’s about your personality. And there is nothing right or wrong about that.

We were asked to return to the waiting area to wait for the “kill”. PI I mean. After about 10 mins I was led to be butchered, or so I thought. But, again I was surprised to find that my interview panel put me at rest. 2 ppl, one professor and one young chap (either an alumnus or a student). Again, they dint introduce themselves. After the usual pleasantries, the interview started.

1) Tell us about yourself, your work.
2) Why do you want to do your MBA
3) You have a good thing going on in you present work, why do u want to change it?
4) Why GLIM
5) If there are 3 things that you look for in GLIM, what would it be?
6) Why do u want to do 1 yr MBA and not 2yr? Obviously, 2yr is better right?
7) Your recommenders have mentioned that you do not like processes. How would u comment on that?
8 ) Why do you want to change to finance?
9) If you want to meet your targets at the end of the month, but say you want to be honest about selling financial products, how will that work out?
10) What are your hobbies?
11) What do u do when you don’t go on bike rides?
12) What’s the diff in your opinion about a wealth manager and HR manager? Both of them interact with ppl right?
13) If you are HR manager of a company and you have 3 body guards with you (??? I immediately asked if I really need to walk around with 3 body guards ), and you see some of the workers not working and simply wasting time, how would you deal with the situation.

I would have guessed the interview went on for about 20-25 mins. I do not know what to make of it really, I felt I did a pretty decent job, but that’s what I hear everyone say!!! When I returned to the waiting area, I was told I could leave.

So I guess it’s a 2-3 week wait for the results to be posted. Keeping fingers crossed in the time being

Travelogue - Bangalore to Sirsi - By Tharangini Balasubramanian

Bike ride : From a pillion’s (Tharang’s) point of view :)


The Bikers
Amit

From NDS_Biking_tr...

Prashanth

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Kushal

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Sarang

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Aditya

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Uday

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George

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Jasim

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The Pillions
Pruthvi

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Tharang

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The Bikes
3Thunderbirds and 3Pulsars

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Adventure, Thrill, Laughter, Fun, Endurance, Capability a pinch of tension and rising above that. The feeling of having achieved the dream of conquering 1300 km on your dream machine. That is what our bike ride was all about.

Stretched over 4 days, with ample stops to view scenic beauty all around us and discovering new places, it was a mutual understanding between the machine and the people not to let each other down. :)

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

Day 1: 6 bikes and 9 people started of from Bangalore.

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Time 8am –Jalahalli cross. Already an hour late.. :) Destination was Sirsi via Tumkur, Arsikere and Shimoga. Through the heavy mist in nelamangala we proceeded towards Tumkur. After our first break for breakfast we continued on our journey. Our agenda also included Jog Falls on Day 1 but had to be postponed due to ample stops for tea and tender coconuts and the silencer which fell off from George’s bike( which by the way, he did not miss at all :) if it was not for the people following him, we might have proceeded a nice long way without the silencer..) We had a wonderful 1.5 hours of relaxation and photo session while the silencer was being welded back. After a wonderful combination of snacks and lunch at Shimoga at 5pm we started towards Sirsi. The chillness in the air was evident. The peaceful surroundings and the wonderful feeling of getting away from the mad hustle bustle of the city. After a brief stop for dinner we reached Sirsi at 11:00 pm. ( we lost our way once and might have landed up in Jog falls if not for some guidance by a good samartian whom we had all eyed with sufficient suspicion initially, especially since he was drunk to the core) After covering 400 kms on the first day we were indeed ready for some rest and sleep. Next day was scheduled for adventure and fun, and we got more than we expected.. :)

(Day 1 familiarized us with both smooth and rough roads. Our backs cursed us during the pot holed stretches which was promptly forgotten every time we hit a smooth stretch.)


Day 2: After a good night’s rest and a filling breakfast we set of towards Unchalli Falls – 30 kms from Sirsi.

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Udays’ wife Pruthvi joined us at sirsi for the most happening day of our trip. The ride was quite smooth and after a short climb down for the best view of the falls and clicking about 50- 60 snaps, ( some grand modeling sessions for the same ) we decided to move to destination 2 – Yana.

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This was one ride none of us expected or were prepared for except for Prashanth who was riding with a ‘I told you so’ look on his face while we had a feel of these wonderfully red muddy roads with the mud so fine that we felt we were riding through thick red clouds. What an experience traveling at a speed of 20 km/hr looking fantastically mud red. It was at this beautiful location that Sarang tried his skills as a biker with a wonderful wheely that added to the adventure (though it would have been better if he had tried it without a pillion :) ) while I experienced my first fall from a bike. It was an exhilarating experience, one we laughed about quite a bit later, but at that point of time we were covered in mud from head to toe, and once all bones were confirmed to be intact, our fellow bikers decided to capture our muddy attires on camera.

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

Destination Yana was reached at about 4pm. After a wonderful 2 hours there among the most magnificent rock formations, visit to the temple there, (I do hope we got some blessings from the good lord there, coz I really doubt if he would have recognized any of us) we decided to proceed back, The same wonderful muddy tracks, but with an added attraction, riding on this road but in the dark, crossing a stream with smooth pebbles n nice chill water, with the bike (of course while Navigators –Amit standing outside the stream and Kushal standing knee deep in water did a grand job keeping the bikes from stalling) . we proceeded trying to get a glimpse of the tracks ahead of us while trying not to get lost.

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The first sight of tarred roads made us feel like getting down on our knees to worship them... :)

Next destination: Kumta – well the beach was in our agenda, and we could not skip it could we?

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

Reached Kumta at about 8:15pm and spent a peaceful hour on the beach. A really amazing sight with thousands of stars above, the gentle sound of the water and the pleasant breeze to wash away all our tiredness. After some emergency welding that needed to be done on a couple of bikes it was time for some dinner and headed back, Short stop for Dinner. Where we tried to get rid of as much Yana mud as possible in the hand wash area before eating ( much to the dismay of the restaurant staff) and after some adventurous night riding, with just 1.5 hours of sitting continuously on the bike, we reached back to sirsi at 12:30 pm.

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(Another highly exhausting, memorable, adventurous day over :). This was almost beginning to feel like a reality show. )



Day 3: We were supposed to head back to Bangalore after a brief stop at Jog, which we soon realized was not to be. Well when we were on schedule anyways... :) After some easy riding we reached Jog at noon. The moment we reached there no one was in any mood to leave in a hurry. After some nice juicy pineapple, rock trekking, some relaxation and some cooling off by the guys, some more nice juicy pineapple and this time cucumbers too we set off.

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Next destination: Sagar – for lunch.

Well that was not to be... Not so soon anyway... :) Jasim decided to have some adventure on his own this time. (But glad he decided to have his adventure without a pillion :) ) One smooth fall while negotiating a curve did put him out of action but did nothing to dampen his spirits. While 4 people waited with Jasim in the hospital while his wounds were being given gentle care, (we also did hear that he was just not ready to leave the hospital coz of the ambience there) the other four waited under a banayan tree in Sagar , bag baggage and bikes , much to the amusement of the locals and a few school children who thought it was better to stare at us rather than use their playtime playing.

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After a while and more curious locals, the waiting area was shifted to a nearby restaurant, where we decided to occupy the entire family room where the major attractions were the cushioned seats. Food never tasted better. The others joined us shortly, looking tired and hungry. The waiter there was quite hassled at our strange manner of ordering just 1 or 2 dishes at a time again and again specially when he had to climb the stairs for each cup of coffee.. :)

It was obvious that Jasim would not be able to ride for this trip, not with his cast anyway (He would have maybe- If he was allowed :)) but he was bundled off to Bangalore by bus along with George who magnanimously offered to be his caretaker.

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From 9 – down to 7 with aims of reaching Sringeri for the night. Instead broke our journey for the day at Thirthahalli,

(Kushal showed of his skills of riding while sleeping – Must be related to Arjuna in some way...:) )

Prashanths’ place where both the nice hot home food and accommodation was very gratefully received by all of us. Amit also decided to demonstrate his imitation skills, by imitating a bullet. But, since it was in the middle of the night, specially while he was fast asleep, and the others were trying to, it was not very well received by all... :)

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

Prashanth always got more time to enjoy the scenic beauty (day or night) before the others could catch up with him... ;-)

Aditya’s penchant for driving without a helmet was giving us all nightmares which he thankfully altered after Jasim’s fall , though it would have been better if we did not need such a glaring example.. :)

Day 4: (Not initially in our agenda – but got added anyways :) ) Must say Mornings away from the maddening crowd of the city are always so much more peaceful and pleasant. A morning walk makes u realize what exactly is the oxygen we breath. After some nice hot coffee and Tea (Thanks to Prashanth’s mom) we proceeded to Sringeri. All of us were glad to get our share of blessings from the goddess; Aditya had his own reasons also, for being glad to be in Sringeri in front of the goddess. After a wonderful darshan, that too on sankranthi, we proceeded for some brunch at a nearby hotel.

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Next stop: Chikmaglur (Ambitious planning... :) ) the scenic beauty enroute to Chikmaglur was just plain beautiful. Nature at her best. A short break for some snaps in the middle of the road, and another short break for ‘Just relaxing’ and we were gald we were on schedule at last…, well guess the good lord heard us and decided that it was against our principles , so we had a flat tire.

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

From NDS_Biking_tr...

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Another hour of sitting on the roadside while an enterprising mechanic (who was smart enough to leave his card in a shop nearby, knowing fully well that this was a lucrative stretch for him) came to fix the flat tire, Some waiting, some snaps later, we were again on our way, but now decided to skip the stop in Chikmaglur and proceed to Hassan to make up for the time lost. The ride from Chikmaglur to hassan was the fastest of the trip, with wonderful roads bringing out the enthusiasm in everyone to speed away.

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From NDS_Biking_tr...

The beautiful sunset added to our growing number of snaps.

Sarang decided that the route needed some washing with petrol and contributed generously from his own bike when he suddenly realized he needed some petrol to reach Hassan too. So Uday contributed some petrol generously from his bike so that all of us could reach Hassan together.

Hassan at last… Time for some filling snacks in a Hotel (with well cushioned seats again).

Now was the last lap of our journey – Back home to Bangalore after the most exciting 4 days which tested everyone’s endurance, patience, stamina and fulfilled our entire quest for adventure, thrill :)

Touched Bangalore at 11 PM after 1300 Kms on bike. Mission accomplished. It was a reality show in complete sense and we just cannot wait to take off again... :)

From NDS_Biking_tr...

- Tharangini Balasubramanian

ISB Rejected me!!!

:(

SP Jain Singapore - Dubai - Jan 2008 intake Interview experience

So my first MBA interview for the year is done. Like i mentioned in my previous post, i was waitlisted for interview by ISB!! :(( i really don’t know why. I have a GMAT score of 710/5.0 and good acads and very good extra curriculars (compared to the general population). I mean, how many can claim to have had the chance of going on an international exchange program while at school or being the state level award winning college magazine editor!! and yet, they chose to waitlist me :( Anyway, im hoping to get a call from them.

When i was waitlisted for ISB, i panicked... Yes... and thats why i applied for SP Jain Singapore - Dubai - Jan 2008 intake (initially i had decided on applying for the June intake only after i had exhausted the 2 other schools i was looking at - ISB and GLIM). To cut the story short, i got short listed for the interview and had to fly in on the 24th of Nov, 2007. The first surprise was that Mumbai Airport is truly worldclass.. really I saw just the domestic terminal.. but man!! Its good.. Hope they maintain it like that.

Anyway, met many of the other prospectives in the flight itself or on reaching the airport.. went to the SPJCRM campus by auto. Had breakfast and went for the eval process. I had chosen 1Pm as my slot, but I requested to be accommodated for the 10:30 Am slot and was allowed to. First, we had to submit all the attested copies of certificates along with 3 photographs and 12 self addressed sticker labels(!! IS SPJ so short on cash that they cant print addresses??).

After having done that, we were given 20 Mins for a case study. Mine was “Indian companies have been going Global over the past 15 yrs. As the head of a company that has its roots set in the Indian market, what would be your 3 strategies to take your products or services Global”. My points were – 1) Mergers and Acquisitions, 2) Tie up with established firms there and 3) Start ops in some of these countries. After that we were to write 2 essays which were personality based. Mine were 1) Who is the person who influenced you a lot in life and why. 2) What is your greatest personal achievement and why.

After this a lot of time was wasted waiting around for the GD and PI. One thing about the process is that you need to run behind the people managing the show to get yur slot for PI and GD (If you need that done according to your time) otherwise thay will take their own sweet time to call you (since there will be so many others who will be scheduling their PIs and GD as per their time).

Anyway I got to go to my PI soon afterwards. It was pure stress interview. Frankly it took me about 10 mins to realize that it’s a stress interview. And then I calmed myself down and started having fun along with them in answering the Qns. I think my interview lasted about 20 mins. They din ask me anything like describe yourself and such clichéd questions. Got right down to business. The first professor asked me to invest his 4 Crores. Yes… I had to ask him all sorts of Qns to get to know his requirement etc.. Looking back I should have asked for a piece of paper and written it down. I was doing it all in my head. Anyway, to cut the story short, I screwed up. And they told me so (well in better words obviously!!). I don’t remember all the qns they asked. But they did touch upon my present domain and y I want to do Wealth management. I liked the PI session. But they told me after my MBA ill be offered only 6L pa as fresh Wealth Manager. But I reckon it was part of interview process how I would do.

Then I had the GD. Topic – “International business are ruining local business establishments” . 8 of us. It was not a good grp. Im not happy with the GD performance. After that I was sent for verification of certificates following which I had the Director interview.

The Director interview was nothing great. He kept telling me to take IT instead of WM as my profile suited it the most and ill be shunned during placements as I wud be a fresher. I got the feeling that he was promoting IT. He “counseled” me on how ive been doing excellent wrk in my present domain etc and how it would be best for me to stick to that. Also the school will not be able to place me in a good firm with great salary. Probably only 6L pa. and wud I be happy with that. And asked him the following Qn – “The demographic of students joining SPJ or any premier institution for that matter comprises of 70 – 80% IT students. And most of these students opt for IB, WM and other financial specializations. If what you say is true, then how can these students be placed and how do you justify the 14.5L avg salary posted on your website.” In reply he said, “I still feel its best for u to join IT. As the director im honestly counseling you”. I had heard rumors that IB and WM were already full and they were conducting these last minute interviews to fill up seats for other specializations. I told him I need time to think of it. But after looking at the figures again, it does not make sense for me to spend 13-14L on the MBA and get a job with avg salary of 11L. if I simply shift my job right now, ill get close to that figure. I promptly mailed back to the Adcom that I was sticking to the WM specialization.

I felt the Director interview was pretty dodgy. He was trying to get me to commit to IT which I dint want. Im glad I dint give in at that time and asked for time to think about it. All in all, the experience was not too great (except the PI part, which I enjoyed a lot).

Hunter Patch Adams - First lines of the Movie

All of life is a coming home. Salesmen, secretaries, coal miners, beekeepers, sword swallowers, all of us. All the restless hearts of the world, all trying to find a way home. It's hard to describe what I felt like then. Picture yourself walking for days in the driving snow; you don't even know you're walking in circles. The heaviness of your legs in the drifts, your shouts disappearing into the wind. How small you can feel, and how far away home can be.

Home. The dictionary defines it as both a place of origin and a goal or destination. And the storm? The storm was all in my mind. Or as the poet Dante put it: In the middle of the journey of my life, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had lost the right path. Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place.

George - Hope i get to find my right path

Back at blogging..

After many months of sleep and hibernation, im back in business (at least until the next time the company decides to block blogging!!!).

Ive been upto no good all these past months, what with preparing for MBA and the likes, who has the time to be good..

Infact i did pretty good in my GMAT (710/5.0) or so i though untill i saw posts from a million others posing scores l;ike 730, 750, 780... sheesh... and i knew i wasback to square one... the worst happened when i was waitlisted for interview from ISB. :(

I had my SPJCM interview this last saturday at mumbai... You know what i liked about the experience? Mumbai airport is really world class!! :)

On Faith...

To the republicans, Prez Bush inspite of all his 'Bushisms', is synonymous to the Almighty as can be seen from the below war or words b/w the Democrat and the Republican

The Democrat - "Some of my best friends are Democrats, and I personally know several who go to church."

The Republican - "That doesn't mean they have any faith. You can't believe in the Almighty if you don't believe in President Bush!!!"

Well, as Jesus rightly said… Oh Ye of Little Faith :)

My Wishlist :)

I dont yearn for much... really :)

Photography

1. Nikon D80
2. Nikon DX VR 18-200 mm F3.5-5.6G Zoom
3. Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR lens
4. Nikon Speedlight SB-600
5. Sandisk CF cards 8GB
6. Lowepro NatureTrakker AW bag
7. Smartdisk FlashTrax XT (40GB)

Gaming Console

1. Sony PlayStation 3
2. Panasonic PT-AE1000U 1080p Home Theater Projector

Sound System

1. Acoustic Wave® music system II
2. Lifestyle® 48 Series III DVD home entertainment system

Mobile Devices

1. Apple iPhone
2. Philips PET1002 Portable DVD player
3. QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones
4. PSP™(PlayStation®Portable)

Bikes

1. Royal Enfield Electra 5 S

Cars and SUVs

1. TATA Safari Dicor VX 4WD
2. Mahindra Classic (RED)

The AEMI SCAM

Most people reading this article would have at some point in their lives taken a loan. Some would have had a good experience with the lender, be it a nationalized bank, private bank or the unorganized sector. And some would have had a pretty bad experience as well. Whichever the case, the odds and conditions for the loan would have been stacked against you.

My reason for writing this is not to discuss the one-sided conditions that are presented to the debtor (that will fill a whole book on the subject), but to inform the general public of a scam that has been going on right under our nose, under the “watchful” eye of the RBI and yet no one seems to notice it. And those who do (like brokers, dealers etc) turn a blind eye so that they can meet their numbers month on end. The scam of ADVANCE EMI (Equated Monthly Instalments) on loan from private banks.

I too have taken loans – educational loans, home loans, vehicular loans etc. Luckily the loans I took except my vehicle loan were from nationalized banks. Even though the service and speed at the nationalized banks is poor, debtors can heave a sigh of relief and rest assured that that will not be unduly tormented and robbed off their hard earned money.

But sadly I chose a private bank for my vehicle loan. At the time of taking the loan, I was not aware of the scam, nor did it cross my mind. I was one among the 1000s of unsuspecting masses eager to buy my first bike out of the salary from my first job. It was a proud moment it was and the sales man at the dealership breezed me through the formalities. I signed some papers, got the loan approved, gave my advance EMIs and cheque leaves for the rest of the EMIs and in 3 days time I had my lovely new bike. Then I embarked on the arduous task of repayment living on a hand to mouth existence.

So what’s wrong with advance EMI you ask?

As a case study, let’s assume you need to take Rs 1100 loan @ 10% pa which you will be paying off in 12 EMIs

Interest on Rs 1100 @ 10 % in a yr (12 EMIs) = Rs 110. (For simplicity’s sake lets say the interest is Rs 100.) (I know that EMI calculation is not as simple as this, but this is just a case point)

If One month Advance EMI (AEMI) is to be paid i.e Rs 100, then the actual principal taken on loan would be Rs 1000 and NOT Rs 1100 (As claimed by the bank)

And you still have 11 EMIs to pay.

And at the end of 12 EMIs, you would have paid Rs 1200.

Till here it is in line with what the bankers claim.
Now comes the not-so-apparent part of the deal.

Your effective interest % is (1200 – 1000)/1000 * 100 = 20% and NOT 10%!!! (Rs 1000 being the actual loaned amount)

Add to this the processing fees etc, and your actual interest will more than double. And if more than one Advance EMI is taken, then the actual interest % becomes even bigger (30% for 2 AEMI, 40% for 3 AEMI and so on)

This scam is not new and most of us have faced this. Only, none of us choose to question it. I wonder why the RBI is still allowing this to take place. These private banks are actually cheating people out of their hard earned money and no one seems to be taking them to task. While they claim to take 10% interest or so, in reality they are duping the consumer into paying 20% or more interest.

Recently I was faced with yet another “attractive loan offer” from a private bank.

I gave them my conditions.

1) NO Advance EMI
2) NO Pre-Closure charges
3) NO processing fees

Of course the representative of the bank was taken aback and refused to give me the loan under these terms to which I replied “That’s fine by me because all I need to do to secure a loan in this economy that we live in is to walk out into the street and shout ‘I need a loan’. So, unless u wake up and smell the cookie, it’s your loss!!!”

The Megapixel Myth

The above article (Click on the Title) has been written by one of the best reviewers ive come across. Go ahead, take a look at his site and get the advice you need before you go spending hard earned money on those 10 MP cameras!!!

Avoiding scams and fraud

You can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

- DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts.

- NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.

- FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.

- NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, address, telephone numbers, CC details, Online Transaction ids, etc.)

- ONLY SHOP AT TRUSTED SITES and keep a lookout for SECURE ENCRYPTED PAGES (128 bit encryption or more) before typing in CC details for payment. The encrypted pages should be supported by providers like Verisign etc, for it to be legitimate

- AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.

- ANY AND ALL "FREEBEES" AND "OFFERS" BY MARKETING PERSONNNEL MUST BE CONFIRMED IN WRITING. This is a very common fraud in this age of tele-marketing where the world is offered and all hell breaks loose.

Shop SAFE :)

A Tribute to my Mother

My mother is the sweetest and
Most delicate of all.
She knows more of paradise
Than angels can recall.

She's not only beautiful
But passionately young,
Playful as a kid, yet wise
As one who has lived long.

Her love is like the rush of life,
A bubbling, laughing spring
That runs through all like liquid light
And makes the mountains sing.

And makes the meadows turn to flower
And trees to choicest fruit.
She is at once the field and bower
In which our hearts take root.

She is at once the sea and shore,
Our freedom and our past.
With her we launch our daring ships
Yet keep the things that last.

My Mother, the sweetest...

QuickFix... The best Fix??

We live in the information age where at the click of a button a plethora of information is available at our fingertips. But are we really informed? Or more importantly do we really care to be informed? Information or knowledge is a powerful weapon. And like most weapons it can be used to do good or evil.

Let me get down to the specifics of this piece of writing through an anecdote. The other day, my wife and I went to a skin specialist to get his opinion on some pigmentation on my foot. He assured me that its nothing to worry about yet went on to prescribe around 7 medicines which he said would be available at the medical store downstairs. On my way down, I told my wife that in all probability the prescribed medicines were Steroid based. Before I went to the medical store, I called my parents (who are both doctors) to get their advice on them. And what do u know, the medicines indeed tuned out to be Steroid based. Needless to say, I did not buy them!!!

So how did I know that the medicines are probably Steroid based? Because I have been warned by my parents. They have seen the rise in use and prescription of these type of medicines by some of the new generation of doctors.

What is Steroid based medicines? Is it a health hazard? Steroids are effective and lifesaving medicines, but they can cause side effects if they are taken for a long time. These side effects include thin skin, a higher blood sugar level and weakened bones. Your body naturally makes steroids by itself. When you use steroid pills, sprays or creams, your body may stop making its own steroids. When you're under stress -- caused by infections or surgery, for example -- your body normally makes extra steroids. But if you have been taking steroids for a long time, your body may not be able to make enough steroids in times of stress. At these times, you may have to take more steroid medicine. It creates lower Immune response and heightened vulnerability to diseases.

There are way too many side effects to be mentioned here. For more details please go through http://www.asthma.org.uk/all_about_asthma/medicines_treatments/side_effects_of.html

If steroid based medicines are bad and have short term as well as long term side effects, then why do some doctors prescribe them? What is their incentive? Competition!!! Wouldn’t every doctor be like to be know for his/her “Magical Healing Powers“? Wouldn’t patients flock to them if they can cure illness in a matter of few days? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he/she can cure a viral fever in 3 days instead of the normal 7 days? In that case, they will get more practice, more name and ultimately more rewards from their profession. With so many doctors with super-specialty degrees graduating from the numerous colleges all over India, it is a quick way to make a name for oneself. So the medical weapon gets used to do evil.

And we, the uninformed public, fall prey to such unethical practices which go against the Hippocratic Oath which every doctor pledges to. I am not saying that all doctors are unethical. But the number is fast growing. It pays to be informed about these practices and take necessary caution. Children are particularly vulnerable to this practice as their immune systems are just getting built up.

So, for the sake of your and your family’s health, the next time you go to a doctor for treatment, do call up a trusted doctor to get his opinion on the medicine. I for one will not recommend that doctor to anyone else.

My first Blog

On whim and fancy, i decided to get into the game... the game of Blogging... Yes, its a game after all.. all life is a game... Why? cos you are thirsting attention from others.. .and trying to contribute to the world!!!