weekend supplement

“You’re making me angry…you won’t like me when I’m angry…” Ok…don’t cower in the corner...that’s a line from ‘The Hulk’ that’s currently on. Cool comic-strip flick. But I’m not quite sure about the underlying theme…it seems to say…Uncontrollable rage is a good thing coz it lets you kick butt. Kinda counter-intuitive if you ask me, rage only makes you more vulnerable. No such problems with the theme of the friendly neighbourhood Peter Parker…and yes Kit Walker(10 points if you guess that one) J Also, its still unresolved as to how his trousers expand to accommodate the 10 foot frame while the rest of his attire is shredded by his bulging muscles. Spidey doesn’t have that problem either…sleek aerodynamic outfit to match the powers ;)

Saw the most remarkable game today…872 runs in 100 overs! The first half was business-as-usual…to watch the Aussies come out and bat at their best in yet another crunch game. Ponting in the same murderous form that enabled him to maul the Indian bowling attack in the World Cup Finals. Add some cameos and they ended with…434…four hundred and thirty four runs! There are several reasons why the game should’ve been pretty much over at this stage…my top three…1. chasing any kind of total (let alone this monstrosity) in big games is tough 2. the morale of your batsmen couldn’t be lower than it is after that kind of abuse in the field 3. this is the aussies you’re talking about. Started watching the second half out of morbid curiosity…And guess what…SA did it…they successfully chased 434 to make 438 in 49.5 overs! Moral of the story…besides all the stuff about how its about playing as a team blah blah…the real deal is …pitches are getting truer (read as rock hard surfaces with good carry and minimal lateral deviation) and bats are getting better to the extent that mishits and edges carry long distances. No denying that it took fantastic temperament on the part of the SA batsmen.

Lastly, saw the movie ‘Iqbal’ (2 movies…yup) and while the story is meant to touch a cord with every Indian…for me it was the scene where he walks onto to play his first Ranji game. Crouches beside the pitch, presses the palm of his hand to the surface…smells that palm…smiles. “iski baat hi kuch aur hai…” says his mentor. True…how very true… J

sentinel in the storm

damn

Eerie silence in my room…don’t feel like listening to any playlist…can’t think of anything to ridicule or wisecrack about...damn…DAMN!

gasp...

Anchor(noun) : mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving.

Heavy…cumbersome…inanimate. As you might’ve guessed, have traditionally associated a certain amount of negativity to the concept. But then there are substantial reasons for it. All that I’ve been able to experience and learn…about myself…and pretty much everything else, has been in huge part due to that reluctance to stay bound…be it to a place or person(s). not that I’m this ‘well-travelled know-it-all’, nor am I some kind of ascetic with little interest in human relationships…most certainly not. I treasure the friends I’ve made and would go out on a limb to suggest that they’d attest that I’ve been and will always be fiercely loyal. It’s more a ‘turning of the wheel’…the way things have panned out…there haven’t been too many ‘constants’…which is neither a complaint nor an exultation. You might have figured that a shift in attitude would’ve to be the cause for this post…and you would be only about 10% right. Only that much because…well…lemme paint the picture. You’re on you’re morning jog…proud of the fact you’ve dragged yourself out of bed…pulled on your tracks. Fresh, crisp morning air…slight chill which helps. Now into your 3^rd mile…feeling the burn in your legs…but also pretty good…knowing you're pushing yourself …slowly but surely. Out of nowhere…this figure emerges...right in front of you…clad in black…no way for you to know who…as if appearing out of thin air…draws back a fist and slams it into your midriff. Remember…you were taking in huge gulps of air to aid those tortured muscles in your legs. Yeah…that captures it. You’re on the grassy track…everything’s going black as your lungs scream for oxygen…it doesn’t matter why…point is…there’s noone around.

Anchor(noun): A central cohesive source of support and stability.

Where’s my anchor?

the pulitzer goes to...

Was inadvertently scrolling through my resume y’day and saw ‘Reading’ under the personal interests section. I know you’re thinking my reading would’ve had to consist of books with a lot of pictures. Well…only mostly…not entirely J It’s a good thing they don’t have reference checks for stuff like that, else I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a substantial list …atleast books that figure on any best-seller lists of repute. My latest, was at the behest of a friend. Was given the set of four (or is it five) books from the series as punishment for accepting that I’d not read any of them. Finished ‘The Chamber of Secrets’ yesterday…nice to be able to wave a wand at anything that bugs ya and be done with it.

Hogwarts did bring back memories of vast expanses of purple heather, gurgling crystal-clear brooks, fresh-baked bread with golden pats of butter with huge servings of pink ham. And yeah…farmhouses and picket fences and camping! For the uninitiated, these are vivid scenes from the literary works of one of my fav authors; Enid Blyton J five find-outers and dog, famous five, secret seven…the whole lot! Graduated (if you can call it that) to the three investigators, hardy boys though, for me, they don’t hold a candle to ‘the mystery of the hidden house’ from the five find-outers series J

Archer’s ‘Shall we tell the president’ and ‘The godfather’ were my initiation into the ‘big time’ (classification based on # of pages, not literary worth). Have thoroughly enjoyed Alistair Mclean –amazing ability to paint gruesome scenes in graphic detail, James Hadley Chase – crisp, short and sexy stories, Frederick Forsyth – fantastic research and detail, Sidney Sheldon(gave up on those a long time ago) – literary equivalent to hindi potboilers of yore, Jeffrey Archer – for characters with the most depth and of course, Wodehouse – refreshing as the morning coffee.

Anyway…my all-time top-10 list (now this is off the top of my head)…

1. Kane and Abel
2. The Negotiator
3. The Fourth Protocol
4. The Godfather
5. There’s always a price tag
6. Where eagles dare
7. The Fourth Estate
8. Empress of Blandings
9. The Satan Bug
10. Guns of Navarone

And I wonder why I’m so clueless J

Magnificent Power

Its been building up for over an hour now…a chill in the air…flashes of distant lightning…a storm draws near…the sky wears an almost iridescent glow as one bolt of high-powered electrons merges into the next…barely audible rumbles…like those of a sleeping animal, grow into intimidating claps of thunder. Finally…yet another blinding razor-tipped flash, with a simultaneous deafening boom…slices the night sky open…and its now pouring…at 10.15pm on March 3^rd ‘06

p.s: don’t ask me why J

Halt! who goes there?!

Its probably not the best time to be on campus right now…mainly because security personnel outnumber students. The ring-road surrounding the acad centre is dotted with everything from huge fire-trucks to jeeps with no doors (for rapid deployment of weapons apparently). Groups of policemen stand at every corner. Supposedly there are snipers around who’ll ‘take out’ anything that seems suspicious. Metal detectors at every entrance to the AC. Noone allowed to enter/exit the campus for the duration. Wonder if this is what it feels like to live in a military state. just the intrusive presence of all these men in uniform and otherwise (read plain-clothes not just lack of uniforms) is irritating.

The only good thing I’ve seen about the whole rigmarole are the sniffer-dogs. German-shepherds…powerfully built…you can tell by their movements that they can be onto you in a flash…and with their razor-sharp teeth you wudn’t stand too much of a chance…if the situation so demands…but calm…almost serene…as their eyes of the saddest brown survey all the activity around them…something almost regal in their demeanor. Qualities I hold in high regard…except maybe their urge to drink out of the toilet bowl J Reminds me why I intend to have a couple of these magnificent animals as friends…hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

What with the procedures and controls, some of us trying to think of interesting things to do to liven things up…

1. quietly…approach a sniper from behind….till you’re directly behind him/her…and say…Boo!
2. get friendly with a sniper (not the one in step 1)…express disbelief about their marksmanship…and ask them to prove it by hitting a target…point to someone you don’t like who happens to be around

3. this needs 2 people to go tearing down the path to the acad centre…run like your life depended on it…straight at the entrance with the metal detectors and all the guns…and just as you reach the entrance one person taps the other on the shoulder and says (within earshot of the very interested gaurds) “Tag, you’re it”

4. decide to go for a jog along the ring-road…run with a purpose…don’t maintain a straight line…change direction abruptly…drop…roll…then get up..run. a t-shirt with a bulls-eye painted on the front/back would complete the effect

5. go around saying to every security personnel you can find (preferably female)…”that’s not a gun in my pocket…I’m just happy to see you”…sheesh...blame it on the claustrophobia from being incarcerated...

feel free to comment with further suggestions…

term 8, fat ladies...

…and 4 new subjects, this time to form an assorted mix from each ‘value discipline’ (blame the HBR article I just read for tomorrow’s class). Marketing Strategy – familiar name, hopefully a recap of the other 7 electives I’d taken on marketing J Negotiation Analysis – had heard rave reviews about the course when it had been offered in term 6, the first class lived up to it. IT Services & Proj Mgmt – not the yawn-fest that the name might suggest and last but definitely not least Advanced Corporate Finance...yes…after backing out at the last minute in T7 with Business Valuation, bit the bullet this time and signed up for my first (and only) Fin elective…all I-bankers better watch out ;)

There’s a buzz around campus…apart from the usual caffeine/tobacco/assorted weed-laden kind that is. Probably coz the ‘ruler of the free world’ is likely to make an appearance at the ISB. Was surprised (only midly), as i was quietly reading in the library (yeah, i do that sometimes), to see a german-shepherd the size of a ...well...huge, sniffing around my table.had me wondering...has it been that long since i came here to read?! not that it fazed me...thanks to my inherent fearless and animal-friendly nature...yeah...and to the harness firmly held by a burly cop. If you’re still wondering who...here’s a clue…the security detail on campus, dressed in all-black suits looks sharper than any of us did during placement week. I’ve always wondered about those white coiled earpieces that emanate from one ear and disappear down their collars…just what orifice are they plugged into?! I better ‘freeze! And desist’ before I’m ‘taken out’ as a precaution for having spiked their ‘threat assessment sensors’. Jokes apart…the whole dubya ‘visit’ thing…very exciting ...YAAAWN…

Finally…a mention of the poignancy of this as the last of the 8 terms at the ISB…clichés shall abound...have already seen sneak-peeks of wistful posts on blogs of note. Me, am not tearing up just yet…but its only a matter of time…you can’t spend a year in this place and not be impacted by it…like it or not. ladies and gentlemen…the fat lady has made her appearance…and she has just cleared her throat...but the batch of '06 is not quite done...not just yet...

when you can't even sleep in ur dreams

It’s like you’re in a high-powered sports convertible. It’s careering at high speed. For some reason, the steering wheel is locked in position and the gas pedal has been pressed to the floor. Nothing you can do about either. And yes…in the distance, you see the edge of this ravine…fast approaching. Its simple…I’m supposed to jump out…but am frozen…in fear. Now that’s just one of the feelings I’ve had in the last week or so…for obvious reasons…its placement season. Times of uncertainty…second-guessing myself…high stress. Realized it’s mainly coz of the myriad parallel trains of thoughts in my head...what do I want to do? What’ll make me happy…wish I had a clue...did I get that nickname right or what!

First, an update on G6 (I’d tell u what that means…but then I’d have to kill you) and its ‘extended’ family. Sachin…Infy…ES; Koshie…Wipro…IT Strategy Consulting; Vishal & Clint…Citi…IT & Ops; Shammak…KPMG…Senior Consultant; Soups...Apollo/Godrej…Marketing; Jyoti…Tavant…you’ll read abt that one in the papers ;)

A recap of placement week…from the perspective without a clue. Started with infy…interviewed twice…second time at 1am…liked the idea…but didn’t get offered the role I’d be interested in. next in line…had 3 interviews lined up for Virtusa, ibm and cognizant. Had a good time in all of those…the panels liked what they heard… offers from all of them. Enjoyed the ibm interview the most…why? The first question I got was “if I said that Steve Waugh is a better bat than Sachin, what would you say? Make a consultant’s argument” J Weighed the roles…passed up a higher pay with V for some brand equity and role. Picked CTS; Assistant Manager – Business Development.

Agonized endlessly over the veracity of my decision…interviewed with a couple of others…realized the pay didn’t matter to me if the role wasn’t up to scratch. the process has been mindnumbing…have regained some of my balance though…made the right decision…this is just the beginning and there’s plenty to do…if I were me…I’d back me… ;)