EMOTIONAL ya ATTYACHAR

While there’s nothing new in the fact that I am an emotional person (all my friends will vouch for that), of late I seem to be undergoing quite a change in my own behaviour. I may not get upset with anybody or anyone, but my level of tolerance for nonsense discussions seem to have gone down now. And I may not shout back at that person, but yeah he/she will know of the stupidity of their talk in sometime. And while I contemplate whether this is a sign of maturing and growing up as a few people put it, I’ll move on to a different topic of discussion.

Dance has been and will always be a passion for me. I don’t think I’ll enjoy anything indoor as much as dancing. It just infuses a whole load of energy into me. And while I’ve been at home all these days, I’ve been watching a dance show on TV. Trust me, the dancers on this show are really good. They are by far the best of all I’ve seen till date. The choreographers are good, as long as I restrict their involvement on the show to their dance. And the so-called Grandmaster, who was supposedly a legend in his times, is the biggest idiot they could have chosen. His movies are anyways bullshit, saving one which is a legend in the history of Indian cinemas. While the show goes on well and is pretty enjoyable, there are certain parts of it that I am confused about. I fail to understand why do these shows try to promote the dancers by showcasing their background? I definitely am happy for each one of them that they have fought their way to this point; infact I salute each one of those who have made it to this stage. But I fail to understand why is it shown on every alternate episode and especially at the time when the candidate has to ask for votes? And after the decisions are made based on the voting, the judge overrules it by saying that for the past 4 weeks, only girls have been voted out, so I cannot accept this decision. I mean what kind of nonsense is this guy thinking? In that case, you’d rather have judges decide who is good and who is not. All the reality shows have this public vote funda, which I think is utter bullshit. Every candidate deserves to be judged based on the parameters of the show and not on their appearance or personality. And the special guests who come on the show, who are mostly filmstars, comment on the sur-taal during a singing show or on some dance movement or synchronisation in a dance show. Do these guys even know the meaning of what they are talking? All bloody showcase value…

While the shows like Indian Idol and Dance India Dance are good to watch, I somehow fail to connect with the logic of voting out candidates. And I’ll never understand why should you show the emotional drama of judges fighting and the candidate’s background in between. These are done to influence the votes and up the TRP, but seriously I think talent is being wasted in the name of glamour with the foolish audience voting for these shows and not turning up to vote for the polls that will decide the country’s future… It seriously is an emotional attyachar for me

FRIENDS… OR “LIFE”

Finally, I am an MBA. After two years of struggle and fun, I’ve completed my studies and am now “the MBA stud from IIM Bangalore” as my friends put it. It feels great to be a part of a prestigious institute and even more great to be a part of a batch that has wihstood the worst of times and stuck together in times of need. I never thought I would experience a sea of emotions over short periods as I did at this wonderful place. To others, IIMB might have been a place where studs get together to do well and earn loads of money, but for me, IIMB has been a place where I found a second family for myself, apart from making loads of new friends and yes, learning and improving myself on various fronts.

The 2 years I spent there were filled with happiness, fun, sadness, dejection, excitement and loads of other emotions. Every moment spent there was like living a dream moment, though some might have been the worst nightmares you have never dreamt of. While academics are a part and parcel of the life at IIMB, I for one was more attracted to the sports life that existed on campus. The all-night Tsepak which we H-Mezz junta played and the Futsal matches, not to forget winning the FutsaLeague and being the 3rd highest scorer of the tournament were some of the most wonderful experiences. The various sports meets we attended and held on campus just brought the entire contingent together and made us inseperable for the rest of the time. Being a partof Sports Council was another awesome moment that not only helped my understand the nuances of conducting events and managing various tasks, but also brought me closer to a group of individuals whom I shall remember for the memorable moments, not to forget my nickname which will stick on forever amongst my friends, that they have left me with. But of all, my stay at F-Top in the final year of MBA is one that I will say, has been the best year of my life. I have had loads of fun at RVCE with my friends and have enjoyed the mass bunks and all other kiddish stuff we did, but the stay at F-Top was beyond all that. It was a phase where I realised that there are not always people who are concerned about pulling you down to go up, but people who are there to hold your hand and pull you up when you seem that the world has come to an end for you. A place where my confidence was restored and I started believing in myself that I could be a better performer. The overnight discussions, sometimes over nonsense issues, the times we laughed pulling one another’s leg, the movie marathons we had, the egg-maggis we belted at NC… All these seem to flash at those regular times. I still remember a B-Plan that was made randomly at 6 in the morning by us, about starting a beggars association to help them out.  Sometimes at night, I suddenly wake up to realise that there is no one around to have a chat with or there will be no egg maggi. The regular stuff and timings seem to make me feel disorderly and it’s like living a new lifestyle. But nothing ever is going to compensate the pain of missing friends and am sure all will second it.

I was new to most at F-Top and was quite an unknown entity. Working on assignements together, dinner and pizzas together and slowly we began bonding with each other. And along the journey each one of us learnt a lot from the other. While there can be only one rockstar to the group, in our case it was 4 stars shining. Each one was unique and brilliant in their own way. Agressiveness was met by calmness, shrewdness was conquered by smile. And before I knew it, I had made friends for life. Each one of us knew that we would be there for one another at times of need. And the trips we had got us even closer. One of the best things to have happened at F-Top was the trip we planned after our placements. The travel to Kashmir was like the perfect way to round off the one year that we spent together. The stay on the houseboat, the first snow fight we had, the horse ride up the mountains, the shikhara ride… every one of the moment spent there will remain captured in my memory forever.

While I sit write this post, I realise I am short of words and am choked to express what the past year was like. The  posts by friends on various networking sites seem to echo what I have felt. While I wished to stay till the last date on campus, I realised a day after convocation that I am too weak to handle the emotional farewell. While all the year, I had tears in my eyes because of laughing our heart out, this day I had tears of parting away with people who were a part of my daily life. And now as each day passes while I cannot see them when I wake up in the morning, I realise that life indeed is a cruel game played by God. But at the same time, I ask him for one thing… Keep them all happy, smiling, prosperous and safe wherever they are. Love you guys…

MY LIFELINE…

It was just another day, beautiful sunshine and the cool breeze,

The birds were chirping away and the young ones were also in line,

As I walked back from the fields, thinking what the future holds,

I saw her, walking across and knew it at that moment I was in love.

As we met at the junction, our hands touched,

Our eyes met and I saw her beautiful smile,

She was the one for whom I had been waiting so long,

And I knew now on, nothing could ever go wrong.

The innoncence of her smile reminded me of a child,

Her beauty made everything around look so dull,

I hoped for the moment to never end and we walk on forever,

But that wasn’t to be as we moved on in our own paths

I still wait at that junction daily hoping to see you,

Waiting to tell you how much I love you,

Will I ever see you again, will I see you become mine,

Only time will tell if you’ll be my lifeline…

Namma Bengaluru… My first enterpreneurial stint

Well, most of my friends knew it that I always wanted to be an enterpreneur and start off something on my own. And even during my MBA, I always wanted to do something that I felt made my MBA worth much more than a normal degree. And now I can see the light…. Yes, along with 3 friends, I have started off a portal called Nammabengaluru (Visit it at http://www.nammabengaluru.com). It’s a dream of ours to give to Bengaluru for what it has offered in the past 20+ years. All of us are Bengaluru boys and were keen on taking this to the next level. So we met up and decided that this is it… Lets start off and make it big. And now you see the first couple of posts on the site.

It has been an awesome response till now, with over 1000 hits on the first day of our post. For us, the promoters, it was a feeling of high that one gets while you have a vodka. And this clearly shows that Bengaluru is ready to accept what we offer. So now there is extra pressure on us to perform and capitalize on what has been a dream begining for us. Every day is going to be an exciting one from now on. A new challenge awaits us every day and we sure are going to be ready to kick ass…

A very good friend and junior of mine from RV, Ashwin (who is better known as TR for his sheer idolization of T Rajendar, the Tamil hero and  awesome dialogues and peotry skills) wrote one of his trademark poems just a few minutes back(For more of his poetry talent, do visit http://trajendarsgreatestfanonearth.blogspot.com) . I thought it has to hit this blog and am putting it up here for you guys to read it up.

welcome….
to Bangalore
its rockin to the core!
n it’ll rock more n more!
never has it been a bore!
till 9 am..ppl love 2 snore!
but then is the huge roar!
all over the floor!
n then the big furore!
nothin ever seems sore!
to bliss..its the door!
which every1′ll adore!
the “IT-city” look it wore
n since then..like nevr before!
IT went to the fore!!
n gotcha money by the crore!
the city aint havin a shore,
but dat dont lessen its score!
coz it has every damn store!
there’s all kindsa lore!
in august-september
cats n dogs it’ll pour!
b4 comin here..this is wat i swore-
to return asap..to Bangalore!!

n some kannada -

 

neenu innu nodilva Bengaluru?
eegle hodiyamma ondhu tour-u!!
cubbon park alli hogi kooru!
vidhyarthi bhavan dose dhinakke mooru!
taste noorge nooru!!
aamele kudi elneeru!
adhara jothe ondhu beeru
majaa anthu sure-u!

Do contribute your thoughts on the site and visit us regularly for more exciting stuff. Help us spread the word around… Be a part of the revolution that is to hit Bengaluru…. And be proud to say “Idu Namma Bengaluru”

The Power of Mind and Heart

Well, past 2 days have been a very significant one in my life. For once, I am hearing people say, “Gee… Wish I was there in your place…”. And for me, I happened to meet a person who has been an idol for me since the past 10+ years. Yes, I met Aamir Khan, the superstar. I have watched and followed news on him regularly, read his blogs and visited it regualrly to see if there are any new posts and paste my comments first sothat he replies.. But I never dreamt of the day when I’d actually be conversing with him. And this is even more exciting because I happened to make the first strike in my Bucket list that I made in one of the classes in my last term. 

But for now, I want to say something beyond the experience of meeting Aamir Khan.. Yes, I will provide more details on it later. There was one thing that I realized amidst all the situations around. I realized that nature has its own way of making dreams turn realities. At times, thinking from your heart also helps. During a particular discussion, one of my close friend told me something which made an instant impact on me. He said, “In life, you think through your mind and your heart. Always listen to your heart for every thing in life, but while implementing your actions, listen to your mind“. Heart has a sea of emotions and while reacting to an event, it’s your heart which directs you towards that. The emotion of love, sadness, happiness and others are because you feel it. It’s not in the mind that you feel joy or other emotions. When a dream becomes a reality, the feeling of joy is felt most of all in your heart.

But the mind always kicks in; Without putting a CP (a lingo I learnt at IIM B, to indicate that you wish for airtime and make some comments, usually arbit comments, to show that you are also involved in the discussion). While heart defies logic in its approach, the mind backs up the thoughts with reasoning. Without reasoning out a thought completely, the mind will never accept an action blindly. A man is defined today by his intellectual capabilites and his identity is created based on that. No wonder parents force children to work hard  and study more and score more. There is heavy focus on increasing the power of mind. Everyone wants to be an engineer or a doctor, where the test is only on the power of mind.Money and fame has shifted people’s focus and streamlined everyone into neglecting the power of the heart.

Maybe you might to disagree with this, but I think the power of heart is more powerful than the power of the mind. The power of heart brings together people. Social life is an important aspect in anyone’s life. I have seen some of my friends, who are exceptionally brilliant and extremely smart. They have got admissions in the best of the universities in the US and Europe. However, after just 2 years, they are fed up with it and want to ocme back. And the reason given by al is the same… “There’s no life here man. Even though people are smart, I just don’t feel at home here. There is no social life“. The presence of friends and loved ones makes a significant impact in shaping you. To do well in life, you need to have a good social circle. Maybe egoists will disagree with this, and I will not try to convince them as I find it difficult to talk to such hard-headed people. In my life, I owe my close friends and loved ones a lot for it is they who have shaped me into becoming a good individual today. My heart has been influenced because of them and it is his which has carried forward in every aspect with a positive frame of mind. Think from your heart and be different. Move away from the conventional life of an engineer or an MBA. Why do you not follow your heart and be what you are interested in? If you love music, pursue it. Dream big and aim big. You may question this saying, “Dude, all this sounds good, but where’s the money?”. I think this thought comes becomes of the fear of not being accepted in the society. But if this was the same thought that had occured in all minds, then poeple like Aamir Khan, Vishwanathan Anand, Karun Chandok would not have been there. And today, forget being accpeted by the society, the soceity wants to be in their social circle. All I am saying is move away from being conventional. Think beyond money and matieralistic pleasures.Think about your passions…. Think about what makes you happy, what is the one thing that would make your life worth living…. And follow that with your heart and use your mind while acting upon it. Nature will defintely guide you in the right path….

For now, I wish to follow my heart. I will not be just another MBA grad from a prestigious B-school. I want do something big while I am here. And I sure will… with 3 more people, who wish for the same. We share the passion to make Bangalore a better place to be in… And we want to give back something to this wonderful place… The wonderful people, the wonderful climate… And my heart says I will do something big…. So watch out for something big to hit you soon…

NIGHTOUT ARE THERE

Yeah Yeah…. People say its bad and not good for health.. But what the heck, I seem to love it. Right now it’s 4 am and working in the night with friends around trying to make some fraud presentation, trying to fool the prof again that we have done some out of the world work is so much of a …. Wait for it….. LEGENDARY experience. The Egg Maggi and Coke from Athicas seems much more tasty the dinner at mess, though the comparison to the dinner itself is a joke.

Well, I think I better get working on the presentation now and make it more pseud (yeah, I am making the ppt look pseud actually ) and mentally prepare for the most hectic day in my IIMB life…. With 8.5 hr sessions and 2 presentations, as Soo says, it’s gonna be a test of endurance…. And the strongest will survive…..

AN UPBEAT MOOD…..

It’s the last few months I’m gonna be at IIM B before I step into the so called “big-bad world“. I wouldn’t say the journey has been smooth but yes, it was exciting and quite a learning experience. But looking back, I don’t think the MBA has taught me just economics and marketing, filling in some entries and balancing accounts…. All these are just the superficial layer or like they’d say the makeup a woman puts to look much more beautiful. But the real essence lies in the fact that I’ve evolved… I seem to be a much better person that what I entered in here…. Relations can switch sides anytime…. The world is not fair….. And yeah, you better watch your ass first instead of thinking of others…. Exceptions are always there….. I’ve got some great friends on campus…. And only they can be trustworthy…. But everyone says “Money changes a person’s likes and dislikes“…. When some great personalities have done it, what about simple mortals like us…. But yeah, still this feeling is like a challenge… Challenge to beat the world in its own game…. A challenge to win after being the dark horse….

Will I accomplish this…. A tad too early to answer…. but yeah, this is a foundation for me to dream big and move towards achieving it….

Till the next post…. Adios….

LOVE…. MEMORIES…. PAIN

There are sometimes when I just love to write…. And I write some poems. I am a very romantic person by heart and I love to dream… Some of my thoughts in my words….

As the wind blows silently and the rains fall,

How I wish I could be there, in front of you, standing tall,

And spend time looking into your eyes, sitting beside you,

For you are amongst those few,

Whom I care for more than anyone else in this place,

Oh love…. All I wish to see is that beautiful smile on your face.

————————————————————————————–

Treasured are those moments when I first saw you,

It was that love I never felt before, not even for a few,

As the night arrives and the time comes by, for many to sleep,

I’ve this feeling which comes from within my heart so deep,

There’s no words to say how much I love you dear,

It’s in these moments I wish to find you all so near….

————————————————————————————–

This one’s close to my heart…. Wrote it when I was real low.. Just explains my feelings, the right way…

Sometimes I wonder why we fall in Love,

Sometimes I wonder why is there so much pain in Love,

Is it always that I need to bear the brunt of everything that goes wrong,

And have tears filled in my eyes when you are out there having fun.

Why is that you never understand when I tell you something,

And make it look like my fault when I’m in a fix.

can’t I ever be in a situation where I’m helpless,

And am compelled to take a decision against my wish.

I live to see that smile on your face,

And all I get to see is a gloomy look.

The very instance of your speech would bring a smile on my face,

And now it’s hard to even hear your words cos you hardly ever speak.

Forever in my life, have I ever loved anyone, it has to be you,

I’ve never prayed or wished for anyone but you,

Why don’t you ever see or feel the pain I’m going through,

This very pain that has put me into a shell.

Hurt I am, for you’ve not understood me still,

There was a time when I held your hand and made you walk when you felt lonely and hurt.

Now I find myself in the same situation as you are in,

Only to find myself walking all alone and you walking ahead, not looking behind,

But it’s still that smile on your face which makes me keep walkng and walking and walking…..

SUMMERS AT MUMBAI… PART 2

Post the induction day, I went to my office and met my manager. Well…. I thought she would be as good as her name would be, but unfortunately it turned out to be the opposite… And there began the fall of my expectations. My assistant manager was a very friendly and helpful person and so was the other person in the team. I somehow seemed much more comfortable with these two than with my actual manager.

I met Shubha and Tegi as well… They were on the same floor. I was glad I’d be having some company. Tegi is like this street smart bindaas guy whom you’d definitely know is a Punjabi the minute you meet him(and no.. he doesn’t wear a turban). Shubha…. Well, she is one firecracker. Very friendly and sweet, but she can be a terror at times if she really wants to be… And did I forget to mention that she’s a fitness freak… (I’d rather term that as “If I eat more than 2 spoons, I’ll gain too much weight” syndrome). I introduced myself to both and got to know about them and their projects. My Day one went in interacting with other people on the floor and getting to know more about my project. I went to lunch with Tegi and Shubha and met my IIM B batchmates Aarathy and Gaurav, who were already busy with their projects. I was a bit amused at some of theri statements like “Too much to read man… I’m very busy… howz it going for you?” . While I was there, I met Medha who was in the HR division… I hated that department and till date I wonder why I hated it.. Maybe I’ll get to know the answer as the blogs unfold. Medha is one non-stop chatterbox and will never knwo when she becomes the gullible guinea pig for all. I had lunch slowly as I had loads of time to spare and went back to my desk later. Socialised with a few more people on the floor and then retired for the day. Called up Andrew and asked if he’s back at the room and we could go for dinner together. While leaving, Medha planned a dinner outing on the weekend. I said Yes and we decided to go on a Friday.

The next day was pretty much the same, with the exception being that this day was when Shubha revealed her true fitness obsession to all. I hit the gym with her and woah…. she ran on the treadmill for 5 kms non-stop. I was doing the basic weight training with the instructor, who was giving me completely wrong instructions. I saw Shubha and her determination apart, her craze for fitness freaked me out. During lunch, she used to eat Sandwich and was working out like she’d gained 3kgs more. But still, her determination to do well egged me on and soon Medha and Tegi joined. Tegi went to play squash in the next room and Medha was on the treadmill as well. And I went back home to have dinner with Andrew at a nearby McD and strolled around at a mall nearby. We were discussing about our companies and projects and then went back to the room and slept.

The Friday night dinner was great, for the fact that most of the interns came and we went to Carter Road. We went to a small restaurant there and had great fun. I still regret that this was the only outing all the Citi interns went out for and in the days to come by, it was becoming all the more difficult to coordinate the meetings. The humor quotient was pretty high, thanks to Abid or rather Arbit, thanks to his PJs. He was continuously quiziing Medha and Shubha and I were the spectators to thier funny yet totally arbit discussions. We had some good food and then I went back home. And for the first time, I travelled by train from Bandra to Goregaon.. And it was past 12am. Fortunately for me, there wasnt much rush and I got into the train with comfortable ease. Took an auto from the station back to home where I was surprised to see the room locked and realized that Andrew was at Nariman Point partying the night away. I decided to sleep as the next day I’d be meeting Mamta and Sherpa for just a sight seeing of Mumbai.

The next day was the first weeknd for me since coming to Mumbai and I woke up late. Called up Sherpa and decided we’ll meet close to my area. We met up and went to McD for lunch( I wasnt very hungry that noon… ) and then went to BandStand that evening. It was worth the travel as we managed to reach there by Sunset. We were walking along the pathway, and …well, were a bit taken aback by the openness of the Mumbai crowd who seemed to give a damn of who’s walking around them. I was walking through a pack of love hungry couples and had to move fast to avoid any kind of embarassing scenes(Yes.. It was more embarassing for us to be there than them….). Finally we managed to find some place where we could see the Sunset and it was beautiful. We then went to the park where the Police band were performing and met them and took some snaps with them. As it started getting dark, we decided to go back and we went back from the Railway Station back to home. And this was how week 1 in Mumbai went on…..

SUMMERS AT MUMBAI….PART 1

Oh man…. This one deserved a writing.. for the sheer effort I put in my work… (Medha, Shubha and Tegi will know this very well). The first day at my summers company was basically an ice-breaker to get to know the other interns, some who’d be in Mumbai itself and others who’d be in other parts of India. I was initially wondering what was happening as everyone seemed to be very much introvert types and reserved. I started talking to this girl seated next to me and suddenly I noticed this beautiful girl sitting right across. I was like ‘Woah…. She’s hot“… and fortunately by noon, we had got talking to each other, thanks to the HRs for doing a good job of putting us in the same group. We spoke quite a bit… about a lot of things.. Her interests, her life and lot more…. Only to be interrupted in between by other guys(read Tegi) in the group asking us to work on the small task assigned to every group. We didn’t do a great job in the task and I didn’t do anything good either as I forgot to take her phone number or any details of contact. I cursed myself till the moment I found out she was committed and then I felt a bit relieved… Anyways it’s good I didn’t see her again else I wouldn’t have met Shubha, Tegi and Medha……..