tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46054539667330949822024-02-18T19:00:25.746-08:00FIAT LUXAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-85369583547171948042015-03-22T02:10:00.000-07:002015-03-22T02:10:27.576-07:00WIMWI Sentiyapa - Chapter Two<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>PGP1</b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My IIM A journey started with the
customary orientation at Ravi J Matthai (RJM) auditorium along with my fellow
batchmates. Every minute that I spent in that auditorium was a beautiful
reminder that I have actually made it into Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad (yes, writing it in full brings a better impact). It was overwhelming
and exciting at the same point to sit with a bunch of 400 people listening to
the best management faculty in this part of the world. If I remember one thing
distinctly from that orientation, it was this statement by Warden, Prof Sunil
Sharma – “Welcome to commando training!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PGP1s (first year) are hectic across
all the bschools in India. We at IIM A believe that the PGP1 at IIM A is
something special. It is surely the most strenuous amongst all Indian bschools.
Through a maze of cases, assignments, classes and the dreadful quizzes, a first
year IIM A student is taken through a wide variety of management courses in a
very short duration. PGP1 teaches that there is never enough time nor enough
data to take a decision. And you still need to make one. For the majority of us
who are engineers, it was a challenge to move beyond solving well defined
problems and dealing with ambiguity. PGP1 inspires one to push the physical and
mental constraints that we tend to put on ourselves. It was a time when ALL of
us had our own personal battles to fight. It felt like a warzone with all of us
fighting it out together. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite being an extremely rigorous
year, we do not have ill feelings about it. PGP Office and the entire faculty
team took care in ensuring that the pain is evenly distributed and there were
rarely any time when I felt that the pressure applied was more than bearable.
And this is precisely what makes PGP1 at IIM Ahmedabad special. It is the
institution’s ability to create the environment which pushes people but never
lets them fall down. A fine balance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtPhy7Jbm1joPY5-7_RZPjU9O4sAryhuUVaoNtN1ycEuYQDhe3d09wKRGBwWUcRQPikVYwj-JgGE-skyJ9aRIqgyeN13NcnYapDCpux2xpSNelkH2dx0FxtyiGaSdsUYvB_IznUygXOY/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtPhy7Jbm1joPY5-7_RZPjU9O4sAryhuUVaoNtN1ycEuYQDhe3d09wKRGBwWUcRQPikVYwj-JgGE-skyJ9aRIqgyeN13NcnYapDCpux2xpSNelkH2dx0FxtyiGaSdsUYvB_IznUygXOY/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
PGP1 is like a roller coaster ride.
You may stare at it from far. You may heard about it from alumni. You may read
blogs like these. But the only way you can understand the thrill of going
through PGP1, just like a roller coaster ride, is by actually riding it. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-3839086491757629652015-02-26T11:09:00.002-08:002015-02-26T11:10:12.554-08:00WIMWI Sentiyapa - Chapter One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is nothing else which incites nostalgia like how music
does. I am back from an awesome performance by the IIM A music club at CT. The
realisation has dawned on me that the number of days left on campus can be
counted on finger tips. Hence, this sentiyapa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If there is one thing that IIM A has taught (or atleast
tried), it is the art of bringing structure to one’s thoughts. Thus, despite my
left brain screaming at my right brain for making things all methodical and
uncreative, my right brain has quietly won this battle. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 15.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Chapter One
– People <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been over 25 years that I have been roaming around this
earth. The bunch of people that I saw in the last two years were unlike any
that I had seen before. A bunch of highly driven, intellectually sharp,
go-getters. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I still remember the first time I met my batchmates. It was
in Café Mateo in Indiranagar, Bangalore where some 20 of us met. There was a
feeling of childlike anticipation and excitement about the coming two years.
That meeting and the early few months of IIM A were spent in sizing each other
up. At the end of this sizing up exercise one thing was clear – the peer group
was the best that one could hope for. It was a bunch of people who not only had
the best academic record in the country, they also possessed some of the best
extracurricular abilities. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PGP1 is tough. And tough times bring out the worst in people.
From the beginning of PGP1 till the end of summer placement process it was
interesting to see how people coped up with the stress. By then it was easy to
figure out who all I wanted to spend my time with. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come PGP2 and things change drastically. I made new friends
and strengthened the bond with the old ones. It was much fun to be out of the
grinding PGP1 schedule and have the time to spend hours in tapri with anybody
and everybody. Exchange raised the fun one notch up. Travelling is the best way
of knowing people and making friends. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of the well-known institutes from eastern India talk
about their culture and bonding. I must admit that IIM A doesn’t match up to
that level of camaraderie. I believe this is because of the fiercely
independent nature of individuals that we have here. I see individuals who are
capable of taking up any professional challenge that might come their way and
make their way out of it. It is so impressive that each and every person that I
have interacted with here exhibit the highest level of confidence. Being around
such people pushes you seek excellence, raise the bar and despise complacency. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I often tell this to my friends – it will be so much fun to
come back on campus for our 10<sup>th</sup>, 25<sup>th</sup>, 40<sup>th</sup>….
reunions, because I am sure all of us would have done exceedingly well
professionally and it will be interesting to see each other growing into business leaders. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am glad IIM A happened. My life would have been incomplete
without this awesome bunch of people. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-35073405004200933412015-01-19T10:06:00.001-08:002015-01-19T10:15:51.434-08:00 Je t'aime Paris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Paris is like A. R. Rehman songs.<br />
<br />
When you hear (see) it for
the first time, you wonder what the fuss is all about. The hype causes
disillusionment. You start hating it. But you grudgingly continue to listen
(explore) it. It’s an A.R. Rehman song (Paris) after all. Then hate turns into
apathy. You seem to develop a sense of tolerance for the song (city). And on
one of those days, while you are still listening (exploring), you give that
song (city) another listen (chance) with an impartial mind. That’s when you
realise that you like the song (city). Before you know it, you are hopelessly in love
with that song (city).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My first interaction with Paris started when my roommates
and I tried to get an apartment in this city. Man, it was difficult. Our
student budget, extremely limited information about the city and the fear of
muggers thronging the Parisian streets made this whole exercise an ordeal. We
ended up with a belle petite (beautiful little) apartment. The Parisians know
how optimize space like no one else.<br />
<br />
This whole apartment hunting prepared me
for this big bad city which was difficult to manoeuvre through. And this fear of mine came true. The moment we landed in
Paris, one thing became quite clear. Knowing English in Paris was as useless as
Hindi in Chennai. The Parisians positively hate people who start a conversation
in English without any signs of apology on their face. If you start a
conversation without the customary Bon Jour or Bon Soir (Good Day or Good
Evening), you have committed a cardinal sin. The French have two response to
such situations. Either they interrupt your monologue with a <i>“Bon Jour”</i> and stare you till you
reciprocate or they ignore you and walk away as if you were nothing but thin
air.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This language barrier made the navigation in Paris in the
first few days a nightmare for me and my friends. However, it was a temporary
discomfort as we became comfortable with the basic ‘systems’ in Paris. Paris
public transport system is one of the best in the world and you don’t need
French to navigate as most of your conversations are with the ticket vending
machine which speaks (displays) chaste English. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVqOXeiqDgGr8SBA0dhbqTDdH9bV1FjAEcbdZw4mthFYtUZImcnD4SxrSgwErQ2AUyqDwdKLzmYhgWTFUyMfj8-Y6YFNRaHY4VKcnDksGe_NgpF6ipp6hfrZf3HqpHJgH_2FiKcaWcJc/s1600/DSC_0810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVqOXeiqDgGr8SBA0dhbqTDdH9bV1FjAEcbdZw4mthFYtUZImcnD4SxrSgwErQ2AUyqDwdKLzmYhgWTFUyMfj8-Y6YFNRaHY4VKcnDksGe_NgpF6ipp6hfrZf3HqpHJgH_2FiKcaWcJc/s1600/DSC_0810.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Taking walks in Parisian streets was one of my best memories
from my Euro Trip. One is bound to stumble upon quaint churches, roadside cafes, museums,
canals, bridges, jardines (gardens) or the view of the graceful Eiffel, every time
you take a turn. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is something enigmatically positive about Paris. And to
experience this, one needs to spend a certain amount of time. This post comes
nowhere close to expressing my feelings about this city. It was painful to see
this city go through the turmoil that it did in the last few days. May peace prevail.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tour de Eiffel. Arc de Triomphe. Champs Elysees. Sacre Coeur.
Notre Dame. Versailles. Je t’aime.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-87837751155807506282014-12-09T00:22:00.000-08:002014-12-09T00:22:58.001-08:00The Last One ... Not Yet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was supposed to be the last post on this blog. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Puppet Master decided to cut the rope and take away my
best-est friend and my most favourite person in the world, a few months back.
Losing Astha in a road accident has been plain devastating and I never thought
I would write again. After all, she was the biggest fan and supporter of my
writing. She was the first one to read anything that I wrote on this blog. She
was relentless in her praise, irrespective of the quality of my writing. It was
her support which kept me motivated to write for so many years. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thus, a few months back, I decided that I should shut this
blog down in her memory. It felt like an apt thing to do. Over the next few
days I tried framing the last blog post in my mind. However, the content of
that last blog post didn't feel right. Closing down the blog didn't feel like a
thing which would make Astha happy. She disliked formalities and ceremonies. Playing
victim would have been the last thing she would want me to do. She was the most
practical person I have seen. After a few more days of deliberation, I realised
that shutting down this blog was the opposite of what I ought to do. And
therefore this is not going to be the last post.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It will be difficult to write something and not have Astha
to proof read the drafts before I make it public. It will also be tough to not
have any one to bounce ideas off. But I will keep writing through all this pain
because I know she will love it, wherever she is. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-5812287998687036862014-04-12T08:08:00.001-07:002014-04-12T08:08:30.782-07:00Past Tense<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Talking of someone in past tense is not easy. Not easy at all.<br />
Reading memoirs is not easy at all.<br />
Writing memoirs - the fact that you have to write 'was' instead of 'is' is not easy at all.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-87945185742708628572014-04-04T22:06:00.000-07:002014-04-04T22:19:05.357-07:00Violence of Death<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For a 24 year old guy facing death of a dear one for the first time in his life, it is beyond a language's vocabulary to describe it.<br />
<br />
Death.<br />
Violence.<br />
Death is often associated with the violence which causes it. However, sometimes the cause of death in itself is very less violent. Cranial fracture takes away life in a jiffy they say. What follows death, more often than not, is way more violent.<br />
<br />
For a mother who lost her dearest daughter, her best friend, her confidante, her mirror image.<br />
For a father who lost his life line, the apple of his eye, the love of his life.<br />
For a brother who lost his role mode, his brother-like sister, his companion in all his mischief.<br />
For an aunt, who was the first one to carry her in her arms in the operation theater after she was born.<br />
For an uncle, who was the biggest fan of her poetry and songs.<br />
For that guy whose dream of living "happily ever after" turned into an anti-climax of epic proportion.<br />
<br />
Mere words are an insult to describe what they are going through. Words are all that we have.<br />
Lo and behold the poetic injustice unfolds.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-18859979519814998942013-12-26T21:19:00.001-08:002013-12-26T21:23:43.437-08:00Arvind Kejriwal - An Agent of Chaos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
India is going through some really interesting political drama.
Arvind Kejriwal, the man of the moment is extremely peculiar and surely the odd one out in the corridors of party politics. After witnessing umpteen number of
debates, for and against Kejriwal, I get reminded of that one character which
awed us a few years back - Joker.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Replace Joker with Kejriwal in the following dialogues from
Dark Knight and you would be amazed at the uncanny resemblance. Chaos!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57-migTGL6w-niSREw-4c4rPDAgzu54hKvKK6muoxj8di-Yxt-aVppx66gwJRbtdldv3XWnB96kX7k05wg9g52Ofe1GUf0MBMst4P42hZiJzTNgY1Jm_ku8565kwEFY4e7Z2L8sxxRkM/s1600/arvind+kejriwal+desktop+wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57-migTGL6w-niSREw-4c4rPDAgzu54hKvKK6muoxj8di-Yxt-aVppx66gwJRbtdldv3XWnB96kX7k05wg9g52Ofe1GUf0MBMst4P42hZiJzTNgY1Jm_ku8565kwEFY4e7Z2L8sxxRkM/s320/arvind+kejriwal+desktop+wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgiQJyAiPxXF_5oPUziJbq-oHYgnxVKnordXiglNcn0WsUlBfr_N7UCHovfEmDpTcfYdqe_FjUO249yHx4ss1wLLAauKOQb8P3684LABB9oA6XP-scQMlevirGv-aMRehXiRy-9O1HTE/s1600/joker-the-joker-28092759-500-281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgiQJyAiPxXF_5oPUziJbq-oHYgnxVKnordXiglNcn0WsUlBfr_N7UCHovfEmDpTcfYdqe_FjUO249yHx4ss1wLLAauKOQb8P3684LABB9oA6XP-scQMlevirGv-aMRehXiRy-9O1HTE/s200/joker-the-joker-28092759-500-281.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: Tonight you are all going to be part of a *social
experiment*.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: This town deserves a better class of criminal…
and I’m gonna give it to them. Tell your men they work for me now. This is *my*
city. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Chechen: They won’t work for a freak… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: [mocking his accent] A freak… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[pulls out his switchblade and tosses it to some goons who
grabs the Chechen] <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: Why don’t we cut you up into little pieces and
feed you to your pooches? Hmm? And then we’ll see how loyal a hungry dog really
is. It’s not about money… it’s about… sending a message. Everything burns.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: [speaking to Two-Face] Do I really look like a
guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know
what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The mob has
plans, the cops have plans, Gordon’s got plans. You know, they’re schemers.
Schemers trying to control their worlds. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the
schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Joker: [Joker hands Two-Face a gun and points it at
himself] Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and
everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh and you know the thing
about chaos, it’s fair.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
P.S. – This post was written while sitting at the ticket sales
counter of CHAOS, IIM A’s cultural fest. Take that!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Credits: <a href="http://dailymoviequotes.wordpress.com/the-dark-knight-joker-quotes/">dailymoviequotes.wordpress.com/the-dark-knight-joker-quotes/</a></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-77105305338160781172013-05-07T20:57:00.001-07:002013-05-07T21:24:15.261-07:00Taste of Success<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It was 3:30 PM on 12th April. The last working day of the week. I was ambling around in the lab, working on a customer case, removing and inserting devices on my network device. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It had been a hard week. The wait for IIM Calcutta result was keeping me on the edge. I had called IIM Ahmedabad admissions office a few days back and they had told that the result would be anounced in the third week. 12th April was comfortablly within the second week. Hence people (with 'people' I refer to the unusually high number of mad people on pagalguy.com) didn't bother to check IIM A website. All the action was on the IIM Calcutta thread. Rumor had it that the result would be out on 10th April. Historically the old IIMs anounced the result on this day. IIM Bangalore came on 10th. Come 11th April; Go 11th April; No IIM C result. The whole result wait had taken an emotional toll on me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here I was, 3:30 PM in Cisco lab, working on my device. I casually open the IIM C facebook group for an update on IIM C result. There was an update alright, but not of C but A. IIM A result was out! Chill ran down my spine. It was the same feeling which one gets while driving and seeing a pedestrian come in front of you from nowhere. I quickly opened the link and checked. This is what I saw.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5JqvZZjls2INCX6XDgvTNnEjumw6higDBkYJkxGEgv3g89hp4FDtvZGrBnJqg7EERWAZz9KX11aX3AU1g7fylGVtsAs17B8wl40LDKn74wMZSAqljTyBLjhtfO2WcVyOQ6h_itXqnTI/s1600/IIM+Ahmedabad+Results+Page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5JqvZZjls2INCX6XDgvTNnEjumw6higDBkYJkxGEgv3g89hp4FDtvZGrBnJqg7EERWAZz9KX11aX3AU1g7fylGVtsAs17B8wl40LDKn74wMZSAqljTyBLjhtfO2WcVyOQ6h_itXqnTI/s640/IIM+Ahmedabad+Results+Page.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I refreshed the page a zillion time. I read this page a zillion time. I read the text again and again to make sure it means what it means.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest of the day was consumed in calling people, meeting people, eating an awesome cake and treating friends. Surprisingly I had a searing headache. The kind of headache which one gets after pulling an all-nighter. It was my head asking me to sleep. The head had been awake since quiet a few days amidst all the speculation, analysis, nervousness and nail biting. It was time to finally sleep like a baby.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 12th is a milestone in my story. So is 9th January when I got a nice CAT score. And so is 30th May (not very confident of the date) when I stared at the computer screen on a hot afternoon in Ahmedabad (Yes. Ahmedabad!) in my BITSAT admission centre and it showed my score as 390 on 450.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what does success taste like?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It tastes like a piping hot tea served after a hard day's work. It takes time to kick in. But it does its job well.</span><br />
<br />
This Part of my life, this little part, is called Happyness.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/bklNWWoJyzE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-13116947022090660322013-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:002013-03-15T20:58:13.571-07:00Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012 Score Analysis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After having aced Common Admission Test (99.97 %ile) \m/ and
having completed almost all my interviews, I have decided to consolidate my
analysis of CAT 2012 result and post it for future aspirants. As pointless as
this analysis is for improving one’s prospects, it surely helps the ‘analytical’,
‘inquisitive’ minds to understand the beast called CAT a little better. The
following research has been done with the help of information from the
internet, especially pagalguy.com.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To start with, let us look at a simple graph between CAT
score and percentile. The maximum marks for CAT 2012 and all previous online
CATs have been 450. One of the 100 %iler scored 367. I scored 348 for my
percentile of 99.97.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLJDoh_hSIEs7wJHmuZjKxB9WNU52cmKg1hlTj1VRotrIzotlI-GgVcPWAg_JharOPIJPI65SFeuDvr7xL0N-4gKGsp1UuzHtPArHihUZjg7a3hsjLb8Gap5vGHdt595qvYPvyCRTkBc/s1600/CAT+score+vs+percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLJDoh_hSIEs7wJHmuZjKxB9WNU52cmKg1hlTj1VRotrIzotlI-GgVcPWAg_JharOPIJPI65SFeuDvr7xL0N-4gKGsp1UuzHtPArHihUZjg7a3hsjLb8Gap5vGHdt595qvYPvyCRTkBc/s400/CAT+score+vs+percentile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is also interesting to see how the scores vary
section-wise. From the below graph it is obvious that Quantitative Analysis and
Data Interpretation (QA & DI) section is more scoring that Verbal Analysis and
Logical Reasoning (VA & LR) section. The
scores are known to rise very steeply as the % ile touches 100 for each
section. However, I don't have the data to show it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcAqABBG5oRMo12wbmUASHzcs2Km_sYFt11hWKVQ6JVoOjS8g2QdhBziiaugHGMAOMMNAtbO_OctDjIXeaDp_LuGoXYh1h_GPlkLYKfXc763SkAWILXAvUjZrcWdlhHfvBMoLPxJ0d8M/s1600/CAT+sectional+score+vs+%25ile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcAqABBG5oRMo12wbmUASHzcs2Km_sYFt11hWKVQ6JVoOjS8g2QdhBziiaugHGMAOMMNAtbO_OctDjIXeaDp_LuGoXYh1h_GPlkLYKfXc763SkAWILXAvUjZrcWdlhHfvBMoLPxJ0d8M/s400/CAT+sectional+score+vs+%25ile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since most of the mock tests that we take for CAT are out of
180 (90 + 90), I have scaled the scores down to give a total out of 180. I will call this the raw score.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #953735; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #953735; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent2; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">Assumption Alert </span>– In scaling down, I have totally ignored
the devil called <b>normalization</b>. As
you read further, you will realize that normalization is really a game changer.
Normalization is a black box and the only way to deal with it is to ignore it.
And pray.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir82YillLon2kfkyBStNkaV6DY1v-9xS2_LIz5-UrVvYBXSFw-pfN95rxhHoaxPXlEunxSBTSCit2pDBU09CTHvq1ENbjscKT_nXoGq0F22Y8cfdacttZuvHl7zmA4WhXr2pbEbZSRox4/s1600/CAT+raw+score+vs+percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir82YillLon2kfkyBStNkaV6DY1v-9xS2_LIz5-UrVvYBXSFw-pfN95rxhHoaxPXlEunxSBTSCit2pDBU09CTHvq1ENbjscKT_nXoGq0F22Y8cfdacttZuvHl7zmA4WhXr2pbEbZSRox4/s400/CAT+raw+score+vs+percentile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following table is something I am the most proud of. It
will try to tell you how many questions you need to get correct to get a
certain percentile. I have continued with my assumption that Normalisation is
like unicorns -> it doesn’t exist. And I will repeat again -> My
assumption isn’t all that true.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Eg – If you have attempted 55 questions and want to get
99.8 percentile, you should get at least 46 questions correct. That means an accuracy of ~84%.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFf76FqUezeocWkCf6F7vQg56pJSLtFZkb5eu6qFcz3domQZbRI-zDYH8MJwKAvPRlhFkgKLUD-Xa48xdQBakn9fEn_CYlmuJ-sBX8bBR7ViA3euf_u_y3DoxPZBZnW4ReXf06OmHcA0/s1600/Number+of+Attempts+vs+Percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFf76FqUezeocWkCf6F7vQg56pJSLtFZkb5eu6qFcz3domQZbRI-zDYH8MJwKAvPRlhFkgKLUD-Xa48xdQBakn9fEn_CYlmuJ-sBX8bBR7ViA3euf_u_y3DoxPZBZnW4ReXf06OmHcA0/s640/Number+of+Attempts+vs+Percentile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you see in the table above, couple of correct questions separate a 99.0 from a 99.7. Also, for the same number of correct questions, your
percentile can lie in a big bracket. This means that where you lie in the
bracket depends upon how your scores get normalized. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feel free to comment and discuss this further. Happy to
help.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other Relevant Posts: </div>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="color: #33aaff; font-size: small; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://let-therebe-light.blogspot.in/2013/02/iim-ahmedabad-wat-personal-interview.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: initial;">IIM Ahmedabad WAT & Personal Interview Experience</a></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-42671400210797606322013-02-23T18:16:00.002-08:002013-07-21T00:32:22.562-07:00IIM Ahmedabad WAT & Personal Interview Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcwufuRihVANOjxQlLOm3J1NdX4slxhDzuQbrRo5SKJTnI_zHi6w4-RJaOqDm17JwSL9QEUkqeHpnzbEE312bWqFBFqW37cu2i2CLr8JkzbGi-7zlzWIewy-55ppCvSOvH89-82IElII/s1600/logo_iima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcwufuRihVANOjxQlLOm3J1NdX4slxhDzuQbrRo5SKJTnI_zHi6w4-RJaOqDm17JwSL9QEUkqeHpnzbEE312bWqFBFqW37cu2i2CLr8JkzbGi-7zlzWIewy-55ppCvSOvH89-82IElII/s200/logo_iima.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">Venue:<span class="apple-converted-space"> Monarch Luxor, Bangalore</span></span><span style="color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Date : 21/2/13</span><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">WAT Topic was “Imagination is more important that knowledge”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">After having written a very good essay in L interview, I felt
a little blacked out when I got this topic. I remembered that 15 minutes flew
when I wrote L interview and so had no doubt that a 10 minute time is very
small. Wrote fast. Wrote about Apple (cursed myself for doing this… while I was
writing.. I knew almost everyone would have written about them). Wrote about
low-budget movies. Wrote about disruptive innovation. It was a clumsy essay. </span></span><span style="color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><b><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This Interview was
probably the coolest interview conducted by any prof ever. I have read zillions
of interview experiences on PagalGuy before, but none came close the totally amazing
time (more than 30 minutes) I spent in that interview. I am dividing the
interview into 5 parts. It will be long. :)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Prof Intro:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1 – The Explorer (Young.
Late 30s or early 40s)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2 – The Thinker (Young.
Late 30s or early 40s)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">Part 1 – The WORK out</span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">P2:</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;"> Tell us about your job at Cisco.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Talked about my job
role. Talked about my organistion in general. Talked about the product I am
working on. Explained my job role. A monologue of more than 1 minute. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2 : Why is your product
next generation? (Mentioned that in my 1 minute)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Explained that.
Mentioned Energy Efficiency feature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: How do you save
energy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Explained. Mentioned
how saving energy reduced the operating expenses for our customers and how we
use this fact to win more customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: So how much energy is
saved because of your energy efficiency feature?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Dunno Sir.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: Give one more reason
why saving energy is important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Global Warming!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: <awesome alert="" question=""> Tell us your carbon footprint.<o:p></o:p></awesome></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Sir, I don’t know how
to measure it. The quantities that would possibly be involved in calculating
that is the electricity spent when I am at home or working in office. The
carbon emission due to the products I consume.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: You are missing on
important thing. (Small pause). What do you breathe out?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Smiled wide. He caught
me! Breathed out a few CO2 molecules.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Part 2 – The Cookie Conundrum</span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: (Points to the
biscuit lying in front of me) How do you think this is made?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I stare at the biscuit
for a few seconds. P1 asks me to feel it. Tells me it will help me answer
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Tell them that I have
gone to a bread factory. Explained how a bread is made. Wheat -> Flour ->
Dough -> Baked -> Bread<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Why is bread fluffy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Fermentation!
Explained what it is.(BTW normal bread is unleavened. Its fluffy because of
baking powder. They didn’t seem to mind that)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: What is yeast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">I: Initial population of microorganisms which act upon the dough. (Like
most of the answers, my real answer was not as articulate as how I have written
here. Clarity in retrospection </span><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"> )
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Ok now tell how a
biscuit is made?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Told that it will have
additional ingredients like sugar, butter etc. It will be cast in a certain
shape. There will also be more work done in case of variants like cream
biscuits etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: If I keep my biscuit
out for a few days it doesn’t get spoilt. Why does bread get spoilt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: (Scratched my head (In
my head)) Preservatives… (Eureka) Because bread has moisture content. Biscuit
doesn’t. Moisture gives ideal conditions for microbes to do Jingalala. Spoils
bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Can you make bread to
last long?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: If we can get rid of
moisture. If we heat normal bread and get a toast, it will last longer than
normal bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Part 3 – The land of ELEPHANTS and polar bears.</span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">After having ample
discussion on biscuits, P1 asked me to compare the size of a Polar Bear and a
Tiger. He asked me to draw and show. Drew something. He looked confused. I told
him the polar bear is standing. Then made its hands and legs. Laughs all
around. P1 said my answer was not correct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Okay tell me the
weight of a Polar Bear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Don’t know. (Smiling.
Thinking – ‘are you serious!’)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Weight of an
elephant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Don’t know. Must be in
tonnes. Don’t know. (Gave my best smile)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Take a guess:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: (Think for 10 seconds)
Must be equivalent of weight of 20 men. (P1, P2 laugh)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: Let's try finding out
the weight of an elephant. Make assumptions. Let us know what assumptions you
make.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">What followed was an
insanely pointless but fun calculation of the weight of an elephant in an MBA
interview. Assumed that elephant is a cylinder (chucked its leg). Got its
volume. Assumed that BMI of elephant = BMI of man. Calculated my BMI (Lots of
assumptions here too). Finally got the value of elephant’s weight as around
1050 Kg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">After I calculated, both
P2 and I looked at P1 curiously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: (Smiling) Looks like
you have got a baby elephant here. Elephants weigh around 4000 Kg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: So we have got some errors
in this data. How could you have taken care of it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Its based on a
judgment sitting here. Maybe I can keep a range of values for each assumption I
make and then I can get the final range, based on taking the positive
assumptions all the time or negative assumptions all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(some more discussion on
how to account for errors)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Part 4 – The Khichdi</span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This section I am adding
all the random questions which were asked throughout the interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: If let’s say you have
to go to Solomon Islands, How will you go from here?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Clueless. Paused for
10 seconds. Then said maybe it’s one of the islands near Australia. (P1 smiles
and nods). I tell him that if we were to go by sea, we could go via bay of
bengal via Singapore.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: If a tree was allowed to decide for itself the kind of leaves that it can have, what kind of leaves will it choose? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Some discussion on the type of leaves and how they vary with temperature, water availability, leave shedding for plant excretion etc.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1 : Tell me the volume
of Lake Pichola ( Lake in Udaipur. The place from where I come)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: ( In my mind - _/\_
P1. How do you know about Pichola now?) Sir difficult to make assumptions and
proceed as the water level is very uneven throughout the lake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1: What geometrical
shape will you use to calculate, if you were to assume and move forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Hemisphere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P1 is satisfied. Looks at
P2 and says I am done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Part 5 – The Netagiri </span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: So what hobbies you
have mentioned here. (I had written reading and blogging.) So you read blog or
write blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;">I : Write (ofcourse </span><span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"> )<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: What did you write
last?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Told. You will be
surprised to see what I wrote and would wonder whether P1 had read my blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">P2: What else do you
write about?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I: Politics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discussion about
Politics. Incompetence of Rahul Gandhi. Opposition opposing for the sake of
opposing. Went on for 5 minutes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />P2 says we are done. P1
says “Good” (Did he just say that!! Or is it my post interview delirium) asks
me to take a toffee and a biscuit :D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<br /><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A piece of advice - Go beyond all the coaching
class stuff. B school interviews can be totally about elephants, biscuits and
Rahul Gandhi. I was expecting a lot of acads as I am one of the few who got
through with less than 80% in graduation. But the professors of A showed why
its best in the business!</span>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: purple;">EPILOGUE:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made it into IIM Ahmedabad (and IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow and FMS Delhi). Hours of hard work for both CAT and interview preparation paid off. </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Delighted!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">EPILOGUE 2:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;">[21/07/2013]</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have got shortlisted for Aditya Birla Scholarship for the second time in my life. This implies that I am among the top 20 students in the incoming class of IIM Ahmedabad. This interview just got more memorable!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Other Relevant Posts: </span><br />
<a href="http://let-therebe-light.blogspot.in/2013/03/common-admission-test-cat-2012-score.html" style="background-color: white; color: #33aaff; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Common Admission Test (CAT) 2012 Score Analysis</a><br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-18277946320916753372013-02-09T10:05:00.000-08:002013-02-09T10:05:03.130-08:00Cookie Conundrum <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">The following is a conversation between two kids trying to figure out whether they should join a start up or the market leader in the same domain. Feast on!</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: You know what, in my company, you actually get to taste the sugar to find out how much would be great to put in the biscuits that we make.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: Cool! But we at my place have done research on all sugars possible and hence have a very clear idea about the quantity to sweetness ratio.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: Thats so uncool. So, you are trying to tell me that in your company you don't get to taste sugar. </span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: But isn't it great, cause we get to work with the most diverse assortment of sugars to chose from, without having to bother about what works and what doesnt</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: BTW your company just makes glucose biscuits right? In my company, in addition to glucose biscuits, we make cream biscuits, choclate cookies, and even icecream sandwiches. Can you beat that.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: That's my point precisely. Your company has grown so big that I as an employee can add no new value in it. I can whip some cream and put it between two of my glucose biscuits and vola, I just made a new product for my company. What exactly is your role in your company?</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: I am in the recipe development team man. I have to read these old recipes and understand the yolk to egg white ratio in the egg whipped for our cakeiscuit (cake + biscuit) product which my company is planning to launch next quarter. What about you? </span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: Man I am making the whole barter by myself. I am the captain of my soul and the master of my biscuit. </span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: BTW I heard your team doesn't have a Quality Assurance team.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: Ya we guys test our biscuits at every step of processing. From tasting the wheat to tasting the floor, we just do it on our own. Everytime we need, we just check the taste while we are cooking.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: Oh!! We have a whole dedicated team to taste the biscuits and validate it. BTW have you thought what would happen to your career if people don't like your biscuits? I have a very stable career in that way.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">KB: But imagine how many free biscuit packets I would receive when the company goes public and starts selling in plastic bags.</span><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: monospace; font-size: 13.200000762939453px;">SK: hmm... Thats true... Free biscuits... thats something i can never resist.</span><br />
<br />
Disclaimer - Any resemblance to the networking industry is totally unintentional. Its a figment of your imagination. Please don't re read the post after reading this disclaimer.<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-51189251163035633082012-04-23T20:46:00.001-07:002012-04-23T21:54:25.544-07:00Love - Hate - Love Relationship with College Tshirts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_R7wAGGuzRzmYaIuyhOhGA_Wz3-x2j-_ao0zVgkzDxJxD1onO-QgN5Qqw_ZgB2emtGJUE9ZDT5u_hDle80XoHgtLaVZnyQqldc2i6zxkL5tD3I_gQvQdojsECS_6_uKNry0z0zdZqYw/s1600/Tshirt+Yearning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_R7wAGGuzRzmYaIuyhOhGA_Wz3-x2j-_ao0zVgkzDxJxD1onO-QgN5Qqw_ZgB2emtGJUE9ZDT5u_hDle80XoHgtLaVZnyQqldc2i6zxkL5tD3I_gQvQdojsECS_6_uKNry0z0zdZqYw/s400/Tshirt+Yearning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Every time I see someone wearing a BITSian T-shirt, I curse myself for detesting it when I was in college. Now I wish I had more of them!<br />
<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-22699210092833808672012-04-02T23:33:00.000-07:002012-04-02T23:33:39.241-07:00Brief Biography of Bob Biswas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif][if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
Bob Biswas is the sweetest serial killer ever. Well, he is not a serial
killer in the strictest of sense. Contract Killer would be the right term.
However, he does have some peculiarities in his character. He has all the
oddities to be branded a serial killer<br />
<br />
Bob was born in Calcutta in the year 1965. He was born to Mr and Mrs. Biswas
and they lived in a small shanty in Kolkata. Mr. Biswas was a clerk in the
Calcutta Municipal Corporation. He was also a part time party worker for the
communist party and was thoroughly inspired by the maxim "All for one and one for
all". Mr. Biswas was a strong disciplinarian as well. He would take great
pride in his Bong identity. He would spend hours staring out of the window,
pondering upon how the Bong race is second to none intellectually. Tagore was
his personal super hero.<br />
<br />
So when Bob Biswas was born, the first word that he learnt was 'Namoshkar'. He
was taught etiquettes and values by Mr. Biswas rather well. <br />
<br />
Life was going all well for the Biswas family. However, there was a twist in
the kahaani. Living in the house opposite to the Biswas' was a gangster, Milan
Damji. One day when he knocks at their door to collect his regular 'Basooli(Vasooli)',
Mr. Biswas opens the door and greets Milan with a polite "Namoshkar".
Milan was in a bad mood that day. He shows a middle finger in reply. Mr.
Biswas slaps Milan. Milan shoots Mr. Biswas with a revolver. Mr. Biswas loses
his life on the spot. Bob’s life is scarred for life(much more than Dexter. How
can a guy not say Namoshkar?!!!").<br />
<br />
To add to the woes, Mr. Biswas had no insurance. That day Bob decided that he would
grow up to be an insurance agent... and a serial killer. <br />
Mrs. Biswas worked in various houses as a maid and raised Bob. Come 1990 and
there was a jakaas movie on Box-Office. Agneepath. Bob watched the movie alone
in a theater and got inspired. Milan Damji had to be killed. <br />
<br />
Rest is history.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhWh7cQRme9hebUPvslG5Wwr-Uei698PvIfH4hVGMd-fhEpvys-gHp0d1Ejq2U1y8ipW-LKUASlFaaqQhh2T1ZqM_aS7OqEM1JfWyf3XN2n02-bC0weWkDxw8Q_5fGWd7TuycwwGdBCY/s1600/bobbiswas-apr2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhWh7cQRme9hebUPvslG5Wwr-Uei698PvIfH4hVGMd-fhEpvys-gHp0d1Ejq2U1y8ipW-LKUASlFaaqQhh2T1ZqM_aS7OqEM1JfWyf3XN2n02-bC0weWkDxw8Q_5fGWd7TuycwwGdBCY/s320/bobbiswas-apr2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Fig:</b> A still from movie Kahaani. Original photograph not available</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></div>
<br />
<b>Epilogue:<br />
</b><br />
The life of Bob is so awesome that they made a movie in 2012. They called it
Kahaani. It won the Filmfare Best Dialogue Award.<br />
The most deadly dialogue being:<br />
<br />
"Namoshkar, Ek Minute... "<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-81762290850363453852012-03-16T20:08:00.000-07:002012-03-16T20:12:19.835-07:00Centrally Planned Citizens in Market Driven Economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The drama around the railway budget was absurd, if not
hilarious. Here is this one man who wishes to put his image at stake to ensure
the health of the Indian Railways and what he gets in return is simple - a political
middle finger. Mamata Banerjee, the ‘pro-people’ ‘messiah’ of India, shocked
everyone by doing something which has no precedence before; protesting against
one’s own party’s railway budget. Such bizarre arguments make one wonder
whether the Indian population is even aware that from the dawn of 1990s, the
Indian economy has positioned itself as a market based economy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the problem lies in the history of Indian economy. I
vaguely remember the stories which our history teacher would tell about his
childhood and the post independent India. About how they would stay on a queue
in front of a ration shop to get ones share of wheat, rice, oil, kerosene etc.
The quantities of these goods were rationed (fixed) based on the number of
people in the household and the prices were tightly governed by the government.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the economy was run in soviet-style centrally
planned manner. The five year plans, which were a brain child of Pandit Jawahar
Lal Nehru, had a huge impact on the macroeconomic and microeconomic condition
of India. Lets fast forward to the early 90s and there we have this Indian economy
on the brink of filing chapter 11. Narsimha Rao brings on board a soft spoken
economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh, as the finance minister of India. He pushes
ahead with a series of reforms and hence started a transformation from a
socialist economy to a socialist flavored economy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let us fast forward even further to the India of today. I
would not dare to call India a capitalist country, but it surely is hugely
market driven. Government has exited many of the markets where it shouldn’t
have been present on the first place.
There is still way to go with the disinvestment plan. The reason you
have so many options while buying a cold cream is because of the reforms of the
90s.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming to the current debate of prices, what I fail to
understand is the kind of expectations which people have with budgets and
government. They still want the prices to be controlled like the old days and
don’t realize that India has moved on from that. Politicians are thoroughly
responsible for such perception. It seems like a norm that politicians would
turn economic illiterates and irrationals, the moment they are forced to sit on
the opposition chair. I can vouch for it that a majority of MPs wouldn’t even
know the meaning of ‘fiscal deficit’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even the media, in its attempt to raise TRPs, portrays the
budget as a simplified diktat of the government on what prices will go up and
what will go down. The newspapers sum up the budget with excellent infographics
on the same. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Price rise is a serious concern and it should be thoroughly
debated. I totally understand that even a slightest shift in prices pinch the
lower strata of the society very badly. And for this very same reason, we want
our politicians and even the media to debate on the issue of price rise in a
more rational manner. I would be really proud of the Indian economy when the
opposition party would come out and appreciate a bold decision of the ruling
government. </div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-87782091803626445292012-03-09T20:24:00.000-08:002012-03-09T20:24:24.986-08:00WAT and Personal Interview experience for New IIMs - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4<sup>th</sup> March 2012 is a different kind of a Sunday. I
appear for the Personal Aptitude and Written Ability Test for five new Indian
Institute of Managements (Raipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Trichy and Udaipur). The
interview was scheduled for the second half of the day. So I start my day with
tasks ranging from making noodles, polishing shoes to more serious task like
taking a decision on whether I should be carrying a <i>Best Story Teller</i> Certificate from my 4th standard in school.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After grooming up for the interview, I jump onto an auto for
Hotel Monarch Luxor where the interview was going to take place. The moment the
auto guy sees me in my shining red tie, he knew he could extract meter plus 20 on
a dreamy Sunday afternoon. And extract he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>ACT 1</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now this is the thing about IIM interview, the moment you
see other candidates, you start a mental sizing up game.”<i>This guys doesn’t look like he can speak English</i>”, “O<i>h this guys is a stud</i>”, “<i>Why is that girl not wearing formals?</i>”
and the likes. So, anyway, at precise 1 PM an elderly gentleman enters the
room. The candidates put on their best manners and politely greet the person.
Moments later he hands out a sheet and sets the topic of WAT(Written Analysis
Test) as “FDI in retail should be allowed in organized retail”. In the
merriment of having received a common topic to write on, I forget to adhere by
the time and had to give my sheet back mid-sentence. The person correcting my
sheet would be clearly amused at my chain of thought which ended nowhere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The interview was happening in the hotel rooms which had
been converted to look like office cabins. I happily went and sat on a chair
kept outside the interview room 5. The door of the interview room was a little
ajar and I could hear the TV with the professors taking their lunch break by listening
to the post-poll pre-counting analysis of UP elections. I was scheduled to be
the fifth person to go in. The first interviewer went in at 2 and people keep
going in and coming out at a regular interval of 20 mins. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just when it was time for the 4<sup>th</sup> person to come
out (and my turn to go in), I thought that I should get the graduation
certificate out of its separate cover and place it along with the other
certificates. And as I was busy juggling the certificates, I hear my name being
called. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I enter the room. There are three gentlemen sitting in the
room. The person on my left hand side is the youngest among all three, late 30s
or early 40s. The other two professors look like they are in their late 50s or
early 60s. For convenience sake, let me call them Prof Utonium, Prof Calculus and
Prof. Xavier, some of the most excellent professors from the world of fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The professors direct me to sit. Professor Utonium looks at
my resume sheet and asks me about my surname. I tell that I am a Keralite born
and brought up in North India. After talking for a while about how I am a half
keralite, half rajasthani and a full Indian(cheesy right? I know!), Prof.
Utonium stops me and asks me to state three differences between Kerala and
Rajasthan. “Sweet” , I tell myself. I start off my answer by telling that there
is a difference in the climatic pattern. Prof Utonium interrupts me midway. He doesn’t
seem impressed. He asks me to tell three differences about the<i> people</i> of kerala and <i>people</i> of rajasthan. Now that is a
tricky one. I scratch my head (in my imagination ofcourse, it’s an interview!).
After trying to convince the professors about how Mallu people like showing off
their wealth and Rajasthani people like NOT showing off, they look semi
convinced. They ask me to give my second point. I scratch my brain some more. I
tell something about the immigration pattern and how Mallus louve Gelf and how
Marus are all over the country.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Professors think that a third point would be stretching it a
little too far and so they ask me to describe my role in the current company
where I am employed. I tell about how my company powers the internet and some
blah. Let me tell you, it is a difficult task to explain the functioning of a
B2B company. After having given a fairly satisfactory answer, I am asked the
typical MBA interview question.<i> </i>“<i>Why MBA?</i>” I start off by telling that I
would like to be involved in a marketing role. Just when I was going to make a
home run with this answer, Prof Calculus asks me “Are you happy with your
current employer?”. I promptly reply “Yes Sir, I am”. Now this was a booby
trap. Prof Xavier jumps in and asks “Then Why MBA? Why are you even here?”From there
it took good amount of conversation maneuvering skills before I got out of the spot. I believe I was
convincing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I had mentioned marketing in my Why MBA answer, Prof
Utonium ask me to sell India in the next one minute.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>To Be Continued …<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-7602773357961808172012-02-27T08:34:00.001-08:002012-02-27T08:38:55.856-08:00Hey You! Yes, I am talking to You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Disclaimer</b> – I am having a mild fever and I will plead not-guilty, because of oscillating temperature induced insanity, in case you decide to sue. Also, my Employer
has nothing to do with this post. Please don’t drag them in court or something,
like it was done <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institute_of_Planning_and_Management_advertising_and_blogging_controversy">here</a>
by the great insititution which cannot be named. Yes Yes, the one which is
beyond IIMs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following are yet another set of open letters. Read on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Shri Rahul Gandhi and Shrimati Sonia Gandhi,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am a Christian. No madam, I am not blaming you. I am a Christian
because I believe in it. So, ya. To tell
you the fact, you are our only hope. The BJP decides to call itself not –
secular, which is a bit scary. But Madam that doesn’t mean you appease us. I don’t
want a reservation if I don’t deserve one (I will not say No though, if you are
adamant on giving me one). It will be great if you can make us feel normal and not fight for our
rights when at times we don’t need a fight. (Please protect us from anti-christian
persecution though, there is a lot of it happening in remote villages). On a
different topic please don’t let Rahul Baba become Big Brother (and you Big
Aunty) ever. We don’t want super powerful PMs. Slightly more powerful than the current
PM is fine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Congress Yes Mans,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I find it really strange that you, who are elder than Mr.
Rahul Gandhi in age give him
unprecedented respect, often to the point of losing self respect. He might be
the future of Indian Politics and blah but please don’t steal the thunder
before it actually thunders.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Mr. Kapil Sibal,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No point writing anything. It may not be fit to cross Sibal
Pre-Screen anyway.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Madam Sushma Swaraj,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You are a wonderful orator. Please make BJP secular. Please.
Also, please keep Mr. Narendra Modi away from Center. I am scared of his beard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear BJP,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know you believe in simplicity. But that is not prudent at
times. Being an opposition party DOESN’T mean you need to oppose everything…
EVERYTHING. Your economic policies are almost similar to Congress. You would do
almost the same things which Congress is doing right now (Ya, I know you don’t have
Raja). So why fight? And as I write, you are preparing for Band(pronounced
Bund) tomorrow. Opportunists!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Team Anna,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You are an exceptional set of people. But please don’t shake
the semblance of order in this country. India is like a big elephant. If you
agitate the sleeping elephant beyond a point, the elephant might run rampant. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Baba Ramdev,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You are the best in the industry of Yoga. Politics is not
the way to increase market cap. You may instead give offers like “Ek Shivir ke
Saath ek Shivir Free”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Poonam Pandey,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may feel like a politician as you don’t practice what
you preach, but that is not good enough. Multitudes of people like you have
failed. Even Rakhi Sawant lost it (check <a href="http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2011/jul/290711-informer-5.htm">this</a>)
beyond insanity. Twitter is full of pervs. They don’t really love you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear TOI,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hate you, like I love you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>P.S. </b>- Sagnik Datta almost didn't edit this post. Anup Jyoti Deka didn't edit this post.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>P.P.S</b>. - Post dedicated to Prashant Koshy. Thanks for the encouragement. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-21177053432709750002011-12-28T21:45:00.000-08:002011-12-28T21:45:52.676-08:00What’s in a Number: Reviewing klout.com<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My uncle, a senior executive in a PSU, was at my home for
Christmas and he introduced me to an important management adage: “What cannot be
measured cannot be managed”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://klout.com/">klout.com</a> is a social media analytics company which measures
influence of users in the social networking world. To put it simply, it checks
out your profiles on twitter, facebook, google+ etc to come up with a popularity score to
measure your social charisma on the web.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Klout-logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Klout-logo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have not used this yet, then the first thing that you
should do is go to <a href="http://www.klout.com/">www.klout.com</a>. There you
would need to link all your social networking accounts and see the website
churn out a number. To your surprise, the website can spew out a number with an
accuracy of up to two decimal places. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Klout gives you some more scores namely <i>True Reach</i>,
<i>Amplification</i> and <i>Network Impact</i>. They sift through your social networking
activity and observe the number of retweet, mentions, followers and following
on twitter. As of now it is unclear what they observe in facebook. They have a
bunch of ‘scientists’ and engineers who refine the algorithm which produces the
number.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyxBDjpwBqBUIvBttwHx-ME4ArOzkIp-EyR2oV_YZsiHX03CesUKMvD83OsKMhngv_dTQMtt-mKkFEIij5BTI8WJdB8ZQLI2_mj1Uqp04B2f-2ud5P1Hxx6mcV8A_bj_aW9bAmytDK00/s1600/Klout-home.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyxBDjpwBqBUIvBttwHx-ME4ArOzkIp-EyR2oV_YZsiHX03CesUKMvD83OsKMhngv_dTQMtt-mKkFEIij5BTI8WJdB8ZQLI2_mj1Uqp04B2f-2ud5P1Hxx6mcV8A_bj_aW9bAmytDK00/s400/Klout-home.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig: A snapshot of my klout profile</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Klout has this interesting feature called <a href="http://klout.com/corp/perks">klout perk</a>. If you are popular enough
and klout identifies you as an expert in a particular field, you might be given
<i>perks</i> by companies who would want you
to use their products. For example, if you are an influencer with tablets,
Amazon might gift you a Kindle Fire so that you might use it and possibly talk
about it on the web (positively or negatively). This is a truly innovative
feature(who minds free goodies :) ).</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: -4.5pt; width: 1px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background: #F0F0F0; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;" valign="bottom"></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inspite of all this, Klout has been under a lot of
criticism. What I find most annoying about these scores is the lack of non-vague
definition for all these terms. For Example, the definition of Amplification
says “Amplification is how much you influence people. It indicates how likely
your audience is to respond and how close you are to your entire network.” My
Amplification score is apparently 37. I have no idea how good it is. I don’t even
know the maximum score possible. The
moment I saw klout report card, I got reminded of indiblogger.<a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/"> Indiblogger</a> is a network of bloggers in
India. They come up with <a href="http://www.indiblogger.in/indirank/">Indirank</a>
every month for all the bloggers in the network. Their blog metric seems much
more reliable as they have <b>measurable</b>
parameters (like alexa rank, google page rank, frequency of posting etc) which
they use to bring out the score. I might not agree with the idea of scoring
blogs on these parameters; however I think they do a good enough job in finding
out the ‘reach’ of each blog.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another thing which I find irritating in klout is the <i>+k</i> feature. It reminds me of Zynga’s
Mafia War on Facebook. Every day, each user would be given 10 <i>+k</i> points which they can go and
distribute among friends. This is a very non creative way of having user
engagement and might be detrimental in the long run because if you can increase
klout score by spending your time on klout.com(rather than on social networking
sites), it is not a good scoring mechanism then. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, klout has only
added facebook, twitter, google plus and
foursquare in their algorithm. Photosharing websites like flickr and Blogging
platforms like blogspot, wordpress etc
have not yet been analysed. These websites are definitely an indicator of a
person’s influence on the web.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then why has klout received so many eyeballs? For one,
everyone likes numbers. Numbers have an enigmatic pull. How many times have you
felt tempted to click on links which say “10 worst songs of 2011” and the likes?
Klout has used this attraction to the maximum and has got a good user base in a
little time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, klout caters to
a genuine business need. There are a lot of companies which are mulling the ROI
of their efforts in social media marketing. Klout promises to give them a
number which they can use in board rooms to justify to their bosses that the
money spent in social media is showing the desired result. It also promises to
be an effective tool in recruitment process for the social media industry. In
this world of supply and demand, let us see how klout survives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
P.S. - Now that I blogged about klout, will I get some brownie points?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-40794332866509058102011-12-24T09:24:00.000-08:002011-12-24T09:40:17.278-08:00The Christmas Playlist<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The following is a compilation of contemporary versions of classic Christmas carols.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
The Christmas Playlist includes:<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Relient K</li>
<li>Silent Night - Sixpence None the Richer</li>
<li>First Noel - Toby Mac & Owl City</li>
<li>Joy To The World - Chris Tomlin</li>
<li>O Come All Ye Faithful - Jeremy Camp</li>
<li>O Holy Night - Kutless</li>
<li>Do You Hear What I Hear - Carrie Underwood</li>
<li>Angels We Have Heard On High - Sixpence None the Richer</li>
<li>Hark The Herald - The Fab Four</li>
<li>Away In The Manger - Cristy Lane </li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLF6E3A0A7E394DCBF&hl=en_GB" width="400"></iframe>
</ol>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-8165119520446536642011-12-23T22:13:00.000-08:002011-12-23T22:17:07.660-08:00Selling to new India: Bose gets it right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
India is changing. If you have any doubt then go to a tier 2 or tier 3 city, visit a mall and see the number of people trying to ride the escalators with mixed feelings of fear and elation.<br />
<br />
However, there is a sense of intimidation in all these shopping malls. This feeling is even more prominent in the smaller cities and towns of the country. Even with the burgeoning middle class pockets, the sight and smell of malls and high end shops seem inviting and uninviting both at the same time.<br />
<br />
So, when I (a small town boy) went to Croma store, which didnt feel as 'posh' and where one was allowed to play around with the gizmos, I was bound to stumble across something interesting. I moved around in the store fiddling everything that could be fiddled with. Suddenly, I noticed this particular section of the store where all the Bose devices were kept. I had heard a lot about Bose (who hasn't), but had never used any of their products before. When I saw people trying out headphones and speakers at the Bose counter, I thought I should give it a try. I put on one of the headphones. Ecstacy.<br />
<br />
What followed was akin to a guy stalking a girl. I would go to Croma store again and again to test the device to convince myself that the hefty price tag was worth every penny. Finally I decided to buy the thing.<br />
<br />
However, when it came to buying the headphones, I decided to search for an exclusive store and was surprised to know that they had one in Forum Mall. On my previous visits to Forum, this showroom of Bose was nothing but invisible.<br />
<br />
Premier Companies, take a cue. Keep the fancy showrooms in expensive malls, but your customers (the new ones) are not going to find you there if you don't 'open up'.Consumer electronics stores are seeing a transformation. Lets see where it goes from here.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-8627212857286739832011-11-22T04:59:00.001-08:002011-11-22T05:13:09.442-08:00Flipkart exits price war. Is it too soon?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recently one of my friends (<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/chocophilix">chocophilix</a>) pointed out on twitter that the
prices on Flipkart had risen. I went ahead and checked the prices of books that I have bought or want to buy and this is what I found:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOzQJjKhjtHv7B6Yps0DKJVvljs8T4GUsNnG3Vdp3U25G1cVwPs6ZOqzxyRulIAy0zpTemBrCxySYxiuoWjbqaynufLaHOrq7FvR4TgRR5AEiBPj2IryNddKPs_a0ZgvhtYfA6hL3e-E/s1600/Open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOzQJjKhjtHv7B6Yps0DKJVvljs8T4GUsNnG3Vdp3U25G1cVwPs6ZOqzxyRulIAy0zpTemBrCxySYxiuoWjbqaynufLaHOrq7FvR4TgRR5AEiBPj2IryNddKPs_a0ZgvhtYfA6hL3e-E/s400/Open.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhKfDKaPYqwZp4KAbDRcb5CpQn5RGUC4iuVpQQwuar4gFzi_MqdM0ITUlSEp4q4XL508EVTXzBTgCRh8ioK9lkSjEH23YHGaKW9lKDLPaXOw4bhdAyl1J10-mayAC_LpX7PhHzNTgb5g/s1600/Cormen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhKfDKaPYqwZp4KAbDRcb5CpQn5RGUC4iuVpQQwuar4gFzi_MqdM0ITUlSEp4q4XL508EVTXzBTgCRh8ioK9lkSjEH23YHGaKW9lKDLPaXOw4bhdAyl1J10-mayAC_LpX7PhHzNTgb5g/s400/Cormen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyej0_LthGYu0ezunV69eXYnUHu7a0vg-ZZPvPT1-HqaOvGPu5NUZ4LPcYTn-zNPGVPsIMkwy-Uyu7hWX2QA8b2iYN2tUru11utthndmjIsMqU8lqCq-8wgQkfiDJT3hDcVgzxkjig_8/s1600/art+of+choosing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqyej0_LthGYu0ezunV69eXYnUHu7a0vg-ZZPvPT1-HqaOvGPu5NUZ4LPcYTn-zNPGVPsIMkwy-Uyu7hWX2QA8b2iYN2tUru11utthndmjIsMqU8lqCq-8wgQkfiDJT3hDcVgzxkjig_8/s400/art+of+choosing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Fig: Flipkart vs Infibeam</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In general I could see a 5 to 15 percent price difference of
Flipkart from Infibeam. However, this price difference has been observed only
in the book selling business (the first segment in which Flipkart entered). The
consumer electronics business still shows a congruity in prices among the
online stores.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the time it has started marketing through television
advertisements, Flipkart has become a household name. Their service is
unanimously considered the best among all the online stores currently
functional in India. However this price rise came as a surprise as Flipkart had
just started attracting eyeballs of the non-geek India. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would be interesting to see whether the cost conscious Indian
customer be ready to pay the extra 10% for a better service. The case in
discussion becomes more relevant because of the unique cash on delivery model
which the Indian online retail industry has been promoting. The cash on
delivery model negates the perceived risk from online shopping and obviates the
need for better service.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it too soon for Flipkart to end the price war? Time will
tell whether this is a cyclic change or a clear differentiation sought by Flipkart.
Looking forward to your comments.</div>
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-59038771271882944192011-11-08T02:14:00.000-08:002011-11-08T02:14:30.924-08:00The Four Letter Word<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday I saw this movie called <i>In Time</i>. Set in 2161, the movie talks about a world where humanity
has been genetically modified such that they cannot get older than 25
physically, and their currency has been changed from money to time. There would
be a clock running on each person's arm. The time shown on the arm is the
amount of time left before the person dies. A person would die as soon as the
time runs out (if they don’t happen to die of any other unnatural cause before
that). Every transaction of goods or services is through transfer of time. A
phone call costs 1 minute of life, for example. The clock starts when a man or
a woman achieves the age of 25. From the point, their physical features remain that
of a 25 year old for the rest of their life. Father, Mother, Grandmother, Albert Einstein, everyone is 25
years old in this world. However, their "real age" might be in
centuries (reminds you of inception right?).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The plot of the movie requires the father of a pretty girl
(who falls in 'love' with the protagonist of the movie) to pay some ransom for
his kidnapped daughter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now here lies the dilemma. If this was a normal world, the
father would pay anything to get his daughter freed. You cannot take anything
to the grave right? However, in this world, it is theoretically possible to
live for eternity. So can he waste his money (time) to save his daughter? Will
he shorten his life to save his daughter? Will he do that out of 'love'?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
LOVE</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is one word which has puzzled me beyond words. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it a state of mind? Wikipedia calls it an emotion. Dictionary
defines love as “A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude
toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive
qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness”. Isn’t that a little less romantic
than what one might like?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you mean by
'falling' in love?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it dependence? Was Mother Teresa looking for dependence?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is Kasab capable of love? What do you mean by being ‘capable’?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it a Verb? Noun? Interjection?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can we really truly love someone without having an ulterior
motive?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Isn't love the righteous cousin of jealousy and guilt?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it lame to even discuss love?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://idontboast.blogspot.com/2011/11/love.html">Here</a> is the blog post by my college junior which inspired me to write my share of
confusion on this topic. Comments are always welcomed and in fact demanded.</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-46915017505286020132011-09-28T21:07:00.000-07:002011-09-28T21:14:38.852-07:00The Other Salman Khan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This Salman Khan doesn’t like removing his shirt for no good
reason, has 3 degrees from MIT (BS in Mathematics, BS and MS in Electrical and
Computer Engineering) and one from Harvard( MBA) and has left his job at a
hedge fund to teach school kids.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Salman Khan is a Bangladeshi American born to a Bangladeshi
father and an Indian mother. He started of his teaching career when he started
helping out his cousins in their school curriculum. He started posting 10
minute video tutorials on YouTube so that his cousins could have a look. Over
the time, he started getting a good number of hits on his videos. So much so
that it caught Bill Gates' attention. Now he has a $2 million support from
Google to create more content and translation of content to other prominent
languages of the world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He featured in TED in
2011 where he tells how a hedge fund analyst got into teaching kids.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nTFEUsudhfs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html#.ToPs_63vVoY.blogger">Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | Video on TED.com</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been viewing some of his videos on finance and
economics and they have been really enlightening. It is kind of eureka feeling
when you come across something like this. It was as if you were looking for it all
along but didn’t know where you might stumble across this thing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Check out his webpage for some insane number of videos: <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/">http://www.khanacademy.org/</a></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-45067894165566902382011-07-15T23:13:00.000-07:002011-07-15T23:13:32.263-07:00My Father doesn't like Reliance Fresh. Now I know why.<div class="MsoNormal">As a kid I would often accompany my father on his weekly trip to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dhan-mandi</i>(local market). I would sit in the rear seat of our good old Bajaj Chetak, with my arms wrapped around my father’s belly and my mind wandering in the chaos of narrow streets sprawling with hawkers selling bizarre things, stray cows having lost all sense of direction and poor customers finding their way in this pandemonium.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today, I went to the market again with my father. This time we were travelling in our bike, the rest of the surrounding however seem to show no difference. My father has been a vocal critic of reliance fresh, big bazaar and other multi brand retail stores. It would often seem counter intuitive to me. Today I was to learn, why it wasn’t.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most surprising thing I noticed while travelling through the mandi was that my father was getting greeted by random shopkeepers along the way. Whenever he would stop to buy a thing, he would have the customary round of bargaining and a convergence on selling price (based on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">na tera na mera</i> principle). While my father was dealing with an onion merchant, selecting the onions from a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tokri </i>full of onions, a tiny little girl nudged him from behind. She was three, maybe four and was the cutest little girl. She had coriander leaves (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dhania</i>) in her hands and she was pleading my father to buy a bunch of leaves for five rupees. My father looked at that girl and smiled for seconds at length. He and I exchanged looks. I promptly took out 5 Rs from my pocket and placed it on those tiny hands. My father started to ask “School nahi gayi aaj?”, but she had left by then, too busy to be bothered by such banalities.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We moved on to another hawker. She was selling vegetables. My father asked for 1 kg of ladyfingers and the lady said with much authority <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Mai do kilo de rahi hun”</i>. He had to beg her to put only 1 kg. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father motioned towards the spot where that lady was sitting and told me that there was another lady who used to sit here(The lady who was sitting then was the niece of that lady).He always bought vegetables from that lady. She died of heart ailment a few months back. “Bahut dukh hua sunkar” my father said. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We kept on moving through the mesh of hawkers sitting on the floor and selling<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>fruits and vegetables. While I was there I sensed a great loss which my generation and I are moving towards. We are probably going to miss out on a whole set of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real </i>friends while we are busy living our virtual lives and considering reliance fresh as our best alternative for shopping. What a shame. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-69109875752522031412011-07-08T11:33:00.000-07:002013-04-26T10:06:14.365-07:00Books I read this summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
The following is a list of books which I read in that past few months. These books weren’t necessarily read in >30 degree temperature. Some were even read under a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rajai </i>( all in 2011 though). I liked the title to be this way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tuesday’s with Morrie </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqK1oPzQckMGVnjTt7ZvSzmUiBB0JUlI4TMEFdCqytMCvLG7B73eG9sEZEdCfSmAtfXDE6Clg2NwbPmP34yuiWrluUHLXGXTboPbfrW1r-IPuut36UaPpn32hJCAvUS5JPGlAoYYPjpIM/s1600/tuesdays+with+morrie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqK1oPzQckMGVnjTt7ZvSzmUiBB0JUlI4TMEFdCqytMCvLG7B73eG9sEZEdCfSmAtfXDE6Clg2NwbPmP34yuiWrluUHLXGXTboPbfrW1r-IPuut36UaPpn32hJCAvUS5JPGlAoYYPjpIM/s200/tuesdays+with+morrie.jpg" width="139" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Mitch Albom</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – nonfiction, memoir</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 4/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
A few months back I was talking with a friend of mine on her birthday and in the middle of the discussion she told that she wanted to call up everyone whom she cared for and tell them how much they mean to her. Further ahead in the discussion I found that it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tuesdays with Morrie </i>which had brought this desire in her mind.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
Tuesdays with Morrie is a real life account of the last few days of Morrie Shwartz, a professor of sociology in Brandeis University, Massachusetts. Morrie is diagnosed by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and is destined to die a slow and painful death. The author, an old student of Morrie, hears about his condition and decides to pay him a visit. The author has penned those conversations which he had with his teacher before his teacher’s death.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
The book is written in a much uncomplicated manner and touches one’s heart and one’s beliefs in a profound way. This made me think a lot about how I want my life to be. And I kept thinking about these things even long after I finished the book. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to venture into nonfiction literature.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Long walk to freedom </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscrRK6P9uZ3Z3OtRNI76kHYoNZ-XQUD3NUrowjHw24yLbPBb0LefcWAQgfTyXjKsFj5Hx4VuJIcohlYeVoKOgl8GJFCJpsNT0WfEvfTDleqr7B2lX93rqka6b-oz2UUca7_HCt_RVTh4/s1600/long+walk+to+freedom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscrRK6P9uZ3Z3OtRNI76kHYoNZ-XQUD3NUrowjHw24yLbPBb0LefcWAQgfTyXjKsFj5Hx4VuJIcohlYeVoKOgl8GJFCJpsNT0WfEvfTDleqr7B2lX93rqka6b-oz2UUca7_HCt_RVTh4/s200/long+walk+to+freedom.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="131" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author - Nelson Mandela</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Auto Biography</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 3.5/5 </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
I came across this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thick</i> book while I was browsing through the politics section of the library hoping to stumble upon something interesting. I was instantly attracted towards this book. I have a bad track record with long books. I still decided to read this book even if it demanded an extra effort. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
It is a beautiful read. Nelson Mandela portrays himself as an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ordinary</i> man who grew over the years and started doing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">extraordinary</i> things, one thing at a time. What is most striking about this book is the irony in the manner in which Mandela describes his childhood in a primitive society with linguistic brilliance in an alien language, English.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
Sadly, I couldn’t finish this book. Library deadlines to blame.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Animal Farm</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuReNLbFLTqNnJQIBKXPdb1AWGyzMnObMGOhQa6d-CcQnQgeTLjWbVZcEpUmBzcIJq2AyvLvp9svo1mf6P_Lf6b97eADeS4QM8Ns3j5epd-JRHlVbhp89KD-B-kSMxkVI0C92e7NEjHRk/s1600/animal+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuReNLbFLTqNnJQIBKXPdb1AWGyzMnObMGOhQa6d-CcQnQgeTLjWbVZcEpUmBzcIJq2AyvLvp9svo1mf6P_Lf6b97eADeS4QM8Ns3j5epd-JRHlVbhp89KD-B-kSMxkVI0C92e7NEjHRk/s200/animal+farm.jpg" width="125" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – George Orwell</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Fiction</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 3/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
A satire, this book revolves around the lives of an animal colony aiming to achieve utopia. Initially the animal farm is run and maintained by humans. However, the animals have a strong desire for freedom and self governance. They overthrow the humans running the farm and lay the foundation of self rule. What follows is a pig led tyranny. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
The novel is a satire on socialist way of doing things. The book was insightful and the author very skillfully proves the pointlessness of a communist form of governance.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tipping Point</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBh8eemvC8CMt0eqHobaSYVOWmeglBPWPwKFbcNUA_zyDkUI6GoBmxU0o2I9r2sQ0RO0QDgzcGD81QMyNsQeF92D6-nM6hc1KiRYDeqmJUa4WQRhzHBipBDqNw_zkuRGvnWOC7OvtSIrc/s1600/tipping+point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBh8eemvC8CMt0eqHobaSYVOWmeglBPWPwKFbcNUA_zyDkUI6GoBmxU0o2I9r2sQ0RO0QDgzcGD81QMyNsQeF92D6-nM6hc1KiRYDeqmJUa4WQRhzHBipBDqNw_zkuRGvnWOC7OvtSIrc/s200/tipping+point.jpg" width="137" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Malcom Gladwell</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Nonfiction, management </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating –2.5/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
Although this book has remained on top of the charts in nonfiction category, I was not impressed much. The book talks about how a few actions by few people at the right time can lead to massive change. The book tries to bring out the 80/20 rule in essence, which says that <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes</span>. A corollary says </span>20% of the people are responsible for 80% of the work that happens in this world. This book puts forward good many numbers of examples to drive some point. However they are incoherent and long winded. I didn’t like the book much. Many others like it though.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AkPsFLn7OkAVIdnx3QtTsNWA_nDjC5buuFps-Ry3FT5NCqMNUw1V6nITh9aNbROBEN5Xp6WQ2IgoRaUyUchpo7roSmulnmHNLnaINJc8RYI6_flV9_e04f3lPreXwP2LsvDm9C1FSgk/s1600/hitchiker%2527s+guide+to+galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AkPsFLn7OkAVIdnx3QtTsNWA_nDjC5buuFps-Ry3FT5NCqMNUw1V6nITh9aNbROBEN5Xp6WQ2IgoRaUyUchpo7roSmulnmHNLnaINJc8RYI6_flV9_e04f3lPreXwP2LsvDm9C1FSgk/s1600/hitchiker%2527s+guide+to+galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AkPsFLn7OkAVIdnx3QtTsNWA_nDjC5buuFps-Ry3FT5NCqMNUw1V6nITh9aNbROBEN5Xp6WQ2IgoRaUyUchpo7roSmulnmHNLnaINJc8RYI6_flV9_e04f3lPreXwP2LsvDm9C1FSgk/s200/hitchiker%2527s+guide+to+galaxy.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="132" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AkPsFLn7OkAVIdnx3QtTsNWA_nDjC5buuFps-Ry3FT5NCqMNUw1V6nITh9aNbROBEN5Xp6WQ2IgoRaUyUchpo7roSmulnmHNLnaINJc8RYI6_flV9_e04f3lPreXwP2LsvDm9C1FSgk/s1600/hitchiker%2527s+guide+to+galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author– Douglas Adams</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Fiction, Sci-fi, Humor </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 4.5/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
This is probably the most amazing book I have read in a long long time. It will be an offence to call it a book. It is the magna carta of modern day humor. If you have spent hours reading abstruse goose or other similar web comics you should definitely lay your hands on this book. Douglas Adams is a genius. Go grab a copy.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">1</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">984 </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezbE17jCjt0xu_pKRxqIJmun1lqoSzot5rkzAYOzoB8LbKwgQtDCAkgbDTrZ8T4NtUEsMgsOB5fBHhrLoV9HnHn7mJ0CiQuiIxjZPAOmMuLLa7EZ9z5HnmD6Q1KssTNcTODT897LwQNA/s1600/1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezbE17jCjt0xu_pKRxqIJmun1lqoSzot5rkzAYOzoB8LbKwgQtDCAkgbDTrZ8T4NtUEsMgsOB5fBHhrLoV9HnHn7mJ0CiQuiIxjZPAOmMuLLa7EZ9z5HnmD6Q1KssTNcTODT897LwQNA/s200/1984.jpg" width="129" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author– George Orwell</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Fiction, Politics</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 4/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Big Brother, Room 101, Thought Police, Thought Crime, Unperson, Memory Hole, Doublethink, Newspeak. </i>If you have ever read any of the above terms before, it is because it was mentioned first in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1984</b>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopia">dystopian novel</a> written by George Orwell. The most fascinating thing about reading this book was that I was reading a book written in 1948 about a fictional state in 1984, in the year 2011. The author imagines a ‘utopian’ society run by ‘the party’. It is a chilling book and would surely leave you restless and grossed out at times.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
A compelling read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Slap</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-P9ceYE5G_aKtx2efHs5dydS-0GMtOUWol3ykvxj9QGiIwYVUqLHqMXlscA0a0ziaUlSGy1c7Q2ocQd4EC837wPWnwXW7yfl9wPvlnEXARQolAuuGT2RVEQ1hQq-lqvOA7AgVLH_CfI/s1600/the+slap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-P9ceYE5G_aKtx2efHs5dydS-0GMtOUWol3ykvxj9QGiIwYVUqLHqMXlscA0a0ziaUlSGy1c7Q2ocQd4EC837wPWnwXW7yfl9wPvlnEXARQolAuuGT2RVEQ1hQq-lqvOA7AgVLH_CfI/s200/the+slap.jpg" width="130" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Christos Tsiolkas</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Fiction, drama</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 2.5/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
I received this book as a gift from the Matrix club, BITS Pilani, for doing a book review. The book is about how a slap from an adult to a kid (who is not his own) leads to complications in various people’s lives. The novel is set in modern day Australia and has a very contemporary setting to the whole story. However the author has gone overboard with profanities and sex which was avoidable and did no value addition to the story.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Second Degree</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwPPwwGg7mTQECphBK1mcj9wEC2_-BiXQTOA_VjJ3BQoahTl1rtoZdPgY9luQmy-9hnh5zmrIbgdI_xtuV0HPQHa-PXhQNWkxELla3MdJj08CDWeRHLN_Ylr0JXKctzOTTr8tDCYk0Xo/s1600/second+degree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwPPwwGg7mTQECphBK1mcj9wEC2_-BiXQTOA_VjJ3BQoahTl1rtoZdPgY9luQmy-9hnh5zmrIbgdI_xtuV0HPQHa-PXhQNWkxELla3MdJj08CDWeRHLN_Ylr0JXKctzOTTr8tDCYk0Xo/s200/second+degree.jpg" width="140" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Prashanth John</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Fiction, memoir</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 2/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
This book came into the market during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the post five point someone delirium. </i>The author is an alumnus of the first PGPX batch of IIM Ahmadabad. The book starts from his admission into the PGPX batch and goes on till the placements at the end of the course. It has been written on the lines of other campus memoirs like Five Point Someone, Anything for You Ma’m etc however it lacks the much needed masala and humor to make this genre worth a read. The only reason I bothered to read it till the end was because it talked about IIM A and I am ready to read any nonsense about a place where I want to be someday. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Audacity of Hope</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewtQb4nb9FXiZao1aEC89MyEw8LATwHGmSy3cjhnJMc1Ntmm8Vhvq5Mq-7gE9Bs5FXlPIL8EQaRIJPDp3vOhYnnHnVeQ4VGwFaW01WpYJecJ_WmfOPNwCKFbHudPq5wUrqXwQXhp9SsQ/s1600/audacity+of+hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewtQb4nb9FXiZao1aEC89MyEw8LATwHGmSy3cjhnJMc1Ntmm8Vhvq5Mq-7gE9Bs5FXlPIL8EQaRIJPDp3vOhYnnHnVeQ4VGwFaW01WpYJecJ_WmfOPNwCKFbHudPq5wUrqXwQXhp9SsQ/s200/audacity+of+hope.jpg" width="131" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Barack Obama</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – Nonfiction, Politics</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 3/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
When our country was busy getting charmed by anything and everything Obama did during his visit to India, one of the television anchors mentioned in passing about the book which he wrote about his life before he became the president(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Letters to my father</i>) and how good it was. It got registered in the back of my head, but I never remembered the name of the book. While I was browsing through the books on display during Basant book festival at Akshay this year, I came across <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Audacity of Hope </i>and mistook it for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> book. Audacity of Hope turned out to be a serious and OHT commentary about American Politics. Initially it was very difficult to make sense of the book; however, with grit and determination (boosted by the guilt of spending my money without confirming) I read some chapters and liked it to an extent. Obama has knack of summing up his arguments with appealing one liner. Obama is a good writer and I would definitely like to read his other books. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Chronicles of Narnia – The lion, the witch & the wardrobe</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UlNOylSfH6XUPPvBuNYeTNV7Qx32x1fVLUjrgPp4X6g4qAGT4q5Y1pZBUhqVVgmAhD3ftSw732ulHjdiF74PfKnFT5TcAiOZc4gAZ0rKVP3lQXCNzvSjxUB0zHx9UAlxLI3qS1Bcc8o/s1600/the+lion+the+witch+the+wardrobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_UlNOylSfH6XUPPvBuNYeTNV7Qx32x1fVLUjrgPp4X6g4qAGT4q5Y1pZBUhqVVgmAhD3ftSw732ulHjdiF74PfKnFT5TcAiOZc4gAZ0rKVP3lQXCNzvSjxUB0zHx9UAlxLI3qS1Bcc8o/s200/the+lion+the+witch+the+wardrobe.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="136" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – C.S. Lewis</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – fiction, mythology</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 3/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
I always wanted to read this book. But by the time I picked it up, I was definitely over-aged. The clear black and white nature of the story didn’t appeal to me. I am sure a 12 year old me would have loved this book.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<o:p><br />
</o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Love Story</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZaCHtw9YZIiGeCrXVCTnpGUN-KHGP_oL8lemncn-CxC03rh8th1oXrDLGf-fEabTwqHhK7fyu_bbvE6Q4ufBuSWAg2rVl-N0LU4TkMiqwjJ6u_WDK5TF5asyWYO0Q91xIQTmRmx-Bx4/s1600/love+story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZaCHtw9YZIiGeCrXVCTnpGUN-KHGP_oL8lemncn-CxC03rh8th1oXrDLGf-fEabTwqHhK7fyu_bbvE6Q4ufBuSWAg2rVl-N0LU4TkMiqwjJ6u_WDK5TF5asyWYO0Q91xIQTmRmx-Bx4/s200/love+story.jpg" width="121" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Author – Erich Segal</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZaCHtw9YZIiGeCrXVCTnpGUN-KHGP_oL8lemncn-CxC03rh8th1oXrDLGf-fEabTwqHhK7fyu_bbvE6Q4ufBuSWAg2rVl-N0LU4TkMiqwjJ6u_WDK5TF5asyWYO0Q91xIQTmRmx-Bx4/s1600/love+story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Genre – fiction, romance</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My rating – 3/5</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
A friend suggested a few days back. A very thin book(76 pages), I finished it in a day. It is a classic love story. Boy meets girl. They have a tussle initially. Eventually boy falls for the girl and vice versa. What I find most appealing about the book was the relationship that the boy shares with his father. Read it if you have a few hours to kill. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Monsoon wish list:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Banker to the poor – Muhammad Yunus</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Geek Nation – Angelica Saini</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>The World is Flat – Thomas L Friedman</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Diary of Ann Frank – Ann Frank</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Catch-22 – Joseph Heller</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605453966733094982.post-5943107933260082072011-05-18T07:13:00.000-07:002011-05-20T00:34:23.369-07:004 Years 42 Things<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>APOGEE rocks.</li>
<li>Number of people who do not know bathroom manners are >= 1/12. #blackthunder.</li>
<li>How cheap are you on a scale of 0 to D (D referring to a certain person who takes extra interest in your belongings at the end of a semester)?</li>
<li>More the number of vocal chords, the better a cricket match.</li>
<li>There is a pelican drawn inside glider’s club hangar.</li>
<li>Top of the clock tower is the coolest place on campus. Figuratively. Literally.</li>
<li>Kramer is the best sitcom character.</li>
<li>Switchfoot \m/s</li>
<li>Maida is used for making structure by Informalz and for making Bhatura by mess bhaiyas.</li>
<li>Back IC in the night is the best place to celebrate birthdays.</li>
<li>There exists a club which is responsible for making medals for fests.</li>
<li>Khetri is haunted.</li>
<li>CSK has the highest win percent.</li>
<li>Illads are narcissists.</li>
<li>There is a magazine in library which tells you about the latest television hindi sops.</li>
<li>Taste of Maggi is dependent on the place where it is served.</li>
<li>You are bound to receive the same gift again by then end of four years. #PigeonHolePrinciple</li>
<li>There is a secret underground kitchen in cnot . All paneer dishes in cnot are made there.</li>
<li>Never let truth come in the middle of a good story.</li>
<li>“Dude!” sounds more genuine if pronounced with a heavier base.</li>
<li>CGPA matters.</li>
<li>C6:A7::Joginder Sharma:Dale Steyn</li>
<li>Slap bets is the coolest form of betting.</li>
<li>If you are good at something, don’t do it for free.</li>
<li>MAMO is rigged since B dude is not allowed to participate.</li>
<li> All conversations end with “Lite ra!”.</li>
<li>The guy who fixes electric poles knows more about three phase current than I #ES1.</li>
<li>Everyone in last four years has played a prank or has been played with.</li>
<li>Cricbuzz updates faster than Cricinfo.</li>
<li>At any point of time, the number of BITSians inside Forum Mall, Bangalore >=2.</li>
<li>Ego is directly proportional to CGPA. CGPA is directly proportional to Ego. #chickeneggchicken.</li>
<li>My biggest enemy on campus – Segmentation Fault.</li>
<li>Bitsian Tshirts - Wardrobe Malfunction.</li>
<li>Malai Masala at UCO redi is the best snack on campus.</li>
<li>EEE CDCs are over hyped.</li>
<li>Don't give advice to your students - they may listen! #shanb.</li>
<li>Every semester passes faster than the previous one.</li>
<li>Every batch seems worse than the previous one.</li>
<li>Pappuji wears false teeth.</li>
<li>Museum is the Disneyland of Pilani.</li>
<li>There exists a mafia which tears off nets from windows at the end of 2<sup>nd</sup> semester.</li>
<li>is the right answer. Maybe you are asking the wrong question.</li>
</ol><br />
<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743795235389479579noreply@blogger.com14