The Art of defining people in two lines

Hey all, have not blogged for long and it is not because I have

been extremely busy, but it is mainly because of a kind of

lethargy which has crept in everything I want to do.

But this post is not about that. The placement season is on us

and with it a rising feverish pitch of resumes and profiles.

In this strange atmosphere we mostly normal people at

WIMWI turn into something else. Friendships are broken,

trust is sometimes shattered, new relationships are forged

having sometimes sinister purpose. Amongst all this we people

become most adapt at qualifying people, evaluating and describing

them in 2 lines.

Like some examples are (mind you they bear no description of

real people just generalized examples)

"Do you knw X he got a shortlist from ABC do you know who

he is? then another replies of course Highscholar,IIT 9 pointer,

ABS scholar and a QWERTY ppo....WOW"

And in this short conversation we have somehow managed to

achieve the impossible, what generations of philosophers have

tried and failed to do. Define a living being in words.

Another possible such description is

"X is a dud, Some non IIT engineering college, 3 pointer got

summers in day 1 in XYZ....WOW that bad"

I am not saying i am not guilty of the same crime, i am very

much a WIMWI'ian to the core but sometimes and very

occasionally the human being in me tries to fight back. I also

remember the IIMA interview preps and remember the

times when i used to read the interview experiences of so

many seniors. And i remeber how much stress the interview

panel gave on any passions the candidadate might have. Passion

for anything whether cooking, reading, poetry, sports or even

sitcoms was not judged upon for relevance, the only question

was the genuineness and the intensity of the passion.

And in light of the last 2 years that i have spent here (and all of

my college friends will vouch for how fiercely i defend IIMA and

how much i love almost all the traditions of this place), i will leave

this place with only this slight regret that IIMA is indeed considered

my many as a very big placement agency.

Love is in the air.........

Recently, in this horrid heat of Ahmedabad something really

surprising has happened. the love bug has bitten our group, that

is to say loads of couples can be heard playing "i can feel it in my

toes....Love is in the air" cheesy chick songs. Ok some of them were

already infected but now besides yours truly,everyone else is in an

actively loving "????" and committed relationship. The result of this

is I find myself quite often being the third wheel in the vehicle of

relationship which my friends our trying to drive and i watch on with a

bemused look.

Now now my dear readers you don't have to feel sorry for the

protagonist of this blog, because what this means is that he has

a balcony view of 5 absolutely different kind of people each

struggling with this esoteric concept of love and commitment.

I can obviously stoop down and tell these love besotted individuals

the true meaning of these concepts and the solutions of their

problems. But as you might know about me I am not the interfering

kind and besides, its just too much fun to watch. Here is a short

description of the secondary characters in the story of my life and

the unique problems they all facing. The real names have been

hidden for obvious reasons:

Ms. My Bf is the fairest of them all:

Here is a classic problem of the reacher and the settler or

at least the illusion of it. For those who know there is this

school of thought that each relationship has a reacher who

has got a better dealer and a settler a person who has settled

for the reacher when he could have done much better.

I am not saying the lady in question is a reacher, i am just

implying that she merely thinks she is one. And there in lies the crux

of the problem. All her actions are expressive similar to a smitten

13 year old with a pinch of insecurity. But this lady has been

known to be violent and packs quite a punch so i will stop this

analysis here only.

Mr. I am bothered with all the girls flirting with me:

The gentleman dating the above lady. Here the classic placebo

effect comes into play, because of his GF treating him like some

kind of demi god, he has slowly but surely started believing it

too. The consequence is that each and every girl in the campus

and maybe even in the universe is out to woo him or so he

believes.But the funny thing is as long as he believes it and also

his GF believes it they don't really have a problem. But funny

how people always used to say truth should be the cornerstone

of any relationship :) .

Ms. I am the center of the world:

The new entrant in our group. I would not be too mean

about her (or should I say too honest). Firstly because i don't

know her that well and secondly her dad's a big shot. Anyways

her bf, who I am going to dissect next is a far more interesting

specimen. But suffice to say the pseudo name that i have given

her is I think her major problem along with a healthy dose

of insecurity. And she also suffers highly from Me v/s Them (friends)

syndrome.

Mr. I think I am a stud:

This guy (would not really call him gentleman) is the most interesting case

by far. Once a free bird, soaring the skies proudly for his preys he is now

chained whipped and most importantly on the other side of the line. In

short he has gone from Barney to Marshall almost overnight. He is now

suffering from what i call PastPresent syndrome, which as the name

suggests is trying to be what you were in past when your present is

change somewhat. The author acknowledges the fact that a lot of

problems emanate because of his presence, but when you touch

somebody's life so deeply as I do its often hard for the touched

soul to break free.

Ms. Not quite five feet:

Last but definitely not the least is the little child of our group. The author

claims to have certain biases towards this individual and hence will be less

meaner in spite of the fact that she is the most troubled soul of all. Her

problem is "My BF can do no wrong" syndrome. People infected from this

disease will try and justify every single aspect however ridiculous it might

be. They also compromise on everything just too cling to their mythical

concept of what they speak in hushed tone of "The Relationship".

Stubborn like any child this lady when given a logical reasoning

regarding the ludicrousness of her action will always play the "You

don't understand, long distance is hard" card at your face.

That's all for now, will keep you posted on what happens next. So long.

PS1: Those who didn't understand our not supposed to understand.

PS2: This post i must surely have ruffled some feathers, please don't

take all this at heart. I was a lot more meaner because i wrote this at 6am

in the morning after tossing and turning the entire night because of lack of sleep.

Emotions recollected in tranquility

Hi not in the mood to think of one of my extremely innovative

titles for this post. But i was just thinking that i haven't really

written much stuff about the life at IIMA in this memoir of my

life and i would like to make amends for that. It is not on account

of any lack of time because although we are in middle what is proclaimed

as the toughest slot of this year, but as like other things in IIMA

this is also over hyped and one has actually plenty of free time

(although the fact that I have been officially proclaimed as a free

rider by my group helps)

Feeling extremely dissatisfied in this slot, before this slot the

IIMA experience had been a roller coaster ride full of twists

and turns ups and downs along with a lot of learning growing

up and also lots and lots of fun. But in this slot the learning is

almost zero, the fun seems a little stale and the flirting which

used to be my favouraite pastime here not as fun( maybe it is

becoming too easy). Although this slot is not a complete waste,

have formed a new chat buddy grew up a little made some

good poker buddies. So not a complete waste.

But inspite of that, the fact that the first year which i had dreaded

to be the most difficult year of my life is ending is making me

extremely sad, because the first year at IIMA is definitely not

what is claimed and hyped to be. The only difference is that in

IIT's you had fun only outside classes with lectures being

roadblocks in that. Here a lot of fun occurs during lectures

only and you dont feel guilty because you know you have changed and

improved drastically after coming here. The learning is sort of

instinctive here, for examples in the last 2 3slots i have for most

subjects, not reading even a single case and stuff but even in the

subjects that i find extremely boring and i am unwillingly to listen

to like marketing i can safely say that i know loads more than

what i used to know. The very fact that i am considering and

reconsidering going on a free Europe trip for3 months in some of

extremely good universities just on account of whether i will not

miss this place too much vouches of the kind of freinds i have and

how much i value them. Hence th oft qouted phrase of not being able to

enjoy and have friends because of the "academic rigor"( writing this in the

highest possible sarcasm ) is plain and simple bullshit. I know what you

are thinking write now that harsh is a stud and thats why he is able to

manage it both, to which my reply is although i dont disagree about the

stud part but i have seen mere mortals like my future dorm rep also

able to do that.

But one thing this place forces you to do which i don't like is that at

each very step it forces you to grow up. At each and very step you

have to make so important life changing decisions like which stream

to go for career, you cannot do without defining your

priorities for your future. The decisions you have to make are very

real, like do you want a chill 2 year or exchange or resume building.

In the job do you want 20 hours with loads of money or 12 hours

with less money amd more pressure. Finance or marketing.

In fact the only decision as far as in know that we don't have to make

is regarding the number and names of your kids, even which i guess

the strategy prof. might be able to tell you using porters five forces

or Mr. JJ might tell you the present value of the cashflows from the

kids you expect and hence make a more informed decision.

(this was a some what lame attempt to add humor into an extremely

boring post, but seriously not really in the mood to make you laugh.

K i think i should stop have plenty to ramble on, but I really don't want to

be the reason for any opportunity loss that you might undergo. Love you

all and miss you a lot. ( includes the Roorkee guys and Shrey)

So long

Ps: listen to cold cold night by white stripes, its awesome and meg white is

gorgeous.

Reaching Out....

Hey i am back and as the rain gods finally took pity on the miserable

people of Ahmedabad and as the shock and frustration of Day X finally

wearing off , I find myself in an unusually contemplative mood thinking

about the incredible things which have happened in the past week

enough to change one's perspective of my entire life.

But first things first, the week started with 28th September my

birthday eve, a especially exciting one because of the pomp, glamor

and traditions associated with birthday celebrations at WIMWI.

But all these excitements and fun seem blasphemous in lieu of

what happpened next. The very next morning a dorm mate and

a friend had passed away. One of the most memorable days of my life

turned into one of my worst nightmares. Although i will not delve any

deeper in the matter, this episode more than any other has made me

rethink my priorities in life. What was more surprising and shocking

was the extent of indifference shown by some of the people i had

respected before, ranging from continuing to teach even after

getting the news to not even showing up to the funeral. But

i guess it is not for me to judge to each his own.

Moving on, what was even more commendable was the resilience

( or is it indifference? ) shown by students community going right

back in the mire of CVs, PPTs, summers and deadlines. In all this

weighed down by my own personal guilt which i tried hard to

rationalize with myself i am not ashamed to say i would have really

struggled if not for the timely help of some very special friends. And

while there is the general perception that WIMWI is more about need

based friendships, which is true maybe to a certain extent that particular

incident shows that maybe even these need based friendships may turn

into something very special. Also in those tough times you understand that

some of people you just thought as class mates or people you hang out with

had inadvertently turned into friends who hopefully will stay with you for life.

So this post is basically in gratitude for those people who were there to

celebrate my good times and were also there during the troubled times.

This post is in gratitude to those who were concerned and cared enough

to inquire about how well i am coping. And last but not the least this post

is in gratitude to the spirit of WIMWI where more than 100 people came

to bid farewell to a fellow friend

signing off

Harsh

Disclaimer : This posts reflect entirely my personal opinion and there is no

intention of hurting anyone's feelings or sentiments.

"I am content to live it all again, and yet again"...Keat

Ya i know this was the title of one of my earlier posts, but this
seems more apt in the present context. The present context
being me surrounded by 350 individuals each of whom can
move the earth even if they are not given a liver long enough.
Also the fact that each of us(maybe excluding me) is so insecure
that making friends, something which came so easily earlier is
becoming quite an ordeal. Of course there are endless amounts
of crib sessions with people about the various nuances of life
at Ahmedabad like quizzes, cases, CV making, summers
( hopefully i did not leak out any confidential information in
the last line!!) , but quite a lot of it is on need basis rather than
Bakar sessions with friends. Which is why i guess i am sitting
writing post while others are probably preparing for surprise
quizzes ( if u find and anomaly in the preparing part of surprise
quiz, please don't blame me, this is just how things are here).

But it's not all bad, yours truly has managed to find some people
like him, and is kind of hoping to make believers out of some
other heretics ( listening Pheobe?). And you learn quite a lot
here, that's for sure because even when i am writing here, i am
thinking of the WAC report and wondering are my sentences
becoming too long and winding, and are my reflections supported
by case facts. I am surviving so far by being a child and refusing
to change, for how long will that last i dunno, because one of us
will have to give in some time and i have a distinct feeling
that it is not going to be WIMWI's system. Besides the usual
plethora of boring subjects we have couple of interesting subjects
especially ethics, not because of the subject matter, but more so
because of the insights you get about the opposite sex.

But all in all if you no me at all, you will know that in a curious sadistic
way i am enjoying it all, the up's and down's the challenges and
above all collecting some precious memories before we all get
stuck in the mire of corporate life earning our bread and butter.
And i have formed a couple of close friends in the section, kind of
like a trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Not sure whether i am
Harry or Ron( but in case i am Harry, Ron where is your sister).
Anyways i am just rambling on, and for those who have managed
to survive this far, thanks for being there.

So long

PS: If all you Roorkee people are wondering, why not a single reference
to you guys then think again, have you done anything to annoy me? Like
not calling for instance.

Dear Diary.....

Dear John,
A lot of things have happened recently that I wanted to confide to you
but haven't had the time to, you see you are my closest friend in which I
can confide to (so all you peeping toms or more accurately reading toms
fuck off).For those wondering about the sudden change in format please
see PS1.

I got a job in PWC, supposedly a very big firm which offers great
work, almost no money (OK I am a little greedy) and nobody in
my family has ever heard of it.Great goings i say,but you know
me i am hardly the one to complain ever,maybe it will turn out to
be the best.But one thing for sure the best strategy of giving an
interview is believe that you don't give a rat's ass to whether company
take you or not worked in Irunway and here as well.(but please don't
complain to the administration) but one last hope is that i heard PT
managed to find girls there so maybe i will to(poulomi please dont
read the above line.)

Secondly, my sister has gotten married and moved to Chicago,
now thats a positive because now my line is completely open
and all the prospective fathers (or should it be fathers of
prospective daughters or maybe prospective wives Tobe ) will
be queuing for my hand in marriage (or is it the other way round!
ya i know my fundas are very weak in this regard.)
But a gray lining in the silver cloud (Ha ha i know i am witty) is
that i miss my sister quite a lot and dunno when would i be able
to see her because in all the hordes of options available for my
future as i am a pretty versatile person, none involves moving
to Chicago and living on the money of my sister and jiju.

Thirdly, I had the most boring holidays of my entire life with periods
(no not those kind of periods,u sick perverts) in which i was worried
that the laziness which has spread through my very bones may
reach my heart and it laze around in its pumping action.
But the strange thing was even though i was so bored, i refused
most of the other alternatives like going back to Rourke, going
out with my friends my ipod and other stuff.I dunno why that
happened,maybe you can tell me because as you know i am
generally such a happening person,life and soul of
any party.(No smirking! you know its true.)

Got a lot more to tell you , a lot more opinions about a lot of stuff like
Ghazini, placements , the books that i have read recently(recently i
have been expanding my horizons as always) or basically anything under
the sun which i know or don't know about.But more on that later.

and yes, the much awaited PS

Ps1: I am writing this in this format because just read Anne Frank
and I guess i have been inspired, not by her style of writing and
stuff but more by the incredible strength of her diary which has
survived for so long .which made me think that maybe even we
our in trapped in a big room whose walls we cannot see,trapped
not by the Nazis but by our ambitions aspirations or expectations.
Should stop getting philosophical,and you will not understand it
anyways because you only see the outer layer but not peel
the outer layers to understand the real me,which is very different.
STOP STOP

Ps2: for those idiots who dint understand john is for john doe.

Ps3: read the undercover economist, two things in its favors
firstly i loved it and secondly and more importantly Shwaitang
hated it because he thought it was too simple so i think we might
be able to just about understand this one.

BABY's DAY OUT

Hi Guys , my blog is going international ,or at least i hope it is as most
of my friends gone abroad for intern are waiting with baited breath for
my next blog.So ladies and gentleman bowing down the extraordinary
and extremely persuasive demands I even at the risk of being thrown
out of office am writing this blog.

My life has been Topsy-turvy for the last week as i have stepped out for
the very first time in this harsh,unrelenting yet wonderful world, for the
first time there is no support to cushion my fall except maybe of (Mr P
and Ms. P. ). To give you the an idea of how hard it has been i cite the
following examples in a very long list. I have lost my ATM card and
my wallet along with almost 1000 bucks has been stolen (believe it or not
separately).I struggled for the first two days to put a roof above my head
i have spent more than 1000 Rs just on auto's traveling around when my
company does offer the cab services.I got almost roasted alive because
of the intense heat of Noida ,got almost blown away by the windstorms
and have been found roaming around the streets of Noida in pitch black
with rain pouring and no idea of where am I. I have lost one of my shirts
and one t shirt and a couple of unmentionables are also suspected missing.
I have i don't know how spent 20,000 rupees in the first 20 days on what i
have absolutely no idea except for my rent as the company provides for my
food and traveling and mind u this is my no means an exhaustive list.

Moreover you will be surprised to know that the lazy and very sleepy Harsh
(survivor of the numerous escapades with professors on account of attendance
backs in which he more than once rose from the dead redefining the phrase
"living on the edge". - {G.K.S}) leaves his room for office around 9:30 and
comes back on the same time.Also on the same lines Harsh who has never
completed an assignment before time (and usually never on or after time !!)
completed a work supposed to be done in 6 days in WAIT FOR IT..........
...........in 5 hours.(thank you thank you thank you thank you !).You might be
wondering why I suddenly switched to talking into third person,well friends
you know how shy and modest I am i can't really bring myself to heap all the
praises I have been doing on myself.

So all in all it should come as a no surprise to you i really has been one of the
most interesting and exhilarating time of my life and i wouldn't miss it for the
world.The title of this post is how i felt when i was searching in Noida for
any decent accommodation when i was willing to pay a price almost thrice
what the others interns were paying but to no avail.i felt like a baby when I
was roaming ,searching for accommodation,travel routes,places to chill out etc.
But after one month I can say the baby has grown and attained puberty and i
have heard some rumors that he might not remain a virgin for very long as well.
But please note that this is a unconfirmed yet confidential information.: )

PS1 : This post had been in my drafts for about 15 days,so plenty has happened
in between but will tell you about it later.
PS2 : A special thanks to Udit without whom i might still be homeless and my
friend i am really sorry for you that you have to suffer such a strong ss-effect.
I know it can't be easy.
PS3: Thank you to Pratty for his financial and emotional support.
PS4: Thank you also to a very special person who has really been there for me
in these tough times.Thank you and I love you.(would have written your name but
can't spell it properly).
PS5: Enough already.don't you have any work to do.Fuck Off!!.