@rgumental @dvisor

   This wasnt as exciting as Term-1.. An exceptionally hectic term with summer placement activities and some really hectic subjects...But still, some of the really nice moments..Some in my class..some in other sections.. 1.   " Millions of years ago there was a giant continent called Pangea..Australia separated from that and moved to .....  " ..Thats how an economics presentation of Australian economy started :-) ... Indeed when you have to give a presentation for 35 min, these things might happen :-)  2.   "This restaurant was not functioning optimally...because..because..it wasnt functioning optimally"   3.   "These are extremely impotent issues" Some Realizations ------------------- 1. There are two kinds of people when it comes to night-life @ IIMK..Those who play Counter-Strike & those who do not ..And I belong to the second category :-) 2. Most time in B-school is spent not on case studies,projects or assignments..But in highly intellectually s...

    In a not - so - usual pensive mood today..Some random thoughts sparked by a few incidents arbitrarily put under different headings.. Idealism  ----------       Its easy to advocate idealism... but not at all easy when you are at the receiving end..Being ideal might bring you nothing much but frustruation..And especially tempting when the alternate path to to idealism might be something thats not much of a compromise...Its easy to ask 'why ?' ..But its easy to ask back 'why not ?'  System -------      To reform a system, you have to be a part of the system..But at times, why  bother reforming it ? ...or if you can find a better system why not be a part of it rather than this ?  Pragmatism ------------           When to be pragmatic ...when to fight ?  Being a B-school student, I'm tempted to give an answer in terms of NPV :-) ..  But this decision is something thats very judgemental..And it cannot be brought down to numbers.. This is an art actually ..An art that...

The Mayhem in Mumbai has ended apparently...I'm not going to do a post-mortem of this..There are enough articles in almost all news sites over this..But couple of incidents that happened over this terrorist siege.. ----------------------------------- 1 .  Media has a habit of reporting statements selectively..Not sure if thats the case here..But if this guy really said this , no wonder he is often quoted as 'crown among clowns' .. What a practical joke.  ..   Jai Soniaji !!! ( PS:- Check the comments section of the news link ) ----------------------------------- 2.  Media's live war commentary --  The ATS chief is shown live on TV wearing bullet proof jacket & helmet as he enters the hotel... Later on, he is dead by a few bullet shots at his neck --Did the terrorists see the live broadcast so as to shoot at his neck ? Apparently it cannot be ruled out as media themselves reported that terrorists had setup command & control rooms in Taj & Oberoi..       NSG c...

Observations, learnings and quite more .. Now, in the midst of term II 1 -  Key skill enhancements/learnings during summer placement season          - How to dress up in business formals in 5 minutes .         - How to gas about virtually anything unknown.          - How to ask 'intelligent questions'          - How to change your  career preferences betwee marketing/finance/operations/consulting            as you hop between different company procedures.         - No matter what you prepare, your selection/rejection is mostly determined by your            communication skills rather than technical knowledge.                   2. As time becomes something of premium value , the usage of deodorants increases exponentially & that of bathing soap decreases in the same rate.  3. When you don't have time, why clean your room :) ..There is no value addition in that :) 4. If google stops working for one week, MBA courses would come to a screeching hault :-)  5. Initially peopl...

        For a change, third sunday of November this year will be a day when I'll be able to relax..For the last 5 years (Yes, FIVE ) , always this day used to be a crucial one for me.. Five CAT attempts..Or rather 2 non-serious attempts ( CAT - 2003, 2004 ) ..followed by two serious CAT attempts (2005   -- B call and kicks from waiting list , 2006 - better scores..no calls )... And in 2007, an unprepared attempt -- and I'm here in IIMK :-) ...Now that I'm on the other side , let me reflect a bit on this often crazy selection procedure and this much hyped exam.   Btw, all opinions listed below are extremely personal opinions. 1)  I know people who made it into ivy league schools like Kellog, Wharton and all, but couldn't crack CAT.. Just because of the fact that you cracked this exam does not mean that you are the most suitable candidate..and vice versa too.. Infact, the difference between 98 %ile ( no - IIM calls ) and 99.5%ile ( 5-6 IIM calls ) is often  2- 3 questions...

    About an year back, I blogged about Google Phone .. Quite a few developments have happened in this area after that..And a few days before, Google came up with its first Android based phone  , manufactured by HTC..        Quite a few of the applications in this G-phone or G1 happens to be similar to what I thought about last year.. quoting Larry Magid's article, " there is already an application called iSkoop that lets you make free or inexpensive international and domestic calls using Skype".. -- This is a key point to Google's overall strategy..10  years later ( or maybe even before that ),  G-phone will be a device just to connect to internet..No SIM card as such..U'll talk to people using G-talk ..Just take the g-talk in your phone, tap the person's user ID, and make a call.. No complicated maths like STD/ISD rates or anything like that..Infact, the much hyped about number portability will come into existance this way..i.e, as long as u have ur gmail ID...

Aging is a reality . On sep-29, I completed 26 years of existence in this planet.. Now when someone gets into this so called 'wrong side' of 20s, the pressure towards marriage starts building from all the sides... I notice a definite change in the way my elder friends & relatives tease me.. 4 years back: Hey, how many girl-friends do you have ? 3 years back: H ey, do u have a girl-friend ? 2 years back: Hey.. time to find a girl for you.. Any good looking Nair girls in your office ? ( yes, there were..but they were married :( ) 1 year back : Hey, all of us thought you'll find a girl on your own..u have disappointed us..Shall we find one girl for you ? There is this girl, who is my second cousin's grand mothers's uncle's daughters' son's neice. .. ( damn..why are relations so complicated ) Now : Hey.. heard ur Amma has started looking for suitable matches for you ? -- I see that over the years, the girl-friend factor in querie...