Chilled Winter, Delhi Style..

‘I am happy’. Yes, I am happy. I feel content, blissful, grateful, for all that I have, and for all that I gained. Have been doing some trivial and yet meaningful things in the past few weeks or so. Cooking some random stuff[nothing great, just edible], reading a hell lot of books, played a couple of new games, and watched a ton of Bollywood movies[okay, if you don’t know me, I am a person who almost always sticks to Hollywood, considering the string of flops produced in Bollywood], such as Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Rang de Basanti, Udaan, English Vinglish, Oh My God, Mirchi, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, amongst others. Am not sure why this sudden fascination for Bollywood.

Have cut down a bit on junk food, and trying to go the healthy way[minimized consumption of soft drinks and chips, have to cut down on chocolate now]. Am trying my best to be optimistic in every circumstance. Working in HR Society is a great experience. Working with other people is also a learning curve. But I feel I have been a bit lazy, considering the fact that I haven’t explored much of Delhi in recent times. And neither could I manage to make even one trip to some other town or city[whereas almost all my batchmates have gone hiking, trekking, swimming, in all sort of locations]. Sometimes, being a loner hurts. But I have learnt to accept it as a part of life. Not being in any group has both pros and cons.

I know that I have considerably cut down on writing. Mostly because, whenever I open MS Word with the intention of penning down an article, I often turn up with a blank. What to write next? Which topic? And so on. Nevertheless, writing is one thing which I don’t plan on giving up,ever.

I have also perfected the art of listening. Indians are known to be cantankerous speakers, but few actually try to listen out to things. Everyone is just bursting out to give his or her own opinion, without any regard for viewpoints of others. In this matter, I can listen out to people and I do try to put myself into their shoes, before taking any further decision.

There is an interesting OB[Organizational Behavior] course which I have taken this semester, called Counseling Skills for Managers. Surprisingly, the number of people in this course is close to 70, but most have just taken it in order to relax from the competitive environment of finance and marketing. However, I find it extremely interesting. The teacher is very good with her methodology, and even conducts psychological games in class. Have already witnessed some of the theories made by Freud and Jung, and now am seriously regretting the fact as to why I didn’t opt for Psychology or Philosophy at Undergrad level. I would have loved to be a psychologist. Oh, well, enough cribbing. One important lesson I got from a class, is that its important not to be judgmental about others. However, this is a near impossible task. We immediately form opinions about people we meet and interact with. We label them as smart, attractive, intelligent, rude, uncouth, lazy, etc. In most cases, we don’t even bother finding out the facts.

Then there is another Course called Brand Management, which I find interesting. Coupled with Consumer Behavior[previous semester], its pertinent to say that in many cases, Marketing is about creating the right perception in the mind of the customers. Once you start perceiving a product as good, the sales will automatically catch up[assuming lot of other conditions too, nevertheless]. Marketers have borrowed a lot from psychology as well. Professor Harsh Verma is one of the best faculty members FMS has.

Placement season is arriving, and I need to prepare for it. What exactly do I prepare anyways? Apart from some generic stuff. Anyways, I guess it’s important to build your content, and then know yourself well, and project it too.

Of late, am reading a lot of magazines as well. The Economist, HBR, Fortune India, Frontline, Businessworld, etc. A decent way of passing time and building knowledge at the same time. The people who don’t read are missing a lot in life.

And yes, I didn’t get a PPO from Tata Motors, so it’s the end of a nice journey and association with the company. Will have lot of fond memories to last a lifetime. But as of now, its time to concentrate on the future, and also act upon some of my goals/plans. Will be visiting home next week. Eager to meet a few friends, especially Maitreya and Girish.
Rest later, Merry Christmas in advance, to all.

The Journey Ahead and Beyond

Happy Birthday to me. Today, my official 23rd year of singledom begins. But no, this post is not about my birthday or about my relationship status. Don’t worry. But this post will deal with a lot of things, basically, what are the things I have done in the past one month, or the places I have visited. I am afraid I am not very good in making a proper structure, so the events may not be in chronological order or logically connected. But bear with me.

To start with, Delhi girls are really beautiful. I have seen more beautiful girls here in one day, then I have done in my 22 years at Durgapur. More often than not, I feel sad that I do not have a girlfriend. But have learnt to adjust with that. After all, even for getting into a relationship, you need to put in some effort[which I haven’t]. But I am sure I will find the right person sooner or later. For now, there are bigger priorities in life.

Let’s start with the Delhi Darshan[in the Ho Ho bus], in which I visited 8 historical places in Delhi. Thanks to Preethi for the initiation. 7 of us roamed around like tourists, and had loads of fun. I finally saw the Qutub Minar[which I had wanted to for ages], and along with that a few others places such as Lotus Temple, Akshardham, Humayun’s tomb, Raj Ghat, Delhi Haat, etc. All of these places are worth visiting at least once. This was a trip I really enjoyed.

Now, let’s come to my next love: Japan. I happened to visit two places: The Japan Foundation[where I went alone], which is a must-visit place for any Japan lover or anime fan. The place had an exhibition going on, of 100 Japanese items, ranging from Lamps, to Garbage Collectors, to Police Shields, to Robot Dogs. You get the picture. I also happened to visit the Library, which was a great place to chillax. I read books on Japanese history, Martial Arts, and even one on the art of Swordcraft making. Each book costs roughly 2500-5000 bucks. Woah! Then there are loads of Learn Japanese books, and my favorite- Mangas. There is an entire series of Learn to draw your own Manga stuff. Mayank would have loved that.
There was another place I wanted to visit, in Hauz Khas village, along with Mayank. It was another Japanese exhibition, called ‘Tokyo is Dreaming’, basically a collection of movie scenes. Talked with a few young entrepreneurs, who are encouraging the growth of Anime and Manga in India. I was impressed. They were surprised to know that there are people in FMS who are interested in Manga and anime. Am looking forward to visiting their stall in the World Book Fair, to be held in Pragati Maidan.
Yet another interesting place which I visited was the Comic Con Expo, held at Delhi Haat. That place is always brimming with foreigners and all kinds of interesting people. Once again, Mayank accompanied me. We browsed through quite a few comics and unique stalls. Some people had come dressed up in comic book characters. Once again, had lots of fun. I also actually held Fairy Tail Manga in my hands. Its good to see the comic book industry expanding in India.

I also happened to visit Gurgaon last week to meet my relatives. Nice place[though horrible traffic]. Had a memorable stay. Made a brief visit to MDI as well[they have a splendid campus]. Ambience Mall is pretty good[and huge] too. I am so loving travel.

Started jogging yesterday. Will write an entire separate post on it. But yes, life is good. Read a great book called The Magic of Thinking Big. Also purchased the official biography of Steve Jobs. Have a tons of books to read. Classes going on as usual. Rest to be updated later.

In the end, would like to thank everyone who has made me into what I am, and who will be responsible for helping me in future too. First of all, would thank my parents, and my grandparents and all my relatives in supporting me in all the ways possible. Next, I would like to thank the entire batch of 2013 in FMS, for providing me with the best company I could ask for. And all of my non-FMS friends for being there for me.
Especially grateful to Neha, Mayank, Divya, Abhirup, Preethi, Rohan, Shimona, Ankit, and many others for providing an outstanding company.

Yeh Hai Delhi Meri Jaan!

Fine. Right now, am sitting on the upper berth of the Sealdah to New Delhi Rajdhani express and typing whatever comes to my mind on my Vaio. Its 9:43 pm according to my laptop’s clock, and the train is supposed to reach Delhi at 10:20 am. So I have roughly, 12 and a half hours to kill. Since I rarely ever get any sleep on overnight train journeys. I could go back to playing Angry Birds[or maybe not, am already sick of that game], or maybe listen to some songs or maybe watch a movie. Well, I saw Million Dollar Baby, and that left a bitter taste in the mouth. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is fantastic, but somehow I prefer happy endings more. I guess that’s what life is about. The ups and downs.

I was at home for a week[returned home after a 4 month stint at FMS]. And I got horribly bored. Reason being not a single friend of mine was available. Am actually glad to be returning to FMS, where I am sure there will be tons of activities to do[Our Annual Fest, Fiesta is just around the corner]. I have mentally prepared a list of To-Do’s for this semester[next 4 months]. How successful I will be is yet to be seen. For the first time in my life I shall be witnessing the dreaded Delhi winter. Need to be prepared.

I think I need to renovate and market my blog. Or maybe create a new one. I feel like writing a lot, but when it actually comes to down to sitting and typing, I somehow lose interest. Not sure why. Just two days ago, I was writing a post on love and my past/present crushes, but somehow I could not muster courage to write much about it. Hence, discarded that document. Perhaps I do not want to share my personal details with others. Nevertheless, that is a thing of the past. Now on to the future[and no, I am not sure if I will get a girlfriend here or not].

Sigh, its 9:55 pm now. I feel that the Indian Railways is one of the most poorly managed industries in India. With over 14 lakh employees, and losses amounting to thousands of crores, it could do lot to improve its image. I feel that the private sector should be allowed to step in and modernize the platforms and the carriages. There is no reason why bullet trains cannot be operated in India, and why the platforms cannot be kept clean and hygienic. Anyways, enough of complains.

Am I satisfied with the beginning of an MBA? Is my life going the way I had expected it to be? I am not sure. I have surely met lots of intelligent and capable people after coming here, and have surely got opportunities I would not have otherwise got. But, somewhere, something is missing. I do not feel that corporate life is my true calling. I will try following my passion nevertheless. Right now, am excited about my role in Tata Motors[internship starts next year-April or May].

So How is Delhi like for an outsider? Being from a small town, I find it big and overcrowded. There is too much pollution and dirt, as is common in most Indian metro cities. The crime rate is high, and corruption is rampant. Nevertheless, Delhi has lot to offer. From the historical monuments to the best educational institutes in the country. I found Delhi University to be a fascinating and worthy area to be in. It has a vibrant, student friendly atmosphere. The metro is of course, one of Delhi’s USP. Fast and convenient, it’s the preferred mode of transport for many. The food may be heavy and rich, but relished by most. Almost everyone knows at least some amount of Punjabi[many are fluent]. Delhi has a sizeable population of Sikhs, and you can find one at every corner[unlike back home]. People of all religion mix together freely, and have fun.
Yet, poverty is rampant, and I have been to a few slums. The living conditions of the people is absolutely below standard, and I was simply appalled to see their condition. 8-9 people living in one small room, which has just one light bulb, and a rusted bed[made of ropes]. No television, no bathroom, no fan, not even a ventilator. The children seemed lively and kept playing their games, unaware of the misery their parents were facing. One of the people told us that some hoodlums came every month to take money from them, under the pretext of cleaning up the place[which they never did]. I wonder what the Government is doing about it. But everyone needs to play their part.




I guess I will sign off here and try to go to sleep. Lots of things to be done, books to be read, games to be played. And yeah, am really looking forward to 2 games in particular- Elders Scroll 5: Skyrim, and Batman: Arkham City. For next year, it’s going to be Mass Effect 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Rising.

See ya folks. And keep smiling.