Why I have so few Friends!

Right now I am sitting at home, doing nothing. Well almost nothing, apart from reading some books, watching Smallville and One Piece, and occasionally sports and Emotional Atyachaar (yes, you got that right) on tv. I have been doing the same for almost two months now. From next month onwards, I shall be a Management Trainee at BASF India, Mumbai.

I have been growing through some mood swings recently. Often, I end up feeling depressed and frustrated, when negative feelings take over. Maybe its cause I don’t have any proper work to do. Or maybe because there is no friend here in my home town. Which again sets me to introspect and retrospect. Hence this post.

What is the definition of a friend to me? Okay, I will skip that. Why do I have so few friends? That’s a more interesting question. Well, first of all I would like to mention that I categorize my friends according to hierarchy. I know quite a few people will claim that they treat all their friends equally, etc, but that’s plain crap. Nobody can treat everyone similarly. There is bound to be bias. Hence, I clearly claim that I make a hierarchy of friendship. Unlike my previous posts, I shall not be taking any names in this one.

At the top layer, there is the Category 1. This is an exclusive category for my closest and true friends. Only 3 or 4 people fall in this category. These are the ones whom I can trust blindly, and have known since childhood.

The second layer, category 2 comprises of those friends whom I may not have known for very long, but nevertheless I do trust them to a large extent, and I also feel comfortable and happy in their presence. It brings about a positive aura, when I am surrounded by them. Nevertheless, I shall not be sharing everything with them.

The third layer, is category 3. These are those people with whom I have had multiple conversations, and I appreciate their work. However, I do not share any close bonds with them, and it wont make much of a difference to me if I am not in touch with someone for long. Sometimes I even have had fights, and arguments with these people(Of course, we can all generalize and say that friends keep having fights, but I meant differently).

The last layer is category 4. These people are not strictly friends, but more like acquaintances and present in my facebook friend list. I may have talked to them a few times, smiled to them out of courtesy, but beyond that, there is scarcely anything. They are just one degree above strangers, in my view. Highly likely to be forgotten as time goes by.

Yes, I know many of you will find this categorization strange or even bizarre. But that is exactly how it is. In fact, our minds are tuned to categorize people in different ways, based upon our perception of them. This is one reason why we can never totally avoid being judgmental.

So back to the original issue at hand. I admit, I have very few ‘true’ friends, ie those who belong to category one. And not many in category 2 either. What is the reason for that? Being an introvert? Being unsocial? Maybe, both of the reasons are true. I also usually do not initiate a conversation. I do not like talking about myself. In fact, I do not like talking without any purpose[ie random chit chat]. I prefer to listen. And I very rarely open up to anyone. I never share my feelings with others either. So I guess those are the logical reasons which my mind shares. But the truth may be different. Who knows.

Now, to come to a specific area: Female friends. Zero in Category 1. And just a couple or so in Category 2. That’s it. Surprised? Well that’s the truth. I have very few female friends. I could count them on the fingers of one hand. I guess the problem is that I rarely talk to females about matters besides education/work. And even that talk is limited. I studied in a all boys school, and had very limited interaction with girls, even in college. Of course, if you do Engineering and then MBA(from a premier institute) your interaction with the fairer sex is bound to be limited. Forget dating or asking a girl out, even talking to a girl was like a difficult chore for me. Though of course, I did talk to a few of them, and have chatted online with many, but could hardly make friends with anyone. I can even say that I did not have a single female friend before MBA. My closest friends are all male. And I do not see any change coming in the future.

Sometimes, I do feel sad about it of course. Most of my batchmates (both engg and MBA) have a healthy mix of friends from both genders. I would have desired the same. Maybe not many friends, but equal numbers of both genders. However, that was not to be. I guess it is because of my nature.

I do not believe that facebook chat and gtalk is an alternative for actual face to face interactions. In fact, virtual friendship has made life tougher for us. I resent the fact that I spend more time chatting and whatsapping than talking to people in real. This is something which I must seriously change in myself. I hate socializing, but I could try that too, in Mumbai. Maybe participate in some blogger discussions or debates, etc. But of course, I will avoid parties, as I consider them to be a simple waste of time. Travelling is something which I want to do as well.

You know that you will feel miserable when you badly want to go someplace (such as the movies) but don’t have even a single friend to accompany you[I watched both Iron Man 3, and Man of Steel alone]. But the fault is in me, attribution theory has taught me that.

See you around folks.

My Bschool Bestest

I bet the caption caught your attention, didn’t it? Anyways, this article is based on my personal experience, being a moderator at Pagalguy.com, and also active at several other MBA forums. Call it ego or whatever, but the truth is that most Bschoolers become incredibly defensive when it comes to talking about their alma mater.

After all, nobody wants their[or their bschool’s] skeletons to be out of the closet, do they? Naturally, everyone will only talk about the positive aspects of joining XYZ School of Management, and will conveniently leave out the cons. If at all they are included, they will be as good as being neglected. Most placement reports claim 100% placements, with the top brands on the front page. This gives a very wrong impression to aspirants. Say for example, a particular bschool had 400 students, and the top 100 got good offers, and the bottom 50 remained unplaced. Still the placement report will suggest that ALL the students were placed in decent companies with good profiles.

This is an era when even the top bschools are struggling to place all their students, not to mention the tier-2 or tier-3 ones. But this is not the focus of my article. I find it irritating when bschoolers try to hide details from the public, openly resort to lying, and get into heated arguments whenever there is a comparison between bschools. A common comparison is between an IIM and a Non-IIM, albeit top bschool. Just for an example, lets take comparing IIM Lucknow with XLRI, or a new IIM versus MDI/NITIE/IIFT. The IIM grads will swear that an IIM tag matters a lot, whereas a non-IIM grad will focus on other aspects[say location, alumni base, etc]. Some people will claim that an IIM is an IIM, hence it’s the sole reason for you to join. Others will remark that it’s better to take a bschool which is well established than to worry about an IIM tag. This is just one example out of many.

Unfortunately, this only adds to an aspirant’s confusion and doubt, since he will get biased reports from both sides. Recently, one guy called me up asking for my opinion on IIM L vs FMS. I tried to give him as objective a perspective as possible and even highlighted the points where L scored over FMS. However, I know from experience that most people will not do that. They will go at any length to defend their own bschool.

It saddens me to say this, but some of my batchmates have done the same too[repeatedly claiming FMS’s superiority over others]. There is a [albeit thin] difference between promoting one’s bschool and blindly boasting about its strengths.

Some of the common confusions [for aspirants having multiple converts are]:

i) IIM A vs IIM B vs IIM C
ii) IIM L vs FMS vs XLRI
iii) IIM I vs IIM K
iv) MDI vs NITIE vs IIFT
v) New IIMs
vi) SP Jain vs JBIMS vs newer IIM [including K]
vii) IMT vs NMIMS vs XIM-B vs SIBM

And others.

My advice to bschoolers: Guys, you people are talented and wise. Stop misguiding others, and try to lay out as objective a picture as possible. Trust me, it will increase the respect people will have for your bschool.

@Aspirants: Don’t get misguided by what an institute’s placement report claims. Talk to the students, alums, and third parties [neutral] to get an overall picture. Lot of bschools don’t even have proper campuses of their own[but advertise it]. And if you have multiple converts, don’t spend too much time over-thinking. Just set your priorities and chose one and stick to it. Remember, if you have it in you, you will be successful no matter where you end up.

Adios for now. It’s time to play Call of Duty: MW 3.

Updates, Blah Blah!

Okay, some updates about me this time. For the past one month, I have been sitting at home, and doing nothing. Yes, idling my time, before I start my first official job, at BASF India. Will probably be shifting to Mumbai now. I liked the place during my 2 month stay during the internship, and hopefully the experience will be good again.

I was about to write a lengthy ‘All I wanted to say about MBA’ sort of post, but then decided against it. Dunno why exactly, but just didn’t feel like writing about my MBA experiences. After all, it’s the most hyped degree in India. Maybe I will write about it someday in the future. Then again, maybe not.

So what have I been doing the past month? Mostly, reading and watching stuff. Some books which I am spending time with include: Midnight’s Children by Rushdie, Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche, Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, amongst others. Apart from this, I have been reading several blogs and other stuff online. And I admit I have wasted time going through several confessions page as well[mostly TCS, Infosys, Delhi Metro ones].

I only tried one new game in the vacation, and that was Dishonored. I wasn’t pleased with it. The game has got very good reviews, but I somehow felt it was too repetitive, and left playing after completing 3 missions. Am really looking forward to 2 games: Batman Arkham Origin, and GTA V. Other than that, my passion for gaming has taken an all time dip. My father is doing some research on the partition of Punjab [he even purchased a fat book on the same, I may read it too later].

I saw some good movies too. Identity, Dead Man Walking, Oldboy [Korean], Mulholland Drive, Kai Po Che [hated the ending though], to mention a few. Cant get enough of the suspense/thriller category. Identity in particular was a brilliant watch. I was kinda disappointed with Iron Man 3, mostly for the way they portrayed Mandarin. Really looking forward to Man of Steel now. Oh and I just read that Bryan Singer is making a new Xman movie[kinda a reboot],and surprise surprise- Cyclops is not included YET AGAIN. This seriously PISSED ME OFF. I mean come on now, give the man some credit. He is the leader of the Xmen after all, not some guest character with an occasional appearance. They way he was shown in the earlier movies was seriously very disappointing to say the least. And he has been ignored once more. I so wish some sensible director made a Cyclops:Origin movie for a change [We are getting tired of the repeated Wolverine crap].

As for tv shows, am just sticking to Game of Thrones. Though I must admit, I didn’t find Season 3 as good as the earlier 2. Still debating on whether or not to get the books.

Rest, I admit I am getting frustrated/depressed periodically. Maybe because I don’t have proper work to do. To add to this, my planned trip to the North East got cancelled too. I so need a vacation. But unfortunately I never get any company [blame my introvert nature and lack of friends for that]. And yeah, no friend here either.

Oh and yeah, am learning to cook as well. Just basic stuff, but an essential survival skill.

P.S.- I think its high time I shifted to Wordpress now.

P.P.S.- Its been raining here continuously for over a day now. Weather is super awesome.

Taboo Inc.

Lot of people seem to have this doubt in mind- Why on earth Indians don’t talk about sex? Why are discussions on masturbation, condoms, homosexuality considered taboo in India? Why does a country with a billion plus population shies away from mainstream nudity in cinema[its all right to rape and kill, but nude scene- Strict No], or from educating children on how the reproductive system works? I think its high time people stopped pretending that children just drop down from the sky.

Sure, with the technology boom and net savvy generation coming in, some progress has been made in this regard. Especially amongst the upper class, and the growing middle class segment. Nevertheless, if you consider the country as a whole, a vast majority of people are ignorant about basic sex education, and this actually results in harmful consequences, from teenage pregnancies, to sexually transmitted diseases, and even crimes such as sexual assaults.

A common joke goes that in our country, its okay to piss in public but you cannot kiss in public. According to a lot of moral guardians, kissing or any form of pda [including holding of hands], is a heinous crime, and its actually an offense in India under the IPC. Apparently the reason for the same is that some people feel disgusted if they see a couple kiss or hold hands. Arguably, the ‘some’ part is subjective, and it’s very difficult to categorize or classify people according to their acceptance of PDA. Hence the ban[Am personally against the ban, I know its debatable but I personally don’t see how a couple kissing in public view can harm anyone in any way, and those who say it’s a distraction can just choose to look away].

India is a repressed society. We try to pretend in our every day existence that sex does not exist, hence its naturally evil or morally corrupt to talk about it. If someone tries to impart sex education, he or she is a perverted individual who is trying to corrupt the younger generation. Some states have even banned sex education in schools. And then of course there are millions of illiterates having no access to any form of formal education.

So we come to a situation where both parents and teachers hesitate to talk about sex, when it comes to educating children [Of course, that has been changing in recent times, nevertheless that has largely been the trend]. To give my own example, our biology teacher didn’t even utter the words ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’ aloud even once, not even while teaching the reproductive system. As if just reading or hearing those words will make you a bad person.

So what happens as a consequence? People start getting half correct or incorrect information from other sources. Most guys learn about sex through pornography. Which is an extreme case of adult entertainment, and definitely not a tool on sex education. It brings about wrong ideas in the mind of youngsters. So instead of having healthy discussions on sex, it becomes a taboo topic. Sex is considered as the forbidden fruit, and not just as another human activity like eating, drinking or sleeping.

That is the first step towards depravity. Guys start making all sort of perverted jokes related to sex, and its usually at this time [onset of puberty], that slang usage becomes common. Most of these slangs are directed at insulting women. Something which makes them lose their ‘purity’. For many guys, losing their virginity becomes some sort of an achievement, something to be proud of. Staring at whichever girl passes by becomes common[No matter how hard they deny, most heterosexual guys do stare at women and at their body parts]. Passing of lewd comments begins from that point. And its almost always directed at a girl’s body parts. Girls are also compared, according to the sizes of their bust, etc. Yes, all this may sound disgusting, but it is the truth. And mind you, am not talking about those illiterate punks or rogues out on the streets, but educated folk, even sons of rich people. I have met very few people in my life[am not generalizing, but giving a personal view] who have actually respected women, even when no girl is around. It’s very clear by the way they talk and their reaction whenever they see or meet a female. Ironically if you directly ask a guy if he or she respects women, the answer will be almost always a resounding yes. And the next moment they will say-‘Wow man, just look at that Maal on the street.’

Of course we live in a patriarchal and male chauvinist society. So its pointless to repeat such points. But the bottomline is that we need to change. If you take the Delhi metro, many guys even argue that girls should not enter a general compartment, because a separate one is reserved for them. They fail to understand the need for reservation in the first place. It’s because the plight of a girl in a crowded general compartment is miserable to say the least. Moreover, a lot of guys even claim that it’s the girls fault for actually ‘brushing’ or falling on a guy and then complaining that the guy was trying to molest her. To such people I would say-‘Get a life. Just try to imagine yourself in a girls shoes trying to hold her bag and protecting her modesty at the same time, amidst a pack of hungry wolves and its only then you will understand what it feels like.’

Its because these guys have never had an healthy discussions on sex and reproductive life, that they feel so repressed. Actions such as groping, molesting, staring, eve-teasing, commenting and even serious sexual assaults arise as a consequence. It may build up slowly and gradually, but not talking and not knowing about sex is one of the reasons for the same. Its also due to our social upbringing, that even today many people believe that boys and girls should not mix up or play together. Especially for girls, who should limit interactions with guys, and curb her sexuality. So naturally, its again the forbidden fruit thing coming out to play.

Many people will also be disgusted if they hear a guy and a girl, who are not a couple discuss things related to sex, or precautions, etc. They will label them as people with loose morals, and the girl will almost definitely be called a whore or a slut. In an ideal society, even if a girl chooses to have a partner before marriage, it does not mean she has no morals. Every individual should be ready to bear the consequence of his or her action.

Rather, once we start opening up more, once we start educating our children, I believe objectifying of women will reduce, and that in turn will also lead to a reduction of crimes. But whether that will actually happen will remain to be seen. However, stop feeling ashamed of speaking about sex in public. Deal with it positively and not negatively. Sex is definitely not a sin, and nothing to be pushed under the carpet. Also try being less judgmental if you can[For eg- A girl who is not a virgin is not a whore, and a virgin guy is not a loser]. Its something am trying to follow myself.
But I will try to be an optimist. More on this later.

The Art of Failing

Recently, I was reading an article in the Economic Times, which mentioned about Failure, and start-ups/entrepreneurship. About the Indian society which traditionally tried to avoid risk taking in any field, especially when it comes to starting your own business. It also mentioned that failure is considered a taboo and looked down upon in our society. People who fail are stigmatized and sometimes even ostracized. They are even treated at par with criminals.

That article set me thinking. I could relate it to my own life. And I am pretty sure many of you reading this could relate it with your own as well. We Indians just don’t appreciate the value of failure. Most of us will be shocked to hear that Failure is something which is important to experience in life. Of course there will be many who will say- I have never failed once in my life. Or that, I always aim to succeed, etc. Don’t get me wrong. Am not saying that Failure should be your goal. But rather, we should accept the fact that failure is a part of life, and welcome it, rather than treating it as doomsday.

Lets start from a child. Ever since he joins school, he is constantly pressurized to perform well, in his studies, sports, extra-curriculars, and so on. Such high expectations can prove to be disastrous for the child’s personality. Often, he has to undergo humiliation and witness immense scolding or criticism by his/her parents, teachers and others. I have seen very few cases in which the child is actually encouraged to experiment, fail,learn and grow. No wonder the classical mindset of opting for a safe corporate/government job sets in from the very beginning, hence the establishment of rat races, and coaching institutes for IITJEE, CAT and the like.

I have seen cases in which the whole locality starts talking about that child, in case the poor soul actually fails in a subject, or God forbid, has to drop an year. Its seriously as if he has committed a crime which is unforgivable. I feel sad for this mentality which treats young children at par with criminals.
Competition in the Indian education sector is immense. Especially to get seats into the coveted institutions such as IITs, IIMs, NITs, etc. Thus from a very young age onwards, children are forced and pushed to enter such rat races. At an age when a child should be encouraged to pursue his/her own hobby or passion, to experiment and learn freely, he is forced to attend FIITJEE classes or mug up JEE study material.

But the worst part comes if the child actually fails to get a seat in any of the good colleges. He is labeled a failure, a loser, a good-for-nothing who is doomed in his life. Even his friends will start making fun of him. And all because he failed to crack IITJEE? I consider this the height of ridiculousness. But unfortunately, that’s how Indian society is. We tend to judge people more from their background, than from their real talents or work. Thus its the IIT rank that counts more than the sketches or stories which that child may be good at. And unfortunately, this rat race never stops. Even during placements, we compare the job profile, the package offered, and the benefits to decide who is the ‘best’, ‘second best’ and so on. For every single thing, we make needless comparisons which tend to destroy the inner self of the child.

Its high time that parents and teachers start educating their children with the fact that its perfectly okay to fail. Its totally fine to follow your own interests in life. As long as you are doing good and happy with your work, it doesn’t matter if you are earning more than your neighbor or not. Failure can teach a person many things which a normal, average situation may not. Fear of failure should not be a hindrance for a person to experiment, or try up something new. This enhances creativity and ultimately, performance.

The Final Tribute, Part 2 (FMS Batch of 2014)

*Continued from previous post

Of course, the batch of 2014 cannot be left behind either. The legacy of FMS has to be borne by them.

Though its true that I may not have interacted with my juniors much(thanks to my introverted nature), I shall still be glad for their support and best wishes. Thank you all, and hope you do well in your internships and remaining year ahead.

To Aarti Gupta, for being one of the first persons in 2014 I actually interacted with. Thank you for your incessant chatter and also for those few competitions(giving me some CV points). You have lot of potential. I do hope you do well ahead.

To Aparajita Puri, for winning the HR Leadership Award(for which you patiently waited for your check) and for giving me the Fountainhead(the best book I read in 2012). That helped me realize more about individualism. Also for motivating me to do well later on as well. Everyone knows you will probably be at the top of the Corporate ladder soon. Good luck.

To Inderpreet Singh Narang, not just for taking over the post of HR Soc President, but also for being a nice and humble human being. Competitive, knowledgeable and helpful, I am very sure you will do a great job at handling HR Soc and in your life ahead.

To Mayank Popli, for being a great JFS, as well as an active and smart personality. To Tapan Waval, for being a talented individual and gifted in the art of speech, and staying excited/enthusiastic every single time. To Vineet Jain and Sudeep Bansi, not just for being great JCSes, but also for fun people to talk to. To Mahesh Shetye and Yuvaraj, for some meaningful conversations we had.

To Parul Rai, for being a good friend and supporter throughout. Even when I was depressed or frustrated, I knew I could count on her to bear my nonsense. Always smiling, hard-working and talented, I am pretty sure she will do well in Mark Soc and otherwise. Thank you for all your encouraging words.

To all the associate members of HR Soc: Inderpreet(mentioned earlier), Parampreet, Abhrajit, Pritha and Aishwarya. I seriously had lot of fun working with you guys, whether it be in Fiesta or outside. Will definitely miss the time spent in HR Soc. Best of luck to all of you.

To my mentee Dhruv Jayant: Dude, you are talented. Don’t worry so much about MBA. To my buddy, Bijayini Samal: I hope you rock and have a gala time at HCCB, living the life of a princess. Sports soc will definitely do well with your presence. Plus bring out whatever potential you have in you. Keep in touch.

To Neha Joshi: you are sweet and talented. I hope you do an excellent job as the next Cultural Secy.

To Divyam Singh: Fellow Manga/anime fan. Awesome mimcry buddy. Wish I could have spend some more time on masti along with you. But anyways, I know you will do a good job as Media Secy. Stay in touch.

To Mayur Dhingra, Shaunak Acharya, Prajata, Swati Saini, Vinay Prithiani, Yagya, Pragnya, Rounak, Anish, Manu Oberoi, Manu Gupta, Pratinav, Harshal, Bhaskar, Manish, Deepak D, Apurv Narang, Eshan Sett, Sindhu, Asif, Nikhil Goud, Preeti Topno, Rohit Mishra, Adinarayana, Amrit, Arpit, Abhishek Bansal, Vivek, Dhruv Raghuvanshi, Gayathri, Shalinee, Prateek, Aditi, Sneha, Vinita, Vipul, Rishabh Kalia, Darryl, Shashank, Divya, Pratham, Srinath, Khushal: We may not have interacted much, but it was great knowing and speaking to all of you. I wish you all the very best ahead. Keep the legacy of FMS intact.

And finally, to Mehak Dhir:

It may have been a co-incidence due to which we became friends, but that was one lucky co-incidence I guess. I have learnt a lot from you: being a task-oriented manager, giving your 100% in anything, focusing on important issues, appreciating the value of others, opening up to others, experimenting with different type of coffee, amongst rest. Thank you for your motivation and inspiration throughout. Thank you for helping me fight the negativity inside of me. Though you should really try listening more, and learn to control your temper better. I still wonder why you don’t like calling yourself ambitious. You are naturally talented and intelligent to reach the top (whether it be corporate life or Mt. Everest). But I really appreciate the fact that you are a humble and really helpful/understanding person at heart. Finally, thank you for your patience too (tolerating my negative side can indeed be frustrating, I know). May God always support you in your endeavors. But you didn’t gift me a Hattori Hanzo blade. :( Nevertheless, you shall always be awesome.. \m/


Next Post: All I wanted to say about MBA

The Final Tribute, Part 1 (FMS- Batch of 2012 and 2013)

All right, so am finally done with MBA. And it is really a sad fact, that this is just my third post of the year. Of course, I can take the help of various excuses- Placements, Exams, Work, etc, but I guess I just somehow lost the inspiration to write. But a proper ‘All I wanted to say about MBA’ type post is pending. In this post however, I shall be expressing my gratitude to all those people who made a positive contribution during my life and stay at FMS. It is said that in business, MBA and corporate, you don’t make friends, but only acquaintances, competitors and colleagues. How much of it was true for me?

Statutory Note: Though am mentioning the names of mostly a few people, but am indeed thankful to all FMSites and professors who I have met and known.
Lets start with the senior batch:

Batch of 2012:

I would like to thank Arpan Srivastava, for being an ideal Gsec, and helping us throughout the journey. Thankfully, we are still in touch. The entire placement team, all the society members, thank you for helping us in our ‘Summers’ prep. I would like to thank my mentor Rima for all her support she lent me, without which I am pretty sure I would have done a miserable job. Manmeet Singh Hora, for being a great support, especially with tying of turbans, spirituality, guidance and being a great person overall. Satyajit Bagchi and all the executive members of HR Society, for being supportive throughout.

Apart from the above a few more names to take: Saurabh Jyot Singh, who grows younger with each passing day, Chitrang, for being an excellent Mark Soc President, Ranjeet Pratap Singh, for his famous anecdotes. I admit that I did not make much of an effort to interact with the senior batch, on my side, which on hindsight was probably a mistake. Nevertheless, it was a good experience knowing a few talented people.

Now let us come to the batch, with whom I spent the maximum amount of time.

Batch of 2013:

Undoubtedly the first name which will come here is that of Abhirup Debray, the guy who stood behind me at all times, through good times and bad. Although we are polar opposites( he loves drinking and cursing), am still proud to have him as a friend. He has made it a long way, coming from a small town, and has always inspired me to go ahead and do well. Having known him even before joining FMS, it was a pleasure spending time with him. He is one person who will never bore or disappoint you. I hope you make it even bigger, buddy.

Next(do not take it in any hierarchical order, the names are just on random basis) to come is Mayank Rajput, another guy(from Gwalior) who I knew before joining FMS. He is a dreamer with a good sense of imagination. Creative, writes well, reads a lot, and a manga/anime fan(lot of traits similar to mine). Wants to be a big writer. I know he will succeed. A bit lazy yes, and it takes lot of effort to push him to work, but once he is committed to something, he will make sure that he does it. Nevertheless, sleeping is his biggest weakness. Stay in touch, dude.

Now we come to one of the biggest ghissus in our batch. Divya G, as we know her. A telugu by birth, but a proper Indian by choice(having travelled and stayed at multiple locations). Yet another person I knew before coming to FMS. She is very dedicated, hard working, focused and intelligent too. Once she sets her target on something, she will achieve it. She was always a big inspiration for me, and was always there when I needed her for emotional support, academic help, or for anything. And like me, a very strict follower of her principles. I only wish she wasn’t so short tempered, and so fudgy about marks. Nevertheless, a close friend for life, I wish you all the very best for the future in Cadbury and otherwise, Divya.

Lets head a bit west now, shall we. The city of Mumbai. Famous for Vada Pao. And Sheetal Kasbekar. She is one person I consider as close as a real sister can be. Never let me feel alone whenever I was depressed or frustrated. Very caring, very kind and passionate. Has that bubbly charm in her, like that of a school girl. Loves to eat a lot. And has a golden smile. But takes lot of tension at every small thing. Panics more than I do. But nevertheless, a very smart professional and marketing expert who will surely rock at Nestle. And help me in getting directions when I roam around in Mumbai.

Lets go back to the south(don’t worry, am not doing any regional discrimination here). Or we can even go to the north east, in Guwahati. This IITian from the south is an introvert, but still a brilliant guy. Karthik Junnuri or junnu as his friends call him, has a mixture of talents. But his best trait is that he will always be ready to help you, even if he has his own problems or tasks to perform. He is one guy I have hanged around with a lot. He makes you feel comfortable, and he really knows lot of stuff, even though he does not talk much, and has a soft voice. Miles to go, buddy.

Next comes another traveler, who has been at multiple places. Preethi Puram, the Media Secretary. Its actually hard trying to describe her in words. But she has been a great friend, an amazing person to chill and hang out with. She loves taking initiatives and doing fun stuff. Has supported me a lot, and is extremely trustworthy. You know you can share lot of stuff with her, in spite of her being in Media. I hope you keep rocking in ITC.


For some other quick names, I would like to thank Raveesh Mayya(most versatile and altruistic person in batch of 2013 without a doubt), Shashank Prabhu(very mature, calm and skillful), Tasneem Ahmad(for being a great support in HR Soc and otherwise), Vikram Kapany(Awesome Inspirational Figure), Akhil Kumar Som(Fearless and determined) Sunny Gajjar,Neha Kapoor, Snata Borah, Tapish Panwar, Vishal Sharma, Amandeep, Chandan Mandal, Priti Kumari, Tina Singh, Suhail Pawaskar, Ankit Kumar, Shashank Arya, Ashraf, Ankush Bhadrish, Nikhil Nathani, Richie Pandey, Ajay V, Aditya James, and a lot more. I am sorry if I missed out on anybody.

*To be Continued