Mode C is as much for Calvin as it is for Chaos, as much for Cool as it is for Cold, as much for Class as it is for Crass.

Mode C is a way of life, the Calvin way of life which I am so fascinated by as to keep trying to make it my own way of life. But what exactly is Calvin's way of life, you ask...and I say that there are no clear answers to this one.

I strongly believe, however, that almost all the seriously critical fundamental concepts of life, they are just the bogies under Calvin's bed that he is afraid of. Everyhting else...Miss Wormwood, Susie, Mom and Dad, and of course above all, Hobbes...aren't they all merely the means that he uses to attack these bogies?

It is nothing, therefore, but the perspective of each of these players on the stage of Calvin's dramatic life that helps him fight these bogies and move on in his own unique way...listening to all but doing only what finally makes sense to his own individuality. This is what comes closest, I guess, to the Calvin way of leading one's life...

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Clearing the back log


I was thinking of doing this for a long time but is was only day before yesterday that I was finally able to go to NIT, Calicut. I must say that I was impressed by the buildings and infrastructure of NIT...I had not thought that they would be so good. The bike ride from IIM to NIT at one in the night was also pretty good...if you just discount the fact that I might not really venture alone on that creepy, dark and silent road at odd times (read one in the night). However, I was a little surpirsed that people from IIM take the pains of going all across the eight kms distance to NIT for the same things that they could have got in their canteen. It might be possible that we went to the wrong joint but what was available there was none the better or more compared to the maggis and parathas of the nite canteen at IIM. Anyways, this one was for the experience and that is that, I guess.

Another pending thing that was finally seen through was the presentation on Infosys. Last night, I actually came out with the complete presentation and though I wanted it to be more interactive but somehow, I lost out on the time management part. Compared to the numbers often reserved for a Konsult gathering, I think there was a decent gathering at the presentation ...hope my mail did that :-). I did receive complaints about the first few slides that had most of the data from the Infy web site and which I just ran through. Perhaps the slides was not required...or even if they were, perhaps the pace was not right...the reason I put all those slides in the first place was that the kind of impression that I could make of the general nature of rpesentations here at IIM is that they are generally data intensive. I admit that most of the times, the data is relevant but in my case, it might not have been so. I had just performed an experiment where I actually wanted to modify my style a bit...the experiment might have gone off mark...I am not sure.

The freshers party has been announced and we are going to have it this Saturday night at The Taj (you read it right, THE Taj). Lots of activities have begun in our batch and once again, it is the game of group dynamics that is coming to the forefront. Activities are being planned and teams made for the events. I think that the singing and the dancing is already finalised and the practice is going on. I am planning to get into the Mad Ad fillers and might even go for a skit. The previous idea of the skit, based on a modern version of the Ramayana epic was finally withdrawn...and wisely so...it has been done so many times already that people might even start throwing tomatoes and eggs. I do have some ideas...let's see if I can involve some people and actually do it...hardly any time left but the enthu is on...

Monday, July 26, 2004

Of bikes and barrels...oh well, just the bikes...


Finally I had one weekend which I can really call well-spent. It's not that there was something extraordinary to do in this site of hermitage, which the believers call IIMK. However, will finds a way, or so I believe. As per the heavy duty schedule that we have been having recently, we had classes on Saturday, as well. We got off early, though and decided to go for an outing, some outing...any outing. There were plans to go for a trek on Sunday to Wayanad, supposed to be a beautiful place, and a trekker's paradise, too. Initially, I thought that I will join the group but when I heard of their plans to start at three in the morning, my instinctive self made me back off instinctively and instantaneously.

With the trek standing cancelled, I had to do something, go out somewhere...and the bike came to the rescue. My poor fatfatiya has been rusting away to glory in the shed of what is called the substation (!!!). Every morning, just before I leave for the classes, I have a look at the machine and let out a sigh...this one instinctive, too. On Saturday, the resolve was firm...the sigh is not enough :-). We started at about six in the evening with the intention of doing some city scaling, getting some stuff (I wanted some posters from the Archies' Gallery to cover up the glass panes of the door and window to the balcony), and then having dinner at some nice (read non-Southie) place.

For people who have not experienced it earlier, riding a bike on Calicut roads...or perhaps I should rephrase it as the roads joining Calicut to IIMK...is actually very soothing and at the same time exciting like hell. At one end, you have the coconut trees flanking you on both the sides, mild breeze blowing against your hair, and even rain drops making their presence felt in the form of drizzles and even bursts. If you thought that this is a relaxed picture of bliss that is emerging, I am extremely sorry for having to break the glass...because on the second end, you have the bus drivers of Calicut, who do not consider themselves any inferior, when compared to the likes of Schumacher...no, not inferior at all, not even for a nanosecond.

Also, just like the F1 cars do not have horns (I am not sure but I think that they don't), Calicut bus drivers make it a point (honorable intention, I must say, of not disturbing the biker's luxurious bliss) not to blow away the horn at the poor biker going at a speed of 50-60 compared to the bus screaming down at over 80 kmph. Rather, the bus drivers assume the blowing away to mean something else...and instead of the horn, if it is something else that is blown away, all the better...at least, the task of blowing away is done...ends justify the means, what??? Somehow, they asume that the person in front...or back for that matter...will have sense enough to get out of the way...if he doesn't, too bad for him...end of story.

So it was, that braving all odds of survival, we reached the city, went to a lot of places, discovered many one-way streets which made us lose our way back, and most importantly found that Calicut (yes, talking about Calicut here, listen, all ye first year IIMK-ites) has many branded apparel retailers. We could see Lee, Scullers, Arrow, Basics and many more...
Archies' Gallery was a major let-down, though...hardly any choice and expectedly, too...few takers for posters in this city, I guess. I had to do with a teenie-weenie poster that declares...Stay Cool...instead of some good life-sized ones I was looking for to fill up the glassy space (black and white Madhubala would have been nice).

We (that is Ravi, Abhijit, and yours truly) had dinner at a place called Mezbaan, which as one of the seniors told us, is usually patronized by the IIM junta. The food was good and especially the 'balti' approach of serving food reminded me of 'Quality Riveira' in Chennai. Another group from the IIM came in while we were there...the gang was a senior gang, also out on the Saturday to have fun, I am sure...

We rushed back to the campus after dinner to be in time for Garfiled, the public screening of which, mask-e-raid, the fun group at IIMK, had promised. It was not to be, however, and we ended up with a not-so-public screening of Shrek2, which could hold my attention for hardly half an hour. Also, since I had so many things lined up for Sunday (so many presentations for the various interest groups, for instance), I decided to call it an early night so that I am wide awake on Sunday morning.

I did get up quite early...at about eight...not because I had decided to start at the work but because Bikes Part 2 was still to be. Abhijit's bike was supposed to come from Delhi by Mangala Express and the train was about to reach here by 9:30. Having heard stories about the bike not getting unloaded here at Calicut and going to a further destination instead, we wanted to be there at the platform when the train arrives. The route to the railway station was pretty straight...at least, that is what I remembered from my only visit to the place (when I landed up in Calicut for the first time). However, it so turned out that we had to cover nearly 25 kilometres to reach a place that was only 15 kms away. In the process, we lost on time and subsequently on the bike, as well, which actually went ahead to Ernakulam from where it is expected back anytime within 1 day to 1 month. What I personally gained from the futile exercise was a headache and a full day subsequent sleeping schedule which left me with no time to do anything else.

I had been feeling pretty unenthusiastic (read, dull and uninspired) since the morning and things got worse with the stupid test that we had to take for Prof. Gopal Chowdhry's Quant class. The test could have been cleared...no, not just cleared...maxed by any 6th standard student and giving so much time to CAT qualifiers for the 'open book' test was really too much. Things improved a little in the Managerial Communication class when we had to do a couple of role plays that, though repetitive of what I had already done at Infy, turned out to be an okay time pass.

The very next target after the communication class was the project briefing we were scheduled to get from Prof Panda. Our group has planned to do a marketing project on ITC, and their Wills Sport unit will be our specific focus. Before going in to Prof. Panda's room, I had no idea of what I was expected to do in this project...after coming out of his room, I still have no idea about the thing...the only diffrence being that now, I am much more educated (yes, this one is a jargon, for all you know). The amount of research that is expected of the team in this project, if properly done, will put any marketing research firm to shame. I do not know how much of it is possible but if done, I think that this is going to be a good learning...much better than the now-stale jokes of Prof Panda.

Saturday, July 24, 2004

Spins a web, any size...


Spiderman, Spiderman...
Does whatever a spider can...
Spins a web, any size...
Catches thieves, just like flies...
Look out! Here comes the Spiderman!




To me, this neighbourhood Spider Man jingle forms the real theme of the movie SpiderMan2. The movie is an exceedingly mature portrayal of a Super Hero's real life, something that can be related to so much of what actually happens around us. Peter Parker is the average guy next door, who has his own concerns and life. He goes to college, is quite brilliant at his studies. He has money problems just like the rest of us. He makes ends meet by doing some free lance job for the news paper, The Daily Bugle, inspite of getting repeated 'firings' from the boss. He delivers Pizza and that too, just a minute late, making the Pizza company pay for the order. He is Peter Parker...he is SpiderMan. This is where the jingle comes in. He is the hero who saves so many people in trouble. He is the hero who is on top of the favorite lists of all kids on the block. He is the hero who is swooned over by females of all ages and classes. He is the hero who is praised in the jingle that is sung at the local inn.

The question that is raised by the movie is if this hero is actually up to the task that has been thrust upon him. With great power comes great responsibility...Peter's uncle had said once...but does he really want to take up this responsibility at all...and that too at the cost of his own love and life? To explain the philosophical side of the story, the director has taken certain liberties with the story line and the original SpiderMan idea. On the whole, however, these liberties only give back to the story, showing clearly the vulnerability of even a Super Hero...taking us through the insecurities that one can fight out of if one is able to invoke the hero within. In fact, in one of the more inspirational, yet subtle, dialogues of the movie, Peter's Aunt May tells him that there is a hero in all of us.

Coming back to the story...it starts with the pizza delivery that I have already talked about. It goes on to show how much of a wretch Peter Parker's life has become. He is certainly pitiable with money going out of his hands as soon as it comes...with reaching college late and the instructor actually telling him that he will be failed in the course...with the guilt of his uncle's death on his conscience...with so many other worries including, primarily, the fact that the one he loves, Mary Jane Watson, is someone he can never really commit to...all this because he is Spider Man and he has a great responsibility which has come with great power.

The last part about MJ is highlighted even more, keeping in mind the real comics story where MJ is, indeed, a very important and strong character, pretty much in line with Louis Lane of SuperMan. There is one very sentimental (sob sob...) part where Peter promises to come to see the play of Mary Jane (Incidentally, the play is 'Importance of being Ernest', one of the more comical plays I have read) and is actually not able to make it as he has to save some people from harm. The disappointment of MJ, the resigned and defeated attitude of Peter are really well executed.

To set the cash registers ringing, the story line also has one of the typical Spidey villains and this time, it is Dr. Octavius or Dock Ock, as the papers call him. With a fusion experiment gone haywire, Dr. Octavius, the scientist, is turned into Dr. Octopus, the monster. He wants to complete his unfinished fusion experiment and this time, the monster will do whatever it takes. The nuclear material is available with Harry Osborne, son of Norman Osborne (The Green Goblin). Harry trades the nuclear material with Dr. Octopus in return for Spider Man (who, he believes, is responsible for the death of his father). Peter Parker knows where and who Spider Man is, since he delivers snaps of Spider Man to the local news paper. Dr. Octavius now targets Peter to know the whereabouts of Spider Man.

In the manwhile, Peter Parker is all done with his responsibilities and his color spilling costume. He decides to make an exit when even his powers start declining and he becomes the old Peter again (I don't think that this is mentioned anywhere in the original comic book story line...his losing powers). He is happy now, attending classes regularly, even being able to watch the play of MJ and possibly talk her out of her coming marriage. His reverie is finally broken by the words of his Aunt May, his own conscience and above all, the Spider Man jingle at the neighborhood joint. He is changed again, and when Octavius abducts MJ and sets Spider Man as the ransom, Spider Man comes back, and as expected of a super hero, vanquishes all enemies to emerge victorious. During the course of all this, he even manages to show his identity to a number of people in the train scene (well executed again, but perhaps not in line with the comics where he hardly shows his identity to any one), and finally even to MJ, who now knows that Peter Parker and Spider Man are the one and the same.

The story ends with Harry Osborne, who also knows the identity of Spider Man (how many more!!!), discovering the Green Goblin apparatus in his home, promising the possible return of the Goblin in SpiderMan3.

Kirsten Dunst does a good job of looking confused and even pretty in some scenes (for a change). She is exactly what the doctor ordered, pained at the neglect that Peter shows to her and then again, confused at his subsequent expressions of affection. Dr. Octavius is also played to perfection with the humane side evident in the characterisation. Instead of a hard core villain, the good doctor is efficiently shown to have been actually affected by the bane of science. The movie, however, belongs to Toby Maguire, who is brilliant in his portrayal of a real life Super Hero. He is vulnerable when he is Peter, confident and charismatic when he is Spider Man.

For the movie goers who are into Spider Man for the thrills, the movie might turn out to be a tad disappointing...but for all those waiting for a good movie in its totality, Spider Man 2 is a decent bet.

Statutory warning: All those expecting the SpiderMan1-sque kiss (as I was)...man-that-kiss-was-awesome junta...will not find the full satiation of their need either. :-)

Friday, July 23, 2004

On the grind


The very first quiz of the two year course is over. Micro Economics, right from day one has been perceived as an interesting but complicated subject and with the quiz due today, there were many a candles burning last night. The paper did not veer much from the expectation. The only downer was that having expected an original question from Dr. Sumit Sarkar, the MicroEconomics faculty, I was a little disappointed on knowing that he had taken the questions straight from the book. I know that my answers did not exactly match those that were given in the book but I guess that they are not wrong either and that is the beauty of most of the courses taught here at the B-school. You are not necessarily wrong or right, whatever you may write as an answer.

The senior Student Council went into the active mode from their hibernation and came out with the list of nominations for this year's elections. Expecting less number of people from A section (given less of the apparent leaders in the class), I was surprised to find out that actually there are nine nominations from Section A and only seven from the other section B. Two out of nine is the ratio that is going to be fought over in my section. The list of nominees have each been given a particular subject for which they are going to act as temporary Class Representatives. The class will have a chance to judge these CRs over a period of next two weeks before the elections actually take place on August 10. The mechanism is good and well in place but I have just one small question...why, oh why did I have to get the Information Technology class to manage? This is the worst that could have happened...IT is one subject whose classes are the most bunkable, especially for our batch with nearly 75% people coming from an IT background. How can I be expected to attend the IT classes, leave act as the CR and sit attentively in the front rows???

Anyways, since I have already put myself into the fray, I have decided to take it up. The propaganda has started, and I have set the balls rolling with a common mail to the class offering my services as an HTML tutor for the coming IT project in August. :-)
For all those who think that it is too much too soon, wait till you read about the reaction that my mail got from one of the other candidates (this one from Section B). He actually got the case study for tomorrow scanned and sent the soft copy to the entire class so that they do not have to take the pains of going through the hard copy...man, that's what I call dedication and real service to the class mates :-)

Thursday, July 22, 2004

One lazy bum


I finally missed one day in my long and so far, continued series of posts after reaching IIMK. Well, I did have one omission last Saturday but that was more because of the lack of facilities (with the computer center being down) than the lack of intent. I guess that it is a normal reaction for the reader to assume that the 'busy' schedule at an IIM may have 'forced' me to spend my time elsewhere and not actually to posting something as meaningless as my mind's wanderings. I do concur, but not with the part about being busy. In fact, thinking backwards, when I was in college, a day like yesterday would have hardly qualified as an average day in terms of my so called business (can the word be used in this context?).

The Infosys experience has made me one lazy bum. Yes, there was a presentation to prepare for Konsult, the consulting group at IIMK...which I did not complete finally. Yes, there was this case to study for the marketing class today...which I did not manage to do finally. Yes, there was this marketing quiz looming large for today...for which I did not prepare finally. Yes, there was this financial accounting exercise scheduled for today...for which, as the reader may have guessed by now, I did not practice finally. So, why the hell was I not writing blog entries and having a relatively nice time??? Hmmm...honestly speaking, I don't know. :-)

As for the other things on campus, the election scene is heating up every other day with even threats floating around freely regarding what one will do to the other if the other does not get out of one's way (a la hindi fillum style). We finally closed both our major deals...one with the bank for study loans was finalised with Indian Bank at 9% rate of interest and an additional rebate of 0.5% if interest is paisd during the moratorium period...the other deal for the laptops was finalised with IBM. They are offering their R51 Centrino model for 62K, which, I feel, is an excellent deal as far as the money involved and the features provided by IBM are concerned. It might turn out to be a little difficult to get much software out of IBM but with so many CDs floating around in the campus with all sorts of software possible, it will definitely work out.

The study schedule out here is a little packed (compared to the hlluva peaceful time we have been having) in the coming days. We have back to back quizzes scheduled for Micro Economics, Marketing Management, Quantitative Methods, and Information Technology. To top it off, I have to prepare all the presentations that I have planned for the next week's activities. There is still more icing on the cake...we have just received a revised schedule that incorporates two more subjects, viz., Social Transformation in India (sic!) and Managerial Communication. The new schedule promises to give us a gala time, what with the classes choc-a-bloc on Fridays and Saturdays (going on to as late as six in the evening), and even scattered across here and there on Sundays.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Vote for...


FAME, like a wayward girl, will still be coy
To those who woo her with too slavish knees,
But makes surrender to some thoughtless boy,
And dotes the more upon a heart at ease;

"Two Sonnets on Fame", John Keats


IIMK Campus, especially the first year, is abuzz with the election excitement. With a number of committees coming up for elections in the next month, nominations and support requests have started to flow. The apparent and potential leaders (refer to my last post for details) are both up in arms and the stage is well and truly set. The concept of popularity or fame, as Keats calls it, is being re-defined every other day. There are announcements and then, there are some more announcements.

Fill up the industry contacts, ho!
Go for the new laptop, ho!
Here is the deal for desktop, ho!
Get the loan for which you opt, ho!

To top it all, it is not just a bi-party politics that is promised to the students of IIMK. There is the third side, the dark side (more dark for their purpose than intent), that promises to make the contest more exciting, or at least divide the vote and make it difficult for the leaders (apparent or potential). The two committees at the top of reckoning are the all-pervasive Students' Council and the glamorous PlaceCom (Placement Committee for the slow learners). Talking of these two committees, I couldn't help but overhear that traditionally, there has been quite a bit of tension between the two. I have no idea as to how our seniors have handled this supposed conflict but as someone said, "there is no smoke without fire".

Coming back to the activities, Student Council nominations are already closed and there have been 18 nominations received in total (11 from Section B and 7 from my section, Section A). Having had my fill of politics and responsibilities at college, I did not want to be a part of this madness but am nevertheless into the fray, representing the dark :-) side. I have not communicated my intent to the entire batch a la the other nominees who have followed a mail to SCon by another to the batch asking for support. Even if I do campaign(!!!), it is going to be a bit more subtle (remember the dark horse funda???). A firm believer in the philosophy behind the first four lines of this post, I am going to play it smooth, if at all I do not change my mind and decide not to play at all...lets see...Ravi had asked me, almost cajoled me into filing this nomination but I don't really know if I am up to it.

In the meanwhile, having thrown myself headlong into the various interest groups, I have a lot on my hands nowadays.

For Konsult, the consulting interest group, I am going to present the strategy Infosys adopted to counter its dipping employee satisfaction. This might take place tomorrow.

Also for Konsult, I am a part of a team of five that is working on a launch strategy for Haier, a refrigerator manufactureer from China, into the Indian market. This might be shifted to next Wednesday.

For Omega, I am a part of a team of two that is working on a book review of 'Straight from the gut' by Jack Welch. This might happen next Thursday.

For Atharva, I am planning to organize a Bollywood (Hindi movie industry) Quiz. This might happen next Friday.

For Mpower, I am planning to make a presentation on the increasing brand advertising through Hindi movies. This might happen on a Monday two weeks from now.

For PlaceCom (not an interest group but a full fledged well-fought-for committee), I am working on the Summer and Final Placement Brochures. I am not too sure of my role in this and don't really know what is happening. I should be meeting Richard, the senior who is co-ordinating this activity.

Monday, July 19, 2004

Party Time!!!


The first party on campus and I must say, what a party!!! At the stipulated time of 10:30PM, India were still playing against Sri Lanka and more importantly, with Dravid in the middle, there was still hope. It was thus obvious that the party got a little delayed as all of us stayed glued to the television screen in the mess. In fact, there were people (me included) rooting even for Balaji and actually shouting that India will be able to make the required 20-odd runs off the last over with Balaji and Pathan on the forefront. Well, so much for high hopes and lost causes...

Coming back to the party, it started off with some real loud static from the mammoth speakers placed at two corners of the dining hall. After the initial glitches, the stage was set for the party to begin. But as usual, nothing at an IIM is complete without a presentation. It is something like the Ganesh Pujas that need to be done before the strat of any auspicious task. Similarly with an IIM, it is so very important to show a Power Point Presentation before anything kicks off...and so it was with the party last night...there was a presentation of some campus snaps of the senior batch arranged in a PPS (Power Point Show for the uninitiated) with the Dil Chahta Hai theme song forming the back drop. I must say that the seniors do have an appreciable aesthetic sense, and the way the snaps were arranged (I specifically liked the bit where the camera zooms in on the same frame with each consecutive snap) was extremely good. Since I had already seen the presentation during the alumni-freshers meet in Chennai, I could not watch it for a third time...yes, there was an encore.

There was another little delay after that and it was because of the accounts conscious people trying to realise some return from their investment. To put it simply, there was a huge crowd at the food and drinks (drinks highlighted) stalls and junta stuffed themselves with beer, vodka, rum,et al and the pathetic (to many) teetotallers like me had to do with soft drinks and Veg Pakodas (yes, my pathos knows no bounds, I am a damn veggie, as well :-)) Coming back again, by the time people started pouring in to the dance floor in small groups with a bottle of beer in one hand a glass of vodka in another, the music was already starting to rock.

Four hours of bindaas dancing later, there was hardly any strength left in the poor feet. I had a rocking time and as the night grew younger, the atmosphere became even more conducive for letting your hair down. In fact, I even sat on the ground to make bhang on the tunes of "Khai ke paan Banaras wala". Later, with "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay going on, I was on my knees again, swaying like the Hippies do. I was drunk with the Patiala peg...not even a single drag of smoke...not even a single drop of alcohol, and yet, I was able to lose myself in the intoxication of the party and that is saying a lot.

The party was not without its share of side lights, either. The background was made and the stage set even before the party started and that was in the afternoon, when we were having a batch meeting to decide on the loan that we are going to take for our studies. To get the facts straight, the reader must understand that like any other group, our batch has a bunch of people who are the self acclaimed leaders. Whether it is a part of Organisational Behaviour class or not, I have seen similar group dynamics in the earlier groups that I have been part of. I call such people the apparent leaders. There is another group called the potential leaders, which has all the qualities that the apparent leaders possess but may not want to project it with the same abandon.

There might be a third group of actual leaders that may arise out of either of these two groups or from an entirely unexpected quarter...but I guess I am going off-track here. The matter of the fact is that there was a clash between the potential and the apparent leaders during the group meeting. With the apparent leaders occupying center stage as usual, the potential leaders (in fact, just one of them took the baton) decided to call the bluff and make a shout about it. This was enough for the undercurrent to be present through out the night party, as well. With alcohol getting the better of restraint, tempers ran high and though there was not a direct clash (which most of us teetotallers would have enjoyed), things were said on both sides that were not exactly pleasant (sic!).

As in any place where drinks are served, some people went overboard and started letting out their inner thoughts. The most interesting part, at least from my perspective, was that so many of my 'intoxicated' batch mates came up to me and told me in clear words as to how much of a loser I am. Having read my blog, they commended me on my writing skills (God bless them), but at the same time pointed out that they found me pessimistic in my musings. They identified with my state of mind when I wrote the blog but would still have liked me to have a more rose-tinted approach towards life.

By the way, it is not just under the effect of alcohol that people have advised me to do this. Even otherwise, I have been told not to worry too much and that things will fall into place sooner or later. People, I really appreciate all of you coming forward and telling me these things. If you are reading this, I am sure that with your continued support, I will be able to come out of this mental block which might be preventing me from blending in. Also, as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, do not take my ramblings too seriously. It is just a state of mind from which I, as expected of a typical Gemini, can come out any time. The highs are as much a part of my life as are the lows. Thank heavens that yesterday was a big high...

Sunday, July 18, 2004

Marketing the basic instincts


"Vishak is roaming on MG Road in Bangalore with his dog Brownie at 10:30 in the night and he wants to have sex...no, not with Brownie...can he?"

This was the question that Dr. Tapan Kumar Panda, the marketing management Professor at IIMK asked his students in today's class...yes, you got that right, in the class. Dr. Panda does have a unique style of functioning and in most of the cases, hits on the nerves of the students with his different style. The girl students of the batch are his special targets and he keeps on asking them questions about their boy friends and how and why do they like a particular brand of soap. But is this all that he really does? Certainly not...all his jokes have some purpose and by his cracking those jokes, the retention value of the concepts do increase. I think that hardly any of the students will forget the joke that he cracked today with respect to Vishak and his nightly sojourn and whenever they do think of this joke, they will also be reminded of the underlying concept.

Did you ask what the concept could have been behind such a sick joke? I will take you through it in the words of Dr. Panda.
"If Brownie wants to have sex, can he? He can, but Vishak can not...because Vishak is bound by some social norms which do not allow his basic need of sex to be filtered out and become a want. Thus, we can define a want to be a socially acceptable need."

Now you will say...man, what a way to explain a concept and I will whole-heartedly agree. Having read this blog for some time, the regular readers might have been forming an opinion regarding the way my career is heading (not that I seriously find any reason for doing that). However, these are still early days and though I admit that I have been struck with the glamour and fun involved in marketing, I do not know if it is there to stay. Micro Economics looks interesting as well, and that might lead to financial as well as market analysis...I do not really know.

Something strange and ridiculous (at least for me) happened today. I got a mail in reply to my cartoon that I had sent to the batch email id yesterday. The mail asked me to refrain from posting meaningless mails to the group to avoid clustering of the network. What is this, some sort of sacro sanctorum??? Well, it just reinforces my belief about the kind of attitude that people have come to this place with.

Why, oh why, do they think that a little fun, a little understanding for the other, will make them less of the professional than they are or want to become? But then, thinking this way, I had to realise that even I was not being really understanding. There may be people who may genuinely not like a cartoon and I may be offending their sensibilities by posting the toons (I don't buy the bit about clustering the mail boxes at all, whatever any one might say...there are so many more meaningless mails floating around with abandon). For all such people who did get offended, I have rendered a public apology and asked the others to send me their names so that I can form a group and keep sending the toons to that group alone.

Saturday, July 17, 2004

Of yin, yang and the free sex


"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown is all about the balance...the balance between the sexes. Rooted deep in the foundations of the most popular religion on earth, the novel is a work of fiction that bares apart the foundations on which Christianity stands in the world as of today. The excellent part about the book is its use of what the author calls symbology. Even in a country like India, people are aware of most of the symbols that the book mentions. The crucifix, the cross, the very unique architecture of churches, and above all, The Holy Grail are symbols that even a non-Christian but educated Indian will identify. This book goes one step ahead and actually tells the readers the significance behind the symbols and what they actually stand for.

At the very outset, the book claims that it is an authentic work based on truth and as such, the different analogies and symbolic explanations provided by it come across very strongly. The basic premise of the book that is brought forward by the explanation of these symbols and their hidden meanings is actually an aberration as far as the teachings of the church are concerned. Directly opposing the very premise of Christianity, the book claims that Jesus Christ was like any other human and had been immortalised just to encounter the Pagan worship prevalent in the society. The author tries to explain that Pagans were not necessarily Devil-worshippers but were the original worshippers of nature and Gods like the Sun God. However, with Christianity taking hold, Pagans were made the scapegoats and Christ immortalised to make Christianity prevail.

The ploy of the church had to face stiff resistance from the fact that there were proofs of the mortality of Christ (it will be unfair to the readers of the book to disclose the exact nature of those proofs). These proofs were held safe by The Templars, followers of the Pagan faith and King Solomon's faithfuls. A secret group is said to have been formed, called the brotherhood, or the Priory of Sion, that is given the responsibility of safeguarding these proofs. The group is believed to have many members, the prominent among them being The Grand Master and three others who follow the Grand Master and share the ultimate secret of the location of these proofs. The book goes on to mention distinguished names in the history of art as the previous Grand Masters of this Priory of Sion. The names include heavy weights like Issac Newton, Victor Hugo, and above all, Leonardo Da Vinci.

The book begins with the murder of the three followers and the Grand Master, who are collectively in charge of the secret. To ensure that the truth does not remain buried forever after their deaths, the Grand Master, Jacques Sauniere, decides to leave clues for his grand daughter, Sophie to enable her to find the location of the secret proofs. The cryptic message that The Grand Master leaves is based on the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and thus partially(there are other associations of Da Vinci with the book, too), the name The Da Vinci Code. The proofs being so sensitive and mysterious in nature, Jacques instructs Sophie, through his last message, to contact Robert Langdon, a Professor of Symbology at Harvard. Robert and Sophie, in the following portion of the book go on a treasure hunt based on the cryptic message and further clues kept in place by the last Grand Master. There are several other characters in the story, including the villain, The Teacher, who is the one who gets the Grand Master murdered and wants the proofs for himself.

The primary reason because of which the book appeals to the reader is that it sends the reader on a wild goose chase after a secret that is so well hidden for ages. It gives the protagonists as well as the readers, the same platform, from which they go ahead. It is not that the clues provided by the cryptic messages of Sophie's Grand Father are not solvable by an average Christian who has some knowledge about the religion and more importantly, the lore. When the clue actually gets solved and the reader is able to view the truth, it looks too simple, even for the ones uninitiated to the world of symbology.

The other good thing that this book does is to bring to life the various master pieces of art that have fascinated the human beings across borders and across generations. The famous works like The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, symphonies of music maestros, etc form the basis of this book and the sheer revelation of hidden meanings in these works of art might force the readers to even a second look on these masterpieces. The way this book reveals the meanings of some of the most common concepts and understanding that we have of the Christian way of life and even the English language, as such, is amazing. For example, did you know that the word 'sinister' is actually a manifestation of the Pagan suppression that the Church practised and that it did not originally have a negative connotation? Similarly, the horns of the devil are actually symbolic of the Greek God of fertility who was worshipped by Pagan followers the world over, that is, before the church decided to project the devil as a horned creature.

All this notwithstanding, the theme of this book, as I mentioned in the very first line of this post, is the balance between the sexes. The book talks liberally about the yin and the yang and how the balance between the left and the right is vital to the survival and growth of the world. It also talks about the sacred feminine, the Goddess, who has been neglected by the church. The book stresses the fact that the male dominated church actually disturbed the pefect harmony that existed and should have existed by belittling the sacred feminine. The church made witches out of women who were progressive and even the midwives were not spared because of the technical skills and knowledge that they possessed. The church made the priest take the vow of celibacy and made sex, expecially, free sex, a thing to be frowned upon and discussed only within doors. This was in direct conflict with the spirit of Hierros Gamos, the sacred game that celebrated the joy of free sex and actually made it a ritual.

I know that it might ring a bell in the minds of the Osho followers and some might even think of the other Sadhus of India who have had the notorious distinction of advocating free sex. Though the book does not explicitly mention this, I believe that this might as well be an indicator of the closeness of Indian culture and the Hindu religion with the Pagan faith. In fact, the Goddess worship is so very prominent in the Hindu mythology that half of the things that the Secret society, the Priory of Sion, is shown to have believed in, is actually an open belief-turned-fact in India. The game of free sex, Hierros Gamos, is also not very different from the Raas Leela that Lord Krishna of the Hindu faith is said to have indulged in with abandon.

For the Indian reader, therefore, the book makes even more sense, not just because it is a good work of fiction carrying the thriller element along. Indians do love their spices, even in the books they read. More than that, however, is the association that they feel when they see a direct relation between their faith and the actual origin of one of the most popular religions in India (not popularly practised, but still popular because of the long English occupation of India). In fact, personally speaking, while reading the book, I even felt a sense of superiority and respect for my faith which was the original faith, the faith that had to be suppressed by Christianity, the world's so called most popular religion...the faith that refused to die in front of all opposition...and the faith that took in so much and gave out so much despite the oppression, despite the mistrust.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Taking a chance at chance


The classes at IIMK have just moved on to the first gear, or that is what the seniors want us to believe. In fact, thinking about it myself, I don't feel that there has been anything so far that can be really classified as load. We have been having tons of free time and it has actually become a bore. Also, the very basis of my expectation from an institute like IIMK has been shattered. Now I know that an IIM is not radically different than any other college (UG or PG). However, there do exist some subtle differences which not only need to be nourished but also improved upon by constant innovation and experimentation.

I do not know if things stand where they do because there has been lack of effort from any party. Actually, I seriously do not think that this can possibly be the case. As in the example of my own team at college attempting to get sponsorships for the various college fests, I can understand the case of total effort and yet less than optimum results. In my opinion, for all it is worth, it is all about creating the right opportunities at the right moment and more than that, about the opportunities making themselves known to you. There have been so many cases in my own past where I have not been able to identify obvious chances that could have given so much and so much more easily compared to opportunities that I and the team actually created for ourselves out of nowhere.

I know all this sounds very abstract so far but that is because the context is not there for the reader. We had another session of Omega, the Operations Management Interest Group at IIMK, last night. This session was focussed primarily on the Six Sigma concept as seen by Deepak, a summer intern and a Pre-Placement Offer Recipient at GE. The session was informative and interesting, perhaps not so much for the people who are uninitiated into operations of any company. For the majority of our batch however, that is not the case, and we have all seen at some stage or the other, the working of an organisation in quite a bit of detail. So it was not all Greek to me, as Deepak took us through the jargons and his interpretation and usage of those jargons. Most of the jargons, being a part of Six Sigma and not of the CMM model practised at Infosys, were unknown to me but the basic concept remained the same.

The second part of the session, the smaller part, focussed on the lack of options that we have in Operations in the college and the small amount of interest that has been mostly responsible. Perhaps it is not my place and experience to say anything at this juncture but I do feel that things can be managed more efficiently in a lot of organisations to get more active participation. I am saying this not because I am just being 'global' in the IIM lingo. It is because I have done it in the past. Having been the Literary Club Secretary in my college, I had this daunting task of trying to attract junta to a dead club, that was believed to be the bastion of the dull brains of the batch. I had tried to change the impression by adding glamour to the group by getting events sponsored and actually combining literary activities with theatre to come up with events like a modified version of Dumb Charades, etc. I knew that this was not the real purpose of the club and I even faced opposition from the faculy in charge of the club for 'belittling' the ideals of the club.

All along, my intention had been to get those people in, who do not really know about their interest. Literary skills are something that are more often than not cultivated and not necessarily inherent in an individual. Once an individual is pulled in by some 'cheap' events that are well marketed, the agenda can later be turned to a more serious one. That was how I was able to manage a crowd of about 80 people for the annual Literary skills workshop that earlier had a record for highest attendance of 20-odd.

In the five days of classes that we have had, Accounting and Micro Economics look to be the interesting classes. Perhaps it is an indicator of things to come and the probable shaping of my interest and specialisation. As for the interest groups, as was my practice in college, I think that I am going to attend and like all of them since they involve an informal and student approach that appeals to me, whatever be the occassion.

I finally met Prithesh yesterday and he was good enough to actually come down to my room. I know that it shoud have been the other way round but I do really appreciate his gesture. And not just his alone, the way this entire senior batch has been treating us is with kid gloves and I must say, we are lovin' it.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

On the Mckinsey way


It was only last week in this space that I had been blasting Konsult, the consulting committee of IIMK. I had this thing in mind that the session that was used to greet the majority of freshers on their very first day was absolutely boring and a major put-off. I was vindicated yesterday when attendance to the Konsult session dropped from a huge 100-odd to merely 20-odd people. The primary reason, which I also tired to explain to the seniors, especially Harish and Mukesh, was that the first session gave the impression to most of us that Konsult was something very hi-fi and that most of the juniors will not have enough band width and capability to do something like this. Also, the repeated stress on the fact that the projects need to be completed or else Prof Saji will be on your neck, was not at all comforting. The detailed brief of all projects that are being done by Konsult were also a no-no, perhaps on the very first day.

Last night in the Konsult meet, the seniors had planned a game, which they could have possibly had on the first day itself. Also, the format of the game should have been more competitive instead of just inviting questions from the junta. In such a scenario, only those who are able to understand respond, and the rest of the people feel completely left out. However, if you make a competition out of it, I feel that most of the people will participate.

This is not to say that Konsult should have people who are not really interested in it and end up in becoming something similar to the glamour driven Mpower. But on the other hand, Konsult does need to attract people, especially those who have not yet made up their mind over what they are actually interested in. Though I have not actually volunteered for working for Konsult, I do have these suggestions and if any one is listening, good enough...

Father Cyriac did not turn up today for his first OB class, which I was actually looking forward to, because of the HR part of the course. Marketing by Prof Panda is also not going to be there today...a good day, so far but definitely, there will be compensatory classes soon enough :(

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Quiz-o-mania


Today was officially the first full day of classes. We have been having a lot of orientation stuff that has been filling our daily routine but the first officially course content filled day was only today. The statistics class that began the day was as much a bore as it could be, probably because it was the first and introductory class. Once we move on to concepts like standard deviation, variance, co-relation, etc., I am sure that it will become more interesting. The worst part of the day, however, turned out to be two back to back classes on Information Technology. I can appreciate the need of IT in a management course, especially in today's situation, but somehow at IIMK, I have felt that there is quite a bit more than required emphasis on IT. This has also been the probable reason for the batch profile that has come in this year. Predominantly from the IT sector, the batch can be easily placed in the IT sector where they belong...or at least that is what the administration of this college thinks.

Last night was another interesting event in campus and that was Atharva, the quiz club, meeting for the first time this session. There was a general quiz conducted by Sanjeev and it was quite interesting. Surya from our batch seems like a good quizzer and our team (formed ad hoc and also comprising of Abhijit and Ramesh) came up with a decent performance by answering 17 out of 28 questions correctly. We did miss a few sitters but even if we hadn't, we were nowhere close to the winners who were in the 23-24 range. It might require a little more reading but we definitely can be in the reckoning in days to come.

I am planning to conduct a Bollywood Quiz soon. I had plans to do that on a grand scale in Infy but somehow, that never really materialised. I had prepared some questions and had devised an interesting format, too. Animesh had even adapted my quiz in parts to prepare his own quiz that he had conducted in Infy Mangalore. I have asked him back for all the materials and I guess that I should be ready with the quiz on a day's notice if the guys at Atharva give approval. On second thoughts, this might as well turn out to be the ice breaker I have been looking for...let's see...as for now, I am off to the last class of the day which promises to be sleep inducing...one, because I have already had my stomach filled and two, because the course is Micro Economics, which is supposed to be a pathetically theoritical one.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Marketing the drizzle


Kozhikode is certainly a beautiful place and the campus of IIMK, especially so. I missed my jogging today because of the Tuesday fast but even if I had decided to go for the jogging, I couldn't have. There was a slight drizzle in the morning that made going out not impossible but certainly a little difficult. However, the kind of view the rain, combined with the beautiful hills around this place, gave was simply out of this world.

Classes have started here and are now in full flow. For the other section, the load has been a little more since they had two classes yesterday as well as today. For the A section, which is supposed to be luckier in terms of the teachers, the routine is not so hot on the first two days of the week. The coming three days are going to be a diffrent story, however, with the Quant Prof., Professor Gopal Chouwdhry, having already asked us to study the first chapter before coming to class. The schedule is also a little more tightly packed with four and even five classes on the coming days.

We had the financial accounting class today and the teacher, Professor Broca, was very energetic, to say the least. The first impression that I had of this teacher was that he is carrying with him a sense of fullfilment on being chosen to teach at IIMK. Also, he seems to be a person not used to too many changes. He has a distinct methodology which looks to be quite rigid. I don't know if these observations are correct in their entirety but they would certainly come to the forefront before long.

We had the most interesting of the student committee meets yesterday. Mpower, the marketing interest group at IIMK met last night for a very interesting session. Starting with the weekly updates on the marketing world, the focus shifted to a quiz that was well conducted and well fought by the IIMK students. It almost felt as if it was a beginning of the concretisation of my interest in marketing as a discipline. I have not yet decided on the specialisation that I am going to follow for my MBA but if Mpower was any indication, marketing may well have a role to play in my future.

On the personal and emotional front, things continue to be as far from rosy as possible. I am still not able to break the ice and in fact, have somewhat resigned myself to fate and decided to give things some more time to settle down. My only worry is that if I give too much time, the situation may become unsalvagable.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Crossing the line at MBA institutes


We had the first formal class at IIMK today. It was a class of Micro Economics conducted by a new faculty, Dr Sumit Sarkar. Personally, I felt that he was good to start with. He took the class on a brief introduction of the syllabus of the term and unlike some teachers, actually tried to explain, or at least introduce us briefly to the concepts that are associated with each section of the syllabus. Micro Economics does not look like it is going to be much of hard work and since most of the subject is theoritical for this term, I don't think that it will tax us much either.

State Bank of Travancore turned up for their loan presentation today and although Allahabad Bank which was also supposed to come, gave it a miss, we had some good fun making the poor SBT guy shout himself hoarse. Most of the guys already knew the interest rate and other things quite well and after a round of serious clarifications that lasted for about fifteen minutes, the place became a fish market and there was nothing that the class could have understood collectively. Well, so much for future and current managers!!!

Talking about managers, I read about the shocking incident at XLRI. I was just going through PG when I saw this amazing thread. Really, the guts of those people and the utterly disgusting upbringing they must have had to become such absolute boors. How could they even think, forget actually try, to attack the modesty of fellow female students? Don't they have any respect for them or for that matter, even for themselves and their own families? I am feeling really sorry and angry, to say the least...not because I am very righteous myself or I oppose the concept of ragging in its entirety or anything but after a certain stage when limits are crossed, things do become really bad and that is what happened at XLRI. I just pity all those inebriated souls who pride themselves on their drinking and smoking habits that can make such monsters out of them.

On the other hand, I must say that IIMK seniors have held themselves with great dignity. Even though smoking and drinking on campus are not taboo here either, at least the seniors have not crossed the line...in fact, forget about crossing the line, they are nowhere even near the line. They have been most helpful and co-operative and have actually made me proud of this institute, especially after hearing this thing about XLRI.

Sunday, July 11, 2004

Am I really a misfit?


I don't know if I am right but it sure feels like I am a misfit here. I do not know if it is a common feeling that has come into many of my other batch mates also, but as far as I am concerned, the 'resort' is fast becoming too much for me. IIMK has turned out to be a place where people seem to be trying hard to prove a point to themselves and to the others as well. They seem to be saying at the top of their voices that they are the best and that is why they are here and as such, they do not need any one else or any thing else for continuing their success story.

Things took a turn for the better, however, as we had our first informal meet with the seniors of our hostel (G) on Friday night. This was something that should have happened much earlier but for some reason or the other, seniors were busy giving us thinking material before they let their hair down. And let the hair down they did, as we all had a great time just sitting around, chatting and feasting on some snacks and cold drinks (I saw a Vodka bottle just before the party but some how, as the number of juniors started increasing, that bottle went out of the window somewhere). All of us juniors had to give their introduction which was intercepted by some funny (and sometimes, droll) bantering by the seniors (even the juniors joined in a little later).

The theme of the party turned out to be something that I have been hearing more and more about ever since I landed at Calicut. This city is supposed to have a gay culture and all male students are repeatedly being advised by the seniors not to venture out on the beaches alone in the nights. This fact (or alleged fact, if you want to call it that) was at the top of the jokes and the humour that was going around the hostel meet.

Saturday evening was spent at the Kappad beach and that was when I had just had some bad news from home. The news is too private, even for this blog and therefore, I will skip that part. The only thing that I can mention is that I was not at all in a good mood when Ravi and Abhijit dragged me half-asleep to the beach. Added to the thoughts that kept going home every now and then, I had to face the camaraderie that already exists between the people who came here earlier on the 2nd of this month for their preparatory course.

I don't have anything against them or their camaraderie but it is really difficult to break the ice if you are not really an extrovert and if you are an outsider in a group that is already in some stage of formation. All this combined in to some thing which always comes up on me whenever I am in this kind of a situation. I made myself unavailable. I know that by being aloof for the whole time, I have already isolated myself from the group of about fifteen people that went to the beach and may even have angered some. The worst thing is that I know that I am not even going to spare the effort to make things right. I know I can do it if I try but somehow, after the experience of the training years at Infosys, that effort is not really forthcoming.

Another thing that happened in the past two days was the Budget analysis on Friday night (just before the hostel party). It was done by a chartered accountant (I am not able to recollect his name) from Chennai who writes regularly for The Hindu and Business Line. I went there, expecting a brief yet exhaustive analysis of the chief features of the budget. I had read up a little about the budget on the net and knew about the basic features but wanted some clarifications on many of them. I was not expecting the speaker to drive home the point in a way that I would really be able to understand clearly but all the same, I expected some idea to dawn on me. I, and I am sure that many others, too, were pleasantly surprised.

The presenter used a unique style to present the budget to the lay person. Speaking at the Indian Institute of Management, he was still very precise in his use of words that could be understood even by the lay person who does not have any knowledge of finance or commerce. The only problem was that he had little knowledge about any thing else other than the part of the budget dealing with Direct Taxes, or at least that is what he claimed. He dealt with the amendments to the Direct Taxes that were made in this budget and the way he did it, full of anecdotes and an excellent sense of humour, was extremely interesting and a refreshing start to the proceedings at IIMK.

The good things at IIMK continued the next day with the first case study for the batch. All groups of 5-6 were to prepare the presentations on a case that appeared in the Harvard Review. The class which was to be an introduction to the case study approach, was conducted by Saji, one of the better known and more admired Professors on campus. I must say that he was really good. The presentation that my group had made, did not deal with the case at all. The way Prof. Saji explained it made us all appear to be fools. I hope that I am able to see problems in this way soon.

Sunday was totally free and although almost half of our batch went to Mahe beach today, I thought it better to stay back. Yesterday's experiences notwithstanding, I was also feeling sleepy and dead tired. The good part is that I was able to continue with my jogging and gym on the third consecutive day and if this becomes a habit, nothing like it for my currently unfit, flabby body.

I went to the city in the evening with Abhijit on my bike. The city is decent enough and the markets, though closed, looked promising. We had some snacks at a place called Al-Bake near the Baby Hospital circle. We even went to the Crown theatre and watched the evening show of "Walking Tall". This movie stars The Rock and there is nothing to write about it except the fact that it seemed to be inspired from Mithunda flicks of today. The movie had nothing but guns and more guns. Rock plays a character who comes back to his hometown to find that it is infested by drug trafficking and gambling. He makes it his duty to cleanse the city and that is what he does...end of story...end of movie.

Last but not the least, if the readers of this blog (are there any???) are wondering about the length of this post or about why I did not post yesterday, the reason is that the computer center at IIMK was down for maintenance and it is only now that the machines are up and running after some two days of maintenance work.

The people who went to Mahe beach are not back yet and I guess that they must be having a good time. I don't know what is happening but what I do know is that if it goes on like this, I for one, am sure going to be an unknown quantity in the batch of 2006 at IIMK.

Friday, July 09, 2004

Some more disillusionment


Life here at IIMK continues to amaze and disappoint me. Is there absolutely no difference between the first year of an undergraduate degree college and that of a professional institution like IIM giving an MBA degree? The immaturity is the same, the shouting is the same, the utter lack of mutual understanding and respect is the same, so how the hell can this be called a premier institution of higher learning? I know that what I am writing may be called frustration and initial blues of some first timer but a first timer, I certainly am not. I have been a part of the hostel life on two previous occassions and I could understand the way things were at both the places, that is in my higher secondary school and in the engineering college. However, I completely fail to understand that in a batch of supposedly high work experience graduates, how can people still stand on a podium and shout down on others as if they are holding some political position and gracing the others with their views/words?

I can fully understand and appreciate the kind of work they are doing to strike deals with dealers for utilities like mobile connection and laptops/desktops but are we really so immature as to gather in the middle of the night in the Open Air Theatre and get up on a podium and shout like kids? Do we really need to carry forward the meaning of enthusiasm in such a childish and negative manner? Is it fair for people who are graduates with a good two years of average work experience to fight over petty things like who is going to talk about what and take credit of what? Even in the college, by the time we were in our second year, all this was passe and a strict no-no.

We knew that each one of us had a mind of his own and respected them for it. There was hardly a need to ask people if they are following what is being said (apropos yesterday) at the podium by the self-appointed leaders. I know it sounds like I am cribbing because I was not one of the people shouting from the top of the podium, that I was not one of the so called leaders but honestly speaking (whether anyone believes it or not), I don't care two hoots about these things now. Having come across so many people and so much at school and college and even at office, I don't think that I need to prove anything to myself (Even at the risk of sounding immodest, I think I have already got over the need of proving anything to others).

The surprising attitude boils down to another aspect, too and that is the sex divide that exists in this campus. It looks so funny when you see people divided across two different domains because of their sex alone. It was much better in the software field from where most of our batch has come. At least I did not feel guilty and self conscious while speaking to a girl. In fact when I finally met Divya (from the senior batch) today in the mess, I could hardly speak a word apart from introducing myself and turning aside (might even have appeared rude to her). I have never been an extrovert but at the same time, I am usually not at a loss for words either.

It seems strange, therefore, when I am tongue tied and almost embarassed when there is any need (why is there a need to find a need???) to talk to the opposite sex in this campus. I can not say that it is something that is a personal problem. It is not something that has been an issue with me ever in my life. I have studied in co-education schools and college and have had quite a bit of interaction with girls. I know that there is always going to be that bunch of guys who will be at the beck and call and carry out the smallest whims of their friends. But isn't the situation supposed to be different in a place like IIM where girls as well as guys know what they are going to do with their lives and are mature enough to realize that demand supply laws do not essentially have to work in emotional life?

Today was another round of orientation programmes at IIMK. I have been put into Section A which is supposed to be the more comfortable one because Dr Suma Damodaran is not going to be teaching our section this terrm and that is supposedly a reason to celebrate. The library at IIMK seems to be well equipped (at least from what I could pick up from the post lunch, half-asleep session today) and I am looking forward to check out their fiction stack. As of now, some of the guys from our batch are planning to pick up our bikes (me inclusive) and go for an outing, perhaps a movie or to some natural bonanza nearby...so more cribbing later...

Thursday, July 08, 2004

The very first day of Life@IIMK


The first day at IIMK is finally over and life goes on. The strangest thing about this place is the absolute lack of bonhomie that is actually supposed to make up a college. I don't know if it is because the people out here are trying too hard to be professionals, to actually separate themselves from the run-of-the-mill college junta or if there is something deeper running within. I can understand the hesistation of the junior gang to actually gang up but the way the seniors have been behaving looks to be pretty senior-ish, if you know what I mean.

I think I saw a lot of people I could identify with from my previous chats, blog comments, etc but I could not really talk to them. I could probably identify Prithesh, Divya, Ronald from the senior batch and Neeta, Malini, Vidhyut from my own batch and as I mentioned, if talking to seniors was a luxury, my own batchmates did not provide any thing free either. Perhaps we are all a little afraid of each other, all a little apprehensive about what the others will make of us and so we are all a little cautious to begin with. I know that a major part of the blame lies on me, too but the kind of atmosphere that's been created somehow prohibits much interaction.

The very first gathering of seniors that addressed us was actually for a committee called Konsult, which is a marketing consulting committee of IIMK. I know that it looks like a good idea to impress firmly over the minds of the future IIMK-ites that people here, especially the seniors, mean business but it doesn't really look like good sense to actually torture people on the very first day with some CNBC crap by Sumantra Ghoshal (God rest his soul in peace). If the seniors did really plan this, I must say that it was in poor taste. We could and should have had an informal gathering to start the proceedings and committees like Konsult could have possibly waited for a more opportune moment.

All the cribbing above apart, people here are in deed very very interesting. Inspite of the engineering college and Infosys experience and the DPS experience much before that and much more enriching in terms of content, I think that this is the most varied gathering of people that I have come across. There are freshers and there are people with 7-8 years of work experience. There are people in jeans and tees and there are the simpletons with formal shirts and trousers. There are the studious kinds with a dead-pan look on their face whenever there is talk of studies and there are lazzards (I invented the word) like me who give a sheepish grin to show their intentions on these occassions.

As I go on writing my blog, I don't know if I would be doing justice in assigning names to the characters that I meet and interact with during my two years at IIMK. It is good to be honest but I don't think that it is my right or anybody else's to publicly pass comments on some one. On the other hand, I think that this blog of mine has seen some of my private moments if it has been home to some well and truly public reviews of books and movies. I don't know how many of my batchmates actually read my blog but I do want to mention that even if you do and if at any stage of my two years here, you find something offensive in the blog, please do not take it to heart as it is just the ramblings of my mind and might as well turn out to naught before long.

Since I seem to have come out of this dilemma and seem to have finally decided, thanks to writing this entry, that I am going to name my characters and continue being honest to my blog, I hope that life does not become too difficult because of this.

Yesterday evening was spent shopping but not before I met Yogesh, one of my class mates from DPS. Ever since I had heard the name Yogesh Goswami in the roll call at the IIMK gate, I knew that it was going to be the same Yogesh. I won't say that he has been amongst my best friends but we certainly have spent a lot of time together and it was a pleasant co-incidence to see him here. Yogi joined Abhijit, Ravi and me as we took our two bikes (Ravi's ThunderBird and my poor Caliber) down to Kunnamangala to get some utilities. That done, we had another horrible meal in the mess (I can't really believe Ravi when he says that the food actually used to be good before we landed up), which was followed by the absolutely boring, stiff and sleep-inducing session of Konsult.

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Inside God's own country


Finally, I am in IIMK. After a short and almost uneventful stay in Chennai, I had to pack my bags for another trip, this one much smaller than the marathon Buxar-Chennai one just a couple of days back. With the bag already spilling over and the suitcase packed as tight as any suitcase could possibly afford to, I had to bring my favorite Globus bag in use and the helmet was another addition.

I was planning to get my bike to Kozhikode sometime next month but the managerial skills of Ravi have already started showing effect (after all, he is attending the remedial classes). He convinced me to get the bike along and that's what I did. After a little shopping at Spencer's, I went ahead to Chennai Central and booked my bike in the train. The cost was not too much, considering that the porters there looted me for some two hundred bucks for supposedly packing and loading the bike. Since Kameshwar had the tickets, I did not have to do anything else but wait for the train. I went back to Bijon's place (incidentally, I also met some of my K classmates there at Bijon's home when I reached Chennai, all Calcutta Bongs, going a day earlier by the same train by which I travelled yesterday) and had a good long bath before going to the station to meet my new friends for the next two years.

All of them were there except one, with their luggage all loaded. Vikram was the first one I met and he was in deed the same as I had thought, a lean guy with a good sense of humour and a somewhat funny Hindi accent (perhaps because he has stayed in Chennai throughout his life even though he is a Rajasthani). Kameshwar was next and he turned out to be diametrically opposite to what I had guessed. Instead of a tall guy with a serious expression on his face, he turned out to be a rather short, chubby and sweet guy with a pleasant disposition, the most likeable of the lot. His mother was sweet, too...she gave chocolates to all of us :-)

I had already met Niranjan in the IIMK fresher alumni meet and as usual, he was a pack of energy, chatting at a speed faster than my comprehension at times. Rahul was again an exact image of my thoughts, a serious enough guy with a smiling face, the typical Infoscion look. The journey was cool and short with all of us chatting for some time, throwing open our horoscopes, as Kameshwar said, and later going to bed for a comfortable (but jittery, for me) sleep.

Kozhikode (in Hindi) or Calicut (in English) turned out to be a pretty small station (definitely bigger, however, than the other stations of Kerala that we encountered on the way) and the Parcel Office was even smaller and more so, slower. It took the porters almost one hour to unload my bike and get it ready for release. I seriously wondered (and not for the first time) about the hardiness of my bike after seeing the kind of stuffing that the lugage van and as a result, my bike had to endure. With some two more bikes proudly occupying the supine position over my bike and some dozens of cartons hiding any signs of my bike from sight, I almost got confused if this was the luggage van that I had got my bike loaded into.

Some seven eight seniors (God bless them) were at the station with a Volvo (or Valvo as they liked to call it) bus. After waiting for the Mangala express coming from Delhi (which gave me ample time to get my bike released), we were ready to go. The institute is some fifteen kilometers from the station and the highlight of the journey were the numerous supermarkets with bakeries. I don't know if it is the norm in Kerala but all the supermarkets in Calicut did have bakeries with them.

Journey from the IIMK main gate to the hostels was fascinating and for me, who has not been much among the hills, specially so. I have enjoyed the oceans and the plains a lot but the hills and trees are almost a first for me. The campus is in deed very good and beautiful and the hostels are even better. With brand new rooms pleasantly reeking (???) of the smell of plastic paint, the next year at IIMK promises to be auspicious.

I met a lot of my batchmates today and with names flowing across like Tabu's hair in the Siberian winds (wow, what an analogy!!!), I am not sure how many I am actually going to remember. I haven't met many seniors yet but I guess, we will have some meetings and not before long. Another thing that I am sure of is that there is going to be a lot of masala for my blog out here, considering so many people in the college (of both years), their differing characters, and my undying hobby of character sketching.