Term I @ IIM C

I came here with an open mind. Kolkata greeted me with heavy rains on June 17th, 2008. When I reached the campus at 6:00 AM, it was deserted. I was allotted "New Hostel"

The next day, I had my first taste of  "City of Joy" (Kolkata) while I went to send off my father at the airport. We used the Metro and Cabs. By the evening, I had become a lone warrior, 1660 KMs away from family.

Chennai, where I spent 21 years till then , is a very different place. The main problem I faced here was that I wasn't able to converse in Hindi. Many of my newfound friends here were surprised that there are people who can't speak Hindi. I told them I'll learn Hindi in 6 months. (3 months down the line, I'm well on my way to achieve it.) 

The schedule of classes here is very different from my UG college days. We had an average of 3 or 3.5 hours of classes per day, weekend off. I thought that there will be enough time! How wrong could one get?! 

Though the classes where for 3 or 4 hours only, each class usually had a "prescribed reading" to be read before coming to the class and sometimes, it could be a case. There were "surprise" quizzez to be wary of, in addition to the "announced" quizzes, projects, assignments. Add to this, we had to do many group activities like "Case Presentations", "Critiques" and "Team Exercises"

Slowly, my "cut off sleeping time" started stretching from 10 PM to 2:30 AM. There were many days when I slept at 4 or 5 PM! Though many people in our batch have experienced all this before, it was a new experience for me. 

The grading system is "relative". Given that they select 300 people from amongst 2,30,000 candidates, it sounds a bit cruel that "relative" grading will be used. Hence, peer pressure works at its best and forces an otherwise lazy person also to give his best!

IIM Chill?

IIM Calcutta has the tradition of being called "IIM Chill", not without a reason. At the end of a very taxing week (like mid term exam/end term exams) a party will be thrown for the junta to relax. Apart from regular parties, there are the "Butt Day Celeberations" @ 12 everyday. We also have a club called "C'nema Paradiso" which screens classic movies every now and then. The LAN is also pretty useful to find any form of digital content that might help us.

The Infra

Inspite of having the "7 lakes" and those beautiful trees, IIM C does not have the best of buildings. Now, dont get me wrong, there are enough buildings and amenities for all of us. The only problem is that they are old and not "state of the art". I knew this even before I chose IIM C, and it is not a factor at all. Not having - fancy furniture and lovely glass window panes will not affect my future! After all, this is just a 2 year stop for studies.

For those who criticise the state of infra, the news is that we will have a new "state of the art" hostel, classroom buildings by 2010. May be it is true that I may never get to use them, but it's good to know that the institute is getting better.

The biggest asset of IIM C is undoubtedly the faculty it has. Amazing people they are. There are people ranging from "Technical Director" of ICAI to the person who co-authored research papers with John Nash. After the lectures, they can be approached easily to get any doubts clarified. They also upload a lot of relevant material/ links, which relate the "theory" they teach with the current world happenings. Even the questions in the exam involve a lot of thinking and understanding. No more questions of "List the 4 things, blah blah,  Explain briefly blah blah". Questions are very specific and provide almost nil opportunity to write a story.

The IIM C spirit!

No, I dont mean liquor. Its the general feeling you can find among the people in the campus. Everyone gives his/her best. But they dont give up. In fact, the saying "Never Give Up, Never Give In" by Malli Masthan Babu (world's first Seven Summitter) an alumnus of IIM C is literally followed here. The days of our exams, every PGP2 (senior) gives us a pep talk and wishes all the best. Even the dhobi/shop owner will say "Good morning, All the best for exams"!

It is so much of a close knit community! The 3 day "World War" Inter Hostel games was one of a kind anywhere. Those days will definitely not be forgotten. 

Will tell more in my next article.

The Best Ever Quote-

"In spite of the verdict of the Jury, I maintain that I am innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations and it may be the will of providence that the cause which I represent may prosper more by my suffering than my remaining free"

- Said by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1908 after being pronounced guilty by the English Jury.


Attitude, Belief in himself and in the higher power, respect for his opponent, clever choice of words and accepting life as it is.

all these things are so easy to speak about. But really tough to show them in real life. To show such a character in the face of adversity! Hats-off!

An One Liner I Hate the most!

Well, well, well. Long time since i came up with a blog about something non-factual. But nevertheless, I happened to see a lot of slambooks of late and that has triggered this thought in my mind.
One liners - I dont remember when I first came across them. May be in the convent school where i did my early schooling. I remember hazily something like "Hardwork pays" and "A smile costs nothing but pays everything" (is it?!) But my world was not bombarded with so many one liners then, as it is today! Well, in a world where short-stories beat novels hands down, this is to be expected.
The worst kind of one-liners reach me through SMS! They're absolutely disgusting most of the time. But some provoke a wry smile. Anyway, lets get back to the ones i really hate and why i do that.
The first thing I hate about one liners is that they are authoritative. There is no scope for alternate thoughts. No Choice either. An One-liner Dictates. Just check how often you might feel as if you were commanded by one of them. They make you feel like a fool! And they're designed in most occasions to make look the sender (in sms) or the wearer (in t shirts) look wiser, for no originality on their part.
There comes the second problem - One liners are Banal. 99% lack originality. They follow the same cliched theme. And to top it all, people copy them! As if there isnt enough dull copybook things are there on earth!
Okay, it's time I told you which was the worst - "May God Bless You"

Now, dont think this line is a wish. Read it again- it is a command. It fits all the symptoms of "one-liners i hate"
Whenever I see this line my mind imagines something like this - the person who is saying this or speaking this is sitting on a throne, God is waiting a step below them and thinking hard who to bless (as if that is his full time job) and He/Her(God) is being commanded to bless! Why dont we let God do something he wishes to?! Let him bless whomsoever he sees fit! Thats not our business anyway.
Anyway, i agree my mind could have imagined the worst scenario for that line. I was wondering why we all say this line? Then it dawned upon me that most people who say it to convey "I wish you had God's blessings" We just copy this from elders, and say it mechanically!
Now it strikes me when I first heard this (Or more appropiately when I noticed this) one liner. A nun told me this on my 10th birthday. It was not odd. I did not hate it. Why do I hate it now? Because the people who are using it are not nuns and fathers. That is why!
Anyway, think again before you say this one. May God bless you!! (Your turn to feel some hate)

P.S: For those of you who wrote this in my slam, I respect your innocence! No offense taken.

IIM K GD/PI experience

GD was an article based on retrenchement and the compensation to be paid during such an action. 10 ppl, 20 minutes. Was a decent discussion where i was able to chip in a few times.

PI
2 professors (not very sure,1 may have been an alumni as well)
old prof- p1
young- p2

I enter the room, wish them.
p1: what is your CAT score?
me: 9X.XX percentile
p1: that is not your score. it is your percentile. tell me your score.
me: (another stress interview! oh god!!) well sir, my score is 129.
p1: wat? 129?? give me your score card -
me: here it is sir-
p1: see, it says yous score is 43 only..
me: that is percentage score. (it becomes 132 out of 300. my turn to give it back to him! he he)
p1: wat other calls do u have?
me: IIMs L,I sir
p1: ok.. now multiply these matrices.. u know matrix multiplication rite?
me: yes sir..
(i found that the no. of col of 1 matrix did not match with no. of rows of 2 matrix)
me: sir these two can't be multiplied. (i explained the problem)
p1: the person who came b4 u said it cud be multiplied.
me: no sir. i'm sure
p1:ok. wat will happen when a square matrix is multiplied with its transpose? btw, wat is a transpose?
me: explained transpose. then i guessed we'll get the square of a matrix wen it is multiplied in the way he said.
p1: r u sure it's a square?
me: not very sure.
p2: tat is ok, now tell us about ur hobbies-
me: reading, watching science docs.
p1: did u hav coaching for interview?
me: i had a mock i/v in TIME.
p1: did they tell u to tell this ans? so many ppl r telling this documentaries thing
me: is that so? i havent met anybody in any of the interviews so far who shared this interest..
p1: wat kind of documentaries do u make?
me: i dont make any. i watch them in cannels like discovery and nat geo.
p1: tell me about LCD
me: (very gud. my area) explained for about 2 min. so clear that they cudn ask any cross q's!
p2: wat do u think is different in TN politics?
me: i talk about the domination of regional parties
p2: 1 more thing
me: how everything is centered around 2 individuals.
p2: 1 more thing
me: (slight pause) many ppl in TN politics r from the cine world
p2: ok.. i'll tell u one difference- politicians in TN wont face each other directly on stage right?
me: yes sir.
p2: y is that so?
me: explained how "individual dominance" affects holding such debates. i explained it wud be easy to hav such debates when party identity is more important.
p1:ok. now, u think about this- if RBI can print more currency notes and give it to poor ppl, wont they become rich?
me: no sir. it'll only dilute the value of money.
p1: how? they get money na?
me: no sir. the prices will proportionately rise. so, they can't use the extra money to buy more things
p1: how?
me: suppose if ther r 2 ppl, 1 having 2000, another 20000 and they buy 1 thing at 100 Rs., after giving them both 1000 Rs, they'll hav to buy the samething at say 110 Rs.
p1: ok.. but still cabt u see the first person is having advantage over the 2nd person?
me: yes sir. i agree there is a marginal advantage. but this is just an illustration. it has more negatives than positives.
p2:ok. tell me about dowry.
me: explained shortly. it is an evil
p2: y do ppl demand dowry?
me: the root cause is the thinking "men r better than women" so, the additional value is given as money.
p2: do u think so?
me: no (y on earth will i think so?)
p1: ok. lets say u r made the head of the commission appointed by TN govt to eradicate dowry. wat'll u do?
me: i jus start explaining.
p1: write ur points in this paper and then tell us. take some time.
me: (wrote 4 points. 1.short term measures, like laws, punishments. 2.education 3.women empowerment 4. awareness) and explained in detail.
p1: (tried to find some fault saying, this won't work etc. but he never countered anything seriously)
p2: u say women empowerment, but mostly women only ask dowry na?
me: they ask because they think women r not equal to men. but by empowering women, we can change that.
p1: (finally says none of my points will work. he tries to stress. but he is so good natured that it becomes too obvious to see wat he is trying to do. )
me: sir, we have to start some where, isn't it?
(all 3 of us grin)
p2: will u take dowry?
me: definitely not!
p1,p2: invite us for ur marriage
me: sure sir (i don't even remember their name. may be'll i'll consider inviting them if they offer me a prestigious iim seat)
p1: thank u guhan. it was nice talking to you. you may leave now.
me: thank u sir.

well it appears like a good interview. but even my iift was a gud interview which in the end wasn't gud enough for iift delhi (waitlist no. 4 for delhi, but alloted iift kolkata campus) so, I'll keep my fingers crossed till April 11th.

IIM L GD/PI experience

Date: feb 23
Venue: Monarch Luxor, Bangalore

GD: "a man ful of words, but not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds"

I got the unlucky last seat in GD (No. 10) and add to that No. 9, No. 8 were vociferous enough to thwart my desperate attempts to participate. The arrangement is like an "U". So the persons at the corner could not have eyecontact with most of the group. This means it becomes difficult to come into the discussion. No. 9 nearly cut me off from the whole group. But i managed to speak 3 / 4 times.

But the worst part was that i happened to c the GD scoresheet where there was a blank next to No. 10, but there were some markings next to all other names.


Anyway, tried hard to forget it, b4 the PI. Being the last one for PI also helped to get some time to regain focus.

PI
p1 (old prof, with very stern remarks)
p2 (possibly a young alumnus)

p1: wat does ur name mean?
me : explained...in the context of Ramayana
p1interrupts) Will u help Rama today?
me: yes
p1: how gud is ur college? ranking?
me: definitely among the top 5 pvt engg coll in chennai.
p1: is there no number 6 in Chennai? every one says top 5. who will be no. 6? tell me is there no. 6 in Chennai?
me: yes sir..
p1: (interrupts) how many colleges in chennai? 200?
me: no sir. TN has around 250. but 30-40 around chennai.
p1: (interrupts) ok tell me about "panchayat raj"
me: it is empowering the local admin bodies
p1: (interrupts) who is the minister for panchayats in TN?
me: we hav "local administration" ministry headed by M.K.Stalin..
p1interrupts) tell me about panchayatraj- (he never showed sign of hearing the previous ans)
me: again explained,then started of by talkin about how this programme was given a new fillip by mr. Rajiv Gandhi?
p1interrupts) when was Rajiv Gandhi born?
me: No idea sir..
p1: wat do u know about him? when was he our PM?
me : in the early 90's
p1: who is his "son-in -law?"
me: i don't know sir
p1: who is his "daughter in law"?
me: i don't know sir
p1: who is his daughter?
me: thinking hard (under the stress i forgot priyanka gandhi. damn me)
p1: is that menaka gandhi?
me: (totally confused) i'm not sure about his family tree sir.
p2: don't ur univ provide any total in ur marksheets?
(he shows my file to p1 and says he cannot total it)
they ask me about it
me: i explain how that was jus end sem report and some ppl may hav backlog, so totals cannot be provided as they'll be not uniform
p2:so many ppl hav backlogs?
me: yes sir. 60% hav a backlog @ somepoint of time
p2: wat 60% hav backlog @ any point of time?
me: no sir. if u ask about anypoint of time i'd say 40%
p2: so u r good at math?
(b4 i cud answer)
p1: u studied "principles of mgmt?"
me: yes sir.
p1: do u know about Fayol
me: spoke for some 20 secs (longest i got to spk in the whole i/v)
p1: wat r the types of leadership?
me: autocratic, democratic..
p1: theories of motivation?
me: Maslow's, Herzberg..
p1: do u know about McGregor?
me: (thinking hard) i can't recollect.. May be i studied his theory under a different name.
p1: (to p2) he can't recollect wat he studied in 2007. see his marksheet says so.. he doesn't know maslow also
me: sir i know maslow's theory of hierarchy
p1(interrupts) theory x, y?
me: yes sir. i know theory x, theory y.
p1(says something to p2, with the word doesn't know)
p1: u can leave
p2: take ur call letter and admit card.
me: thank you , sir (gave a big grin to P2 as i walked away, in the hindsight i may have done it sarcastically)


It really feels bad after being abruptly sent when i did not get the chance to explain something i knew. Add to that the GD too. Only a miracle wud get me the coveted iim-L call. Anyway, officially its not all over yet.

Updated on may 1: Miracle happened!

IIM I GD/PI experience

GD: About a transport company MD who had to choose 2 proposals. The case was a touch dull. I spoke for about 3/4 times. But, we revolved around the same point. Couldn't move much. But i wrote a decent summary

PI: was called as the 6th person. (ppl b4 me were grilled fully on academics. thankfully mine was different.)

p1: male prof
p2: female prof

me: Good morning ma'm, sir.
p1 take ur seat
(p1 walks and bolts the door as i did not )
p2: so, u hav mentioned these as ur strengths (reads the list from my form) share some experiences with us..
me: I start by explainin wat those words mean and then mentioned the responsibilities where i had shown those skills. i mentioned being the editor of our dept magazine
p1: (interrupts) tell me the diff b/w editor and editorial
me: editor edits. editorial is an analysis.
p1: do u reject some articles that were contributed by other students.
me: sometimes, yes
p1: y? tell a 3 point criteria of y u reject.
me: i explained that they may not be understood by all students. some works r too advanced and data intesive..
p1: do u reject any article bcos its not ur view?
me: no sir. ours is a tech magazine. such situations don't arise.
p2 supports my argument to p1
p1: ok. tell me wat is "proprietorship" and "partnership"
me: prop... is ownership, partnership is a part of ownership
p1: how wud they make decisions, im prop... and partnership?
me: prop... owner alone can. but in partner... they need to consult each other
p1: do u read newspapers? tell us about a recent editorial? last 2 days..
me: i read the hindu and ind. exp. I can tell u about "India takes its foot of the gas pedal" in hindu 2 days ago.
p1: wat is it about?
me: IPI pipeline issue. explained it.
p1: y does india not move ahead with it?
me: according to the editorial it is US pressure
p1: y US shud pressurize?
me: explained
p1: ur opinion?
me: Iran not a reliable partner
p1: u heard abt oil price hike yesterday?
me:yes sir.
p1: how much is the rise?
me: told it w.r.t to chennai
p1: ur view on this?
me: price rise inevitable due to crude oil price rise. but the oil co. can spend money wisely.
p1: (very happy) starts talkin about the second half of wat i said for around 2 min)
p1: so u r from ECE?
me: yes sir. final yr..
p2 (interrupts) so u r a fresher?!
me: yes ma'm
p1: tell me the names of some electronic companies
me:intel
p1: y intel?
me: xplained
p1: next
me: nokia.
p1: (slightly surprised) tell me in india
me.. (after a slight pause) HCL
p1. gud. next
me Wipro.. TVS are also into electronics.
p1: ok.. do u know BEL and BHEL?
me. yes sir. i expand them (he also expands) i am aware of them
p1: ok do u know about ITI?
me no sir..
p1: it is here in bangalore. they make telephones...(he starts spkin of that)
me: they also make voting machines.
p1: yes.. not only that.. (he continues)
p1: ok. thats it. u can leave
me: thank u sir, thank u ma'm
p1: take a biscuit
me thank u sir.

IIFT GD/PI experience

GD: Rising crime against women. Discussion lasted for about an hour. (usual way- 2 min speech by all participants, regular gd, where each person moderated for 2 min)
Moderator was impressed that our all MEN group took the blame that men were in some way responsible for crime against women.


PI

Asked to differentiate the two job offers i have got.
Asked about value-chain, TCS, infosys in lower side, Microsoft on the higher end,why?
Why doesn't TCS develop Operating Systems?
MS Vista?
What is an OS?
Tourism, Medical tourism, environmental effects of tourism etc.
What are the marginal costs in developing a s/w product?
Why MBA w/o any work ex.?
Name the top-5 companies of India.
Why did TCS figure in your list?

(lasted for about 15 min. Prof were very friendly)

My MBA Admission status.

Note- The purpose of this post is limited to provide information to my friends and future aspirants. This post will be updated as more results are announced. And, Before reading this, I would like to thank you friends for the wonderful support you gave. Words are insufficient, but i made a try. ;)

Applied and rejected in written test- IIM A, XLRI and FMS. (These are among the Top-5 B-schools in most surveys)

Called for GD/PI's (Personal Interview) - IIM C,L,I,K, IIFT, MDI, NITIE, SJMSOM, IMT-G

Written exam scores-
IIFT-44.03 percentage (may be in All India top 20)
CAT-99.65 percentile (verbal played spoilsport)
JMET- All India Rank 198
XAT- 98.09 percentile ( low in verbal and quant, XLRI expects 95+ in them)
FMS- 97.09 (Cleared all sectionals. Overall score low)



IIFT
Decent GD, PI
Result: Waitlist No. 4 for Delhi campus (That is merit rank no.4 in Kolkata Campus) - Update: WL cleared. I'm not joining!

IIM I (Indore)
Decent GD
Good PI
Got Through!

IIM L (Lucknow)
Bad GD
Nightmarish PI (stress)
Got Through!

IIM K (Kozhikode)
Dull GD
Good PI
Got Through!

MDI Gurgaon
Decent GD (But the interviewers asked why i did not participate much?! )
Good PI
Got Through!

NITIE Mumbai
Decent GD
Excellent PI
Result:Waitlist No. 47 - Update: WL cleared. I'm not joining!

IMT Ghaziabad
Good GD
Good PI
Result:Got PGDM (IB) - Ghaziabad , but not interested. (never opted International Business)

SJMSOM (IIT-B) Mumbai
Below average GD
Good PI
Rejected


As fate would have it, things have changed.
Nothing else matters.............

IIM C (Calcutta)
GD - Good
PI - Good

Selected, joined!

The journey so far - in MBA admissions

The good news is that i have attended all my interviews and i have only college to attend. This means i have time to blog!!

After a gap of an year, back to active blogging.

The journey so far, in a few crisp lines-

5 exams
lakhs of competitors
few thousand good seats
8 calls including 3 IIMs
5 rejects including the Big 3 IIMs, XLRI and FMS
7000+ km of travel for the interviews
8 ruthless GD's
8 mind-boggling Interviews
Countless new friends
A chance to fly for the first time
Loads of anxiety, frustration
Tonnes of good luck wishes


No matter whatever the result is, it was a truly enriching journey. One that is bound to impact the rest of my life. I would post a few of my experiences, some views and the status of my results in a seperate post. Keep Reading.

All that remains.

the remains of the church destroyed by the 1964 cyclone in Dhanushkodi, Rameswaram. strangely, the church is built fully with corals. how is my try with photography?

Survival of the fittest!

well, i am inspired to write this article from a documentary i saw. this is about man overriding the most fundamental law of nature. that law is evolution. that is the process by which a single celled organism was able to sustain life on earth in various forms.

we all know that evolution has two steps.
1.mutation-where the genes mutate to produce different variants of the same species.
2.selection-survival of the fittest.

where man interferes with nature is the second part. by nature, only the fittest survive. the weak are eliminated by predators, disease, competition and disasters. such an event may look cruel but it was necessary. without that, evolution would not have happened. (the under developed should be eliminated to "select" the better species)

now, just imagine this- human beings on earth have crossed 7 billion. would this have been possible without man interfering with nature? think of all those vaccines, medicines, advanced technology, weather prediction and other improvements, we have provided a shortcut for human beings from the test of nature. if u or me were born say 1000 years ago, our life expectency would have been lesser than 30 years. now it is atleast 60 years or so.

if u r confused as to what i'm coming to say, this is it. the root cause of many problems we are facing today lies in our past acts, where we have violated nature. definitely we hav solved many "problems" that were actually survival tests. but the result is a new set of problems -global warming, climate change, ozone hole and some more phenomena that is not easily understood.

wat i think is that we have managed to overcome the old traditional test nature administered. but we cannot just rejoice. nobody knows wen the next test will be and for how many people. for me, u hav evidences already of this trend.

the AIDS virus- it can mutate so fast that by the time u develop a vaccine for one strain, that it wud have crossed several generations and wud hav bcom "fit" enough to survive ur vaccine. just think over this one fact: a virus havin an incubation period of 4-5 days causes an epidemic spanning decades(like small pox). HIV has 5-10 years of incubation period. it is predicted to cause an epidemic for centuries ot 1000s of years.

looks lik nature has changed its laws too. but the essential of "survival of the fittest" remains the same. a person in US is living for more than 17 years since he was detected with HIV. he has not been affected by the disease anyway. may b he is one of the more "fitter" humans?

All The Best

people hav stopped coming online...
the laughters hav become less audible..
orkuttin has reduced considerably....
there is an eerie silence...
wondering y?

the exams are here...
so, all the best!

eternal optimism

STATUARY WARNING: THE TOPIC IS OF PHILOSOPHICAL NATURE, READER'S DISCRETION ADVISED!

the topic means being an optimist for ever. i hav wondered if anyone could ever be an eternal optimist. as u know tat an optimist expects positive results, y cant a person be an optimist? wat stops us? i definitely believe being optimistic improves performance in any activity, anytime.

the antithesis is also true. that is wat this article is about! well, imagine a person A. he works hard for success. his thoughts are always on improving himself. he will surely be an optimist. since he has worked for it, he will most often deliver than not. consider another person B, who is not interested completely. even if he works, he will not be involving himself more or as deeply as A would. he is not sure about himself. he will be a pessimist. now we can understand why optimists perform better than pessimists.

all of us, wen we do an activity for the first time, we r invariably pessimistic. this is attributed to the initial inhibitions. we gain confidence by doing it over and over and become an optimist. if we fail over and over we become pessimistic. there are some really funny ppl we would hav come across, who beleive tat they will fail and think that by doing so they will pass! (ex: ppl say 'we will lose the match' so that our team will win the match) . we are deviating from our topic, lets get back to the topic(we'll hav an article on silly superstitions soon).

being an optimist requires a lot of energy. if you can notice deeply, u can find ppl who are busy and active are optimistic. reverse is also true. dull and lazy ppl mostly become pessimistic. only an optimist can handle problems better and deal with the situation appropriately.

dont feel that i am biased towards optimists. i feel, pessimists also contribute a fair share to this world! just by adding variety!

me and studies

ok guys and girls, jus close ur eyes and think of me.wat is the first thing that comes to your mind?
i'm not wrong 90% of the times to say that u thought about me and studies.

to confess, it is not the way i want ppl to think of me. but i'm always trying to change that. y should i try to do that? because it makes people prejudiced and they imagine me to be a traditional, stereotypical mugger, which i'm not!

the best example is the reaction from my friends who react when they come to know of my marks for the first time. they say typically ' how come? i never thought this guy will be so studious'. this proves a point, that people dont see my other side because they have a set idea that a person who scores so much is a typical padips. i beg to differ to say tat i'm different!

firstly, i'm not a topper all my life. in fact the only place i'm gettin some marks is the college. i was just an average student at school. the only similarity is that i used to answer questions in class. but i never answer questions of the sort 1+2=3 etc.. most of my answers are guesses and i'm quite good at that.

ok then the next thing is, 'how much time do i study?'
the answer is very very less. but my experiences tell me that 99% of people reading this blog will not believe this. it is upto you. if u want the specific time, then - i never read on daily basis or according to a timetable. i do plan to, but fail in implementing just like any of u.

finally people tell me that my looks suggest that i'm studious. i assure you that there is nothing intentional about that. i do have a hesitation to do something extraordinary and thanks to my spex that gives that added effect!

if u are still not convinced and look to know how i get my marks, here i go....
my approach to studies is to remember as little as possible. this strategy was born out of the weakness of not having a great memory. that is i always used to derive formulas in exam hall instead of remembering them. this led to better understanding of concepts and be strong in derivations. i had to suffer in schools with this approach but now i get my reward. i dont think it is possible for anyone who is conditioned with our system to remember things to change to my approach overnight. i never planned to have this kind of approach and all. i'm just analysing myself. i'm sure lot of other people do it too.

finally i want to say that nothing i have done so far is great in anyway. it is just a small aspect of my life. there is still a long way to go. i'm no match for those real padips from IITs and Anna Univ. but, i'm still unique in my own way doing things better not necessarily only in studies. it is my ability be myself that i consider to be of great value. not my marks. so, start lookin the world around you with a wider perspective and never with one parameter as in this case, studiousness.

why am i blogging?

this is an interesting question that i had asked myself. initially i heard this word 'blog' through magazines and news articles. later i studied it in wikipedia. then i blogged a horrible page here. it was utter nonsense. then, renju showed me a couple of good blogs and got an idea about blogging. i guess i'm doing pretty well by seeing ur comments. i'll tell u the best comment i got, at the end.

coming back to the question of 'why blogging?', the answer is not a simple one. actually i keep thinking of each and everything i come across and i dont share them with people. the reason is that the chain of thoughts is so varied in ideas and depth that i cannot put them in coherant words. so, i thought by blogging i can share my views and thoughts. but alas, here again you dont see my thought process. wat u see is my thoughts about a single topic gathered from thought processes at different points of time.

if u dont understand the paragraph above, leave it! another reason for blogging here is that it help me keep track of my thoughts and interact with others. the biggest success has been the discovery that i have the ability to write decently! at this point i hav to thank all the ones who commented me and gave me the confidence that i badly needed at start. so, if u wanna encourage me or if u find anything to say, never mind even if it is a single word, u can write a comment.

wat i have learnt from blogging till now is the amazing power of words. blog is an uncensored medium where my thoughts are at their rawest form. if i were to put down my views about love or god as an article in a magazine or newspaper, i think it would have never been pulished! but blog has given me the power to share it with you without the hustles of formality. this is really exciting..

watchout for more updates and keep telling me watever you feel like..
the most impressive comment i got was from Fayaz, who doubted whether all the contents of this blog were my own thoughts.

about orkut

well, as most of the readers are from orkut and i am also obsessed with orkuttin most of the time, let me say a few thing about orkut.

first of all, orkut is a great place to search for your old friends. i found nearly 30 of my old pals through orkut. it is a good site provided u manage ur time well. at first, new orkut users tend to spend hours to get the hang of it. beware it is dangerously addictive!

the major disadvantage of orkut is the lack of privacy. the unique thing about me is the way i am different with each of my friends. but because of orkut's lack of privacy, i'm not comfortable in dealin with them. you may suggest messages instead of scraps but practically no one bothers to read the messages given the fact that u receive 8 to10 craps forwarded every day!

managing friend requests is another thing. i dont oppose lokkin for new friends but wat do u think of ppl who r remotely familiar to u, jus sending a request to u to increase friends count(!) but not interested in anything else. then comes ranking ur friends. having the fans and trust rating is a good idea as it is a good positive compliment. then again u come across ppl who r extremes. in one extreme are ppl who giv maximum ratings to every one in their list. on the other end r ppl who dont giv even a single rating. in between, u can c ppl who look for reciprocation.

as i am reminded, i had forgotten to mention about communities in orkut. for a newcomer, it looks really good to get involved in starting communities. i started two communities. now i feel tat i hav done a vetti job of them. anyway i dont hav any time to spend on them. the only active communities are the ones formed by ppl studyin/workin togather or the ones havin a lot of members(>400) . i initially joined a lot of communities but then unjoined from the useless ones. it is interesting to c ppl joinin 100s of communities. i now beleive in joinin few communities and be an active member.

the major use of orkut that i forgot to mention was flirting. its a wonderful tool for ppl lookin for companions. but i cant say more as i dont hav any experience in this regard!

the art of mokkai

the word mokkai is derived from the colloquial tamil word mokkai, used to denote something blunt. as an example it is commonly used to say "mokkai kathi" meaning a blunt knife. the currently used wide sense of mokkai, meaning crap-talk is very apt, considering the fact that it explain the circumlocal, not to the point nature of mokkai.

any person as long as he is not dumb will definitely put mokkai. wat differs is the timing and intensity of mokkai. a reserved person may put mokkai only with his close friends. but a person more open and easy going will put mokkai with anyone around him.

mokkai is an universal phenomena crossing the barriers of countries, sex, race and language. it is interesting to note that mokkai is also independent of the intellectual capacity of the person puttin it. however quality of mokkai depends on the wit of the mokkifier. an intelluctual mokkai is extreme in nature. it is either too good or too dull. but an average persons mokkai is typically moderate and bearable.

do giv ur comment mokkai about this passage of mokkai!

let us mokkify the world together!

ur choice of topic-

so friends, suggest a topic about which u want a discussion.
never mind if its trivial,feel free...


waitin for some good ideas,
guhan

friendship

A friend is a very sacred relationship to have. to me, being a friend to some one is a serious affair. for, i dont trust in havin lots of "friends" for names sake. of course it is good to know a lot of people, but not all are ur true friends.

the beauty of friendship lies in the fact that it is the only relationship that u can choose and have for life. u can even choose ur life partner, but then u cannot dump them easily as u would do a friend if u hav a fight.[i hope u dont hav such a situation! :) ]

common misconceptions about friendship-
1. it is among peers only.
no, its not. good friendship will always blossom between any two people irrespective of their age, caste, race, status, sex or any other difference.
2. friendship is a giv and take deal.
no. in a good friendship, nobody cares who gives, who takes. but it is the feeling of comfort and trust that matters.

to identify a good friend,
1. does the person ever disagree with u?
a true friend will disagree with u at some point. a psuedo friend will only tell u things that u like to hear.
2. a tricky situation-
imagine ur friend is caught for a mischief, for which both of u were responsible.
if he is a true friend, he will not even remind u that u were also involved. if u r his true friend, u wouldn hesitate to join him.
3.how much do u miss ur friend?
with a true friend, u miss each moment they r not with u. but beware, u miss some other ppl too, who may not b ur true friends.

but then y should we have so many ppl as friends even though we know that they r not true friends?

true friends are hard to find and nobody becomes a true friend overnight. man being a social animal, requires these friendships. i always hope tat these friends too become my true friends some day. but in some cases, it is just a relationship of coutesy or politeness.

as i hav said, i dont like too many friends of this kind. but i had to change myself a bit to hav these ppl bcoz, one can never judge ppl without spendin some time with them. so, there is no harm in havin lot of friends as long as u know who r true to u.

wat i hate abt this kind of frnds is their selfish nature. a majority of ppl in this category r selfish. they approach u only for watever help they need. i am amazed at ppl who call me b4 exams and ask all sorts of doubts as if they were my best buddies. in reality, they wont remember me for the rest of the year. it is really a great trait to behave that way, but it is so cheap.

i'll add more on this topic later.

do u believe in god?

after love comes god....

wat does god mean for ppl?

for one, it means fear. for another it is a mass hysteria. it maybe some1's inspiration or someone's worst nightmare. why is it so? it was how it is destined to be.

there can never be 1 god and be accepted by all. its impossible bcoz, disorder is the only orderly thing u'll find about humans.so,how does 1 go about in this world full of ppl proclaimin that their religion is the best, demanding money, forcing ppl to do things in the name of god.

to those ppl i just ask,"wont i be blessed by ur god no matter wat religion i follow?" if there is such a god, who will not bless a person not belonging to his religion, i never want to follow such a narrow minded god! i dont believe in appeasing god with money or sacrifice of any kind. if there is such a god who demands it, i'll better disobey.

then, wat is god according to me?
a supreme power- impartial,selfless power who demands nothing but being pure in heart.
to appease him, u dont hav to chant slogas or pay money. jus keep doing ur job, help others whenever possible. if u call god for help, dont expect miracles. better expect the strength to overcome the problem.

remember,if u get a difficult question in a exam, u cant ask for question to be removed. u can only hope that u can try and solve it. thats the way to go about it!

wat is love?

LOVE- the 4 letters used most by teenagers.wat is the hype about this? well, for me most people misunderstand this love.

in the most common sense, its just the affection or liking.u can luv ur friends, parents or relatives or even a channel/song.

but the luv i'm talkin about is the one ppl use to indicate they are interested or havin a relationship with a person of opposite sex.

b4 proceedin further, plz understand that i'm not one of those anti-love freak or a member of shiv sena. but i'm obsessed with ppl all around me using this word all the time.

to know y i think like this,take the following example-
u r goin to buy a cellphone. u will automatically search for the best in market, suiting ur needs.
but if i say u can only buy now, but use it 8/9 years later, till then jus keep lookin at it, isnt it absurd?

y?
1. in that time a far better model would've come, urs will be outdated.
2.u could lose the cell meantime.
3.ur taste would've changed.
4.ur needs will be different.
5. mayb u r not alive after 8/9 years.

skeptics will still argue that love is gr8.
but wat i wish to say is, it is a gr8 thing which will happen in ur life.
but not every crush/infatuation is true love.
so, dont commit/conclude about love till u r mature enough!

as many of u hav asked me wat i mean by "mature",i'll explain it here. according to me a person is mature when he can take his own rational decisions. that is, decisions taken without being emotionally binded to the situation. a mature person uses his reasoning sense and analytical abilities rather than getting bound by feelings. i hope u get wat i say!