The confessions of a clueless mind

I couldn't have done this without your support. I owe it to all of you and would like to say Thank You . Without you, I would not have been named " TIME Magazine's Person of the Year 2006 ".

The Google experience has left me completely confused. It would be an understatement to call it less than satisfying. I certainly wasn't expecting the interviewer to ask me to explain the detailed algorithm used for AdWords . If I knew it, I would have been in Google already. He kept prodding me for the exact alogorithm, and what formula can be used for ranking ads in the AdWords product. Despite rattling off all the various ways to improve the ranking, I was still getting nowhere since he was looking for that magical formula. And so the "Aha" moment simply never came. Tough luck. I guess I was also plain unlucky in the fact that I was being interviewed by a person who worked only on AdWords, and therefore, focussed only on it. All my preparation on the wide variety of Google products simply went waste since he didnt seem interested or aware of most other products that I tried to lead him to. When he concluded with a " Google is looking for generalists who can work o...

This term I decided to humor myself a bit, and enrolled for a course called " Creativity, Innovation and Design ", CID in short. From what I saw in the first class, it seems like a fun course, unlike most other courses in a B-school curriculum. Our first assignment was to write a 55-word story. The word count restriction, at first, sounded ridiculous. But as I started thinking about it, I realized this had to be like a 3 panel comic strip. And Calvin and Hobbes was a classic example of how the most memorable stories are written in the fewest of words. With some heavy inspiration from Calvin's Spaceman Spiff alter-ego, here's what I conjured: The great escape “ We are taking you to Planet Kroz as proof that intelligent life exists on Earth ,” the alien chief glorked in perfectly accented English, tentacles awkwardly clicking and scrolling through the online “ Krozzian–English Translation Manual ”. As he moved to close the Explorer window, his cuticular eyes fell on m...

The life of a software professional is full of insecurities. When you start out with your career, it is all about getting into the most reputed MNC. If a college-mate with lesser academic credentials that you got into a better company, with a higher pay, you'll have sleepless nights. Insecurities. A couple of years later, when you realize that academic credentials have very little to do with who ends up in which company and earns what salary, the angst at being underpaid subsides. The comfort of being part of "the" most famous IT company provides consolation for all the under-achievement. The next goal is to go to the US, and live there for a few years. When you finally manage to do that, it gives you a new high in your career. You are sitting in the US, and sending mails to all your batch-mates, who had gone past you in terms of salaries and achievements. " Sup guys, how is our India these days? I am missing it badly, although USA is a pretty neat place to live in ...

It’s been a while since I last did any writing on this blog. The past few weeks have been super-hectic. The elective terms have been extremely busy, thanks to the many groups that I am part of for each of my subjects. Coordinating group dynamics when you are involved in multiple groups is a real test of one’s people and time management skills. Add to that, the added pressure due to the placement processes being initiated this term. Countless resume reviews and case-based interview sessions have further complicated the time-management problem. Speaking of placements, my initial attempts have been rather disastrous. The un-real application to DB was, in hindsight, totally avoidable, considering I have 6.5 years experience in IT, and absolutely none in finance. Heck, I am not even doing a fin major . But the guy from DB was so convincing in his pre-placement talk that even a staunch non-finance guy like me was blinded into applying. And making a mockery of myself. Although that didn’t hu...

My humble attempt at serious writing, within 400 words. Note: If some parts seem abrupt, blame it on the 400 word limit. A COMMENTARY ON “INDIA: DEVELOPMENT AND PARTICIPATION” When India opened its economy to the world in 1991, it heralded a new era of liberalization, a break-away from the “ License Raj ” regime that had constrained the growth of the Indian Economy. The liberalization programme opened the doors to International Trade, and resulted in a renewed interest among the International Community in the possibilities of the Indian Economy, with Forbes magazine declaring in 1994 that “ India may be the best emerging market of all ”. However, despite creditable growth in its development performance in 1990s, India’s economy never attained the anticipated “ spectacular ” growth. Although several MNCs entered India in the 1990s, contributing to the boom in economy, the growth did not percolate to all sectors and regions of the country. Although India’s economy has posted an excellent...

It’s been a rather quiet term break, thanks to my not visiting Bangalore during these holidays. With Mom and Dad away, there wasn’t much use in going to Bangalore, although I definitely miss not being with my precious little angel. So it’s been mostly a lot of sleeping, and a bit of work regarding my Entrepreneurial Venture (God bless the noble attempt!). While I am not doing either of the two, I keep myself entertained watching utterly useless stuff on the telly. Of late, I have become addicted to repeat re-runs of Karan Johar movies. I hate admitting this in a not-so-personal forum, but I have always liked K-Jo movies, right from the KKHH days. Despite everyone else around me criticizing everything about them, I am an unabashed K-Jo and SRK fan. For all my pragmatic pretensions, I do have a penchant for the “ larger than life ”. Although I liked KKHH the best, I am equally fond of K3G and KHNH. However, sitting through Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna was not half as entertaining as any of hi...

The Karaoke Party at ISB last weekend was simply awesome! The plethora of talent on display was quite surprising. The GSB Prez performing “ She’s always a woman ” was probably the best one for me, although Arun’s rendition of “ Wonderwall ” was equally powerful. Lots of sections turned up in huge numbers for their group songs, and sang their hearts (and voices) out. Although melody wasn’t exactly their forte, the enthusiasm and the spirit with which they performed were infectious. Despite the maddening rains, people managed to land up at the small enclosure where the whole event was moved to, along with spouses and kids, to enliven the party. Even the usually shy people were encouraged to go and try and their luck with the mic. There was one kid who bravely attempted Bon Jovi’s “ It’s my life ”, while someone even tried “ Sweet Child of Mine ”. Speaking of bold attempts, GR and I also threw caution to the wind by performing “ Cloud #9 ”. Although we later found out that our voices wer...

Watching Roger Federer thrash Andy Roddick one more time in the US Open final seemed to be the last nail in the coffin. Despite my living in denial for the past 2 years, the fact simply is that Federer is the best player to have ever played the game. My loyalties with the erstwhile emperor Pete Sampras had blinded me to the obvious greatness of the man known as “Fedex”. But watching him decimate his opponents with such ease, and with such consistency, has finally forced me to accept what the tennis world has been harping about for the past 2 years. Fedex is the most complete player of all times. As a kid growing up in pre-liberalization India, my first tryst with Tennis was when I watched Boris Becker defeat Kevin Curran to win Wimbledon 1985. Since then, I have been hooked to the game. Becker’s clumsy yet charismatic tennis had won me, and most of the world, over. The booming serves, the diving volleys, and that characteristic jump across the net to signal his victory – all signature ...

NOTE: In adherence with the Honor Code rules at ISB, the author acknowledges that this post was originally published a year ago on his now defunct blog. The post is being republished as an open acknowledgement of his " Writer's Block ". The protagonist in this story is an old friend, who I shall refer to as R. Mister R had shown signs of his greatness at a very early age, and has now gone on to vindicate us with his lofty achievements. This incident that I will recount here, is one such proof of the great man that R would grow up to be. It happened one evening, about 8 years ago. We were all in our college, most of us being students of Engineering. Being budding engineers with a penchant for Science and all things related to it, yours truly and his good friend D were engrossed in a highly scientific conversation about scientific marvels, and unexplained phenomenon. I was narrating interesting anecdotes about another friend of mine who had claimed in school to have spotte...

The ELP that I so passionately wrote about in my previous post slipped right out of our hands. We thought we did well, but forgot that the rules of the competition requires us to not only do well, but do better than the competition. When there is only one prize up for grabs, being good is not enough. And the team that pipped us to the post were, I am sure, more deserving than us. I can't say I am not disappointed. Because I am. But I am not heart-broken. Also, this is a precursor to the various failures that we'll all have to face in our future careers, at some point or the other. It's also a time to evaluate ourselves, and see if we really were as good as we thought. Did some of us go overboard with the " I love social service " tune? Did we tug at their emotional chords when we should have really targeted their rational ones? Should we have concluded with our strengths than go off on a tangent about our value-added service? Did we handle it with the same serious...

As the months have passed, the terms at ISB have started to seem shorter and shorter. Conversely, I have begun to find myself lagging more and more behind schedules due to my acute mismanagement of time, both in and out of class. The added distractions of PaEV and ELP will only make my miseries worse. However, it is this very pressure that is making this joyride so much more fun. The PaEV, if it goes well, sounds like an awfully exciting idea. Especially after listening to Manish Sabharwal (the TeamLease guy) and Sanjeev Bhikchandani (the Naukri founder). The excitement of imagining myself among such esteemed people makes the misery more than worthwhile. And to complicate my schedules even more, I have also applied for an NGO Project for ELP (Experiential Learning Program). We had our interview today with the Naandi Foundation for their ambitious Community Water Service System. If things actually went as well as we all think it did, then we should have a mammoth project in our hand. On...

Corporate Finance has been giving me a tough time. However, the blame lies squarely on me, and me alone. Professor BC has been absolutely fantastic, and is probably the only reason I may scrape through the subject this term. His joyous spirit defies his age, and his sense of humor leaves most of the class in guffaws. To recount some of his gems in class, today while emphasizing on the importance of a particular formula, he went on to declare “ I want you to remember this formula even if I call you in the midnight. Even if you’ve just snorted a whole line of coke ”. And then, there are some usual funny-lines. He starts the class asking us “ Did you sleep well last night? ”, and after the obvious roars of “ NO ” from us, he dismisses us with a “ Great, so that means everything’s normal ”. More than what he says, it’s the way he says it that makes him such a funny man. With a completely innocent look on his face, he says the funniest of things. And he spares no one, not even the lady wh...

As I prepare for one final assault at Term 2 exams, I felt compelled to take a quick sneak-peek into the blogdom, and while at it, I couldn't resist pouring my woes for anyone who cares. Today was a tough day. All the noble knights returned from battle, disappointed and lost. The enemy had simply proven too strong. The morning session (DMOP) was reported to be unusually tough. Although the afternoon session (CSTR) was comparitively pedestrian, most people simply didn't have anything left in their tanks after the early assault. As for me, I went in with very modest expectations, and came back satisfied. With both the papers. That's not to claim I did well. It's just that I didnt allow myself to be disappointed. That's just a loser's way of saying I am happy with whatever little I get. Tomorrow is another battle of gigantic proportions. MKDM promises to be an eye-opener, thanks to so many unknown concepts that I will be questioned on in the exam. GLEC is a no-hope...

Today was the last day of term 2. Come Tuesday, I should be done with the exams as well. Without considering the possibility of a total disaster at the exams, I should be 1/4th of an MBA next Tuesday. That's an exciting thought. Curiously though, I am still just as clueless. It's prayer time again. Dear God, remember what Peter Parker said, " With great power comes great responsibility ". Powerful as you are, it's now time for you to discharge your responsibility. Please get me through these exams. Even if it takes a miracle. Amen!

Indians have truly come of age. In a good and bad way. Issues that were, till yesterday, considered taboo are now being openly flaunted. And speculated. This sudden Bohemian attitude has led to mixed reactions among the people here. While some have come to accept and appreciate the frank confessions, others have found it scandalous and completely inappropriate. Nevertheless, rumor mills have been having a field day, with everyone having an opinion on everyone else. It all started with this guy going open with his alternative orientation. For several conservative people, the revelation suddenly seemed too scandalous. And it triggered a chain reaction, and soon everyone was talking about it. And since gossip mongers usually have the completely uncalled-for tendency to extrapolate, they have been busy speculating about everyone else’s orientation as well. Stereotypes have sprung up overnight, and people have been slotted into these stereotypes. Accordingly, Mr. X is gay and Mr. Y is not....

Time’s been flying. First Term is over, and the second one is already giving us all sleepless nights, and even more importantly, beer-less weekends. The frenetic pace and the nervous energy with which people have adapted to the new, improved, extra-stress term is truly remarkable. That includes me too. Not only did I manage to meet up a few thousand people in my 2 short days at Bangalore, but also drove all the way from Bangalore to Hyderabad, and then spent a couple of hours in the night reading the material for the first class. If there ever were any doubts about my new found geek-hood , I have laid them all to rest. The first week in the new term has been rather disappointing. After sitting through some truly inspiring lectures from the likes of Stine, Finn, Waterman, Vohra etc last term, the new term is , plainly put, disappointing. Competitive Strategy , which is a key course in all MBA programs, is turning out to be a disaster. While it is understandable that Prof. GV is new to ...

Redemption, at last! Finally, the term exams are done and dusted. A mixed bag of sorts, but nevertheless, something that all of us were waiting to end. For all the sleepless nights, it’s redemption time tonight. There’s a party, of course. And for all those unfortunate souls who have to stay back in Hyderabad, it’s an open invitation to drown all your frustrations. Rejoice, I will. But a little bit of pondering, in retrospect, over the exams. Financial Accounting , despite the huge volumes, was a good paper, and I think (hope?) I didn’t bungle too much. But what followed was a disaster. The economics exam was such a mystery that the moment I saw the paper, all I could do was smile. I am blessed with the ability to see humor in tragedy. And this was tragedy at its best. After 2 hours of incessant guessing, I finally walked out without knowing if I had got even one question right. A mystery it was. And remains. Today, luckily, was a much better performance. Business Statistics was smoo...

Please tell me zero is not a bad score in today's economics paper! P.S: This is an appeal for empathy, not sympathy.

Exactly one week from today, we should be done with our first term at the ISB. For most of us, that means going back home for a 5 day break, and a well deserved one at that. A few unlucky ones, like yours truly, will however have to stay back another couple of days to attend the Leadership Development Program. Although the end term exams are just around the corner, I have hardly had the time to study anything at all, thanks to the overload of assignments. Just trying to get these assignments done have been taking up all my time, and then some. The omens have also been forecasting a disaster at the exams. How else would one explain the fact that my economics score, which was well above the average, had 4 marks docked off it for no good reason, relegating me to the average scores? To compound my miseries, I made some uncharacteristic blunders in the Accounting and economics assignments, effectively ending all hopes of ending the term on a decent score. The mid term stats score has been m...

The mid-terms are over! Our very first examination experience at ISB is finally done and dusted. And what a party we had, to celebrate our success ( really? ). The exams themselves did not offer any cause for celebration for most of us, although their culmination certainly did. The statistics exam, which most of us were very skeptical about, turned out to be rather manageable. Economics, on the other hand, was an altogether different experience. Most people had extreme reactions to offer as they walked out of the examination hall. The reactions ranged from “ What the f*** was that about! ” to “ Never since the Digital Signal Processing exam in Engineering have I been screwed this badly in an exam ”. However, as every rule has to have an exception, there were a select few who came out with a wide smile, with the knowledge of having cracked the paper. One such enlightened soul, a sure-fire future Dean’s Lister , happens to live next door. The very fact that he actually knew what “ Lerner...

It’s that week of the year at ISB when everyone gets hyper-active and over-friendly. All of a sudden, you have strangers bumping into you and exchanging pleasantries, before leaving you with a customary “ By the way, I am standing for the GSB president. Please vote for the best guy ”. Like I didn’t know. The part about voting for the best guy, I mean. We have had a candidate proclaiming in his election manifesto that he would ensure 24/7 restaurants in each Student Village if he became the Prez. Pity that’s really not my main criteria for voting a GSB Prez in. He also went on to claim that he would ensure ELPs for every student in the batch. While that is a delicious prospect, it doesn’t seem like a very plausible one, considering that ELPs are not just for the school to decide. As a GSB Prez, one can do a lot. But impressing upon the corporate world to offer ELPs to every student might seem a little too far-fetched for even the best Prez. My advice :” Get real. Don't promise what...

Yesterday I had a near-death experience, and am very grateful to the almighty to be still alive. A seemingly mundane task of boiling milk turned into a deadly experience yesterday afternoon. After turning the gas stove on, I tried to twist the controlling dial towards the minimum flame position. Just as I did that, the controlling dial came apart, along with its spring and the holding screws. The very next moment, a sudden burst of flames rushed out of the hole exposed by the undone controlling dial, and hit me right in the face. Instinctively, I rushed away from the kitchen to open the main door, fearing that the fire might spread rapidly. After a few seconds of waiting at the door, I rushed back to the kitchen since the fire had not yet, as of that moment, spread outside of the kitchen. I could see the flames blazing away, starting to consume the wooden cabinets. Luckily, the gas cylinder was still some distance from the fire, allowing me to quickly shut-down the gas- supply from the...

Last night’s “ Shorts n Skirts ” party ( actually it turned out to be a “ Short Skirts ” party) was a welcome break from the monotony of the week. After subjecting ourselves to immense torture in the name of Marketing, Economics, Statistics and Accounting, not to mention the peer pressure and the various assignments, the party at the mirror pool was just the kind of distraction that all of us needed. Although I turned up late, and remained mostly away from the water games, it wasn’t long before I too was pulled in by GR and gang. And once you’re wet, might as well enjoy it. Everyone seemed to have put their worries and books (not necessarily in that order) behind, and had turned up for a wild time. Alcohol and smoke seemed to emanate from everywhere, and people, even the usually inhibited ones, decided to indulge in one or both the vices. People getting dunked in the shallow pool, and everyone kicking water into the poor dunked soul was the order of the day. Of course, both the dunked...

The verdict is out. Our marketing assignment was a big disaster! After all the hype and hoopla about how we managed to out-think everyone else, the bubble finally burst when the Prof. showed us in today’s class how simple the whole damn thing was, and how totally wrong we were. When we first looked at the case, our initial instinct was to tread the conventional, simple path. And if we had, we would have been bang on. But alas, we outsmarted ourselves by thinking that if the solution looked simple, it couldn’t be right. Talk about taking one’s self too seriously. We sure did. And when we managed to conjure those complicated formulae and those magical numbers, our confidence knew no bounds. Each of us was congratulating the other for masterminding the “ perfect solution ”. Now when I think of it, I feel stupid. But that’s the lesson for us. Complicating matters don’t always yield the right results. Simpler solutions might work just fine . All my group-mates are obviously disappointed at ...

For those of you who have been following WWE (or WWF if you are from the 1990’s), you must have surely wondered at the monster unveiled on Smackdown a few weeks ago. He goes by the screen name of “ The Great Khali ”, and is around 7 feet 2, weighing over 400 pounds. On his WWE debut, he manhandled the resident giant Undertaker , who almost looked like a midget jobber in front of the Great Khali. Now, here’s the interesting bit about the Great Khali. His real name is Dalip Singh , and he is the first Indian citizen to make an impact in the Pro-wrestling world. Dalip was a road construction worker when he was spotted by a senior police officer. Soon, Dalip was in the Police Department, and gradually built his body to match his abnormal height. He wrestled in Japan for a few years, and is a popular name there. His debut in WWE is a matter of pride for all the Indian fans of the WWE. We finally have a huge Indian wrestler, from the land of the legendary Dara Singh , making a name on the ...

Ever since I came to Hyderabad, all my posts have been focused around just one thing- ISB . I do realize that variety is the spice of life, and of late, this blog is devoid of variety. This blog started out as a place for my ramblings about life in general, and ideally, it should remain that way. However, since these days, and for the next 12 months, I may not be having much of a life outside of the hallowed campus of ISB, it has become increasingly difficult to write about anything else. Although we do have parties on weekends, they are mostly within the campus. There are people who go out to the city to sample life outside ISB. However, I haven’t made it out of the campus too many times. For one, going to a pub/disco is outrageously expensive when you don’t have an income, and even more so, when you have the specter of a huge loan hovering around your head. Secondly, being a married man, there is very little incentive to go to the pubs for me apart from getting to hear some good musi...

The bubble seems to have finally burst. All the hype built around the CP factor has finally come unstuck. Apparently irritated by the over-exuberance of students in one of the sections, the professor finally let the cat out of the bag. Excessive CP is unnecessary since it does not affect grades too much. The CP grades for everyone lies there and thereabouts, and excessive CP does not translate to a huge difference in grades. Now, that comes as a huge relief for some of us who are not very aggressive when it comes to cutting the prof’s lecture to pop an arbit question. Putting it in an economist’s jargon, the CP elasticity of Grades is very LOW . Addendum: Apparently CP does matter, and more so during the electives. Since this info came from an alum, there is no doubting it. But atleast, it isn't as bad as the hype built around it.

The first term at ISB has begun. Everybody is busy prepping for the next lecture, and hoping to make that one special point that none of the previous sections did, to score that most-wanted Class Participation point. There are some who come to class bubbling with enthusiasm, having listed down pages and pages of points to make during class, while there are others who seem worried about someone else making that special point that they had so carefully conjured the previous night. In short, the first term has very clearly spelled out the trend for the coming year. Intense competition. And CP ( I shall refer to Class Participation simply as CP from hereon, to ensure some letters on my keyboard don’t suffer irreparable damage ) is a legal tool at ISB that empowers everyone to step on others’ feet to climb up the ladder. As one of my friends very candidly admitted, every single brownie point that you earn by way of CP could decide if you make that shortlist at McKinsey and Co . CP is cert...

What is the probability of my getting through Business Statistics with at least a D, given everyone else manage to score at least C? Frankly, not much, although the actual answer would require a lot of application of the Bayes’ Theorem for revised probability. Well, this is basically how our probability cases have been. The question in the case seems pretty simple, but the answer turns out to be usually bizarre. And so far, I haven’t had too much luck in comprehending the complicated probability cases. To make things worse, I bumped into a fellow-student who rattled off all the answers even before I could blink. Apparently, the subject is not too tough. It’s just my brains that are too inadequate to handle them. The funny thing though, is that all these problems are part of the pre-term course, which is an optional course. In fact, the school expects the students to have at least the basic knowledge of these concepts to be able to dabble in more complicated problems during the core ter...

Our study group finally met up yesterday. After a lot of deliberation due to schedule mismatch, we finally got together for a casual “ ice-breaking ” session. Needless to say, there were lots of inputs from all quarters as to how we could maximize our potentials through the study group. However, since most of us have studied only in India, and our education system does not quite encourage study groups, it remains to be seen if we manage to really use the group to our advantages. Also, since some of us, including myself, have never done a case-analysis, the need to work in a group is all the more essential. Luckily, diversity will never be a problem within this group, since we have 3 IT guys, 1 Automobile engineer, a CA, and a marketing UG from Wharton (!!!). Hopefully, there will be a good exchange of knowledge between the engineers and the non-engineers. Although we have been clearly told that we have to work with our study groups, whether we like it or not, it remains to be seen how ...

The blogging community at ISB have had a couple of meetings already. I have, not surprisingly, missed all of them. As much as I would like to be a part of the official ISB blog, the idea of a censored blog does not quite appeal to me. Also, I am told that one needs to continuously keep churning out posts after posts to keep the blog ticking. Unfortunately, I have a very rigid mind, which at times, refuses to budge from its position of non-creativity. And during such phases, I strictly stay away from blogging. If I were a more serious and even slightly credible writer, I could even have called my condition “ Writer’s Block ”. Coming back to the point about censored blogs, the very spirit of blogging lies in the fact that you write what you chose. If I had to write based on topics that someone else chooses or approves, and also adhere to certain guidelines on the content and structure, then I would have become a scribe instead. Blogging, for me, is strictly personal, and is totally in m...

There was yet another party last night. The third party within my first week at ISB. From the mails that followed the party, I believe it was a rocking affair. I was, however, busy snoring away on my first and, probably, the last relatively stress-free weekend. That’s not to say I am not a party animal. I am, and quite a wild one at that. However, last night, I preferred to start and finish my party well before midnight. A couple of beers, in the confines of my studio, with a friend for company, over intellectually stimulating conversation summed up my party last night. At the end of it all, I was not much for another wild time at the section party, and decided to give it the slip. But for all my section mates who turned out in their best party manners, and even braved the dunking sessions, “ Go D Go! ”. And if you’re still down with hangover, my silent prayers are with your “ D-Partied ” soul.

It’s been exactly a week since I arrived at the ISB, Hyderabad. And am already stressed out. If this is a sign of things to come, God help me. The first week at ISB has been a mixed bag of sorts. When I came in here, I had lofty expectations of what this school can do to my career. Consulting and I-Banks were where I was hoping to head right after ISB. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I even harbored hopes of becoming the next crorepati from ISB. One week down the line, I have been cut down to size by the innumerable gyan sessions that our alums conducted ever so enthusiastically for us. There were lots of gyan that were given away, but the biggest takeaway, for me, has been the realization, in no unclear terms, that career shifts don’t happen that easily in a one-year MBA program. McKinsey and the likes will shortlist only the top 30 students, while I-Banks rarely ever look outside of the pool of people with prior experience in finance. I don’t expect to make it to the top 30, and I ...

As the car turned in to the little road leading to the mound, Bob quipped " You really think your car would still be where you left it, after last night's storm? " " Well, it survived because the storm was in a hurry to go to the top. Pity the barn was almost razed " Kelly said. " What barn? " Bob was surprised. " Old Rupert's barn. That's where I spent last night, and that’s how I survived the storm. The old man's a nice guy, although you wouldn’t know by looking at him " Kelly smiled. " I have driven by this road several times, and I don’t remember seeing any barn. Are you sure? " he asked. " Of course, but I have to ask Rupert about Joe's garage. There is no such place " she continued. " Joe's Garage? That’s where my dad used to work. But how do you know about it? " he was surprised. " I went looking for Joe's Garage off the first exit, and couldn’t find anything. Just an old house...

It was almost an hour till Kelly finally spotted the highway. She had hoped to hitchhike a ride till the highway. But had ended up walking all the way till the highway since she hadn’t come across any motorist on the desolate service road. Her daily routine of morning jogs had come of great use to cover the 6 miles to the highway. When a trucker finally stopped to offer her a ride till the nearest Auto Service center, Kelly realized how tired she was when she gulped down an entire bottle of Gatorade to the amazement of the kind trucker. " How did a girl like you end up on that weird road leading to the old mound? " he questioned her. " I am looking for a mechanic to fix my car. Could you drop me till Joe's Garage, by the next exit? " Kelly pleaded. " I could, if there was any garage there. I don’t think there is any garage for the next 4 exits " he said. " Oh, I am told there is. So if you could drop me off at the next exit, I will find my way ...

Kelly got up, and walked up the dungeon. Her morning alarm had woken her up at sharp 5 AM, as had been her regimen everyday for the past 5 years. The storm had passed, but had left a wreck in its place. The whole cabin had been ransacked, and furniture thrown everywhere. She could see that the little cabin had put up a fight against the might of the storm, but had finally given in. The storm had reduced the place to a few standing walls, amidst a wooden wreck of debris. The roof had been mostly uprooted, and there were gaping holes in the few walls that had survived the storm. Rupert slowly managed to get up, and walk up to see the damage to his house. Unusually, his face did not betray any emotion. He seemed least bothered about the fact that his house had been wrecked. " This doesn’t look good Rupert. This place is gonna take a while to be restored. Maybe you should live in the town till the barn is rebuilt " Kelly tried to comfort him. " Don’t worry about me. I have f...

" Think it's going to rain real bad ", Rupert observed, looking at the dark clouds looming large in the evening sky. The mountains overlooking the horizon had become blurred, indicating that the clouds had already precipitated in the hills. The green view of the hills had turned into a mild shade of silver, due to the pouring rain. " Looks like the floodgates to heaven have opened ", quipped Kelly in reply. " Did you say heaven? " he asked with a wicked grin. " Huh? " shrugged Kelly, almost disinterested and lost in her thoughts. It had been a long day for her. She had driven the whole day to get back to Albany, from Orlando. Her best friend Kate had finally fallen in love, and had decided to marry Steven Bloom, the suave Television anchor on Fox. The wedding was a grand affair at Steve's private ranch in Orlando. She was still reeling from the late night partying that followed the lavish wedding. Steve had just been confirmed for a reali...

Yesterday, I finally resigned formally from the organization that I had given my blood and sweat to for the past 6 and half years . There was a strange sense of loss even as I was filling in the Separation Form. Having started my career as a junior software engineer, I graduated through the ranks to finally end up where I did. The journey, despite all the shortcomings and the denied opportunities, had its good moments. So many experiences. So many memories. So many changes that my life went through while I was part of this organization. Surely, IBM will remain very close to my heart. It wasn't the perfect organization to work for. But then no organization is perfect. The fact that I didn’t ever seriously think about quitting in the past 6 and half years is proof that there was something innately good about working for this organization. For all the good things about this place, there is one big aspect where this organization is a big letdown. And I am not even talking about salarie...

A special thanks to the two women who define my very existence. The mother and the wife . It's amazing how easy it is to take them for granted, just because they don't mind. Or even if they did, it doesn't matter since they will still continue to love us anyways. It's funny how we know that we take them for granted, and yet don't do anything to change it. But Men, being intelligent species, realized that sooner than later, it was inevitable that women would rebel. There was only so much that they would take, and once that limit was crossed, they would make life miserable for their men. At this point, a genius among the male species spoke. " How about setting aside one day in a year to appreciate the women of this world? That way they will also feel special, even if it's for only one day in a year ". Men being men, a few of them had apprehensions. " That leaves us with only 364 days of bossing around in a year. Aren't you asking too much from u...

Greg Chappell's unprovoked statements against Saurav Ganguly re-ignited what most of us Cricket-lovers thought was dead and buried. Just like Saurav Ganguly himself was, in the words of Kiran More , who clearly mentioned that Saurav will not be considered for selection in future irrespective of his domestic performances. Greg Chappell, in conversation with The Guardian , went on to talk about how important being the captain was to Saurav's life and finances. The not-so-clever use of the word " finances " triggered a whole new wave of outrage not only from the usual Saurav fans, but also from the Saurav bashers. Greg Chappell, through such unwarranted accusations, is proving himself to be the master of under-handed attacks. Remember, Greg Chappell was the captain who instructed his brother Trevor to bowl under-arm in an ODI against New Zealand some 25 years back . And we sure seem to be witnessing history repeat itself. What this whole incident did was to infuse new ...

March 05, 2006. Sunday. Around 7 PM. A family of 5 is driving back to Bangalore from Tirupathi, in their new car. A young man, all of 24 years, is behind the wheel, driving along the highway as he has so many times in the past. His uncle had bought a new car, and had planned to visit Tirupathi over the weekend with wife and twin daughters. Since he was known to be a very good driver, his uncle asked him to accompany them to the sacred shrine. On the way back, about 10 kms from Kolar towards Bangalore, he is driving through a series of treacherous curves on the highway. To avoid the muddy lane, he steers the car just a wee bit to the right, almost to the center of the road. An oncoming tanker appears out of the blind curve. Before he realizes, it's all over . A head-on collision so strong that it split the Santro into two halves. His uncle died on the spot with his skull busted open. He suffered internal bleeding, with ruptured testicles, and finally succumbed on way to the hospital...