The confessions of a clueless mind

Last night, ISB R2 admits were sent out, and I happened to be one of the privileged few to receive an admit! Whew! Finally, something went right . Right now, I am more relieved than happy. Because this means that I am going someplace this year, for sure. I am yet to receive the results from McCombs and Duke , but the fact that I have one admit already makes the wait a lot easier. Come to think of it, even if I do get into McCombs, I’d rather prefer ISB to it since McCombs is a big money gamble, and I wont even get a loan from US (due to their stupid co-signer requirements). So right now, it is only Duke that can make me change my mind about joining ISB. Obviously Duke-Fuqua is too great an opportunity to miss, if I do get an admit. But again, it’s 4 times as expensive as ISB, and takes twice the time as ISB to earn an MBA degree. US Schools are always a big gamble, but they also pay-off better than non-US schools. Well, right now, since I haven’t got anything from Duke yet, there is no...

" Justice Delayed is Justice Denied " is one of the basic tenets of jurisprudence. In India, we say that with more punch. " Justice Delayed to ensure Justice Denied ". That sums up the Jessica Lal murder trial verdict. The sheer mockery of the entire justice system in India that this verdict represents has disillusioned the whole nation. A cold-blooded murder, in full view of over 100 people, is finally dismissed for want of eye-witness evidence. And that, after 6 years from the day of the crime. It is almost customary these days for the rich and powerful to get away with any criminal offence, and the Jessica Lal verdict only adds further proof to the anarchy that has descended on our legal system. The fact that Manu Sharma shot Jessica Lal for refusing him a drink in full view of so many elite people at the party should have made this a prima facie case of murder. An Open and Shut case. However, the rich and powerful very conveniently bought the judicial syste...

Have been inactive on blogspot for an entire year. I had been posting my ramblings on rediffblogs for the past year. After trying out both blogspot and rediffblogs, I am now convinced this is the best place to be. I intend to be back on blogspot from now. A few posts will be copied over from my other blog, over the next few days, due to want of original posting material.

It happened when I was in std 8th. Mom had been transferred to a far off place, and couldnt impress upon her superiors to move her back to Bangalore. Dad had, therefore, inherited the kitchen. Food would mostly be alright, but there were times when Dad would outdo himself, and cook a fantasy dinner that we thought should stay only in fantasies. But since brother and I were kids with a paltry pocket money of Rs.50 per month, which would mostly be spent on the first weekend after receiving it, we had to force ourselves to like everything that Dad cooked. It was only later that I realised that going hungry is a lot less harmful than eating bad food. One fateful evening, Dad decided to cook something exotic. I dont remember what it was, but it smelled like volcanic ash. And it tasted just as hot. Since we dont hail from Andhra, and we dont even have any remote ancestral links with Andhra Pradesh, the gene for digesing spicy food was never inherited. Not even the recessive variety. But Dad ...

P.S. This post was written on Feb 15th, but has been posted on Feb 20th. It was Valentine's Day yesterday. And I managed to pick up a rose for my wife just before I went home at 930 PM. Luckily for me, she didn’t seem too upset by my late ways. In fact, it appears that she has given up on me. That was my V-day. But the rest of the country seems to have woken up to love in a really big way. The V-day festivities begin in early February, and linger on till the end of the month. Barista and Cafe Coffee Day outlets seem to be in a competition to outdo each other in ushering in the spirit of St.Valentine . Last weekend, the waiter at Barista tried every clichéd trick in his book of marketing to sell my friend and me one of those mushy stuffed teddy toys to gift our girlfriends on Valentine's Day. We put up a brave front, and refused him every single time. But he kept coming back with more and better offers. Due to his insisting, my friend decided to buy it for his girlfriend . A...

Finally, I’m done with all the B-school interviews. For this year. The telephonic interview with the McCombs School was a cakewalk. But all my interviews so far have all been cakewalks. Or so I thought till the results came out. And there's no reason to believe this one might be any different. So I'm trying to stay grounded and not let my hopes soar too high. I'm bracing myself up for more failures, and am already chalking out plans for the B Schools that I should apply to next year. Anyways, here's a gist of the interview. The guy called me at sharp 1130 PM, as scheduled. Because the first time he called, the line had seemed so muffled, when he called the second time, I started the conversation trying to check if the line was clear, and if there were any disturbance etc. In the process, I missed the pleasantries, and didn’t even ask him how he was doing. Next, I addressed him by his first name, and then sought his permission to do so. That could be a minus or a plus, d...

I had my R2 interview for ISB on Jan 27th, Friday at The Oberoi, Bangalore. The 50 word essay was too short, and my topic was " LIFE ". Managed to write a small satirical essay, although I didn’t bother too much about the word count. My interview was scheduled to start at 3 PM, and I was called in on the dot. There were 4 people on the panel, a senior lady and a middle aged man, probably from Adcom , and two fairly young guys (probably alums). I wished them as I entered, but the panel didn’t seem too friendly. I never caught them smiling throughout the entire time. The interview went on for a full 30 minutes, and they had to end it since we were running out of time. The questions were as below: 1) Tell us why you have stuck to the same company for more than 5 years? 2) What kind of complex situations have you faced at work, and how have you solved them? 3) Would your current company want to hire you after your MBA, and why? 4) A few more questions about some of the awards and...

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...

As a citizen of the world's largest democracy, I should be a proud man. But alas, I am anything but that! 59 years since India became an Independent country, and there is still no sign of growth and freedom that one would expect in a democratic country. The Constitution of India proudly proclaims the country to be a " Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic republic ". However, today, the country is anything but what the constitution proclaims. With the way India has handled Kashmir, Sovereignty is a complete misnomer, especially when it comes to the Kashmir province. By conceding a part of Kashmir to Pakistan, the Government of India clearly made mockery of the sovereignty of India over the entire Kashmir. What is more appalling than this act of cowardice is the fact that even present day Governments are trying to bargain with the Line of Control as the official India-Pak border. And if that was not insulting enough, our rogue neighbor has rebuked even that offer, a...