Tilt 23.5

Silence

2011-06-06T05:04:00.000+05:30

It takes getting some used to, this silence. I've been in Princeton just about a day and already the lack of sound is driving me insane. For someone who's used to staying next to a construction zone, such peace means an emptiness.

We take the noise in our life for granted, often annoyed at its bewildering array and constant chatter. But noise (or as I like to put it, sound) is life. In the beginning was the sound, although I wasn't really there and so can't be fully certain ! For a culture that seems to equate sound with life and action, this silence is even more deafening.

The lack of sound is great in the beginning. It helps you relax and enjoy the other senses - the light, the breeze, the perfume - without being overwhelmed and distracted by all stimuli aural. But then what ? You've made your peace, have experienced sensory delight and now have left nothing to contemplate but that twisted thing hammering away in your head, a.k.a your mind. Where do you escape to, now that the distraction is gone ?

Sound for me is a thought train. Each beat setting of a string of interesting patterns. I never feel alone at such a time, knowing that someone only has to drop a glass for me to set off on another journey. Much as you'd like to believe, this is not a tendency of the mentally disturbed alone, but happens to us all. But with such depth of noiselessness around, it feels as if my mind has hit a terminus.

It's scary sometimes, being alone with your imagination. I'm not entirely sure if I'll survive this time in Princeton without irreparable damage (some might say it has already been done in years gone by, but me, I'm an optimist, no?). What can I do to relieve such gravitas ? Music, you say. Aha ! But music is interesting as an instrument to bring order to sound, as a comparative tool. Without the underlying texture of random noise, would music sound as appealing ? Perhaps not.

Maybe the idea is to leverage this silence, to learn to escape to it, much as we escape to music. That's going to be tough to pick up and even tougher to let go once I'm back home when the jack hammer starts up at 7 am !! It does help my reading though. Vikram Chandra's Red Earth and Pouring Rain has been a delight so far, although it's ironical that a book that draws on such a kaleidoscopic and chaotic landscape is being read amidst such a bucolic setting as a New England summer in Princeton.

I've been off blogging for a while now and it seems an eternity has passed in between. Neha's off to work (finally !) while an artist (probably the one true artist) in the family passed away. Both events will leave voids in the world, in more ways than one.

Neha's departure finally marks the end of an era that we had tried to keep protected for as long as possible, a world of adolescence and innocence where things were stored to be relived in moments of joy and sorrow. With her gone, it's as if we're all grown up now, with all vestiges of connections to our earlier selves cast aside. There's no escaping here, either, mister. It's off to the real world, now.

My uncles' unexpected passing away seemed to shake all of us. For a man who was a consummate artist, time played the role of an artistic villain. No matter what we do, where we go, time catches up with us all. And when it does, it's not kind. It makes us weak, dependent, hollow shells of a once glorious prime. What shall keep us rooted then ? I'd like to believe that my life at that point meant something to somebody, at least to me. I don't expect it to have any grand purpose or even to achieve something. I just want it to be a life, lived, inshallah. Will it be so ? Only time will tell.

As you can tell, I'm rambling. Time to sign off.

I am but an egg

2010-12-04T00:51:00.001+05:30

My sci-fi odyssey continues. This time, it's Stranger in a strange land, a beautiful examination of religion, philosophy, love, xenophobia and just what qualifies the term mankind. Strange ideas abound through the book, and once again, I'm surprised by some of the things I've been missing.

A few years ago, when I first read Roy's God of Small Things, a comment on the blurb caught my attention. It said that all good books invent their own language. I guess, then, that all great books are imbibed into the language itself. And here, Heinlein has talent non-pareil. Not just the word grok, he has added what I would like to believe one of the most innocent phrases - I am but an egg.

I interpret it to be mean something along these lines: I accept my ignorance without thought to consequences. I do not try to hide my lack of knowledge. Consequently, I am not afraid of being "found out". In a knowledge-weary world, it is a refreshing attitude. It opens one's mind, makes one seek knowledge for knowledge. It reconnects us with our childhood again. I get the feeling that considering knowledge is power in today's world, people are more reluctant to admit that they don't know something. Especially so in an industry like consulting. This becomes a way of life, unfortunately, which blocks any further progress.

Heinlein's other interesting definition is of mankind itself. When asked who man was, one of the characters answered, man was a creature that laughed at itself. Very poignant. Also, very true! I haven't even begun the more interesting part of the book, who knows where it will lead us.

It's getting late, but I can't resist setting out another poem that Heinlein references in the book, R.L Stevenson's (yes, he of the Treasure Island and Jekyll-n-Hyde fame) Requiem:

Beneath the wide wide starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie,
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I lay me down with a will:

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Haiku

2010-11-29T02:06:00.001+05:30

I've been away for quite some time, travelling and in general being occupied with work. And within this manic world of instant everything, I discovered a form of poetry that I thought I'd never truly appreciate. Haiku.

I've never been much of a fan of romanticist poetry, though it does have extremely evocative imagery. I always believed that poetry should be based on elegance of thought and structure, being characterized by brevity in its form. If not, isn't it cutting it too close to prose ?

On chance, I stumbled upon a couple of scribbled lines of Haiku and that led to a line of interesting research. It turns out that the 17 syllables can convey a powerful image. Like the Japanese language itself, a Haiku, to me, is the hieroglyphic form of prose. To some extent, the development of Haiku in Japan has been aided by both the nature and culture of the land. Buddhism lends itself well to Haiku, focusing on minimalist language to convey the deepest thoughts. For example, the following Haiku in my mind captures the true essence of Buddhism:

a world of dew,

and within every dewdrop

a world of struggle

The best Haiku always instills in me a feeling of serenity and peace. Of realization that there is beauty in this world after all. Of recognition that there is more to life than strife and toil. Of perfection. Of harnessed intelligence. Of quiet contemplation. Of a thousand words.

A couple more that I really liked:

so very still, even

cherry blossoms are not stirred

by the temple bell

at the ancient pond

a frog plunges into

the sound of water

Magnum Opus

2010-08-31T01:09:00.004+05:30

One of the drawbacks of the internet age is the inability to walk into a bookstore, rummage and walk out with a book and the anticipation of not knowing how it will turn out. It was a good experience, then, to stumble into a Reliance book-store at Korum in Thane. And on a whim, I picked up what ultimately was one of the better reads in recent times. Let's face it, I have had just too many MBA turned authors strutting their stuff on my bookshelf. So it felt good to put my fate in the hands of a writer, someone who's actually studied the art and not decided to follow his whim after friends praised the blog posts! So yes - Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games succeeded in blindsiding me like no other book in recent memory.

I bought it thinking "What the heck - it's about the Mumbai underworld, how bad can it be ?!". Just a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation meant that I'd be occupied for days, in return for just Rs 300/-. Seemed like a good deal to an business grad and so I plonked for it over Nagarkar's Cuckold. And I was pleasantly surprised. The book is about everything, but at its core, it's about Mumbai - the city and its people. It takes the antipodean approach to the city when compared to Shantaram, which sometimes felt detached, as if you knew an outsider was writing about it.

Chandra, on the other hand, writes as if he knows it intimately and is familiar with every mote of dust and every drop of sweat. The characters are real, their problems are real and one can feel the research and work that must have gone into the book's writing. I get the feeling, strongly resonant, that the characters love Mumbai not because of its inherent goodness, but because of its frailties. He succeeds in capturing the city's language perfectly, its curious mix of Marathi, Hindi and English, simultaneously giving us a glimpse of its life-force - what it means to live in this city. So even though this book happens through the eyes of a sardar-ji cop, you never feel as if he's an outsider in this world. This is his city and he belongs here. The opening scene alone should rivet you to close attention. Yes, it's opus-sized at 900+ pages. And yes, it does tend to drag a bit, especially during the insets. But the writing is never dull and this book will definitely occupy good shelf space in the Indian author's section. It's disappointing that the book was not a runaway success, though it will be difficult for the author to match the scale and scope of this work.

It's interesting to note a bit of trivia on Chandra. He co-wrote Mission Kashmir with Suketu Mehta, who has himself written a largely documentary-style book about Mumbai - Maximum City (not a big fan). Chandra's sister, Tanuja, makes (or rather used to make) quite half-decent films. Mom Kamna wrote classics like 1942: A Love Story and Chandini while other sister Anupama is Vidhu Vinod Chopra's wife and a Bollywood historian/author herself in addition to being a consulting editor with NDTV. That is a family with some achievers !

This lack of cable TV has really been a blessing in disguise. Have had some good reads in this time. Finally completed Asimov's two remaining novels (End of Eternity and The Gods, Themselves - typical Asimov), Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card's masterpiece) plus Philip K Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Brilliant) and will start exploring the Gabriel Garcia Marquez books soon. Interesting times ahead !

I leave you with an elegant quote I came across:

Life happened because I turned the pages ~ Alberto Manguel

Steed

2010-07-29T22:15:00.002+05:30

After a long time, I'm mobile again ! I bought a Hyundai i10 Asta towards the end of May and God, what a relief it is to not depend on auto-wallas again :) I've been meaning to jot this down for a long time, but finally getting around to writing about how I finally zeroed in on the i10.

Since mom and dad were absolutely hell bent on not allowing me a bike (YZF R-15 ?), I decided to opt for a set of two extra wheels. I was quite sure I wanted something small for my first car that had a petrol engine and definitely didn't want a Maruti. The Beat was just too radical for my taste. Finally, the hatches in consideration were Hyundai, Punto, Figo and Polo. While Figo is probably the best VFM out there, I wasn't sure about the quality of the build and the petrol engine. Ford has always been associated to the oil-burner in my mind and it was difficult to break that link. Looks-wise, I loved the Polo, but reviews have noticed a lethargic 1.2L and was expensive for its bracket. That left Punto and Hyundai. I really liked the specs on the Punto and almost decided to buy the 1.4 Emo Pk. The only thing that stopped me was having to deal with Tata showrooms and service centers. That's a big no-no.

Finally, after realizing that manual transmission in the i20 has the same 1.2L which brings down the power-weight ratio, I finally decided that the i10 is the right fit. I've not regretted it in the short time I've had it. Some good things:

The interiors are plush, compared to the others.
Seats are comfortable and the space for rear passengers is ample enough.
It's got a very light steering which is a pleasure to drive in traffic
The NVH levels are more than acceptable upto 110 kph
The gear shift it precise
The music system is sufficient for my use and
You get good highway handling with ABS and EBD

And now the not-so-good:

low-rpm grunt is sorely lacking
Visibility is obstructed due to the front right pillar
The gear shift sometimes refuses to shift into 1st or R
The light steering is too light on the highway
The headlights are bad. Really bad
Well, there are just so many of them out there !

Overall, though, I'm quite satisfied with the package. For 90% of the time, it suits my needs. In fact, dad's considering getting an AT for himself. That ought to be fun.

What's not fun, though, has been the traffic. It's just crazy. It seems like only yesterday that I was weaving effortlessly out of traffic on my Pulsar. But somehow, seated in a car, you realize the mindless risks that people take to shave seconds. Rules are not even recognized, forget followed. Whoever said one has to stop at red light ?! The worst part is that akin to corruption, it is very difficult for an honest driver to make a fist of it. Basically, driving in India is more like loco motion rather than locomotion :)

Transition

2010-07-28T16:00:00.004+05:30

So the ride that was ISB finally ended. The graduation day was well organized and I thought all the speakers spoke rather well. I do feel sorry for Mr Sibal, though, having to shake 550+ hands ! All in all, a satisfactory end to an energetic year.

I did expect the ride from student life to corporate life to be rather bumpy, a little like the morning after a night spent painting the town red :) I was pleasantly surprised then, to find that I had almost two and half months of doing nothing! It was fun at first, not having to be on your toes 24x7, but I guess it got a little boring towards the end. A part of the boredom was relieved by the arrival of my spanking new Hyundai i10. Being a newbie, the learning curve in Mumbai's traffic was rather steep. But we did manage to make trips to Pune, Nashik and Alibaug before I joined ZS.

The orientation in Gurgaon was simply a way to transition back into corporate life, I guess. I learnt quite a few things about ZS and the Pharmaceutical industry and survived the rest. The Leela Kempenski where we were initially put up was an excellent choice, but could have done with some better food. All in all, the 1st week was comfortable and a nice introduction to the company, function and industry. The second week was a deeper look at the respective practice areas and we did get a chance to interact with the MD, OMPs and other consultants/managers over dinner. More importantly, the NEO allowed us to interact across designations and hopefully establish some rapport.

Over the weekend, it was also an opportunity for me to catch up with classmates from BHU. I was rather pleased to find out that in this ever-changing world, some people at least have remained constant. With the Germany-England match in the background, it was a nice reunion at Connaught Place. Was burning with jealousy to find out that the Schneider Electric folks are usually home by 4:30 PM. Yeh kahaa ka insaaf hai ?!

The one thing that amazed me is the amount of development that Gurgaon has seen. All things have a new-ish feel to them. But, I was disappointed at the lack of a life beyond the professional circle in Gurgaon. You are expected to be either at work or shopping. For everything else, head to Delhi. I guess it could get really boring after a few days. Without full Metro connectivity and the lack of any mode of public transport, getting by without a vehicle is a challenge to say the least. I was, however, impressed by Delhi's Metro and if the quality of Mumbai's metro is as good, we are in for some comfortable commutes indeed.

After all this, I'm finally back a full circle. having arrived first in Pune in 2004, I'm back in the same place. The same lovely weather, the same traffic, the same attitude. It feels good to be back ! Magarpatta has grown in the years gone by and I notice that almost everything here is expensive, even when benchmarked against Mumbai. There was hardly any time settling in, since work demanded my attention almost immediately. However, I have decided to call a rental in Trillium my home for the foreseeable future.

That's about it for now, I'll try to put up a review of the i10 along with some pics and travelogues a little later.

Disconnecting

2010-03-14T19:39:00.002+05:30

Leaving an educational institute is one of the toughest things to do. Even more so at a place like ISB. Just physically leaving the campus is a challenge in itself. For 360 days we have been pampered by Sarovar and nature. I can't imagine what it would be like to make my own bed!! As if to make things worse, summer has arrived with warmth, colors and today, cooling rain. Sigh...

Disconnecting from the more abstract attributes will require greater effort than anything else. In some sense withdrawal symptoms started to creep in after placements. The classrooms seem uninviting, the conversations repetitive and the parties monotonous. I guess I'm yearning for a newer challenge and the accompanying anticipation of the unknown!

For various reasons, term 8 is meant to facilitate this process. The courses are instructive rather than participative, giving us that much free time to create memories. Some choose to move the bull, others find memories a bottle and a few lucky ones like me get to go on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Bangkok! Team Trip-Plan learnt a lot in that visit, made a few good friends and overall had a reality check on what it means to be an entrepreneur. And of course, it wasn't just all work :)

We can do without the campus, without even the daily dose of gyaan since we will find substitutes once we leave this place. What I will miss are the students. Contrary to perception, an institute does not make the students, but vice versa. This is what I found at BHU and what I have observed at ISB. Whatever the ills and criticisms of ISB, what cannot be doubted is the talent inherent in the student body. Who knows if I'll ever find another collection of such specimens (!) in a single place at the same time.

Filling up the year book did bring back tons of memories. It was surprising to note what people actually thought of you. For some, it was payback time :) . The last section party was great and given the large turnout, it absolutely rocked. People are now busy collecting pictures, videos, books, presentations, anything at all that defined their time here. I'm not sure if that's the right way. We tend to accumulate just too much baggage.

SLC has promised an absolute blast for the next three weeks including parties, lunches, paintball fights and what not. With the Hon. Kapil Sibal expected for Graduation Day, the coming days offer a plethora of entertainment.

I'm left wondering sometimes, though, what it would be like to call ISB an alma mater. How would people perceive me ? Would I be branded as snobbish and elitist or smart and wise ? Time will tell...

Validation

2010-03-04T15:55:00.002+05:30

These last few days of free time have really brought on introspection. I'm yet to form an opinion of my time here at ISB. Unlike at BHU, where I was nostalgic even before I left, ISB seems to defy classification. So I decided to go hunting for other similar experiences.

Of course, talking to ISBians is too small a sample. But the overall feeling I got was that most of my MBA friends (ISB, IIMs, US etc) were underwhelmed by the MBA experience. This effect was even more pronounced with those who had harrowing placement experience (and hence could be discounted to an extent) but the nagging feeling that an MBA is not all that it was cracked up to be could not be shaken off. Why is it then that the stereotype of the MBA Gods has spread like wildfire ? Does society's perspective of MBAs differ significantly from the students' ? If so, why ? Perhaps it is because our benchmarks change once we're inside.

A couple of interesting reads helped put things in perspective. Keep off the grass by Karan Bajaj takes a "pot" shot at management education at the IIMs. It's a must-read to appreciate some of the absurdity that goes on behind the scenes in Indian management education. A second, and probably more cultured, version of the B-school experience is Ahead of the Curve by Phil Broughton. Based on his two years at HBS, he puts a more realistic spin on the pressures faced by the students at an international B-school and comes very close to what my experience at ISB was like.

Both authors speak of the pressure to perform, of somehow finishing top of the curve. They also talk of the serendipity of success, of learning to take failings in your stride and not being overwhelmed by peer pressure. Easier said than done when every incoming student will be fighting tooth and nail for that pot of gold called IB/VC/PE/MC. Is this correct ? Students will have to compromise simply because of demand supply mismatch. Is this fair ? Why ask people to write lofty essays about goals when you know almost 80% of them won't be able to achieve them ? I think the GSB prof was on the right track when he asked - How much will you bend over for ?

My own personality has undergone some change since I came here. I was always introverted and critical to begin with, but now I sense that I have become more cynical. A sameness begins to creep in after some time and diversity and participation become mere buzzwords. As managers, when we are taught to question everything and deal with the uncertainty of everyday business, it can easily become the twisted prism through which we view life. I would not like this cynicism to be my greatest takeaway from an MBA. Entrepreneurs, especially, will have to figure out how to retain their dreams when surrounded by this ocean of randomness and pessimism.

Don't get me wrong - there's no experience like B-school. Everything about them is larger than life. For a few months, you're likely to be more alive than ever before and you'll be challenging everything you thought you knew about yourself. It's a grand adventure. But, like all adventures, it's not without risks. I only wish that starry-eyed folks who come in expecting the moon can be better prepared to imagine the worst-case scenario and have the right contingencies planned.

Final Stretch

2010-02-12T15:20:00.002+05:30

Term 7 is done, dusted, and with that begins the end. It's been a nerve-wracking past few weeks. And to be honest, I have almost no recollection of the time between Dec - Jan. It's as if someone reached into my skull and ripped my memories out. I guess that's what stress does to you. Now that I have a job and time to kill, it's about time I started stocking on books. The first one I ran across was Alice in Wonderland (this book has to be on the pre-read list for O-week) and came across this scene to describe my own personal placement experience:

Alice asked the cheshire cat sitting on top of the tree

"Which way I ought to go ?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to" said the Cat.

"I don't much care where so long as I get somewhere"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go" said the Cat.

That's the perfect way to capture my emotions. All this expectation that any MBA student should have a clearly mapped out itinerary for his career is mostly bull. As managers we are expected to deal with uncertainty day in day out. I notice that people who deal with this the best are those who are flexible instead of stubborn. They are not zappered by a role/industry/function and instead can recognize a good opportunity when it knocks on the door. Is that what ISB must start looking for while admitting students ? We seem to have crossed the half way mark and further progress can be expected in the coming days. It's the last few remaining who'll face the toughest time.

As for the other tomes, I did manage to hunt down a modern rendering of the Mahabharata. It's been on my to-do list for far too long and after my failed attempt at reading the Gita translation, I realized that I needed a simplified version to appreciate it. An appetizer before attempting the real thing, so to speak.

Since our team was shortlisted for the Asia Moot Corp competition, I'm looking forward to going on a break to Bangkok!! We have tons to do in the meantime and my job is to get the prototype working before the end of Feb. You can never really separate a techie from code for too long. I've never really built a core Java app of this size and I guess timelines are going to be a challenge.

Anyways, I guess I'll be posting regularly in the coming days. Until then, adios...

Insanity Unbound

2010-01-25T01:37:00.003+05:30

A new year. A new dawn. The same ol' ISB marathon. This spicy mix was stirred with a generous dollop of additional craziness. Yes. Placements are here.

Classes are half empty (pessimist?), assignment boxes too, and yet, LRC burns brightest as the future consultants dissect simulated cases on industries ranging from bubble gum to satellite launches. It's fun. Watching people stutter, stammer, blank out and come up with ludicrous solutions under the guise of "innovation" is truly a humbling experience. Campus abounds with nervous energy and yet is so deserted that you might expect a tumbleweed to roll past like a spaghetti western.

All the creative CV skills we have learned in our precious experience are on dazzling display. Would anyone notice if we added a few zeroes to the project value, a dozen more resources to teams managed, an award here, an appreciation there, all topped of with "strategy", "critical", "value", "client", "international", "global", "culture", "inter-personal" and other such lofty words ? Oh what fun the recruiters must have!!

The shortlists are in, the warriors chosen and battle lines drawn for Jan 16. As time passes, you can feel the tension rise. It's like in a circus, as the trapeze artist prepares for the final jump and the drum roll reaches a crescendo. It's unbearable, really.

Different people deal with this in various ways. Some try to hide a smile, others a nervous twitch and the rarest of them all are those who shake hands with confidence during these times. It takes brave souls to wake up each day and find out if you are worth anything in the market. We take valuation courses, but this is the ultimate test of what rupee-worth you place on yourself. Some short, some long, some just don't care. As always, ISB's diversity is tremendous.

And just as you feel you can't take it any more, the drums stop. There's a clash of swords as the trumpeter announces the commencement of battle. The audience waits with bated breath. By this time, you can't walk in campus. The tension's so thick, you actually have to swim through. Those with multiple interviews run around from room to room. But for the vast majority who don't partake of the spoils on offer on day 1, it is but a trailer of the things to come.

The Consulting sisters are in their full array of feathers and fur. Egos prickle, schedules disintegrate, escalations happen and then, poof - like that it's all over. 48 hours and a deathly silence settles before the final offers. There's gossip galore, the smart ones take wagers on who'll make it where. ISBians being ISBians know when to make a quick buck. Finally, it happens. The first offer, a clap on the back, a muted celebration, mindful perhaps of the hundreds still out there.

A sigh of relief and ISB settles down till the next day to repeat the pattern on a miniature scale. It's been two weeks now and it truly has been a learning experience. From people who believe risk can only be lowered by diversifying, i.e., applying to all sectors/roles/pay-checks/locations/companies irrespective of their preference to those who app to a selected few, it is a test of skill, focus and endurance.

How will this year be ? Who knows, each batch tends to react differently IMO to the same set of offers. Circumstances are not ideal and our batch is large. But we have some atypical profiles and new recruiters. I think we'll get there. Eventually.

I know - if you've read so far, the question is almost on your lips. Yes, I did get a job on D2. Consulting, but importantly, around Pune. Deja Vu. Disengagement has already begun while simultaneously, the class of 2011 begins their journey here

A la prochaine...

Twenty Years of Tendulkar

2009-12-13T14:21:00.003+05:30

Sachin completed 20 years as an international cricketer recently. It deserves a salute, a prayer and gratitude. I wonder often, what could be termed as Tendulkar's calling card. It's not pure ability (Sehwag and Lara surpass him), neither is it grace (Ganguly and Laxman) nor is it stoic longevity (Waugh and Dravid). Why then has this Mumbai batsman has been regarded as the greatest modern batsman ever ?

Perhaps to answer that question, one needs to put it in context of what his exploits meant to a generation of Indians. I grew up without a world cup exploit to talk about, or a No. 1 test ranking to boast about. In the decade of the nineties, my sole link to the Indian team was Sachin - the epitome of excellence in batsmanship. I guess it also has a lot to do with the person within. Perhaps Rahul Dravid comes close - but the gravitas that Tendulkar the person brings to an occassion is unrivalled.

When Tendulkar was young and rising, we had no multi-crore sponsorships, no IPL. It was a different time. India itself was confused - what was our identity ? Would we, as a nation, succeed or fail ? The economic riches that some of see today were just a glorious tapestry then. We weren't aggressive, we weren't brash, we didn't slap team-mates and never were we accused of racism. Unfortunately, neither did we win.

But my memories of the 90s is defined by Tendulkar's achievements. The century at Perth, the marvellous 169 in South Africa, Chennai the lost cause, The Desert Storm at Sharjah. They inspired. They told of talent harnessed to achieve perfection. They told of one man against everyone. Tendulkar's achievement at this time was to show us the infinity of possibilities. Perhaps, as he became older, this also became the albatross around his neck. He grew up, his fans didn't.

Tendulkar at the crease caused us to devote attention. This was not a case of mind-numbing stonewalling, neither was it a case of unabashed swinging. With Tendulkar, you knew it would be a battle of wits. He had the technique to match the best of them. But perhaps Tendulkar realized that technique for technique's sake is useless. It has to be applied to score runs - that was his dharma as a batsman. And that made all the difference. Each delivery was analyzed carefully, field placements noted, angles calculated before that club of a bat came down like a bludgeon.

Tendulkar, together with Dravid, is the last link to an earlier generation. There is no show of strength but humility in his achievements. Behind that helmet, also rests a thoughtful brain. My dad just cannot relate to the Indian cricket team without Tendulkar and neither can I. But when Tendulkar does talk, the audience listens. As the Aussie coach found out earlier.

With the swagger of a few lusty hits, the joy of a few undeserved wickets, some of the players have the gall to call him grandpa. They forget that this Grandpa, just crashed a majestic 175 against Australia recently. Why Tendulkar failed as a leader and a captain will always remain a mystery to me. I suspect there was more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye. Perhaps it just wasn't in him - the cheeky tendlya just couldn't lead the masses.

How will history remember him ? Perhaps as a fine product of Bombay Batsmanship. A thorough gentleman in a rapidly changing milieu. A thinker and a genius. A fighter, worn down by responsibility in his best years. A star reborn as part of a winning team. An underrated bowler. A beacon of hope for a generation past. A monument to greatness for a generation to come.

Thanks for the memories, Sachin.

Dude, where's my Term Break ?

2009-12-02T11:31:00.003+05:30

Winter's Here !! The air's crisp and cold. And the placement bug going around seems to be a pandemic :)

Amidst the hoopla, term 6 has seen a quiet start and term 5 ended with a bang. Term 5, BTW, was one crazy term. The fact that you were outside your sections for the first time was quite disorienting. Each class had different faces, different groups and different interactions. It took a little adjusting to.

And I realized how much I missed my section. There was a maturity about our section that helped everyone belong in one way or another. Not to mention being exposed to other CP Kings and Queens. I never realized people had so much to say about everything !! At times though, I think Section A had gotten it right wrt CP.

Term 5 was a very Quant-heavy term for me. With Fixed-Income Sec, Options and Marketing research, the work load seemed a little overwhelming. But the learning was equally good in most cases. The final project that we submitted for a new product launch was a great experience that taught us pretty well the uncertainties faced by management. However, the slew of project work meant that my term break went up in smoke.

The last few days have also been ones of introspection, personally. The decision of which career track to pursue cannot be put off any further. One way or the other, I have to decide and pursue my choice with gusto. Oh, what I would give for some BHU-style procrastination !!

Neha was here for here Birthday. That meant she experienced it ISB style - with a freezing dunk, cake, wine and a sumptuous meal !! Anyways, that's it for now. Solstice, ILS and other events are on the cards in December. I'll try to put up some pics in the next post.

Time

2009-10-07T11:41:00.002+05:30

It's that simple four letter word around which our lives revolve at ISB. It controls our day and our night, our sleep and our action. Without time, life at ISB would have been incomplete - time gives meaning to our existence at ISB. That's what the philosophically minded folks would say. In my opinion though, time is pure evil. Satan's invention intended to cause ulcers to MBA students. And ISB is its favorite haunt. We understand the meaning of Just-In-Time through practical experience.

With so much to do, we prioritize and organize to the minutest detail. Assignments are pushed back to the day before submission. The actual deadline though is hilarious. Imagine the scene - 8 AM on a Monday morning. You're in the atrium at 7:45 enjoying a nice warm breakfast, proud that you slogged through the night for the submission, yet feeling guilty that you had to leave it till so late.

And then you see inspiration running towards you - a fellow ISBian in PJs and all, half groggy, a handwritten assignment in three different inks, writing tilted at a 45-degree angle. "Give me a god-damned stapler!! Whaddaya mean you don't have one ?! I tell you, carrying staplers should be made mandatory - just like I-cards." 10 minutes to go. You hear frantic shuffling as the masses gather to deposit their pieces of wisdom in the drop box. I hear sighs of frustration, mingled with exhaustion. 5 minutes - and the rush turns into a flood. TAs emerge, to claim their property. "Damn, I forgot to attach the Excel sheet - puuuuuhllllleeeezzzzzz can you extend the deadline while I fly back ?". And with the final drop, the torture ends. It's now in the hands of the almighty TAs to strike down a night's effort with the stroke of a red pen. Cruelty knows no bounds.

But there's no relief - the 8:15 class beckons. What's it today ? Management of Organizations ? There was a pre-read ? What ? 45 pages, there goes my CP ! A cuppa in one hand, out comes the course pack and you hear random words like "enterpreneurial networks", "cognitive biases" etc. You take a deep breath. Considering that you have risen above the mortal maya of puny CP marks, you congratulate yourself on not having read a single word. What's more, you are confident that nobody else has either, which means we're all in the same boat thanks to relative grading - No tenshun.

So begins another crazy day. The prof tries his/her best to make us see light - but alas, halfway through class, most of the students are in various stages of dozing off - CP be damned. Sometimes though, you hear absolute gems of knowledge that truly brings "insight" to those who were unfortunately awake.

I hear snores emnating from the guy next to me. Nice. Four hours later, positively refreshed, we head off for the real education - study groups, meeting, clubs and parties.

C'est la vie

Poised on the edge of Forever

2009-09-13T18:41:00.002+05:30

That's one of my favorite phrases - from Sagan's Cosmos. I guess that beautifully captures the essence of the past few weeks at ISB. Things move so rapidly here that it's like falling into a black hole - everything seems to slow down and accelerate at the same time.

Term 3 ended in August. Not a bad outing - I had some apprehensions about Managerial Accounting, but did well in the end. Operations was as I had expected - did just about average. No big surprise there - Ops was never my favorite subject. Entrepeneurship was...interesting. A different class experience where we got to intereact with a lot of entrepreneurs on a first hand basis. And then there was Corporate Finance. Prof. Bhagwan Choudhary really brought the discussion alive and made seemingly complex concepts sound simple. Combined with his sense of humour and the energy, we devised a new slogan - In Bhagwan, we trust!

And then, in September, something snapped, and ISB has just burst forth in a wave of creative orgy. Music, dance, painting, drama, workshops, speakers, conclaves - all seem to be swirling in a majestic kaleidoscopical experience. The PaEV projects and the ideas that came up were amazing. Most of them would fail in the real world - but some of them, like the on-demand singing choir - turned out to be really interesting. I wonder what has changed but a sense of energy has come back to campus, that was sorely lacking in terms 2 and 3. Everyday there are at least a couple of events for us to sample.

Time has moved on to a new plane that I'd like to term continuum. One really can't decide where a day ends and the next one begins. People might freak out at the amount of work students put in. But the good thing about this is that it helps us test our limits. It teaches us to prioritize and makes us understand the importance of each activity we undertake.

At ISB, I learned that you need to adapt, you need to stand still, you need to learn, you need to unlearn, you need to chillax, you need to focus, you need to listen to others, you need to make yourself heard, you need to be practical, you need to be moral, you need to bullshit, you need to mean every word, you need to....always push yourself.

I've been kept busy with the BTC and ELP activities. The conclave is coming up in October and preparations are in full swing. Now that we have won ourselves a ELP, there has been some additional learning on the sidelines, combined with the demands on time, of course. These days, I see more sunrises than ever before - and not voluntarily I tell you!! But the campus has begun to look really pretty. With just a hint of light rain, the cicadas singing and the stillness of early morning, it's hard not to simply fall in love with this place.

The short trip home in August was a big boost. Rest, recuperation, rejuvenation - perfect! Combined with the Ganesh Utsav, it provided for some fun and entertainment. Neha's having a hectic schedule at JBIMS, makes mine pale in comparison.

Anyways, been interacting with a few guys from PG and if that's any indication, ISB is going to have some interesting profiles next year as well!!

Exhale

2009-07-15T20:55:00.002+05:30

This is pretty much going to be a rambling post. Term 2 is at an end and we're in the vortex of timelessness before the next one begins. Time for reflection, rest, rejuvenation, movies, music, masti !!

The campus wears a deserted look, since most have gone home to seek solace from the rigor of term 2. Somehow, it seems more imposing with the clouds hanging around, windswept trees and the peacocks singing themselves hoarse. Indian Hogwarts, anyone ?

LRC is empty and I feel for once as if it's home. Books surround me and I have no distractions from people mistaking this for a cool place to hang out. Term 3 sounds like a finance-laden term, but I expect it to be slightly easier except for the submissions.

I've finally gotten time to work on the BTC activities. 1st order of the day is to get the pages on the website up to standard. I hope to add some more depth of information to these pages and work simultaneously on the insider. Technology will make or break placements this year for many of us and efforts are already under way to make sure that we are well-prepared.

2009 placement stats are out. And things are much better than expected. Apart from the drop in the salary figures, what might concern me is the quality of the placements that might not have been reflected in the placement statistics. Many-a-time, people accept jobs which may not pay highly, but are excellent spring boards. I wonder if this desire for quality was not sacrificed last year.

PG is buzzing again with profile evaluations. I don't see the point of these questions. I mean, come on, is your life so uni-dimensional that a 5 lines can enable a complete stranger to put a number on it ? Some people just don't see the uselessness of these questions. And suppose I tell you that there's no way in h**l you'll get into ISB, is that deterrent enough ? Would you give up so easily ? If not, why ask ?

I'm contemplating forming a book club out here. Lots of well-read people, but the LRC has a severly limited collection of fiction. OIC is on to it, but a book club might bring like-minded people together. Let's see how things pan out.

At home, things are looking up. Neha's JB course should start by July end. Hopefully (I think that's not a recognized word), dad should be around to get her started. I would have loved to be there to welcome her back from the 1st day though...

That's it for now, expect a few more posts before the term starts. Until then, so long...

Once more unto the breach...

2009-06-16T21:03:00.002+05:30

So the all-too-short term break came to an end and my Mumbai trip seemed to be a distant dream as the grind began, this time under the new avatar of Term 2!! The Term 1 results too were released last week. It seems I did just about OK - neither too bad nor too well - Above average in most cases. Most of the class was just waiting to exhale, and when the results came out, it's as if the campus heaved a collective sigh of relief that they had made it to term 2.

Prima facie, term 2 seems to be much more interesting than term 1. With Marketing and Competitive strategy, it now feels like a B-school !! However, underneath the veneer, it's a non-stop roller-coaster of assignments, homeworks and presentations. So thrilled was I to read that there would be only two mid terms, only to discover that the MarkStrat decisions require much more work :(

Speaking of MarkStrat, it's one of the more interesting ways to teach a management student. By giving you almost complete control of a firm, it provides a very realistic simulation of a typical business environment and allows you the chance to apply all the concepts taught in the classroom. In many ways, it's similar to the Management Game that's taught at various US B-schools. How did we do ? Just one decision into the game, we are already facing a price war. How we respond will determine our survival.

Overall, the focus this term seems to be on the practical side of things. Even though Optimization seems a little theoretical, its application certainly is not. Combined with the MarkStrat simulation, the Competitive strategy cases and Macroeconomics, this term will be critical in shaping our understanding of the world of business.

On the co-curricular side, now that the GSB core is in place, things are beginning to get a little more traction. If I can only manufacture time, I'm sure this avenue will be equally critical in building up a perspective of the real world.

On another note, the admissions for Class of 2011 have begun. I met some prospective students on campus and I could sense their trepidation. Deja Vu !! When I get some time, I'll put up a comment on the essays this year.

Until then, be good !!

Dazed and Confused

2009-05-10T10:30:00.005+05:30

It's been exactly a month since I landed up at ISB. And as I celebrate the fact of having survived 30 (thirty !!) days of this never-ending roller-coaster, it's perhaps time for some reflection.

Classes here are nothing like the ones I was used to at the under-graduate level. Heck, it was an achievement if you even showed up in class back then. Out here, you have to show up and contribute !! Some do buckle under the pressure to put the best foot forward, succumbing to the foot-in-mouth disease. Compared to other sections, though, mine has fewer horror stories to report. For an understanding of the quality (or the lack of it !!) during class discussions, check out ISB Co10's Bakwas Band Karo blog. And all for a fistful of CP points :)

While some of the classes are top-notch, others not so much (yet), the overall quality is still pretty high. You're expected to hit the ground running. Sometimes, even that is not enough as the prof dashes through 2 hour sessions, leaving you wondering what the hell just hit you. With, pre-reads, reads, post-reads, assignments, planned and unplanned quizzes, club meetings, dunkings, parties and sports, I and Mr Sandman haven't had much time to catch up !!

I do wonder whether such concentrated and intense doses of academics will help me retain things in the long run. Perhaps ISB subscribes to the theory that pressure brings out the best in a student. For example, some teams have to submit 2 assignments, solve 1 quiz and prepare for another in 3 days. Relaxed learning that allows you to delve into a particular subject in detail is probably not going to happen out here. Already the strength of club meetings is dwindling. BTC found it tough to even fill up a Mini LT.

On a lighter note, a classmate of mine was particularly targeted by fiends of the slithery variety. Not one, but THREE snakes in his quad. Now that is probably an unforgettable experience. I leave you with some amazing pictures from the 1st month:

Hello, ISB !!

2009-04-21T13:23:00.004+05:30

Obviously, my absence after the last post has been rather long, busy as I have been in moving to Hyderabad. Let's get the first impressions out of the way - the new airport is smashing, its location bad and the city center clean and green.

Staying at Lakdi-ka-pul for the first day meant that we were almost in walking distance from Hussain Sagar lake. It's kept neat and clean and the surrounding gardens lend an excellent ambience. I did manage to take in the view from the Birla temple (heavenly), a quick walk in the NTR and Lumbini parks (pleasant) and a jaunt in Snow World (fun), before I landed up in Gachibowli for the registration. Mom, dad and sis did manage to catch some more spots before they left, though.

The registration was a rather stressful affair, but passed off without any glitch. I should have been better prepared for the heat out here. It makes even walking out for lunch a laborious affair. Thankfully the apartments are air conditioned !! Speaking of the accommodation, I've been put up in the new student village - SV4. The quality of the construction and furniture is quite good, although it looks a little morose since the landscaping hasn't been completed yet. However, my room affords me a beautiful view of the setting sun each day !!

The campus as such is very well maintained, with lots of trees around. It's a far cry from the wild but humongous campus I was used to at BHU. At around a 100 acres, it's quite small compared to the 1300 acres that BHU occupied. However, the quality is infinitely better.

The first week was the O-week. We were bombarded left, right and center about ISB's capabilities, the professional clubs, the social clubs, the various departments and the honor code (hmpf). To top it up, we've had a talent night, a sports meet, a treasure hunt, painting, team building, movies, alumni interaction sessions and three parties. Already, the duration of my sleep has dropped by close to 50% !!

"Get Future Ready" is ISB's tagline. However, as I look at the course details, I'm reminded more of "Abandon all hope, ye that enter here" from Dante's Inferno. ISB's academic rigor is very high. However, this time, the batch admitted has a very diverse profile, with representation from almost all industries. The average GMAT has dropped a little to 716 while the work-ex has increased to 5 years. A brief write-up can be found here.

I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few of my friends from BHU out here. Already, the class is beginning to gel rather well, making us feel as if we've been here for 7 months instead of 7 days. On a lighter note, though, I haven't had so many introductions in my entire life, as I have had in this 1 week. Stepping outside the campus for the first time yesterday, we realized how comfortably enconsed we are within our own little world.

Well, time's running short and I gotta rush to the library (surprise ! surprise !). I'll keep this blog abreast of the development as time goes along.

PS: To clear the air:

ISB has admitted around 575 students, close to its target of 560, not the rumoured 630.
Around 300 students are now out of the placements. The tentative time frame is June 09, but can be extended if required.

T minus 10

2009-03-31T10:55:00.003+05:30

I'll be leaving for Hyderabad on April 10, just around the corner. It's been a long and arduous journey for my MBA, and I do hope that it will be worthwhile. The last few days have been quite hectic. The preliminary shopping has been done with, all that remain now are miscellaneous items and last-minute food stuff.

I'll be accompanied by Mom, Dad and Neha, presumably to take in the sights and sounds of Hyderabad, but I suspect it's more to ensure that ISB doesn't admit that it made a mistake in letting me in and turn me back at the gate :). Time permitting, they should be able to take in a city tour, Ramoji film city and the Jyotirling.

I'm finished with all the pre-term exams as well. It was fun getting re-acquainted with Mr Calculus. I realized how much I had missed the beauty, symmetry and unpredictability of maths while working in IT. Quant and Stats presented no real problem; it was Accountancy that I was worried about. Thankfully, with a little bit of reading, I was able to pass this test as well. After reading up and chatting many ISBians, I had decided that the pre-term was better spent networking and learning core subjects. The fact that the pre-term was not graded also weighed against it.

Finally, my housing at ISB was finalized yesterday. I'll be king of SV4-I11, dispensing favors from my high throne !! SV4 is the new student village, not even found on the current ISB map. Perhaps we'll all be put up in a 5-star hotel like the 1st batch of ISB was. At the very least, we'll get first use of a brand new hostel.

On an unrelated note, Neha cleared the written portion of the CET with flying colors - 166/200 with a 99.99 %ile, thereby almost guaranteeing her a place at JBIMS. In fact, she's done so well that she'll probably finish off with a single digit rank. Quite an accomplishment considering that CAT was so disappointing. Anyways, to get into JB is ordinary, to get in with 99.99 %ile is extraordinary.

As expected, mom's over the moon that both her kids will be starting MBA simultaneously. I think she's still unconvinced of the horrors that await us at placement time. Until then, she can bask in the glory of having taken the final step in the implementation of a plan that started many a year back.

Marhaba Bahrain

2009-03-17T17:30:00.003+05:30

Dad's back in Bahrain since Nov 2008 and I finally found the time to visit the place where I spent the best part of 16 years. Woweeeeeeeee !! This place has morphed into something way more hip than when I saw it last in 2002.

One can almost see the petro dollars at work here. New construction has popped up everywhere. I might venture to say that it even eclipses the boom in India. The spending on infrastructure by the government is astounding. New marinas coming up in the city to house the new bussinesses. Free-hold apartments are also being offered. Bahrain is probably the best place to settle to a quiet, luxurious life.

Bahrain is positioning itself well as a financial hub. Throw a stone in the Seef area and you're likely to hit a bank. It's the Middle East's Bangalore of Banking :) Lots of diverse people are joining in and the population has pretty much exploded. Shopping malls have mushroomed all over the place.

It was great fun visiting some of the old landmarks, checking out new ones and mourning the loss of others. The Indian School is still pretty much the same, too bad I couldn't meet all the teachers. The Bahrain F1 circuit is quite beautiful, with lots to do.

Well, rapid development has come at a cost. Traffic snarls are now the norm in the city. The open spaces where you could catch a game of football at any time have almost disappeared. Children now hang out at malls and around PS2s. The scenic roundabouts in the city have been replaced with soulless traffic signals.

Still, Bahrain continues to offer the perfect mix of sun, sand and shopping that make it unique. To anyone who wants to visit, all I can say is Marhaba !!

PS: This post comes to you courtesy of my new laptop - HP DV4-1225ee

Free !! Now, tell me what to do...

2009-02-28T10:18:00.005+05:30

I had dreamt about this moment for a long time. After my final day in IBM, I had imagined life to be much more exciting. I had hoped that I would have complete claim over those crucial 8 waking hours each day. Well, yesterday was my last working day before I join ISB and, to tell you the truth, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Trouble was brewing on the project front with the last release having a host of critical issues. As the team sought to fight the fire, there was very little time to say proper good byes. Besides, I had already talked to the people that mattered. Anyways, as per tradition, the team gathered around, wished me luck, appreciated my work and gave me a parting gift.

It seemed a little weird to leave. IBM was my first job and I was sorry to be leaving. But other horizons now beckon.

Sometimes I marvel at the human tendency to always glorify the grass on the other side of the fence. When I was working, I longed to be "free". Now that I was free, I longed to get involved in one final problem on the project. For almost a month, I had been like a dead man walking, cut out from all decisions and consigned to weird looks and glances. I hoped to be a Deus ex Machina, emerging one final time to save the project from embarrassment. Alas, it was not to be.

Ultimately, it seems, we are all lemmings, happy only until someone tells us what to do and absolves us of all responsibility and accountability. As long as someone dictates to us, we have a target to rile against and criticize. Left to our own devices, we seldom put our time and effort to good use.

As a management student, I hope that I am able to change that. I would not want to look back and say "My technical job was better", just because it was simpler. That would be a huge let-down. Perhaps I'll be motivated enough to assume more responsibility in whatever I do and wherever I end up. The one thing that I have learnt is that no work is completely bad or completely good. It's all a question of perspective and expectations.

Well, of all my posts, this one seems to ramble the most, perhaps because I have time to kill and no set plan. That reminds me of a great Chinese proverb to conclude this post - "A good traveler is not intent upon arriving"...

In vino veritas...

2009-02-03T23:03:00.004+05:30

I skipped the usual weekend post this time I had to travel to Nashik. The journey itself was quite tiring, mainly because the roads aren't all that great. However, Nashik is a quaint little place.

The first thing I thought was "This is was Mumbai must've looked like in the 70s". Hardly any traffic on the roads, acres and acres of fields, just beyond the city limit, nice dry weather. Since it's winter, the evenings get cool, a little like Pune. Beautiful time to visit.

Since my stay was quit short, I could only visit a few places. One place I insisted on visiting was the Sula Vineyard. Nashik represents the Indian wine industry and I was keen to get a first-hand view of this fascinating subject. Coincidentally, our tour guide told us that the owner was a Stanford graduate and had brought a scientific attitude to the cultivation.

Most of the product is consumed locally. Some of it is exported as an economy wine to Europe, although they also produce a limited quantity of high-quality aged wine. Still, we have a long way to go before we can put India on the international wine map.

The tour was quite insightful. Sauvignon was the primary grape variety grown there. Almost 27 acres of vineyards dedicated to wine making. Awesome !! I shall be going back in March to witness the harvesting of both, the table and the wine grapes. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to indulge in some wine-tasting the next time around.

We also visited Trimbakeshwar. Like all other holy places, this one reeked of crowds, ceremonies and cowdung. I guess that's the price you pay for admission to heaven !! Still, it was better than some of the other places I've been to.

Overall a very satisfying trip. On an unrelated note, I officially submitted my resignation today. It feels a little weird to know that I won't have a job for the next 14 months. IBM has been a roller-coaster of a job and I'm glad I'll be leaving on a high.

I desperately wanted the sabbatical to fall into place as a backup for the placement season. However, the policy diktats don't measure up to my expectations. Perhaps, I'll be able to rejoin at a later date, I'm keeping the option open.

For the next few weeks, I'll be busy saying goodbyes at work...

Sea of Poppies

2009-01-25T10:03:00.002+05:30

The last few posts were all related to my MBA sojourn, primarily because that's been been occupying large chunks of my time over the last six months. In between, I did manage to squeeze in time to read Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies. I very rarely like epic Indian fiction which tends to go on and on without really going anywhere. A Suitable Boy is a case in point. However, Ghosh's novel is different.

It's fast-paced yet descriptive, bringing to the forefront India's contribution to the Opium trade and its impact on the local communities. At the same time, it manages to evoke a vivid and raw image of the life of a sailor. The book seems to be well-researched as the author has managed to include lingo that is suitable to the period and the occasion. Moreover, in order to capture the mood of the times, the author uses Hindi words in English (a precursor to Hinglish ?), thereby lending a more phonetic feel to the language of the book.

In the course of the story, it addresses various ills of the times - Sati, Opium, Untouchability, Racism, Imperialism, Missionary zeal etc. However, it does so without judging the characters, and therein lies its charm. There is also a sense of humor pervading through the book, a sense of hope, a sense that better things lie in store for the characters.

Being the fist instalment of a trilogy, I can only wait in anticipation of the next two books. As I simultaneously read The White Tiger, I couldn't help but wonder why the Booker wasn't awarded to Ghosh. Perhaps time will correct this error with Book II of the trilogy.

Videshi v/s Swadeshi MBA

2009-01-17T23:51:00.003+05:30

With all the time on my hands these days, I can now afford to post twice in one day :)

There has been some heated debate on the ISB group about whether to go for an MBA from the US in these troubled times. I too have sailed in the same boat until last week and can very well identify with the conflict. Having been admitted to UCLA Anderson and CMU Tepper, in addition to ISB, I was momentarily unsure about which option to pursue.

To tell you the truth, this is an inherently personal choice. I had given the GMAT only so that I could apply to ISB. Later, I had to consider the question of what to do if I didn't get in and that's when I started researching US universities. Gradually, I came to respect and admire some of the schools.

Even before I started applying to US universities, I was cognizant of the cost factor involved. Shelling out 60-70 lacs for a two-year course would be a challenge. Therefore, I had divided my applications into 3 categories:

"Dream" schools such as Wharton, Sloan, Stanford, where I would have gone irrespective of the cost
"Schol" schools where I would have gone if the admission was accompanied by a good scholarship
"Safeties" where I would have gone if not admitted anywhere else

As it turned out, I made it to schools falling in Cat 2, but the scholarship did not exceed USD 20,000. For a while, I was elated with the admits. However, when I went back to the basics, I realized that:

I wanted to stay in India
I wanted a quick turnaround post-MBA
I wanted a cost-effective course without compromising quality

ISB seems to fit this bill perfectly. Given the present economic scenario, I'm concerned about the following:

Placements: I have heard of students from UCLA, Darden, Tuck etc being unable to find jobs. International students find it difficult anyway since most companies are unwilling to get into the visa tangle and don't always earn close to 6 figures.
Internships: For career changers like me, internships play an important role. As companies become cautious, it will become difficult to locate relevant internships, thereby directly affecting my chances of securing the job I want
Funding: I don't have any rich relatives in the US. Without any non-co-signor loans being made available by universities (after Citi withdrew the CitiAssist program) and the lack of sizeable scholarships, I would find it virtually impossible to cobble together the required amount. Of course, I could apply to schools like Marshall and Kelley, but the quality of the program would suffer, an option I am not prepared to accept.
Visas: The lottery system gives no guarantees of getting a visa after your MBA. Worst case scenario - Come back to India with a HUGE loan on your shoulders.
Indian Alumni & Brand Awareness: The strength of the brand and alumni associations in India is likely to be small when compared to ISB and IIMs. The benefit I would accrue is likely to be minimal.
Time & RoI: I would be spending the better part of the next 10 years under a mountain of liabilities. Plus, a two year course would be more time consuming.

when it comes to plonking for a US MBA. Therefore, keeping all things in mind, I'm 99% certain about going to ISB this year, ahead of other US-based universities. I have spoken to current students, past students, prospective students, professors, directors, industry peers and almost everyone seems to be in agreement with my logic.

As someone on the PG forums put it - ISB, the place to be :)

The ISB interview

2009-01-17T23:04:00.004+05:30

The decision and planning that had begun in July '07 before I left for Canada acquired another milestone I received a call for an interview from ISB. After doing well in my GMAT and writing what I thought were coherent essays, I felt reasonably confident of at least being interviewed. Still, it was a relief to receive the official email in my inbox.

My interview was at Taj Lands End, Bandra. The Bandstand is one of my favorite spots in Mumbai, right after Marine Drive and it's always a pleasure to look out over the Arabian Sea. However, I was a little concerned that the panel in question might already have been fatigued by the time they got to my interview at 5:30 PM.

Anyways, the day started off rather badly. My suit wasn't ready, had to wear a blazer, which actually turned out to be not so bad. Combined with the Raj Thackeray fiasco, Mumbai was still tense. As it turned out, it would have taken a complete bloackade to stop me from attending arguably the most important interview of my life.

Mom and Dad were around for moral support and a quick drive. We reached waaaay ahead of time. The attendant wouldn't allow me to start on the essay till 30 mints before the scheduled start. I spent some time freshening up and chatting up the other candidates. Expectedly, very few people from the IT/Engineering background. I felt my hopes go up a bit :)

Finished the essay for the word "ferocious". I get the feeling someone at ISB had flipped the page to "F" in the dictionary. Everyone got an f-word that day :) My slot was delayed - I guess the interviews were longer than expected. Surprisingly, nobody prevented me from continuing on the essay. That was a little odd. Ideally, everyone should get the same amount of time. However, since the coordination was not being done by ISB, I guess it could be simply an oversight. It shouldn't really the candidate anything more than 10 mints to write a 100 words, anyway.

I was called not to one of those conference rooms but to an actual residence room on the 15th floor. Looks like someone messed up with the scheduling of the meeting rooms !! Anyways, the setting was quite informal and the view was excellent. There was Ms Hema from the ad-com, a gentleman from ISB and an alumnus.

The discussion started off with Raj Thackeray. The panel expressed surprise that I had traveled from Thane while many others had rescheduled their interviews. Since the TV in the lobby had been ON, I was able to offer further developments, much to my advantage (at least, that's what I think !!).

I was asked to recap my experience so far. They were curious to know why I hadn't shifted jobs like other IT professionals. My answer was simple - I enjoyed my work at IBM. I was provided for in every way - the money wasn't bad, flexi-hours, challenging work, international experience, vertical growth, WFH. What more could a guy want. They were keen to know whether I'd go back to IBM after ISB. Sure, I replied, provided the opportunity exists and fits. There followed a discussion about sabbaticals, policies etc. Hopefully, I managed to show that I had done my homework and was seriously considering the alternative. I feel many candidates will be asked this question, especially entrepreneurs, since the placements aren't likely to be great for the CoMMX.

We moved on to my blogs. There was a long discussion on affirmative action and other posts. We managed to cover the role of the government in daily affairs, censorship etc. In between, there was a quick reference to my strengths and weaknesses and to my stay in Bahrain and Canada. The most interesting part was regarding the loyalty management domain. My functional expertise really helped me out in describing the three avenues of growth for such programs.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience. Of course, doubts started creeping in the moment I reached home, but there I saw an email from CMU requesting an interview and a whole different cycle started !!

My advice to other candidates:
1) Know yourself and your application
2) Don't bullshit. If you don't know an answer, say so
3) Do not fabricate stuff that you have no clue about
4) Stay positive, exude confidence in your abilities and be relaxed
5) Take initiative in directing the conversation if you feel it's going downhill

Hope this post helps others to prepare for their interviews.

Edit:
A brief comment about my profile. I am an electronics engineer by qualification and hold a B.Tech from IT-BHU. My professional experience consists of the 4.5 years with large MNC in software services, some of it (over a year) international and some of it leading my own team (around 6 months). I covered a host of technical certifications, submitted some code assets and won a few awards during this time, finally being recognized as the top 5% across India.

I've traveled a lot and spent close to 15 years in the middle east. My academics have been consistent, sometimes even eye-catching and include 90% + on most exams, a scholarship from CBSE and a 1st class in Engg. I generally enjoy reading, blogging and playing the tabla in my spare time.

My GMAT Experience

2008-10-25T12:28:00.003+05:30

For all the help and encouragement I received from the web in my GMAT preparation, here is my contribution to the pool of knowledge and experience out there.

Firstly, my score: Quant: 50, Verbal 44, Overall 770, AWA 5.5. The high overall score meant that I secured a 99 %ile. A caveat - I've had all my schooling in English and I have an IT/Engineering background. So if something sounds too condescending, I do not intend it to be so.

Well, I gave my GMAT in June in Montreal, Canada. I had decided a year before that I wanted to give the GMAT. So I had ample time to mentally prepare myself for the exam. I believe this is a crucial aspect. In order to go beyond the usual 720, you need to set yourself up to imagine the ideal score. The more time you have to imagine it, the better it will be. This approach allows you to focus and gives you a target that you can then work towards in quantitative terms. I had set myself a target of 780/6.0.

I started my preparation in earnest in Feb 2008, thereby giving me 4 months of solid preparation time. Throughout the period, I had a dedicated time slot of 1.5 - 2.0 hours each day, irrespective of work pressure. Since I was staying alone at the time, I was able to completely disengage myself from all social activities. No partying, no socializing for 4 months. In short - I became a monk.

When I took the first diagnostic test on GMAT Prep in Feb, I got a 720 with zero preparation. When I investigated the breakdown, my Quant scores was 48 but Verbal was less than 40. So, I knew that the focus had to be on sharpening my verbal skills. I bought the usual material - OG and Kaplan. I also started preparing from the LSAT questions. Even though these questions are really really tough, they will make GMAT seem like cakewalk later. I think the Kaplan 800 series is also excellent, since they really make you understand the difference between a good score and a great one.

I didn't give any test other than GMAT Prep. Mainly because the Kaplan CD I had bought didn't work. I believe this was a mistake on my part and I encourage others to take as many tests as possible. However, I solved several SCs and Quant questions from my CAT material as well as LSAT CRs and RCs. Needless to say, all this was in addition to OG and Kaplan.

When I had done everything, I solved them again and again, until I didn't have to think in order to realize which answer was right - It came to me almost instinctively. I believe this played a crucial part in helping me beat the time on the actual test. For those suffering from sever verbal deficiency, I have only 1 suggestion - Read, Read and Read. In those 4 months, read anything and everything you can get your hands on. It will help you understand the correct grammar and identify the gaps in your abilities.

To prepare for the AWA, I started this blog :) and prepared answers for around 10-15 questions that are provided by GMAC. There's not much you can do about AWA and personally I doubt if it helps; TOEFL gives a much better picture anyway.

The second GMAT Prep test I took netted me 750, with verbal improving to 41. However, I realized that I had messed up my first 10 questions. Irrespective of what books say, if you answer the 1st 10 questions correctly, it does help - mainly because the questions towards the end become easier. That way, you are not faced with time pressure in the last few critical minutes.

On D-Day, I arrived almost 1.5 hrs early. Thankfully, they allowed me to take the test immediately. Carry an energry drink and some snacks for the breaks. You need to keep the sugar levels up for optimal performance. Take all the breaks. It helps you refocus. I had decided that I wanted to get rid of the AWA as quickly as possible. I believe that typing out essays fatigues the mind and I wanted to remain fresh. So instead of the usual 1 hr, I finished mine in 40 minutes and went into the break.

During the Quant and verbal sections, I paid closer attention to the 1st 10 questions and I was fairly confident that I'd gotten them right. Also, I felt the overall level was pretty close to what I had on the sample tests. No surprises. I was able to save considerable time on middle questions and finished each of the sections almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I would like to stress that do not put yourself under too much pressure for each question. Also, do not make it an ego issue. If you don't know the answer, it's unlikely that you will know it after staring at it for 5 minutes. Eliminate 2 choices, guess and move on.

Before clicking on the final submit button, I was expecting around 740. I was pleasantly surprised at the 770. The AWA I got was 5.5, a tad disappointing but I guess in proportion with the effort I had put in.

And remember, GMAT is not the be-all and end-all of the MBA application. Your employment, profile, academic acheivements and other interest play an equally important role. The GMAT will only serve to highlight your application from within the pile that is received by the Ad Com every year.

Well, that's about it, I guess. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Why Foss-ing is good for health

2008-06-09T00:55:00.001+05:30

No – that's not a typo !! I'm referring to the Free Open-Source Software and not the practice of dental hygine. I began my journey into this strange world a month back, after starting to try out Ubuntu's Hardy Heron Linux distro on my laptop.

Well, so far, my experience has been positive. While I admit that mine is not a full blown Linux installation since it is running as a loop-mounted device, it did offer me ample scope to get a feel of the new OS before taking the plunge into a full-blown installation. Overall, I feel Linux is a worthy alternative to users who are looking to break away from Windows and cannot afford, or do not prefer, the Mac OS X.

The first and foremost thing I noticed is how much a linux installation has improved. When I had last attempted to install Linux around 4 years back, I was so frustrated at making things work that I had to finally abandon the attempt. With Linux distros floating around today, you get Live Cds, Wubi, USB installation and what not. I feel this will go a long way towards easing newbie worries. Further, the installation went off remarkably smoothly. Everything on my machine was detected out of the box. There was some minor tweaking required to get the OS to run like I wanted, but it didn't amount to more than a couple of hours.

As regards the stability of the system, I have not expirienced any major crashes with Gnome, although KDE (the Kubuntu version) did cause me some headaches. Further, it follows the repeatibility rule – every operation if repeated in the same circumstance yields the same result. Always. This is not the case with Windows. For example, for no apparent reason, Vista sometimes refuses to connect to my router.

Linux security is not even comparable with Windows. Running without any explicit firewall or anti-virus protection, my system has been doing fine – no hacks encountered. Further, because of the lack of these resource-intensive programs, my mid-range laptop positively flies !! From what I have read, viruses on Linux only exist as proof-of-concept, since the user-access-based security makes it really difficult to gain control of the vital resources of the system via a virus.

As a developer, I feel it is of the utmost importance that Linux ships with almost all the necessary compilers for C++, Java etc. This is one of the pillars of FOSS, since it allows the user to look at what lies beneath the hood and make changes if required. It allows a developer like me to be productive. Given the tools, most people will put them to use. I feel this is one of the major drawbacks with Windows – users are assumed to be too lame to take matters into their own hands.

The eye-candy is amazing as well. The effects available with Compiz and emerald far outstrip the default ones provided by Windows Vista – all at a much lower hardware cost. While I use Gnome, I've seen KDE offer even more eye-candy. Besides, there are different types of desktop managers – Xfce, KDE, Gnome, etc, which allow the user to choose the desktop as per the hardware configuration and their preference.

I've heard complaints that Linux doesn't offer the same variety of programs that Windows does. I think that's a load of hogwash. Linux doesn't offer the same programs – what it does is offer the user a much larger variety of open source programs which are more elegant and get the tasks done in a better manner than the windows programs that people are used to. Sure, there is a learning curve, but believe me, it's worth it.

Linux makes people think. It makes people use the command line, edit hitherto unheard of configuration files and understand almost all the principles of computer science. It teaches the user to be unafraid of crashing the system and returns control of the relationship between a user and the computer to the user.

Finally, Linux is free. Free as in beer and free as in freedom. I believe this is a HUGE motivation to most users. Imagine a system which is better than everything Mr Gates has to offer, at zero cost to the user. I agree that there might be many who may not like Linux. However, what nobody can deny is that Linux has given the user a choice where none existed before. Ultimately, the user can decide what OS to use. To quote HP, it has made the computer personal again.

Affirmative Action

2008-04-19T08:56:00.002+05:30

The Indian Supreme Court recently upheald the government's decision to reserve 27% of the seats in educational institutions for sections of society that are termed backward. Needless to say, a few heckles have been raised by this decision. However, if analyzed dispassionately, it appears to be an interesting verdict. I would like to present my view of backwardness and affirmative action and compare it with the current attitude.

Backwardness in our times can essentially be divided into two:

Economic backwardness – where the individual (or group of individuals) is not part of the natural progression of society due to a lack of disposable funds. This may, or may not, result due to social backwardness
Social backwardness – where an individual or a group is not part of the natural progression of society due to the prevalent attitudes, traditions and mores. This may, or may not, result due to economic backwardness.

In most cases, both these types are related, one occassionally feeding the other, resulting in a vicious cycle of sorts. For the purpose of this discussion, let us assume that there is at least a section of society, say 50%, which is not backward. The lower this number is, the more acute the problem.

Affirmative action refers to the series of steps that might be taken by the progressive group of society to reduce the backwardness of other sections of society and make social progress an inclusive concept. These actions might involve uplifting the economic and social status of certain backward sections. The term was first used in America, as part of the Civil Rights movement by African Americans. Similar questions face India now, not in terms of race, but in terms of caste.

Historically, affirmative action has involved tackling economic backwardness. It is assumed that once economic backwardness has been tackled, social backwardness solves itself. The makers of the Indian constitution had guaged that due to the inherent discriminatory nature of the traditional Hindu caste system, not all sections of the population were being given equal opportunity. Steps were then built into the constitution to remedy this situation.

It is assumed that economic backwardness arises not due to a lack of talent on part of the group as a whole, but due to a lack of opportunities to exploit the talent. It is also reasonable to assume that other factors such as location, resources etc have no bearing on the backwardness since other sections of society at the same location would not have this problem. The solution to the question of economic backwardness, therefore, is to allow the backward sections of society to take advantage of opportunities. The first step towards this goal is to insert equality into the constitution. Once this has been achieved, however, there still remains the question of eradicating centuries of conditioning and encouraging people to take advantage of opportunities.

One way to do this was been to reserve a certain percentage of seats for backward sections of society in institutes of learning. It was hoped that a quality education would enable the students under the reservation to take advantage of the opportunities that were available. Naturally, this reservation would be at the cost of other sections of society and is likely to be opposed. The actual number decided upon is actually a balancing act driven by politics. It is the efficacy of this reservation that I question.

Experience of the American policy as well as results of the Indian policy over the past 50 years or so have shown that this does not solve the problem. Even though the education is imparted, the students in question have been unable to take advantage of the opportunities. Primary reason for this is the lack of a sound primary education which results in the students often failing or not completing higher courses. Chances for a lucrative job naturally take a hit since employers are not willing to take students with questionable academic records since other candidates with sound records are available at the same salary level.

The statement above should also suggest the solution itself: make it economically attractive for private sector organizations to employ the students and provide additional training or mentoring. Radical sections of the government have proposed a reservation in private companies as well. This would be going too far, in my opinion, and against the spirit of private enterprise.

Instead, it would be worthwhile for all three parties involved, the students, the employers and the government to consider tax rebates to compensate the private sector for additional risks and costs associated with emplying and training students of the backward sections that have not performed well academically. Ideally, the tax break should be broken down into 2 parts:

One slab for actually considering and implementing such a program – a fixed rate
A variable rate depending on the industry and the student intake in such a program

It might also be advisable for the companies to set up additional training for students which are deemed to have insufficient academic credentials. During this training period, the student might be paid a stipend instead of a regular salary. This would reduce costs during this period and also provide a more relevant education and training, making the students better prepared for the job ahead.

Since this approach does not require a fixed quota, a company may choose whichever and as many students it desires, thereby preserving the spirit of private enterprise. Of course, a lower intake from the backward sections would directly affect tax liability, thereby allowing the government to collect increased revenue to supplement its own schemes. It is, therefore, in the interest of the company to calculate an optimum number of students required and plan the intake accordingly. In addition, it would not be governed by restrictive government quotas.

Further, it should be made mandatory that any progeny of the persons in this program automatically become ineligible for further benefits. This is to avoid abusing the system even after economic upliftment to compensate for poor academic performance. Since private companies are involved, corruption from government agencies is likely to be minimized.

Over a period of time, the academic performance in higher institutions will cease to be a stumbling block for these students, since they would have a safety net. However, at the same time, they could not afford to be lax, since they are subject to the same competition as others. Other students would also not feel cheated since they would have a chance to impress prospective employers with their talent.

As time progresses, the economic status should rise gradually. However, a concerted media campaign should accompany any attempts at economic upliftment to combat existing social attitudes. The government should also set a time frame for this policy, ranging between 30-50 years, with periodic alterations to the tax rates to account for unforeseen economic forces. Failure to set a time frame would result in situations where economically poor “upper castes” feel discriminated again, a sort of reverse-discrimation.

While this may not heal centuries of mistrust, it will go a long way in making sections of the population more productive and increasing the comfort level among various part of society.

Home Happiness

2008-03-21T22:37:00.003+05:30

Everyone feels the need for a home - A place where one can leave their troubles outside the door and find comfort and shelter. But to a person who has been on the road ever since consciousness took hold, a home is a dream. And with time, that dream is embellished even more, till finally, it becomes a mythical, abstract concept that prompts an essay such as this one !!

Contrary to popular opinion, a home is not a house. The word "house" usually embodies the physical part of the word "home". It will not however, capture the soul of the block of cement. A home is neither dependent on the size of the house, nor its opulence. To an extent, it is even independent of the people who inhabit it.

A home, therefore, is a purely a purview of the individual. It's the individual's choice as to what does or does not constitute a home. Below is a poem by John Clare:

Like a thing of the desert, alone in its glee,
I make a small home seem an empire to me;
Like a bird in the forest, whose world is its nest,
My home is my all, and the centre of rest.
Let Ambition stretch over the world at a stride,
Let the restless go rolling away with the tide,
I look on life's pleasures as follies at best,
And, like sunset, feel calm when I'm going to rest.

I sit by the fire, in the dark winter's night,
While the cat cleans her face with her foot in delight,
And the winds all a-cold, with rude clatter and din
Shake the windows, like robbers who want to come in;
Or else, from the cold to be hid and away,
By the bright burning fire see my children at play,
Making houses of cards, or a coach of a chair,
While I sit enjoying their happiness there.

I walk round the orchard on sweet summer eves,
And rub the perfume from the black-currant leaves,
Which, like the geranium, when touched, leave a smell
That lad's-love and sweet-briar can hardly excel.
I watch the plants grow, all begemmed with the shower,
That glitters like pearls in a sun-shiny hour;
And hear the pert robin just whistle a tune,
To cheer the lone hedger when labour is done.

Joys come like the grass in the fields springing there,
Without the mere toil of attention or care;
They come of themselves, like a star in the sky,
And the brighter they shine when the cloud passes by.
I wish but for little, and find it all there,
Where peace gives its faith to the home of the hare,
Who would else, overcome by her fears, run away
From the shade of the flower and the breeze of the day.

0 the out-of-door blessings of leisure for me!
Health, riches, and joy! — it includes them all three.
There Peace comes to me — I have faith in her smile —
She's my playmate in leisure, my comfort in toil;
There the short pasture-grass hides the lark on its nest,
Though scarcely so high as the grasshopper's breast;
And there its moss-ball hides the wild honey-bee,
And there joy in plenty grows riches for me.

Far away from the world, its delusions and snares —
Whose words are but breath, and its breathing but cares, —
Where trouble's sown thick as the dews of the morn,
One can scarce set a foot without meeting a thorn —
There are some view the world as a lightly thrown ball,
There are some look on cities like stones in a wall —
Nothing more. There are others, Ambition's proud heirs,
Of whom I have neither the courage nor cares.

So I sit on my bench, or enjoy in the shade
My toil as a pasture, while using the spade;
My fancy is free in her pleasure to stray,
Making voyages round the whole world in a day.
I gather home-comforts where cares never grew,
Like manna, the heavens rain down with the dew,
Till I see the tired hedger bend wearily by,
Then like a tired bird to my corner I fly.

This poem is quite representative of the expectation that I have placed on our new apartment under construction. As you might observe, the individual also feels that the home represents a culmination of achievements throughout his/her life, a place which grants him "immunity from further prosecution".

How IBM's values translate into an ethics platform

2008-03-17T03:57:00.011+05:30

The following is an excerpt from an essay I wrote to highlight IBM values and cultural moorings:

IBM, for long, had a very short motto – THINK – that it tried to apply to its daily practices. Coined by Thomas Watson, the motto served IBM well through its foundational years. With this single word in mind, IBM prided itself in being at the cutting edge of industrial innovation.

However, as with thought itself, IBM was often criticized for “thinking” but not “doing” enough. Most of this criticism was external, but some of it was internal, coming from well meaning employees, often frustrated with dysfunctional processes and systems. With new market trends and IBM’s emergence from a period of difficulty, it made sense to heed the criticism and devise a new value system to support the internal restructuring. With this in mind, a jam session was organized to discover the core “culture” of IBM and what it means to be an IBMer. The output of that session was three separate values:

§ Dedication to every Client’s success

§ Innovation that matters – for our company and for the world

§ Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

Upon further analysis, it is clear that these values represent something more than the professional standards to be followed. What emerged from the jam session was, therefore, even more symbolic – a way of life, with each of the values having direct links to everyday life. All IBMers who are guided by these values also share a common bond – a world view that is based on these values.

Dedication to every Client’s success

Dedication to a client’s success demands passion, focus, determination and true empathy. An IBMer is expected to use all available means to ensure client success. “Dedication” is not an empty word which is measured in terms of overtime hours. Instead, it is usually the result of an empathetic understanding of the client’s requirements and issues. Such empathy also helps us to build trust, a fact discussed in detail later.

These values cannot be applied during the course of a workday unless the IBMer is willing to extend them to all facets of external life as well. It is, for example, highly unlikely that a person is dedicated to the client’s cause but oblivious to the needs of his or her family, friends and community. Our professional life is but an extension of our personal life and people who exhibit this dichotomy of character will be unable to keep the façade from crumbling, leading eventually to the client suffering the consequences. It would be easy for peers to spot such anomalous cases and take appropriate corrective action.

Another important word in the phrase is “every”. An IBMer cannot be selective about which client to help to succeed and which to ignore. The success of one client cannot be at the cost of another. In other words, client success becomes an egalitarian, organization-wide, all-inclusive goal.

Equality, then, has to be one of the bases for an IBMer’s outlook on other world matters as well. An IBMer cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color or caste. This has helped foster a warm and cozy work environment within IBM where fellow employees are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the “content of their character and deeds”. This facet is reflected in every policy within IBM – from compensation to career opportunities. This non-discriminatory attitude also bodes well for the community to which the IBMer belongs. It serves as one of the pillars of a secular democracy like India. An IBMer, insulated from discrimination of any kind at the workplace, is unlikely to be biased in personal life either.

On the basis of this value, an IBMer can be expected to become an important contributor to not only client’s success, but also the success of family, friends, colleagues and the community at large.

Innovation that matters – for our company and for the world

Innovation has become a buzzword in the recent times. However, innovation for the sake of innovation is pointless. Any innovation has to have a goal, which is usually the betterment of prevailing circumstances.

IBM’s value system tells us that any innovation should also take into consideration its wider implications. It has to have an inclusive basis, which improves the status of all the parties involved – the individual, the client, the organization, and the global community. The invention of the nuclear bomb, for example, even though it was an innovation of great technical achievement, cannot fit into IBM’s value system due to its adverse implications for humanity.

Further, innovations do not occur overnight. Any innovative IBMer will concede that innovations begin in small steps. It might, for example, start with a small code snippet to do everyday tasks. Over a period of time, the code snippet results in a reusable asset, then a product, and then an industry standard. An IBMer has to be open-minded and recognize opportunities for innovation in all walks of life – from smoother traffic control to decoding the human genome.

This is one aspect that IBM has always excelled in, as reflected in the large number of patents that are filed by IBMers everyday. However, to rest on our laurels would be foolish. New technologies are evolving everyday and IBMers are at the forefront of these innovations. An ideal example of this would be Service Oriented Architecture. As it gained prominence in the past decade, IBM has striven to master and develop the concept in order to be able to offer cutting edge solutions to its clients.

Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

The recent scams in the corporate world such as Enron, Worldcom etc have raised serious doubts about the ethics followed by today’s professionals. This has necessitated IBM’s value system to integrate a strict set of ethics and moral standards.

It is reflected in the trust and personal responsibility that is expected from every IBMer in all their activities. An IBMer strives to build a relationship with the client and with fellow workers that is based on mutual trust. Trust can only be established over a period of time by the IBMer’s deeds and actions. Further, an IBMer focuses on maintaining that trust once it has been established. This trust, once established, can be easily extended to one’s deeds and actions towards the community, resulting in a conditioning of the conscience over a period of time – in other words, gaining trust becomes a habit.

Personal responsibility is one of the key components of building and maintaining trust. Shirking responsibility can never truly accomplish something substantial. Instead, an IBMer focuses on going beyond what is expected to ensure that a personal touch is retained in all interactions. Each undertaking should be treated with respect, as if it’s “personal”. Such an attitude would also help the IBMer to become involved in the surrounding community and work towards its betterment. IBM actively encourages this involvement by creating opportunities which allow IBMers to support school children, contribute to charities, assist in times of emergencies etc.

It is clear from the illustrations above that the value system inculcated in IBM holds relevance for not just this organization but also for other organizations and the community. In these troubled and ever-changing times, it serves to guide us and redirect our moral compass in times of doubt and uncertainty.

Mainframe - The forgotten workhorse

2008-03-03T02:51:00.004+05:30

In today's age of the internet, people seem to have forgotten IBM's mainframe systems. I wonder how people can ignore the fact that the mainframes still drive the commercial projects and that they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The scalability, security and performance offered by this platform is unrivaled. I've been working on this platform for over 4 years now and the production environment has not crashed once on my project. There has been no incident of a security breach and no issues with performance. That's a far cry from Windows and/or Linux based systems.

Sure, MVS is not as snazzy as Vista or Leopard, but, it does what it is intended to do faultlessly - processing of files, database transactions and storage. Mainframes were expected to be consigned to the dinosaur heap when the Internet exploded. However, unlike the dinos, they evolved and at the same time retained their key benefits. CICS transaction gateways now connect the 8-color Mainframe to the 65-million-color world of the net. Meanwhile, Mainframes continue to house most of the operational database needs of large projects.

There has been a rather disturbing trend recently to shift business logic out of the mainframe and onto open systems. Clients claim that this reduces cost and removes the dependency on IBM and its hardware. However, this might not be entirely true. Instead of maintaining a single machine, clients often end up maintaining multiple servers to handle the same amount of traffic. As the volumes grow, this results in a nightmare for the admin staff. I also find that the experience with the "legacy" systems has given rise to more mature processes for development, testing and implementation. Is it worth it to re-invent the wheel ?

So where do mainframes go from here ? As I write this, IBM has announced its latest model in the z-series. With India and China growing at a zippy rate, demand for the mainframe will be strong in the short term. The choice of OS will also be varied, with IBM also announcing z-Linux on some of its machines.

Are Indian IT companies prepared ?

2008-02-06T05:23:00.000+05:30

The appreciating rupee and anticipated US recession has claimed its first victim. IT major IBM recently offloaded about 700 trainee programmers to offset the dollar . It came close on the heels of Indian giant TCS reducing the variable component of salaries by 1.5%. Does this signal the end of the era of India's IT dominance ?

Probably not. However, the explosion of ITeS is likely to be revised to a mere surge. Fools die and only the Strong survive, said Puzo. This will be tested in the current market. Startups and niche companies will face the brunt of the shockwaves. Organizations which have spent effort and time to increase functional and technical resources, expand into new technologies and avoid a bloated organizational structure will survive. In short, free lunch has ended - the guests who saved and invested can pay for the meal, the moochers will be out on the street.

This applies not just to organizations, but also to individuals. Performance will now be scrutinized under a microscope. The other professionals will heave a sigh of relief as IT salaries are right-sized to more manageable proportions. While this may hurt in the short run, it will ensure the long-term survival of the sector and help maintain its cost advantage.

But it is time that Indian companies gradually grow out of their cost-center mentality. Indian IT professionals have given ample evidence of talent and motivation while working as a backend for American innovation. Why do Indian companies not recognize the value of product innovation and use the same cost-pressure tactics in the product development domain ? As realization dawns, Indian will be suitably poised to take advantage of other emerging cost centers while at the same time retaining its strategic position.

We are in for some exciting times ahead. Just hope that the knee-jerk reactions can be avoided and cold reason applied.

Beautiful game gets a bad name

2008-01-31T05:02:00.000+05:30

Consider this - A picturesque open field in the English countryside. An athletic young man runs in about 20 yards and hurls a red sphere at about 90 mph. At the receiving end, another young man puts his left foot out and guides the ball past the fieldsman to the edge of the field, his wooden bat making a pleasant "thwack!!". All players applaud the quality of the shot while the batsman winks at the bowler, "Maybe next time," is what he seems to be saying.

This was what cricket was all about. The "undefinable" spirit of the game. There was competition, sure, but not without that precious word - perspective. There used to always be time for a shared joke, a common appreciation of the beauty and joy the game bestowed on all of us. It originated as a gentleman's game, a game of the previliged elite (even it's HQ is called "Lords'") and remained so until recently.

Sadly, in this era of so-called professionalism, it has gone to the dogs. It seems to have descended into frentic chaos. Teams engage in mental disintegration of the opponent. Taunts are fired from all corners of the field. Tremendous pressure is exerted on umpires already rendered redundant by technology. Batsmen refuse to walk when out, and, those that do are criticized. The picturesque field has been replaced by floodlights and cheerleaders. Where then is the spirit ?

One team seems to have led the world in the descent of cricket. The Australian team was always known for its tough-as-nails approach. However, they seem to have taken the concept too far. For a long time, they were the only proponents of the "mental disintegration" methodology. Unfortunately, this co-incided with the arrival of almost stupendous talent which led them to record-breaking success. Confusing the effect with its cause, other teams decided to "give it back". However, ignoring the cricketing aspect, they focussed instead on the mental aspect.

The Aussies, when faced with aggressive opponents, did not seem to know how to react. Instead of understanding why other teams adopted this approach, they decided to up the ante and even viler methods of torture were devised. On occassion, this has made for obnoxious scenes witnessed live by millions of viewers - McGrath v Sarwan, Symonds v Harbhajan are illustrative. Nothing has been done by the sport's governing body.

The ICC needs to be careful. A new power is rising - the Indian subcontinent. Flushed with cash and buoyed by new-found optimism, they are willing to fight it out with the Aussies, on and off the field. It's like the teenage years - the influences on this new powerhouse will determine the shape of things to come. There will come a time when talent in Australia is reduced and a new team ascends to the the numero uno position. The legacy of its teachers will be important - does it take "mental disintegration" to the next level or does it return to the halcyon days of the West Indian greats ? Time will tell.

Until then, expect cricket matches to carry a "Viewer discretion is advised" warning.

Hello World !!

2008-01-30T05:09:00.001+05:30

Tilt 23.5 is born on the 29th of January 2008.

Allow me to explain why I chose such an odd name for the blog. 23.5 degrees is the amount the earth's axis of rotation is tilted from the vertical.

"So what ? " you might ask. While this tilt may cause us to think of it as an "imperfection", it does lend a variety to the planet - seasons, solstices, equinoxes et al.

I wanted to convey the same thoughts. There is always a mix of imperfections and beauty in our lives. We have greed, poverty, irrationality on one hand. On the other, we have art, literature, sciences. A curious mix of failures and achievements of our race.

I plan to examine topics of interest which cover both categories, on these pages. Till then, mind the tilt !!