Mind of the Machine

Just Thinking

2006-12-23T04:45:00.000+05:30

And so ends the exchange experience. It's time to pack the bags and go home.

Though there's every chance that I might come back in two months time, but it won't be the same. I still remember the feeling I got when I stepped out of the Charles De Gaulle Airport. Damn! I'm in Paris! It was almost unreal, and especially for a guy who stepped out from India for the first time, and who used to be the kid who got insanely jealous when people in his vicinity would go "abroad".

I remember the time when a lot of my cousins went to Nepal. Man I was so kicked! They were actually going on a trip outside India!! (Yeah! I was one messed up kid who got excited by the prospects of Nepal). Here I am now, not just visited Paris but lived here for three and a half months... even squeezed in a short trip to Germany and Austria!

One fine day I was on the usual RER to college here, and I recognized a couple of people whom I had seen a bunch of times before. (actually it was a french guy and chinese chick who indulged in excessive kissing on the crowded train). That's when it hit me that I was living here!

It was good fun! Lots of new experiences. Excessive sleeping and resting. A bunch of stuff I would never get to do in MDI. So it was a welcome break. And now it's time to go back.

Even though the thought of seeing Madcap blue line buses, snaking auto rickshaws and idling cows on the roads excites me to no end, I'm not quite enthused about MDI itself. More or less 50 days and I know I'll be counting down.

It's strange. People usually get nostalgic about the institutes they are part of. Last year I saw all the seniors getting all emotional. You miss the place like crazy, they told me. But I feel nothing. I'm going to spend my days and walk out of this place and never look back. I know it now. The only place I feel a connection to is my first school... Frank Anthony... I still get that strange mix of happiness, memories, and a slight sadness of not being there all rolled into one every time I drive by my old school. I know I'll feel nostalgic about Paris now. But why not MDI? or even JMI... where I made my best friends?

I can't build up a connection here. My mind races on many different tangents when I try to connect these dots in space but I can't come up with anything. And as I was writing the last sentence a plausible explanation finally hit me. It could be about newness. Both Frank Anthony and Paris offered me something new. Your argument to that would obviously be: Engineering was new. Management was new. Hostel Life was new. Except they were not.

What connects Paris and Frank Anthony and Paris are my silly childhood dreams. I was pretty much a loner as a kid. I used to imagine being part of a cool group of close friends having a good time. By the time I unknowingly reached the end of my days at FAPS, I had had that experience. What it became doesn't matter. How it ended doesn't matter. While it lasted, it was magical... and that counts. Paris was the realization of my childhood dream to step outside the world I could imagine. Both these places broke a lot of illusions, it was probably not like I imagined back then in my own little head, but it happened none-the-less.

Jamia didn't belong to the child in me. I was never an engineer. It wasn't my dream. And MDI... it hasn't given me anything at all. In the end, the only thing new that I'll walk out with is a job.

So all this contemplative writing points to one thing: The kid in me is still alive! And that's good. It makes me a little naive but I'm willing to live with that "weakness" of the real world.

I also realize that someone sees that child in me, and loves me for that. And that makes me love her even more. :-)

Get it?

2006-11-20T03:05:00.000+05:30

The gentleman needs no introduction. One of the most notorious villains from the DC Universe, those who are just aware of the Joker would call him mad. I thought so too. But then I got hooked to Batman comics (thanks to lots of free links of Batman and an extreme lack of work), and the Joker redefined madness for me.

Is the Joker really mad? He has a traumatic past, and has no remorse while killing or maiming the multitudes of Gotham. But is madness the reason behind the Joker's twisted actions? Of all the DC villains, he still remains an enigma (with all due respect to the Riddler) to Batman.

I don't intend to talk about the Joker in this post. What I would like to do is explore the idea of madness with his help. The reason why Jokers wins the cover page of this post is for getting the cogs and wheels of my mind turning (Call me "mad" for taking inspiration from a comic book, but that's me!)

What's the general bent of mind towards madness? Discomfort. A breach of security. Degeneration. And as my roommate just pointed out: Bliss.

But that's the conventional view of madness. This is what we feel when we see the crazy man at the metro station talking to his imaginary audience in loud voices. When psychological damage results in actions that are beyond the acceptance threshold of the rules of society and the "normal" way of living.

But let us now try and look outside the box. And this is where I have to thank the Joker. In "Under the Hood" series (Batman No. 649), the resurrected Jason Todd (a.k.a Robin #2) kidnaps the Joker and beats the crap out of him as revenge. At one point, Jason tells the Joker that he isn't as mad as he believes himself to be. The Joker's madness is his justification for the heinous acts that he commits.

So that makes madness an excuse. Could madness be a conditioned state of mind, a means to break the shackles of the mundane. I recall the Freudian theory which talks about the Id, Ego and the Superego. The superego is the chained part of the mind, always being watched over by the other two. Can madness be the key that we fabricate to break loose our superego and live out our unadulterated drive. In other words, can madness be induced by an overdose of sanity?

It gets even more interesting in Arkhum Asylum, which has a completely different angle on madness. When the inmates take over the Asylum, the Batman is summoned in by the Joker as an exchange for hostages. The in-house psychiatrist then defines Joker's state of mind as "super-sanity", suited for life at the end of 20th century. She describes him as a brilliant new modification of human perception which can only cope with a chaotic barrage of information.

So is madness evolution? We often hear the quote genius is part madness. We know great men who went bent the rules and harnessed their touch of madness into productive ends. Nobody likes Chaos. Human Beings have a soft spot for recurrence. But is this "sanity" merely a limitation of the mind. Can the mind evolve to such an extent that tomorrow, chaos seems more real than order? Will tomorrow's homosapien have the power to disintegrate and recreate his personality within minutes, rather than a lifetime as is the case now? Isn't madness the same unpredictability of action and persona? And can't this unpredictability blend into tomorrow's reality?

And finally, we come back to where we started: The Killing Joke. The single-shot DC cover dedicated to the Joker. In the end, when the Joker is finally subdued by Batman in the end, the Batman offers him a final chance to mend his ways. The Joker says its too late now and then tells Batman a Joke.

And the Batman's response?

the article on Wikipedia about the Killing Joke has a very interesting take of these pages. The two madmen in the joke represent the Joker and the Batman. The first madman (Batman) offers the other the path of light. The second madman (The Joker), believes that he can walk the path, but the inherent distrust embedded in the psyche of humans makes him think that the first madman will turn off the light midway.

So what's the point that the Joker is making? He brings out the madness of the actions of the Dark Knight, who needs to dress up as a bat to fight the criminals. In other words, madness is inherent in this world, and in all of us, and is our only defence mechanism in the face of external madness. Madness may well be the bitter reality of our world.

The Batman finally gets the point that the Joker is making. And he responds to madness the only way its possible... with uncontrollable mad laughter

Get it?

Paris

2006-11-02T09:05:00.000+05:30

It's a cold night in Paris. Can't be more than 6-7 degrees outside. And its just the beginning of November.

Today, I was out to dinner with some of my french friends who had been to India last year. One of them asked me: So... do you like Paris? It's an interesting question... at that time I probably answered without answering... but questions are always more intruiging after the sun is down and the majority of people in my part of the World are asleep.

So, on a cold Parisian night, I reawaken the mind of the machine. (I'm sorry if I sound a little dramatic, its the effect of reading too many comic books in the last couple of days)

I crib a lot about not being in India. I tell everybody that its not really worth it to live in Paris. When I see the exorbitent prices (Hey! I'm Indian and I'll always read 1 euro = Rs. 60), and the blatant racism in Paris, I almost believe it.

But it pulls you to it. You breathe the Parisian air and Paris breathes you. And slowly you realise that there is a subliminal magic at work in this city. It's lost during the day in the hustle-bustle of classes and the metro, but as the sun goes down... the magic returns.

This magic... this feeling is probably the best thing about Paris. It's hard to describe, and by no means does it have to do with the aloof Parisians. Too well-behaved and proper for my taste. They are oblivious towards the world outside their own. The feeling is mutual.

It's in the city itself... it's can be best described as the life I see in the inanimated and lifeless objects and buildings of a city. A city is made of its people, but it's the opposite with Paris... the city is more alive than its people.

I feel it everytime I walk down from Trocadero towards the Eiffel Tower.

I felt it 1000 feet above sea level at the pinnacle of Eiffel, with a million lights shining down below as far as the eye can see.

I felt it when I walked along the streets of Luxombourgh singing songs.

It was present when two friends shared a smoke on a bench at Champs-Elysee in its closing hours.

The air was full of it on a Night outside the brightly lit pyramid of the Louvre, with two lovers kissing in its shadows.

It's in the silence of Sacre Coeur and the scultpures of Notre Dame. They have so many tales to tell.

I could taste it in the small brasserie in Rue De Revoli, where everyone seemed to know each other.

I could hear it in the music of the harp played by an unknown man on the street.

It flows in the water of the Seine.

It was the strongest over here:

I can tell you the reason, but you'll just think I'm crazy (if you dont think so already)

The truth is, as long as I'm here, I'll always crib about living in Paris. But for the rest of my life... I'll miss living in Paris...

It's 5 AM now. I have a train to catch...

Mona Lisa sucks!!... Really!

2006-10-03T05:56:00.000+05:30

I'm not the first person to ask this question. The same question popped up in the minds of thousands of people after looking at the Mona Lisa: "What's the big deal?"

And I was wondering the same.

Especially, after walking across a gallery full of some magnificent works of art, you enter a crowded room with people jostling and pushing to inch closer to Da Vinci's self professed greatest painting. In modern times, Da Vinci would have made an excellent marketing manager. He did a great job in creating an epic brand out of a totally ordinary (as compared to others!) painting.

And by the way, I was told that you get the impression that Mona Lisa is looking at you no matter where you look at her from. Well I tried every nook and corner of the room and she definitely wasn't looking at me! Not very flattering for a guy is it? Is she mad at me?

I'm not going to waste this whole post complaining about Mona Lisa. This would be a good opportunity to talk about my "exchange experience" so far. A lot of people, who are splashed all across Europe have already regaled the batch with stories of hot girls, wild parties and great places.

Well I haven't been to any parties... (15 euros!! I can't help but converting it to INR and feel scandalized!)... and french girls really arent the best that Europe has to offer, though they really know how to dress!

But yes, Paris is a beautiful city. And sadly, that's pretty much it! Don't get the point do you?

It has the culture, it has the buildings, it has the art, and it has the best crepes ever! (Not to mention the truely amazing Smoked Salmon in Fresh Hot Cream pizza I had the other day!) But its a very mechanical city.

If I had to put Paris in a nutshell, its like its biggest metro station: Chatelet. Its very organized, and very mechanical. People running from one train to another, not looking, just a single minded focus on shaving off those few minutes off travel by making a dash to the right platform. A smile is seldom greeted, no one pays attention to the live music on the station (except maybe to drop a cent or two out of pity), and all you hear is pardone from the guy/girl behind you who wants to run up the escalator!

All this may have seemed very negative... But I'm glad I came! I've seen some beautiful places and things... and a lot more are in store for me! More importantly, I appreciate my country more. As chaotic as it may be, dull is the last thing that India is. I meet people from many different countries everyday, and that is an experience worth every euro I spend here.

And yes, I know now that being a Mom is the most challenging job in the World! Hats off to every mom in the world. When you realize that you have to cook after coming back exhausted from classes or a sight-seeing trip, you learn to appreciate the effort that your mom puts in everyday the hard way. But hey, I'm not complaining... I'm finally learning how to cook! :-)

And yes, one thing that does confirm to popular belief about Paris is that it is a very romantic place. A walk along the Seine, a nice lunch in a small brasserie, and great weather makes a perfect date... but alas....

Anyway, as the french would say, C'est la vie!

Bon Nuit!

2006-09-13T22:26:00.000+05:30

You won't get this... I don't think anyone will... Some people may guess but they'll still don't know!

Ever felt so scared that every moment of every day just flashes by, and all the while you can't decide whether you are awake or in a nightmare? Ever felt like reaching down your gut and screaming your heart out in the hope that the fear will go away?

But it never does.

Aaaarrrr Geeeeee

2006-07-24T03:07:00.000+05:30

MDI introduced me to the revolutionary concept of relative grading, henceforth refered to as RG. For the uninitiated, RG is the novel grading concept in which students are graded relative to each other. Absolute marks don't matter anymore. You can score a 50% on the exam and still end up getting an A+. Sounds cool doesn't it?

If I was to define a game out of the whole concept, a cooperative strategy on the part of all students, i.e. lets all not study, end up getting poor marks but hell! its RG! We'll get good grades anyway! will have the maximum payoff attached to it. Good grades for zero effort and the whole system falls flat. Unfortunately, the inherent human weakness towards materialism and greed renders my idea unfeasible.

And that's the bitch of it! The idea of RG is based upon the inherent weaknesses of people, and it fosters and further ingrains in our value system. Sometimes I wonder what B-Schools train people into.

The concept of RG is designed to take the human element out of people. We become so performance driven in order to excel, that ideas like curiosity and creativity, friendship and fun take the backseat (Don't argue with me on this. I see it happening around me). On one hand management education talks about bringing in the human element in our practices, and on the other hand it works towards the mechanization of the human mind towards efficiency and "capabilities". Balls to your double standards MDI!!

And at what point does it end? We step into the corporate world after this, which is all about delivering results, contributing to the organization's overall value, or in simple words... cutthroat competition, race to rise above your peers and collegues to make more money (Quack! Quack! Scrooge McDuck!). You become the crucial organizational resource and work late nights while your marriage fails and your kid grow up and you barely know them. All hail RG!

So is there no end to it? Look up at the stars at night... there's no RG there... just indifference. A time comes when you have to grade yourself for what your life's worth. And there's no RG there. It's just you, and then you will ask yourself... what is it that you have really achieved.

B-Schools are the in-things right now, the islands of dreams, but once you get there you realize that its a black hole that sucks out you from inside you. You have to fight for yourself there... there's no other way really.

Myopic Marketing

2006-06-03T22:13:00.000+05:30

This has been long due.

Yesterday, I filled out my clearance forms, turned in my ID card, said goodbye to the little Nestle nest where all the interns camped in.. (fighting for comps so they could check their orkut scraps.. and yes, to do some occasional work), and walked out from the magnificent building called the Nestle House which had been my workplace for the past two months.

This was my first taste of corporate life, and yes, it was quite an experience. Endless Cardamom Tea, blowing smoke at the sauve sutta counter called "F A G", market visits and living neck deep in confectionery, have changed the way I look at things, atleast from a professional perspective.

At Nestle, I learned about Myopic Marketing. What is Myopic Marketing?

It's what we do at B-Schools. Synonym for the same: Faffing. We read books (occasionally), we glance at cases 10 minutes before class begins, we talk nonsense which is countered by more nonsense and then we come out of class and bitch about the subject and how much faff its full off!

Enter the corporate world and you are in for the surprise of your life. This is where you see the difference. What we dismiss as faff is our own myopia towards the discipline. You can't faff here. Every word is questioned. Every thought is reviewed. Every statement is scrutinized. Every recommendation has to be backed by solid reasoning and facts.

"Do you have numbers to support this?"

Imagine what will happen if I was to ask this in my class? First, I'd get some bullshit with no logic or reasoning. I'd get dirty glances from those who are just waiting for the class to get over. The one's who are sleeping will continue to sleep. The teachers have already given up on us.

This is our myopia. We don't question. We don't think about what we say. We just go through the motions. And we become marketeers.

I was told that the presence of Nestle on my CV is my best takeaway from this internship. But my greatest takeaway was a few words...

Thanks Rajat. And thanks Nikhil Sir.

And now back to MDI for my second year. Back to begin my MBA.

"I'm an MBA"

2006-05-17T12:32:00.000+05:30

This post is for three sets of people:

1. Those with starry eyed dreams of big bucks and a comfortable life after an MBA
2. People suffering with the "I'm an MBA" syndrome
3. Software Engineers bitching about their managers

For the first set: stop dreaming!

MBA is not a genie granting you your three wishes. You will still have to slog it out. All those big packages that the placement reports talk about hide the truth (You probably know that... but I feel like rubbing it in!). Once you get the hidden components out, you will realise that you start with a good salary, but nowhere close to a figure that will put a ferrari and a mansion in Beverly Hills within your reach. And the companys that do a pay a lot (I'm talking about the big I-Banks and consultancies), will get every penny of work out of you! So be prepared to slog it out!

For the second set: Get your f***ing head out of the clouds!

You're gonna be an MBA and nothing more. There are thousands of your types, even the prized IIT-IIM combo that every mom dreams for her daughter come a dime a dozen now. Just because you did a post-grad in management doesn't make you the king of the world. If you wanna be special then you have to prove it.

For the third set: You are just a frustrated bunch of fools who just need an excuse to crib!

Get a life! If you have a bad manager , don't extend it to all the managers of the world! I'm sick and tired of stupid forwards that ridicule managers just because you didn't have the grey matter to understand what was required. Listen more carefully next time and stop sleeping in training sessions!

I'm not angry. I'm just having some fun :-D.

And the truth shall set you free...

Engineer - Manager - MML

2006-05-09T22:47:00.000+05:30

A question hurled at me by my Mom today drove me to "pen" down my thoughts on engineers becoming managers.

You are an electronics engineer, and now you sell toffees. Whats the point of doing engineering in the first place?

A clarification at this point: I do NOT sell toffees. I'm working on the marketing strategy for a new product in the confectionary segment. There is a difference!

But she has a point. In the course of my work, I don't encounter complex circuits filled with op-amps and diodes, and nor do I go about trying to determine resonant frequencies or code efficiencies. So where is the use of slogging for four years for a technical degree? The answer is simple - Nowhere.

But there has to be some sense to one of the most commonly found educational combo.

There is the case for preference for engineers in Business schools. Are engineers better cut out for business? Why? I don't think that is the case. To put it statistically, the sample set is a result of random sampling of the target population. In simple words, there are so many friggin' engineers, that 80% of the people applying for an MBA are engineers, 80% of the final call getters are engineers and 80% of them finally make it. It's purely strength of numbers!

So where is the justification for this move? Simply put there is none.

But think along a different line here. Does a B.Tech make one an engineer? Or for that matter, does an MBA make one a manager?

I don't think so.

I think any educational course familiarises you with the field, you still have to go out there and be a professional. So engineering gives you the knowledge of that domain, and MBA gives you the requisite aptitude to be a manager. But by no means does it make you one. You have to work for it to be one.

I have the knowledge to be an engineer. It is my choice to be one or not. I chose to exercise my option to get some knowledge in a totally different field.

The world works on perception. What you study becomes your professional identity. And works to put questions like the one my Mom asked in our mind.

And MML? That's just one of the things I learnt during my stay so far in MDI.

So happy MML to all of you! :-)

Jack is Back! Titanic returns

2006-04-28T23:47:00.000+05:30

The best spoof I have ever seen...

Park Avenues

2006-04-17T21:54:00.000+05:30

We all know what goes on in Lodhi Garden and Buddha Garden. Couples entwined in a passionate embrace, its a beautiful day!

Today I chanced a walk in the gardens behind the Ansal Plaza. Under the impression that these gardens are next to a residential complex I did not think I'd encounter lovers expressing their desire to stay glued so near to conservative old-timers and little kids young enough to probably wonder what two people are looking for in each other's mouths.

Sadly, I was mistaken.

I never go to Lodhi and Buddha Garden for the very reason. I must say I was surprised to see what was going on. It was too bold and brazen, even for what I would probably call my generation! (Or am I behind the times?)

There are two school of thoughts to the whole matter.

The new school of thought would probably talk about freedom of personal choice and expression.

"If I don't have a problem and she doesn't have a problem, then what's your problem??"

Fair enough. But are you the only two people in this world? Don't those who are part of the remaining environment that the lovebirds choose to ignore deserve a little consideration?

This is where the old school of thought kicks in... doused in conservatism and tenets of Indian culture. You know... the whole nine yards about the influence of western society acting as the cancer of Indian tradition.

"This is a public place. If we are not comfortable with what you are doing, don't you think you should exercize a little self-restraint?"

So who's right and who's wrong? Where do we draw the line in this disagreement that we choose to call generation gap?

It's not for me to decide... I would never completely agree with the old school of thought... but I also think that are refusal to acknowledge and consider their behest just shows what we, the youth, today are:

Plain Rude!

Pit Stop

2006-03-06T18:39:00.000+05:30

As we move along the journey we call life, we often get tired and stop over at a roadside cafe for a burger and some coffee... and as we sit down and munch on the food, a series of questions bombard our minds:

"Why am I here? Why have I come all this way? What have I got and where am I heading?"

Recently, I came at one such pitstop. I've been doing a lot of thinking and the time has come to come clean and move on. The Burger is almost done and the coffee's turned cold...

One of my friends is facing what I faced a year ago... MBA entrance interviews. And whenever I talk to her about the questions that are generally asked, my own responses flash before me. And it is here where I search for my answers.

"So Amit, why do you want to do an MBA?"

For the money.

But you can't say that.

Because engineering was just not my thing.

But can't say that either. (An easy counter to this would be: What makes you think MBA is the thing?)

So this is what I said. For value addition (of course, in a more round-about and complex way... but that's the gist of it). So now I look at the value addition that has happened so far...

I learned how to sleep in classes right under the very nose of the professor. I learned how to live in a mess because I'm too lazy to tidy up my room. I learned the locations of all the food joints near my campus. I learned how to reverse my daily cycle. I learned how to smoke. I learned how to avoid a hangover after having too much to drink at the party. I learned how to dance without looking like a complete fool.

But it has to be worth more than this. Did I spent over 5 lakhs for this? Is this the value addition I talked so confidently about when I came to do an MBA?

So where did I lose my way?

And this is where I see a dead end. I don't know.

And somewhere down the line I have to wonder if this is where I want to be. Believe me, it is a very materialistic world. You learn all kinds of things, but it eventually boils down to one single eventuality: Placements.

And this is where we come back to the original question. Why MBA? Money. Status. Power.

So what happens if you take away the placements from the picture too. You are left with nothing. And you panic.

I've always believed that money, status and power do not hold as much value for me as others. Don't get me wrong, I am materialistic (It's hard not to be!), but only to a certain extent. Some things are more important in life, and I want to experience life in every respect.

So I look at the road ahead as I turn on the ignition of my car. I look back throught the rear-view mirror...

Can I shrug off the placement syndrome? Who am I fooling by being dishonest to myself?

So now, for a change, I want the things that I came here for. It wasn't money, it was to learn. Arthur C. Clarke said in one of his books that learning leads to understanding... and understanding leads to happiness...

I'm getting my share of happiness. But I want more...

The Great Indian Wedding

2006-02-28T20:39:00.000+05:30

Recently, one of my cousin sisters got married. As much as I hate going to such large public gatherings, I could not wiggle my way out of this one. I had received multiple warnings from home that the consequences of not showing up will be dire. So grudingly and cursing under my breath, I braced myself for the 4-5 hours of torture that was to follow.

I can almost hear the scandalised people whispering, "Torture?? It's an occasion of happiness and a reason to celebrate. Gawd! He must be an anti-social idiot! Is he out of his mind??"

But wait, wait! Hear me out first and then decide. I have no objections towards celebrations and the institution of marriage. However, it comes with the whole package. And as the old saying goes, there are two sides to every coin. Sadly in my case, the coin is rigged, towards the negative side. Here is my list of grievances.

# The Baraat. Why? Why do we need a 100 odd people blocking traffic on the already crawling roads of Delhi? In fact, I got stuck for 40 minutes in a traffic jam who's root was (Surprise! Surprise!) a baraat. And it's not like a sight to behold either. I don't know about you, but watching a set of over-decked ladies and over-weight uncles jumping randomly from one person to another (in a sorry imitation of dancing) doesn't turn me on!

And have some mercy for the guy sitting on the horse. His poor ass! (And I'm not talking about the beast of burden!)

# As the old adage goes: "You can never be late for an Indian wedding." And again, I blame the baraat! It is the most maddening sight to have a bunch of people, for whom you have been waiting for the past 2 hours just refuse to step inside and continue their 'dance' of madness at the threshold of the function itself. For God's sake, move your butts in and lets get this started with.

A set of security personnel should be employed and given a shock stick each. If a person does on step in inside 5 minutes of his/her arrival... ZAPPP!!! Drag the body inside and serve him some goddamn Pepsi.

# How can I forget the ever-demanding photographers. This is actually something new that I saw in my sister's wedding. These guys are invariably running the show!

"Sir! Zara hold kariye gale milte waqt."

"Madam! Zara dheere chaliye. Video shoot ho raha hai."

In fact, in my sister's wedding, they just wouldn't let the poor groom sit down. All this after breaking your ass sitting atop a horse for an hour. And to think its his day!

# The sheer number of people is mind-boggling! Long-lost and never-heard-of relatives from all over the globe show up for the special day. And poor souls like me with limited retention capacity have to endure the embarassment of being dragged in front of strangers (apparantly) and then expected to have a intellectually stimulating conversation with them.

And god save me from the worst kind! The one's who pop up out of no where and then...

"Kyun beta! Pehchana?"

"Ummmmmm... not quite."

"Arre! koshish to karo." (Is it a mathematical calculation?)

(After a few uncomfortable moments)

"Main (Name and relation). Itna saa tha tu jab last mile the. Kitna bada ho gaya hai!." (Were you expecting any different?)

"Oh! Namaste!"

(After a few brief formalities)

"Ab to bus 2-3 saal ki baat hai. Phir tumhari baari aayegi" (You make it sound as if its a beheading)

I mean... what's up with that!

This is my brief list of complaints. And since sadlly, nothing can be done about it either, I will continue to avoid weddings (as much as I can) until the biggest embarrasment of all arrives. My own wedding! That should be new... right now the number of methods to embarass are limited... that night, there will be opportunities abound!

The Good Son

2005-12-29T21:17:00.000+05:30

Parents… they wield some kind of mysterious power over us. No matter how much we think that what we do is right, they can make us feel like the guilty party because they don’t think its right. I can’t think of any explanation for this… but I still feel like the one who is wrong.

“Everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart
Right in front of you”

- Linkin Park (Numb)

I was born on June 14, 1983. My dad named me Amit. My grandmother named me Chandan. I am both. Amidst all this another name was lost… the one my mom had thought of. Somehow I seem to like it the most (a case of sour grapes maybe, but I really am tired of being the first lamb to the slaughter when it comes to a viva). They all had big dreams for their son. From the moment I was born to the following few years, they fondly thought of the person I will be when I grow up. And I was stuck with the burden of being the man of their dreams.

Did I turn out to be that? Needless to say, I failed. I chose to be deviant. I chose to be influenced by “bad” company. I chose to talk back and argue. I chose not to believe in god. I chose to tell them that they don’t understand. My every move became yet another mistake. I walked my own road with total disregard to their dreams.

My dad didn’t want me to drink. But I did it anyway. My mom didn’t want me to smoke. But I did that too.

And here I am now. Will you be proud of me the way I am Dad? Will you love me for who I am Mom? I still believe in the path I have decided to walk. Am I the good son you always wanted?

It's that time of the year again!

2005-12-14T22:10:00.000+05:30

Yes Sir!

Exams are here again. And far from being better prepared, I am fast becoming an endangered academic species (Though my friends here at MDI will not believe me... but screw you! you guys don't understand)

What compels me to come here despite the exams being right around the corner is a combination of laziness, unwillingness to study and a overwhelming desire to find out what have been my takeaways from this term. So here goes:

1. Nestle: This term started off with a bang! Summer placements! And beyond my wildest imaginations I captured an internship at Nestle. A great start to the second term. The placement week in itself was an experience. Finish classes, change into formals, gobble some food and rush off for the process. Coming back exhausted at around 10 at night and bracing ourselves for the next day. But it paid off!

2. Acads: Aaaaaaaah Well!! Words fail me... One professor deserve a special mention here: Prof. Akhilesh "Innovation" Kumar, whom we had the misfortune of having as our Operations Prof. Imported from Harvard, work experience in some of the biggies, M.Tech from IIT, and a complete waste of brain cells and grey matter! The fact that he is from Harvard proves that Americans are stupid (Or maybe Kapoor is right... maybe he is a teacher from some obscure Harvard Public School in the remote corner of Patiala) My only takeaway from his class has been sitting in the back benches and finishing two novels.

3. Movies: Here lies the culprit! I went overboard this term with movies. I really need to cut down on them or my scoring days are over. I wonder when I will learn...

4. Student Exchange: Bonjour!! This is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. Next year I am off to Paris ladies and gentlemen... supposedly to study. And then its tramping all over Europe for the cool six months that I will be there. Italy here I come... put those pizzas in the oven!

5. Events: Sept-Dec is festival season here at MDI... host of events like Imperium, Illumina, SPIC MACAY, Advent and Delphique. Each of them unique and an experience in itself. Though I wasn't involved heavily in any of these, they provided a good excuse not to study and spend time watching movies.

6. Chatting: I always chatted a lot, but this term it seems that it is all that I have done (apart from watching movies of course!) But no complaints here... some of the best things in life come from where you least expect them (like Yahoo Messenger for instance)

This in a nutshell is my second term at MDI. My CG is all set to normalise... but bust and boom is all part of life.

Next term I will study. I promise.

I can see the smirk of your face... but you just watch!

Ode to you

2005-12-12T22:39:00.000+05:30

I thought what is the best way
To write 'bout you
Should it be a story?
Should it be an encomium? ;-)
I didn't know what to do

And then a thought struck me (EUREKA!)
Why not pen a rhyme?
A voice inside me burst out laughing
"Amit! Your poems ain't worth a dime!"

But this is not the only hurdle
That added to my plight
For now I'm sure I'll write a poem
But I don't know what to write!!

I wonder how to start 'bout you
No single thing stands tall
Oh Yes! The time when you'd get angry
Brought fear to one and all

With a frown, you would come forth
And all stepped out of way
The one on whom you'd unleash yourself
Would sit and rue the day

But now I think I've been unfair
To describe you as I've done
For you are the best friend I've ever had
Who's shared my sorrows...
And the moments of fun

We'd work together for hours a day
It was then that I got to know
Your company's a delight
And you're full of surprise
There's so much more than you show

If I keep writing 'bout how great you are
I'll go on till 2033
But for sure I know that our friendship
Made a better person out of me

And now I'm running out of verse
My skills have been put to test
But in the end I'll say this
There will be none like you
My friend! you truely are the best

Look at me: The Calvin Klein Case

2005-12-05T02:30:00.000+05:30

What prompts me to write about Calvin Klein?

As usual, I was fast asleep in the back benches of the class when what promised to be an interesting discussion about the fashion giant CK made me sit up and pay attention. And I wasn't disappointed! At the end of a fruitful 90 minutes session, I couldn't help but think about the shrewdness of the series of campaigns by the company to woo its target audience.

But first, a Recap! Who hasn't heard of CK and its trendy range of clothes, accessories and perfumes? However, the company has always been in the limelight for the highly controversial campaign launches with an errotic twist to promote its products. From a young Brooke Shields advertising CK Jeans in 1980 to the campaign featuring semi nude models in 1991, CK has always been slammed by the media for the bold sexual angle of its advertisements.

But nothing compared to the furore over the infamous "Kiddie Porn" Campaign of 1995. The series of print and television advertisements featured young models of age as less as 15 in a sexually provocative manner. The TV advertisements left little doubt that the campaign was designed to imitate pornography. For example, in one of these ads, the camera focused on a young man, and a voice persuaded him to rip off his shirt, saying " You got a real nice look. How old are you? Are you strong? You think you could rip that shirt off of you? That's a real nice body. You work out? I can tell." Similarly, a girl was asked not be nervous since she was pretty as she unbuttoned her shirt.

Needless to say, the campaign caused a tremendous backlash from the media and the concerned parents, who slammed the advertisements through a series of protests, causing CK to withdraw the campaign in August 1995. But did it work for them? Yes! the CK jeans became hot property and sales picked up like anything. It was an extremely shrewed move from Calvin Klein, keeping in mind the target audience, i.e. the urban youth, who consider rules and norms with equal disdain as the CK campaign did. Its widespread condemnation struck a cord with the young audience, who could relate to its unacceptibilty in the conventional rules to society and its boldness and willingness to break the rules. Definitely a smart move!

But we covered this much in class. The question which went unanswered (or perhaps I had dozed off when it was answered!) was: Was it ethical? The whole idea behind the campaign was to manipulate the minds of the target audience in order to gain acceptibility. A disclaimer at this point: the views I am about to express from this point onwards are my own and the logic may be flawed... I will write as I perceive it. According to Calvin Klein, the advertisements were to "convey the idea that glamour is an inner quality that can be found in regular people in the most ordinary setting; it is not something exclusive to movie stars and models"

As profound as it may sound, I believe it is complete bullshit! The campaign was intended to depict erroticism and to create a controversy for the above mentioned reasons. CK had been doing it for years and this time round, they just went another step up the ladder to boost sales and stand out among the competitors. But was it inside the sanctity of morality?

My answer, again, is yes. As I browse through these images, I do not feel offended or disgusted by what they are trying to show. They are an expression of the strong sense of sexuality of the modern youth. Why am I not disturbed? Because the defination of morality changes over time with each generation. What may have seemed indecent to an older generation becomes a fashion statement to the next. Rebellion and is a human nature, and there is no denying it.

The marketing gurus keep driving home the point that understanding the consumer is the first step. And I believe CK has done its homework. Not only was it able to incorporate their nature, but it was also the first to identify the flexibilty of the defination of morality. The value system changes over time, and a marketeer has to understand these changes and play on them.

A job well done!

Being Amit Goyal!

2005-11-30T17:02:00.000+05:30

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy.
You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts.
People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused.
But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Love is blind

2005-11-30T03:11:00.000+05:30

So far I have avoided talking about the mysteries of love, but the very air I breathe these days seems to be brimming with it, so much so that I can ignore it no further...

I will not try to define love... far more accomplished people have tried and failed. I believe that its beauty lies in its enigma... thats what makes it so attractive in the first place. What saddens me is the fact that like everything else, its meaning has been distorted so much that hardly anyone I know truely know what it stands for... as a matter of fact, not a single person I know (but they all claim to have risen to its highest echelons)

'Love is blind' is a misnomer for this post actually, and to be honest I have absolutely no idea what I want to say here. Maybe its as much an exercise to self discovery as it is a means to communicate my ideas. So here goes...

I'll begin with the story of Mr. X. Mr. X "loves" his girlfriend... she means the world to him. He can't go two hours without talking to her (irrespective of weather there is something to talk about at all... its the "sweet magic" of her voice that draws him). With time, he is so enamoured with her that all else ceases to exist. Mr. X's life begins and ends with Miss Y ( and the future Mrs. X). He has no ambition left within him... after all he has everything now! The fire of youth, the capacity to dream, the will to live is now a one way road with the destination so clear in his mind that he doesn't care about the scenary that lies on either side of the road!

Love is blind... and it will make you blind as well! With all its innocent looks and its dark glasses and its white cane, its nothing more than an imposter lurking to rob the power of imagination from you just as it was robbed off the power of sight.

I believe that there is more to it than just the feelings that are associated with it... the light within its eyes dimmed slowly as we kept putting greater emphasis on only one aspect of it... our own Miss Ys.

Where is the love for life, for self, and the world around us? Why is it placed at a lower priority? I believe true love only happens when you learn to love all of them equally! Yes, its too great a feeling to diminish in any of its aspect by sharing it.

Love is not blind... we have just closed its eyes. Just try opening them!

Exam Blues

2005-11-01T23:13:00.000+05:30

Time waits for no one... and with time come exams!

And once again it's the same ol' story. Yet again I realise that I should have studied through the term a tad too late. So with exams breathing down my neck, one would expect that I would finally open my books and get down to some business...

But it's 5 days to go and still no sign of studying... where does my entire day go?(24 hours.. 1440 minutes... 86400 seconds). It's a lot of time to waste isn't it? Lets find out...

7.00 AM: The Alarm rings. My hand is trained to this routine to perfection. I turn off the alarm and go back to sleep without even opening my eyes. Hey! I slept late last night... I can always study after classes...

8.15 AM: 15 minutes to class. My mind alerts the rest of me to the fact that I cannot delay waking up anymore (or get to class late and lose out attendance.. HELL NO!). Breakfast, of course, is out of question!

1.30 PM: Freedom! I think a prisoner being released after serving life imprisonment must feel the same kind of joy! No more boring lectures for the day... time for lunch!!

2.00 PM: Done with lunch... time to laze around for a while after the draining four and a half hour of classes... I'll study in the evening... now who has some good movie to watch...

4.00 PM: Yaawwwwwwwnnn!!! I think I'll take a short nap. It's been a tiring day. I'll get some studying done before dinner. Yeah! Now I'll sleep...

7.00 PM: Crraaaaappp! Why do I always have to oversleep? I'll have to pay for this stupid habit one of these days... hmmmmm.. I guess I'll just wait till dinner now and study after that.. so who's online...

8.30 PM: Done with dinner! Let's walk around a bit and then it's a solid 3-4 hours with the books... hey! what's vineet upto... lets find out...

10.15 PM: OK!! I have wasted enough time! chit-chatted with friends... went for coffee at Nescafe.. now some serious business to take care of.. where's my Kotler?

10.35 PM: Water Break

10.55 PM: Wow! I'm done with one topic! That was damn interesting!! I think i'm going to finish off a couple of chapters today itself... get ahead of schedule for a change... but first! a short break!

11.50 PM: Ok... it was a bit longer than a short break... but that's ok! I have the whole night ahead of me... took a good long nap in the afternoon and that's going to pay off...

Midnight: Birthday Time!!! It's time to kick some ass! (and save my ass in the process too!)... Wait up guys! I'm COMINGGGGGG...

1.15 AM: Isn't it amazing how time flies? Seriously there is something wrong with the system... I mean all I did was go for the birthday bumps and the treat that followed at the canteen! That does not take an hour!!! But whatever.. Focus Amit! Time to study...

2.00 AM: I'm bored! Anyone online? Heyyyyyy!....

3.15 AM: Should I study now? I'll go up to the roof for 10 mins first... enjoy the weather...

3.40 AM: Pressed '~' Key.... sfind... connect 1... "planting at A".. WOOHOO!!

Of course you don't know what I'm talking about... It's Counter Strike time (It's an online comp game duh!)... Time to kick some ass!

4.30 AM: YAWWWWWWNNN!! That was tiring... I should have studied more today... no problem! I'll set the alarm for 7 and study a bit before classes... 'night!

Igniting thoughts... enlightening minds!

2005-10-30T22:51:00.000+05:30

"You are not here for CG! You are not here for a job! Then what the hell are you doing here?", retorted by friend angrily. I was outnumbered in this argument two-to-one. And this was a question I have no answer to...

"Why Mr. Anderson? Why!? Why do you exist?"

"Because I choose to."

Sounds familiar? (For those who don't know, this is a dialogue from the final scene of Matrix Revolutions) So I ask, why should every action have a purpose? But lets go back to where this all began...

Today was Illumina - the diwali mela (and a Market Research project in disguise) organised by the students of MDI. The beauty of the event is that everything - from the games to the props - are designed by the students. This is done in four action packed nights before the event, where the entire batch comes together to make the event a grand success... or so I thought...

Three games. 30 people per game team. But hardly half the people turn up for the work. When things didn't get better by day 3, the core team requested the batch for a better response. But to no avail... They actually came down from room to room to call people... but surprise surprise! that turned out to be no good either. And all this while I wondered why? And since my roommate was one of the these people, I dared to ask him his reason.

The answer I got was depressing... "Whats in it for me?"... and the rest as they say is history. I guess there is a difference of opinion here.

So I ask... why does everything have to give something back? Is there anything in the world which doesn't give "something" in return... no matter how useless it may seem? Why can't we live for the experience that life has to offer rather than the outcomes of those experiences? Or am I wrong?

Does anyone have an answer?

Get a life!

2005-10-28T00:17:00.000+05:30

Once engineering is done, there are three different categories of passouts. The first two unfortunate lots are those who stare at books for another two years in their postgraduation. So there are those who go into the dream colleges like IIMs and IITs for their respective MBAs and M.Techs while some settle for less than their dreams. Then there are those who pursue a totally different dream... the great american dream!

And then of course is the bunch that steps on the path that awaits everyone eventually (unless one decides to become a yogi or a monk). They go to work (Yuck!). And look at the tragedy of the Indian job market. While there are numerous kinds of engineering (I recently found out that there is a four year course dedicated to paper engineering... hmmmmm!), they all magically converge to the glorious kingdom of IT. One of the reasons I entered management was to escape its glory (and thankfully I'm on my way.. I THINK!)

Anyway, so now you have a job in a top-notch IT industry... with excellent policies and clients all over the universe! Congratulations! BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY DON'T YOU DO YOUR JOB NOW??

I receive around 3-4 forwards a day which range from claims like 'fundoo jokes................too good' to sexist mails titled 'Rules we men make' (Am I supposed to feel proud?). Get a load of the last forward I received:

Who works for India?!
> The population of India is 100 crores.
> 100,000,00,000
> But 19 crores are retired.
> -19,000,00,000
> That leaves 81 crores do the work.
> 81,000,00,000
> There are 25 crores in school,
> -25,000,00,000
> which leaves 56 crores to do the work.
> 56,000,00,000
> Of this there are 22 crores employed by the Central Govt ,
> -22,000,00,000
> leaving 34 crores to do the work.
> 34,000,00,000
> 4 crores are in the Armed Forces,
> -4,000,00,000
> which leaves 30 crores to do the work.
> 30,000,00,0 00
> Take away from above total the 20 crores people work
> for State Governments
> (State Government employees officially do not work!)
> -20,000,00,000
> and that leaves 10 crores to do the work.
> 10,000,00,000
> Total unemployed are 8 crores
> -8,000,00,000
> and that leaves 2 crores to do the work.
> 2,000,00,000
> At any given time there are 1.2 crore people in
> hospitals,
> -1,200,00,000
> leaving 80 lakhs to do the work.
> 80,00,000
> Now, according to Indian Statistical Institute, there are
> 79,99,998
> people are in prisons throughout the country.
> -79,99,998
> That leaves just 2 people to do the work.......
> 2
> You and me!!!
> And currently YOU are sitting at your computer reading mails .
> So I am the only person in our country who is working!
> And that's why India is surviving!!!
> Now, please log out and do your job because, for a change, I
> want to rest. And I don't want India to suffer because of that!

HOW ENLIGHTENING!!! Whats the point here again? Not only is this data statistically incorrect, it mocks our countrymen as well (No matter what anyone says, people in the PSUs DO work! Just look at the PSU stock prices!). SO I began to wonder what the motivation could be behind subjecting me (and many of my friends) to this seemingly endless torture?

Either these guys have absolutely no work to do. They keep checking their mails every 30 seconds and their heart leaps and their pulse rises when they see 'You have 1 new message(s)'. This junk releases them from their boredom and they feel it to be their moral responsibility to save the whole world now that they have been saved (at least for a few minutes!)

Or could this be an extreme case of sadism? (I got hit with shit so I'm gonna go shit over the entire neighbourhood)

Whatever may be the case, I have only this to say (or rather show):

FORWARD THIS A**HOLE!!

He Who Must Not Be Named

2005-10-17T00:01:00.000+05:30

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a thief and a conman got rich enough to build an empire of his own. He got wealthy by cheating others, but his greed was not satiated. He decided to grow his empire even further by building an army.

But then he faced a problem. Where will he get the soldiers for his army? So he came out with full page advertisements in newspapers and promised the finest food and the most beautiful women to all who joined his army. He promised free armour and chariots to all his soldiers and promised them victories over the greatest of kingdoms of the time. He asked them to dare to think beyond the Alexanders. For this great honour, he asked his soldiers to bring their gold to build this army further and make it invincible.

Of course, all this never happened. The soldiers who joined realized that they had been conned, but they went along for the fear of looking stupid in front of the rest of the world. The great conman, he-who-must-not-be-named, got richer and richer. He roamed his lands in the finest chariots while his soldiers suffered. Yet no one spoke.

Then finally, some men from a nearby kingdom decided to speak up what was already known to all. This is what they had to say. Following this, many brave knights came out and slammed the conman for his despicable actions. The great conman was furious. He started throwing legal notices left, right and centre (in the process, totally disregarding the freedom of speech and expression granted by the constitution of India). One such brave knight, Gaurav Sabni, who lived in a great kingdom called IBM, came out strongly with his views against the conman.

The conman decided to sink even lower (if that was possible). His kingdom had some dealings with IBM. So he threatened to bring some men from his army and protest in front of the IBM Kingdom and burn their goods, lest something be done about Sabni. The brave knight refused to budge from his stand, and for the honour of his kingdom, left it for good.

This and this is what Sabni had to say about the whole issue.

This is my tribute to Gaurav Sabni for standing up for his beliefs, where many would have backed off. It's high time that Arindam Choudhari (Yes! I said his name) and the sham he calls IIPM are exposed for what they truely are. Hats off to Gaurav and JAM Magazine!

Numero Uno

2005-10-12T23:25:00.000+05:30

Honey I'm Home!

A very central issue that crops up annually forces me to return. So let's talk about it.

Every year, leading business magazines of India take upon themselves the onerous task of rating B-Schools across India. I guess they see it as a moral responsibility to educate the readers about where each B-School stands.

So we have the much awaited ratings. B-Schoolers and wannabe B-Schoolers run to the nearby magazine-wala and gulp down what the gurus of business have to say about different MBA institutes across the nation. I doubt if the guys at the IIMs bother... but for the rest, it is quite a big deal. My question is... should it be?

You may argue that it is very important for people to know what they are getting into and what kind of value addition they may gain from the institute they plan to join. I completely agree with that. But again I ask... do these ratings answer those questions?

What these ratings do is quantify the various aspects of a B-School in some kind of a points system. These factors include Infrastructure, Faculty, Resources, Placements to name a few. I would like to talk about Placements at B-Schools too, but that will have to wait until I get to see the grand finale. Coming back to the topic, after B-Schools are ranked across these parameters, they are consolidated in a final list, where every B-School dreams of the day when it will overthrow the Indian mecca of management... we all know who we are talking about here (Besides, I don't want to get into trouble if certain people chance to see this)

So what's my problem with the system?

Lets see what these ratings actually do. From controversy (specially when an inferior B-School overtakes the one perceived superior... and that happens a lot these days) to endless B-School bashing and rivalries at online forum (PG Zindabaad!!) and B-School meets. But I doubt if they really do what they have set out to do. Especially when each magazine is duty-bound to come out with its own ratings (and in the era of product differentiation, how can one set of ratings remotely resemble another?), I think they add to the confusion rather than clearing it up.

So at what point do we lose the wider perspective? This brings me back to the basic question. Why do B-Schools exist? And the answer is fairly simple, for our value addition. That is the sole purpose of a B-School. But where is this all important parameter in the ratings? Can you rate it at all?

The answer is a big NO. Every person has a different approach to life. Given the same resources, the Value addition to each student will depend on that approach. How will you quantify this value addition. And there lies the fundamental flaw of B-School ratings.

Why does the best B-School of India have the best faculty? It is because their students demand more and more out of them. They have no choice but to be the best. Why does it have the best placements? Because its students have gone out and proved their mettle over the years.

The only purpose ratings are good for are making clusters... differentiating within the cluster is foolishness. My message to all those who want to crack CAT: Forget Ratings! Identify a decent B-School and DEMAND the value addition you want. No one can stop you them. And to all my peers and fellow B-Schoolers, let us be the best. The moment we do that, we'll realise that our B-School is already there

The Land of the Blind

2005-09-02T03:36:00.000+05:30

While preparing for my B – School interviews, I had to do a lot of thinking. The panel bombards you with some pretty deep shit, so I had to dig down deep to the dusty places of the mind, open those drawers where I had been storing all the files without so much as a second glance and make some meaning out of it all. Why? Because you need some things to convince the panel to take you… things like clarity of vision, short term and long term goals, the right perspective and a lot of other spooky stuff that left me groping in the dark when I set my mind loose hoping to stumble upon the answers... to find an expressway that linked my experiences and memories, successes and failures, thoughts and actions.

Did I find all the answers? No. Did I convert my call? Yes. Thankfully, it never got there. So here I am, pursuing my “dreams”, doing what I am meant to do, adding purpose to my life, securing my future.

Life has changed over the past few months. I am doing an “MBA”. Two years from now, I’ll be a “Manager”. I’ll work on corporate strategies, marketing mix, fund allocation… you know, the whole nine yards. And I think I won’t be that bad at it after all… but I still don’t have the answers. The clarity. The vision. The purpose.

But I see a lot of people here who seem to be blessed with the clarity, vision and purpose that eludes me. Some one wants to be an Investment Banker, someone has the passion for Retailing. There are those who dream of big bucks and a good life. And there is plenty for them to learn that will help them along the way. It’s a B-School after all, and a great one too.

And this made me ask: What have I learned so far? I have learned to cope with failure. I have learned that a phone call can change your life. I have learned to smoke a cigarette. I have learned that my father is right about me... most of the time he is.

And I have learned to live in the land of the blind.

Because this is where I am… the land of the blind. Think about it… if you know what you want, then you also don’t know what you don’t want. You choose not to think beyond the reasons why you came here. They talk about clarity of vision and purpose, and I call it the slow death of the eyes of imagination.

So uncertainty is replaced by relief. I am still to use the walking stick of goals… the dark glasses of vision. I have a quiz tomorrow, so I will spend the night on the terrace looking at stars. I have to complete the assignment, so I’ll watch ‘The Wall’ and then spend hours thinking about it. As my peers think of ways to gain the extra point to get a superior grade, I’ll imagine myself driving along an endless road through the dark wet woods with Dido singing in the background.

There is so much magic in the world, the land of the blind won’t stop me from experiencing all of it. Every little bit of it.

But here in the land of the blind, we continue to stumble along the future we have envisioned for our self, oblivious to uncertainty. After all, MBA is all about developing an “open-minded perspective to build a better future.”