My Attempt to Rebound

I still remember the time I started this blog. It was almost ten years ago, June of 2010, in my hostel room in Lucknow. I remember the pride when I wrote my 5th blog, 'When nights started turning into day'. The joy when people read and actually appreciated my writing; and yes I was told a few times that they in fact looked forward to my next one.

Ten years on, the world is not the same, and definitely not the same for me. Im living in my fourth city after Lucknow, and working in fourth company after campus. I also now have a beautiful wife and an amazing son, who have become my world. Though I felt the itching to write a few times, I could not gather the courage nor time to do so. And so when I opened the blog editor today, I actually realised that my last post was more than 4 years ago.

This is my attempt to rebound. And this is also when Im changing my blog url to scribblesofsol.blogspot.com from ethereal-joy.blogspot.com.

Far from the madding crowd..

I remember studying in my primary school that over 70% of Indians live in villages. I had an opportunity to live in one of the typical villages, on the west coast of India, for around two months in this summer. It was Kharoi village in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Though I did live in a village, I had the privilege to live in a wonderful campus with lush green lawns, a lake and beautiful food and housing etc, the accommodation provided by the organisation where I was doing my summer internship.

My first realization was that villages are no more as shown in movies. Everything is available in a village starting from mobile connections to internet data cards. People own computers, digital TVs etc. etc. I understood why companies are gunning each other for the rural market share. The only difference is that people spend there for necessity than luxury. So if you want a tooth brush or a soap, be ready to get 2-3 types of tooth brushes, all costing less than 10 and for soaps you would get dettol or hammam or godrej No.1.

The most beautiful experience was the purity of the villages. The night sky is very clear and we can see the whole blanket of stars. I did not even realize that it has been years that stars in the night sky are no longer visible, thanks to the various types of pollution. The water in the lakes is pure. Its a beautiful sight, as depicted in many paintings and poems, to see many people walking to the lake early in the morning. Its even more beautiful when the lake is full of ducks and many other birds. The climate is remarkable. Even in Kutch, one of the most dry places in the country, and even in the peak of summer, there is a cool breeze by evening. Its a pity that these people and these places are made to suffer because of climate change caused by the luxuries of the urban world.

Some startling differences are people in villages have lot of time. They don't have 9 to 9 jobs or late night meetings or weekend works. They have all the time in the world and sights of 2-3 people sitting on the verandahs of their houses chit chatting the whole day is very common. Also, there are a few people who worked in the nearest towns or nearby villages, who leave early and come late.

People there are healthy. These are the people who are still obeying the laws of the nature w.r.t. to our bodies. They don't hit the gym or follow a diet. Their lifestyle by nature is free of all the junk food. Their day to day physical work gives them the much needed exercise.

People are caring and friendly. This is shown in many movies and it was so good to experience it. People show lot of concern and offer a lot of help if you tell them that you are not from the village. And it doubles if you say that you are not from Gujarat.

Last and the most important, people are happy. With the least of the resources, very little options, people are content and happy. Of course there are a few people who aspire to go to the city, who want to become rich; majority of them cherish their current lifestyle and are absolutely satisfied.

So to all those people who are scared of a rural stint, there is no reason to be apprehensive. All you need is some good food and some good transport to reach the nearest city or town, and you can be sure of an experience of a life time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Health Naturally..

"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want."

I still remember how much I hated Mr. Manthena Satyanarayana for his shows on TV everyday in the mornings. I woke up to his voice every day I was in Guntur and may be I hated him for this reason alone. My mom was a sincere follower of his shows and she tried to preach a few of his points to me and my brother, but always in vain. He had a huge fan base for his shows on natural medicine, mostly housewives. I never thought I would land up in a Naturopathy chain of hospitals for my summer internship and in fact become a fan of naturopathy. My last 45 days at a peaceful village in Gujarat have been a great learning in every way. The beautiful part is my experience with naturopathy. Please read the entire post as it is really useful for us, especially in this polluted world.

As our technology and development advance, enormous problems with respect to environmental pollution and the general quality of life continues to grow. We live in a world where stress, pressure, competition are inevitable. These have paved the way to irregular and irresponsible eating habits, lack of physical exercise, dependence on medication and many other unhealthy living habits. The fast lives, ever growing pollution has added to the above and is the main reasons for our immunity breakdown, making us vulnerable to many diseases. This lifestyle of ours is the root cause of many common chronic illnesses like Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart diseases and all kinds of arthritis. As put by the World health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Naturopathy is a system of medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body's vital ability to heal and maintain itself. Naturopathy believes that our body has the innate capability to cure itself from any chronic disease but that capacity is reduced because of various factors like pollution, our lifestyle etc. Hence naturopathic treatment means to put ourselves back in order the nature force of life i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, and Mind to gain perfect health. Naturopathy makes use of simple therapies to balance these forces and achieve healthy body and mind.

Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes, exercise, bodywork and natural remedies that support the body’s capacity to heal. It is the most profound medical science that goes deeper and heals from within. It removes dependence from external sources and puts your health back in your hands. Let us consider an example to understand the treatments better. Diabetes is a common chronic ailment. Modern medicine prescribes artificial insulin intake and also many pills to support the same. But naturopathy believes that simple changes in diet, exercise and yoga gives long term relief from diabetes. Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes through which intake of natural insulin is enhanced. Simple yoga asanas exercises like brisk walking are advised to stimulate pancreas and spleen, thus increasing the production of insulin in the body. Thus by addressing the root cause of the ailment, naturopathy is a competent system of medicine.

Naturopathy believes that “Sickness is the vengeance of nature for the violation of her laws”. Naturopathic medicine is defined by principles rather than by methods or modalities. Above all, it honors the body’s innate wisdom to heal. Naturopathy follows five pronged approach to achieve complete good health and wellbeing.

1. Healthy Environment: As a Danish proverb goes “fresh air impoverishes the doctor”. Healthy environment reduces various carcinogenic chemicals and hence prevents many chronic diseases like Cancer etc. A week away from the polluted urban environment at a clean and green environment works wonders on the human body. Hence they even advise to maintain ferns and potted plants in the living room as they increase the oxygen level in the room, which is vital for the well being of various internal organs.



2. Detoxification: Detoxification diets were created with the main purpose of freeing the body of stored toxins. Controlled fasting days along with a healthy diet will also help get rid of some excess weight. Diets of this kind may be very beneficial as they may constitute a great starter for a healthy way of life on condition that they are not abused. Also, there are many detoxification techniques in yoga and Ayurveda, which completely make our body toxin free.
   
   
3. Alkaline diet: An alkaline diet lifestyle will make you feel alive and vital; improve concentration, mental and physical stamina and overall self-esteem. The benefits of alkaline diet also include weight loss, better sleep. Also, it completely reduces acidity of blood which is the main root cause of many diseases. It also increases anti-ageing as the life of body cells is prolonged.



4. Naturopathic and Ayurveda treatments: External treatments like hydrotherapy, massages etc. relieve you from symptomatic relief. It increases the elasticity of nerves, which reduces the burden on heart. This also increases the efficiency of blood flow throughout the body, which helps in increasing the efficiency of many internal organs. Ayurveda emphasizes preventative & healing therapies along with various methods of purification & rejuvenation. Ayurveda is more than a mere healing system; it’s a science & art of appropriate living that helps to achieve longevity. It can guide every individual in the proper choice of diet, living habits & exercise to restore balance in the body, mind & consciousness, thus preventing disease from gaining a foothold in the system.
   
   
   
   
5. Meditation and Yoga: Meditation and yoga help in complete relaxation of body and mind. Yoga is not merely a set of asanas & breathing exercises- Pranayama, which helps in maintaining healthy body. It extends the beneficial effects on mental, emotional, social, as well as spiritual level of our being. Thus yoga gives us a complete healthy way of life. Yoga also improves the blood circulation, movements of various joints etc. It also solves the problems of constipation and insomnia, burns calories and lowers blood sugar levels. “Meditation is a delightful and spontaneous thing to do. It is the continual act of making friends with yourself".

After staying here for over a month now and witnessing how naturopathy is able to cure some of the most chronic diseases, I sincerely suggest you to spread the word. Also, naturopathy has preventive healthcare remedies, which include few diet tips and yoga, and is the best preventive healthcare across all the systems of medicine.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time flies...

Time flies. An academic year seems to start slowly but sprint towards the end. Its been the same feeling since school, how did the time fly so fast! But yes, time flies. Another academic year has come to an end in my life. My MBA is now 50% complete and as every body has said the toughest part is over, but I keep hearing the other version also "In front there is crocodile festival". I am now all set for internship in Kutch, Gujarat. Supposedly it has one of the worst climates in India, but I am looking forward to the experience of living in a new state, my 6th already!

From the midnight induction in June to the final exams today, its been the most exciting part of my life. The experience here itself here is a great learning. I always heard about "learning from peers" and felt how weird the phrase sounds. But it makes sense when we have people from 10 years of experience to freshers, Computer science to Journalism, and needless to say, people from all around the country. People here do not need a reason to party. Any small group here kicks off with a party and then ends with a party. Section parties, hostel parties and many more.

I remember one of my friend saying that the life here makes us a robot. May be its true, I now do not really worry even if I have 3 quizzes, 2 project submissions and 4 hours of classes on the same day. Life here made me so hardworking that people here do not realize that we are working hard!

This place also tests our patience, best of strengths and weaknesses. Competition is one thing, which is omnipresent even when n^n events are happening all around the year. Life here also teaches to support others, share, team work. I feel that I realized my greatest strength and also my weakness through all these.

CG and CV are the most heard and most ran after words on campus. CG is the CGPA for the academic courses and CV is our curriculum vitae for all placement related activities. Believe it or not, we put in around 50 hours of effort in making our CVs.

Events. There are n^n competitions on campus and off campus for students to participate. Now that every company wants to steal the fresh ideas for free, there are many corporate events also. I found them the best learning experiences. Then of course the entertainment events. From cult nights to rock shows, everything is indigenous. The screening of cricket and football world cups brought out the crazy fans in us. It also showed why sports are called a unifying factor.

I was in section B, famous as the maggu section. It was a little nostalgic as the it was the last day for the section, after all the fun we had in one year. I cannot forget my expereinces of sitting between the most attentive girl of the class and the most regular sleeper. My first year ended with a bang with India winning the world cup. Amidst roars, 200 crazy fans, one IIM L mess, screening on large screen, sounds of banging glasses tables... what an experience it was. Now, I feel that this was one of the chillest parts of my life..!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shit happens...

Shit happens... "A fictitious explanation of the origin of this phrase occurs in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. During his capricious run, a bumper sticker salesman running alongside him points out to Forrest that he has just stepped in a pile of dog feces. When Forrest replies, "It happens", the man replies, "What, shit?", to which Forrest replies, "Sometimes". The man is then inspired to create the "Shit Happens" bumper sticker. - Wikipedia". On the last weekend, we three friends - Amit, Bharadwaz and I, set out on an adventure, though at start we never knew it was going to be one, when we really found out how true the phrase can be.

5PM, 12th March 2011. Tendulkar was blazing away in the match against South Africa. We were in our rooms, excitedly packing our stuff as we had our train scheduled at 7.30PM. The auto has come on time and we as a bunch of over punctual guys, started at 5.45PM. We reached Lucknow railway station at exactly 6.45PM, 45 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. The moods were high with Bharadwaz constantly pulling the leg of Amit and I was enjoying the moment. Here is the first shock. The train is delayed by 2 hours, i.e. 9.30PM. Luckily, the station hotel had an amazing restaurant and we had a decent dinner there whiling away time. We slowly came out at 9 and the second shock, our Farakka express postponed to 11.30PM. As were still in the dilemma of what to do, the chart changed to 12.30PM. The last thing we wanted was the tran reaching Delhi late and we stuck in the middle of no where. We got our flight tickets booked and there was some strange joy amidst the apathy and our confidence of winning shot up. We came back to the campus, sat in my room for a quick meeting and finished all the last minute changes. Travel in Business suits - Direct flight to Delhi - Winning - Kick some a** ; the thoughts going on in our minds then. We were looking forward to the final round of the competition, for which we have put in so much effort and felt that no body can stop us winning.

Feb 19th, 2011; The competition. Bharadwaz and I set out to Agra. It was my third time and enjoyed the city as always. The Taj was as beautiful as ever and cannot forget Bharadwaz's amazing stunts with the photographer. Amit, already in town, joined us on the evening and we three started to Jaipur. The research we planned had gone so smoothly and quiet contended we returned to Lucknow. The travel was a typical teenage boys way, bus at the last moment, dinner at dhabas, road side biryani etc. Enjoyed every moment though. The bigger effort started in Lucknow to compile the report and the deadline was 1st March. We shared work, took turns, did what ever, but complied a solid report and we were so content and satisfied with our work. As expected we blazed into the final round and no stopping what so ever. The efforts did not stop. We compiled a beautiful presentation for the final round, amidst classes, quizzes, assignment etc. and hence were all set for the finals on 13th March 2011, in Delhi.

March 13th, 2011; The D day. The morning flight to Delhi was pleasant and we reached the venue by 12. The news came that our return train was cancelled. we never cared, booked the next days flight to Lucknow. We had some last minute preparations and we were all set for the event to start. We were the first team to present and we made full use of it. The presentation from the beginning to the end was exciting and the Q&A part was fantastic. We did it. Our presentation really reflected all the hard work for the last one month. We were happy and confident. The other teams presented. We asked a few interesting questions and our confidence even increased. After 4 hours of start, the presentations ended and the judges went out for discussion. I hate this moment. This was my fourth event in a row and still a strange nervousness takes over. The judges finally came. And there it was. Our name was announced among the consolation prizes. This was the biggest shock. We were really disappointed. This was real disappointment. We were angry, disappointed, shocked. I tried to keep my calm but felt really low. It wasn't really about winning or loosing, it was all about expectations and in this case they were justified by the amount of effort, our solid presentation etc. I felt that the impact on the judges was not long enough as ours was the first presentation on that day. I always think and also preach that life is not all about winning but they all did not matter.

14th March, 2011. We got to sleep only for a few hours as we had our flight back to Lucknow early in the morning. We were tired and exhausted but life does not stop. We were back at our campus by 7AM and as usual - classes, assignments, quizzes...

Overall, we had quite an experience. We now know how important is small things like checking whether the train is on time or not before leaving to the station, flights are always better and above all how to win the next time. I remember the words of our HR Prof, last term - "Kyu daru zindagi se kya hoga... kuch nahi hoga tho tajurbha hoga...".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking the walk..

Its been quite some time since my last post. Several ideas were flying in my mind all through this month about the next post but somehow the inertia to start writing was quite high. I attribute this to a variety of reasons ranging from our summer placements, really crazy second term, some interesting developments in my life :-), holidays etc.. A big hats off to all those writers, now that I came to know how difficult it is to put pen on paper, especially when you don't have anything to write.

The third term started with a crazy winter. Temperatures dipped to as low as 0 degrees, for the first time in the last ten years. The only positive side is that it became a nice reason for sleeping 8 to 10 hours a day. The classes are less crazier as compared to last term, with some really good Profs. This is the fests season for all types of colleges around the country. IIM L's Manfest ended yesterday, after 3 rocking days. There were some good performances by Pain of salvation, Salim Sulaiman etc. I remember the days when we called Telugu music director Chakri to perform during our college fest.. :-)

With a plethora of events lined up in various events, we put on our thinking cap and set on a journey of multiple events, one after other. Manfest's Marksmen is one of them, where we had to design a few strategies for the Lucknow heritage walk. To tell the truth, this was the first time I heard of the thing called Heritage walk. However, the concept seemed really interesting and the competition challenging. So we set out to walk the walk on 16th Jan. Please excuse my exaggeration, the Lucknow heritage walk covers the old city of Lucknow, walk through the little twining gullies of Lucknow, ancient buildings, shires, some famous monuments in 2-3 hours time. The walk started last May and was considered a success by almost all of the organizers.

Our journey started on a little difficult note as getting up at 6.30AM on a cold winter night is a really big task. However, we reached the starting point "Tila Wali Masjid" at 8AM. We weren't aware that the magic of the old city is going to take us on a ride that morning. The Masjid though not huge, was really beautiful. And the interesting fact was that it was used as a hospital by the British, during the 1857 revolt. The guide was able to speak considerably good English, and hence we were able to understand most of the things.

Then was the Bara Imambara, one of Asia's biggest halls without pillars. We were surprised to know that it was built to create employment during the famine. And my teammate Naresh, famous as "Jallu", was quick to grasp that it is the concept of fiscal expansion done by the Governments of countries during recession. Then came the chowk area, as told by the guide, was the shopping mall of Lucknow around 200 years back. The gully started from Gol darwaza the roughly 2-3 meter wide road was in between closely packed houses. Interestingly every house had big balconies, which we were told were used by dancers. There were many other interesting places like French colony, places which hosted Mahatma Gandhi, Places of Emperor Akbar times, Nepali haveli etc. The Nawabi splendor, Indo – Iranian , Mughal, Persian architectures were a visual treat.

The most striking thing was the food. We had gajar ka halva which was pure black in color. The interesting thing was the guy who was selling told that it is made from black carrot and no color was added. We had nahari-Kulchas for breakfast, which is the delicacy of Lucknow. The kulcha was the best kulcha I had till date. It literally melted in my mouth. Nahari is beef. I never had beef till then, but felt it was good. Then was Makhan. A soft ice cream sort of dish made from milk. It was the dessert for the day and completed our invasion on food. Overall, the walk was a wonderful experience and especially with no publicity or visibility on the internet, we never expected it to be so good. We were told that the old city has the power to tickle all the five senses of the body and we really did feel so.

Today we see heritage walks almost in any city. When we talked to the designer of the Lucknow and heritage walks, we were told that the main objective of the heritage walk was to spread the awareness about the city to its own people thus improving the pride, responsibility etc. Even we felt that Heritage walks are the best ways to know about your city. Do walk the walk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exams, Dabangg and home sweet home..!

This whole curriculum of Term 1 was amazing. There were seven courses in all with three full and four half courses. After so many varied courses in so less time, I now wonder what have I really learned. Apart from a few accounting concepts and Micro economics, I am not very sure that I am going to remember the other things so well. Economics was the most interesting to me, especially Game theory. It was so amazing that I am now seriously considering Strategy management along with Marketing.

The last week in term 1 was less hectic than expected. Luckily, the deadlines of the projects were spread along the week from Sunday to Wednesday. Now that we all know each other well, the projects were less hectic this time. Luckily, I was done with all the projects early and exams were fast approaching.

Somehow, these exams again reminded me of my B Tech exams as I was opening the book for the first time for most of the subjects. I tried very hard this time to change my habit of sleeping early, but with a lot of difficulty I learned to study till 1. Time moved at snail’s pace during exams with most of us having started counting down a couple of weeks back! The day before the last exam was the longest and the exam being an open book exam made it even more difficult to study. I wanted to remember at least the chapter names so that it would become easier to search. A fiend of me gave me an even more brilliant idea to look at which part of the book others are going through if you get lost. The final exam was less painful as all I wanted was the exam to finish. The joy on everyone’s face after the exam was an amazing scene. After three months of nonstop activity, it was time to enjoy! It looked like the last annual exam and the start of summer vacation.

After a lot of planning, we visited the Imambara in the evening. The climate had added its part to the beauty of the day. Then was the time for Dabangg! The movie was an absolute cracker from scene one. It was a complete high drama telugu movie, with scenes, fights, songs and even the romance seemed to be a spoof. But it didn’t matter as all we wanted was enjoyment and dabangg had lots of it. Sukanya Venkatgarhavan of Filmfare rated it 3/5 stating, "Dabangg rides totally on Salman Khan's magic. Had director Abhinav Kashyap cast a less popular actor, it’s doubtful the film would have the chutzpah that Khan has lent to it". Salman was a treat to watch, his dance and fights attracted many whistles in the hall, after long time in a Bollywood movie. Sonakshi was beautiful in some different way but portrayed the role superbly. There wasn’t a moment to relax as the movie never seemed to be boring. There was sentiment, music, action, romance and an excellent screenplay of all of these together. My thumbs up to the director, Abhinav Kashyap, and all the best for his future projects.

The next day started with a lazy morning. I went for a photo shoot of the campus along with a friend. The freedom was amazingly enjoyable. Our flight to Hyderabad was at 2.45PM. The journey was pleasant as there were around 12 of us travelling together. After 4 hours, we were in RGIA Hyderabad. Hyderabad, as always, was so lively and vibrant and truly enjoyable. I had a nice truly hyderabadi dinner with my friends as my bus to Guntur was at 11PM. The stay in Guntur was what everyone dreams of. I had a nice time sleeping and eating, as my mother prepared a special for me almost every day. One week was too short and I never felt so bad to leave home. The time table, with a few additional subjects for this term, was sent in the holidays, adding to it were the summer placements, and they all made my feelings of not going back even stronger. But as everyone did, my journey back has started. I reached Hyderabad a day before to meet all my friends. I went to JNTU H, fifth time after I left college. Our flight back was on the next day, which was a pleasant journey too with around 35 of us travelling together.

Life is normal again. Classes, Projects, Assignments… 13 weeks to go, for 2^nd term vacation!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When nights started turning into day!

Its been two months now, at helL. After a brief and hectic episode of projects, assignments, case studies, committee tasks, life is a lot peaceful during the mid term examinations, except for the one day battings going on. Mid terms have been an eye opener in a way, revealing that I should let go of burning the midnight oil and start studying from day one. The word "Day one" is making me a bit nervous but I desperately need to get used to studying at least in regular intervals.

After the preparatory classes for two weeks, where there was badminton, TT, Gym, squash and even pool ( anything if the court is free) and of course, classes, there was official induction scheduled for three days. All the seniors, as though looking for a chance to have some fun, were waiting for our induction process to begin. And there it was, on the evening of first day of official induction, an announcement that all the fachchas should assemble in class rooms at 10PM, in formals. I was a little excited than scared, and was imagining lots of fun. But it was very formal with lots of deadlines, presentations, formals, classes, even exams.

I will never forget the presentation session, where our ppts were completely morphed. Words like "instant shit" in place of "instant hit" were great pieces of fun and we struggled to control our laughter. It was a really innovative comedy and we wondered how they could act so serious even without a smile. Nights were becoming longer and longer, day after day. And now, hostel interaction after induction. It was fun though, to be awake till sunrise and sleep for two hours and rush for official induction. Amazingly, we had more number of deadlines during those 4 days, (for assignments, submissions, presentations, cases), than the total number we had till date, during the actual classes!

Finally the induction (both official and unofficial) has come to an end with the insti party. There was a batch meet before the party to announce that the entire induction was a hoax and was intended to get us used to the rigor. One of our seniors asked what is the one occasion when the entire campus rejoices, to which his answer was arrival of first years. With those words, the entire room was filled with applause and we will never forget that moment. Suddenly there was a wonderful feeling in the class, especially among the fachchas and all the seniors seemed very close. Had a great party after that, where IIML's own band, 3.4 performed, and lots of songs, dance and fun.

We had overtures of all the committees, the next day. I was amazed by the innovation and hard work of the students. There was a committee for every damn thing I can dream of! Clubs like Abhivyakti, Bhavishya, Quizzing commoners, Random walk, 3.4 were doing a wonderful job by not only entertaining students but also setting up a stage to perform. I was amazed by the amount of work put in by committees like Placecom, Alcom, Oculus, E Cell, Mess, Synapse, Disha for common benefit of all the students. Then of course Manfest, Index, Prism, Media etc who does a great job by their respective events.

Classes started the next day, little more seriously this time with assignments, quizzes, presentations submissions almost every other day. The level of commitment shown by the faculty, one of the best in India, is amazing. To take away all the stress of the classwork there were many events organised by students themselves. "Atonement" by team Abhivyakti was my first play and the way every character was portrayed was simply awesome. The main challenge in a 10 minute scene would be to ignore the crowd, flashing cameras, applaud, and other noise. All these were overcome with ease, My hats off to the Atonement team. Then there was Parichay, where all the fachchas rocked. It was fun when all the seniors were shouting "ek do theen char, bandh karo ye atyachaar", "Simon Go back" and many other funny lines to dominate the junior's performance. I remember one of my friends shouting that it is due to inferiority complex :-) :-). The Mime at the end, which was about a farmer and his problems, got a standing ovation and it surely deserved it.

Committee tasks have become a more or less a part of pre-mid term course for a few. Then came the CV reviews. It was another eye opener as I never would have known that CV is the most important one page I'll ever write at IIM L and I never would have been able to make my CV the way it is now. There is learning every where from the hostel parties where, there is more open interaction after a lot of booze to the all the gyan taught in the classes. And there are the competitions, almost in every other field, to give you a feel of the application part.

The last week before mid terms had been the busiest week in campus. From quizzes to presentations to project submissions to committee final reviews. After all the activity and exams, we had a great Insti party to sign off the pre-mid term. As though indicated by a very peaceful Sunday morning that calm comes before storm the post-mid term, which started this week, has even more activity, with lots of projects, assignments, inter hostel games in the nights, CV work etc.

With a very little difference between night and day, Life goes on at helL..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A wonderful Beginning

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain", by Red (Morgan Freeman) in The Shawshank Redemption. This line has come to my mind when I remembered my first day at IIM Lucknow.

It was June 6th 2010, my birthday. Had a great time with a midnight blast at friend's place and a party at Ohris Banjara. I was so busy meeting friends, throwing parties and enjoying every moment, that I was in no mood of packing. My mom gave up and started packing for me. So I had to take over from her and then realized that I should have started at least an hour before. Slowly the bags started filling up but the things left never seemed to reduce. I realized that I underestimated packing time by a full two hours. We had our flight to Lucknow at 10 AM, the next day.

The whole of last month, right from 28th April, the day when IIM Lucknow announced their results, was so filled with activity and enjoyment that it had become difficult for me to sit at home even for a day. I had a wonderful time, with so many parties, outings and very little work, that their memories make me nostalgic even today. I still wonder whether I really worked so hard that all my colleagues threw party after party for my farewell. The one week in Guntur, after I bid goodbye to Pune, was also filled with lots of activity, little boring this time, as I had a lot of paper work.

June 7th, the flight was on time. I did not worry about the size of my luggage as my Mom and Bro were travelling with me, without whom I would have easily paid the price of another ticket for extra luggage. I was really happy that I forced my Mom and Bro to join me to Lucknow, and watching them excited on their first air travel made the journey even more memorable. The flight landed in Lucknow and with all the excitement, I wouldn't have bothered even if it was delayed by an hour.

The scorching heat suddenly made me remember all the people who told me about the Lucknow's erratic climate. The campus is one hour travel by car from the airport, and the heat and sweating made it unbearable. Adding to our dis-comfort, the taxi-wala took one of the worst routes possible to the campus. All the agony disappeared at the sight of the entrance, and the words "Bharatiya Prabandh Samsthaan, Indian Institute of Management", mentioned majestically. The words "you have belled the CAT" seemed to reverberate in my mind and it made me feel proud that my dream of being in an IIM has come true, 4 years after its conception.

The formalities were completed almost immediately, and my hostel room for the next two years was selected by a lucky draw. The hostel was lot better than I had expected. I had never been so excited when I moved to a new place. My mom was also equally excited and I guess it was the only thing that helped her walk so much that day, in spite of her joint pains. After one more round in the campus the next morning, it was time for their return flight. It was not a joy ride this time as my Mom was little nostalgic that I am going to live so far from home for the next two years.

So this is it, I am in an IIM finally!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------