The Path Untrodden !!

My Award Winning Story!!

2009-03-11T11:43:00.009+05:30

Freescale Semiconductors Bangalore (I Work there) had a small story writing competition. The idea was to "See the Picture and Write the Story". I happened to win the contest, and here is the Picture and the Story. I am sure you will like it.

RATNA

Young Ratna walked slowly towards the shop across the highway balancing her brother in her arms. She lived in a hut along the highway; her mother had asked her to get some bread. As Ratna reached the shop she saw her rival Lakshmi eating a bun at the shop. Ratna and Lakshmi lived in adjoining huts, they played together, and however, they always ended up fighting as Lakshmi always wanted to win. Ratna reached the shop and asked for some bread, as she balanced her brother a sleek black car stopped in front of the shop. An attractive modern lady of about 29 years got down. She was wearing an elegant black sari and carried a silver purse. Ratna could not help admiring her grace and gait. The lady asked for a coke and paid the money from her silver purse, she put the purse down adjusted her hair and left towards the car.

Ratna realized that the lady had left her purse behind, she put her brother down picked up the purse and raced to wards the lady. “Amma!! Your purse. ” shouted Ratna. The lady looked back thanked the girl and took her purse. The lady asked Ratna where she stayed, Ratna pointed towards the hut. The lady asked her and her brother to get into the car and took them to their hut. Ratna’s mom was surprised to see a car and came running out. The lady explained what had happened, she also said that she was also looking for a domestic help and wanted to take Ratna with her. She promised a good salary, living conditions and also education to Ratna. Ratna’s parents agreed to the deal and after few days Ratna was working for the graceful lady Anamika. Anamika was a divorcee working in an MNC. She would be busy most of the time and needed Ratna’s help in small household chores but she made sure Ratna got good education too. Time passed quickly and now Ratna was a graduate with a job in call centre. The grace of Anamika had rubbed on her and she had shifted with her family to a better location. Anamika had migrated to USA and gave Ratna many gifts before leaving. Ratna bought herself a new car (a black one).

One day as Ratna was driving in her car she realized she was at the same highway. She looked around and spotted her hut and the shop where her dream started. She stopped her car near the shop and got down. She saw a haggard looking girl of her age munching a bun. She realized it was Lakshmi. As Ratna reached the shop the shopkeeper shouted loudly “Don’t you want your bread?” Ratna came back to her senses. She saw the lady in the Black sari staring at her oddly. The lady then paid the shopkeeper from her silver purse, she put the purse down adjusted her hair and left towards the car. Ratna realized her dream was actually happening and the lady had left her purse. She put her brother down. Her brother was not too happy with that. Just then Ratna heard a cry “Amma!! Your purse. ”. Ratna turned around in amazement, she saw Lakshmi racing towards the lady with silver purse in her hand.

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If you liked this I am sure you will enjoy another post from me called "The Ant Story" on the same blog.

The Great Indian Political Wolves !

2009-03-05T00:29:00.023+05:30

The battle ground is set, a date decided for the the wolves to strut into the arena and encircle the befuddled prey. The prey is large in size yet its divided attention has always led to its slaughter. Usually it looks around to find a friendly wolf and hopes it mercifully leads it to safety. Ultimately it perishes due to lack of direction, patience and a sense of resignation. If you have wondered all along how a Billion plus strong Indian population never elected a strong and capable leader after Independence you have found your answer.

Post Independence India grew up blissfully by handing over the reins to Congress until suddenly one day its people realized that their democratic country was transforming into Monarchy of Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty. The sudden search for alternatives yielded not so attractive options. Slowly the country meandered into a situation where it found most of its neighbors conniving and its leaders napping. Later the country witnessed unrest of reservations and religious divides came to the forefront. Decades passed, and today we fancy ourselves as an economic super power with nuclear power. Hmmm..."Power" is such a strong word - chic to wield , but it turns out we do not know how to use either of these powers. Well enough rants about the government , the billion count population does not use its power to vote too.

Well do not blame the public immediately, leaving behind the history let us look at the options Indians have in this elections. The major parties are Congress, BJP, Communists and Other Regional parties. Before we go into who to vote for lets look at a little history. The British ruled India with an Iron hand and an Iron boot. They used a smart policy called "Divide and Rule " . They finally left and handed over the power to people as we chose to be a democratic nation. Now with so many parties around who do you vote for. Every Political party needed a USP a selling point. A Logo and Jingle to market themselves. Wait are they forgetting something? Ahh yes which part of crowd to target? Why would this section vote for them?

Well now the policy was to divide the crowd into sections and hope to garner their votes and rule. In Short "Divide and Rule". To be very true this is the best strategy to accomplish any task. Few examples to the credit the policy in real life before we proceed to the political parties. Lets start with the metaphor in the first para.

Wolves and Buffalo : Divide attention and Conquer/Rule the Prey

Project Management : Divide Work and Conquer/Rule the Project

British Rule in India : Divide country by regions - make the rulers fight each other - Rule the unintegrated country

Now to the Political parties and their USPs

Communists:

Divide country in to Economic classes - tell the poor that rich are exploiting you -Conduct strikes so no industries grow - As the rich fight poor - Communists take power and just Rule everything.

Regional Parties :

Divide Country on basis of language- Tell the people of your region that the other language speaking junta wants to supersede and abolish your culture- Rule in your respective regions.

Finally the Big Two.

BJP:

Divide Country on basis of religion - Tell Hindus that Muslims plan to take over the world by producing lots of kids and finally when their population is big enough they will convert/cut/rape you. - Tell them that only BJP can safeguard their religion and give them chance to rule - demolish mosques - ban conversion and valentines day(tats my fav) - Fan Riots when Congress rules- Garner all Hindu votes - Rule the Country.

Congress:

Divide Country on basis of religion/caste - Tell everyone BJP is not secular whereas Congress is- Abuse everything that denotes Hinduism in the name of Secularism - Thumb Rule: Even a dog from Nehru-Gandhi household can rule the country - Give sops to minorities in the name of reservations- Divide country on basis of caste and give sops to few vote banks in the name of BCs Reservations - Fan riots when BJP rules- Garner Minority and Moderate Hindu votes - Rule the country.

Well I can go on and on about the pro and cons of all these parties but I need to mention one particularly about the Big Two. When country is under attack both of them whine in front of all nations. Hold Pakistan responsible and ask their MOM, DAD and Big Brother USA to punish pakistan. Faced with such gutless opportunistic parties on a voting day public wilts in disappointment to choose one worthless leader. Typically on a voting day the illiterate vote for one who gives them liquor or a Hundred rupee note or is a movie star. The Literate keep away citing triviality and pessimism as reasons.

However lets make a difference this year vote for your wolf without fail !!

PS: Did you know at-least 5% of the votes casted are fake and rigged by political parties.

The Cherry Explodes!!

2009-03-04T01:48:00.009+05:30

I deeply condemn the Terrorist attack that took place today on Sri Lankan Cricketers. The attack on cricket here is merely a subset of the greater attack on humanity that seems to have become part of Sub-continent these days. Terrorist attacks in India, War in Sri Lanka , Mutiny in Bangladesh and Terror hubs in Pakistan, human life seems to lost its value too in recession.

Penury and greed had led the Sri Lankan team to Pakistan even after other countries had cancelled their tours. Pakistan is fast turning into a country partitioned between corrupt politicians, shady Army and religious fanatics. The modern moderate class is a mute minority in pak. Most of the readers might have already categorized this post as "Indian Rants" against Pakistan. However, the developments in the region make my case stronger. Taliban is gaining ground in Pakistan and it wont be long before the fanatics start controlling a part of Pak's nukes .

There is something shady about pakistani cricket setup too. Javed Miandad one of the greatest pakistani players and highly placed administrator in Pak cricket has his own dark connections. JM's son is married to Underworld Kingpin Dawood Ibrahim's daughter. For the uninitiated DI was accused in 93 Mumbai blasts and fled India fearing arrest and is known to still control the underworld in India. DI is also 4th on FBI's most wanted list. DI was recently thought to have joined forces with Al qaeda and actively funding terrorist hubs. Imran Khan the world cup winning captain , a failed politician and spokesman who is recognized by the West went on record supporting the Islamic hardliners. That means no education for girls, shariat law and a medieval life style. When leaders like Imran speak in favor of Islamists one can be doubly sure that Pak is heading towards nadir.

On Cricketing front this is the tombstone for Pak cricket. No other country will travel to Pak and PCB will end up bankrupt . My heart goes for all those who got injured and this may mean some players such as Samaraweera who will end up in bed when in prime form. This incident will definitely change the worlds perspective of Pak. As the sentiment goes its clear that Islamic militants have killed the adopted religion of Pakistan - "Cricket".

Art of Spin !! - Contemporary Greats

2009-03-02T09:27:00.006+05:30

If there is anything Magical or Mystical in Cricket it is the "Art Of Spin". I have always enjoyed watching a the bemused face of a batsman bowled around his legs by slow turning seemingly innocuous ball. Spin is all about fooling a batsman, manipulating his mind and playing a prank on him, And believe me this is no easy art to master especially when there is a chance that you will be thrashed like any other swindler on failing in your act. You need a brave heart, shrewd brain and confidence to back it up all. No wonder all great spinners turn out to be great captains if ever handed Captaincy. My article today is a tribute to the contemporary greats of Spin.

Shane Warne :
God of Leg-Spin burst into the public eye with the Ball of the Century which turned a mile to disturb the peace of Gattings stumps. The baffled look on Gatting and Dickie Bird tells it all.

Warne had controversies surrounding his personal life and I am no one to comment on it. People talked about drugs scandal during WorldCup. Well I am no supporter of drug culture but truth is drugs can not help a spinner. In the end Warne turned out to be Maradonna of Cricket.
Australian captaincy is one thing that Warne deserved but never got. To be true Ricky Ponting is not even half the tactician as Warne as IPL proved. Warne won the Tourney with a bunch of Rookies whereas in international cricket Ponting continues to flounder with strong teams after retirement of Warne and Mcgrath. The greatest spin bowler from Australia deserved the honour to lead his team. His retirement left a void in Australian team that would take a century to fill.

Muthiah Muralitharan:
They called him a freak and a chucker, he was subject to many tests and taunts, Yet today he stands tall with highest no. of wickets in both Tests and ODIs. Murali, a tamilian in Sinahalese dominated Srilanka is an icon. In contrast to Warne, Murali is shy and humble being. However as aggresive with the bowl in his hand. The look in his eyes as he is about to deliver a ball can give one nightmares. Though Offspinner by trade Murali perfected Doosra (legspin with off spin action) and tormented batsmen all over the world.
Murali until the emergence of Mendis was the lone strike spinner in the side and SL depended heavily on him for wickets. Murali continues to weave the ball around and is the Last man standing of the Golden era of spin after retirements of Warne and Kumble.

Anil Kumble:

The bespectacled genius of Indian spin. When Kumble entered the cricket scene no one thought he would take 619 wickets in Tests and become the 3rd highest wicket taker in the world.
Kumble remained the most potent force in most of Indian Test victories. Kumble never spun the ball a long in comparison to Warne or Murali. However, Kumble used his fast spearing deliveries and flippers to capture most of his wickets. Kumble was better known as a Medium pacer in a Spinners body.
Kumble was devastating on final day pitches that wear and deteriorate. Kumble is poster boy for persistence, dedication and toil. The steely look in his eyes spoke volumes about the hidden agression in the softspoken Engineer.
The highlight of his career was 10 wickets in an innings againgst Pakistan at Kotla.
My Favorite however is the picture of his reaching his maiden century at the Oval in 118 Test matches. He managed to do what Shane and Murali missed. He became the Indian Captain and scored a century.

In my Next post I will talk about other spinners bhajji, saqlain, vettori and new Mendis.
Make sure to view my next post for my own video on How to bowl a carrom ball.

Back After a Long Hiatus !!

2009-02-02T17:15:00.003+05:30

Recession!!
Terrorism !!
Corruption!!
Triumph!!
Deceit !!!
Disaster!!!!

The List does not end. Was Lazy to put my thoughts on the Blog, but have been brimming with Opinions for too long. Its time I revive my Blog.

Note: My Next Posts might not relate to MBA!! I have decided to postpone my MBA plans for an year until the Dragon named "Recession" is tamed.

ESSAY - TIME!!

2008-06-23T10:10:00.008+05:30

Well any MBA aspirant would know that this is the toughest part of application. I am presently considering the applications of ISB and HEC Paris. However, 3 weeks down the line I have been able to complete only 3 essays. One look at me is enough to say how these essays have harassed me.
Noteworthy among these essays is the one which asks the applicant to write about a book that he felt should not have received the acclaim it got. The choice of book was easy but re-reading it was tough. "God of small things " was the clear winner for this category and Arundhati Roy found herself under the scalpel. Though her style is nice and metaphors out of the world the story was dark and paper thin almost like a formula bollywood flick. After suffering through the book when I started writing a critique words seemed to flow and 250 words looked too little.

The problem however lies in in knowing how much is too much . Criticism needs to look learned , balanced and incisive, most importantly one needs to support it with examples. All this in 250 words without diluting the incisiveness was a herculean task. I quiver when i think about the other essays that lay ahead.
To quantify the task lets look at the numbers :

avg no. of words per essay : 400
avg no. of essays per application : 5
avg no. of applications per candidate : 5
avg no. of drafts per essay :4

= (10,000 words of crisp pure sense )*4
= 40,000 words.

Well people time to pity the poor MBA aspirant tearing his hair apart.
OOPS!! I forgot to include the 900 words "Optional Essay" in the equation!! ;)

The Ant Story !!

2008-06-04T14:11:00.000+05:30

As I start thinking about my essays , I cannot stop myself from getting nostalgic. I came across a question which asks the candidate to explain two of his annoying characteristics. As I think about it one incident springs to my mind. Well at this point of time if the reader knows me well then I am sure he/she would have guessed what I am speaking about.

It was summer holidays, and my family was lazing out in the verandah . It was about 4 pm and I had woke up after a nice siesta. Sipping hot tea as my mother handed some biscuits around, I was reconstructing my midday dream in my subconscious mind. There was some idle talk going around and I was slipping back into my dreams.

Suddenly, the talk wandered to the subject of my studies and my non performance in engineering. That made me a little uncomfortable and i decided to dead bat the questions as they came pounding one after the other. Sensing my reluctance to answer the discussion veered into a different direction. I congratulated myself for doing a "Dravid on Perth" and tried to cool away.

Then out of nowhere my mother spied a little ant, busy in its work. It trekked through the crevices of the verandah as it sought to reach its home. The ant all the while was carrying a leaf, which looked at least 10 times heavier and 20 times larger than the ant. My mother marveled at its courage and hard work. She was impressed by the ant's commitment to work and was effusive in its praise. I half-sleepily acknowledged its achievements. However, not happy with the response my mother sought to drive her point harder. She started comparing me with the ant. On how the ant struggled to finish its work and how I lazed instead of studying.

Now any self respecting egomaniac would hate to be compared to an ant let alone be shown inferior to it. What followed remains in the mind of my family till today. I went closer to the ant and witness its splendor. In sudden swift movements I picked a slipper and banged the ant twice on its head. Even before anyone could understand what happened the ant was left devoid of life. I then turned to my mother and said that this was the difference between me and the ant. My mother let out a cry and shouted at me, she picked the closest thing to her hand (which luckily was a magazine ) and hit me violently with it. She proclaimed that I was rude, heartless, cruel, psychotic and egotistic. Months later, my brother wrote an elaborate poem about a hardworking ant and a cruel man who toyed with it.

Today, as I write this I know that what I did was impulsive and wrong. In retrospect I never felt more bad about killing any ant as I did of killing this one. God forbid, if I go to hell after my life. I am sure there would be an ant waiting for me with a big slipper.

Another update on my GMAT front, I got my AWA score and it shows that I improved from (4/6) to (4.5/6). Looks like its time to complete the other half of Zoya's Story. The Ant is having its revenge already.

"To Do or Not To Do!!" - Part1

2008-05-29T11:28:00.000+05:30

As I sieve through the tons of data about Post MBA career options and try to figure where I would fit in after 1yr MBA . The need to leverage my past IT (Telecom) experience dictates me to consider High Tech career as an option post MBA. However, the wish to become truly corporate and leverage my problem solving and analytic capabilities guide me towards consulting. Well, If you are wondering why this moron is thinking career options even before joining a college - Hold on!! Remember, I need to write an essay on my career goals Long term and Short term. Hence, the dilemma.

Before I delve into what I wish lets weigh who would choose me, as you see the power lies in the hands of the recruiter . Following is what I heard on a GMAC podcast

High Tech Recruiters: We have lot of openings for MBA's - with sales background. If a guy with technical background wants to get in to this role then he better have a relevant internship.
("Some one Tell me is there a chance to do internship in a integrated 1 yr MBA course")

Consulting Recruiters : We are looking for people with great problem solving skills and affinity towards numbers(who better than an engineer). We also look at how we can leverage their earlier work experience. We have heavy requirements and the ratio of applicants to selected candidates is 100:1 (Pretty encouraging !!)

Now can some one please tell me if consulting works out for s/w engineers with good analytical skills?

GMAT Score & Zoya's Story

2008-05-28T16:27:00.000+05:30

After scoring a 700 I lay awake in the night cursing myself for not getting a 750 .
I was angry and peeved, I saw no point in the whole exercise where in I missed last year's window and after all the preparation improved only by 10 points.

I could see INSEAD , JUDGE , Oxford etc.. throwing my application in to their respective dust bins. I hated myself for falling prey to mediocrity, for failing to improve. It was 1:00 am and I was very agitated. I decided to pick up a book and read. I chose "Zoya's Story" and started reading it.

Zoya's Story is about an Afghan girl who describes her life in Kabul and Pakistan at the time of Taliban regime. The story describes atrocities of Mujahideen , the way the girl's family is torn apart and how the girl had to run away from her country.

Halfway through the story , I started feeling foolish and silly about my childish rants . I closed the book at about 3:00am thankful to God for my Indian nationality. I was more determined at the end to make a fight out this 700 score.

If a girl could fight such big issues, it is but a shame that I rant about some 50 points . Then I decided that my score (which I compare to "sitting on the fence") makes the challenge more interesting and worthwhile. Thanks Zoya !!

I Me Myself & GMAT

2008-05-28T15:30:00.000+05:30

WELCOME ABOARD!!

I am Software Engineer with a dream to make it big in the corporate world !! Based in Bangalore and with 4yrs of experience in the Industry!

GMAT :: Recently I retook GMAT and made a marginal yet psychological improvement.
Latest Score :: 700 (49Q, 36V and AWA awaited ,92 %ile)
Older Score :: 690 (50Q, 32V and 4 , 90 %ile)

I Promised myself that I would start a blog if I get a 750 . Yet I later realized that people with 700 are usually more confused than those with 750.

So after I start applying and eventually get into a college this blog may help the others who follow.