This is from a friend at ISB. They asked one of their profs abt the Dos and Donts in a B-school.
This is what he replied "Do not go too far to one extreme or another: too much networking or too much book learning. Those who spend lot of time on parties miss out on learning from academics, and those who neglect socializing, miss out on learning from others".
A little bit more....
“If yesterday was not yesterday, today would not have been today”!!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Dada speaks...
Dada ka baat hua gyaan....
Beta life mein do cheez yaad rakhna....
1. There is nothing called a free lunch
2. The person in front of you is as capable as you are, do not underestimate him.
Beta life mein do cheez yaad rakhna....
1. There is nothing called a free lunch
2. The person in front of you is as capable as you are, do not underestimate him.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Once a pig, always a pig!
He stood with his hands in his pocket, eyes scanning the skyline. Then he surveyed the very traffic that he had just battled through.
"Once a pig, always a pig!"
He said it out aloud, to no one in particular. Approaching the wall of his terrace he looked at the playground closeby. A hundred test matches were being played all at once. He remembered his own "career" on a playground just like that. When you were fielding in the wall-less labyrinth of cricketers and pitches, you often forgot which wicket your match was being played on. It took a bit of time to figure out if you were the midwicket, fine leg, long off or deep gully. He was never put close-in, so those positions never entered his consideration.
He took his hands off the wall and took a batting stance. He had wanted to be the next Gavaskar. He didn't. Tendulkar did.
A little way off the playground, he saw a medium size mob of people standing in a circle. Starining his eyes, he saw that some kids were performing a street-play on the ev of Republic Day. His mind went back to 8th Std when he performed in an interschool play. He would stand in front of a mirror and rehearse the dialogues for hour. He knew he could have the audience in splits with his comic portrayal of a drunk talking to himself in the mirror.
He smiled and wobbled around, trying to recall those lines. He wanted to be the next Amitabh. He didn't. Sharukh did.
He approached the wall of his terrace again. This time He climbed on it and stood up. Looking down, he wondered if it would hurt.
That's when his phone rang.
"What?....oh...ok, sir, yes sir, yes sir. Tomorrow morning at eight? Yes sir."
He climbed down from the wall and went inside his house.
"Once a pig, always a pig", he said it out aloud, to no one in particular.
"Once a pig, always a pig!"
He said it out aloud, to no one in particular. Approaching the wall of his terrace he looked at the playground closeby. A hundred test matches were being played all at once. He remembered his own "career" on a playground just like that. When you were fielding in the wall-less labyrinth of cricketers and pitches, you often forgot which wicket your match was being played on. It took a bit of time to figure out if you were the midwicket, fine leg, long off or deep gully. He was never put close-in, so those positions never entered his consideration.
He took his hands off the wall and took a batting stance. He had wanted to be the next Gavaskar. He didn't. Tendulkar did.
A little way off the playground, he saw a medium size mob of people standing in a circle. Starining his eyes, he saw that some kids were performing a street-play on the ev of Republic Day. His mind went back to 8th Std when he performed in an interschool play. He would stand in front of a mirror and rehearse the dialogues for hour. He knew he could have the audience in splits with his comic portrayal of a drunk talking to himself in the mirror.
He smiled and wobbled around, trying to recall those lines. He wanted to be the next Amitabh. He didn't. Sharukh did.
He approached the wall of his terrace again. This time He climbed on it and stood up. Looking down, he wondered if it would hurt.
That's when his phone rang.
"What?....oh...ok, sir, yes sir, yes sir. Tomorrow morning at eight? Yes sir."
He climbed down from the wall and went inside his house.
"Once a pig, always a pig", he said it out aloud, to no one in particular.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
7 things I want to do before I graduate
1. Part ties with my best friend...laziness
2. Participate in atleast one competition and make atleast one Business Plan
3. Manage my time well and allocate enough time for fun and party.
4. Improve my presentation skills (both talking and making ppts)
5. Learn different things by experiencing various cultures.
6. Visit lots of places in SE Asia.
7. Lose some weight.
I guess there is some work started on 4 & 5. Rest all still lie in my head...hope to start working on them soon!
2. Participate in atleast one competition and make atleast one Business Plan
3. Manage my time well and allocate enough time for fun and party.
4. Improve my presentation skills (both talking and making ppts)
5. Learn different things by experiencing various cultures.
6. Visit lots of places in SE Asia.
7. Lose some weight.
I guess there is some work started on 4 & 5. Rest all still lie in my head...hope to start working on them soon!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
The Shit smells the same everywhere!
Literally!!
I passed by a sewer truck on campus today and for a moment recalled Dharavi.
Different races, different religions, different food, different nations...but yeah the shit smells the same everywhere! Talk about Global standards!
I passed by a sewer truck on campus today and for a moment recalled Dharavi.
Different races, different religions, different food, different nations...but yeah the shit smells the same everywhere! Talk about Global standards!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Which way to go? - Part 2
VR left this comment on my previous post. Thought I should put it as a post and comment on it.
"Quite an obvious line of thought coming from a non Indian. It was the same kinda discussion that I and T from Switzerland had yesterday before the IT and E-comm class. I think that conversation partly throws light on why these distinct schools of thought exist.
He casually told me that the competitive nature of Indians sometimes is quite unnerving for him, as it was for a few others from his land. He went on to add how the higher education streams in his country were relaxed and were easy to get into with a bit more effort and the whole lifestyle was so relaxed, that the government was doing everything possible to encourage higher education aspirations. However people are just plain happy leading the laid back life that they have got accustomed to. Like the Little Men in "Who moved my Cheese"
Now contrast this with India. Which Indian middle class student today does not want to do a B.E? How many of them nurture plans to do a Masters, get a plush job, etc. Almost everybody you know of, right. What is the government doing? Nothing, coz the system takes care of itself. Like the competitive free market system in capitalist countries. This is the breeding ground for competition where a little complacency might do you in. Given this as the backdrop, shouldn't it be natural that we Indians are already losing out on 40 winks in search of a job? I still completely agree that it should not be at the cost of getting the best that MBA has on offer for you, but worry you will.
Now there is no good thing or bad thing about each line of thought, it is just that different countries of the world go through different stages of evolution at different periods in history and it is this which shapes an individual's mental make-up."
Knowingly or unknowingly VR has answered my question that whether this has become the Indian psyche? Yes, it has. VR lists the reasons and circumstances very nicely above. The next logical question that comes to mind is ... Agreed we have this competitive nature which is a good thing when we are in India, but should we continue with this now when we are at the global level or should we make a concerted effort to tone down ourselves and make others feel comfortable around us? Again two lines of thought emerge. On one hand we can argue that healthy competition is not bad. Its not as if we are pushing others down to show ourselves higher. On the other hand we can say that most of us now plan to work in global companies with people from various nationalities and it is very important that we do not come out 'loud' and make others comefortable around us. After all, teamwork depends on the comfort level between team members.
Is it time to leave behind the Indian psyche and embrace the Global psyche?
"Quite an obvious line of thought coming from a non Indian. It was the same kinda discussion that I and T from Switzerland had yesterday before the IT and E-comm class. I think that conversation partly throws light on why these distinct schools of thought exist.
He casually told me that the competitive nature of Indians sometimes is quite unnerving for him, as it was for a few others from his land. He went on to add how the higher education streams in his country were relaxed and were easy to get into with a bit more effort and the whole lifestyle was so relaxed, that the government was doing everything possible to encourage higher education aspirations. However people are just plain happy leading the laid back life that they have got accustomed to. Like the Little Men in "Who moved my Cheese"
Now contrast this with India. Which Indian middle class student today does not want to do a B.E? How many of them nurture plans to do a Masters, get a plush job, etc. Almost everybody you know of, right. What is the government doing? Nothing, coz the system takes care of itself. Like the competitive free market system in capitalist countries. This is the breeding ground for competition where a little complacency might do you in. Given this as the backdrop, shouldn't it be natural that we Indians are already losing out on 40 winks in search of a job? I still completely agree that it should not be at the cost of getting the best that MBA has on offer for you, but worry you will.
Now there is no good thing or bad thing about each line of thought, it is just that different countries of the world go through different stages of evolution at different periods in history and it is this which shapes an individual's mental make-up."
Knowingly or unknowingly VR has answered my question that whether this has become the Indian psyche? Yes, it has. VR lists the reasons and circumstances very nicely above. The next logical question that comes to mind is ... Agreed we have this competitive nature which is a good thing when we are in India, but should we continue with this now when we are at the global level or should we make a concerted effort to tone down ourselves and make others feel comfortable around us? Again two lines of thought emerge. On one hand we can argue that healthy competition is not bad. Its not as if we are pushing others down to show ourselves higher. On the other hand we can say that most of us now plan to work in global companies with people from various nationalities and it is very important that we do not come out 'loud' and make others comefortable around us. After all, teamwork depends on the comfort level between team members.
Is it time to leave behind the Indian psyche and embrace the Global psyche?
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Which way to go?
Yesterday I was talking to these people from a different country regarding the career prospects after we finish our MBA and what should we do about it. And I guess I came out as a little too desperate. I am not sure but I think I can speak for most Indians B-school students here that we are desperate about getting an internship or a job.
Two days back the Indian gang was discussing about getting an internship and job and we were talking about making an exhaustive list and start applying. Some of us were of the opinion that we should apply left and right and we might get lucky atleast somewhere. On the other hand when discussing with my foreign friends, those guys did not seem in any kind of hurry. Rather one of them mentioned "I have just started my MBA and am not even sure where I want to work later on". Basically she meant that she wanted to explore different areas within the course of MBA, develop an interest and then go job hunting.
This statement of hers kind of took me aback. Back in India so much emphasis is given to placements that sometimes we forget everything else. The sole aim of joining a MBA program is to jump to a better company. Interests, likings, developing oneself, making full use of the MBA program and everything else takes a backburner. Rather than concentrating on the job at hand i.e., transforming ourselves to be better managers and extract the best out of our MBA, we tend to concentrate too much on the future. Not sure why this happens and whether its a good thing or a bad thing. But is this the usual Indian psyche?....To be secured about one's future. Or has it got something to do with the prestige issue? Indian B-schools have campus placements and hence most students select a job from the available lot before they graduate. This maybe kind of puts a pressure on the students doing their MBA from foreign universities (where there is no concept of campus placements) and it becomes a prestige issue that even they should be placed before they complete their MBAs.
I personally do not mind waiting for sometime after I complete my MBA to search for 'the' job. But am still not sure which is the correct way to go? I mean there is no harm looking for the jobs if you already know what field you are interested in. But yeah, this should not come at the cost of loosing out on the value of your MBA. And then I dont rather mind waiting and searching for the right job also. Not sure what I will end up doing...on the one hand the peer and parental pressure is always going to be there and on the other hand is this new line of thought that I am learning from my foreign classmates.
Two days back the Indian gang was discussing about getting an internship and job and we were talking about making an exhaustive list and start applying. Some of us were of the opinion that we should apply left and right and we might get lucky atleast somewhere. On the other hand when discussing with my foreign friends, those guys did not seem in any kind of hurry. Rather one of them mentioned "I have just started my MBA and am not even sure where I want to work later on". Basically she meant that she wanted to explore different areas within the course of MBA, develop an interest and then go job hunting.
This statement of hers kind of took me aback. Back in India so much emphasis is given to placements that sometimes we forget everything else. The sole aim of joining a MBA program is to jump to a better company. Interests, likings, developing oneself, making full use of the MBA program and everything else takes a backburner. Rather than concentrating on the job at hand i.e., transforming ourselves to be better managers and extract the best out of our MBA, we tend to concentrate too much on the future. Not sure why this happens and whether its a good thing or a bad thing. But is this the usual Indian psyche?....To be secured about one's future. Or has it got something to do with the prestige issue? Indian B-schools have campus placements and hence most students select a job from the available lot before they graduate. This maybe kind of puts a pressure on the students doing their MBA from foreign universities (where there is no concept of campus placements) and it becomes a prestige issue that even they should be placed before they complete their MBAs.
I personally do not mind waiting for sometime after I complete my MBA to search for 'the' job. But am still not sure which is the correct way to go? I mean there is no harm looking for the jobs if you already know what field you are interested in. But yeah, this should not come at the cost of loosing out on the value of your MBA. And then I dont rather mind waiting and searching for the right job also. Not sure what I will end up doing...on the one hand the peer and parental pressure is always going to be there and on the other hand is this new line of thought that I am learning from my foreign classmates.
Karaoke Night
We had the monthly MBA get-together today. It started slow with very few people initially... we had a couple of beers and then TB suggested why not use the karaoke facility. So there we went in, a small room with a TV (showed the lyrics), a couple of speakers and microphones. Slowly but surely the crowd started pouring in and so did the singers! Had a fun night...did this karaoke TV thing for the first time...but its surely not the last time!! Some pictures from the party...
Dada humming along
Singing ultimately led to a little bit of dancing
TB and AS singing a duet
The initial few
The final group
Dada humming along
Singing ultimately led to a little bit of dancing
TB and AS singing a duet
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Friday Evening with Jack Daniels
The Occassion - SB's Birthday
Accompaniments - Pizza
Sound - Boombastic music on Bose
Location - Nanyang Valley
Accompaniments - Pizza
Sound - Boombastic music on Bose
Location - Nanyang Valley
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Rising Sun
The rising sun
age old
yet new and inspiring
lighting up the world
with its soft pink rays;
just watching the familiar hues
dance on the still water
I return to emotions
that never truly left.
Just as the sun sets
it rises again
wide arms embracing a new day.
- Li Steins -
age old
yet new and inspiring
lighting up the world
with its soft pink rays;
just watching the familiar hues
dance on the still water
I return to emotions
that never truly left.
Just as the sun sets
it rises again
wide arms embracing a new day.
- Li Steins -
Balle Balle!
In the coming 4 years the FIFA World Cup will be written as FIFA World Cup
Heh? Why?
Italy currently hold it, so it better be italicised!! ;-)
Heh? Why?
Italy currently hold it, so it better be italicised!! ;-)
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Lots of ASS around these days
I have an exam this week and still this is the only thing I can think about. And then I congratulate myself thinking that how creative I am!
Three of my friends here have initials AS. One stays in Grad hall, one in Nanyang heights and one in
So what does that mean?
More than one AS = plural of AS = AS(S) = Ass!
Hihihi
Hope those guys do not read this post else am going to get a kick on my ass from one of those asses! ;-)Sunday, September 10, 2006
My Den
Wanted to post about my dwelling place earlier (when the place was cleaner) but could not do so. So this is what it is…my adda these days. Looked kinda small in the first impression, but seems to be just the right size after living in it for a month and half. Afterall, bigger it is the more there is to clean! :-)
Puchka!
I used to have a blog before this one. This piece was posted in that blog and am transferring it here now. Over the next few days I will transfer some posts here. This has nothing to do with your comfort but its basically that I want to delete that old blog permanently.
Not sure why...but I have been getting panipuri dreams lately! Its been a long long time since I had panipuri from a thela.
A few months back I was having panipuri at his cart when a tiny girl ran up to him.
"Bhaiyya, 2 rupaye ka panipuri milega?", she chirped. She was dressed in a tattered frock, and her hair was unwashed for days. She could not have been more than 6 years old. Sparing even 2 rupees for panipuri was definitely a luxury for her. But the way her face glowed at the mention of "panipuri" made it obvious that she had given this expense a lot of thought.
"Haan, milega. Aadha plate.", the old man replied as his hand punctured a puri and filled it with ragda.
"Baad mein sukha masala puri bhi milega?" she chirped again.
"Nahi. Hum sirf poora plate ke saath hi sukha masala puri det hai.", he scolded her, as he dipped the puri with his hand into the pot of teekha paani.
The girl made a sulking face but handed him the 2 rupee coin nevertheless.
The old man handed her a plate and served her the first puri, filled with ragda, tamarind chutney, and chilli water. The little girl picked it up, the puri looking huge clasped in her tiny fingers. She raised the puri and gulped it, just barely managing to fit it into her little mouth. As she was eating the puri, her face was again radiating in a contented way.
The old man placed one more puri on her plate, then another one, and then one more. That made it four puris. I assumed he would stop, and give me the next puri.
However he placed another puri on her plate! Then three more, and that made it eight puris. Usually you get six puris for five rupees, but this man had given her eight puris for two rupees. I was puzzled.
So far, I had been looking at his hand as he dished out the puris. I shifted my gaze to his face and saw that he was looking at the little girl with an indulgent smile on his face. He gave a little chuckle as she happily gobbled down the puri and wiped her face with the back of her hand. The old man was clearly enjoying this display of unadulterated joy from the girl, the simple joy that comes out of eating something you enjoy.
The little girl placed the plate on the cart and said "Bas, ho gaya." Then she fidgeted around a little bit and asked in a low voice "Sukha masala puri milega?".
The old man got irritated and said "Boley na, Hum sirf poora plate ke saath hi sukha masala puri det hai."
Not sure why...but I have been getting panipuri dreams lately! Its been a long long time since I had panipuri from a thela.
During one of these panipuri day dreams I recalled an incident..an incident which makes me so happy that i can't help but smile whenever I remember it.
A few months back I was having panipuri at his cart when a tiny girl ran up to him.
"Bhaiyya, 2 rupaye ka panipuri milega?", she chirped. She was dressed in a tattered frock, and her hair was unwashed for days. She could not have been more than 6 years old. Sparing even 2 rupees for panipuri was definitely a luxury for her. But the way her face glowed at the mention of "panipuri" made it obvious that she had given this expense a lot of thought.
"Haan, milega. Aadha plate.", the old man replied as his hand punctured a puri and filled it with ragda.
"Baad mein sukha masala puri bhi milega?" she chirped again.
"Nahi. Hum sirf poora plate ke saath hi sukha masala puri det hai.", he scolded her, as he dipped the puri with his hand into the pot of teekha paani.
The girl made a sulking face but handed him the 2 rupee coin nevertheless.
The old man handed her a plate and served her the first puri, filled with ragda, tamarind chutney, and chilli water. The little girl picked it up, the puri looking huge clasped in her tiny fingers. She raised the puri and gulped it, just barely managing to fit it into her little mouth. As she was eating the puri, her face was again radiating in a contented way.
The old man placed one more puri on her plate, then another one, and then one more. That made it four puris. I assumed he would stop, and give me the next puri.
However he placed another puri on her plate! Then three more, and that made it eight puris. Usually you get six puris for five rupees, but this man had given her eight puris for two rupees. I was puzzled.
So far, I had been looking at his hand as he dished out the puris. I shifted my gaze to his face and saw that he was looking at the little girl with an indulgent smile on his face. He gave a little chuckle as she happily gobbled down the puri and wiped her face with the back of her hand. The old man was clearly enjoying this display of unadulterated joy from the girl, the simple joy that comes out of eating something you enjoy.
The little girl placed the plate on the cart and said "Bas, ho gaya." Then she fidgeted around a little bit and asked in a low voice "Sukha masala puri milega?".
The old man got irritated and said "Boley na, Hum sirf poora plate ke saath hi sukha masala puri det hai."
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Phew! Its over!
Finally finished my Financial Management presentation. Surprisingly went off really well. I was not all that confident before we begun, but kudos to my teammates… they rose up to the occasion. We had made a point to cover all the details, this meant that our presentation was long and could have become a tad boring, but in the end the prof was happy that we covered everything. Well, to bring in the humor part I volunteered and became a man and a woman at the same time (Randy and Kathy). This went well with the audience and some of them were asking me after the presentation if I would be wearing a skirt to the class next time around. :-)
Ok, enough of studies for the week. Had a tough week. Time to relax. Going for Munnabhai part-
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Accounting accounted for!
Done with my Financial accounting presentation today. Was a gruesome experience. The prof grilled us for over 2 hrs. Imagine standing for 2 hrs in front of a class of 50. Anyways he did mention that this was the toughest presentation over the course and we did a good job. Got an ‘A’! Yay! Finally, I open my account of grades. Hopefully, it remains in the A range.
The prof for accounting is a absolutely no-nonsense prof. Black and white….no grey areas for him. He wants us to be crystal clear, no vague statements will do. Nice attitude I must say, and I think this is the kind of attitude required to teach a subject like accounting where everything is precise. Maybe in a course like marketing we can be vague and keep throwing out crap.
Anyways, this was the first hurdle, have a MBO assignment to submit tomorrow. Also need to read the case on Process Analysis of a chocolate maker. Then later in the afternoon my Financial mgmt (FM) group is going to meet to finalize the FM presentation. That’s on Saturday! Can’t wait for Saturday, me and my friends are planning to go for Lage Raho Munnabhai! Hope the presentation goes well so that I can enjoy the movie the way its supposed to be.
The prof for accounting is a absolutely no-nonsense prof. Black and white….no grey areas for him. He wants us to be crystal clear, no vague statements will do. Nice attitude I must say, and I think this is the kind of attitude required to teach a subject like accounting where everything is precise. Maybe in a course like marketing we can be vague and keep throwing out crap.
Anyways, this was the first hurdle, have a MBO assignment to submit tomorrow. Also need to read the case on Process Analysis of a chocolate maker. Then later in the afternoon my Financial mgmt (FM) group is going to meet to finalize the FM presentation. That’s on Saturday! Can’t wait for Saturday, me and my friends are planning to go for Lage Raho Munnabhai! Hope the presentation goes well so that I can enjoy the movie the way its supposed to be.
Monday, September 04, 2006
1/3 T1
Week 4 of the first trimester got over yesterday. This means that 1/3 of T1 is up. Thinking about this scares me a lot. I had a thought that a 16 month course would not be so intensive and fast-track. But it does seem to be.
I took some time to gear up to the speed, this meant that I had a huge backlog and now it seems there is no time to cover that up. I have exams in 12 days, and this week is full of assignments and presentations. Its so much different from the engineering times, where one could literally fool around for 5 months and still crack the exams after studying for a month. Don’t think this is going to work here. Anyways, am not complaining. I am happy that I realized this 4 weeks into the first trimester.
I have taken four courses this trimester.
Economic Analysis
Financial Accounting
Managing Business Operations
Financial Management
To be frank, am not upto the mark yet. Economic Analysis looks to simple on the face, but when the prof gives a case to prepare I am blank. The common sense is there but the economic sense has still not developed. Need to find a solution quick.. “How to think like an Economist?”
Financial Accounting is a foundation course on accounting. Initially it seemed to very hard, but slowly am coming to terms with it. However, I still need to practice a lot.
Managing Business Operations is by far the most interesting course this trimester. Atleast for me. But how I wish that we had a more commanding prof. A good prof would have made a deadly combo. Some people might argue that he is good and gives a lot of real life examples, but I feel that in those examples the real message gets lost most of the time. Anyways, the course is not bad and I have a special liking for it as I am interested in Operations Mgmt.
Financial Management is proving to be a tough nut to crack. No doubt it’s a very interesting course. Am learning a lot of financial jargon that I had heard and read about but did not really know what they meant. However, the application of these concepts is proving to be a real pain. The course is more on the quantitative side but it still does not shine a line in my mind. Need to gain a lot in this one!
Lets see how the presentations go this week. Should have some marks in my kitty by the end of the week.
I took some time to gear up to the speed, this meant that I had a huge backlog and now it seems there is no time to cover that up. I have exams in 12 days, and this week is full of assignments and presentations. Its so much different from the engineering times, where one could literally fool around for 5 months and still crack the exams after studying for a month. Don’t think this is going to work here. Anyways, am not complaining. I am happy that I realized this 4 weeks into the first trimester.
I have taken four courses this trimester.
Economic Analysis
Financial Accounting
Managing Business Operations
Financial Management
To be frank, am not upto the mark yet. Economic Analysis looks to simple on the face, but when the prof gives a case to prepare I am blank. The common sense is there but the economic sense has still not developed. Need to find a solution quick.. “How to think like an Economist?”
Financial Accounting is a foundation course on accounting. Initially it seemed to very hard, but slowly am coming to terms with it. However, I still need to practice a lot.
Managing Business Operations is by far the most interesting course this trimester. Atleast for me. But how I wish that we had a more commanding prof. A good prof would have made a deadly combo. Some people might argue that he is good and gives a lot of real life examples, but I feel that in those examples the real message gets lost most of the time. Anyways, the course is not bad and I have a special liking for it as I am interested in Operations Mgmt.
Financial Management is proving to be a tough nut to crack. No doubt it’s a very interesting course. Am learning a lot of financial jargon that I had heard and read about but did not really know what they meant. However, the application of these concepts is proving to be a real pain. The course is more on the quantitative side but it still does not shine a line in my mind. Need to gain a lot in this one!
Lets see how the presentations go this week. Should have some marks in my kitty by the end of the week.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Induction and Orientation
The B-school had arranged an induction and orientation program for the new batch from Aug 1st to 4th. And man o man! it was a great program.
The first day was more like a ice-breaker sorts. I met up with my new classmates and got to know them. We found out that we had a very very diverse class. People from 18 countries!! Let me try and list those - India, China, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Morocco, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, France, Argentina, US, Luxemborg, Finland and a couple more which I dont remember now.
The second day we were divided into two groups. One had an outdoor team-building session while the other one had some in-class sessions. I was in the outdoor group. We had to do some daredevil exercises! jump from one tree to another like a tarzan, fall backwards from a height and trust ur friends to catch you etc! there were also some very thought provoking exercises. All in all, the purpose was served. These exercises bought us together which was very important in a group which is as diverse as ours.
On the third day it was our turn to have the in-class exercises. The initial feeling was that we would get bored after the exciting previous day, but it dint take long for Prof Beck to prove us wrong. If previous day's exercises were a physical test then these were a mental test. We opened our own company and simulated production. Had fun in out-thinking the other team. Basically had loads of fun!
The final day started with the class doing a case analysis. It was my first exposure to case-study method and I am impressed. More about this method in a later post. Next was the cross cultural presentations. Each country had to present something about their country. By presenting I dont mean PPTs, but any kind of presentations...skits, songs, quizzes etc. The Indians made a skit wherein we showed a foreigner coming to India and his experiences in the country. The other countries also had great presentations. Worth mentioning are the Swiss farm-boy song and Germany v/s Luxemborg quiz. In the afternoon we had a session with Prof Conner from Australia on Managing Presentations. Very informative I must say. Learnt a lot in the 2 hrs. Will most probably take his class in the next trimester. The classroom session ended with elections for the student committee...and I got in! :) Will put in a post later about my plans.
In the evening, we had a formal welcome from the Dean and head of Alumni committee. After that we had a dinner party where we met our Professors, Seniors and Alumni. Was a great experience meeting these people.
Inducted and Oriented! Time to get down and study....Week 1 of Trimester 1 begins!
The first day was more like a ice-breaker sorts. I met up with my new classmates and got to know them. We found out that we had a very very diverse class. People from 18 countries!! Let me try and list those - India, China, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Morocco, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, France, Argentina, US, Luxemborg, Finland and a couple more which I dont remember now.
The second day we were divided into two groups. One had an outdoor team-building session while the other one had some in-class sessions. I was in the outdoor group. We had to do some daredevil exercises! jump from one tree to another like a tarzan, fall backwards from a height and trust ur friends to catch you etc! there were also some very thought provoking exercises. All in all, the purpose was served. These exercises bought us together which was very important in a group which is as diverse as ours.
On the third day it was our turn to have the in-class exercises. The initial feeling was that we would get bored after the exciting previous day, but it dint take long for Prof Beck to prove us wrong. If previous day's exercises were a physical test then these were a mental test. We opened our own company and simulated production. Had fun in out-thinking the other team. Basically had loads of fun!
The final day started with the class doing a case analysis. It was my first exposure to case-study method and I am impressed. More about this method in a later post. Next was the cross cultural presentations. Each country had to present something about their country. By presenting I dont mean PPTs, but any kind of presentations...skits, songs, quizzes etc. The Indians made a skit wherein we showed a foreigner coming to India and his experiences in the country. The other countries also had great presentations. Worth mentioning are the Swiss farm-boy song and Germany v/s Luxemborg quiz. In the afternoon we had a session with Prof Conner from Australia on Managing Presentations. Very informative I must say. Learnt a lot in the 2 hrs. Will most probably take his class in the next trimester. The classroom session ended with elections for the student committee...and I got in! :) Will put in a post later about my plans.
In the evening, we had a formal welcome from the Dean and head of Alumni committee. After that we had a dinner party where we met our Professors, Seniors and Alumni. Was a great experience meeting these people.
Inducted and Oriented! Time to get down and study....Week 1 of Trimester 1 begins!
Monday, August 07, 2006
It all began 12 days ago...
I reached Singapore on 25th Morning. A new beginning...a new innings in my life.
I had company from Mumbai, so the journey was not boring. P ended up carrying a lot of luggage (read 35 + 14 + 6 Kgs). The limit was something like (20 + 7 + 4). Was wondering why did I not transfer my house.
Anyways, so we reached Singapore and straight away caught a taxi and were on our way to NTU campus. This univ's campus is huge!! I have never ever seen such a huge and still impeccably maintained campus. Lush green with forests, awesome infrastructure and tonnes of students! Looks like a small city in itself.
The first day went about in running around the campus. Being new to the place, I did not know the shuttle routes well and preferred walking. Got my hostel room keys, got my medical check-up done and in the process also met up my virtual friends for real. I knew these guys (my future classmates P, Vj, Viv, Am, An, Su, Sa, Ar) from the yahoogrp that we had formed, but was meeting them for the first time.
The next few days went about in settling myself in Singapore aka buying necessary stuff (bucket, mug, pillow, sweeper etc) and bonding with these new friends of mine. We all seemed to gel well from the word go. Not complaining! :)
1st of August was when our formal induction and orientation program started. More about it in the next post.
I had company from Mumbai, so the journey was not boring. P ended up carrying a lot of luggage (read 35 + 14 + 6 Kgs). The limit was something like (20 + 7 + 4). Was wondering why did I not transfer my house.
Anyways, so we reached Singapore and straight away caught a taxi and were on our way to NTU campus. This univ's campus is huge!! I have never ever seen such a huge and still impeccably maintained campus. Lush green with forests, awesome infrastructure and tonnes of students! Looks like a small city in itself.
The first day went about in running around the campus. Being new to the place, I did not know the shuttle routes well and preferred walking. Got my hostel room keys, got my medical check-up done and in the process also met up my virtual friends for real. I knew these guys (my future classmates P, Vj, Viv, Am, An, Su, Sa, Ar) from the yahoogrp that we had formed, but was meeting them for the first time.
The next few days went about in settling myself in Singapore aka buying necessary stuff (bucket, mug, pillow, sweeper etc) and bonding with these new friends of mine. We all seemed to gel well from the word go. Not complaining! :)
1st of August was when our formal induction and orientation program started. More about it in the next post.
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