Fiddling with destiny......

Have been hitting slippery slopes quite too often now. Chose to ignore Porters golden rule to avoid straddling for a while. True to an ISB MBA I contest that there is an agency problem out there and the only viable strategy is to haul a handful of gravel at your target hoping at least one tiny chip might hit. Manifestations at IIM B and Diamond consultancy case both turned out to a total wash out. In spite of some committed effort our papers just didn’t see daylight. Nevertheless, the tide is still high and our leaky boats still have some room for fish. BT Acumen quiz is the next elusive bastion – the prelims were more a test of speed than merit. But then life is always a lemon. You just gulp it down with all the sweeteners you can find.
Chose to stay back for the term break in anticipation of shoveling down some of the amassing activities. Not suprisingly they got the better of me – got me disillusioned by the enormity of the things impending, eventually got tired and slept my way through most of the days. Not to mention the especially draining experiences like the Lions of Punjab, palate arousing Ramzaan delicacy Haleem and a newly found haven for food connoisseurs – Four seasons. Well I wouldn’t say the stay back was totally futile. Just that you set out for pearls in the deep ocean and finally settle for the pleasures of a good swim. Reminds me of a closing discussion in the entrepreneurship class on the mythological land of Ithica. Enjoy the ride while you are here…care less for the future..,let destiny take care of it for its better to die with memories than to just live a life full of dreams.

An ode to us......

Sid collected the consent signatures for the 2008 party lounge – a monument of benevolence from the batch of 2008 to the succeeding generations of ISBian. It would undoubtedly be the most befitting of contributions that can be made to the party crazy animals at ISB. So for all the prospective students out there, there is more opulence to look out for. Havn't had a chance to see the blue prints for the same but I hope its more or less an RDB style chill out with a pool amidst Graffitis all around. Well a twitch too much to hope for but nevertheless.


Speaking of longe, the core term closure party at touché was indeed a deserving finale to the 4 terms of pain and toil (too dramatically). ISBian rocked the floor at touch and stole the limelite inspite of entrenched mob pullers like Nayanthara, Priyamani and VJ Shreya.

So there I am a 50% down a high rope act called MBA. There is no retreat…..just a tight rope and promises ahead.

Hall of fame......

Had an opportunity to interact with the messiah of Telecom – The person at whom the telecom buck stops. TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra needs no special introduction atleast to the Indian diaspora. He has been at the helm of things putting a check on the uncanny ways of Telecom majors and providing succor to the burgeoning users. Strategic analysis of Information technology course had a panel discussion on convergence and luckily I got picked to host Mr Misra.
Unlike most beurocrats, he surprisingly has an unassuming demeanor complimented with an extraordinary sense of honor. He easily stole the limelite at the panel discussion inspite of being amidst a star cast of stalwarts like Sumit Chowdhury, CIO, Reliance Communications, Subhash Dhar, Senior VP, Infosys, Vivek Gambhir, Partner, Bain, Nikhil Jain, Chief Technology Advisor, Qualcomm India. He lucidly brought out the challenges of regulating an overheated economy like India where inclusive growth has to be balanced with infrastructural and spectrum constraints. Addressing several controversial issues like local loop unbundling, infrastructure sharing – both passive and active and possibilities of opening up the market for MVNO players he managed to convince the audience that there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Sumit was eloquent on the extensive road map that reliance has chalked out for India and Subhash Dhar kept reiterating on the potencial that Telecom hold for the future.
But end of the day, Mr. Misra walked away with the cheers and appreciation of the ISB junta.

Shattering myths ......

The ISB folk lore insist that you always have to drink from a fire hose, nevertheless it ignores the fact that the controls are still with you.
The call US the land of opportunity and India the land of diversity; juxtapose them and you have ISB. Carefully mix and match the right ingredients here and you have the perfect cocktail. Lack of truism and turbo boosted ambitions will clearly loose you in the wilderness though eventually you turn wiser.
The war conch for the placements have sounded, tales extolling the virtues of the innumerable MNC’s are drifting in with the wind. The student body has morphed into three – the clear, the confused and the cafers. Needless to say the clears have their priorities straight, their targets locked and their ammunition at point black. The confused are the sitting ducks vulnerable to the overwhelming gyan and aiming high flying ducks with machine guns. The cafers have severed all allegiances and unlike popular misconception are the wisest of the lot with their feet firmly on the bedrock of reality.

The mentorship program launched by ISB has been especially laudable. You are assigned to a mentor from the industry and profile you aspire to be and he systematically guides you through your highs and lows at ISB. The initiative was driven by feedbacks from the previous and the current batch. ISB has been very responsive to such feedbacks