Appetite for Destruction

2007-08-23T02:10:00.000+05:30

Angel

There came a time, not long once gone
reminisce so I in surprise.
An angel chuckled an august glee,
a royal sheen , O! virgin pride.

So unparagoned her beauty stood
she sang a voice O' nightingale.
Thy treasure hunt , thine ceaseless gab
'Oft indeed i miss that dell.

But, chivalrous as she was, the deb
her fondness and dominion joined,
in disquietude would stand she tall
to dawn the black , pave sun shine.

And few troubles hath she of her own
but authored some the mischievous I
ne'er would i sink nor she would drown ,
one victor smug , the frazer time.

But, now i am , my timorous eyes
And distant she , my blood , my life.
Some birds aren't meant to be caged,
'Alas their feathers are just too bright.

.

2007-07-27T03:33:00.001+05:30

My Experi-mentos with Truth

A couple of days back,when dad asked me to buy some home stuff,i walked into a nearby general store.As i entered the store something struck me.Merchandising had hit Happydent again, bang was orbit there in the front with a grin.Protex wasn't visible at first sight,Center fresh was sitting strongly at the centre, the jar looked barely 2 days old.And then there were lotsa them BigBabol,Mentos,Fruitella,Marbels,Chlor-mint,Chocoliebe.Hmm Good Availability i thought, but then remebered i was in a metro.P1,P2,P3 i used these alphabets in class 12th to name different planes.They meant something else now.
" bhaiyya aapko kya chahiye ".. i looked at the retailer, an absent-minded stare.
My summer stint at Perfetti was over.

12th may.Hotel Rockland.Kota.As i entered room no 324 i had little clue what i was supposed to do in Rajasthan.1 hour damn and the obfuscation had melted.On a map my ASM charted out my territories and sub stockist towns.He left the same evening.My marathon began from the next day in a the climate was hot in fact too hot,dry, making one thirsty all the time , and for a person like me more thirsty of a company to talk to than the nature's blessing called water

Deoli,kekri,sawai madhopur,gangapur,karoli,Bundi .. 6 days 6 places with some having no hotels to stay...life doesn't get any tougher..but in the days to come it did.
I started with the super stockist operations from 2nd week.It meant i had to work daily in a nearby sub stockist town( read Village ), and back in Kota loneliness waited for me.It sounded difficult but .."compromise" another dirty word.

Days were hot,requiring travel by a state bus, only possible route to the sub stockist towns.Bus,state bus,rickety ones,full of passengers from all the nearby rurals.places like Keshoria Patan,Kapren,Suket,Lakheri,Indergarh,Anta..places which had no malls, no harry potters , no X box,no internet ..places where the streets really had no names. Turbaned veterans , families, mothers and their bare-naked kids, theri eyes shimmering with pulchritude,and then there was a sumer trainee sitting close to the back seat,listening quietly to his iPod.Deserted but still with a Happydent smile, beginning to enjoy everything,learning new ways of life.

They say hope is a powerful word.I have no clue how true, but it did keep Glad alive.B'coz there were moments in rockland when he got vexed of his solitude,head-fucked,bereaved,deserted,the omnipresent benumbedness reminding him of some soul which could help share this burden ,a slow poison called loneliness.Dusty dreams.Fading daylights.Flickers on the wall.. but hope is powerful yet deceiving.It attracts and repels.Bad enough,it stays nonchalant.

"FMCG is a challenge".The depth of these words reached unending fathoms in the deserts of Rajasthan.But then there is the kick which makes one move,its called spirit,its called ecstasy,the one of learning.Laymen call it business but certain specialized laymen species term it " marketing".The peripatetic inside me realized with a goddam surity O' there was beauty and surely there was pain .

Contrast it with Bombay.the city that never sleeps.Name anything and u get it.plasma tv,PVR juhu,tata croma, marriott,mango,louis vuitton,nariman point,italian cuisine,mocha,absolut and the famous grouse..cafe montear...i see 'em all.everyday.

But somthing stays amiss..an unnamed feeling..a feeling when i cottoned to loneliness..befriended it..got close..close to myself.. close to my incongruous dreams..connated with strangers..a feeling of peeking through the real india..a feeling when i fell in love..in love with Rajasthan.

Bono i'll use your words.again.

All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All you count on your fingers and
All that you steal

All that you can't leave behind.

.

2006-10-01T04:16:00.000+05:30

dear blog
all apologies

i m writing after 6 months.
hav been on a wild goose chase here in mumbai.
mba world is teachin something everyday.
life has taken a twist.no doubt.

A sea change in the people,climate,food, clothes and life at mumbai is
a point i ponder at.surrounded by the page 3 and more important than that
wanna be page 3 people..mumbai is definately "jara hatke" from delhi.
crossin a road at 1 am becomes difficult here at times.

but saadi dilli is saadi dilli

chhole bathure still tastes better than pao bhaji... :)

2006-03-25T14:23:00.000+05:30

ADIEU FIRST WORLD

i walk back towards the large gates,
breeze rustling leaves across the
road fluttering in wind.
walk past the lifeless canteen,
with no one to shout.
peep into the empty classes,
missing the screams of joy.
stand at the tree,where hundreds of relations
were declared and broken.
A single tear escapes my eye and falls towards
the emptiness of the sand, as my mind races in thought.
Alone i stand, as i think,
its all over........

so here i am . final sem is almost over. and my college life has past
aside me just like a zephyr..
i close my eyes and let my past do the talking.
GOD can't i be a fresher again!
those mass bunks,those football fights, b'day treats,
and late night walks, those butter buns and baboo teasing
,the struggle for marks, those fight with the teachers(miss anita plz forgive),
the simla trip, drowning in that rock music,
the writing on desks, those sarab fundaas and 816 stories

everything feels like a dream.
and this hansraj dream will always be with me wherever i go and whatever i do.
Hetfield's music still rings in my senses,
and this time its got a meaning

fortune fame ,
mirror vain,
gone insane,
but the memory remains.......

2006-02-07T02:32:00.000+05:30

IN NEWYORK

a couple of days back i had my mock interview at Career Launcher,
and guess who it was Mr UD (Umesh Dhingra) ,the Big Man himself.
At first instance , i felt as if i had been left out in a cage with a hungry
tiger.However things eased out, and he cooled me up b4 starting
by sharing a couple of jokes.contrary to what others had said,
i found it to be a very coordial process with the panelists (especially mr UD)
showing superficial stress.well instead of getting nervous, i found it rather humorous
and that added to my confidence.

however there was one catch .i was honest with most of my answers. so when asked
where do u see urself 5 years from now , my instant reply was IN NEW YORK
HA HA. reminds me of my lovely days of october 2004 when dad was in new york
and how badly i wished to be with him. U2's newyork is one of the tracks
which reminds me of the good old carefree days of my 2nd year.

i wish time hadn't passed by.
i wish had been with my dad.
i wish i could see the big apple.

U2's music still rings in my ears.
this is how it goes:

NEW YORK

In New York freedom looks like too many choices
In New York I found a friend to drown out the other voices
Voices on the cell phone
Voices from home
Voices of the hard sell
Voices down the stairwell
In New York, just got a place in New York

In New York summers get hot, well into the hundreds
You can't walk around the block without a change of clothing
Hot as a hairdryer in your face
Hot as a handbag and a can of mace
In New York, I just got a place in New York
New York, New York

In New York you can forget, forget how to sit still
Tell yorself you will stay in
But it's down to Alphaville

New York, New York, New York
New York, New York, New York

The Irish have been coming here for years
Feel like they own the place
They got the airport, city hall, asphalt, dance floor, they even got the police

Irish, Italians, Jews and Hispanics
Religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew,
Living happily not like me and you
That's where I lost you... New York

New York, New York, New York
New York, New York, New York
New York

In New York I lost it all to you and your vices
Still I'm staying on to figure out my mid life crisis
I hit an iceberg in my life
You know I'm still afloat
You lose your balance, lose your wife
In the queue for the lifeboat

You got to put the women and children first
But you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York

New York, New York
New York, New York

In the stillness of the evening
When the sun has had its day
I heard your voice a-whispering
Come away now

New, New York
New, New York

2006-01-26T21:06:00.000+05:30

MBA INTERVIEWS : THE INSIDE STUFF

Because communication skills are such an integral part of effective management, some schools include personal interviews as part of the admissions process. Some tips to help you prepare for an interview:

o Review your application; the interviewer is likely to ask specific questions about it.
o Be ready to provide examples and specifics and to elaborate on info on your resume and application.
o Be open and honest.
o Ask questions, since the interview is as much an opportunity for you to learn about the school as for the school to learn about you.
o Follow proper business decorum.
o Watch your nonverbal clues, such as eye contact, posture, and fidgeting.
o Be courteous to the administrative staff, since how you treat them can have an impact (positive or negative).

Some Frequently Asked Questions on Interviews :

"Tell us about yourself"?

In an interview how does one handle the question "Tell us about yourself?".

An often asked opening question. Perhaps the most frequently asked question across interviews. Your opening statement needs to be a summary of your goals, overall professional capabilities, achievements, background (educational and family), strengths, professional objectives and anything about your personality that is relevant and interesting. This question represents an opportunity to lead the interviewer in the direction you want him to go e.g., your speciality or whatever else you may wish to highlight.

Your intention should be to try subtly convincing the interviewers that you are a good candidate, you have proved that in the past and have a personality that fits the requirement.

Remember that the first impression you create will go a long way in the ultimate selection. Keep in mind, most candidates who are asked this question just blurt out their schooling, college, marks and qualifications. All this is already there in the CV. Why tell the interviewer something he already knows?

A final word on approaching this question. Once you have said what you have to say - shut up. Don't drone on for the sake of speaking for you just might say something foolish. Sometimes interviewers don't interrupt in order to give the candidate the impression that he has not spoken enough. This is just a stress/error-inducing tactic. Don't fall for it, especially if you feel you have spoken enough. In case the pause gets too awkward for your liking, just add something like, "Is there something specific that you wish to know about me?"

Is it better to have a longer selection interview or a shorter one?

The length of an interview in no way is an indicator of how well an interview went. This is especially so when there are a number of candidates to be interviewed, like in the Civil Services interview or the MBA entrance interview. In the past, a number of candidates have reported varying lengths of interviews. Nothing positive or negative should be read into this. An interview is only a device whereby the panel seeks information about the candidate. Information that will help the panel decide whether or not the candidate should be selected. If the panel feels that it has gathered enough information about the candidate in 15 minutes of the interview commencing and that it has no further questions to ask the interview will be terminated in 15 minutes. If on the other hand the panel takes an hour to gather the information required to take a decision the interview will last for an hour. In either case the decision could be positive or negative. It is a fallacy to believe that interview panels take longer interviews of candidates whom they are more interested in. No panel likes to waste its time. If an interview is lasting longer than usual then it only means that the panel is seeking more information about the candidate in order to take a decision.

In the MBA entrance interview how do I justify my decision to pursue the MBA programme?

When you are asked this for God's sake don't tell the panel that you are looking for a"challenging job in a good firm with lots of money, status and glamour". That is the first answer that most candidates think of. Unfortunately, it is the last answer that will get you admission. In the answer to a direct question on this subject you must convey to the interview panel that you have made a rational and informed decision about your career choice and your intended course of higher study. There are broadly four areas which your answer could touch upon:

Career Objectives : You could talk about your career objectives and how the two year MBA programme will help you achieve them. This implies that you have a clear idea of what your career objectives are and how you wish to achieve them. For example, you may want to be an entrepreneur and wish to set up your independent enterprise after doing your MBA and then working for a few years in a professionally managed company. You could explain to the panel that the MBA programme will provide you with the necessary inputs to help you run your business enterprise better. But then you must be clear about what the inputs you will receive in the MBA programme are.

Value Addition : That brings us to the second area that your answer should touch upon. What is the value you will add to yourself during your two year study of management. Value addition will essentially be in two forms knowledge and skills. Knowledge of the various areas of management e.g. marketing, finance, systems, HRD etc. and skills of analysis and communication. You will find it useful to talk to a few people who are either doing their MBA or have already done it. They will be able to give you a more detailed idea of what they gained from their MBA.

Background : Remember, there must be no inconsistency between your proposed study of management and your past subject of study or your past work experience. If you have studied commerce in college then management is a natural course of higher studies. If you are an engineer this is a tricky area. You must never say that by pursuing a career in management you will be wasting your engineering degree. Try and say that the MBA course and your engineering degree will help you do your job better in the company that you will join. But then you should be able to justify how your engineering qualification will help.

Opportunities and Rewards : You could also at this stage mention the opportunities that are opening up in organizations for management graduates. Highlight with examples. At the end you may mention that while monetary rewards are not everything they are also important and MBAs do get paid well. You must not mention these reasons as your primary motivators even if that may be the case.

What to Expect ?

In general, B-school interviews are not formulaic. The focus can range from specific questions about your job responsibilities to broad discussions of life. Approach the interview as a conversation to be enjoyed, not as a question-and-answer ordeal to get through. You may talk more about your hobbies or recent cross-country trip. This doesn't mean that it won't feel like a job interview. It just means you're being sized up as a person and future professional in all your dimensions. Try to be your witty, charming, natural self. Interviews are conducted by students, faculty, admissions personnel and alumni. Don't dismiss students as the lightweights; they follow a tight script and report back to the committee. However, because they're inexperienced beyond the script, their interviews are most likely to be duds. You may have to work harder to get your points across.

How to Prepare ?

Prepare for the interview in several ways: Expect to discuss many things about yourself. Be ready to go into greater depth than you did in your essays (but don't assume the interviewer has read them). Put together two or three points about yourself that you want the interviewer to remember you by. Go in with examples, or even a portfolio of your work, to showcase your achievements. Practice speaking about your accomplishments without a lot of "I did this, I did that." Finally, be prepared to give a strong and convincing answer to the interviewer's inevitable question: "Why here?"

Self Awareness

1. How would you describe yourself ?
2. Tell me about yourself ?
3. How do you think a friend or professor who knows you would describe you?
4. What motivates you to put forth your best effort ?
5. How do you determine or evaluate success ?
6. What academic subjects did you like best ? Least ?
7. What led you to choose the career for which you are preparing ?
8. What personal characteristics are necessary for succeeding in the career that you are interested in ?
9. What is your philosophy of life ?
10. Why have you switched career fields ?

Weaknesses / Negatives

1. What major problems have you encountered and how have you dealt with them ?
2. What have you learnt form your mistakes ?
3. What do you consider to be your greatest weakness ?
4. Did you ever have problems with your supervisor ?

Skills / Abilities / Qualifications

1. What do you consider to be your greatest strength ?
2. Are you creative ? Give an example.
3. What qualifications do you have that makes you think you will be successful ?
4. In what way do you think you can make a contribution to society?
5. Why should we take you ?
6. What are your own special abilities ?
7. Why should we take you over another candidate ?
8. What is your managing style ?
9. Why do you want to join this institute ?
10. What do you know about our institute ?

Values

1. What is your attitude towards working hard ?
2. What part does your family play in your life ?
3. What are the most important rewards you expect in your career ?
4. What is more important to you : money offered, or the type of job ?
5. Do you enjoy independent research ?
6. In what kind of a work environment are you most comfortable ?
7. How would you describe the ideal job for you ?
8. What two or three things are most important to you in your job ?
9. Do you prefer working with others or all by yourself ?
10. How do you like to work ?
11. Under what conditions do you work best ?
12. What is the highest form of praise ?

Experience

1. In what part-time or summer job have you been most interested ?
2. Tell me about your experience.
3. What jobs have you held ?
4. How did your previous employer treat you ?
5. What have you learnt from some of the jobs that you have held ?
6. What jobs have you enjoyed most ? Least ? Why ?
7. What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work ?
8. Describe your current job.
9. What did you like least about your last job ?
10. What did you like most about your last job ?

Goals / Objectives

1. What are your short-term and long-term goals and objectives ?
2. What specific goals other than those related to your occupation have you chosen for yourself for the next 10 years ?
3. What do you see yourself doing 5 years from now ?
4. What do you really want to do in life ?
5. How do you plan to achieve your career goals ?

Education

1. How has your education prepared you for a career ?
2. Describe your most rewarding college experience.
3. Why did you select your college or university ?
4. If you could, would you plan your academic study differently ?
5. Do you think grades are a good indication of your academic achievement ?
6. What have you learnt from participation in extracurricular activities ?
7. Do you have plans for continuing your studies ?
8. Why did you pick your programme ?
9. What courses did you like best and why ?
10. What courses did you like least and why ?
11. How has your college experience prepared you for this job ?
12. How did you pick your dissertation ?
13. Describe your dissertation process.

Salary

1. What do you expect to earn in 5 years ?
2. What did you earn in your last job ?

Interests

1. What are your outside interests ?
2. What do you do with your free time ?
3. What are your hobbies ?
4. What types of books do you read ?
5. How interested are you in sports ?
6. How did you spend your vacations in school ?

General

1. What qualities should a successful manager possess ?
2. Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and a subordinate.
3. What 3 accomplishments have given you the greatest satisfaction ?
4. If you were taking a graduate for this institute, what qualities would you look for ?
5. What can I do for you ?
6. Tell me a story.
7. Define cooperation.

Stress Questions

1. What causes you to lose your temper ?
2. How often have you been absent from school, work or training ?
3. Have you ever had trouble with other people on the job ?
4. Can you take instructions without getting upset ?
5. Don't you feel you are a little to old/young for this job ?
6. How does your family like you being away on business trips ?
7. With your background, we believe that you are overqualified to join this institute.
8. You haven't had sufficient experience in this field.
9. Our experience with women on this job has not been good.
10. What would irritate you most if I as a manager did it ?

Influencing Others

1. Tell me about the time you were most persuasive in overcoming resistance to your ideas or point of view.
2. Tell me about the last time someone made an unreasonable request of you.
3. Describe the most disappointing and frustrating experience in gaining the support of others for an idea or proposal.

Interpersonal Skills

1. Describe a situation where it was most important for you to display tact and diplomacy.
2. Tell me about the last time you had a clash or disagreement with someone at school/college/workplace.
3. Tell me about a time when you felt most frustrated and disappointed at a person with whom you had worked.

Personal Adaptability

1. Tell me about the last time you were criticized by a supervisor or a professor.
2. Tell me about the time when you felt most pressured or stressed at work/ school/internship.
3. Tell me about the time when you felt most frustrated at your school/workplace.
4. In what aspects of your work/internship do you have the most confidence in your abilities.

Communication Skills

1. Tell me about the time when you felt best about your ability to draw out or solicit information from another person.
2. Tell me about the time when you had to work your hardest in order to fully understand what another person was saying to you.
3. Describe the last time when someone at school/work misunderstood what you were trying to communicate.

Motivation

1. Tell me about the most long term, sustained extra hours of effort that you put into your work/college/internship.
2. Describe a time when you felt most frustrated or discouraged in reaching your goals or objectives.
3. What do you feel has been your most significant work/school/internship related achievement within the past year or so ?
4. Describe the last time you did something well which went beyond the expectations in your work/internship.

Administrative Skills

1. Tell me how you go about organizing your work and scheduling your own time.
2. What do you do to ensure that your goals and objectives are met in a timely way ?
3. Describe the most extensive planning that you have ever done.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

1.Tell me about the most difficult problem that you faced in your work/school/internship ?
2.Tell me about the last time you made a decision that backfired.
3.Tell me about the time when you regretted most not getting advice before you went ahead ?

Conflict Management Skills

1. Tell me about the last significant crisis situation that you faced in your work.
2. Tell me about a time when you were most persuasive in overcoming resistance to your ideas.
3. Tell me about the time when you had a disagreement with someone at work.

GOOD LUCK

2006-01-14T21:57:00.000+05:30

KURT COBAIN

"Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock." - Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain was the singer of Nirvana, a group that had more impact on the style and culture of popular rock music than any band since the Sex Pistols. Nirvana's 1991 mainstream debut album - Nevermind - transformed the music scene with a total and unapologetic departure from the superficial, glam-rock, hair-band mode that had been predominant since the 80's.

An amazingly talented songwriter, Kurt delivered his music with a voice that was both tortured and angelic in equal measures. His brutal honesty railed against the superficial status-quo and resonated world-wide. Nirvana rose to the top of the growing wave of gritty rock in the American Pacific Northwest, which was dubbed "Grunge" by the media. Seattle, Washington soon became the center of the music world, and Nirvana was the poster-child.

The overnight success and massive public acceptance of Nirvana took Kurt (and the rest of the band) by surprise. An introspective and highly empathic person, Kurt struggled with depression and the commercial success of Nirvana until the end. Kurt was always a champion for underground and alternative music, and he was pained by fans of the band that believed in nothing that Nirvana stood for or what it came from.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana gave voice to an entirely new generation. The honesty and empathy of their music breathed new life and hope into glazed world.

source: The Internet

2005-12-01T03:07:00.000+05:30

2005-11-29T01:45:00.000+05:30

Emergency tips...worth remembering

1 ) Locked the keys in the car? (For those who have cars with remote keys)

This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are home, call someone on your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

2) Mobile phone re-charge:

Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger". Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate, key is 3370# your cell will restart with this reserve and your instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

3) Emergency number:

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even while the keypad is locked. Try it out.....

2005-11-25T23:50:00.000+05:30

CAT CHANGES STRIPES......AGAIN!
CAT remains to be simply CAT
this time the paper had 90 questions compared to last year's 123
analysis says that this was probably the toughest cat till date.
DI was bogged up
and english was confusing bcoz most of the options
were real close picks.
the only respite was quant.
the cutoff expected this year is around 45-48 4 the iims
i feel TIME had the best mock series and they were really close to the
toughness level of CAT 2005.
results will come in 6 weeks
lets wait and watch