Its over folks...

Its my last day as BITS student, last day in Bangalore, last day at HP Labs...

There was a nice farewell organised for the interns here. Very sweetly, we were told the important role that BITSians play in the research setup here. Importance of BITS and BITSians is obvious when you sit with 20 people out of which 9 are BITSians and rest are interns. I don't know if this is good or bad- the loss of individuality.

But BITS has given me a lot, and for that I am thankful. The thing about BITS is that it has shown me the path. It has been the guiding torch and the stepping stone. This is why it will continue to hold a special place irrespective of what the future holds for me. It has made me what I am today. I have learnt from my teachers and from my peers. I have made relationships I will cherish for the rest of my life. I have met some brilliant people. As I graduate, I carry with me a part of BITS. Right now, there are mixed feelings. I am proud to have BITS as my alma mater. But I will miss it a lot, at least in the near future.

PS: I am gonna be an Engineer, and a graduate from BITS Pilani - still can't believe it!!

Single in the City

BITS happened in the summer of 2005, and ever since I reached Goa I have felt like a nomad. I felt at home at home and also, at BITS - my new home. Before coming to BITS I always traveled with my parents who ensured I was comfortable wherever we went. In BITS, I had many journeys and sojourns, without my parents, and they taught me how to make any place my home. The latest in the list is Bangalore.

Back in December last year, before I left the campus, I knew coming six months were going to be in Bangalore- thanks to PS2. I knew that after spending every single minute I was awake with friends, for the past three-and-a-half years, Bangalore was going to be difficult. without them. Even for someone like me who loves(loved??) solitude. That is the effect college, especially hostel, life had on me.

For those readers who don't understand the closeness and deep bonds of friendship that you develop in college, I don't know how to explain. I can just say, try staying away from your home, away from family after being dependent on them for more than 15 years of your life. Try being surrounded by hundreds of people sailing in the same boat as you. And then try to explain the complications of your day to day (happening?) college life to your family members sitting hundreds or thousands of kilometers from you. Try to stay fresh and alive and happy and perky as you move away from your loved ones. Try it. You will understand. Trust me.

For those who have the experience, well, what can I say, you know the feeling. Those of you reading this, who are still living this rosy period of life, my advice is live it to the fullest. And those of you who are out, you could join me in raising a toast to the days gone by- the golden period of our lives.


Ok enough! I am going off the track... So my campus life is over. It has ended and has brought me to this new stage-Practice School 2. The PS2 program is a weird feature. Actually it is a good entry into the world outside the campus- or a good introduction to the working environment. You are out of college and don't have the option of bunking or sleeping till after midday. You can't or at least wouldn't want to disappoint the host organisation, the BITSian ego in you will make sure of that. Yet, you are not into the corporate world. Unless you are really unlucky, chances are you will have a dozen BITSians for company. Your weekends will still be spent eating out, catching a movie and sometimes sitting on the footpaths (though less often now), with familiar faces. The only change is the background of the image. The objects remain the same.


Now out of the campus, it is a strange feeling of independence. This is the first time I am staying away from the sheltered environment provided my parents or BITS. No restrictions what so ever(except that I need to come to PS everyday!). And I am liking it, as I am sure most others are too. This freedom is even sweeter for my committed friends who can spend more time with their gfs/bfs without the fear of being caught by anyone(of course everyone fears the moral police). There is a lot more for them to do, and many more options to hang out, and more freedom, thus more demands on their time.


So, what happens to me when all my friends are busy with their bfs/gfs? Well, I am alone on the streets of Bangalore(after a point its boring to sit in a 12X12 feet room with three beds). I see many things around me which I hardly notice when I am in a group. I simply love the tiny bird hopping on the wet grass, the small helpless boy in tattered clothes selling tea to get some money for his dinner, the bright yellow shirt a wannabe metrosexual guy is flaunting, the speed at which Honda Civic crosses me, the look in the eyes of the pink faced one year old in his mom's arms, the look of affection in the mother's eyes, the smile on a pretty girl's face as she is busy typing on her iPhone, the assurance of protection that a father offers his son who is firmly holding his dad's hand, the happiness on the face of a young boy of five when his mom gets him a Happy Meal, the fascination on his face when he plays with the toy, the group of people standing on the road to cross the road, in a rush to reach their destinations on time, the guy wearing white shirt and stylish sunglasses at night, waiting for his girlfriend to come and sit behind on his CBZ, the girlfriend who is walking with great difficulty in her high heeled shoes, the last few rays of sun giving a brilliant glow to the sky, the big strong trees disappearing into the darkness of the night, the autowala haggling with two guys for ten bucks...and a lot more.


Sometimes I feel that silence and solitude are the best things in the world. It makes me look at things I often miss in my everyday busy schedule when I am hanging out with my friends. Things outside and inside. I absorb my surroundings better. I just sit at CCD with a book and cappucino. I get to checkout books in Landmark for hours, without having to worry about someone else. I eat what I want, when I want and all I want. I watch the stupidest movie ever made and laugh very hard. I go off to sleep contented in my heart-a weird kind of peace. I don't understand the feeling myself- I wish for more time alone.


And this new city has given me a lot of it, which I have used to reflect upon my past, savour the present and dream of my future. At the end of each day I feel that being a single ain't that bad. At least not in this city full of life and with a head brimming with thoughts.

My To-Do List

1) Get down to washing clothes. Every two-three weeks when my wardrobe has more dirty clothes than clean ones, I realize the big number I own. And still I feel they are so less!

2) Call my cousins. I was supposed to stay with them in Bangalore during PS, but decided in favour of staying with friends. But they had offered, and they are family. So, I guess its high time I visited them or at least gave a call.

3) Finish the book I have been reading for more than a month now. A million little pieces by James Frey. I am just too tired after sitting in front of the computer whole day to read upon reaching home. But I have to take some time out!

4) Call up some old friends. The short break in winters didn't give me time enough to meet them. And since I have come to Bangalore...well!! This place is costly. I haven't yet received my first stipend. I have a big ego- don't like asking my parents for a lot of money. I spend a lot. These four facts must have made you realize the cash crunch I am facing. So well, haven't called them for quite sometime now.

5) OK. This one is a not 'to do'. STOP EATING JUNK FOOD.

6) Get some exercise. Midsem report, seminar, interviews, a lot of laziness has kept me from it. And I have to still work on the 5th point above. So basically, I have to avoid bloating up.

7) Watch Notting Hill for the nth time. (I just love Hugh Grant)

8) Complete the drafts waiting to be finished and posted on the blogger.

9) Download some nice music... been a long time since I listened to something good and fresh. Right now just can't get enough of old hindi film music. Am stuck.

10) Wish Ramya on her birthday - need to keep this in my head - big day is tomorrow. :)



PS: Don't ask me the reason for posting my to-do list on my blog

SPJIMR interview

I had my SPJIMR interview yesterday. My CAT score was poor but XAT score was decent. I have an above average profile and I guess that is why the only MBA call I got was from SP Jain.

My interview was at 3p.m. at IIM Banagalore and I reached there at around 1p.m. I had gone through some forums on pagalguy and read some interview experiences bloggers had posted. There were very few helpful reads, and so I decided I would post my interview experience. Maybe others will benefit from my experience.

SP Jain conducts two rounds. The first round is elimination and the results are declared in 5-10 minutes after it is over. Both, the first and the second round, are group interviews.

In my first round, there were 6 people in my group. But, due to one guy's absence we were five in the room. There were two SPJIMR professors on the panel- a man and a woman. One taught organisational behavior. I can't remember about the other. Both were nice, listening to us patiently, giving us ample time to talk and nodding and smiling at us. That made us quite comfortable. The strange thing was they didn't even ask us to introduce ourselves, just gave a topic for GD.

Topic- What should be government's role for us to come out of recession. Pretty cliched, but even then somehow I could hardly find anything to say. More so, because as soon as I would start talking and make a brief mention of a point, this other guy(for future reference Mr. X) in my group would pick up that point, raise his voice and make us others shut up. I had to stop him once or twice for otherwise I would have been thrown out for not trying to control the situation!! so many complexities. During the GD, they had a look at our profile sheets also ( a questionnaire they had asked us to fill). Next, a 2minute intro and some general questions like why MBA , why marketing and a few others based on our introductions.

Overall, I felt it went OK. I wasn't really confident. Doesn't matter,I did clear the first round. Personally I feel that was mostly because of the second part of the first round- one on one interaction while 4 others are silent spectators as one person blabbers about his/ her career goals, and how he/she has been a great student, has a billion business ideas, has been the integral part of the team and so on...

Jokes apart, it was a nice experience. I interacted with some people who had finished with there second round. Everyone was using one word for it - weird. They were asking people for there opinion on Slumdog Millionaire and if they supported Barack Obama. Few others were asked to define Indian culture, a leader and similar things in a single sentence.

For my second round, there was a panel of two. One of them was a student and the other one didn't introduce himself. I had heard in the waiting/registration hall that one of the panelists was a psychologist! Statistics of the group- 8 people, 2 freshers(both from BPGC- me and Piyush) in a small room which could hardly accommodate so many people. And for my dismay Mr. X was again in my group :| He did his best to interrupt others and kept answering questions meant for others, and when a question was directed at him, he just went on and on and on...

So, the first question- you guys know what a personality trait is right? What is that one trait that describes you best? ... all sorts of answers came up- hard working, diligent, amiable, motivated, inspired yada yada . One guys said he was 'gregarious'. The panelist actually asked him the meaning and if the people around him understood this particular word when he used it !

Next up, So what do u think are the traits of a leader. Some fools gave totally different traits from what they had associated with themselves. The next question was obvious. Do you think you can be a leader, especially as you do not have the one trait you think is most essential for a good leader? Mr X. was one of those who had made this blunder. It was so funny to see him try and explain things in his verbose manner. Actually similar thing happened to me... though I think I handled it better than X. We were discussing Narayan Murthy and Leander Paes as leaders in the corporate world. Next came Anil Ambani and this one word 'enterprising' just didn't strike me. I settled for 'adventurous' - not a bad option, but Piyush definitely bettered it with 'enterprising'. For some 5 odd minutes we discussed the meaning of a cultured individual... I still don't know the different points that arose from the discussion!

It slowly turned to hobbies and interests from there. 6 people had described their hobbies in as passionate words as possible. Piyush was the 7th and I was the 8th. In three crisp sentences he explained how he had been involved with organisation and thus got to be a part of many activities. One sentence about TT and he was interrupted by the panelist. He asked us if we had heard what Piyush had just said and what was to be taken away from it. He even asked us to summarize whatever he had said. For some weird reason Piyush thinks the guy was being sarcastic when he took note of what he had to say. I feel other way. Anyways, mine was the regular answer... my passion for dancing is well known to all my friends... mentioned sketching and painting and a few more things.

The ending was the surprise- the panelist asked the student from SPJIMR, who was sitting next to him to ask a question! The question- While in a group, we try to conform. Conformity leads to reduction in quality of output. So would you choose to be a perfectionist or a conformist? I chose to answer the question first and chose the middle path and so did a few others. It was a unique interview experience- a group interview. The entire thing took around 4 hours and you can't even begin to guess what the panel was looking for!!

Looking back at it, I feel I performed well. I am waiting for the results now, and only then will I know how I performed. And yes, there were loads of BITSians... around 7 I think and one in the same group as me. It made me understand the reach of the BITSians and how small a place the world is, especially if you are a part of the BITS family. I am sure wherever I go from here, I can be assured of finding a BITSian around me. Will never really miss BITS...

I will always have company :)

As the curtains close

This is my last week in college. Only six days left now, before I pack my bags and leave this place forever. It has been my home for almost four years now. I remember how unenthusiastic and down in dumps I was after my lack lusture performance in IIT JEE. The depression was so deep that I wasnt ready to even look at BITS. It was a lousy second option for me. But beggars can't be choosers. I had decided not to waste another year preparing for IIT, so I came down to BITS Goa. The only exciting prospect about joining this college was its location. I just wanted to party and make up for the time I had lost while in school preparing for IIT. That is pretty much was I did in my first year. Met some really nice people, made some amazing friends and did a whole lot of masti.

The hours spent on footpath with friends, the lunches and dinners outside and in the mess, movies in the audi (or for that matter any program), brunches in the cafe after labs, walks (will always remember the one from D-Link to the campus at 9 in the night), children's park, the not-so surprising-surprise birthday parties, the scintillating blue-pink-red-orange clear skies with a few white cotton ball clouds floating in the daytime and stars in the night, the hangouts- Nescafe, Monginis and Juice Center, the corridors outside C-wing classrooms where I studied for tests, the cool breeze throughout the day, there is sooo much I am gonna miss. I know it sounds cliched but it does seem like it was yesterday when I first drove inside the campus with my dad. He was trying hard to convince me that I had come to a good place and was in good hands. I had hated him for saying that and had hated coming here, so far from home. But now, I am in love with this place. There is nothing I would want taken away from my college years. It has been a wonderful journey. This place has sheltered me for as long as it was possible. The transition into the outside world has to be made. But nothing can lessen the pain of leaving this place behind. As I think of leaving, I remember the words of a song by Ryan Cabrera

Four years later

Time goes by fast
Got my memories
And they will last
I try to keep it simple
'cause I hate goodbyes
I try to keep it simple by
Telling myself that

I… I will remember you
And all of the things that we’ve gone through
There is so much I can say
But words get in the way
So if we're not together
I will remember you
I will remember… you

We’re a picture
In my mind
When I want to find you
I just close my eyes
You’ll never be that far from me
So don’t say goodbye 'cause
You’ll never be that far from me
I’m telling myself

I… I will remember you
And all of the things that we’ve gone through
There is so much I can say
The words get in the way
So were not together
I will remember… you

You were there when I needed a friend
Thank you thank you
I never told you how much that meant
Gotta thank you thank you

I… I will remember you
And all of the things that we’ve gone through
There is so much I can say
The words get in the way
So

I… I will remember you
And all of the things that we’ve gone through
There is so much I can say
The words get in the way
We’re not together
I will remember you
We’re not together
I will remember you

As the curtains close, and this chapter of my life life ends, I am filled with both saddness and joy. Right now the joy is lesser than the pain of saying godbye. I will remember you- is all that I can say now to this place and to my brilliant friends who've made four years in the campus memorable. I will remember you.

Hairy Scary Monster

As the first week of December approaches, the campus becomes scary. There is an eerie silence in the air. All the lights in the rooms are switched on - all day and night long, and the library is full to its capacity. Students do not dare to even, turn their gaze away. Not a single person steps outside the hostel. Some even forget what hunger is, skipping their meals. Every soul in the campus lives in constant fear. Often, even, the sun hides behind the clouds at this time of the year. With this, the air becomes cooler and the campus feels like heaven. But with the gigantic monster lurking just around the corner, ready to pounce, no one can really enjoy the beautiful skies. All pray with bowed head to get rid of the beast and for their own survival.

I used to be one of the scared lot. At least have been for past three years. But, no more. Now, I am free as a bird. The cause of my happiness and this feeling of freedom is that I have no compres to write. For the uninitiated non-BITSians, comprehensive examinations(compres) are the once a semester torturous exam we are supposed to write. The syllabus is huge and many a times the exam schedule doesn't really help help our cases. Basically, the efforts required are humanly impossible. Proof for this is the once-noisy-n-lively-now-silent campus. And you have to see the campus to feel the change in atmosphere.

Anyways, I am in high spirits and quite frankly jobless which is evident from the fact that I am blogging at this time of the year. Meanwhile, all that I can say to my collegemates is - ALL THE BEST
:)

Its too much

It has really become too much. No I am not talking about CAT prep or apping for MS(even though it is a LOT of work)... its the heat in Goa that has inspired me to write this post...its killing me!!

They say, its the hottest October in Goa, and believe me it feels like the hottest October anywhere, anytime on this earth. Sweat is dripping from my forehead as i write this (this is the most useless thing ever but I need to do something besides cat and apping), sitting in the 'centrally air-conditioned' library. I guess they have 'forgotten' to turn on the AC... no not just today, this whole semester (year??)...or else, instead of 22 they have set the temp as 32...I can only make vague guesses...weird things do happen in this place...classrooms are freezing cold when not required (i gave the compres wearing a sweatshirt) and then the killer heat (its a new, kinda slower, smarter(?) way of execution). If all this doesnt work our beloved 'doggie' is just a call away, forever ready to get rid of us...(ya u got that right)

but we wont go down without a fight... so what if we have cat coming up, or a many of us are apping, and these high tempeatures are only making things harder... we will sweat it out till the end (quite literally) :)