Abhyudaya 2008 - Down the memory lane

The real enthusiasm and passion towards this most coveted event started in October 2007 with the designing of the theme for the event and was initiated with designing the brochure for the same to get sponsorship. The process involved discussions, meetings, debates and much more activity than expected. At the initial stage I never knew that I will be involved in such a major part of it by pushing away every other activity behind for it. It became the ultimate goal and focus of mine, it almost became breathe, I don’t think I even used to breathe air, even in the oxygen I inhaled I had some energy for Abhyudaya flowing in together with it. Every conversation I got in it either started or probably ended with some or the other issue concerning it, with who ever it shall be. Everything in my life took backseat even academics was taken lightly and only importance and priority went to Abhyudaya. Abhyudaya was an event of such importance to me that I almost forgot everything else and had only it in my mind most of the times.

The key areas of learning or shall I say the making of Abhyudaya’08 and insights from the whole process are as follows.

Brochure
The brochure was designed for sponsors with many sleepless nights and a lot of editing and rework done after a lot of suggestions, recommendations and gyan by different people. And yes when it comes to designing it was none other than our one and only great bharat, who spent a lot of time and energy with a lot of criticism and acclaim for the same.

Sponsorship
Once the brochure was ready now we needed the contacts of the prospective sponsors to go ahead for the sponsorship calls. Talking to people, getting contacts, dividing groups, making excel sheets and updating them were all just one part of the complete story. In fact if one would ask I would say they were just not even a part of the sponsorship run at all, as the over all sponsorship efforts were so deep and continuous that every day we had some 10-15 companies to follow up. Different kind of responses from each company, umpteen numbers of calls were made, numerous visits to their offices and mails to update them were another part of the story. But sponsorship was a big challenge, in fact the only biggest challenge of Abhyudaya, till at least 15 days before the event, we were short of at least 50% of the required funds. The days were getting tougher and tougher, when you have committed yourself to so many people regarding the fest and when you don’t have the funds to make it happen, you are in a terrible situation. The 3 months of continuous journey for getting the funds to run the show was the major learning from the whole process.

One basic value which this event added was it gave me a great platform to test my marketing skills and to build up contact and rapport with different corporates. Being in the sponsorship initiative I was almost in regular contact with various top managers of reputed companies of the country, in fact I would say there have been a few contacts which have gone just beyond the identity of the event but have become a relationship as such. So I would say it was worth the amount of tension and fear which was being faced day in and day out during the sponsorship stint. I know I was not able to convert many sponsorship calls which I was handling, I am not sure which ones were due to my poor skills and which ones were due to other known or unknown reasons. I tried to give my best and the person at the other end mostly responded quite well when I approached them but at the end of the day they had some or the other excuse to reject our proposal which gave sad moments.

The first moment of joy was the sponsorship given by our alumnus from batch 5 Mr. Gagan Patnaik, which gave the motivation to proceed further. The best moment in the process was when ICICI Bank gave its sponsorship cheque which came after around 75 calls from me personally and a few calls from others and that too at the time when no other company had supported even after an effort of more than 1 month or so. That moment was probably even more satisfying than the moment when we received the cheque from the main sponsors of the event.

If I had to take an account of where did I spend the major part of my time in the whole process of what ever I was involved into, I would have only one thing coming to my mind and yes that certainly is sponsorship. We had a few of us specifically concentrating on sponsorship and I remember the anxious moments which we had spent, and the detailed meetings which we had had to make and change plans as and when required. To try all the possible ways and all the possible companies just to get the best deal for the event.

To mention the people involved I should start with the name of the backbone of Abhyudaya ‘ 08 yes you have guessed it right none other than Anand, from giving the contacts for the sponsors to helping us in knowing the ways to approach, the people to approach, the mails to be sent and much more just on the sponsorship part. It would be inappropriate if I forget to mention his efforts of personally going to sponsors when ever it was required. The other pillar or should I say the base of Abhyudaya ‘08 was none other than our Ganesh the great, god this guy has the contacts which I believe even an industrialist would not have, but boss the point in not that you have a contact and the story does not get over there, you need to know how and when to use your contacts without spoiling your relationship for the sake of some other initiative. This guy was truly brilliant, I must say he was the only hope behind the complete show; he did not stop his efforts any where, even after a couple of major disappointments, he made it a point to carry on and get the thing done. I don’t remember a moment when he was not busy wit h sponsorship calls or something related to it. in fact at times I was the one who used to torture him like anything asking for updates even before there could have been one. And yes regarding the Crisis management which he and I went under I can never forget those moments. The kind of requirements and issues of the sponsors post the sponsorship deal were another issue which this chap brilliantly handled. Hats off buddy!!!!

I know I have not mentioned the names of other important people involved in the sponsorship process of course it would start from Ganapathy who made it a point to keep everything updated to avoid any kind of confusion and yes Raaj he was the one who used to come to my rescue when ever I was fed up with any company or official, apart from a lot of other companies he handled he was very much active and involved with what’s happening at others end. Raj I remember the number of times we called up professional couriers and how professionally that person avoided us with great statements. Do I need to mention the name of our coordinator Swapnil who was also obviously involved in sponsorship. And yes many others were also involved in this whole process of sponsorship including our great bharat, Uttam, and others. I remember the way sponsorship process started, it started with 5 of us spending the complete holiday period staying up at college while others were enjoying at their homes. People at our homes were forced to ask us whether we had holidays or not actually.

Events
The most daunting task concerning the events was to come up with names for the events which would go well both with the theme and the event and it required lot of brain storming, debate and discussion. But none of these gave us any decent names as we did not have the best names coming to our heads. It was too worse a situation as we were not getting the best names and a lot of other things were on hold just due to it. then finally we managed to come up with the set of names with a lot of help from lot of people and yes we were running short of time, so going ahead was more important than anything else.

Event names decided, now was the time to decide who will take care of which event, what will be the rules of the event, what will be the connect of the event to the theme, how will it be different and the one to look up to. I remember the initial ideas which came up regarding each and every event and how it took again a hell lot of meetings to finally come on consensus with one idea which definitely had modifications later, but then we needed some point to start. I would say the event which was worked on the most was the X% stake and yes full credit for it goes to one and only person Saurabh, he truly spent his time to formulate the event and the base of the event which was the core event of Abhyudaya’08. The model he built was truly brilliant and flawless, participants were amazed with the model and the way the event was organized and conducted. Other events also went under a lot of discussions and changes and dedicated work by many of them till the end to add spice and value to Abhyudaya. The compeering done by Rashmi in the event X% stake definitely was one thing which added zing to the event, if not it would have lost some of its charm and attention which it actually got. The amount of time and effort spent by Ashvin the unsung hero if not mentioned would make it completely unfair and inappropriate for me, truly he without raising an issue did a major part of the job of X% stake to his best and was really brilliant.
Sowmya.S was very much dedicated and organized with her event and gave her best in spite of the difficulties she had to face with the help of Uttam and Bismi. Amitanshu and nikhil came up with an excellent concept for their event which was the most awaited events in Abhyudaya. Venkat and Sumit ended their event very professionally. The online quiz team of Sainath, Tarun and Ganapathy again came up with good questions and ended it up nicely. Treasure hunt was the result of efforts of Anand, raj and a few others which went off well. 1st LAN party was the most speculative event but was conducted extremely well by Pramod and Sowmya.L. Corporate Quiz was another event which was really well organized by Uma, Shishir and Jatin irrespective of the hiccups during the event it was a great effort by the CQ team.
Did I forgot to mention the efforts of Manoj for rock show which did not come up due to a lot of reasons known to everyone, but yes it was a great experience to have worked for it simultaneously for it and no one in their life time could forget the conversation of Manoj with one of our alumnus which was one of the best experience of the whole show. Nitesh worked closely with Rakesh to pull of the panel discussion which had a few big names in the industry to be a part of Abhyudaya. Over all the events went on very well, just that formulating them took a lot of time and effort but execution was one thing which every event had as its USP. The events were minimal but were tailor made and well organized for the theme.

Website
Only one name would come up when you talk about the website and yes it is raaj, never ending conversations, changes, and a lot of other operational issues raising day in and day out but efficiently planned and executed even after so many issues. Brilliant job would be an understatement.

Finance
Nandini and Satya, the coordinators of the finance committee, hardcore job involving a lot of risk and tension, but done with complete care and integrity with no confusion or chaos, everything organized and transparent. These 2 girls never let any one even feel that there was even a committee for finance, such was their job silent but extremely efficient. No one was even aware when where and how money came in and how, when and where it appropriately was given to the right persons. It involved such level of secrecy and silence, as in this world of greed and haste the last thing you could expect is safety of money and accounts, which both of them handled in a way which I could say was par excellence.

Decoration
All the people involved in decoration were so passionate about it that, I would say made the campus look really unlike it used to look on a normal day, the campus was bright and beautiful, it felt that how good it would be if we can continue with the same set up for ever. Excellent work by every individual involved in it. Almost everyone one was involved in this aspect of Abhyudaya.

Hospitality
Do a get a chance to praise the awesome work done by Gaurav and Aditya, it was clearly described and acclaimed by the participants. To add a zing to it was the work done by Ganapathy and raj’s team of people who worked on the pick up of participants which even after receiving complete opposition was truly the major factor in supporting the hospitality’s efforts and to get it the praise which it actually got. It again truly was the USP of Abhyudaya’ 08 without any doubt.

It would be unfair if I don’t mention the names of Hetal, Bhargavi and Kanu who took care of the registration desk, they were the ones who actually were responsible for the free flow of everything at time and place.
Over all this dream journey was something great for me to have traveled and I truly cherish each and every moment of it, good or bad I lived it truly with all the passion and fire in me. I honestly thank everyone for bearing me during the course of all this and for the top of my heart apologize if intentionally or unintentionally I hurt them in any point of time for any issue.
At last I would like you to enjoy the theme song of Abhyudaya ’08 here it goes (music and lyrics of madhuri dixit’s song) – 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ….. Abhyudaya 2008 ….. its all about numbers.

Abhyudaya 2008 Rocked Big Time!!!!! I am there for it FOREVER!!!!!

Abhyudaya 2008

To Describe Abhyudaya 2008 - Natioanl Level Business School Fest of IFMR, My Alma Mater i just need to show one pic and the rest u can assume automatically followed.
Two Important or should i say most important guys are missing in this PIC , Should i call them camera shy or modest or best of all, they were not available for the photo session. and yes they are ANAND & GANESH

In the Pic from left Ganapathy(Public Relations), Saurabh (X% stake), Bharat (Our Designer), ME (Good for nothing), Swapnil (Mr. Coordinator), Raj (IT.... etc.,)

The above description along their names is just to give a hint of their smallest roles in the complete event. But honestly speaking they were all into the event completely no title or description can appropriately describe the roles played by these true champions(including the two who are not in the Pic).

Truly Guys Hats Off to all of U , Abhyudaya '08 was not possible had it not been you guys taking the plunge and getting it done.

Salute to all of you once again !!!!!

I would like to congragulate and thank each and every individual involved in this whole process!!

THE CONDITION OF INDIAN TELEVISION AND ITS VIEWERS

The Height of Digesting CRAP

I start this blog with pity and concern, yes both with pity and concern for the Indian television and its viewers. No offence to any one in particular, but a definite remark to the Ekta Kapoor Industry. Yesterday by chance and by fate I happened to come home early from college due to an exam the next day. I decided to have my dinner on time at least on a day I am at home on time, so I asked my mom to serve me the dinner, while my family was glued to the idiot box. An Ekta Kapoor show was being aired and with complete interest and dedication the female fraternity of my family was dedicated for this delicacy. I used to watch these soap operas regularly in the past and now it is about a couple of years since I have lost interest or don’t find time for such great delicacies. I would like to describe the scene which made me write this blog at all. It was a scene which showcased 3 key characters of the show; you can say the show runs only because of their presence. And guess what according to the script their age should be around 70 and they already have died at least once in the show and were absconding for at least 3-4 months from the show and wait there is still more to come, they have already married 3 times at least in the show and remarried one person for more than once, they have kids who look much older than the way they look in the show, and their character has already been changed at least once in the show and so on and on and on. Now I think you must be clear as to why did I start the blog with words like pity and concern?
Indian public has become so irrational and insensitive that even after knowing the kind of nonsense being aired we tend to waste our time on such nonsense than doing something more useful and joyful. I am not able to understand what joy does an individual get after seeing such foolish things and connecting it to his/her own life. There is absolutely no connect. Indian people have gone to the extent of crying when the hero of the serial has not been aired for a couple of days, or if the heroine is having a headache and so on, reasons which are illogical and irrational. (I want to ask those people only one question, Did you ever even bother when your brother/son/husband/daughter/in-laws and one of these have a similar problem did you even bother to ask them or care for them)

I agree that an individual requires some recreation and time pass, but time pass such as this showcases larger issues concerning the level of uselessness and irrationality.
I feel there are 100 better shows running on the television covering several other aspects of life, which may or may not interest you, but think, please rethink.
I wanted to watch a news channel to know more about the huge fall in the markets and to also update myself about the other happenings of the day, but that dumb show seemed to be of so much interest to the people glued to it that they had no interest in even considering my request to change the channel even for a minute. So as expected I left the scene the next moment and yes not with anger for not being able to see my choice of channel, but just with embarrassment and pity over the condition that has been created in the last 5 – 7 years by wizards like Ekta Kapoor.
So I have only one thing to finally say and pray - “Long Live Ekta Kapoor and Industry”, “Thanks to you to help India create many more villains and corrupt minds in each home from the kind of melodrama you serve to them day in and day out”.

P.S. - (There is no intention to offend any individual in this blog, the intention is just to bring ahead the situation and the people involved, the reason to use my own family is just to illustrate a typical household in India and in no ways is it intended to point out my family as such, it is just to show a representative sample. And please pardon me, I am not here to increase or decrease TRP of any particular sector of channel’s, I am just putting my thoughts and view point and HOPE you completely agree on it.)

DREAM COMPANY

Dream Company

Have you ever had a dream company to work for, I never had one until some time back when I came to know about it and its activities and objectives. I always used to think what’s the need to have a dream company, there are so many organizations and individuals you admire but just that may not be the reason you need to aspire to work for or with them. But being human and being an irrational human I developed liking for this organization and aspired to be a part of it at least for a summer, so that I could know whether I am fit for it or not or whether I would be comfortable there or not, but fate always plays with you. It does something which you always don’t want to happen and finally you end up cursing it for every issue of your life, good or bad.
When I came to know that this dream company of mine has rejected me even before holding an interview with me guess what was my reaction like…….. It was very normal, I said its ok yaar part of life may be I was not matching their criteria or may be I am not eligible for it or vice versa. People thought that I would lose heart after coming to know about this, but no I am a bit mature and to some extent practical in life, so losing heart for such silly things does not come in to question at all. Yes but I can say I was very much wanting to get into this organization, so I felt a bit bad, because just on basis of my CV I was rejected but its ok, part of life. Now here is the twist in the tale, I have taken this issue a bit differently. I am generally a very pessimistic sort of a person who tries to find fault in himself first and who tries to see the darker side of the issue, but here I have taken this as a positive note saying that ‘yes this company’s work is of my area of interest, but may be I have got to do something else, something better, I am needed somewhere else, so why repent on something which has already gone’. My pessimism has helped me digest this fact easily, so all credits to it. Looks good I am talking philosophy, but trust me I did not think about this issue more than any other issue running on my mind, I just let it go, what if it was my dream company, what big deal I have 100 dream company’s. So the only mantra I have for myself is “Keep Moving, learn from the past and act accordingly in the future, and no one can beat you”.
So stop dreaming, start working!!!!!!!!
(Anyways you know about which organization I am talking)

Is it just to me or you too??

Is it just to me or you too??

Yes I am talking exactly about what you are thinking, does it even happen to you regularly. Do you also feel the way I do? Do you also make a lot of plans? Do you also end up sad realizing nothing is working out the way you thought it to be? And do you also end up thinking what can I do if this happens every time?

After a lots of preparation, lot of thinking, applying probabilities, thinking in all the ways possible – positive, negative, etc., but end up getting the undesired results or outcome. Whether it is in regard to your scores or in regard to your personal goals or in regard to any specific thing you think or plan to do. Why does it end up being against us and not for us as thought of? What can we do, I don’t think anything can be done; it’s just that we need to keep going and some day in some other issue you will win, and you will get the recognition. But mind you again, it will last only for few moments, and I don’t have a clear cut time line for this few moments it may be 10 minutes or a few days, it depends...

All I am trying to say is why is a human being not able to be happy and satisfied irrespective of what ever position he is in, what ever place he is in, once he gets something he is happy but soon you can see he is worried again. I can tell you, I am one of these people who are happy but don’t know why I end up thinking of a lot of other things. I might have got the first rank in the class and people keep congratulating but while all this is happening I am lost, my mind and thoughts are some where else. That moment of happiness for being on top has already left me in due course of time. Why can’t I stay happy with this good news for some more time? Why do I start thinking of other important things I have to do or accomplish even without celebrating the current moment? Will I ever be happy for some continuous period of time? Never know….

I think it’s the attitude of one to keep achieving, and to attain a lot of name, knowledge and goals of life which hits one from inside saying this is just one victory of your journey, so don’t stop here or don’t spoil your time on this, keep going. Decide your next course of action, plan your upcoming days, and evaluate your past performance to the standards you had set and just start, don’t wait for anything or anyone. You got to do only one thing and that is to keep going on and on until you are satisfied.

Sometimes I worry people would feel he is a mad guy, doesn’t live the life at the moment, is not bothered of other things, always keeps blabbering ye karna hai wo karna hai, jab dekho philosophy jhadta hai. But let me tell you, what one can do when his brain is tuned to it, and when one doesn’t like failure. Or when one thinks he is far below others and being low is a not his cup of tea.

Now I know I have given a lot of philosophical useless gyan, but yea it’s just an extension of what I am. And last but not the least I am happy the way I am and as far as what I feel is concerned; I feel this is the best way ahead at least for me, so you take a call for yourself!!!!
Any comments or confusion... Its ok, do let me know I am ready for the next challenge as ever.

Now i know whats the result of being PAGAL

Pagal!!!! Yes guys we are Pagal

Time value of money, we call it but here it has become money value of time. Khaya piya kuch nahi glass toda ….. (Agar ane mein hota toh main bolta par yahan figure lamba chauda hai!!!!) Huh. Greed, ethics, principles, values integrity and so on, end less list of words used. Warren buffet in his book has very clearly said if the market is buying the stock, you sell it and vice versa, but did we listen to him... NO! when everyone was looking for more, we felt why shall I be left out, behti ganga mein main bhi naha leta hoon, yes we have ended up washing our hands in the behti ganga, but the story is sad, as the ganga water got contaminated as ours hands were not clean, or as others are saying it that ganga was not clean what could I have done, I just tried to get the best of the situation, it’s the fault of ganga that it gave us time and opportunity to clean and wash as far as possible. All said and done the pride of the nation is at stake and the chief’s have reacted very badly and the authorities owning and taking care of Ganga have reacted in the worst manner, as the damage is even severe to them. So the point is what do we do now, where do we go now, everything is almost out of hands, the decision, the suggestions, the concerns, the voices, what about all these. I have only one thing to say all said and done it’s our mistake and now let’s face it what ever it is without simply debating the issue at length and depth and trying to find faults at the other end. I truly feel bad and regret the act completely irrespective of what ever spirit I did it with so let’s learn a lesson, everything that glitters is gold but that everything is not necessarily for you. I feel this is the bottom line so lets stick to it and lets try to rock the world and not get stuck ever again with such stupid issues spoiling our time and name, ending up giving us no more than waste of time, and a scar on our name. So let’s show our true potential to the world and show how valuable we are and how can we bounce back in a completely better way. So guys come on let’s watch our acts and prove our mettle and then let’s see who dares to talk about us.

P.S - It may not be clear to most of you, about what am i trying to say, but its just for those who can understand it and comprehend it, anyways get in touch if u wanna clearify certain jargons used in here.

New Year - Time to Party!!!!

New Year …… Time to party????

Last night 31 December 2007 I was just wondering at around 11.45 pm , what shall I do 15 more minutes to go for the new year, and guess what I was thinking of this just because I was at home and not partying out anywhere. It was intentional to stay back at home and not by chance, I had a lot of people inviting me to come along to party, to enjoy, celebrate and welcome 2008. I refused all of them and preferred staying back at home.
You may feel what a sick guy is he, doesn’t want to celebrate the New Year grandly by partying or enjoying with friends. What can I do I don’t feel like doing it, for me it’s just another day, it does not make any difference whether it’s a new year day or any other old year day. It could make a difference only if I do or at least plan to do something, something valuable in the year ahead but no every year we make resolutions to break them, and to finally blame luck and time for it, makes no sense to me. As far as I am concerned I make resolutions everyday, I don’t wait for a new year to arrive for me to do some thing good, if at all I am doing something.

I tried to analyze when I am not celebrating this day because of my so called sickness or my philosophical thinking, what do people who actually celebrate and who don’t celebrate do on the mid night of the new year day to make a new mark for the year and to kick start the new year in the best way possible. These are a few insights which I got while I was riding my bike and my brain contemplating different issues.

The ones who always like to party, they take this as another opportunity to have fun, to dance, to eat, to drink and to do a whole lot of crazy things in the world. The ones, who like to celebrate in the hope that oh god the past 1 year was pathetic, hope this year would be good and they enjoy keeping this feeling on top of their mind.
The ones who had a rather good year want to keep the spirits high and so continue doing so by making every moment worth it by doing what ever they like.

People celebrate in different ways to quote a few for instance – Going to a disco tech (either as an individual or as a couple), going to a hotel to attend the program or a show organized by them with family or friends (with tickets purchased by self or taken from others who had it but don’t want to go), going to a friends home cutting cake, bursting crackers and some other stuff, going to a temple, and many more ways of celebrating.

There are a few who don’t want to, or don’t like to or are not able to celebrate, lets analyze what these people do and why

People who don’t want to or don’t like to keep low at this time (you can count me in this list) , they just stay back at home, watch the stupid box or browse the internet or just engage themselves with phone calls. In this category there are others who just stay back and pray at their homes or may be sleep as they sleep at the usual time. These people probably feel that whether it’s a New Year day or any other day it is one and the same, it does not make any difference as their routine will be the same.
People who are not able to celebrate are the ones who either are not allowed to leave their homes to party out or the ones who don’t have the money to do so or the ones who are willing to celebrate but the current scenario at their place is not right for them to allow them party. These people just try to celebrate in the best way possible according to the situation.

You might be thinking why think so much about who parties and who does not, its just because I wanted to know what people are actually trying to do. Are they making a mark in some way, are they happy after what ever way they try to celebrate or at the end is it just some kind of a time pass to while away time.

As I was driving at around 8 this evening, I was passing by a very busy commercial street of the city with lots of consumer durable shops, a multiplex and a few shopping malls buzzing around with highly enthusiastic people trying to enjoy themselves. I was seeing one thing common as any other festival day lots of people around, lots of banners talking about discount, sale, free and many other promises except peace and harmony (Lol, just trying to be a bit philosophical). I then got this thought; India is a country which has too many festivals across the year, we have half the days in a year as a holiday to the number of days we work (assuming holiday for 2 days in a week). This day being one among them was no different for me.

So the crux of the story is don’t get mad in the crowd just be who you are and get the best out of the time available and move on, live life the way you like to but remember its not always about only fun. So live life to the fullest in all the aspects of it and don’t get fooled by randomness and the intentional attraction of these festivals to make you spend time and money uselessly.


Waste of time is the most extravagant and costly of all expenses - Theophratus

Any ways HAPPY NEW YEAR………..

Have a great year ahead and STAY TUNED !!!!!!

What Am I Doing ???? What was I Supposed to do ????

TermII at IFMR !!!!!
Teenage of my B-school life is just over; I think I have become a bit matured, a bit focused and a totally confused soul. Or if you want me to explain my situation using a marketing jargon I would say I am in the growth stage of my B-School Life Cycle. While I have started writing this the major part of my brain has only one word revolving around ….. No prizes for the right guess, everyone knows it is …….. Abhyudaya ’08. Yes if I had to put in a brief summary of what have I done for the last 2 months I don’t remember a single event or day when Abhyudaya was not in my mind or in my deeds. I feel I live Abhyudaya, it’s my dream event and it’s my focus. One may think why so much time and focus on an event which is just another event in life and why so much botheration to me as an individual, what do I say it’s more than just an event for me, it has taught me various lessons which any book cannot teach. A few learning’s or occasions which I could share.
 Everyone knows and feels in their daily life that money is the most difficult thing in the world to get from anyone whether it’s your own money or whether you are trying to borrow some. I know I may face a situation in future when I want to venture out on my own and then I would need money, yes you have guessed it right Abhyudaya has taught me the lesson, it has clearly made me aware 1000 times saying boss its never gonna be that easy who ever you may be, where ever you are from, you are talking money so be ready to hear a big NO even before you make your point. I am still feeling oh god we need a lot of money what do I do. Let’s see we are trying our best. So this is the real life learning Abhyudaya has given me, what ever cash flows I predict and discount, in what ever ways I make the NPV positive, until I get the moolah in my hands it never can be mine.
 To be a successful individual in what ever set up you are, whether you are a student, an employee, or even a family member coordination and communication are the two major things you will require. And yes Abhyudaya being a student’s initiative requires both of them in every stage of it, in every instance of it. I was a very reserved and silent kind of a person for most part of my life, but as I have grown I have known the importance of communication. My communication skills are not really good, but the confidence I have gained in this period of working for Abhyudaya make me feel better and motivates me to communicate effectively, as the stakes are really high here
 I have never been a commanding or an authoritative person ever, I don’t like being one, you may think he might have never got a chance to be, or may be whose gonna listen to him, yes you are right. But that’s not the way I like to work, I like to take along people with me as I am not the be all and end all of the world, so this phase of my life has also taught me to get along with everyone when ever required and keep on moving when that seems to be unnecessary or a spoil sport situation.
There can be hundreds of instances of learning, of joy, of fear, of tension, but why all this – it adds value to me and if u want me to be academic, it’s my EVA and yes I mean it.
For more details on Abhyudaya log on to http://ifmr.ac.in/abhyudaya08

Apart from Abhyudaya the 2 months after the Diwali break were not as much as planned and thought by me, but life is like a casino what ever you win or what ever you lose, you never feel satisfied, you like to play a little more. The moments of joy in these two months were numerous. The treat at Mathsya hotel was a day when everyone was joyous and a few other occasions which made moments lighter. Over all these two months have been very hectic and very tense, tension of studying CF, of participating in Venu’s class, of completing the cases and blah blah blah.

Occasions which enhanced exposure and gave an idea of how the corporates really work, what do they actually do and so on was learnt or known thorough the umpteen number of PPT’s attended day in and day out. Summer placements was another thing running over my mind for most of this period and more so because of the process conducted by Darashaw, which again was an eye opener and as I am writing this I have started thinking of it again, where do I want to go, what profile am I looking at, what value do I want to add by it and so on.

Now coming to the values added and the key learning’s of part two of my B-school diary
 What ever additional activity you do, never leave your focus.
 What am I actually trying to do, ask this question to yourself everyday before sleep.
 Want to achieve a lot in this world, what is that lot, does it have a definition, if not sit back and decide what you want to do first.
 You want to be a perfectionist right, how do u know you will be one when you have almost always ended up doing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V. think about it.
 Friends are a very important part of your life, but not at the stake of something else.
 Be very clear and objective with your personal and professional life.
 You want to do something, achieve some thing- start now; tomorrow you will have some other idea contrary to it.
 I need to do some value engineering on myself its terms of my activities.
 Practice makes a man perfect, some one said this but who is following, oh god I need to think about it, I remember the CF tests.
 No one is interested in your boring gyan, so please CTC and move on.(This is applicable to me.)

IFMR Rocks !!!!

I Love to Live Life My Way

I Love to Live Life My Way
Life is all about changes, improvement and development. To make this feel right and to make life the way I want to be, I started the new phase of my life at IFMR at 10 am on 2nd July 2007 at the Bhagirathi Hall in IFMR in the presence of one of the most eminent personality of India who brought the development in the Banking industry, none other than MR. N.Vaghul (Chairman, ICICI Bank). Day 1 at IFMR gave a feeling of what life is going to be like in the 2 years ahead here at Ifmr, as it started with an excellent talk by Mr. Vaghul, who shared his experiences with us and added great value to the 1st day of my new life. Day 1 was a very lively day as it also involved other sessions; one was the Ice Breaker session by the seniors which was aimed at making life simpler for us, by making us know each other well so that life becomes easier as days pass. And indeed I still cherish day 1 at Ifmr till date.

With so many expectations from this place and with a lot of enthusiasm after meeting the batch mates on day 1, right from day 2 Ifmr seemed to be home away from home, as I met people from almost all parts of the country with different backgrounds, different mindsets, I was very much looking forward to this kind of a journey in life. Day 2 started with a very good lecture by our Dean, which made him a star right from day 2 for me, coz of his simplicity, his ability to express things the way they should be etc.,. The day ended with a Math’s test aimed to shortlist students for Tutorials. But before the tutorials there was a very important happening for which I was waiting right from the time I planned my MBA, yes it was none other than receiving my personal LAPTOP. It gave a feeling that yes now I am doing an MBA.

After having 2 lighter days at Ifmr now it was time for some business, for which basically I was here, so day 3 had a few lectures on different subjects and was followed by a visit to Dun & Bradstreet (credit rating co.) located at Taramani, it was a great experience, did not understand or learn much but it just gave a taste of how actual businesses run (corporates), as the session was hosted by a young female who was the HR Head of D&B, it showed the potential for growth youngsters like me can expect. Day 4 also was just as hectic as day 3 with a few lectures and then visit to UTI Bank (now AXIS), it gave a rough idea about the functioning and the evolution of the banking industry and its potential.

So Far so Good. The next 3 days were a mix of fun and learning as we were at The Banyan (NGO). The trip to Banyan was a great initiative by both the Banyan and IFMR as it was an excellent learning opportunity about how NGO’s work etc. as I have always dreamed to be a part of the developmental sector this trip gave few insights about how difficult and challenging things can be in the sector and it also gave me a lot of inspiration to contribute and work for this sector in some way or the other. Thanks to Ifmr once again for creating such an opportunity, which other wise might have never happened on my own, as it worked as a starter for me to think and start working towards all my dreams and goals in life.

End of week one at Ifmr, it was as hectic as it was expected to be, I started to feel like a corporate already, reaching home almost on all the days after 8.30 as if I was coming back from Office after a day full of hard work. Yes I really did feel so as even my family looked at me with proud and they also felt this guy is doing great things, and that made me feel even motivated to make this Ifmr journey something to cherish about throughout my life. Week one was rocking, made me feel really high, On Top of the World!!!!!!!

After having a few inspiring sessions by both academicians and industry now it was time to show my own potential through a presentation on learning’s from Dun & Bradstreet in front of a faculty and a few batch mates on day 1 of week 2. This presentation gave me a lot of confidence as after my presentation quiet a few number of people appreciated it, which gave me a moral boost that yes even I can make good presentations. And yes even I myself felt that I was ready to become an effective manager and I was at the right place to get the skills required.

Week 2 laid the platform for an excellent future ahead as the actual course started from day 2 of week 2 and most importantly this week brought us in interaction with the most aspiring names in the Indian industry. A few of those eminent speakers are Mr. Nachiket Mor (Deputy MD, ICICI Bank), Mr. Sundarajan (CMD Indian Bank), Mr. Siva Raman (Head HR, Delloite Consulting), Mr. Murali (Head HR, CRISIL), Mr. Jaydev (CEO , Tinfo Mobile) and a few other inspiring individuals working in different organizations of importance to the country. The inspiring words from biggies like Mr. Nachiket Mor have left a great impression about the potential we as youth have to make changes in today’s competitive world. It was a great opportunity to be present in front of these individuals.

Along all these happenings there was a great amount of interaction and academics going on which was making me feel reassured that I was at the right place to mould my life perfectly.
Days passed on with each day teaching some or the other valuable learning, with the amount of pressure and learning life was getting acquainted with a lot of important things which I was unaware of. These things included a whole range of things from demand and supply to organizational behavior and many more. Even after having thought to be as professional and as attentive in the sessions, it was not that easy as there were various occasions where me and a lot of other individuals in the class would feel restless and sleepy during the lecture hours, so a lot of lecture hours were spent either in half sleep mode or in browsing on the laptop and chitchatting with the neighbor.

Week 2 ended with an extremely well planned and organized Fresher’s Party by the Seniors which was the most valuable gift they gave to us in those 2 weeks at Ifmr. The fresher's party was indeed a far better show than we ever thought it to be. It had a really good theme, good games which sought everyone’s participation from our batch. It was indeed a great way to celebrate the togetherness of both the batches and it actually brought both the batches a step closer than before. I even now remember my friends in different traditional villager’s costumes. The most important change this journey at Ifmr brought in my life came at the end of week 2, that is after the fresher's party, that was the first day in my life a stayed away from home in the night, there was no other incidence in my life when I ever stayed away from home for a night. But yes life was on the verge of a lot of changes and yes this was one of them, it can neither be qualified to be good or bad, but even that was one thing I had to experience in my life and it happened on this day.

Life went on with all those regular sessions, and with the start of me attending meetings of different clubs I was member of, organizing events, participating in events etc.,
Then came the day when we interacted with the Head HR of ICICI Bank Mr. Ramkumar, this lecture is till now the most thought provoking one, it is and for always will be the one in my mind which is just class apart from all other lectures. This person just made solid statements, justified them with good logical answers and brought a great new perspective in my life that life is not always just about being positive or being soft, life has a lot many other things, a lot many other perspectives. I truly felt that I was always looking forward to this kind of talks as it brought in a completely different line of thought. The man was very harsh but I completely agree that he had to be that way to get his point across and which I feel definitely got across every head in the hall.

One month got over of my journey at IFMR, the pace with which things happened never made me realize that one month was over it even at this point felt that we had just started a couple of days ago. Life went on smoothly. The routine was almost same everyday with classes till the evening and then some time pass and some work or study for the next day. Used to go home at around 8 everyday. We had our first outing of the whole batch as a treat from the individuals whose birthdays passed in the last one month at Pizza Hut, which was again a nice way for all of us to come together to enjoy our togetherness.

The month of august saw many more happenings such as the guest lecture by Mr. S. Gopal of the Sanmar Group, presentation to the Banyan people on our learning's and experience of our 3 day visit to Banyan, Visit to the NGO New life charity services etc.,.
The visit to this Ngo was a great experience as we spent half of the day there with the children and the old people there. We had organized a few games and events for the children there, and had interacted with them which gave both those children and us a very good feeling as we enjoyed each moment being there and even the children had become very friendly to us. Then we went to the Kancheepuram Temple from there, which again was a memorable experience. And august ended with a lot of mid term exams and other regular sessions to keep the academic part of the journey very active.

The month of September started of with regular sessions and end term exam of Micro Economics which was my major fear through out the 2 months before the exam, but it turned out to be the easiest exam I faced which made me very happy after so much tension and worry. And here came the opportunity to meet and interact with all my super seniors on their convocation ceremony at the GRT Convention Centre in the august presence of Mr. R. Seshasayee of Ashok Leyland along with Mr. Nachiket Mor. This was the opportunity to listen to the words of wisdom from Mr. Seshasayee, everyone was just bowled over by his excellent words and he was being regarded as one of the best speakers we all had ever heard. Second week of September also saw the start of Paryushan Parva, and yes this was a completely different experience for me, as all through my life I have had holidays in Paryushan Parva, and this was the first time I had to run home soon after the classes got over. Fortunately this week also had my birthday in store which went on really well but as always my birthday was a low key affair that is no celebrations, no cake cutting etc., yes you are getting it right, all cost cutting techniques.

The month went on with the end term presentations taking time away from the study time and yes I can never forget those nights, completely working on the FSA presentations, looking for the best technique to complete the assignment as soon as possible. But yes it gave a great learning opportunity which most of us till date think all that was worth it.

And then came the most important part of things happening at IFMR yes it was none other than the nerve wrecking End Term exams, those last minute tensions, we never realized that the term had come to an end and were not sure of what was actually accomplished in the whole term, but as the exams were going on there was just one feeling in all of us, when will these exams get over and when will we finally get a break, as these thoughts went on the end term exams ended and now was the time to enjoy .

All through the days of exams there was some planning going on regarding how to spend the short holidays after the exam. All these discussions involved a lot of confusion and chaos as ideas were coming from different perspectives, of where to go, how to go, who all are going blah blah blah blah….. And then after so many discussions and debates came the day when five of us went to Pondicherry in a luxury Ambassador car which was as comfortable as a Mercedes Benz (I have never traveled in one but the comfort level was good so I treat comfortable to Merc ). The planned two day trip lasted for three days as the holidays were extended by one more day due to the state called bandh on the highly controversial issue of the Ramsethu project. The trip involved a decent amount of expenditure, even after not being able to visit all the places thought of due to time and other restrictions, but the trip was really a great one as all five of us were having a blast, and it was actually a good trip as each one of us was very comfortable with each others company, lots of jokes cracked, hundreds of songs sang, a new music album(parady) was made on one of us, and that person never commented and enjoyed the album and never reacted, which was the best part of it and which was the way we killed time to the way back home, as the trip was about to get over.

October came with much more spirit and motivation as one important phase of life at IFMR was already over and it was time to again pull up my socks and to do things for which I was actually here. So this started by attending the quiz competition at IIT- Madras, yes we were chucked out in the first round itself but never mind, I never went there for winning, so no regrets. The holiday mood was still on so roamed around the city after the quiz competition.
The start of the new term was accompanied by health issues for me, as it was long since I took care of my health so finally reached the peak of things and finally had to visit the doctor, undergo testing’s and realized that while doing a lot of other things my health was also an important thing and which needs proper care and attention at times.

This month seemed to be much more hectic to me as apart from the regular sessions I had taken interest in a lot of other things and obviously which were important to me as an individual. These other things ranged from the Banyan project, the meetings for placement etc, and the most important and most time consuming thing was planning for Mission “Abhyudaya”. Most of the after class time was spent on meetings regarding Abhyudaya, talking to people discussing things, taking stand on an issue, being one in the team who can ask people to push things further, giving suggestions, spending sleepless nights to make things happen by brainstorming etc., all these with a lot of controversies surrounding most of the issues, I knew by the time things are planned and executed for Abhyudaya, all this is going to happen and there was much more in store for me and all of us to see and face. As Abhyudaya was not just a B-School fest for me, it was also an important exercise for me to learn, and to adapt to work in a team with different people with different mindsets etc. How can I forget to mention the talks by few other successful personalities during all this period. These personalities ranged from Mr. Sujai Tolani (Head Operations India), the HR head of HCL BPO, an important person from the Singapore exchange(she is no more working there), Mr. S.Swaminathan (Soft Skills Trainer), important adviser of Cognizant (forgot his name), and so on.

Things went on, life was on a roller coaster with ups and downs and here came the Diwali break, when all my friends at IFMR were very excited to go back to their homes after four complete months at this place with lots of drama happening just in filmy style. Every one was eager for this break, as everyone was missing their home, their family and everyone wanted to spend some time with their family, as these four months never gave us too much time to even talk properly to our families. Even I expected to spend most of the time with my family, at home, but the kind of person I am, never let me do that. Even in these holidays I spent most of the time at the college, and yes I was not whiling away time but was working very seriously on my beloved project “Abhyudaya”. I could have resisted myself from working on it at least in these holidays, but I was and I am very much worried because we are already behind the schedule and we are very late, so this fear and concern made me to take the plunge and work seriously for this dream event keeping besides all other plans and ideas, just so that I can utilize these holidays to compensate for the already wasted time.

And here I am trying to end this long summary of my life during these four important months of my new life, its already 3 in the night and yes today is Diwali, so just want to end it on a positive note and take a quick nap so that I am fresh on the new year day and praying to god that he keeps things cool in the coming months and years of life and keeps me on track now and forever and makes this journey of mine at IFMR an ever lasting one which I can cherish all through my life. And to end this for the time being I would just say “IFMR RBT”. And I know now you would be having just three letters in your mouth in case you read through this summary fully and those three letters are none other than ‘CTC’. Thank you for all your patience to go through all these thoughts and experiences of mine. Have a Blast!!!!!!!!

Lessons Learnt
> Things will never be serious unless and until you want them to be.
> If u like to be in a professional environment, its you who has to take the lead.
> Classrooms will always remain classrooms what if you are doing a very serious course, as they will always seem boring, what if you are learning the best lessons of your life there, so think of how to make them interesting, that’s the only way out.
> You want to be successful, you want to be effective, be yourself, forget the world, and do just what you need to do.
> You can earn a lot of name and fame by doing good, but all this not at the cost of your primary goals.
> Never forget at the end of all of it, one day you will have to sit back and take account and be accountable so act accordingly.
> If you want to make the money spent worth it, do what is required, than doing what you like to, as your likes may change as quickly as time passes, so stay focused.
> Don’t forget that there are many others having hundreds of expectations from you, so again stay focused as you are living for yourself as well as to make those expecting ones happy.
> You cannot be happy for more than certain amount of time, so just try to keep improving, that’s the only way to satisfy yourself.
> If you want to succeed in everything you do, first define your everything and prioritize, if not you will lose track even of the most important things.
> To end it all, never forget you are here to make a life and not to kill time!!!!!!!!!!

Entrepreneurship - Need of the Hour.

Entrepreneurship - Need of the Hour.

India being on the verge of becoming the super power of the world in terms of growth, development and talent has a lot to prove to the world to attain that status. What is the way to achieve that status is the question and one answer to it is Enterprise. Today India is being recognized and respected throughout the world, why is this suddenly happening after so many years of independence, who made it possible, Is it the efforts of the government, or efforts of the common man, or is it getting this respect just because other countries are suddenly not performing well.

The answer to all the above doubts are cleared by one single word and that is “Entrepreneurship”. There are numerous supporting facts and figures for this argument. Lets analyze a few examples- Infosys is one of the most respected IT companies in the world, who started it, was it successful just after starting its operations, was it well funded or was it supported by the government, it was sheer entrepreneurial skills of a few daring and ambitious guys, and today it’s a pride to our nation. Reliance – Was Dhirubhai Ambani, educated enough, and was he trained enough to do what ever he did to make India and Reliance as important in the world as it is today, his entrepreneurial skills, his principled life, his desire to bring a change, his ability to transform dreams in to reality get all the credit for his son today being the Richest person in the world. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is no more an unknown name in the world of Biotechnology, started her business in a Garage and today Biocon is the biggest and most promising Biotech company of India, owned and run by a lady, who has fought hard to reach this stage, again all credits to her never say die attitude. There are thousands of examples of successful entrepreneurs who changed the way things happen, who changed the way business happens and to put it right who made the difference today to life of you and me and all of us.
So if all these normal people could have made the difference which no other power was able to, what if this highly populated country nurtures and develops thousands of such individuals who are ready to take the plunge and be a part of the people who want to make the difference and not be a part of the difference.

In the words of Mr.R.Seshasayee “Enterprise, Youth and Knowledge are the only three forces which can make a difference in the future”. And in the words of Anurag Batra, a first generation entrepreneur “Entrepreneurship is about venturing to where ordinary would not go”. So entrepreneurship seems to be the best way to prove your point, to make India a Super Power no later than tomorrow. An entrepreneur has to face hundreds of challenges but then that’s the only differentiating factor between the one who is effective and the one who is not. There may be thousands of entrepreneurs who may fail, but if the failure of a thousand entrepreneurs produces hundred entrepreneurs like Narayana Murthy or Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, then even that is worth it. Captain G R Gopinath is the one person who followed his dream turned it into reality and for once changed the way airline companies do business, he may be in some financial trouble but he completely kept his promise and made flying a dream come true for a common man. He is not a failure, infact he is a big success because he did what he wanted to, he proved that air travel can be as cheaper as he thought to be, and he made other companies follow suit.
Entrepreneurship has been recognized as the only way ahead to maintain the rate of development and growth and this can be clearly observed by looking at the number of entrepreneurship courses being run throughout the country, the number of seminars and conventions organized in each part of the country. And to make things even more clearer and to make the word reach the masses, a Magazine named DARE has been launched in October, which talks about lots of issues, lots of opportunities and lots of successful stories. This magazine is expected to cater great attention and readership as Indian youth are ready to take the entrepreneurial route to make their dreams come true. Today if you enter a business school and ask the students, “How many of you want to be an Entrepreneur?”, you can be assured that at least 60% of the students may show signs of taking up entrepreneurship in some years from now. This is the impact the Indian youth have had from all the existing entrepreneurial talent of the country.

So now to all those enthusiastic, daring and budding entrepreneurs, few words of importance and relevance – Stay Focused, Think Differently, Reach the Undiscovered sectors/markets, Follow your Dream, and most importantly Stay Positive and the country will look up to you with pride. I think now you are ready to adapt yourself to the need of the hour. Aren’t you?