Inside EPGP - The plot is unfolding

So most of the intellectuals already know what goes inside management programs. Especially with these one year program where a 2-year schedule and material is cramped inside a single year, there is no breathing space. We have got lectures starting at 8:00 in the morning which means I have to wake up at 6:00 because of our accommodation a little away from college campus. I am still struggling to cope with this adverse change in my daily schedule. It is not deniable that accommodation at Ajmera is eating up some of my sweet sleep time. And the lectures are slowly moving towards interesting.

In fact, the first week looked like eternity and in eon years I had a busy schedule on Saturday. During the week got to learn about the nuances of different managerial aspects and it is not even tip of iceberg. The professors are highly rated and amongst the best in the country and there is huge learning curve available to be picked. Slowly coming to terms of it, and comparatively 2nd week is coming to an end faster. Yes, it has not been even 2 weeks into the course yet. The irony is that we have been assigned seats by the EPGP office and because my name starts with 'A', I am seated in front row. A far cry from my last row seat which could have made life much easier for me :(.

I think the regular group study sessions at Au Bu Pain is making it easier to learn. My fellow batch mates and 'partners-in-crime' Rahul and Martand have helped a big deal in picking up the basics in Financials and Data Modelling. Besides these sessions, there is hell lot of project work to be completed. Be it analysis of financial reports or looking at strategies which corporates employ these days, the plate is already full. But as it is said ' Hum honge kamyaab'.

Though it would have been a added advantage if we would have been staying at IIMB campus, but Ajmera is not bad. The gym is good which allows me to devote some time towards shedding excess fab accumulated over years. The icing on cake is swimming pool inside the complex and I can relax and freshen up after a hard day. I still have to utilize the other club facilities and hopefully I will be successful in coming few days.

Is this the society our future generations will inherit?

Just the other day, I have mentioned that when awakening starts, the common man can change the world. But it seems that we are still helpless when it comes to stopping crime against the opposite gender. There have been widespread protests against the brutality of crime happened on 16 Dec and it seemed that finally there will be fear in the minds of people and they will think twice before committing such crime. But the way the case has progressed in the fast track court, it seemed the perpetrators of such crime feel more secured.

I really do not have any words to describe the heinousness of the crime which happened couple of days back in Delhi. How sick the person is to commit such dastardly act with a 5-yr old girl? There is no place for such a person in this world. On top of it, the response by our police is unpardonable. Why is it that any action is being taken by our law enforcement agencies only when people are coming on to streets? It is the responsibility of our Delhi Police to protect the people and make people feel safe in their own city. Why do we have to run down the streets every time a crime takes place?

And it is surprising that such crimes are not being committed by high profile individuals but by folks who are even having difficulties in meeting their daily needs. One can imagine what would have happened if their was a big personality involved. Or rather it is also possible that those incidents are not even making it to headlines. It is high time that these criminals are brought to justice at a very fast pace. It is imperative that judgement in 16 Dec case is delivered soon.

Currently the only hope lies in the action taken by society. Like disowning the individuals or their families by their community or isolation of criminals by even the fellow inmates in jail. May the social stigma which such crimes are bringing becomes enough deterrent otherwise we will be ashamed to look into the eyes of our next generations for the world they would be inheriting. The crime might not stop immediately but only if we try, we could make this world better day by day.

Time to tighten belt

So the honeymoon period ended after Pegasus camp and its time to get down to do some serious business. Its been only three days the classes has actually started, and looking at the way it is going, this is going to be a really long one year. I wonder how is the notion that you blink and miss, and that time flies in this one year course. After being away from regular lectures for more than 10 years and to think of it that I had dozed off in almost every  training sessions at office, it is going to be an uphill task to sit for classes from morning to evening.

Nonetheless, the professors are highly qualified and have full faith in the batch's quality. That is why everything is moving like a Chinese bullet train where the train is not in direct contact with the tracks. Hopefully, soon there will be a transitional phase where we will converge with this bullet train.

There have been three different subjects which have been started in these three days and from tomorrow, will have to make some space in this highly congested brain for 3 more subjects. The added incentive of heavy study material is that we will be physically fit by the time this first term ends, with all the pot bellies crushed as part of collateral damage.

Dozing off now to catch some sleep to get recharged for another long day tomorrow.


 

EPGP - The journey commences

So finally here I was at IIMB campus on the afternoon of 9th April 2013. A dream come true for me to become part of this prestigious program at one of the best institutes in India. To be honest, there were more reasons for me to not join the program rather than for joining the program. EPGP is still in nascent stage of establishing itself and yet to reach a stage where it can challenge the world's best programs. But if the intent is to work in India after one year, this program is amongst the best.

As I started interacting with my fellow batch mates, the fears started to disperse.  A chance to challenge existing theories and principles with brilliant minds from this country is unparalleled. People from across the length and breadth of this country and lot of different experiences. It is an interesting experience to learn from people from backgrounds as diverse as Defense to Entrepreneurs to Marketing and sales.

First day went in registration for the program and second and third were for orientation. An orientation for settling in at Ajmera (the residential apartments) would have been better but hopefully everything at Ajmera would fall in place in couple of weeks. This reminded me of my earlier days in Bangalore.

IIMB has come up with a very innovative concept to ensure that all the students of this program are comfortable within few days of joining this program. We went to a 2-nights stay at Pegasus for some ice-breaking sessions. Pegasus is not a resort but functions more like a camp where we were involved in team activities (and activities were physically tiring :)). I have been a regular at office project events but this was totally different. There was no inhibitions and no restrictions as everyone was equal at this camp.

Initially it felt like these physical activities will take toll on each of us as I am sure, pretty much most of the batch would have indulged in such activities in long long time. It was physically tiring but was completely fun-filled. And then the urge to try things which we would have done long back. This camp brought back the memories of college life and the feel that we are joining the college back. Unfortunately, there was an injury too. I hope Pegasus takes measures to avoid such incident in future.

We all grouped together in the night and cracked jokes. Most of those were meaningless but brought much cheer. It was like everyone seemed to have come out of shell of monotonous work they have been doing. I am sure everyone had a time of lifetime at this camp.

On the last day of camp, we went for a trek to a nearby hill at 5 in the morning. It was the coolest thing to do. The trek was treacherous, but we managed to reach the top. It was just at stroke of that moment, that sun was rising and it came up from behind the mountains just as we reached to the top - a lifetime moment indeed.

The camp has ended but for each of us a different college life has started. Each one has huge aspirations and expectations from this program and surely no one has extra bucks to burn. Pretty sure, there will be good leaders who will come out of this program and make difference to this country's economy.
 

Joined IIMB as a EPGP Student

I was probably satisfied with whatever I had achieved in my life. Good salary, international trips, air conditioned office, staying with my family etc, I was having a totally laid back and relaxed life. It was after few 'patialas', I was enlightened by the discussion my colleagues were having about benefits of MBA. Prepared for GMAT and with luck on my side, got a decent score to apply to good universities around the world.

Came up with a list of 4-5 colleges who would have been proud to have me as a student. Applied to INSEAD, IIM A, B, C, and ISB was in pipeline. The application to SP Jain was just match practice.  A great saint once said, learn from your mistakes, and after INSEAD did not deemed fit at application stage, IIM A, B, C got lucky to have my interview scheduled. But it was destined that I become a student of IIMB.

Bangalore has called me back albeit in a different role as a student of 1 year full time residential programe (titled EPGP). I knew that life has now taken a different course and there will be some fresh breath and new chapters in my lifebook. Interesting but full of hurdles. The biggest one to go back to college life and develop the habit of learning reading books and attending long lectures.

Lets find out what is in store in this MBA programe in coming days :).

The Power Of People

Normally we underestimate the power which each of us possess. The context is always that what change a single person can bring to a system. We have a habit of downplaying the impact which we can cause by our actions. But I think this is changing now. We are slowly being made aware of the power we have and how we can influence the decisions in a society. Recently a shameful incident happened on the streets of Delhi and it has lead to huge public outcry.

It was not that rapes have never happened in India or it has stopped after this incident. Even the brutality is not something new to Indian society. But the widespread protests have made the democratic institution realized that people are fed up of the way it is functioning. The 'by the people' system is now answerable 'to the people'. The awakening of the people had also reached foreign shores. Never before any Indian crime was mentioned even as a footnote, but this incident is part of headlines. The trial is being followed by people across the world.

Last month I went to Canada and the first thing the immigration official asked me was about this incident. When I was in taxi, or anywhere else, people were enquiring on the trial of this case. This was not something for which I can feel proud. Everyone around the world is looking at the way Indian judiciary system. It is time for the Indian judiciary system to deliver fast track judgement on this case. As the crime has been proved, the only pending matter before the court is to decide on the judgement where most of the Indian public is demanding death penalty.

But I am afraid that because of the opposition to death penalty by judiciary and since every accused has a right to fair trial, the system will take long to deliver justice.There are widely diverse opinions on whether the crime is rarest of rare or not. And the way our system works, it can be years as we have shown that we will not settle for anything less than death penalty for accused. Till that happens, 'Amanat''s family will not be able to rest in peace and will be harassed with this ongoing court proceedings.

If justice is not delivered, it means that the system is of no use and it can be taken for granted. It will result in further downgrading of our reputation on global scene. I think the first step by fast track court should be to decide on the minimum punishment and ask the accused to serve the sentences till the final judgement is pronounced. With the crime being proved, this is the least we expect. If such a judgement is announced, that will act as a deterrent and will prevent many crimes from happening. That will also mean that the power of people is not being ignored and we help in restoring some confidence on our system and the government.

I just got lucky

My career has been quite stable with high paying job but the growth had slowed down. The attempt to switch jobs failed as the rise in compensation was not worthy for a change. So it appeared that I am glued to my job and there is no way out unless I see a light out out of the blue or I attempt something silly. That was when i decided to have a go at management education and took the first attempt at giving GMAT. That was the target with which I entered the year of 2012.

Bought the Official GMAT study guide and started preparation. It seemed silly to brush up my elementary mathematics and English skills at this age. Having prepared for CAT, the standard of questions seemed quiet easy and had me pondering on why it is difficult to score 700 in this test.

Grammar was an area where I was weak and I think Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide played an important role. I think other than these two books, I also tried to increase the speed to answer questions by working on math problems from CAT preparation guides. I tried to improve reading comprehension skills by attempting much bigger paragraphs than the ones we face in GMAT.

I got the date of test on 13 March, though I wanted an earlier date. I devised a very important strategy and i think it played the most important part in the final score. I broke down the each of verbal and quant in 3 small sub-exams and allocated time to it. Gave few minutes extra to question in the end to ensure that I have sufficient time in the end to counter difficult questions. Starting with score of 640 in first mock, I scored 740 in my last mock and I was pretty confident of achieving my target score of 700-720.

On the day of exam, I was slightly nervous and that played a part in my AWA score of 5.0. But AWA section helped me in coming up to speed. Still I was not sure if I was answering the questions correctly, as the questions seemed quite simple except for a couple. But when I saw my score my score of 750 (Q51, V40), I knew that I got lucky and I will be on a plane to one of the best business school soon.

2G Auction - Bloated loss or miscalculation

Just the other day, 2G auction was completed and there were not many takers. It generated just over Rs 9000 crores and gave the government an opportunity to shout back on the losses estimated by CAG to the tune of 1.76 lakh crores.

It is not surprising to find that while there are different views by different political parties on this re-auction and the revenue generated. While congress refuted CAG allegations, opposition parties attributed the less revenue to disinterest by the telecom companies. But I was amused that there was no response by telecom companies on it or any view from an expert.

When the world is moving towards 4G and even in India people are shiftting to 3G, it should not raise any eyebrow when noone sees any market for 2G in next 2-3 years. It is like saying that there are no takers for Maruti 800 even though it was being sold at a heavy premium around 15 years back.

I think telecom companies has done well to remain quiet on such sensitive topic, otherwise it would have consumed another session of parliament. It ensured that we have a full fledged session dedicated to Coalgate. Otherwise opposition would have been divided self and confused on what to fight with Government. 

Reservation - Is there an end to it?

Just when the BJP has disrupted both the houses for coal blocks allocation scam, Congress found an opportunate time to clear an important bill for reservation in promotions. Timing could not have been better as it would have portrayed BJP as anti-*. At a time when Congress popularity graph is reaching abyss, populist measures are being tried to get some stability.

But why so much of noise on reservation? Why do not we understand the benefits of it, and always oppose it. Probably it is one of the strongest evils which we have inherited from Britishers from their policy of "Divide and Rule". The fundamental of reservation was defined because there was a need to bring parity in Indian society. SC/ST were oppressed backward lot and just so that they can mingle with society, reservation was brought in Constitution. But I believe our policy makers failed to define a road-map for it. There seemed to be no strategy and no vision. Even if it was there, it has got lost in the vote bank politics. It was never thought that competition would get so fierce that reservation will be easy key to success.

In India, BPL is not defined by the caste but by the income. And so far, there is no single reservation system which takes income as criteria. Though it is easier said than done, but when i am spending lakhs on my child's education, and he could not get into his dream college just because of reservation, then I would curse the system. In our current education system, government is forcing private institutions to reserve 25% seats for EWS because it cannot provide good education. But I would not mind paying extra if it brings everyone on equal footing and is part of strategy to get rid of reservation.

I am of the view the time has come to move away from these petty politics and define a road map. Reservation is not something which people should be proud of. Lets define how we can bring everyone to the starting line, and stop tempering with the finish line. Government should take hard steps and should not take the easy way out. It should take steps to provide primary education. It is a constitutional right, but the government should ensure that every citizen gets its right. And it just does not remain on paper.

Saina vs China

It seemed that every Indian has developed a liking for Saina Nehwal for her grit and determination to take on the world. Coming from a state where girls are less likely to take on the world, she has dared to challenge the mighty chinese in the sport of badminton. Today was the semifinal between Saina and China's Wang who is current World No. 1. Everyone is office cafeteria was glued to TV watching the match. The cafeteria seemed so full with activity after such a long time.

Every point for Saina was cheered and applauded. She did tried to match her chinese counterpart stroke for stroke, but once Saina gave away the lead, it was very difficult to catch up. Eventually she lost but scoreline of 21-13, 21-13 does not suggest the hard work put-in by Saina. She had made chinese sweat for every point. Many said that Saina committed many unforced errors, but it looked to me that whatever Saina tried, Wang had response ready, which forced Saina to try something different to get the point.

Probably she did tried too hard and the five previous losses were in her mind. But that takes nothing away from her. She has made every Indian proud and whether she wins the medal or not, she has carved for herself a niche place in history of India Sports. And she is still young and will have a shot at the medal again in Brail four years later.

Great Economic Paradox

Indian Economic Policy is very strange. On one hand, taxes are being raised every now and then and on the other, subsidies are being doled out just on the pretext that poor cannot pay the high prices or taxes. There are numerous interesting contradiction in Indian economic policies.

It is a fact that central and state government fill their coffers from big taxes on petroleum products. And the consumption is increasing every day. But still whenever, prices are raised, central government gives pretext that hike was inevitable as oil companies were making losses and state governments carries out agitations against the hike. When everyone is so concerned, why cannot these governments at least shield the hike against taxes. Just think, state governments demand roll-back in prices, but cannot roll-back the VAT hike just because it needs the taxes. Why they do not understand that roll-back will also take away the VAT hike, and this is the least support common man needs. Or is it all the game of politics to milk the common man. It is no wonder that prices raised anywhere has overall impact on the economy. So poor are not shielded anywhere.

Another aspect is that the expenditure by government on services per person is decreasing, while the revenue per person is increasing every year. Since the advent of privatization, government is getting revenues from every sector, whereas earlier they had to make investments and do spending and most of the time those were in losses too. So overall it has been a benefit for the exchequer. Almost everything is being sold by government, and the only effort which they have to spend is to sigh then contracts. There are very few recruitment done. So you have almost same number of policemen/fireman/government staff manning ever increasing population.

All the highways are being constructed on BOT, where private investment is done and private companies charge tolls to recover the investment. Even their, government has their share of revenues. No big investment on railways with talk of it making losses. I am sure if there is private participation, travel will become cheaper even with generating profits. The tariffs by public telecom operators like MTNL and BSNL are higher than private operators, and still public companies are making less money.

Then the government raises service tax, VAT etc bringing more services under its ambit. Instead, if some effort can be spent on curbing black money, taxes will raise exponentially. What do the government needs money for. Or is the money needed by politicians and their well wishers and they do so by looting the middle class.

Every year government spends lakhs of crores of rupees on subsidies. And this gives them the pretext to sell sub standard material to them. A few years back, Indian government has said that poor man needs 30Rs per day to make ends meet. Why cannot government does away with subsidies and provide a card to common man with a fixed amount of benefit for a year? And with that will go all the pretexts. And with that, our country will save huge money. And will also do ways with sub standard materials.

If only there was a will to do something rather for country rather than the will to fill their pockets. Indian would have been a developed country by now. Great Indian Economic Paradox is bleeding the common man.

Is Dictatorship Way Forward?

All around the world, dictator governments are being thrown up. There are revolts wherever there is dictatorship and people are not ready to accept any dictator's rule. Look at Egypt or Syria, revolutions against the rule succeeded, while there are muted voices in other countries as well. Then it left me wondering, why am I writing this article, especially if you consider I am living in the one of the largest democracies of this world. 


There is a reason for it. I do agree that in autocratic rule, common man does not feel as secure or free as those living in democracies do. I really am not countering it. But if you look at  India, the freedom and power to power hungry politicians is so much that they are selling the country and its resources like anything and still can afford to relax in the parliament. At the time constitution was drafted, all these power was just to make sure that those who are elected by "WE, THE PEOPLE" can deliver their duties without any fear. 


We are still following a Constitution which is 60 years old. At the time it was drafted, it was the best thing that could have happened to it. But what our senior politicians missed was setting an expiry date to it. No one thought that as India will progress, there will be changes needed to this democratic tool. No one could foresee what this will lead to. Ultimately, even after 60 years of reservations and with majority in minority now, we are still dragging it. Politics is only for the uneducated ones. Usually those who fail in education make the laws to run a country which aspires itself to become a economic superpower.


These power mongers just want to make cash for themselves without having an iota of responsibility. For them, the motto is, make cash in five years at power and live merrier till afterlife. Just hoard the money for self betterment. Let the common man take care of himself, as this is a "democracy". That is why i wonder that at least dictator has a sense of responsibility because of the fact that he/she owns the country. And rarely one damages his/her own house.


I know this is a very silly thought and stupidest of ideas that could come to someone's mind, but the apathy by government is making a mockery of our democracy. Need a change in constitution, and only then our democracy will be saved.

Jan Lokpal Bill

Just the other day, on lunch table, we were having discussion on Anna Hazare movement and where it stands today. We all were amazed with the way Congress has tackled this movement and almost have made this a non-issue. At the same time around last year, this movement was gathering so much popularity and support that it looked that Congress day's at power are numbered. There was so much talk about corruption and how a common man is suffering with it. Even Prime Mignister of India had to bow to Anna. Any news on Anna was a front-page headline.

A year on, and this movement has been relegated to corners on Page 8 or somewhere. Congress has completely isolated Anna with its political tactics. BJP also could not do anything. Part of the blame also lies with Anna and BJP. Anna tried to avoid linking with BJP or RSS for fear of communal tag and BJP can never satisfy itself that it is not a communal party anymore.

No offense to Annaji or his team, but they ridiculed every tool which was available for getting this Jan Lokpal bill a reality. I feel that they jumped the gun when they rubbished Parliament's authority and supremacy. Parliament has enough powers, but when the constitution was drafted, it was not envisioned that too much of power can lead to it making a mockery of Constitution itself.

Having a separate authority or a headmaster is not the way to get this sorted out. It is for sure that same authority will become more corrupt when loaded with absolute power. What we need is to have accountability and strict selection criteria for Members of Parliament. We have reservation in education for so many decades, so why we cannot have educated leaders from all castes. When we have so strict criteria for IAS selection, why some of those cannot be there for MPs/MLAs. Also, if Annaji is so bent on having the bill passed, why to do it by sitting outside. I am sure that Annaji can win the election and form government if they contest. Then lets have this strong bill passed so that it serves the country for decades to come.

I do not think one should make mockery of our constitution, but we should stand for it and safeguard it. Otherwise, we are just asking for a autocratic rule without any accountability. I hope Annaji should not get disheartened by Congress' tactics and come out in open for a WAR.

IPL Season 5

It is just a coincidence that Big Boss completed 5th season couple of months back and IPL just started its 5th innings. Still we can starked similarities between the two. Big Boss started at a time when people were getting bored of daily saas-bahuu sagas, TRPs were falling down and revenues were dipping. It brought a new run of reality TV in india. Even though Roadies was there, but MTV and channel V are the reserved territories of Generation Y. It was one of the first reality TV where people from all ages and genres were glued. Same was the case with IPL. India didnt made it to the World Cup quarterfinals, and people were disappointed. Interest was weaning and to make cricket a selling cake, IPL came into picture. As it turned out, it also turned out to be not less than a reality show. Second and Third season of both IPL and Big boss were a hit. It looked like these were the best things that have happenned to Indian masses in recent times. The sponsors and investors were getting good returns on their money. People were enjoying it, players of IPL as well as participants on Big Boss were making lot of money, which was even unheard of. It can be said that both were over the moon. Then came season 4. Because of so many reality shows and same saga on Big Boss, people started getting bore of Big Boss. Then more controversies were created, stories were planted, contrversial figures were roped in, and somehow Big Boss managed to hold on to it. With IPL, just before the tournament was to begin, India won the World Cup. It was assumed that it would mean IPL would be bigger hit. But then players were sold out different teams. Everyone was confused on where their loyalties were. Should they support Kolkatta or Saurav Ganguly? Rahul Dravid or Bangalore? And the popularity also took a dip. Noone was sure whom to cheer for. Somehow, still it survived. Now we are in Season 5. Big Boss was a dud. Even Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt could not save it. Sunny Leone, Pamela Anderson and what not was thrown to the viewers to make it attractive. Still it clearly felt that the show is on its last leg. Similarly IPL also looked like going the same fate. Opening ceremony was more like Filmfare awards, but still it failed. Opening match between Chennai and Mumbai failed to generate interest. Even the loud cheers appeared fake when the stadium looked more empty than full. Though there is still a month to go, but it seems that it has also lived its life. Money will not be pouring so easily in coming years and drastic changes will be needed.

Headline Today - US mulling millitary strikes against Iran

Read an article from newspaper today morning which talked about possible US military action on Iran. It seems Uncle Sam is not happy with the the response of Iraq on the sanctions being imposed on it. Since there seems to be no affect, US might strike Iraq or entrust its ally Israel to do this for it. Frankly, I do not understand the rationale behind this, nor I understand the backing by European nations for this. On one side, European nations are struggling with their own economic crisis. Every other day, their is a news of one or the other 'nation' mired in crisis. On the other, they have time to impose sanctions on Iraq. I do not know whether Iraq is having intentions of creating nuclear weapons. I am least bothered about it either. There have been so many nations which possess nukes. Who is to decide which nation is responsible and which is not? Just being a superpower does not mean it is more responsible than Iran, North Korea or India for that matter? There are so many rogue states that posses nuclear weapons. Why was there no hue and cry when other weaponary was acquired? There always seems to be an agenda with US to attack nations, but it does not seem to decide what to do after that. It is very well possible that Iran might become another Iraq. It will be more dangerous situation to be in than what is now. Imagine, major block of West Asia without any proper control - Pakistan/Afganistan/Iraq/Iran/Libya. It will only mean that the world will be more unsafe to live in. I just hope that there are no hidden intentions behind these moves.

Foreign universities -Shoud these be banned?

Someone told to me the other day, that allowing Foreign Universities in India is bad for the country. It left me wondering whether it is actually bad or are we simply looking at couple of examples and making a judgement. I think this statement itself has 2 sides to it. Of course if we look at the run of the mill Universities which has opened educational centres in India, we really do not see any value-add being done by these universities. There are of course many universities opened which are no different than distance learning universities like IGNOU, Annamalai, Sikkim Manipal which only helps a person to get degree. Even for those there is no value add and having same universities is actually not making any difference. Having said this, I do feel that there are many examples where actually these Universities are making contirbutions to Indian economy. ISB is one such example. With parternipships with Indian Universities, these provide insight into the way other cultures think. Provide a totally different perspective to us, and a new line of thinking. Of course it is very important to ensure that all the Universities are accredited so that the degrees from these institutions are valid in India. Presently, without any such mechanism in place, thousands of students are duped of their money. The Universities are functioning, without being accredited by UGC. It should be made a punisable offense to operate universities as such. With these, i think we will be able to contol the cheating factor and risk will be mitigated. We cannot of course work in closed culture. Something like our economy. We had reaped many benefits after opening up our economy to the World in 1991.

India stare defeat at Adelaide

Do not go by the title of post, as it is too early to talk about the performance of the India team, batting in particular on a so-called placid pitch of Adelaide. But 2 days into the fourth and last test in Australia, and there is nothing to be seen in attitude of Indian Team which shows that they were ranked #1 in the world few months back. Drooping shoulders of the players in the second session itself on 1st day tells the story. It appears like all the players are just going though the motions. Seems like they are just to make up the numbers and they actually do not have anything to get from the series. Understandably, World cup is in pocket, we were number #1, have been T20 champions, so in a sense, most of the players have achieved it all. There is nothing left, unless you want to reach the benchmarks set by Australians or the West Indies team of yesteryear's. I feel that attitude is not to be seen as most of the players are on the brink of retirement. It is not far when half of the side will be new just because old players have retired. But the only worry is that, if this drags on, there will not be time left to groom new team for the next world cup. So it will not be easier for us to defend our title. Change should be the name of game now itself. It will take time, but atleast that will be acceptable. We should learn somethings from Australians. Hope some common sense prevail.

Push for giant leap

I find myself at a crucial juncture of my career. If I look at myself, I feel satisfied with what I have achieved. Starting my career with a minincule 3500 p.m., working at a remote area inside Chattisgarh, I have come a long way. I still remember the time when I used to work in a power plant. And here I am, sitting in a air conditioned office, earning more than the same amount in a day. An exponential growth, some might say. I have seen lot of world during this period. Had defining moments at times. Now well settled with a loving wife and a smart kid. What more can I ask from my life? I think I have achieved everything which a middle class person aspires for. But deep inside, I still feel something missing. I do not feel much motivated at work, though I am still giving 100%. What is it that will make me aspire for more and stretch myself to achieve the end? Most of the time, I have thought of moving to entrepreneurship, but earning a six-figure salary per month, is it worth the risk? Opportunities are many, but it is very tough to motivate myself to take one big giant leap. But there is one thing for sure, I need to move out of here. I guess that should be the big push which I need. I am sure, if I decide to go for it this time, there will be no turnig back. Thoughts have started to materialize, and I think just a couple of weeks will lay the foundation of giant leap. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Statues to be covered in UP

I recently came to know of the EC order of covering the statues which Mayawati has got erected all over UP. Those include statues of elephant, her election symbol, as well statues of herself and Kanshi Ram. The sole reason behind this move is that it influences voter's mind which can impact election results.

Of course I am not a fan of Mayawati nor I support her in wasting thousands of crores of poor man's money on these statues. For sure she wanted to make her presence felt in a country where this right is 'reserved' only for Congress leaders. But I believe there were better means to achieve this and money could have been spent for a better cause. But that is a seperate discussion.

What I could not understand is how in the world can one think that such actions can influence voters. We all are so busy in daily chores that we never bothered to look elsewhere, neither at a person bleeding on the road, nor at any statue. Nor I think, a glance can influence anyone to vote for a person. Especially when we talk about elephants, how will it bother anyone if its trunk is upwards or downwards. But when anything is kept under wraps, for sure it develops a curiosity. And later many thoughts wander in our mind, which can obviously influence anyone to vote.

My personal view is that this will in fact benefit Mayawati more than the peeople who had asked these statues to be covered. Maya would be laughing her way to Raj Bhavan while her detractors will need those pieces of clothes to cover themselves. EC infact has made a joke of itself by passing such orders. Hope common sense will prevail soon.

Big Boss 5 power 6

There is too much hype generated for Big Boss 5... and Colors has cashed it just as much as it can. Though instead of this becoming grand success, the finale is just as good(sic) as the show has been all this season. Looks to me like the channel needs to go back to drawing board to figure out what sells out. Or possibly trying to draw new shape, everything went wrong.

The performances by Rakhi and Pooja could have been retributing; rather it crossed the thin line to be crass.

I just could not understand why Colors has reserved 3 hours for this. Just waiting for the results to be out. Hope this torture gets over soon.