i’m suddenly reminded of my interviews during the summer internship selection interview process in IIMB in November 2004. This happened to me at more than one bank’s interview.
Interviewer: Do you like math?
Me: Yes
Interviewer: What is your favourite branch of math?
Me: Graph Theory
(interviewer looks confused for a few moments)
Interviewer: Oops. Can I ask you questions in probability?
Me: ok…
and the interview goes on…
I was watching Wimbledon last night when I realized there aren’t too many pure serve-and-volley types around. Even the 5-time champion Federer plays mostly from the baseline. I don’t recall any pure serve-and-volley types after Sampras and Ivanisevic. Anyways, while watching Roddick play Schwank, I came up with the following hypothesis:
When a new field opens up, in the beginning, it is mostly dominated by studs. Soon, people start figuring out. Soon the code gets cracked, and a manual gets published. And the field becomes less and less stud as time goes on. And it gets dominated by fighters. The stud has no option but to do something and take things to a new level, or a new field, where the studness can be applied.
Let me know if this is true. Background reading about studs and fighters.
Here are some pertinent observations made by my mother and I in the last few months.
According to my mother, one of my aunts (father’s cousin’s wife) looks like Lucas Leiva.
Now, I think the said aunt’s elder daughter looks like Mauro Camoranesi
And my mother says that this particular aunt’s younger daughter looks like Jelena Jankovic
So readers, is this consistent? We are yet to come up with a nice sporting look-alike for the father, but is it “consistent” that one girl looks like camoranesi, her sister looks like jankovic and their mother looks like lucas?
I’m in the process of reading the Goldman Sachs report about what India should do to become a superpower by 2050. Have read some 4 pages of it so far.
Last evening, while i was going with
?to pay our last respects to Shiok before it temporarily shuts down, I got the following SMS:
Hey man, I couldn’t attend the prev photowalk. Is one planned 4 dis sunday? P$$%#$
I was upset with the language (this was from a guy with number ending with 3113) and had half a mind to tell him “K”. Then I composed this message
Dear P$$%#$, I regretfully inform you that there is no photowalk this sunday. I am, however, pleased to inform you that the next walk will happen on the morning of the 29th. I solicit your participation in the aforementioned. with warm regards, S Karthik
Anyway, the next photowalk will happen on Sunday the 29th of this month, most likely in the Ulsoor area. All are welcome to attend. There is no entry fee.
Once again, we’ll start at 730 am. I’ll let you know regarding the exact route and starting point in a couple of days.
I think the last thirty years of Indian politics and policy can be explained using the “public enemy number one” theory. It all started off with emergency, when the Congress easily became the enemy. For the elections in 1977, an alliance of non-congress parties was quickly cobbled up with the sole intention of keeping the congress out. As expected, it collapsed soon enough, and the Congress got back to power. And maintained its status.
Continue reading “Public enemy number one theory for Indian politics”
I seem to be looking out for “double meanings” in everything. I’m reminded of that seen in Upendra’s seminal movie Shhhh, where the director Kashinath is reputed to be a master of double meanings, and he has an assistant whose sole job is to point out the double meanings that some of the dialogues that Kashinath writes imply.
So earlier today I told
?”can you do one help?” I know it’s completely ungrammatical but this is the way I used to talk back in my childhood when my english was fairly pathetic. A couple of minutes later I realized that “help” can also be a noun. Such as say “domestic help”. And so there was the double meaning.
A couple of minutes back, I was responding to some comments on some earlier post. And in my hurry to type, and given that my fingers usually don’t talk to each other, I put the space in the wrong position. The comment reads “can bed one once the road is expanded”. And in a minute or two, I’d noticed the double meaning. And here I am blogging about it.
Then, a few days back I was talking to this friend when she felt sleepy. Again my left middle finger played tricks on me and I typed “sweet creams” instead of “sweet dreams”. Only after she’d responded with at “thu” did I realize that there was some double meaning here too.
1. Email sent to a mailing list, with scanned invitation attached
2. Email sent to a number of individual email ids, all on BCC. Addressed to “Dear All” or some such thing. Scanned invitation attached
3. Email sent to you only. Starts off with a “Dear Karthik, trust you are doing great.” blah blah. Scanned invitation attached
4. Email sent to you only. Starts off with a “Dear Karthik, trust you are doing great.” blah blah. Scanned invitation attached. Then the person checks on IM if you’ve received it and asks you to come.
5. Email sent to you only. Starts off with a “Dear Karthik, trust you are doing great.” blah blah. Scanned invitation attached. This is followed by a phone call.
6. Email or phone asking for your address. Physical card arrives by snail mail. You get a follow-up call.
7. You meet in some random place (such as a train or at work) and the person physically hands you the card.
8. The person comes to your home and hands over the card to you
Tell me if i’ve missed something. There’s a reason I’ve used integers for the numbering. There is an infinite number of real numbers between each pair of integers in order to fit in more levels.
Traditional South Indian Wedding
Day 0 Evening: Groom and family arrive. They are welcomed and the bride’s parents worship the groom (vara pooje)
Day 1 Morning: Wedding
Day 1 Evening: Reception
Day 2 Morning: Some pooja, etc.
Day 2 Evening: Groom and family kidnap bride and go off
Modern South Indian Wedding
Day 0 Early Evening: Groom and family arrive. They are welcomed and the bride’s parents worship the groom (vara pooje)
Day 0 Late Evening: Reception
Day 1 Morning: Wedding
Day 1 Evening: Groom and family kidnap bride and go off
Today I went to my second ever North Indian wedding. Here is what I gathered from it.
Day 0 Early Evening: Groom and family arrive. They are welcomed and the bride’s parents worship the groom (vara pooje)
(of course here there’s full fanfare and naach-gaana and all that)
Day 0 Late Evening: Reception
Day 0 Night: Wedding
Day 0 Later Night (technically Day 1 morning): Groom and family kidnap bride and go off
At the wedding tonight, I bumped into her. After the initial pleasantaries and confirmation that we had indeed recognized each other after eight long years, there was nothing left to say.
A few random incidents I remember from school (mostly academic stuff; so if you’re looking for something else you might have to wait)
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