money for nothing… and chicks for rent…

Have noticed this strange phenomenon in the course of the last one and a half years. Something vinod bhaskaran has christened “rental”. Rental of girlfriend/boyfriend I mean. Becomes especially significant in a place like IIMB where most people live in hostel and away from their near and dear ones.

According to Vinod, rental can be described as a process where a girl and a guy get really close to each other (as close as two people who are gf-bf) but both know that there is no chance of a permanent settlement. Typically at least one of them is already committed, which helps clearly define the terms of the contract.

Have seen quite a few instances of such rentals here in IIMB. First instance I saw was between a classmate with a bf abroad and a senior with a gf in bombay. Then, this other classmate, with a bf in Delhi, has entered into rental agreements with not one but THREE guys in my class. And now that all three of them are out on exchange, she’s entered into a short-term contract with a FOURTH guy. Mahabharata rocks!

The most weird thing i’ve seen with this female who’s actually reasonably close to me. She has an on-campus bf and they’re going really strong. Now, for the past month he was busy organizing a fest and she decided to take his best friend on rent!

For an ‘outsider’ who has never entered this kind of contracts, it seems really funny. But i guess there must be some logic to this. Too lazy to figure it out though!

Yeah, and I think a few people I’ve referred to in this post might be reading this. Researching armor.

Yet another movie

Vera,

I think it is time to tell you a saucerful of secrets. I have been on the run of late but after you defended me at the trial last week, there seem to be signs of life.

Remember a day, at the grand vizier?s garden party at Grantchester Meadows, when I was marooned, and lost for words?
When I was anything but fearless and just
short of suffering from brain damage?
When all I wanted to do was to run like
hell? And then you were in, riding a
pillow of winds, to defend me? When you asked me to just have a cigar while you took them on?

The echoes of that see-saw debate still haunt me. It had such a dramatic theme that even though it lasted just four minutes, I could see that the difference between us and them was like apples and oranges. When Corporal Clegg quoted Chapter 24, I felt comfortably numb and I went to meet mother. Though there was nobody home, it was definitely a great day for freedom.

After you
helped me get outside the wall, I
feel as if I?m coming back to life. At
last, I seem to have enough time to breathe. Now, I want to keep talking to you! The show must go on.

Hey you! It would be so nice if you don?t
leave me now. When you are in, I
know they would be the happiest days of
our lives. It is true that we are poles
apart, but I have high hopes that
we can easily fill up each other?s empty
spaces.

More about it
when we meet in the flesh. Till then,
shine on, you crazy diamond! And
don?t forget to speak to me.

Wish you were here!
Arnold Layne

PS: One of these days, I want to go on an interstellar overdrive and want to
borrow a bike, preferably a new machine. Any color you like. You can take
it back whenever you want. What
do you want from me in return? Not money, I
hope!

for the first time in four years…

Got most of my term four grades today. Except for the Contemporary Concerns Study (CCS – a project course) which i know i’ve screwed up big time. Three low A’s and two high B’s so far (here in IIMB the grading system is weird. The letter grade is accompanied by a number grade which is a real number. For example, A can mean anything from 3.50 to 4.00! The topper typically gets 4 and then it goes down progressively).

Apart from the CCS, I’ve got 3.52 out of 4.00 this term (and my CG after 3 terms was 3.31). Feeling really happy. Now I don’t care what i get in the CCS.

I’m especially happy about this one course Financial Derivatives where the general grading is really bad. I had got 20 out of 40 in the midterm when the average was 27. Finally ended up doing pretty well in end-terms and put a 3.60!!! (when the median grade was 2.2).

For the first time in four years, I’m feeling proud of my grades. The last time I felt this way was in 3rd term in IIT when I’d put 9.46 after 2 terms of 8.75 (that was out of 10).

Update
I got 2.79 in CCS. Much higher than expected. My term GPA is 3.4 (highest in four terms) and my CG stands at 3.33

shoes and lunches…

my search for a good pair of sneakers ended two days back. went to a multibrand discount store called “why pay more” in front of my house and bought a pair of Nikes. Went back home and told my parents that I’d spent Rs. 1900 on a pair of sneakers. And they freaked out.

“We know you have a lot of money. But why spend more on something like a pair of shoes when you can get similar ones for Rs. 500?” All arguments on brand and comfort didn’t make sense to them. A shoe is a shoe is a shoe, they countered.

In another incident, I recently told my parents that I’d spent Rs. 300 on lunch at a Thai restaurant. Once again they freaked out. “You can get six good lunches at Adigas at this rate. Four even at MTR. Henceforth you shouldn’t have such expensive lunches. So many people go hungry because they don’t have enough money to eat. You may rather give money to charity than having such expensive lunches”…

This time I decided not to react and quietly walked away.

resume mentoring…

Old classmate from school is a facha in a premier B school (one that is ranked 2 notches below us in the league tables). He asked me to look at his resume for summers. It was one which had been passed through 6-7 seniors in his school. And which has been sent to quite a few companies already.

Was quite a shocker. Reminded me of the crappy resumes our fachas had made in first week. Looked very empty. Too many lines with just one word on it. No proper framing of sentences. So many simple rules ignored.

It took me all of two minutes to transform the resume. At the end of it, I had left no empty spaces in his resume, created three extra lines (to put in more stuff), highlighted the relevent portions, etc. And this to a resume which 6-7 people in his school had already seen!

Wondering if the difference between #2 and #4 (going by most league tables) is so much, what is the fate of the rest? Looks like there is something seriously wrong with management education in our country. And today we had a debate on our internal forum where we discussed that IIMB itself stands nowhere internationally.

restraining myself…

went to the IIMB student general body meeting today hoping to raise some dhamaakedaar issues. Before going i had drummed up support from people so that i wouldn’t be a spearman poking at an elephant. Then just before the meeting I was told that the support was being withdrawn. Kept quiet.

Now i’m pissed with myself for not raising the issue which i consider slightly important. Why is it that I keep allowing the rebel in me to get suppressed by the “saner” side? And then regret it? Why is it that I am frequently overcome by bouts of enthulessness? Why is it that the most hifunda of my plans generally never take off? Is it something wrong with me? Or is it that what I consider great is not that great after all? Or is it just that I’m actually doing the right thing and regretting about nothing?

poem about me…

After the fan mail and stuff, Beedi has been kind (??!!!?) enough to write a poem about me. really takes my case. really rapes me. still somehow I thought it needs to be displayed here so i’m putting it…


He went through so much pain
for a a girl named ________
if only he had not tried to get her

He waited a whole year
without shedding a tear
fo surely then next batch of AVB scholars would be better

And then came the L square
with a red bandana in his hair

he twisted aroun and began to shout
he got drunk on a peg of whisky
and began to dance about

skimpy and the avb scholar
as he tried call out to her
there was a simple twist of fate
and in came sharad seth

poor skimpy was dejected
he said “i have a fear of being rejected”
Never mind said ramnath
just remeber to take a bath
and about the girls do not bother
for you are your own avb scholar

non-IIMB people would definitely have a problem relating to a lot of things mentioned here (sharad seth, ramnath, L square, etc.) but never mind…

Manasi (the scholar in question) replied

In vain tried the detractors to drag Skimpy’s name thro the dust,
Without realizing they were being both unfair and unjust.

For, while they were busy making their arbit allegations (please note
alliteration and pun on arbit :))
Never did they consult other parties involved in the investigations

Never did he try to woo, never did he try to entice,
All Skimpy did to the AVB scholars was give them friendly advice

Therefore, ye all, who so delight in barbed taunts,
Consider this – Skimpy neednt try; he can get any girl he wants 🙂

then Beedi produced what is now considered as perhaps the greatest piece of poetry to hit our discussion boards…
And the prosecutor rose
to put his arguments into prose
though you may shout and though you may twist
the truth shal not be covered in mist

according krishna kumar t,
(who i hope gives me atleast a C)
to take a decision
of any presicion
one must use all relevant information

i have a list of long witnesses to testify
and my accusations they will justify

i call upon the president of the student’s union
and use his formal appointment
to tell us what wimpy claims as his only dissappointment

as my next witness i call
someone who is very tall
can u sir not elucidate
the matter on which we meditate

i now call upon all my batchamtes
who were present for those L2s, no matter what their states
to tell us about those fated dates.
tell us how you all watched,
as wimpy had his wooing botched

as my finall witnees i call upon
wimpy’s red bandana,which was worn
please sir tell the law
what you really saw

i could call the spirit of kodi
a memeber of the press and so almost holy
but that i will not try
for he has his own avb scholar to fry

with this i could rest my case
but i am not one so base
as to overlook
all the good in wimpy’s book

a guy with the best brain
who refused to let it drain
by a man named morgan with lot of cash
but with work which he thought was trash

wimpy, the quizzer,
is defenitely not a looser
if you have seen spidi you will see
how great wimpy can be,

but when it comes to scholars of the avb type
wimpy doesnt live up to his hype

and so i request that sentence be mild
for wimpy is not one so wild
so that we can all be the winner
i petition that wimpy take us out to dinner

I will be taking him out for dinner today

hifunda question paper…

Have this course called “Tracking Creative Boundaries” this term. We get artistes from various fields every week and they talk about their art and the creative process that goes behind it. The following is the text of the midterm question paper, which was “take home”. Submitted it early this morning. Prof would go through our answers and then there would be an individual viva!

\begin{question paper}

1) Do you want to identify your core barrier? (yes/no)

2)
a. Is your core barrier represented here? (yes/no)
b. If not, write it down and that is at the root of your core incompetence.

3)
a. Are you willing to do what it takes to overcome that? (yes/no)
b. What support system (or buddy system) do you need?
c. How can others reach you and remind you?

4)
a. What do you enjoy doing? (What do you lose yourself in?)
b. What do you enjoy thinking about? (talking about, reflecting about)
c. What do you enjoy learning about? (you learn quickly and develop rapidly what you are interested and have talent)
d. What do you enjoy as a process? (writing letters, singing, talking)

5)

a. Identify three competencies that you are good at.
b. Identify three competencies that you would like to develop over the next year

6)
a. If you could share one bit of wisdom, what would it be?
b. Is there anything you’d be willing to put it all on the line for? If so, what?
c. What has been the most important lesson you have learned in your life? Why?
d. What is the basic philosophy of your life?

\end{question paper}

fan mail…

some “fan mail” that i’ve gotten… in a small chit in a “postal envelope” with a Rs. 5 stamp… reproducing the whole thing here verbatim…

Hai Karthik,
First of all i really hope this letter reaches you coz i don’t have a clue how to get to you; all por little me wanted to do was express the esteemed regards that i hold for you.
I really hope you don’t take this as a practical joke. To introduce myself – I’m a doc….. (hope sex dosent matter!)
Dude, its such a pleasure to read through the articles you’ve contributed; considering the fact you guys are considered “gods of geeks”! one would wonder if you guys have time for small pleasures!
I prefer to remain anonymous for the time being. but please check your postal mails often!
I would like to end ; a note “Wise Men Possess Ideas, Most Of Us Are Possessed By Them”

Sincerely Yours

Ps: You seem so entertaining in your articles, do you belly dance by any chance 🙂 chill

optional exam…

had an “optional exam” today. If we wrote it, it would count for 40% and the end term for 60%. If we chose to bunk this, the end term would count for 100% of the course evaluation.

Initially thought of bunking this as I felt too lazy to mug. Announced this to the world. Half the class followed suit. Then, a friend came to me with doubts and i was able to solve them easily and decided to take up the paper. Think i’ve done pretty well.

And of course, as (he chose not to write the exam) was lamenting the other day, one question was a direct ripoff from last year’s paper. With only 1/2 numbers changed here or there. And this paper being set by the director of the institute!