The day after tomorrow........

The day after Christmas in the year 2004 will forever remain etched in the mind of chennaites and to those, whose lives changed forever after those killer waves crashed onto their loved ones.

Wherever I put my eyes on I can only see death and destruction. Life has come to a standstill in Chennai on 26th Dec 04. It was around 6:30 AM (IST) when I felt the first tremor that rocked Chennai. The tremors continued for about 15-20 min. After the experience of Gujarat earthquake (I was in Mumbai that time), I understood that the epicenter of the quake would be somewhere away.

Little did I know what was in store for the day?

The first Tsunamis struck at around 9:30 AM (IST). I was at home when I heard the chaos…..people running around in panic. At first, I couldn’t understand what had happened. There was lot of confusion…..and rumors started spreading. It was only when my friend, who was at the beach, called me up that I could get the true picture. I rushed out of my house towards the beach (curiosity……..it’s in our genes).

And then I saw something which made my heart froze. A huge wave….. almost equal to a two storey building ……..and still increasing…….came crashing onto the beach. People were running everywhere…….for their dear life.

'Life'....huh!!! .....the word has given a new meaning to me now. I understand how precious are the days when one feels the warmth of their loved ones all around them....what it takes to wipe tears of others while holding back ones own. True how a shocking incident can test our….. character.

By 12:00 PM (IST) the actual extent of devastation began to sink in……overturned catamarans…….sinking fishing boats…………merchant ships struck to each others...… floating planks…..and above all thousands and thousands of human lives. What makes the situation worse is the fact that majority of the dead were children who were either playing or had come with their parents for a walk on the beach.

The epic devastation of Bhuj and Latur earthquake on land remains etched in the country’s collective consciousness……..one more has been added……

Its night know when I write ……deathly silence engulfs us all…….broken only by the roaring sound of waves crashing onto the beach.

It has been a day of grief…..pain…..but as life goes on……the agony of those who have left their dear ones…….will be overcome…….I know they will…..

WE SHALL OVERCOME
WE SHALL OVERCOME
WE SHALL OVERCOME……….SOMEDAY
O DEEP IN OUR HEARTS
I DO BELIEVE
WE SHALL OVERCOME
SOMEDAY

Economics of Life

During my 12th grade, I happen to read in economics (I actually did that....can u believe it !!!) that resources available to the society were always limited, in comparison to our limitless desires.

One question that's been bombarded me umpteen times: "What do you want to be?”or"Do you have an(y) aim in life??" (latter one being my dad's way of phrasing the same question....with the "y").

When I was 6 - 7 yrs old........I wanted to become just like the ice cream vendor who used to come every evening (not sell ice creams.......but to have all of them).

When I was around 11 yrs old ....... I was sure that my future was in gardening .......I had seen the gardner sit around lazily, chatting with his friends.......simple life........ no problems whatsoever

As I grew up Diego Maradona used to fascinate me.......I just wanted to become like him......what skill he possessed......outstanding!!!!

Then came Tendulkar.......Vishwanathan Anand..... the list goes on and on........

History had always envinced an interest in me........I always wondered how those historians, archaeologists etc used to come up with amazing discoveries. I wanted to be one of them.........probably ........probably even now.....

By the time I was in senior secondary the ocean of accountancy engulfed me.......... in the beginning I found it tough......but slowly got the hang of it......

Then came college hmmnnnn..... no........life aint that bad.....this is what I felt then........especially in the company of friends.........

And here I am......... almost on the verge of completing my MBA in finance...........

As I look back in the past , I wanted to be a lot of things. And I guess I'm no different from others. We watch action movies, and we want to be there, to do that. We see bungee jumpers perform astonishing feats, and we feel an urge to emulate them. Finally.........it is what we do in life is important........ not the one we left back.

Those options that went off into thin air were not entirely unachievable. But I just didn't opt for those.

Why?.......... It probably wasn't the best option to choose.

In effect, we all desire a lot. We also have a lot of options to choose from. But we chose some of them ......not all , coz we didn't have the time or resource to be in all of them at the same time. In other terms, we couldn't have bit more than we could've chewed!

And that's what economics is all about - the science of choice, given the infinite wants and limited resources!

Quite funny, isn't it?

Bangalore Ahoy !!!!!

I am off to Bangalore......for only a day though......

Going for the Reuters interview........hope I make it.........

Last time 24 of us from the college and it was great fun........full partying (and ....... !!!). Lets hope the going is good and I come out successfully.

From the brief time I was there I got the feel that it was almost had that Mumbai touch in itself. Actually I felt Bangalore to be a lot better than chennai (which is full off @#$%*&^).

If I hit the bulls eye then the next 2 yrs (hopefully) would be in Bangalore (yippeee!!!!).

By the way I am already placed in INDIABULLS an equity trading company. (hehehe)

But if I get in Reuters then I am ready to ditch this job.

So pray for me guys pleaseeeeeeee!!!!!

.:. Diwali .:.

Hey guys

wishing u all a very happy deepavali.

It has still been raining quite a bit, even on the day (and night too) of Diwali. So......by now you must have guessed how much I would have enjoyed........this time.
Didnt post for a long time......

I still havent got that bug to post everyday......

College is going on.....the same......

I have started to work on this project on building a website on the nuances of Finance. Lets see when I am able to actually put it online. Keep you guys posted on the latest on this front.

Apart from that life is busy as usual ....... travelling from home to college consuming half of my day (I hate that !!)

Cya

Its raining.....raining.....raining........&......

Thats wat is happening in chennai for the last few weeks. This used to happen only in Mumbai.... seems like chennai got the rain (bug) too.

And with change of weather bring (especially during rain) with it sufficient dosages of .... running nose....sore throat....and worst of all F E V E R. Even I couldn't escape its clutches.

To make it worst the roads are all clogged with water (sewage and bloody stinks like hell). The roads in and around Mandevli and Mylapore (chennaites would know them better) test even the best of the drivers .......worst if you are in the bus (standing).....with your entire body doing all forms contortions (quite..... painful I should say).

Rain or no rain ......our classes will go on and on and on ...........morning to evening.......the next day............the day after...........

Ma Durga r Pujo

Can you smell the intoxicating fragrance of Sharat kaal and hear Anandamayee’s footsteps in the air ? Does your heart beat in the rhythm of Dhaak and K(N)asar coming from within ? Yes, it is that time of year once again.

Thats wat every bengali live for..... The entire year we wait for those three days (sapthmi....asthami...&...navami it means 7th 8th and the 9th day) when the entire bengali community comes together to celebrate Ma er Aagomon (Mother's Homecoming).

Hmmnnnn.....the three days .......one doesnt even know how time flies by........it just feels yesterday that I was listening to Mahalaya....and..........

Well.....coming back...... the traditional six day countdown to Mahasaptami starts from Mahalaya. Goddess Durga visits the earth for only four days but seven days prior to the Pujas, starts the Mahalaya. The enchanting voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra fill up the predawn hours of the day thus marking the beginning of "devipaksha" and the beginning of the count-down of Durga Puja.

To commemorate this festive occasion , the preparation starts about a 2-3 months back. No stones are left untouched to make this occasion a success. Afterall it is our Ma who comes to visit us only for a few days after an entire year.

The ocassion ...... as I told above..... starts with Mahalya ....thats the first of the ten days of the festivities. On this day bengalis living in Kolkatta visit the Holy Ganges.

The following days are spent on various activites such as giving finishes touches to pujo pandals .... running everywhere for chaanda (hehe) etc.

The real celeration starts from Mahasapthmi ie 7th day of Ma staying with us. Its fun and frolic all day around....adda with your friends being the only exercise of the day (and to top it all.........u get to savour the lip smacking........bengali cuisine.... damn I feel hungry already).

Mahashthami and Navami passes in the same manner.

The day of Vijaydashami is generally marked by gloom and saddness. Well.....atleast I felt something like that. Especially during the time of Bishorjon of the Idol of Ma.

To tell u the truth ........ I........I couldn't stop my eyes from getting moist. Especially because this was the first time I ever went for bishorjon. With heavy hearts me and my friends departed to our houses......back to life.......as usual.......work as usual......huh??

But as they say "Ashchey bochor abar hobey" (Next year ..... again).

Before I finish this very......long..........Post......of mine.

Lets.....atleast.....for the last time.......this year.......shout in unison.

BOLO DURGA MAI KI........JAI !!!

PS: I FORGOT.....SO BAD OF ME....

Today I turned 23.....

One more year gone. One more year old (old??.....no way!!!!).

To my parents and sis who were the first one to wish me (dot at 12:00). As always loving and supporting me.

To my friends in Chennai Shwetha, Parvadha, Nalini, Sudha, Sriram (thanks for the tip on good life and good WIFE !!!) .....Ajai..... my friend in Mumbai ......thank you all for wishing me....each one of you have contributed in your own way in making this day so special ... Its overwhelming to know that you are still important in the eyes of some people.

Today, while cleaning my room (finally,....did it after.......ummnnn...... dont remmember).

coming back......when I was cleaning my room....... I came across some pictures (very old........atleast it looked old to me). I uploaded some of them here.....

On my second b'day



The day I turned 5 yrs old ... me on the left........ with my cousin brother.






With my grandmother

The return to innocence........

It takes ages to create something out of nothing. The sweat of every man involved in that creation............years of effort....years of pain........years of reversals........but man is confident and has determination to reach his goal........ultimately he wins.

Voila!!!! what a beautiful sight must be for those whose hard work finally paid off.

It takes a few fleeting moments to destroy man's very own creation........by himself...........what an irony!!!!.

Its in our nature to destroy ourselves..............

And yet we forget about HIM.........He who gives us all.......the power to think...........to create.........

I probably dont know why I am writing this ...............probably you wouldnt even understand what I meant to convey.

What prompted me to write was this picture taken from columbia space shuttle in its last mission.

The photograph attached was taken by the crew on board the Columbia during its last mission, on a cloudless day.

The picture is of Europe and Africa when the sun is setting. Half of the picture is in night. The bright dots you see are the cities lights. The top part of Africa is the Sahara Desert.

Note that the lights are already on in Holland, Paris, and Barcelona, and that's it's still daylight in Edinburgh, London, Lisbon, and Madrid. The sun is still shining on the Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean Sea is already in darkness.

Show me the M O N E Y..........

Its time. Yup my friends.......it is that time of the year when the employers start searching for their prospective employees (read bonded labourers) .

Slowly........... it would become a mad rush. Trust me man............. a month or so........only one question will be hanging in the air..............Which company is coming.............. or for that matter..........did u get in somewhere???

Welcome.......welcome to the M B A Placement season. Here no one is your friend. Steal, Kill do anything but get a job somehow.

As my classmates say "who cares about others when your life is all hay and sunshine"

A vision of Spring...........

Just had some thoughts coming in my mind. What better way than to jotting (rather typing) down in the blog.

Some sketches of them.

The pyramids of Egypt – Pharaoh’s Glory Gold………. Diamonds rubies dazzling wealth……….. monuments of magnificence……..today stands stark forlorn, forgotten, against the arid particles of the desert ………….the Sahara

The grandeur of the Maya people ………. The genius of their astronomy and mathematic ………………skeleton of an empire……………the bare bone of a city……….. swamped in the Amazon jungles of South America.

The crumbling columns of the Colosseum…………..the empty galleries of theatre & forum where once music, dance, logic and politics flourished.
Alas! the Greek tragedy.

The might of the Caesar………the brilliant oratory of the senators……….the built – up gospel “ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME” …………..that great Roman empire today………..shadows ……..shamble……….the ruins.

This is the consistency confounding story of Man everywhere. We are a peculiar creature ………..the innocence and gentleness of a child………..the perservity and fiendishness of Mephisto…………….the beauty and love of an angel…………..All three coexist……..

What a marvel of the creation???

Who created the earth……….the sun…………….the moon……….stars. How did our space and time come into being?

What was before????

What will be AFTER ????

Yipppeeee!!!!

I feel great. My grades came out for the summer project. I got an A........ yes an A....... that means out of a GPA of 10 i got 10. I feel like flying to somewhere...... This is one of the happiest day of my life.

But I know......... there is still two terms to go and I have to work really hard to keep my grades up.

I am thinking on creating a site which will deal with issues related to Finance. Actually my site layout is ready. Time permitting I will start with this one too. The reason for this second site is that I dont wanna put financial stuff in my personal site which basically deals with SPIRITULAITY.

See the layout.......... does it look good........please tell me.

Rachael !!!!!!!

GOD

She looks just amazing............

beautiful....................

soooooooooo cute............

Today I was watching the movie American Crime and the only thing I remember about the movie is rachael...........rachael...........& only RACHAEL.

And she is not one of those dumb bimbos............she acts quite well.

I had watched her movie josie and the pussycats twice.........given a choice I will watch it again & again & again.....

PS: DON'T APE AT THE PICS........@##$%^&

In search of T R U T H

Picked up this book In search of Secret India by - Paul Brunton

Dr. Paul Brunton

Its a book that describes Paul Bruton's search for a guru in India in the early part of the twentieth century. After meeting many acclaimed yogis, he decides his true guru is Sri Ramana Maharshi and returns to Arunchala for several weeks of intensive instruction.

The final chapters describe the oral teachings given to Brunton by Ramana and the subjective experience of practicing Ramana's method, including the first sudden experience of the true Self.

This book seems to be a thought- provoking- one. and I am sure, I will be hooked onto it this entire week.

BPOs...................

Ha ha ha
So much for those who were proud of the fact that they were working in a BPO/call center........ in particular............ night shifts !!!!. Hmmnnn.......Nice way to work (Mixing business with pleasure)

I recently got a mail from someone in Infosys which brought to true light what was actually going on. Then we had the Economic Times coming out in their headlines about this issue (See the article: Its freedom after midnight in BPOs).

This was bound to happen, young people in their early twenty's (like us). But I can tell you that this is a temporary pahse. The industry is in its nascent stage. It is growing and with growth comes a lot of changes. This is one part of it.

We (the young bloods) are capable of understanding the pros and cons of every situation we come across. How we deal with it is a matter of perception which differs from person to person.

Mergers and Acquisitions

This is what I read in 'THE ECONOMIST' about the new way of doing M&A deals.

The article said:

FOR some Japanese firms, acquiring another company may soon be a little like getting a pizza delivered. On September 1st, Strike, a Japanese consulting firm that advises on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), launched a new service to help clients put a price on potential deals. Strike promises a speedy response. It will deliver your calculation within a week, or you get it for half price. Clearly, the service is aimed at small firms and internet start-ups.

This is a complete changeover from the methods practiced till now on.

Moreover its good......for these companies donot have that much of monetary power to suffer the long process of the acquisition cycle.

But the million dollar question is

WHETHER THIS METHOD CAN BE APPLICABLE IN CASE OF INDIAN COMPANIES??

Watch this space??

Life@IBS

God......... you never know how time........ flies by.

It seems just the other day I joined IBS (Icfai Business School)......and now a year has passed. The other day we had the welcoming party for the freshers. The party went up till 2 AM. and it was quite a good one considering the financial limitaions we seniors had to put up with.

In this one year I gained a lot (of weight) and lost a lot (of friends.....not that all due to my fault).

One thing has remained the same though.......my understanding of other people has remained a null as before. It seems to me that it would be better to leave it to God...... matters regarding these.

Oh !! By the way I have just pasted a Shoutbox on my site.

Hope you guys would like it.

There was a problem with my SMS facility before........it took me a day or two to fix it up. Now its workin just fine.

Thats all for now

Cya

A LoNG tImE...........

Well its has been a long time I put down my precious 'gyan' (actually priceless...).

Last few days (a month....) I have been really busy. Exams till Sat and before that case study presentations and top it all Internal evaluation by the faculties. This is H E L L.

Went to Tirupathi and by God's grace the weather was just amazing.

Thinkin about going to Delhi to just refresh myself..........meet old buddies..........relatives. I havent gone back to my hometown in the last 2 yrs (can u believe that!).

So till now thats what I have...

Keep u posted with the latest.

Bye

Yesterday............

Did not even touch my books.

Felt so tired that I just slept by 12:00 am.

I have to stop my partying business. Anyways exam pressure is building on my head. Subjects like Security Analysis is keeping myself busy. So much to do..........so less time.

GOT TO DO IT.

Otherwise it would be detrimental on my CGPA.

EXAMS ROUND THE CORNER !!!!

Yes, its B A C K, and that is making me have sleepy days and snoring nights (hehehe).

I have analysed that as the D day appraoches I feel more and more SLEEPY (zzzzzzz......)

Other than this life is going on anyways, with nothin major to write about.

Back at home Sis has almost gone nuts talkin about Harry and its Potter as the name of the new book has been announced .............Harry and the half Blood prince (no, harry and the half dead prince .......whatever.....). I think a day or two in a mental asylum would be fine for her (Does Hogwarts have one?). Not that I have any grudge on my sis or on Master Harry Potter. But if you keep on hearing the sentences like "oooooooooo he sooooo cute!!!", "oh wwwoooowww !!!!" or for that matter "Daniel is so sweeeeet !!!!" everytime she happens to find a pic or gets to watch the Potter trailer. How long can u contain urself?She already has a Life size poster of Hrithik Roshan in her room and now wants to put a Harry potter of that same size. And mom dad don't seem to mind at all.

That is wat I envy about her. Tell me can I put up a Pamela Anderson poster or for that matter a Jenna Jameson one? My mom is surely gonna tear me apart if she finds one in my room.Well as of now this is the situation back at home. I would keep you guys posted with the latest happenings.

Thats all for now.

ByeTake care...........

Do we know them ???

Friends we call them.......but are they???

Think about it........

People all around you......walking past you....... few touching your life in some way or the other.

Sometimes helping you and sometimes..............

Well......we call this our social life. But is it ??

Aren't we all alone..........basically. Trudging the long, lonely path of life. But for how long??

How long ....... thats the question.......thats mankind to us.

Will be the same to our children.........and to theirs.........and to theirs.

We never change. And history tells us that we won't do in the future too.

Ask yourself a simple question - ARE YOU HAPPY???

If you answer it from the bottom of the heart then......... maybe ............ even if a smallest part of it..........will understand ..................

......H I M .....

Time 7:00 AM - Mom Shouting " Wake up or......... !!!!"

Not a bad way to begin the week. Especially, if you know that its gonna be a long and hard one.
My classes have started in full swing. Financial concepts & jargons are thrown at us by our professor(s). (makes me feel like facing Shoaib Akhtar, without an L-guard and helmet !!!!)

Well, its time to do a bit of hard work.

My site has become a bit of drag on me as I have to still upload a lot of pics.

Will be postponing it.................for the time being.

Almost forgot !! I would like to thank everyone for wishing me on Friendship Day. Nice to feel that some friends do remmember me.

In search of TRUTH........

Aren't we all doing that. Searching for that final truth/happiness/peace/nirvana or whatever we may call it.

And I am sure most of us (that includes me too) will keep on searching for it for the rest of our lives. The reason is.........That in our quest for it......We travel far and wide. Look in seemingly impossible directions. Think about absolute worthless things. But we forget the small things in life......That matter most.

I remember this story.........I read it in one of those books on Shri Sadguru Saibaba of Shirdi.
One day when baba was sitting alone in his masjid, a man approached him. He seemed to be a very wealthy man. Baba asked him what did he want?

 The man said that he wanted to understand the meaning of infinity, space and time. And whether God really exist.

Baba said to the man " Acquiring knowldege in these subject require very high skill as one has to bring together all the FIVE sensory organs into control. One also needs to part away from this material world.

The man said that he can do it and therefore Saibaba could start teaching him.

Baba thought for a while........he replied " Yesterday when you came out of your house, there was a beggar standing in front of your door. This beggar hadn't eaten for days. He asked only for a rupee. But did you give him.........NO !  u didn't. Even though you had FIVE hundred rupees in your pocket.

One who cannot part with a single rupee.......do u think he can understand the meaning of infinity.

The man felt ashamed and left immediately.

It is not in the outside world that peace exist.........It is inside.........In ourselves.    

The last week................

My summer project got over a week before that.  
 
My final presentation went absolutely amazing. It was the best I had ever given. Only drawback was that it took a rather lengthy time (approximately one and half hrs.). My guides were rather impressed. Well now I just hope to get a good grade out of it.
 
Coming to the last week...............was rather boring. As I didn't have anything to do. Movies.............Food........Sleep..........thats all what I was doing.
 
Somehow managed to find time .................to............... upgrade my site a bit.
 
Seems to be workin fine.
 
Me more than happy to get back to college (It makes me feel younger too)................starting tommorrow. 

Refleksuns

There I was watching a movie 'Josie and the Pussy cats' in HBO. Take my word the movie sucked. The only thing that made me glued to the screen was the lead actress RACHAEL LEIGH COOK. She is so CUTE. She is so GORGEOUS. Everythin is so perfect about her. Her eyes, nose, lips (O GOD!!), I mean everything is so beautiful. She has this childish smile.....an innocent face. You can see her by clickin on this linkwww.rachaelleighcook.net

Other than that life is goin as usual. Waitin anxiously for the intership to get over so that i can again be among my buddies.

One of my very old friend Sid is in Bangalore, plannin to vist him soon. We were together in school right from the sixth grade.

At that time this guy was a big fan of Arnold Schwazenneger (I hope I spelt it right!!!). I dont remmember how many times he has watched that TerminatorII movie.

I even gave him a lifesize poster of that movie on his B'day. Afterwards I heard from him that he used to pray in front of that poster every morning (HAHAHA).

Overall he was a very nice guy to talk to. I remmember how he & I used to fight when we were in the 11th grade. Then we wouldnot speak for some days. Pallav another friend of urs used to act as the mediator (HEHE). But he was always a helpful one. Very optimistic when I was down.

After passing out from school.........we lost contact with each other. I came to Mumbai, did my graduation there. And it was only a few years ago that he mailed me. Thanx to ur school site www.dpsrkp.com.

I really miss my school days. And I really miss him a lot. I never got a friend like him again. I used to irritate him, get him into trouble, do all sorts of childish stuff, he used to mind sometimes, but never broke his friendship. For that I am greatful to him. I will always be. Because in him I found one of my finest buddy. My Best friend - SIDDHARTH RAMAN SINGH.

She changed my entire report...........

I can't believe it. I burned my ass all this time on my report and just before I am about to take the print, myFACULTYtells me to realign the entire report,change the graphs, change the font size vagerah vagerah.

This would take atleast a week to do justice to the entire mess she has made now. I feel like killing myself (No I feel like strangling her neck). Why Why this had to happen to me.

Will be now starting now to make the changes. Lets see how much time it takes.