Day 535:25th Mar, 2011 - So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Since this is going to be my last post, let me go beyond just describing my day and say a few other things I have wanted to.

2 years, 535 days. Feels like a long time, yet they breezed away like the shortest two years of my life. Sorry to make it sound like an award acceptance speech, but a big big hug and thank you to all my dear friends who made life happen here. I doubt if I'll ever go back to a place which sees so much intelligence, so much passion, so much energy.

Have now spoken the last of difficult goodbyes I had to. The last bit of uncertainty on this campus has been sealed with me finally getting a confirmed ticket, as informed by my travel agent. The last bit of essential stuff has been packed. And the last bit of some remaining fun / useful stuff has been given to my juniors.

Time for this one last post.

Good bye :-)

Day 532:22nd Mar, 2011 - Convo & INDEX room painting!

Woke up at 7.00 (just 1.5 hrs of sleep) as I had promised my parents of showing them around the campus early morning. Was definitely worth it :-) . Took them on a half-way walk around the circumference, showed them the library, PGP block, my classroom! Even got to see a couple of peacocks on our way :-)

Of course, all this took a little toll and I dozed off when I got back. Got up straight on time for the convocation. First was the batch photo session - that was when I envied the ABM batch size :-p . I hope I can manage to spot the pixel which would represent me in the (abruptly taken!) pic. Anyways, was pretty excited given that I never had a convocation for my UG. Our chief guest, Kapil Sibal, could not make it, and sent a video recorded speech instead. Our chairman, Dr. J J Irani spoke really well, on values that we need to always follow. It was indeed a proud moment for me to go up the stage and take that degree :-)

Still a little tired, came back to my room after dinner with my parents and slept off. But in an hour or so, was woken up to do the customary INDEX painting (every outgoing INDEX Core team writes the names of all members on the INDEX room wall) ... :-) :-) . Man, and then I just kept wondering how every day night suddenly becomes SO VERY AWESOME! It was SO much fun doing that painting, remembering moments that we had spent, my most cherished moments on campus with my most cherished pals. And of course, the output was as legendary as can be expected from us :D

Over a finishing chai at Fauzi, I have decided to keep myself awake for some time, so I can go and wish good bye to my parents. If I sleep now, even an earthquake won't wake me up :-p

Day 531:21st Mar, 2011

A pleasant and early wake up call from my parents and sis to indicate they had reached the city and were on their way for their first visit to my campus. Excitement at both ends :-) . Also realized Pachpan was supposed to be have been back by now. Sure enough, I found him in his usual elements in his room, uninhibited in his praise for himself for his 'packing abilities' :D 

Quickly got ready and ran down to the guest house to meet my parents. Got them settled = dumping luggage in the room, so we could go down for breakfast. Showed them the "basic utilities" of the campus - the mess, Fauzi, JustTea, GnB ; made me remember my own first day when I consciously had to try to NOT get lost :-P . Since we were supposed to have rehearsals for tomorrow's event in the afternoon, I had my parents visit around the city + shop in that time period. The rehearsals themselves were a pain, mainly because of the afternoon heat (the free tropicana didn't help much :P). Trying to 'blast' the empty tropicana packs were a lot of fun though :D

After a brief period of rest (skipping PGP day occasion), I went off with my friends to the High Tea. Had a nice time there - generally talking amongst ourselves and also meeting a lot of my friends' parents. My parents came in halfway through (chikan shopping had taken priority :-p), and then it was my turn to introduce them to my friends. Luckily, there was enough mutual consideration to ensure appropriate behaviour :D

Went back to my room but was still pretty bored. So back to Fauzi with Pachpan and Shru. And that is when one of those absolutely random things happened which would become life-long memories. Arora had his car, and along with Buddhi and Kisaan in full flow, we went for a drive. An awesome drive, going to random places in the city (including DM Sahab's ghar), with Arora engaging in absolutely random but highly entertaining conversations with people. Of course, a special appreciation for his one-track mind :D. At one point, we were just 4 seconds away from consciously driving down a flight of stairs :-p . We came back for yet another round of the campus, even stopping to get pics clicked in front of our Diro's residence! Also saw for the first time Bodhigraha-2, the extension of the existing PGP block. Seems well made. A place that will soon beckon a lot many students in the coming years.

One of the craziest nights I have had in helL!

Day 530:20th Mar, 2011 - Guess whoz back \m/

Back after an awesome trip to Sikkim, and a (mandatory) impromptu deviation to include Bhutan, thus ensuring my first foreign trip :D . In keeping with the mandate of this blog, won't talk about that trip here though.

One thing is for sure though - wherever you go, nothing like home. And for now, no home like helL. Made our way back to the campus at 8am. After a little email and facebooking, I went off to get some breakfast, trying to stay away from all the pakka colors being used in the Holi celebrations. Of course, didn't manage to do that entirely, and consequently was forced into having a nice early oil bath. All this ensured a nice little afternoon siesta to get me kick-started.

Although I didn't really get what the kick-start was for. Most of my friends still weren't on campus and I mainly stuck to downloading stuff from DC and watching Heroes. No dinner in the mess today, and unfortunately all PGP2 bikes had been packed and sent off. Big bonanza day for Dominoes, including some little contribution from us. MadMan, Shomo, Bala and me had a pizza treat and a random discussion.

Met up with Kisaan at night. Made a visit to Gupta to compensate for the lack of night mess. And then, a little more Heroes to end the day.

Day 501:6th Feb, 2011

Today somehow seems to have become a day of self promotion. Now that I had finished 500 posts, it was time to give some publicity to the effort :P . And there went my blog URL on facebook :-) . Actually, apart from the publicity which I gladly welcome, a major intention was to give my batchmates a peek into the past. Although I write very specifically about my point of view, I am sure a large number of elements would be common to most of us.

Without putting in too much effort, I finished the application the way I had answers yesterday. Seems to be some issues with the assessment though - it never loaded for me! Got to look into that.

By now, most of us have been extremely poverty stricken. In these desperate times, visits to the mess have increased. Including for Sunday dinners! :-( . Guess it's time for one last major funding rescue call to home. And now, after one 'reflective' walk around the campus, it's time to have one look at what to do for all the pending presentations. I have given my laptop to Pachpan and asked him to take it to the library so I can come there and work. In a weird way, I suddenly feel free from all digital shackles. Guess.. on second thought, may be I'll push the project work for tomorrow :P . Will tuck myself into bed now. tada!

PS: I was also the Etrigan topper today ;-)

Day 499:4th Feb, 2011

Woah! Seems like someone forgot to tell the fog that winter's over! I woke up pretty early today, at 6.30am the first time. As I stepped out of my room, I saw that the dense blanket of morning fog is back. I hope it does not bring along it's friend - Mr. Cold.

Had made a lot of plans yesterday on what to do today. But eventually, the first thing I did with the extra morning time (apart from breakfast :D) was finish season 1 of Heroes :-S .Couldn't help it, but at least now there is some closure on that front (pls God, don't make me start season 2).

Spent the early part of the evening doing some pending INDEX work. Post that I had one company application which I wanted to finish - 3 HR questions for a major FMCG company. But I had already missed gym since two days, and for sure I knew if I skipped it today, I'll fall out of the habit. And thus the choice was made - I even added a complimentary run around the campus to make up :P

Post (yet another) dinner at Fauzi, my room was raided by INDEX juniors trying to reconcile accounts :D. Now now, that part is going to be fun for them :-P . I have a report to make by tomorrow noon, analyzing the leadership styles of 2 people from the industry. Still deciding whom to choose so I can make optimum use of resources ;-) . Add to that I am feeling all tired and sleepy... may be ... tomorrow morning...

Day 497:2nd Feb, 2011

The barrage of quizzes and projects are here, for one final time. Had 2 quizzes today morning. PM was fine, but as feared yesterday, I had to pay the price for sleeping during yesterday's QAF crash course :(

Kisaan's lying-on-the-bed-full-time-watching-sitcoms fever seems to be rubbing on me. Having bunked my FRA class (optimising available bunks :P), I had way too much time in the afternoon. And I suddenly started not one, but two new series! Two and a Half Men, of which I saw one episode and Heroes, of which I saw 8 episodes! The latter one is gripping! Even skipped gym because of that (though had a brisk walk along the campus after snacks).

After a long time, went to Brij for dinner. One place where the food is consistently simple and good! Felt really sleepy after that heavy meal, but I had a KT session with the juniors. That ran pretty much into the night, around 3.45. And now, another episode of Heroes later, I think I'll call it quits for today.

Day 487:23rd Jan, 2011 - A Tick on my Checklist :)

So finally another tick on my long-term checklist. I wanted to make myself marathon-capable in these 2 years. Am nowhere close to that, but at least in the past one week, I have made myself capable of running some respectable distance. Today I finished the 8km run successfully. First time I realized and felt how a change in conditions can affect performance. In campus, I trained in the late evenings, when it was quite cold. Today though, the run was at 9am, and the sun was out and bright! And man, does that sap energy or what! But anyways, I am happy. I was only competing with myself ... and I won :-)

Was dead tired after all that. But somehow managed to stay awake. In fact I even attended a ppt for a GM profile from an energy major, which was looking forward to hiring from B-school campuses for the first time. Most noteworthy about that presentation was the presenter ;-)

Didn't have anything to do post that. Met Chatur during snacks and then spent some time watching the informalz. The arm wrestling match between the ladies was super tp :D . It almost always never reached towards a result. Either all girls are equally very strong or equally very weak. (Am not passing any judgement :P). And of course, I would like to remember the one microsecond worth sneak-peek memory that I got in between.

Evening was Bollywood Nite with the famous music duo of Salim Sulaimnan giving music to a scintillating (and raunchy) performance by Neha Bhasin (of Apple Bottoms fame). This was then followed by the (rebellious) party, with drinks NOT being served at the party ;-) . The party was awesome. I tried not to exert my super tired legs, and for a good one hour sat on the stage, using only my upper body for any dancing activity. But couldn't resist the high-energy atmosphere much. I went back to my room, got the red devil horns and the Caribbean cap, and there I was - scorching the dance floor with my moves :D . Both the props turned out to be super hits, with almost everyone borrowing them, eventually even breaking the horns. But I guess it served its purpose well :)

Post some 'conflict resolution', Pachpan, Kisaan (in the angry young man mode), GD, QuizChamp and myself spent some time at Fauzi, generally chatting away. Back to my room and it's almost 5.30am now. My body's seems to be absolutely broken :) . Lets see what happens tomorrow :D

Day 486:22nd Jan, 2011

Just like last year, we had an awesome time with INDEX alums this time too. In fact, this year we even had INDEX super seniors from '05, '06, '07 batches, including one legendary guy who comes down every year :-) . Good timepass in the INDEX room, followed by some more timepass at Just Tea followed by a walk around the campus :-) . And exactly as I felt last year, once an INDEXian, always an INDEXian! :-)

BTW, we had the Swedish band Pain of Salvation performing tonight. One helluva show that!

PS: It's 2.30am. My feet are still aching from my day before yesterday's 4-rounds-of-the-campus stunt. I just hope I do manage to wake up on time :) . Can't let the week-long dedicated practice just go waste right?

Day 458:25th Dec, 2010

Merry Christmas!

If Santa were to give gifts to people of IIM L, he would rather walk in during morning rather than late night :-p . Woke up real late today - 12.30 in the noon. No real surprise there though considering the time when I slept. Over lunch with Kisaan and Chatur, made strong plans to go for a city tour, which immediately post-lunch weakened mainly due to the laziness of others :( . Substituted that with the movie 'Eurotrip' - that typical movie which depends on hyperbole for the comedy quotient. Timepass watch though.

Went on a little walk around the campus. Felt nice doing some "activity" in an otherwise docile existence. Came back to my room to introduce the topper to my latest addiction - Dexter. An hour later, we and TG went for the consult session taken by our PPO boys - pretty good session, those guys had prepared well.

Ending the day with plans to go for the most elusive Taj breakfast!

Day 379: 1st Oct, 2010

Had a looooooooooooong INDEX meeting. Went in between for Ghate's birthday. One of the strategies of avoiding the pain of bumps is to gulp down a couple of drinks before you come :D. But the poor guy got hit so much, definitely "saale ki toh utar gayi hogi" :D . Strategy #fail. Rejoined the meeting which eventually went on till 5.30 in the morning :-| . MMR set a record of sorts by not sleeping a wink through those 7 hours :D

I thought it would be a good idea to follow it up with a morning walk. None of the other sleepy heads subscribed to it, but I am glad I went anyway. For all you readers, a morning walk around the campus is highly recommended! I have said this before and will definitely keep saying this - our campus is really awesome! It was that proper setting which you see in movies and read in books. Dew drops glistening in the first rays of the sun, to wake you up. A serene orange halo around the rising sun, embracing you gently with its warmth. Birds singing a melody which makes you think they are greeting all of nature as they wake up. Bliss.

And now, off to sleep. 06:30 hours :)

Day 357: 9th Sep, 2010

Back on campus! Surely an achievement considering Kingfisher's consistent attempts to not let that happen. 

First they cancelled my flight. After some pestering, they gave me an alternate flight. When I called yesterday to confirm my flight details, I was abruptly told that I HAD MISSED THE FLIGHT! Turned out someone at their end had wrongly rescheduled me to an earlier date. But all this came out after 4 hours of going back and forth. And then they told me that the flight which I had originally asked for was full! :-S . 

This happened at 01:30 hours, when my flight was scheduled for 08:05 hours (factor in reaching an hour prior to departure, and of course the additional 1 hour travel time!). And then in the morning when I called up again at 06:15, they said they had accommodated me in some 07:15 flight :-| . Another 30 minutes of argument. Finally got a confirmation in the 08:50 flight (08:05 running late).

Phew! Feeling vindicated to be back to helL! Am a little unwell with all the travel, and weather. Will retire early - one huge slumber dose to compensate for late nights ahead :D

PS: Awesome choco la choclate at the Delhi airport! Bought by a ..psst.. it's a secret! (And NOT what you think! :P)

Day 341: 17th Aug, 2010

Finally ... Win 7... and that too a licensed ULTIMATE! edition!! Yeyyyyyyy!!

Rained like crazy for two hours today! Full flooding in the area near GnB, thanks to the construction work and the awesome drainage system :-p . Consequently, myself and pachpan found ourselves in a starvation crisis as no body was reachable to place orders... until an angel came along with a flask full of hot tea. Came to know he was from Just Tea - another entrepreneurial venture on campus. The nice fellow even took an additional order and delivered it within 15 minutes - super!

The campus looks super green and beautiful though :)

Day 301: 7th Jul, 2010

Here comes again the season of genocide. A billion weird looking, winged irritating creatures have descended on the campus. And for some reason, half of them have decided to make my room their abode. So there I was, armed with a folded newspaper as the danger weapon, murdering those undesirable elements in cold blood. Well, at least the newspapers are useful in some manner :-p

Bunked the two morning classes to go to the city. Lots of waiting and then finally no meeting!

We released the shortlist for the 2nd round of INDEX recruitment. Called them to the Convocation stage. Alloted them mentors, tasks. Lets see who lasts :-)

Day 299: 5th Jul, 2010

I had subscribed to the assumption that the mess has some sort of hidden under-the-table contract with Guptaji - the juice wala. The food has been so bad on quite a few occasions that it has kinda become mandatory to gulp down a milkshake with every meal. Now of course, the mess has done a smart thing - they are offering the milkshakes themselves! (at an additional cost of course :P). Jokes apart (though not too much of a joke), something seriously needs to be done about the mess. Under mysterious circumstances, they even took off the popular items like maggi (during snacks).

Hectic day academically. Had to review 12 articles for our RM prof. Had to search for another 3-4 articles for our ConB prof. Argghh!! We have access to a whole bunch of good databases from our library, but still found that it took ages!

The best part of today was however the last part of the day. Me, pachpan and kisaan riding triples on my bike - headlights not working - and going for a purposeless round around the campus :D

Day 272: 8th Jun, 2010

Yoooooooooooooo!! 

And here I am ! Back to the campus and this blog after a brief hiatus - my internship! I spent the last 2 months in Bombay - had an absolutely wonderful time back there. Got to catch up with quite a lot of friends too. Though not much of anything since my internship itself turned out to be ultra hectic.

Anyways, true to the nature of this blog, I'll come back to my campus narrations. 

One of the primal instincts of the human mind is to compare. And there I was, thinking about how different things were just one year back. I remember being curious and apprehensive. I remember trying to spot for someone heading to IIM L so I could share a cab. I remember the dry hot dust laden winds that slapped my face with tenacious regularity. And today, there were so many familiar faces that we could share not just the taxi fare, but also the extra baggage amongst us! Why, last year, I even remember getting lost at a place that I can surely walk even blindfolded now! And to top it all, I even guided a first year prep course student around the campus :P . Funny sometimes the way events fold up!

Came to my new room. Threw a pretty good first impression space wise (again a huge deviation from last year!). But (there is always a 'but'), unfortunately, the cleaners had all left and my room does not have even a square millimeter of space which is free from dust! Have just dumped my luggage here. Will unpack tomorrow once I get it cleaned.

Also made multiple trips to my old room to collect my stuff. With even more stopovers at Gupta - consuming a huge number of Shikanjis (just remembered I didn't even know what this word meant a year back!). Half my stuff is in my new room now. Got bored. Also went to the INDEX room. Looks like an absolute extension to my own dust covered room!

Even managed to have a small debate with the Airtel guys in the midst of all this. The funny chaps there had, for some reason, still kept my incoming calls barred. (some stolen identity jhol had happened during my internship - never mind that now). The helpline (the number which I got only after 3 attempts) guy initially said he will 'note' my complaint and an airtel executive will contact me in '6 days'! How is that happening at all ?! Made him transfer the call to his supervisor. I explain the situation and the job gets done in 2min !

Had to make arrangements to sleep (my bed was totally dust covered!). The mattress from last year to the rescue. Have put it over my bed right now. Good idea that one.

Anyways, registration tomorrow. And am damn tired and sleepy. Adios ppl. Cya around!

Day 235: 24th Feb, 2010 - One thing ends, another begins

Wayyyyyyyyyy too many lectures today. Right from morning 9 to evening 6 ... :-(

This was offset by the hysteria that gripped IIM Lucknow mess today - for Sachin's record breaking 200 moment! Starts right from when Dhoni hits a six.. only to be greeted by chants of 'Dhoni.. hai hai' cos the junta didn't want any random sixes - they just wanted the record to be broken. I vividly remember 1st yrs running to the mess after their lectures. All second years having their last exam at that time entered the exam hall 30min late, as they absolutely did not want to miss this moment of history.

Also a very memorable day for a more important reason.. the official farewell for our INDEX seniors. First we gave them a dinner treat at Naush - all of us travelled by a car/cab for the 1st time since our Induction day (mainly 'cos Praveen sold his bike to buy a DSLR (to take pics of .. ahem.. :P)) (nested parentheses are interesting, no?). Pachpan ka dharm bhrasht ho gaya :D with his 'accidental' sip of 'orange juice' :D . And from here it was finally time for the much awaited Tila. Got to hear Praveen's LEGENDARY stories! :D And a lot of other things too. We gave the seniors their gifts..I hope they liked it!

It's funny sometimes how in one small fleeting moment you realise suddenly that things have come a full circle. The journey for our seniors ended at the exact same spot where our journey started. I can sense the way the passion for INDEX has grown over us in this one year and at this moment, I am not sure if I can do justice in guessing the amount of passion that they have for INDEX. Time flies anyways, and very soon, I shall know the answer. 

Three cheers for INDEX! Hip Hip Hurray!

Day 201: 21st Jan, 2010 - Zero Visibility!

Unlike yesterday, lots of classes today. Half the MIS class was spent in random gyaan. Passed the remaining lecture hours with Kane and Abel.

Immediately after class, had to leave for some urgent work - going to a couple of schools and handing over their trophies. (Riza chickened out because of the lathi charge rumour :-p). Didn't even have lunch.

Had the INDEX meeting with seniors - a small doubt clearing session sorta thing. Some useful points there. Worked a bit on a collage for the NB. But then Ops Guru called me to SC's room to tally some transactions. Got a bit delayed in attending Manfest 2010's cake cutting ceremony. Missed the cake!

It's zero visibility state on campus! Impossible to see anything/anyONE even a few metres away! and nobody on campus needs a cigarette to smoke :D