Aarambh hai Prachand …
Yes, we are truly amazed and are still in awe by what we
experienced during the first 5 days at Hel(L)..i.e, IIM L
- Group Discussions and Brainstorming sessions being held at
11:00 at night.. - Skits being on ‘Role Play’ themes at 1:00 at night..
- Finance sessions at 2:00 at night..
- Resume submissions at 6:00 AM in the morning…
But yes, finally, to put it a bit mildly in “Oracle’s” words:
“Everything that has a beginning has an End…Neo…”
The same dreaded Devil’s Advocates ( pgp 2nd yrites ) transformed
into Charlie’s Angels.. The same Hitlers from the Hell became your
“friendly neighbourhood pokemons” ..
And the same dreaded campus roads that were getting irrigated by
our gory blood, got drenched by the sweet showers of Vodka n Whisky..
And then, it happened….on 27th June…
The first IIML insti party for pgp25 …
The blaring bhangda + trance + bollywood + hard rock numbers
rocked the crowd and we danced like ‘there is no tomorrow….’
Our spirits, that had been down since the last 5 days, got the highly
needed shot in the arm.. thanks to the free flowing Spirits…
The icing on the cake was perhaps the playing of ‘GMD’ and ‘Sutta’ songs
that marked the height of magnanimity…
And then, heavily ‘Spirited’, when I finally came back to my room,
I realized that the ‘run’ had begun…. And pat came these lines in my mind…
” I found Heaven in Hel(L) .. i found Hel(L) in Heaven…
And i found Angels dancing around, after peg number Seven..
5 days of ordeal, the Lions ready to Raven ..
Tht’s the beauty of our batch, the batch of 2011.. “
Drip… Plop… Splash…
We are midway into July. Well thats what the calendar on my laptop tells me. The meterological department uses stochastic processes and complex calculus models to come up with a monsoon window for the year. And nature gives a big fart !
Sitting in Tandoor no 1279 (I mean room no 1279), I look out of the window yearning for precipitation. And my call is answered. Drip…Drip…Drip… I take out my handkerchief and wipe the precipitation off my brow. So much for “bhagwan meri ichha poori kar do”. The thing about monsoons is, like an infatuated lover, it is a medley of emotions – melancholy, lust, euphoria, wist, jealousy, romance… You miss the wet smell of the earth only when the arid gust singes ur nostrils. Over and over. Rain is conspicuous by its absence. Oxymoron, mother nature ?
So as I trudge along for my daily rigmarole, across the endless stretch of football grounds, dragging a constantly resisting torso and forcing the soporific limbs to stay put, I look upwards and try to spot a dark nimbus. That water balloon which will burst any moment and bedraggle me till I sneeze at the rate of 30 per minute. And I am greeted with piercing rays of sunshine which seem to jibe at me. An aeroplane shoots overhead, carrying gleeful passengers away from this dreadful kiln. What if someone throws a fistful of silver iodide into the clouds ? Isnt that supposed to be a seeding agent which expedites rainfall ? Well if ifs and buts were pots and pans, there would be no tinkers, eh Mr.Sidhu ?
Umeed pe duniya kayam hai. My foot. This was probably coined by someone residing in the rainforests of the Amazon. A month in Tandoor No.1279 will dispel all notions of those virtues called patience, poise, rationality, optimism… I look out of the window yearning for precipitation. And my call is answered.
Drip…Drip…Drip…
Hell breaks loose…
Its 23rd June. 8-30 am. A sea of humanity has gathered outside Samanjasya waiting for the inaugural address. The gamut of emotions is a sight to behold : Angst, Ecstasy, Excitement, Jitter, Skepticism, Zeal… There’s a buzz about the place. A common thought fills the minds of all- What now ???
Everyone is ushered into the hall and the cool ambience inside is a welcome relief from the barbequish temperatures outside. Then began a 19 hour ordeal which infused us with the sort of exuberance which will set the tone for the next 22 months. Well, I wont delve into the rigmarole of the thrill-a-minute Day1 of Induction 2009. But I cant leave out on the highlights as well. Here goes:
Director’s Address: Mr. Devi Singh held the audience rapt with his amazing and highly inspiring address. Each one of us was welcomed into the IIM Lucknow family with the ardour of a doting father. We took the pledge, promising our alma mater to abide by its code of conduct and preserve the sanctity of its yore with our impeccable demeanour. Each of us was filled with euphoria coupled with pride at being a part of this prestigious institute.
Ice Breaking Session : For a batch of close to 400 students, this is one activity which is sine qua non. Although we were divided into 6 sections, nevertheless here was an opporunity to know closely each other inside out. There was a deluge of information and trivia about each one of us with a central theme. Although not many of us can claim to remember an iota of what was shared (the name/face combination would suffice for the time being), the amount of energy filling the room was stupendous. A sign of times to come ?
Seniors take over : By this time, the seniors were itching to have a rendezvous with their beloved juniors. And as expected, there was a smattering of badinage which garnished their confabulations. They organised some very creative activities, which would give us a taste of things to expect, and also to create a fun-filled atmosphere where the juniors celebrated with abandonment. And to top it up, there was a special composition to commemorate the 25th batch at hell, our very own campus song !!!
Midnight session @ Hostel : And finally we all gathered outside our respective hostels to bond with our seniors who are gonna be our inmates for the next year. Amidst chips and cola, the atmosphere was electric with jokes, songs, dance, leg-pulling (by seniors), and a motley of entertaining stuff. Those of us who had harboured thoughts of catching few winks were in for a better experience. The day begins at night they said. And we experienced it first hand. Chants of H12 H12 resonated throughout the corridors. And finally the day (????) ended @ 3 am.
So much for the 1st day at hell. Morning 6 am @ the mess for the solidarity march. Red eyes, swollen lids, dark circles. Is this de riguer now ???
On the Eve of 22nd June, 2009!
IIM Lucknow: Class of 2011 has ARRIVED!
I haven’t written much here, of late. In fact I haven’t written much on TalkingTails either. I guess I am going through this phase when I am thinking – like almost each of us 330-odd men and women who are here and are looking forward to an enriching 2 years (pun intended on “enriching!” ;)).
I have been here for 2 days (just under 48 hours) – it is 4 Am in the morning and we have just returned from a “gyaan” session from the seniors at Hostel 14 where I have been allocated a room. The good thing about being among SMART people is that, well, the fact that they are SMART! – I have met some of my batchmates at IIM L (who are absolutely amazing people) – and I am yet to meet most (and I am pretty sure they will bo no less!).
Each of us is here for a reason – Jobs, Money, Brand name .. or … as one of my friends put it.. Knowledge! 🙂 – The other good hting about being among SMART people is the fact that you become competitive .. and YET.. understand tha maxim behind “Co-operate to Dominate”.
As I pen down my last, in what has been a long day (I wouldn’t say tiring though!), I look forward to the things that await us:
- Will the Silver Jubilee anniversery CHANGE the way India (& the world) looks ta IIM L?
- Will PGP 25 be the BEST Batch IIM L has ever seen?
- Will IIM L be ranked #1 in B-school rankings next year?
- Will “HeLL-Talk” become IIM L’s Official Student-run Blog?
- Will I make friendships that will last me a lifetime?
- Will some of us go on to “change the way the world works?”
- Will our batch produce the most amazing entreprenuers for the world?
- Will we be a FORCE to reckon with wherever we go?
- Will we get the expected “ROI” (Whatever that might mean to different people!) in 2 years’ time?
Perseverance
There have been some great people around us and in history of mankind so far. And we often wonder what goes to make a person great. Different people put different qualities in the list of greatness, some say it is intelligency, some vouch for hardwork, some say leadership or oratorship and many more. The list is endless, but one characteristic that stands out for me is ‘Perseverance‘.
You got be tough, hard like a rock, not physically but somewhere within. A Boxer with a solid well build body but with no perseverance is more likely to loose. A Champion is like Rocky balboa who is down but not out. So this triggered my thoughts and I wrote a few lines which are here for you.
Virus warning…
If you receive an email entitled “Badtimes” delete it immediately. Do not open it!
It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on disks within 20 feet of your computer.
It demagnetises the stripes on ALL of your credit cards.
It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD’s you attempt to play.
It will re-calibrate your refrigerator’s coolness settings so all your ice cream melts and your milk curdles.
It will program your phone autodial to call only your mother-in-law’s number.
It will drink all your beer.
It will leave dirty socks on the coffee table when you are expecting company.
Its radioactive emissions will cause your toe jam and bellybutton fuzz (be honest, you have some) to migrate behind your ears.
It will cause you to run with scissors and throw things in a way that is only fun until someone loses an eye.
It will give you Dutch Elm Disease and Tinea.
It will rewrite your backup files, changing all your active verbs to passive tense and incorporating undetectable misspellings which grossly change the interpretations of key sentences.
If the “Badtimes” message is opened in a Windows Vista environment, it will leave the toilet seat up and leave your hair dryer plugged in dangerously close to a full bathtub.
It will molecularly rearrange your cologne or perfume, causing it to smell like dill pickles.
It is insidious and subtle. It is dangerous and terrifying to behold. It is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.
These are just a few signs of infection…
And then there was GOD…
“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm – Winston Churchill”
This is one proverb which is ironical in its inception, but is every bit the mantra which keeps champions ticking in the face of failure.
7th June, 2009. An ordinary date in the life of 6,706,993,151 people on this planet, (July 2008 estimate of 6,706,993,152), save for those with birthdays and other such eventualities. But for one man, it was a day which could see him transcend mortal achievements for empyrean splendour. The day which would herald the greatest player of all time.(Even though this was a foregone conclusion in my mind, but then who am I to conclude anything ? Just another diehard Federer fan!!!)
There is more than meets the eye to this all important victory at Roland Garros for Federer. For those statistically inclined:
-This is his 14th Grand Slam in 19 finals (equalling Pete Sampras)
-He becomes the 6th man to complete a career slam.
-He set the record for appearing in 20 consecutive slam semi-finals since Wimbledon 2004.
-He is only the 2nd player (after Andre Agassi) to win slams on all 3 surfaces. (Earlier, Australian and US Opens were played on grass)
-He is the first player to win after losing 3 consecutive finals in a grand slam. (Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon 2001 after losing 3 finals, but not consecutive though)
-He is only the second player (after Bjorn Borg) to appear in 4 consecutive French and Wimbledon finals in the same years.
But behind these awesome statistics, which many in tennis don’t have the privilege to even dream of, lays an intriguing story. When you scratch beneath the exterior, you reveal the deluge of emotions and happenstances which have gone into the making of the champion. It was supposed to be a stroll in the park for one of the best exponents of serve and volley who could find the line like an eagle finds its prey from an altitude of 10000 feet. 2004 marked the beginning of complete dominance and Federer dreamt of completing the slam in 2004 itself when he won 3 of the 4 slams (a feat which he has achieved thrice). He started top seed in the event but lost in the 3rd round to Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten. But there were no alarm bells. After all he was no.1 and in his prime. He went on to win Wimbledon and US but lost 2005 Australian open semis to eventual winner Marat Safin. That was the last time anyone other than the current top 3(Nadal, Federer, Djokovic) won a grand slam. The year 2005 saw the entry of a Spanish bull into the Slam arena. Federer was looking good after 2 masters’ titles and entered the French open as favourite again. But ran into his eventual nemesis in the semi-finals. The rest (till 2009) is history.
For a person who considers himself as the best of the contemporary lot (Federer has unabashedly mentioned this in interviews) finishing 2nd to a player who doesn’t have the best of serves, doesn’t have a serve and volley, doesn’t play the backhand dropshot with the precision that Federer plays, was an enigma to himself. How could he, who had played with such finesse and artistry that he was hailed as the best by the previous best, not find a way past a teenager who had a game suited for clay more than any other surface? And then began the quest for soul searching. Year after year, match after match, championship after championship. While Federer broke all the records there were along the way, he simply couldn’t find a matchpoint against Nadal. Now he could go on to be the best player of all times even without the French Open in his kitty. He still has 3-4 years of slam quality tennis in him and Nadal has still to come to terms with the grass of Wimbledon and the hard surface at Flushing Meadows. But more than anything else, it was his own scruples that needed to be silenced. He had to prove to himself, more than anyone else, that he is the GOD of this game. That’s the hallmark of a perfectionist. They simply don’t like the slightest of crease in their shirt.
Well, the churlish may still say that Federer won the French without Rafa on the other side of the net. And Rafa won Wimbledon (beating Federer) before Federer won the French (against an opponent whom he has beaten on 9 previous occasions). But then as Albert Einstein has said “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” Those who understand tennis know what this victory signifies.
It signifies the triumph of human willpower over defying circumstances.
It signifies the enduring qualities of a true champion which need to surface time and again to triumph over adversities.
It signifies the short-sightedness of self proclaimed pundits, who in their haste to pass their ingenious verdicts, fail to account for the potential of champions to create magic.
It signifies the greatness of Federer, who despite all his achievements has still remained the ever dignified, serene and charismatic ambassador of his sport.
Above all, it signifies that a champion still needs to prove himself time and again in this age of globalised events. It is not enough to sit back on laurels, it is important to keep striving and setting newer dimensions of greatness which become harder for rivals to surpass.
It would be foolish to assume that Federer needs to be told any of the above. The master has always set new benchmarks for himself and has maintained a great work ethic. His passion for excellence and perfection makes him an ideal role model. And the amount of records he has made his own speak volumes of his achievements, which have been an outcome of his consistency over the past 5 years. Maybe someday there will rise a new champion who will outclass Federer (I like joking sometimes). Maybe it might even be Nadal who will be that champion (ok, 2 jokes in a row). Stranger things have happened in Tennis, like all other sports, and will continue to happen.
But for now, and the remaining years of his life, Federer can be at peace with himself. The man has once again achieved the pinnacle of excellence in the sport. He has dispelled, I should type DISPELLED, the myths about the waning of his prodigious skills in an emphatic fashion. It is now purely a matter of academic interest how many slams he goes on to make his own (my prediction is 20).
No.14 achieved… Roland Garros conquered… Critics answered… Scruples silenced… Rafa benumbed… And GOD lived happily ever after !!!
“Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments – Henry Ward Beecher”
Stuart Broad and England – take a bow :)
It’s got to take ineptitude of the highest magnitude to miss around 10 runouts,half a dozen catches, still be in contention on the last ball of the match, then literally have the match in your hand before losing to a minnow nation!. Yes,England had the match quite literally in their hands when Stuart Broad made a good stop just as the batsmen were scampering across for a single.Surely a super over would have seen things go England’s way.The sensible thing would have been to keep the ball in his hands or lob it to the fielder backing up.
But in a moment of harakiri that would do the Kolkatta Knight Riders of IPL2009 proud , Stuart Broad decided that he would aim at the stumps, not a very wise decision considering he had missed just about each time he had tried the same that over. The Dutch batsmen were to run a overthrow and create history.
It is not every time that cricket matches provide comic relief. England were determined to provide some today,certainly in the last five odd overs atleast. Certainly made the decision to switch channels halfway through the match,and watch what was supposed to be an out and out one sided match, a worthwhile one 🙂
P.S: All credit though to the Dutch team to take advantage of England’s comic ineptness.
Leadership – Lagaan Ishtyle
The 70 mm celluloid has always been synonymous with entertainment, form and content notwithstanding. More often than not, the 140-150 minute saga is disparate from reality in its portrayal. However, every once in a while comes a movie, which encompasses a spectrum of situations handpicked straight from reality. Here I analyze the bollywood blockbuster of 2001 and the magnificently scripted story of the underdog victory – “Lagaan”.
Lagaan has a perfect concoction for success: 1) Cricket, our national passion 2) Our combined hatred for the British Raj. The entire story is built around this small village in the remote Kutch area of Gujarat. Small time farmers awaiting the perennially moody monsoon get the shock of their life when the Britishers impose a double tax on them .The story leads to a twist of events where the Britishers throw a challenge saying that the tax or Lagaan will be exempted for the next three years if the villagers beat them in a game of cricket.
And more than anything else it is the story of a single person’s spirit of daring, his inspiring conviction that touches the souls of his fellowmen and the raw energy of human will power defying all odds.
It is a story of true Leadership.
->Opportunity from nowhere-
Bhuvan, is a young village lad who accepts the challenge to beat the British in a game that he knows nothing of. He is aware of the leviathan nature of the task, he understands the implications of it and more than anything else he knows that hundreds of lives are dependent on this one decision. (This is exactly the kind of scenario a leader faces every now and then)
But he, in the darkness of it all, spots a ray of hope, a strong belief that this is the idea whose time has come… He identifies an opportunity. An opportunity to turn the tables on their masters. An opportunity to salvage their produce. An opportunity to recover the lost ground under this unjust Raj. But more than anything else, an opportunity to reinstate the self-belief, which was once deeply rooted in these parts.
->Risk analysis
One of the intense moments of the film revolves around the scene when the egoistic British officer, out of shear arrogance, throws a challenge to the villagers to beat them in a cricket match and the manner in which Bhuvan constructs the deal was much more than an impulsive reaction. He maintains a stony silence, pricking the ego of the Britisher, resulting in increasing the attractiveness of the proposition. A display of an acumen that would humble the sharpest of brains.
->Nurturing and selling the dream
Then comes the most difficult part, selling the dream…instilling passion in people that it will work, dealing with their fears and handling anger. Bhuvan does it beautifully in the movie, by demonstrating the game and drawing an analogy with the local game of Gulli-Danda, which makes it easier for them to understand. He slowly instills the confidence in them that the goal is achievable. He gives them a larger goal and purpose by raising the game from being a simple sport to the battle of life.
->Building a winning team
The movie captures very comically the manner in which the hero spots the talent and builds the team. There is the village drum-beater who is chosen because of his tremendous strength, the farmer who has developed the skill of the perfect throw in the process of doing it in his farm, a guy who breeds poultry has developed the art of catching and fielding a.k.a. Jonty Rhodes and the physically challenged who can spin the ball in a manner that could put Shane Warne to shame.
->Managing Conflict
As the team starts working, there are conflicts of interest, wherein one of the characters turns traitor. Bhuvan, despite suffering the damage and against the wishes of the other team players, reposes faith in him and brings a turnaround in him leading to a prolific contribution from him for the cause of the team. Similarly, when Bhuvan spots a talent in a village outcaste and inducts him into the team, the entire team threatens to withdraw. Bhuvan, with his lucid arguments, appeals to the basic philosophy of coexistence and manages to convince everyone, resulting in a reinvigorated team.
->Mission (im)possible
It is indeed the team effort that generates results, but it is the leader of the team who determines the ‘possibility’ and ‘impossibility’ of the outcome. A leader is someone who the team looks upto when faced with perils unprecedented. And the leader is almost always expected to come up with an ingenuity and succeed against all odds. Didn’t we experience that in Lagaan?
ICC World T20 Preview and Predictions
The IPL just drew to a close a week back and we already have teams warming up for the ICC World Twenty20. T20 overkill?.Maybe, but the good thing is we don’t get to see too much of international T20( as opposed to franchise/club based T20), so that way there’s a bit of newness, unlike the 50 over World Cup and ODI cricket, where the same teams which just went head to head in an ODI series a few months back meet all over again. Ofcourse having a World Twenty20 virtually every year(the Chamipons trophy scheduled for 2010 was replaced by a World T20) IS overkill, then again ICC and cricket administartors across the globe have never let such concerns get in the way of money-making!
Lets take a look at the groupings: Group C is obviously the toughest of the lot, with three of the top 8 test playing nations in it!. The groupings imply that Bangaladesh is almost sure to make the Super 8’s while one of Australia,Sri Lanka,West Indies miss out!. And based on the seedings and the groupings in the Super 8, only two of Australia, South Africa and India will make it to the semi finals!. One would reckon these three to be the favourties, but the quirks of the groupings mean that one of them would be knocked out before the semis!
Now for how the main contenders stack up:
India: Great batting line up. Form of Bowlers a worry although talent isn’t lacking.(Prediction:Should make the semis atleast)
Australia: They virtually go in with their ODI lineup. No place for Hodge who had a great IPL or for some of the other young Australians who took part. Mitchell Johnson,Brett Lee and Bracken make a great bowling lineup although they lack a quality spinner, which may just prove crucial. How good their openers in Warner and Marsh perform and set a platform for their quality middle order may determine how the Aussies do in crucial matches. They can’t afford a slow start like last time though, with SL and Windies in their group.(Prediction: They’ll make the semis)
South Africa: Like Australia, pretty similar to their ODI and test teams. Yusuf Abdulla and Roelof Van Der Merwe the only two relatively new faces(Not so new if you consider the IPL). Graaeme Smith has not been in great form though and Gibbs form has been inconsistent as always. Their bowlers did not play too much of a part in the IPL, being benched for most of their matches. It could work eitherways-either they could be rusty or be fresh and raring to go.(Prediction:May be knocked out in the Super 8’s)
England– The hosts have never had a great run in recent ICC events and their fortune is not helped by drawing India,Australia and South Africa( assuming the three qualify) in the same group of theirs in the Super 8’s. (Prediction: almost sure to be knocked out in the Super 8’s)
Pakistan: They haven’t played too much cricket in recent times, have they?. . Some new names in there, in addition to the likes of Sohail Tanvir,Misbah and Shoaib Malik. Shoaib Akthar though won’t be around
(Prediction: Should probably make the semis. Given their inconsistency, you never know)
Bangladesh: Courtesy a easy draw, they will make the Super 8’s. Not beyond.
West Indies: They have the talent no doubt. Chris Gayle can be devastating at the top, Fidel Edwards was brilliant in the few matches he played in the IPL, then there is Bravo and ChanderPaul who can finish matches when it comes to critical sitautions. Yet they were just whitewashed in both the tests and the ODI’s v/s England. If they can get it together as a team, they may cause a few upsets( Prediction: May make the Super 8’s beating Sri Lanka. May falter before the semis).
Sri Lanka: A couple of new names in the squad but they still have the old warhorses in Jayasurya and Murali and a brilliant fast bowler in Malinga. Dilshan was in awesome from in the IPL while Jayawardene did not too bad either. Mendis seems to have lost a bit of the mystery about him, and it’s possible batsment across the World may have figured him out. They have a tough group though, and I have a sneaking feeling they may be the team to falter in the Group of Death.(Prediction: A surprise exit afteer the first round).
New Zealand: Ross Taylor continues to be in wonderful form in the warmups and one hopes MCCulums signs of picking up form towards the fag end of the IPL weren’t an aberation. Bowling seems to be their weakness. With relatively easy opponents awaiting them in the Super Eight’s, they’ll squeeze in through to the semis.(prediction:semi finalists).
So this is how I expect the semi final line-up to look like:
Australia(top of their group) v/s NewZealand(2nd in their group) (Prediction:Australia wins)
Indiav/s Pakistan(Prediction:India wins)
Final: India v/s Australia.
So who wins the final?. I am not taking a punt now. I’ve had a terrible record in recent times in jinxing my favourite teams/players while predicting a victory for them in conversations with friends. (Well, I hope I haven’t jinxed India already by predicting them to make the finals! 🙂 )
Note: Teams are pre-seeded as A1(seeded 1st in group A),A2(seeded 2nd in group A) etc which determines the groupings in the Super 8’s. What this means is that even if India were to (god forbid) lose their match v/s Bangladesh but beat Ireland and make it to the Super Eights, they will still be A1 and not A2.
P.S: Many of us should be in campus by the time of the final. Should be fun watching as a group in our hostels, especially if India makes it to the final. Even better if it is an India-Pak final!.
HeLL-Talk 