Grapes are sour ;-)

No, no...I am not talking about the quality of grapes available in the market, I am talking about one so-called 'high fundoo B-school' in Mumbai. Now, one may wonder what has grapes got to do with B-school...well for understanding the relationship, you will have to read the entire post.

After 2 years of continuous convincing from my parents and 2 odd years of work experience, I decided to pursue my Masters in Marketing Management. I decided to apply in one of the so-called reputed Management Institutes (named here as 'x' college to protect the identity) in Mumbai. It was a 3 years part time course and was recognized by Mumbai university.

I filled the forms and sent it to them before the 'Last Date of Submission'. I also gave the mock tests conducted by them on a sunday and worked really hard to crack the exams. After 2 months of relentless practice, I gave the entrance exam (which I cracked confidently). Even the GD/PI had gone well and I was cent percent sure that I would become a student of 'x' college very soon.

A month after the huge procedure, the first list was put up on their website, sadly my name did not feature in it :-(

I waited for the second list, which was put up after 15 days...again my name did not feature in it. I was disappointed and was on the verge of tears coz I knew I had done really well. I called up the institute to enquire about the 3rd list (called the same lady whom I had spoken to before buying the admission forms) only to listen to a rude reply: "Don't call us like this...keep checking the website...jag lagna hoga list lag jayega" and then banging the receiver down before I could ask anything further.

Out of sheer Kunas and with lot of time on hand...I thought of testing the link and tadaaaaa I found some mistakes and was fultoo impressed with my discovery.

See the images of my discovery below (please view them in a new window or tab as they are not that clear).

Note: I have edited the snapshots in paint so as to hide their identity.

The spelling of 'Second' is incorrect...

 The duration of the course mentioned here is 2009-2012 when actually the duration is 2010-2013. Now I entered the wrong DOB.

Now, I thought a 'Invalid entry' or some such message would appear as the DOB is wrong...but to my surprise it showed the result:

Psst: check out the year here, it is 2010-2013

Initially, I was super excited and was jumping around in the office just as Archimedes jumped during the Eureka moment...only to be brought back to zameen by my developer dost who said that probably the form was made such that results are displayed on the basis of form no. According to him DOB must have been just an additional parameter. He also added that instead of showing some 'invalid input' message...it has been designed such that it just shows if you have been chosen or rejected. I accepted his logic quietly.

But I still have the following queries (which I will obviously be asking the institute when I go there):

a) if an individual has originally got selected...but has by mistake entered the wrong form no and DOB, should'nt the message be 'Invalid input' instead of the 'your name does not feature in the list' ? Would'nt such ambiguous result mislead him/her?

b) Is it a norm that a candidate who has not been selected by your insitute be treated with disrespect. Is polite behaviour only situational? Forget the spelling mistakes and other silly mistakes...my question is should'nt college 'x' be more responsible and more accountable? Has education become a mockery, a money minded business to them. How do I trust institutes such as these to mould the future of managers and entrepreneurs?

The above incident has aroused a serious question within my mind: will a certificate of masters program make me a successful manager or a better individual or am I just wasting my time and energy on this? Several more questions in my mind...but seeing the length of my blog..I decided to end it here.


P.S: O btw angoor khatte hone kaa reason toh bataya hee nahi. See, had I got selected, I would not have bothered so much to prove 'x' college wrong. I took all these pains to prove them wrong only because I did not get an admission there. Ho gaya naa a classic case of 'Grapes are Sour' ;-)

Mile sur naya purana toh besur banega gaana...

Listen to both the versions of 'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara' and decide which one do you prefer.

Older Version:


Newer Version:

Part 1 of the video:



part 2:



I am somehow convinced that you would like the older version. Honestly, Mile Sur Mera Tumhara is an immortal song and I still listen to it till date. I had expected the newer version to be equally good. But alas, I am left disappointed.


Check it out. I only hope that the makers realize their mistakes and make a better video if possible. The makers should have realized that India is not made of bollywood celebrities alone (what was Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor doing in the video and what were they wearing?). The older version had featured awesome locations and assorted celebrities belonging to different walks of life. The newer version is not just 16 minutes long (original one is just 6 mins long) but it also lacks soul that the older one had. Also, the locations selected were not clear...(please tell me which place was Deepika representing in the video?).

The only part I liked in the new version was that of SalmanKhan and the ending part where the activities of the brave soldiers are highlighted. Else, the new version was pretty disappointing.

Do let me know your views. Your views and opinions will be highly appreciated.

Cheque de India!!!

Chalo readers, lets play a quiz, answer the following questions without looking into the newspapers or any search engine:

1. Who is the captain of Indian National Football team?
2. Who is the captain of Indian Women's Cricket team?
3. Who was the former captain of Indian Hockey Team?

Is it taking time for you to answer the above questions...chalo theek hain let me ask you the next question...you surely know the answer for this question.

4. WHO IS THE CAPTAIN of INDIAN NATIONAL MEN'S CRICKET TEAM?


I bet you could answer the 4th question within 10 milliseconds, while it might have taken atleast 1 min to answer the first three questions. Why? Are'nt the other three games as important as Cricket (in this context only the men's cricket team)?

No, it's not your fault...even I did not know that Jhulan Goswami was the skipper of Indian Women's Cricket Team. It is the Sports Ministry and media that is to be blamed. It's cricket here, cricket there, cricket cricket everywhere (and again I am talking only about the men's cricket team). Nobody is bothered about the other games. Every other game is given step motherly treatment in our country, so much so that many of them believe that Cricket is our national game, when actually in reality it is Hockey. Our players are treated like beggars.


It was disgusting to see the way Hockey India was treating the players by first not paying their dues and then insulting them by announcing to the media that these talented players are more concerned about money than about their country. Tell me who on the earth would feel like participating in other games if this is how the Sports officials are going to treat the players? Luckily the President of IOA, Suresh Kalmadi has ensured that an amount of Rs 1 crore would be distributed among the players and thus succeeded in persuading the players to start their training for World Cup. But the question is, will the players really be paid or is this just yet another empty promise given to them...the pessimist within me believes that it is the latter.

When Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in Olympics, he threw light upon the fact that getting sponsorship for any other games is very difficult and that it requires lot of lobbying. But if it's cricket, money comes pouring. Indian cricketers are so damn rich that every father in the country says that beta if you want to be a sportsman, then be a cricketer. The best instance is that of Yogesh Singh forcing his son Yuvraj Singh to give up skating and get into cricket. Though I admit that games like Tennis (thanks to Leander Paes, Sania Mirza etc) and Chess (thanks to Vishwanathan Anand) has gained momentum in our country, it is the relentless battle for sponsorers and the associated politics that according to me proves to be a hurdle for our bright players and withholds them from participating in International games.

It is high time that the Sports Ministry promotes other sports too and provides facilities for both professionals and the amateurs to get trained and participate in International games. Even media should try to generate interest among our young bacchalog.

Theek hain enough of my bhashan...I am logging off now. I pray that our Indian Hockey team does well in the World Cup and silences the Hockey India officials who questioned their Indianess. As our young team prepares for the game in Pune, I would like to dedicate this song to them...ENJOY!!!

All the best Hockey Team!!!

A story of our life.

I had received this beautiful mail from one of my friend. I am sharing it with you...do read it whenever you get time. I bet all of you will be able to relate to it (though the subject line reads: Emotions of a software techie).

WARNING: It's a senti and longish mail...so people who are fond of such mails should surely read it and people who can't take it should also surely read it ;-) (come on ab apne dost ke liye itna toh kar sakte ho naa)

EMOTIONS OF A SOFTWARE TECHIE

It was raining heavily outside. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and nature was in its ominous best. I took a break from my work and went to the pantry to grab a cup of coffee. I had a sip and went near the window to see the rain pouring down heavily outside the glass structure. I was inside our huge office building, unruffled by even the fierceness of the nature.

Through the heavy transparent glass, I could see a small girl trying to hold on to her umbrella which the wind was snatching away from her. I felt sorry for the girl, and was happy that I was not in a similar pathetic situation. Yes. I take pride for the fact that I am a software engineer.

I have everything which a common man would envy; money, status, respect, you name it I have it.

I always wanted to be software professional and here I am, working for one of the best firms in the world. But then, am I really happy? Now, I could see an imprint of my palm on the other glass window, through which I reminisced my past, basked in the warmth of the sun shine. My childhood was so much of fun. I vividly remember those rainy days, when I hugged my mother tightly during sleeping listening to all the stories told by her.

Now, I have a big house here, but then it is just a house, not a home. My parents are pretty far away from me now. I have a cell phone to talk to them everyday, but then I really miss those dinners which I had with my family everyday. I could easily afford to taste all the different cuisines these days, but the best of food there, lack the love and affection which is present in the food prepared by my mother.

I threw a lavish party for my colleagues for my birthday, but then they would never replace the birthdays when my friends secretly brought a cake and at the end, half of the cake would have ended up on my face.

The couple of hundred bucks that u save for a long period just to give a treat to your friends in the road side chat shop can never give the pleasure even after spending a few thousand bucks these days.

The scene of me crying and refusing to have dinner on the day when I fought with my best friend came to my mind. Today, she has gone far away from me, taking away my love and with it my life, but I am sitting and coding here with a false smile on my face. Everyday I meet new people, but then I long ceased to make a new friend.
It's true that I have a lot of things now.

I have a nice bed, but no time to sleep. Lots of money, but no friends to spend it with. The latest designer clothes, but a worn out body .

Awards for technical excellence, but no reward for the crave for peaceful ambience. A confident demeanor, but a reluctant and apathetic mind. Full of rain, but no sunshine even in the farthest distance.
Now, I could see the small girl on the road enjoying in the rain with her umbrella firmly in her grip. She might not have all the comforts which I have, but then she has the innocence and fun which I lost a long time back.
I have decided to come out of this false fantasy, even if it is at the expense of losing the tap of the software engineer. I am going to again enjoy my life. I am going to go out in the rain and play with the small kid now. I removed my tie, and went near my computer to shut it down. Just then, I saw a new mail alert in my mail box. I slowly opened Lotus Notes and I found a message from my manager with an attachment saying that there was a critical defect in the code and I have to fix it soon. I convinced myself that I am not going to get bogged down again by these pressures and stick to my decision. I ignored the mail and went to the rest room. After a couple of minutes, the software engineer in me came out, his shirt tucked in, sat before the computer, and started typing,,

Sir,
I am looking into the defect and will send the patch files before EOD.
Regards,
Software Engineer.