GliMPse - September 2010

8/8/2019 GliMPse - September 2010

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September 2010

GliMPseContents

Life @ XL

Life is FUBAR 2

Village Trip An eye opener! 4

Teamwork @ Adventure trip 5

Musings on a Sunday morning 6

Creativity at its best

Politicians 8

[Volume 1, Issue 1]


2/8

and a picture speaking a thousand words and all that. Yeah, youve heard that phrase

somewhere, right?

Life is FUBAR!

For all those MBA aspirants, this is reality. Stark. Naked. Stripped

down completely. The one where you take the red pill (remember

The Matrix?). This is no Wonderland and Alice would be as lost

here. All you can do is chat up with Alice and hope your picture

looks a shade better. But, by the looks of it so far, Id be willing to

place my expected MBA degree on bet!

Ok, you get the picture literally and figuratively. And now the

thousand words as well.

Ever felt the real power of a power nap where all you do is close

your eyes and let the world around you subsume you in a beautiful,

warm darkness? Darkness as black as can be, and you just float

around only, you do not know you are floating. Darkness so

endearing, itd be a crime to come out of it. Darkness so seductive,

youd wish to lose control to. Darkness so romantic, it could almost

be poetic.

B-school life has just begun. And I can already see some changes. I

talk more. I listen even more. I cannot sleep. I have started seeing

things in a different light, which in MBASpeak is termed as

perspective. But then lack of sleep can also make you do that.

Time management suddenly takes on a new meaning. More so

when every faculty member throws that phrase at you in almost

every class! Balance sheets have created a new kind of an

imbalance, where your sole purpose in life for those few minutes is

to crunch and match numbers. For most part, its your head in the

midst of all that crunching, but when you end up being saved by the

best Finance faculty in the country, with the occasional Bengali

humor, you feel that you are still alive after the deluge of debit and

credit you go under.


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You take to words such as global perspective, perception, opportunity cost and ROI as easily as

a fish would take to water most of the times, though, they are used anywhere and everywhere.

Whenever you want to sound intelligent. Or dumb. Or you just want to use them. As the case maybe.

Night outs with case studies, assignments and intoxicants, once in a while. Frustrated looks during

quizzes, and nonchalance after they are over. Tea and parathas at 1 in the night, while discussing

business, binomials, branding and babes in no particular order. Clubs, committees and forums. Glib

talk, desi talk, fundebaaji and more!

In short, life is FUBAR. And a lot of fun!

Occasionally, in your private time (the loo, i.e), you see glimpses of your past life when it was much

simpler.

If your wife or girlfriend uttered the word marketing, it usually meant shopping, isnt it? Or at the very

least, a walk to the friendly neighborhood, Bablu Grocary and Genral Itims. A quick chat about the

vegetable prices, Dhonis wedding and you get back with the newspaper in your hand usually as a

supplement for Bablus snippets!

But now you run graver risks with your newly attained MBA knowledge of what marketing stands for

A cold-eyed stare, and probably no food for having created a mess such as what you see above,

because she asked for a soft drink!!

Thats the MBA pictionary for you. In short.

Was that thousand words?

-Rishi
http://caniwrite.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/per-map1.jpghttp://caniwrite.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/per-map1.jpg


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Village Trip An eye opener!

We all started our journey to the

village as starry eyed students

wanting to make a difference in the

lives of many underprivileged

villagers, trodden with poverty and

neglectedfor decades.

We all knew that the region is

amongst the poorest of poor in India

but reality was far from even our

worst fears Education, Equal

Opportunity, Healthcare all sound

empty words when the question is

about getting food for the kids,

medicines when one is sick and

basic sanitation. Coming face to face

with abject poverty left us misty eyed

and we all wondered Is there

Hope???

And hope we found in the land of

scarcity and ignorance. A women

self help group working for their own

society. We had gone to give them

something but we came back with

lots of learnings instead. To not lose

hope even when nothing seemed

right

, ..

, .

, ..

, .

..

....

, ......

,

....

...

.

,...

..

.

,

,

.

.

, !!!

- Abhiranjan


5/8

Tit Bits

The current GMP batch at

XLRI comprises a number ofshutterbugs who regularly

share their creative work on

social groups like Facebook.

The adventure trip was an

excellent opportunity for

these shutterbugs to take out

their starving cameras and

put them to good use. They

are also part of XLRIs

photography club, PiXL. The

club conducts regular

photography lessons where

the more experienced

photographers in the club

share their knowledge and

insights to help the other

enthusiasts learn more about

photography.

Teamwork @ Adventure trip

Was I scared of course I was. Felt Like a guinea pig. We were

going for Adventure trip and we were supposed to do all the crazy

stuff people do in Fear Factor. But what the hell is this some kind of

a mistake I am here for my MBA and not to risk my life. Why

should I do this then? Why it is required? My head was spamming

with all these thoughts when I woke up at 5 AM to get ready for the

adventure trip (after staying up till 2:30 last night to complete an

economics case.. after all I am here for MBA remember!!!)

So half-sleepy and groggy I stepped out of the hostel building at 5:45 AM And voila! there was a

spark in the environment a lot of energy and excitement. And it rubbed off me instantaneously. So

by the time we boarded the bus I was fairly awake, had posed for several group pictures

(Photographs - my best motivation to go on the trip...) and was kind of looking forward to this new

experience.

After a two hour long journey, a round of tea and loads of snacks in between, we finally reached the

camp site. I got down the bus, looked around and wow a very beautiful site with lots of trees, rocks

and a lake in the vicinity. Umm humm this is gonna be good. But before I could appreciate the beauty

THE WHISTLE blew and we all were asked to assemble at the ground. How was I to know then, that

we all are going to despise this whistle in coming days!

The day started with introduction of our trainers who seemed warm and friendly. Random groups

were formed and although I hardly knew any of my teammates we bonded well over the team building

games and other activities. This is going to be fun we all thought, how nave of us It was fun

alright, but the fun included a lot of running around in the sun, bruised knees and cramped muscles.

Unimaginable activities Pitched Tents , ran obstacle courses, climbed mountains, slid thru caves,

abseiled down the mountains too. And like all good things should be, the best was saved for the last

when built our own raft and paddled up and down the lake.

We helped, motivated and at many places literally carried each other during these three days (how

else can you do monkey crawl!!!). All the while thinking why the hell I am doing this!!! And the end

of it we were all tired, drained and thirsty. People who hardly knew each other were now encouraging

and motivating each other. And then it dawned on me these few days did what the last couple of

weeks couldnt do for us. As a group we were closer, knew each others strengths better and most


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importantly we realized our own potential. Here many times we were risking our lives, but in a team,

and as all good teams should be, we let our trust in each other overcome our fear.

It was then that I appreciated the importance of the Adventure Trip. The trip was all about stretching

yourself in tight situations, and not letting your colleagues down. And boy, was the trip worth its

weight in Gold or what. I would just say Push your boundaries, Stretch yourself, Challenge your

limits you will be amazed with your capabilities.

-Swati

Musings on a Sunday Morning

A random look at what goes on in the mind of someone as far removed from the corporate world as

can be, after he gets into GMP. This is nothing short of being in an agitator for a year and when you

are in an Agitator, it takes time to get your bearings right and collect your thoughts. Below are some

disjointed thoughts as I sit looking out of the window of my room.

Sitting on the grass in front of the Hostel, after dinner with a light breeze blowing, talking about

everything under the

Moon makes me happy.

Brings back memories of

days gone by...

The old Gothic style iron

and wood benches

around the campus

makes me happy...

The breaks between the

classes make me

happy...

Tea from Daddu's tea

shop inside the campus

makes me happy...

listening to the young regular MBA guys and girls talking makes me nostalgic and also makes me

realize that we have come a long way, matured a lot since the childish days when we also talked liked

them, when the priorities were different, when the view point was different, when we did not know

about our truth...

The trees all around the campus makes me happy...

The food makes me happy...

The 24 hrs Internet connection makes me happy....

The learning gives me the ability to get a different perspective ......and I cherish that knowledge...in

fact I am hungry for it....

The college band makes me smile. Wish I was talented enough to audition for it.

The simplicity of the professors who are Gods in their area of specialization makes me wonder...


7/8

Listening to the crazy ideas and view points, at the dinner table, enriches me in more ways than one...

The knowledgeable and intelligent questions that my classmates ask, makes me want to become

invisible since I don't even understand the questions....

Coming from a totally different background and trying to make head or tail out of the curriculum here

forces me to think on a tangent and it makes me smile...

The race for marks on an everyday basis makes me think about why am I here? and Questions like,

is life all about jumping from one Rat race to another, Crops up, and I do not have the answers.....

There is an obvious conflict between how I want to gain knowledge and how the world perceives this

knowledge, and I struggle to come to terms with it....

The amazing diversity and knowledge of my batch mates makes me want to just sit and listen to

them. What better way of initiation into the world of the Corporate could a nomad from the wilderness

have hoped for......

Another long day makes me want to just sleep and never wake up...

I am still in the nascent stages of corporate evolution but my gut says that all is well and things will

turn out right, and that is what keeps me going...

James Jerry


8/8

Politicians

THEY WEAR WHITE, BUT ARE SO

DARK INSIDE

SPREADING HATE IS WHAT THEY DO

BESTTHEY SHOULD GET THE NOBEL

PRIZE I SAY.

THEY TRAVEL FIRST CLASS

EVERYWHERE.

THEIR LONG CONVOYS BLOCK

TRAFFIC AND BRING DESPAIR

THEY SEEM TO HAVE NO TIME FOR

US

LEADERS ARE MEANT TO LEAD, NOT

TO BLEED US!

THE COMMUNISTS IN THE EAST

LOVE THE CHINESETHEY WILL BUY THE NANO ONLY IF

IT WERE CHINESE

THEY LOVE THE RED FLAG SO

MUCH

THAT OUR TRICOLOUR JUST SEEMS

TOO MUCH

POLITICIANS FROM THE SOUTH

LOVE THE LTTE SO MUCH.

THEY FAST FOR THEM

THEY CRY FOR THEM

THEY WILL EVEN DIE FOR THEM

POLITICIANS IN J&K GET SUPPORT

FROM OUTSIDE

THEY ARE ALWAYS READY TO JUMP

TO THE OTHER SIDE

PAKISTAN IS ALWAYS ON THEIR

SIDE

YOU SEE THE BORDER IS NOT ALL

THAT WIDE

POOR NETAS FROM THE NORTH-

EAST HAVE NO SAY

NOBODY LISTENS TO WHAT THEY

SAYTHEY ARE TOO FEW TO MAKE THE

REAL NUMBERS SWAY.

THEY SPEW VENOM WHEN THEY

SPEAK

WHILE SOME LOOK SO DAMN MEEK

ARE THESE LEADERS I SAY?

WHAT CAN THESE PEOPLE REALLY

DO?

NONE SEEMS TO INSPIRE U

WHAT CAN THESE PEOPLE REALLY

DO?

NONE SEEMS TO INSPIRE U

WE KNOW THEY ARE ALL SCUM

BUT WE STILL LET THEM COME

WE HAVE NOTHING BUT

OURSELVES TO BLAME

WHILE OUR NETAS PLAY THE

NUMBERS GAME

IN POLITICS ONLY THE SCUM RISE

HIGHER

IN ELECTIONS U SEE MONEY AND

BULLETS FLOW

EVERYTHING IS FIXED BUT NOBODY

SEEMS TO NOTE

THE SLUM WALAS ARE PAID TO

VOTE

THE MIDDLE CLASS DONT BOTHER

TO VOTE

BUT ELECTIONS SHOULD BE FREE &

FAIR

THEY COST A LOT OF MONEY

BUT WHO CARES

NETAS WE STILL HAVE TO CHOOSE

OR A BILLION OF US HAVE A LOT TO

LOSE.

- Pawan

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GliMPse - September 2010