Arbit Scratchpad

The brand new IIMB PGSEM quarterly newsletter ' thought EDGE ' was released last week on 20th December 2008. This first release had the theme of 'Career Planning' with articles by alumni, professors and on continuing studies after an MBA, along with event updates etc.

The 3 places I visited during my recent, short trip to Kolkata:   ·         The Ancestral Home of Swami Vivekananda. ·         The Ancestral Home of the poet, Rabindranath Tagore. ·         The Indian Museum , Calcutta .   Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shamit/Kolkata08 Write-up to follow ...  

After those extra classes, that too on a Saturday evening; 'imagine' - numb brains yet charged up minds!! Discussion time folks... Amit Bhalotia is explaining something in great detail, observe Karthik like the perfect disciple - listens... D'Souza (green T) is at his argumentative best. Naufal is like having fun, and absolutely oblivious - Parashar starts texting his girlfriend. :) Shashidhar is not bothered, he concentrates on checking the % complete of his movie downloads from Spidi. The discussion gets more intense, Karthik starts to expound his hypothesis. I get Naufal distracted with my mobi-cam/my antics. As others listen, Parashar continues to exchange messages with his girlfriend... ;) ;) Ah! I have got the pack disturbed, but look at the concentration level of Bhalotia - he goes on and on ..... :) Far from the maddening crowd -Get Away! I am too saturated to discuss any more....

The Mumbai attacks are a grim reminder for taking the dignity of an Indian citizen's life more seriously. Of course a systemic lapse and failure on all parts of the administration prior to the meticulously planned attack goes on to show how there are large chinks in our security armour. The Intelligence gathering framework, the coast guard, the state police apparatus (cant blame their bravado and valour given the fact that they have to make do with WW II era carbines and Lee Enfield rifles) and every other bandobast seemed to have been brought to naught by the terrrorists as has been happening time and again.  Firstly how did so much ammunition not get detected, then the terrrorists themselves playing, fiddling and moving around with impunity from one spot to another, and not even getting detected at the very entry point and then the complete failure of the state police in averting the violent carnage given the fact that IB had provided prior intelligence - all are evidenty most sh...

[Click on image above to view the album] What started with a minor mishap on Sunday 9th Nov, 2008, ended up as quite an enjoyable trip with the seven of us, including TausifK, RamD, ShantanuG, VinayB, ShomaB and SmitaN. Leaving Bangalore at around 8:00 AM we reached the Cauvery Nature and Fishing camp at Bheemeshwari (about 100 KM from Bangalore via Kanakapura, Sathnur and Muthathi) around 11:00 AM to find that white water rafting had been stopped there from Nov 02, as the fishing season had started.  We immediately headed to Galibore, about 60km from Bheemeshwari in our cars – a Hyundai Accent and a Maruti 800. We came back to Sathnur (23 KM from Bheemeshwari) and then headed towards the Galibore Fishing Camp (36 KM from Sathnur). Galibore itself is about 95 KM from Bangalore, if directly reached. Mekedatu and Chunchi falls are all reachable in the nearby vicinity. The last 10 KM stretch of reaching Galibore was a pain as the jungle road is absolutely un-tarred. Once we reached there ...

Sketches

Recently we had an Extended Leadership Council meeting within out Aersopace domain at work, as part of which a video clip was shown from the movie 'Dead Poets Society' - the dialogues towards the end of the clip were stirring and brought tears to my eyes. The following are the stunning dialogues which Robin Williams utters in the role of the teacher (got to watch this whole movie!) : We don't read and write poetry because it's cute.  We read and write poetry because  we  are  members of the human race.  And the human race is filled with passion.  And medicine, law, business, engineering -- these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life.  But poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for.  To quote from Whitman  O me! O life! of the question of these  recurring,  Of the endless trains of the faithless,  of cities fill'd with the foolish...  What good amid these O me, O life?  Answer  That you are here--That life exists and  identity,  Tha...

The last weekend saw some activity of sorts and here's a capture of some of the events!  On Friday I witnessed one amazing Kalaripayattu performance (A martial arts form from Kerala) with the performers (men, women and 9 year olds) weilding swords, fences, knives and bare hands. The in-house Onam celebrations at Honeywell was very well coordinated and had among other things group songs, Mohiniattam, and a semi-classical dance format and this martial arts performance, which kept us all rivetted to the seats. The performers are true gymnasts and extremely flexible - which is very evident and indicates the hours of training and practice that must have gone in!  On Saturday after the classes (this quarter Q2, we have Macroeconomics, Organization Theory and Quantitative Methods/Statistics) we witnessed the recording of a CNBC TV show called 'The Learning Curve - D-Street meets B-School' with two investment analysts on a panel discussion with the host on 'Investing in the...

Read it here ( PDF ).

There is this scene in the movie 'The Dark Knight' in which the villain – the Joker has half of his body out of the window of a Police car, having just escaped, when the sounds fade, he is playing around with his hair and enjoying the wind on his face as the car speeds by, at that point you feel yourself entering a surreal world and a dizzy, numb feeling envelopes you because of the sheer silence of the scene, after all the vicious and loud sounds of guns and bomb blasts that tend to wear down your ear-drums. The movie 'The Dark Knight' is one roller-coaster ride not only into the world full of violence laced with breath-taking action sequences that are very thoughtfully executed, but as much into the emotions, psyche, vagaries and frailty of human life in the current world engulfed in a specter of mass violence. The usual philosophies of good vs evil are stretched to their limits too. Christopher Nolan and his cast/crew have done some great work both in terms of th...

There comes a time when the new replaces the old, and the cycle begins afresh … The 2008 batch of Post-Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) conducted Pehel-08 at IIMB as our first cultural fest, usually an annual fare. A number of events we lined up for the evening, to keep everyone engaged and enthused. A debate, a skit, address by alumni and industry folks and some songs by the in-house music band 'Sur Shunya Aath' marked the evening of Pehel'08 on 20th July 2008! Having danced hard at the end to the tunes of some fast numbers it got absolutely tiring and the sweat flowed unhindered - my legs are just losing their ache ... ! Songs we sang as part of the music group: - Raina Beeti Jaye - Solo (Yours truly did this Amar Prem number, my all time favourite) - Maeri - Group (The Euphoria track) - Yeh Jawaani - Group (The Kishore da classic) Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/abhishek_dan/sets/72157606285885486/?page=3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/abhis...

The IIMB PGSEM application for 2008 had a SOP section which required 5 short essays to be written. Here are the ones I had written: Statement of Purpose How do you see the PGSEM helping you in your goals? (150 words) My taking up the PGSEM course has twin objectives, namely, self-development and learning all aspects of setting up, managing a commercial/social enterprise. Having worked in the software industry for five years, I have closely seen the software development life-cycle. However, there are several aspects of business and the economy that are of interest to me and I find the time ripe to explore these in a formal way, through academics; specifically strategic management of a firm, innovation strategies, and the scope of strategic consulting. Getting ready to usher in acceleration in growth opportunities in my care...

Phew! The last two days went by like a storm. Demand - supply curves, balance sheets with assets and liabilities and SWOT analysis related to case studies including one on Robin Hood's predicament kept me busy these last two days @ IIMB along with a biz domain Fun Day celebration – an evening full of fun @ office which I co-hosted (master of ceremonies) along with a colleague. Awesome fun it was on Friday with the evening @ Radiant Resorts off Banerghatta Road – we conducted several contests, karaoke rounds, individual talent rounds including singing, skits, a superb group dance performance and much more! It ended with a dinner and an open dance floor which left everyone exhausted by the end of the day. Ended up winning the funkiest dress (thanks to a colourful kurta) and the best singer awards (thanks to the romantic number 'Kehna Hai' by Kishore da from the movie Padosan). Addressing a few members, say ten is boring, whereas chatting or conversing with a single pe...

Well what if you underwent an orientation camp for two full days in an institute - wouldn't it be rather tiring as also energy sapping? It was exactly the opposite this last week when I was inside the IIM Bangalore campus attending the three night, two day orientation camp for the PGSEM Batch of 2008. I am in awe after getting a feel of what a fine institution can be like. Never before have I had an experience quite like what awaited me as I entered the hallowed portals of this elite institution, which was setup in 1973. As cliched as it may sound you got to experience the same in order to believe it. Actually last Friday (30 th May 2008) the IIMB PGSEM (2.5 year part-time programme which I joined ) was having their summer event called L-CUBE (Leadership, Learning and Leisure). It started off with the aptly chosen words of Saint Iqbal: A grand vision, beautiful speech and a compassionate soul are the true characteristics of a caravan leader . This was followed by the inaugural ...

Rabidbrain, Glumchum, Bottleneck and Hohum. Sitting over a bottle of orange rum, Checking pockets for rupees, some. Sweetie swine, friend of mine; Blabbers Neitzsche and explains Einstein. Joining in on RocketScience and BellyDaince; Who can lecture on anything from Relativity to Psycho Conscience. Glimmerick, FattyChick, Two of them who are always sick, MonsterMani and Always Funny. Call out for some extra dose of Nimbu Paani. SubhoRat Ri and Namastewaali; Talk of Hemingway's vices, of Picasso's folly, Eclectic ViolinVaasu and Erudite Jhaptaali! Argue on Mozart, Ravishankar and fight over Salvador Dali. Over uber intellectual talk they dine. Reunion done, feeling sleepy and having gorged on Meat of a sheep or perhaps a porcupine? Raise a last cheers, break and move on. Back then at the college campus, Among enlightening adda and general ruckus. With coffee, tea and half-cooked snacks; life was fine. For professors, study and exams the mind will always pine. Ah! College Campus ...

I managed to watch a very good bengali play titled 'Daibaddha' at Ranga Shankara yesterday; which was accompanied by some very good acting by members of the theatre group 'Sayak' from Kolkata. It was an intense experience with a not very complex, but emotionally charged story that chips away at the rigid dimensions of the society that we live in today. More here: Daibaddha - SYNOPSIS Lately I have been losing interest in reading; which has been my favourite pastime. Having started reading several books I seem to be lacking both the energy and the interest to plough through them at this juncture – not sure if there is something like a reader's block akin to writer's block (which is also something I feel I am in the grips of ) – or perhaps 'book fatigue' – which apparently has set in for a while now. Among the ones in the 'Currently Reading List' for more than a few months now, none of which I have completed yet, are: 'The Tin Drum' by Gun...

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The Exponential Wish Granting Ring “One ring for the absolute luckiest one, once worn shall it not be taken off” – Ancient wisdom. Her father would often lament, “Those days are gone. Back then values counted more than wealth, nature was a constant companion and the human touch was visible everywhere”. She didn’t know what was so great about all those good old days that her father, a government servant kept talking of. Their culture was different, our culture emphasizes the frugality of everything – non-possession, renunciation, poverty and charity as the true virtues, was a constant lesson she had grown up to. However, as if just the opposite she’d picked up an almost constant whim of wanting to possess – just as her well off friends did. Possess this and that, a new toy when a child, a new shoe, that gorgeous handbag when she grew older and now newer toys like the brand new gadget and then that lavish new car. Not that she was always denied, once in a while...

If the movies of Satyajit Ray recreate reality, and portray life's grief brilliantly without a hint of melodrama – those of the idiosyncratic Ritwik Ghatak are filled with vibrant melodrama, disillusionment, trauma and sorrow of everyday life that would squeeze your heart dry and yet, it is as if you wait for that elixir becoming available to the protagonist, that hint of hope present like the shadow, everywhere. You feel the recurring tragedy (most of Ghatak's films have heavy doses of the tragic, or have a strong hint of the same) and wait eagerly for it to melt as if hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel – not exactly in the way good destroys evil in the contemporary fare of movies but more like the myth of the phoenix – the self-effacing protagonist facing and undergoing even enjoying the pain and somehow reviving from it all. Not that any of his movies directly end with a light at the end of the tunnel, but they leave chinks of hope in the patina of absolute darkn...

Here's an update: Made it into the PGSEM programme @ IIM Bangalore. Got the offer letter on 1st May (Labour Day). From the IIMB website : The Post-Graduate Program in Software Enterprise Management leading to a Post-Graduate Diploma in Software Enterprise Management is an executive general management education program designed for the specific needs of professionals working in the software and information technology industry in India The PGSEM endeavors to provide the most current executive general management education to middle and senior professionals of the software and information technology industry who seek to pursue a career in management. The program aims to transform professionals with strong technical knowledge to business leaders with equally strong management knowledge and a global perspective. IIMB is proud to have partnered the Indian software and information technology industry on its journey to becoming a dominant force in the global market. Several distinc...

As sages and saints say: Too much self focus and That results in dismay, Needless suffering, and pain. Relish the joy of others, Help them in anyway you can. Compassion saves the day; Appreciate, assist and hence gain. There is no dearth of good People on earth, a gem here, A jewel there, and they let You realize, life is just fine. The joy, the passion, To excel keeps man alive. Hope of a better future, Blessings of the near and dear. Good friends are those Only you can create! To get great friends; You got to behave like the same! Wise are those who know of This throughout. To mean, think And do good, to give fellow Humans a helping hand!

The IIMB PGSEM ( http://pgsem.iimb.ernet.in/ ) faculty interviews went something like this: Professors M & F seated on one end of a large roundtable; I am seated across them. Date: 11 April, 2008, Time: 2:30 PM sharp. Q: So … Tell me about yourself (Most standard Q) Mostly spoke about acads, work, and project. Q: How has your role changed from Deputy Engineer (in BEL) to Team Lead (currently). I explain architect’s role, leading technical decisions and volunteer, initiative driven approach also communications focal in the domain etc. Also about how stringent avionics software development needs to be adhering to the FAA standards etc. So the path is always testing to development to design and it takes sometime to go ahead. Q: How will the course help you? I mention strategic management here, going ahead. Q: What do you understand by strategic management? I give a generic answer here. Q: Why don’t you pursue the full time course? I say stuff like applying the k...

'Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez What a brilliantly evocative beginning the book has got! I feel it will surpass Marquez's last book 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' that I had read.

Another one of my water colours and technique be damned ... Here, I have tried to depict the facial expression of the timeless, and yet the only measure of time: Maha Kaaler Mon Mohini - the Mother Goddess Kaali in her rather distraught, and livid form ... Also here's wishing you all a happy H o l i ( Dol in Bengal) ...

A watercolour that evolved out of a lazy afternoon and an idle mind; or was it a restless, active mind ... ? ;) I am not used to painting/water colours so you'll observe that the synthesis, composition is a bit amateurish. But everyone needs to start somewhere, so here I go. Any criticism is more than welcome! As far as the meaning of the painting - no specific theme that I can think of.

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Downloadable Link (.doc format) Gangs of Misguided Youth The room was dimly lit and a strain of strange music wafted in from one corner. The music indicated that they were not gone for too long. The room was in a big mess. There were clothes, magazines and other knick knacks strewn all over the place. A cricket bat with peeling stickers, along with an old Hawaiian guitar stood at the corner of the facing and right walls, at the end of the room. The walls were littered with posters of film actresses, and those of weapons, a rifle, some Russian pistols and a red grenade. Inspector Ghorke yanked off some pajamas from a thick wooden chair, to find some colorful CDs with no covers and underneath the bed were a couple of masks. At the end of the room was a PC, an old beige monitor now turned off, the CPU cabinet seemed sparklingly new though - a recent upgrade. The music was coming out of the speakers. A DVD cover lay open beside the monitor – ‘Russian CatCrow Tunes’ read the co...