Arbit Scratchpad

We didn’t have the voter ID cards made, but we had voted in the last assembly elections for Karnataka (and it was a breeze back then - no hassles, no delays; also the parties had distributed the slips containing details beforehand, which was not the case this time). So our names were for sure in the electoral rolls. The key problem injected this time was the fact that the part no. or book number had changed and the old set had got distributed among 2 fresh sets of book numbers which created tremendous confusion. Everyone and his brother were busy searching for their names. A search of close to 2+ hours resulted in finally finding the names and a sigh of relief. I’ve got to get my voter ID card made sometime soon, but even those with cards had to face the same laborious searching process. The entire electoral list outside the polling booth where the searches were being done was in Kannada here for the Yelahanka assembly constituency which falls under the Chikkaballapur constituency (som...

From the PGSEM Student Affairs Council (SAC) Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore: Star of the Quarter Award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to PGSEM community through extra curricular activities in an academic quarter, as part of various activities done by PGSEM-SAC and committees. SAC members will nominate significant contributors for the Award and the voting will be conducted among the current batches to decide the Star along with SAC members' points. SAC member is not eligible to be nominated for this award.   You will be getting a mail on voting for Star of the Quarter - Q3 2008-2009. Please take your time to vote for and decide the Star.   A voting happened (to decide amongst 11 equally strong and capable contestants) and guess what? I polled 32.65% of the votes and yes  I won!!  My immense gratitude towards one & all who felt I was worth it!! It takes an institute of IIMB's stature and star students to recognize a STAR! :D Also have t...

From Sketches Sketch: Onion, Lotus or an Unborn Foetus? My inspiration would probably be the Onion that you peal as an analogy to uncovering a person's core personality/values... right from the hereditary traits to the true personality that he finally attains - like a lotus blooming.  The new art format used could be described as the concept of JUSTIFICATION : Where in I justify the sketched object based on certain thoughts looming in my subconscious mind.

Justed finished watching the 2007 movie from Dreamworks 'Bee Movie'. Lately watched Pixar's 'Wall-E' and 'Kung Fu Panda' too... Also 'Madagascar 2' - Wall-E was the best in terms of realism and sheer graphics (won the best animation Oscar 2009, having beaten Kung Fu Panda), Kung-Fu Panda was absolutely hilarious and Bee Movie the cutest of them, including some cool music by Hans Zimmer... (Image Source:  http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/beemoviepromo.jpg )

The annual business fest ‘Convergenz’09’ conducted by the IIMB-PGSEM student fraternity happened on 15th March 2009. The pre-lunch session in the morning saw the finals of the business plan - Alchemy (judges panel consisted of Venture Capitalists and Professors of the NSRCEL, IIMB) and Case presentation competition (on the topic of beating Nokia’s market dominance in the Indian mobile handset market); with the finalists vying for the top slot; the sessions were thoroughly contested and interesting pitches were made. The ‘Turing Test’ business/technology quiz finals were conducted by Prof Rajeev Gowda in the afternoon after the written elimination rounds and Arul Mani the VP of Karnataka Quiz Association was also present for the show.  The panel discussion at the end of the fest, in the late evening was well attended and consisted of panelists of repute from the IT Industry including Srini Rajam, CEO Ittiam Systems and Y V Prakash, Director R&D, Honeywell Technology Solutions and e...

A wrong move can do you in and be very costly. You got to keep playing. Are you ready for the next move? It is often tempting to make a move – think of all the possible traps! One move at a time. Rarely otherwise. That was a sure trap. You figured it out… You got to follow the rules. Each piece has it's unique style. You have to 'sit through the match' to win it. Never underestimate your opponent. Sometimes to elicit the level of your opponent, make a reckless move. If the opponent is repeatedly making stupid moves unable to acknowledge - that's the sign of an unworthy opponent.  Sometimes pawns dont matter much, but they are often the most useful. Often what you see on the board is not what you get. You can go a long way, but then your own pawns are blocking you. It is not easy to checkmate. More easy to check. Sometimes it is hard to keep playing - but the sharpest, grittiest mind wins! Think upto 10, 20, 30 moves ahead??? The next move is based on a future consequenc...

Poetic Soul ---------------------- The poet sings a merry tune, Verses flow and maidens swoon. A tingle in the air makes me rhyme, I sing in carefree joy, all the time! - SHAMIT BAGCHI