The Real MBA degree... Please stand up!

Its heartening to read http://careers360.in/lead-story/iipm---best-only-in-claims.html

Finally, someone stood up and tried to expose the wildly innacurate and falsified claims and the media's complicity with Arin-DUM Chaudhary and his Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM). The name itself reeks of 'farzi'-ness. 'Planning'?? What was he thinking???

Nevertheless, no point in going on-and-on about how fake are his placement figures, how prepsterous are the average salaries, how innacurate are his claims of internation faculty participation and how his internation tie-ups and partner colleges are nothing but unaccredited 3rd rate colleges in their own countries. Its all there in that report.

The real question that begs to be answered is what is this mad rush for an MBA degree? And at what cost, and I i'm not even thinking monetary.

Being inside a premier B-school for about a year now, I can vouch for how hyped and overpublicised an MBA degree is. And no offences to people who don't make it to the top rung of colleges - its just not worth it going to an IIPM just because one sees green manna at the end of 2 years...

And I'll give you my reasons why... Firstly, I have learnt more outside the classroom at IIM Indore than I have ever learned inside a classroom. Classroom education can be replicated.. even duplicated. But what about the outside experience?

The sheer pressure of having to compete with the top 1% of the country's youth itself makes you raise your game several levels up. Organizing events with a budget of more than 2 lack, restructuring a committee by introducing best practices and processes, trying to gather common funds from 240 unwilling and sharply cunning people, keeping people motivated to do non-academic tasks in the face of adverse academic conditions, two months at a premier international bank, interacting on a first name basis with alumni who are CFOs and Country Heads running large organization... these are the things what a manager needs to learn to do!

A Kotler or a Damodaran can teach you only so much; but what about all the above aspects. Zig Ziglar never can tell you how to sell a concept where people have to pay INR 1000 as contribution for a party they can't attend. Porter can never envisage the forces at play when one has to design events that outsmart competitor colleges with better resources. Damodaran can only give you the best D-E ratio for a large project, but can he teach you how to raise 35 lack in funding for an internal event, with traditionally low sponsorship and rather low turnout, with absolutely no equity and debt?

Havin worked for about 24 months totally, at 2 widely different corporates, I have realized one thing. Give me 4 months at absolutely ANY job, and I can learn it! It is the 'other' experience that a top-rung B-School provides that outscores anything that an IIPM or other tier - 4/5 college can provide.

And secondly, an MBA isn't the ultimate quest everyone must aspire for. Over the past year, I have seen people do well at things they like to do, with or without an MBA. Trust me, you are better off doing something you like and are good at, rather than joining a B-School (be it any) simply because you've heard that MBA are paid monstrous salaries for incredibly simple work. Both can't be true together. And what about satisfaction? Whats the point of doing drudgery for 50 lack a year, when your heart is somewhere else, and the mind alltogether elsewhere?

Sometimes...

Sometimes...

All you need is a patient ear,

Sometimes,

You want a hug, a warm embrace

 

Sometimes,

You need the hug, the warm embrace

 

Sometimes,

You want someone to say “It’s ok, tough luck”

 

Sometimes,

You feel cold, and want some warmth,

 

Sometimes,

You feel hot and tired, and need a cool calm,

 

Sometimes,

 you just want to be alone,

Sometimes,

you just don't, can't,

Sometimes,

you want to just go away with someone,

Sometimes,

you want someone to take you away,

Sometimes,

you want answers,

Sometimes,

you don't want to hear even a single question,

Sometimes,

you just want to break, out, free, away...

There are many such times, not sometimes, often... But there isn't that someone, just no one.

It SUCKS to be undecided

"So, what are you planning on specializing in?", "So, what are you planning on doing?". In the last couple of days, somehow, I've been asked these question quite often. A majority of times, by myself.

And I don't know the answer!!!

There is this song that says:
"Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life...
the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what
they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don't."

It's really easy for people to say that it's cool to be undecided; Yeah RIGHT! They won't understand how hard it is to answer the above questions when every person you meet after a span of more then a month asks them to you. They will never understand how it feels like to stand in a group of people who are discussing industry trends and career paths, when the only thing going on in your mind is :"F*&%, these guys are GOOD!". They'll never understand how difficult it is to motivate yourself to do things like studies.

And most of all, they'll never understand, that when you are really low, when everything around you seems to be going horribly wrong, when you are doubting your own abilities, how almost IMPOSSIBLE it gets to explain your most mundane actions. It seems surreal, when your very existence becomes inexplicable.

I hate examinations!!!

Its 02.34AM in the morning, it's dark outside, and cold. I just had a paneer sandwich and a coffee, purportedly because I need to eat if I'm staying up late, but mainly because I am plain bored.

I have never studied (somewhat sincerely) till so late an hour, and I don't like it!!! When is this examination going to END???

Some new terminology - CP, Class Participation

This isn't a new phenomenon. I have seen it before, in varied forms, and in worse degrees too. I have done it at times (mostly to save my ass; look good after being caught goofing off!), but never have I performed or seen acts of arbitrary vocal expression as abundant as in my daily lectures.

Well, it's called CP. Class Participation. Turns out that 5% of the subjects marks are allotted for Class Participation. That actually includes marks for regular attendance (which is of paramount importance at Planet - i), and for mental presence in the lectures, which, supposedly, manifests itself in the form of questions and answers one gives in class.

Now, I am an outgoing person, and I have a view on anyone and everything. And I am not afraid to voice it! Naturally, I question a lot of what is taught in class. Consequently, even answer some. And mind you, never with CP in mind. Never!

But there are a few characters in class, and 2 weeks is time enough to identify such goofs, that continue to indulge in, what we call, 'arbit talk', just to pass on the impression that they are listening and actively involved in the class. Random questions, paraphrasing answers, repeating points already written by the professor, general sentences trailing into silence (!!!!), digressions from topics just to show your general awareness... phew!!! You cannot imagine how irritating it gets.

Just yesterday, the Organizational Behavior lecture was on and the professor was discussing the changing aspects of business that will impact OB in current times. CSR was one of them. Within a matter of exactly 3 minutes, we were discussing legislations on Carbon Credits!!! WTF!!! How the hell are carbon credits related to CSR??? I fail to realise.

Some of us have now decided to take the matters into our own hands. Every time someone tries to digress (for reasons of 'arbit-CP'), we shall strike him/her down! Lets see how this new idea turns out... later for the result...

Loneliness

Loneliness isn't a physical situation, it is a state of mind.

Somedays... things just don't work out

Friday past was one such day. Had to come to Mumbai, so went to office early, by the 9AM bus. It's only later I realised that I did not have access to many applications, which means no spreadsheets, no 'Help', no mails and no manuals! Of course, the first 2.5 hours of the day would go waste.
So i accompanied some collegues for breakfast. During and animated conversation about a movie called (strangely enough) 'Mr. Azad', I was my usual playacting self, and in one animated motion, managed to spill a jug fulll of water onto the other side, in the process drenching Pritika and Snehal. I don't know if my most imploring and serious apologies (look, really, I was sorry) did any good. Both were really sweet and put me at ease, but boy! was that an embarassing situation. I'm sure I've been barred fromm the canteen then on.
The rest of the day went as usual. Some ups, more downs. Bad systems, worse food. Towards the end of the day, I managed to laeve a little early, and headed to catch the bus home. Luckily for me, the window closed as soon as I reached the counter, because the 'Mahabus' was full. It lucky, cause the 'Mahabus' takes and absolutely convoluted route. Next up was the 'Shivneri', faster nad more comfortable. And as luck would have it, I got the first and the best seat!! And as some more luck would have it, it still took me a good round 4 hours to reach Mumbai, well over the usual 3-3.5 hours.
SO you see, some days, it just doesn't go your way. Just doesn't.

Lizards spook me off

I confess. Thats is one thing that scares the SHIT out of me. Lizards.
Undoubtedly, they are the dirtiest, most ugly, hideous and disgusting things god wasted some precious time on creating. The serve absolutely no purpose on this planet, and thus, have no reason to exist. But they do, which is one among the many serious incongruities of life.

They are sick, and spook the shit out of me. Today, I came back from Tekdi with Rahul and Pranav, and decided on making some nice egg poach and toast. Add some cheese and lemon juice, and I have a treat for dinner. But as soon as I enter the house and lay down the food items, I see a large grown up lizard on the wall close to the door. Tha fact that it was close to the door gave me some heart, hoping that I might drive it out. But nay, as I keep trying, out emerges another lizard from behind the sofa. In the meanwhile, I had armed myself with a broom. And then to cap it all, the two start mating right there on the wall, and make me look like a fool screaming obsenities, waving a broom and trying to 'shooo' them off the wall. Damn them lizards!

I tehn proceeded to give them a liberal spray of 'HIT'. That broke up the vulgar orgy and 1 lizard took flight, to my utter horror, into the bedroom. It's still in there somewhere, I dare not find out. The other damn thing went and hid inside the main switchboard in the hall, where the buttons and the fan regulator is. I said to hell with this shit. I went into the kitchen and prepared my dinner, but it had lost all taste. As i kept looking at the regulator, the damn thing would pop out, raise my heartbeat about 10 notches up, and again disappear into the regulator.

As I was about to decide to ignore it, I hear a strange 'plop'. The f%$#@$# thing has fallen to the floor!!! Eeeeeeooowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
But no, I decide to confront my fears.. a la batman. Broom in hand and Hit in the other, I stalk the damn thing and roast it in Hit spray. Luckily I managed to get the door open in time as the lizard came out of hiding from under the sofa. Again I burst the Hit directing it towards the door. The lizard, flustered by the poison, made a dash through the open door.

Ahh!!! What a relief. Though i cannot forget that there is another f%$#ing one inside, and the pervasive smell of 'Hit' won't let me forget, I feel a sense of relief. Yet, I still keep turning fearfully at the wall... Hoping there are no more lizards. Damn them again!!!

Lowest, trenchiest, most dickiest state of mind

I was back.... back to a new low. Life turns and hits me, and I get back, for some more...

Today was one of those days, (as EI would say, "happens to the best of us"), when I was at a lowest, trenchiest, most dickiest state of mind. Just one of those says when everything seems out of place, right from the toothbrush, to the route the bus is taking, to the way your closest is behaving. I could feel being boxed in by that feeling, like a car on a packed street. I was feeling shackled, gagged and tied. I could not express that anguish, but very well feel it, that icy, incisive, cold feeling like ice-cold water when it hits your face. Everything that was happening around me, seemed oddly at ease with itself, even the chaos seemed to settle into an odd rhythm, calmly mocking the tumult in me. It's as if your entire life, nay, your entire existence seems to close in around you. I'm somewhat sure everyone has felt that sometime or the other, the feeling of your whole existence walling you in and closing in around you. It's probably somewhat like a near-death experience. Flashes of the past, glimpses of the present whizz past you with annoying frequency.

And it is at such times, that I can see myself. Frankly, the naked starkness of that image startles me. There are no coverings, no shells, no protections. The entire clothing of impressions, images, viewpoints and beliefs, that you have based on what others say, is all gone. That is when I see myself in a different light. It is in the nakedness of this image that I see all my shortcomings, my failures. For all the things that seemed out of place before, right from the toothpaste, to the route the bus took, to the way my closest behaved, there seems to be an explanation. It is then that I realised, that here lies the source of most of what is going wrong in my life.

I don't know how correct is this image of myself I see, whether it is true, or blackened and blotted by the sadness, I don't profess to know. But I do know that it is here that I see my real failures, my shortcomings, my nadirs all at the same time. And that moment of realisation hits you like a 20 ton truck ramming into your head when you've got a 10 beer hangover. How one chooses to see it is a matter of personality... whether you brood over it and give up on yourself, or use this to overcome those shortcomings. I know how I am to use this realisation, whether I do it that way remains to be seen.

More on this later...

Being a watchman

I've got to flush this out of my head, once and for all. Otherwise I might not get any sleep.

Today, was a new low.

I was never so bored in life. I went to work today, stayed 8 hours, and did absolutely NOTHING. And this has been the trend for the past month or so. A few days of heightened activity, and then large swathes of absolute inactivity. And it is most irritating to spend 8 hours in office, just because there might be a chance of some work coming our way here . I now understand what a watchman feels like. And boy, it is one helluva boring job. This whole stupid routine is getting on my nerves. To add to that, I catch a cold due to the inexplicable cold in Pune (the fever too must make an appearance). Anyone heard of 'Climate Change' here?

This whole 1-2-3-4 type routine does not challenge me anymore. More importantly, does not stimulate me. Beat this, I was looking up movie titles and general WWII facts on Wikipedia, just to kill time. The prospect of having to fix my neighbours rather obvious code errors seemed sooo inviting then! If I have to think, I'm sure my team mate can hear the gears grinding due to all the rust!

Point being, this whole mental and physical stagnation is killing me. I realised today, that I am mortally bored. So, point two, what do I do about it? In my present situation, I am quite paranoid, morbid, and rather angry. So I will get some sleep, and think of this tomorrow.

Good Luck! Later...

Ram Gopal Verma ki 'Aaaarrggghhhhh'

So in the momentum gained due to the regained net connection, I will write on...

So, what about it?

Well, against logic and rational reasoning, I hired a CD of RGV's 'Aaag'. And saw it. And, like the rest, pulled my hair, ranted, cursed and eventually smiled at it's absolute inanity.

'Aaaargghhh', as is well known, is a rip of an even better known Ramesh Sippy ke Sholay.

Well, we've seen a load of remakes, but this time around, RGV takes copying to the next level. 'Aaarggh' is a dialogue -to- dialogue paraphrase of Sholay. ("Holi kab hai, kab hai Holi, kab... kab??" becomes "Divali kab hai, hain??, kab hai Divali"..... eeeeewwwwwww)

The characters are agains paraphrased from Sholay (but expected). The armless Thakur (immortalised by the incalculable gags on his disability on MTV) is not Inspector Narsimaha, fingerless, with a bad accent.

The wily duo of Jay and Veero transform into a dumbass Raj (that name only suits SRK), who is neither subtly sauve or overtly powerful like the original, and Veero is now Hero (ineptly played by veteran actor of yesteryears - Ajay Devgan). Veeru was playfully flirtatious, but Hero is downright cheap and vulgar. His attire, looks and body language make him look like a roadside pimp... he manages to stare at the wrong places at his lady love Ghungroo (I'll come to her in due course), and also manages a semi pornographic love song with her... Ugggghhhhhhhhh.

Now come the ladies... Ghungroo. Attempted version of the bubbly and extremely talkative Basanti... This one's a rickshaw driver. She is the sole earning member of the family, drives ricketty rickshaw that emits sounds more pleasing than her dialogue delivery. She is clothed in... well she isn't clothed much... in rather ridiculous clothes. I've not seen too many faminine rick drivers, and definitely none as irritating as her.

Durga Devi, Devi for short, in the 'choti bahu' of the Narsimha household. Sushmita Sen does badly. Poor acting, no poise... pathetic.

And lo and behold, here comes the ultimate villian bollywood ever saw... Babban... oops, were we expecting Gabbar???? Daku Babban, who resides in the metropolis, extorts money from builders, terrorises the town of Kaliganj (It's supposed to be a coastal fishing village, yet it manages to have builders who build tall buildings from whom a goon can extort money!!????), yet is wearing rags akin to what that poor model was wearing in the papers the other day. Poor Babban has a gang of utterly lazy and rather educated looking goons who do nothing but stare on... and on... and laugh... and some more staring... some morose staring... well, thats it. In fact, the only person who does anything in the goon-gang is Tambe, the reincarnation of 'Sambha'... This has a flaw though... because the origninal Sambha was an absolutely lethargic moron who sat atop an inaccessible hillock, doing nothing all day other than smoking pot, training his gunsights on unsuspecting victims of his boss... and of course, keeping track of the real-time updates on the amount of money on Gabbar's head.

And i guess that's about it. Oh wait... surprise surprise!!! But hold on... Not much of a surprise really... I mean, nowadays it's the era of 'Where father, there son', now ain't it??????
Remember the creepy nomad who comes to sell Gabbar weapons, and whose moll is Helen gyrating to 'Mehbooba oye Mehbooba'... well, in this rehash, its the usual suspect for cameos and special appeareances... And the award for best actor in a cameo special appearance goes to.... "Abhiskek Bachhan"!!!! Pheeewww.....


All in all.... Its one long saga of besura songs, an absolutely rehashed (read stolen) music score, bad actors, worse acting(without exception!), even worse direction, and a screenplay that is soooooo boring.... that I did not even see the end. Just switched it off. Just makes you go 'Aaaarrggghhhhh..........'

I'M BACK!!!

Yeeeeeeeaaaaaa Haaawwww!!!!

I'm Back!!!

I've regained access to the Real World after a month long hiatus primarily due to the incompetence of the staff and managers at M/s. Sify Broadband Ltd., who happen to be my internet service providers.

For a month, the rascals kept me on hold without renewing my connections with fake promises of their 'people' who would come home to collect the bill and renew my net... Those 'people' never materialized and I was left stranded. Can you believe it, they must be the first people who almost lost a customer because they would not collect his bill!

After 8 complaint calls, lots of daily morning cursing and eventually a simple manual effort has rendered me... ONLINE!!!

Blisssssssssssssss......

"Yeh thi khabrein Aaaj tak, intezaar kijiye kal tak"

Oh how I YEARN to hear that line!!!

Ever since 'Aaj Tak' joined the 24*7 news bandwagon, it has pioneered the use of crass hype as a means of creating headlines.

And the worst part is that we are forced to watch these 'Breaking News' during lunch. It so happens that the bumbling canteen contractor has taken a fancy for India's answer to CNN. Probably we wrote too many caustic complaints in the Suggestion Book and this is his way of getting back. Whatever may be the reason, all 12 TVs in the canteen broadcast 'Aaj Tak' throughout the day!

And this was yesterday's feature story. They telecast programs with names like 'Sansani!' and 'Khauff!' during the afternoon lunch hours (and the names are quite self expanatory - on the lines of m/s Ramsay Bros & co.). The head line said "Ayyash Bauna Chor" (which translates into Fun-loving Dwarf Thief)!!!!!!!

And the best part is it was accompanied by a 15 minute story, with interviews of eye-witnesses and cinematic recreation too!!! WOW!!!

Down and out

For the past whole week, actually 8 days in all, I've been nursing a sore throat. To give that company, came a bout of cold last wednesday. Since then, I've been trying to fend off this double trouble... and simply put, it is debilitating and IRRITATING now!!!!!!!!!

Crass-h

Saw a movie after a looong time... and it was my misfortune that it happened to be 'Cash'. That, well, is a new Hindi movie...

Well, the title says it all... It's not about Cash, it's simply Crass!!!

Never have I seen such a phenomenal waste of money on inconsequential beautification of 90mm of celluloid.

It all starts of with a garish song sequence, with the 5 actors I expected to be on screen... Za-'yeda' Khan, Rit-shit Deshmukh, 'Sham'-ita Shitty and the veteran actor Ajay Have-gun. And proceeds to a plane with Za-yeda being the only passenger in the business class with the human quesstionnaire Ayesha Takia (what is she doing here???). Then starts The Story, of, very predictably, a diamond heist. Za-yeda Khan goes on to explain (again, why go through that trouble???) how The Veteran lives differant identities. During the day he is a poetic husband to Sham-ita Shitty. Btw, Miss Sham is an explosive cop in Cape Town. It seems the CT PD are allowed to wear skimpy tops and tight pants to office (It's the heat I presume, its Africa afterall!). At night, he is a high profile thief (funny he never seems to actually do anything, yet lives in a posh condo and drives a Ford Mustang, and his cop wife doesnt suspect shit, Great!!!)

Then there is the part where a mystery lady Bujha-Diya Mirza walks in, as lacklustre as an extinguished lamp. For some unexplained reason, she has been asking The Veteran to recite the same old Santa-Banta joke every time she meets him (??????). She is The Moll, to The Villian - Suniel super-Shitty(now now, he was out slimming, wasn't he?). The Villian has a terrifically enticing accent when he speaks Shakespear's tongue, so much so that his own uncle (and the Uncle is Swedish - ???) can't understand squat of what is being said. A murderous misunderstanding ensues.

After The Main Boneheads are introduced, a song is used to unveil the star att-crap-tion...Esha Deol! Over the past few years, as she developed a flatter tummy, she has started getting an allergy for clothes that cover her tummy. The director obliged and she doesnt get to wear much in the movie (lucky Esha, at last, the flat tummy and other such womanly assets can be shown). But my oh my, we can only admire at the awesome built. Her pics must be put up in all gyms alongside Arnold and the other hideously musceled men. Her biceps are as big as, say, Bret 'Hitman' Hart of old. And her shoulders are what men strive to achieve even after years of hardcore gymming.

Well, then there is something explained about who Za-yeda Khan and Rit-shit Deshmukh actually are. And then something happens which I really did not understand. All I registered is a bizarre series of French Bank robberies, police chasing Esha Deol, The Villian trying to clear the misunderstanding (again in the weird accent which does not help), some unneccessarily expensive stunts, and when the money fell short, some goofy animationin place.

And suddenly, we come to the end. To cut it short (basically I did not understand anything else), The Villian double crosses the rest and kills The Moll. So the remaining renegades hunt him using an F-1 car, a 500cc Bike and 2 road sledges (that speed on curvy roads like they had turn control????????). And The Veteran, eventually shoots The Villian.

What I took back:
1. How do bollywood directors spend big money on only action stunt scenes, in a movie with no story, no script, no scope for performance and no semblance of a plot???
2. The reason Bujha-Diya Mirza keeps wanting to hear the joke is that The Veteran is sooo bad with dialogue delivery, that till the end, NO ONE in the theatre understood what was the last line of the joke.
3. What does Esha Deol have to do to prove she is a WOMAN????????????
4. Don't ever, I always remind myself, DONT EVER watch such garish movies again.

Pune's nightlife...

Whoa!!! Pune is supposed to have the most 'vibrant', 'happening', 'hip' (blah, blah, baaahhh...) nightlife, now isn't it??? I don't see it, for 3 obvious reasons...

1. More often than not, I live the part of a software professional, and work till late in office, which doesn;t leave me with much of a nightlife.
2. The poilce and the moral brigade have reportedly started a crackdown on the discs and pubs in Pune, enforcing a deadline of 12.30, at 10.00PM itself. (??? what???)
3. Lastly, cause there is NO authoritative guidebook, either in print, or on the net, giving some info for the uninitiated like me!!! Google turned up blank!!! (Well actually, I found a website, in which, under Nightclubs and Pubs, I find a place called 'Aahar Restaurant and Bar'!!! SHEESH????)

The beauty and horrors of Lanavala

Had been to Lonavala for a 1 day trip on Saturday. For the uninitiated, Lonavala is a rather overcrowded hill station between Mumbai and Pune.

The road is quite pretty in the monsoons. The greens are all out, covering the mountain slopes. The waterfalls open their gates and you get to see some magnificent sights if you have the eye for them.

But overcrowded is the word!!! The place is swarming with the whole of Mumbai and Pune, especially in this season. All the usual scattering of 'points' are filled with parked cars and buses and their inmates. Among the more famous is the Bushy Dam (a misnomer), a small barrage across a smaller lake, that squirts out water over it's edge, with just enough force for people of all ages to safely wet their asses sitting on the concrete steps that form the downstream portion of the Dam wall. Enjoyable??? - Shmuck!!! That place is a veritable 'Kumbha Mela' of the west. It looks like a pilgrimage, with all the colourful people and the mess they leave behind sans any devotion or care. And it's disgusting to even think of getting into this melee. Fear of get jostled and falling is one, skin disease is the other! I'm sure it's a hotbed for germs, what with all those people bathing in it upstream. Yuck!!!!

So it's better to look for greener(or should I say, cleaner) pastures at Lonavala. Walk up a bit more and you will come across some less crowded and rather enticing waterfalls. Make some space, change, and get inside! And MY, it's a feeling hard to describe... sheer xtacy!!!!

And yeah, mind your footing there. It is mighty slippery. At one point we also saw a pair of small snakes. Now reptiles freak me out, and snakes? well, of course they do!! So I turned back, and slipped, lost my footing, and slammed my face into some cold hard rock. For a moment I thought, well, this is it. Either I'm gonna start 'floating' out to the abode above, or I'm gonna be horribly disfigured like Two-face or something. Fortunately, it was an inch long cut. I wrapped my shirt around it to stem the bleeding, and somehow made it back to the car. After some initial first-aid, we realised that Lonavala does not have a single approachable hospital, so off we drove to Pune. Basically, I ended up with some staples on my forehead and loads of bruising on my face. In fact, I thought I looked like some bhai who just same out of a fisticuffs with another goon. Not a very enticing description, but typical of my unearthly humor at such times. In fact, I have not put up my picture here for fear of inviting too much sympathy!!! [:)]

So, moral of the story - Go to Lonavala, get wet, but I won't be at your side...

Sample this for indecency

Today I was attending a seminar at the head office, and I happened to ride the elevator from the 6th floor to the ground. As soon as the elevator arrived at the ground level and the doors opened, a barrage of men just barged into the carriage, as if this was the quickest way to heaven and salvation.

I mean, c'mon people, these wern't abborigines or middle age savages (they actually were educated employees of reputed a software giant) to not know or understand the simple rules of decency. It's not like I took multiple credit courses in decency and courtesy, but it is very basic manners to let people alight from a carriage and then get in.

And in stark contrast to this, was another incident I saw later in the day. The 6PM bus ferrying the employees home was about to leave. And trust me, you miss that bus, and you are stuck in office for the better part of 3 more hours! I was in the elevator, and we stopped on the 1st floor where my work area is. As soon as the doors opened, there was a collegue standing, waiting to ride the elevator to the ground floor to catch the 6PM bus. Yet, and I say again YET, she stood back in surprise at her own hurry, offered her apologies and allowed all to alight. Really admire that girl! It is such things in life, simple day to day occurences that set some apart from the others.

And this just isn't idle praise for her, but a lesson to be learnt by all. Cramming up books and earning 5/5 in the half-yearly appraisal isn't everything, learn to be human first.