Bac to 'amchi mumbai' from 'namma bangalooru'

Nearly 10 days in Bangalore and it still feels as if its yesterday i came here...... yeah, time sure flies and im jus findin that i need to catch the flight bac to mumbai today not knowing where i just lost all the time i wanted to utilise and enjoi in bangalore!!

Too bad to figure tat now....anyways...as i came here,
1. I could see that the famed pot holes hav jus started takin dangerous sizes with surface of road resembling more and more like craters of moon
2. Traveling from koramangala to banashankari(about 12 kms) took me nearly 2hrs.....yeah, last time i could cover the same in an hour;)
3. Rains followed me everywhere, wen this time of the yr is supposed to be just the startin of spring here!!
4. The city authorities have started another demolition drive, razing illegal buildings while new ones are comin up in a frenzied pace...
5. There seems to be more people speaking other languages(than kannada) from the last time i came here..
yeah....the list can go on.....

A few days bac, i was watching a program on NDTV......heard Deve Gowda(a former PM, who has come right bac to state politics after futile attempts to make any progress at the national level) speaking abt resignation of Narayan Murthy as Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) head. Here's a funny answer to one question posed to Mr. Gowda:

Q: Did you feel sad that Mr. Murthy resigned as head of BIAL?
A: No no....i only felt bad when Sir M Visvesvarayya resigned as Diwan of Mysore....( funny that Sir MV resigned as diwan in 1918, when Gowda was not even born!!)

Well.....with such ppl around no doubt all changes in bangalore hav been for the worse than gud!

Hope that there's a miracle frm somewhere to change things around........i'm just hoping, yup may be hoping against hope;)

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Bored....

I was feeling very bored today......not much to do, feeling somewhat low and quite edgy....i am counting the no. of days before i go back to bangalore for diwali!

So, was randomly searching the net....came across a chap called 'Edgar Allen Poe", yeah...the same chap who had written most of the poems which used to be there in our high school text books. Just started reading about him....was a very unhappy man, full of sorrow and melancholy.

Here's about him:

'Drug addict, alcoholic, suicidal, and insane; none of these are the words that come to mind when you think of great minds of our time. However, one poet fits all of these categories. The author of hailed literary works such as "The Raven," and the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher," Edgar Allan Poe had many mental and personal problems throughout his life. His poems reflect his emotions toward the events of his life. For example, his feelings of isolation from family and peers appear in the poem "Alone," and many of his poems, such as "To Helen," and "Annabel Lee," are about the women he loved. One poem stands out, as a tribute to the melancholy that accompanied him throughout his days; the poem "A Dream" speaks of lost love, forgotten happiness, hope, and a cruel awakening to the real world. Poe’s writing exemplifies his brilliant imagination through metaphors that describe his life.

Edgar Allan Poe made many contributions to the world of literature and poetry. The academy of American poets says, "Poe's work as an editor, a poet, and a critic had a profound impact on American and international literature" (http://www.poets.org/poets/). He was the first true writer of thriller and horror stories, with tales such as "The Cask of Amontillado." His clever mind dramatically altered detective stories, he took the writing of short stories from a mere profession to an art, and he was a brilliant poet. His fame was known through America, England, and France, with renowned works such as "The Raven," "The Bells," "The Purloined Letter," and countless others. Though a troubled individual, Poe’s effect on literature and poetry was mind-blowing. It is impossible to read a poem or story written by Edgar Allan Poe without being terrified, feeling great remorse for the characters, and noticing the breathtaking power with which Poe wields his words'.

Here's one of his works:

How often we forget all time, when lone
Admiring Nature's universal throne;
Her woods- her wilds- her mountains- the intense
Reply of HERS to OUR intelligence!

Yeah.....just a stanza from one of his poems, donno if it makes sense;) though!

Mumbai sucks man.....just waiting to get back to bangalore!!!!!..........Happy Diwali to u all!!

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Some photos of BT-Acumen with Harsha

Harsha Bhogle during the Quiz

Achoring the debates

Well, some snaps from the debate......it was a nice experience being face to face with Harsha Bhogle, who was anchoring the debate and quizzes.


Ciao till next time...Harsha

BT-Acumen debates

With life leading towards outwardly monotonous and singular pointlessness, was looking at some reprieve from daily routine(yah....i know u wold'nt have understood), BT-Acumen happened. Me and Vidyashankar(he's one dude u would want in a debate...) got selected to represent debate from our college...nice experience going to SPJIMR for two days because of this.. ;)

One thing that constantly bugs me(everyone else.....also) is the distance that seperates NITIE and rest of Mumbai......yeah, we talk about NITIE being the only place in Mumbai not connected with the local trains. Yeah, its really a pain to travel without the locals...

Yeah, comin back to the debate itself, the initial rounds were pretty commonplace...with not many institutes showing good talent. The later rounds were tough though. The sad part is we lost in the semifinals to SP (i think marginally, though... tats how one would feel like!!). The gud part is the gift vouchers for 5k tat came along......

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Mumbai- the 'Beauty' and the 'Beast'

As I was telling you all in some of my previous posts, Mastishk this time was a huge...huge hit. The website garnered more than 35,000 hits and over 4,200 registrations......that too in a matter of 12 days!! I have been pretty busy with the site in general.....So, if u ppl have missed the fun, have a look at the site- http://mastishk.nitie.net/.

Other than that.....have been travelling around Mumbai for last 2 weeks, and am really charmed at the 'Old-beauty' of the city.....but aghast at some of the 'New-beastlies' mushrooming up now.

Well, had gone down to South Mumbai.......am still floored by the architectural wonder called the 'Victoria Terminus(now, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus)'. So I am generally quoting the history and background of profound architectural structures, and places of general interest.....in the following paragraphs.....

"Modeled on the lines of the St Pancras Station in London, Victoria Terminus is undoubtedly the Raj's piece de resistance, Complete with carved stone friezes, stained glass windows and flying buttresses. It is Gothic architecture at its best, an awesome edifice that most citizens view with deep pride. At the top of the central dome stands the triumphant figure of Progress. The station was christened to commemorate Victoria Jubilee Day in 1887 when India's first steam engine puffed out to neighboring Thane, about 45 kms away. Today it has been rechristened Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus after the Maratha warrior. And the old steam engines have been replaced by electric ones. But to the 2.5 million commuters who push past its massive portals everyday, this is still VT, the pulse of a throbbing city".

The sea which stretches along Mumbai is a wonderful sight in itself. Though most beeches are thronged by people....yup, lotsa people, people everywhere;) , its still lovely to spend an evening on the beech.

"Over two thousand years ago, Mumbai was an archipelago of seven islands, inhabited by the kolis. These tribal fisherfolk still live here in tightly knit communities that the passing centuries have scarcely touched. The best place to see them is in the 600-year-old Worli Fishing Village that stands on a sliver of land jutting into the sea. Plunge into one of its winding gullies and you will instantly be assailed by the smell of drying fish, and colourful koli women, their dark skins offset by chunky tribal jewellery. At the end of the village is a small Portuguese fort with remnants of an old armoury, soldiers' barracks and thick ramparts. Before the Raj, when Portugal ruled Mumbai, this was a strategic vantage point to counter attacks from the sea".

Tats, enough for the day i suppose......will get back to reading the book- "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson.......pretty interesting book, this one.

So, ciao till next time....Harsha

'MastishK'- the brain game and the 'Ranking'- rat race..

Had lotsa things to post but very less time to organise and actually post all these days......was quite busy suddenly after my first module exams. Have recently been involved with too many things that leave increasingly too little time for myself...!

'MastishK' has been on the minds of too many people nowadays........just what is this thing 'MastishK'??? yup, lemme explain-
1. Its the first online gaming event launched by any B-school in India!
2. Last year, being the inception year......we had close to 20,000 hits in just 15 days....
3. This year in just 2 days have more than 5,000 hits and more than 800 registrations.....

Boy, isn't that gooood.....so, if you have'nt registered yet, do it NOW!

Have been involved in the Informalz section here, do try out all the quizzes.., some cool prizes to be won....all the different strategy games will go live on 2 Oct, 05. Take care not to miss any of those.....;)

Also, as part of the media relations, have been majorly involved with rankings(BW, AIMA, CFORE surveys....). Most of these rankings have come up with some surprises(as always.....). Most of the rankings have given quite favourable ratings to NITIE.
1. AIMA has given the niche A+ rating....if one adds up the points for all the B-schools, NITIE tops with respect to overall scores!.....tat sounds real cool, after all the trouble reaching out to these rankings its good to find us right on top.
2. BW gives a top 10 rating again....they have not given rankings to those within the top 10 though...
3. CFORE gives a 6th position to NITIE in terms of score, but just screws up some parts with the launch of new sectoral B-schools funda(whoever thought that IIFT gives a general management degree!!)

That quite sums up my activity for the past week.......life is moving pretty fast these days.

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Have I gone into hibernation....

This has probably been one of the few time i have not posted on my blog for a week.....since i became a regular blogger. Yeah....having major module exams going on....hoping to clear with decent scores(the way its going, seriously startin to doubt tat!).

It reminds me of my engineering days at RVCE, not soo long ago(lol....its just been a year i'm outta engineering....though it somehow seems like eternity).......anand, arun, kiran, chetan, ganesh, deva, pradeep......how we used to do some serious last minute reading(read kramming)!! Where the hell have most of these ppl gone?? Strange, i have lost touch with some of these ppl now.

Its strange, how fast we lose touch of gud frienz and move along as if nothing has happened at all.... Is this wat's usually expected of us?? well, donno......well, if by chance any of u guyz are readin this stuff(tut tut....) plz respond!

Yeah now, i'm going back to my world.....have a marketing test today. The cycle continues.....but can i be a little different this time?

Well time will tell..
Ciao till next time...Harsha

PS: Oh....my my....noticed just recently, am constantly getting regular hitz on my blog(atleast 7-10 a day!)......but sadly no comments. Is it just passing interest?, or no interest at all!!.... in what i write tat does not motivate or should i say encourage the reader to leave any comments;)

Ganguly- "A paper tiger?"

Was just watching the first test match between India and Zimbabwe at Bulawayo. Ganguly laboured away to his 16th century from 262 balls. It was a pain to see him score his runs in an 'un-gangulish' fashion. One really felt if it is the same Ganguly who scored back-to-back test hundreds in his test debut, one who created the record for getting the most number of back-to-back 'Man of match' awards(5).....
The once feared Ganguly is no longer feared by most of the teams, except for Zimbabwe and Bangladesh! His only centuries have been against teams like Kenya and Zimbabwe in the recent past... The only notable aberation being the one against Australia, and that too 2 years back.

It seems a pain to watch him trudge back towards the pavilion every so often getting out to silly shots which even our "galli" cricketers are averse to play.......

So, all that people like me can do is... hope the man retires early enough to maintain some sort of credibility and remain in our memories as a daring captain and a very good batsman in the One-day format.

PS: For stats about Ganguly please visit these sites:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/6820/ganguly.html
http://www.yehhaicricket.com/india/Sganguly/sganguly.html
http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28779.html

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Yeh NCFM kya hai??

There's this craze among some of our ppl at NITIE to take up certifications in finance to add to the CV's. To get into a finance job, some certifications might help.....generally since that is the view, i followed too...

Yeah, promptly went to NSE applied for one of the basic modules.......(yeah, had to shell out 1000 bucks too). The initial enthusiasm somehow did not translate into hardwork or real interest in finance! Somehow, may be because of summers and other pressures had no time to prepare for side events like certifications....

So, started preparin for the NCFM test yesterday night(yeah, today was the test...) did get a lot of insight into finance from the nice booklet the NSE people handover during registration, but i guess studying for one night is not enough to pass the exams........oh yeah, flunked...by a whisker! Pass marks was 60, and i got 59.25....was hoping against hope that i would somehow get through! well, as fate would have it somethings are bound to happen....

But the stranger thing is, went out to have a party with IMPRESS teammates...(lemme give u the background--i am part of a committee called as IMPRESS, which does media management work at NITIE....we had a successful event called 'Media Samiksha', a panel discussion organised today, with some big shots from media coming down to our campus...).... No, doubt the party was to celebrate the success!

So, the moral of the whole episode is: "In a B-school, you can flunk in some things and still have parties", or....... am i wrong??

Ciao till next time...Harsha

Take my quiz.....better call me if you are flunking in this!

For all you quiz buffs(no no...no big quiz this one)....have made one for u all, better score well in this:

I made a Quiz for you!

Am waiting for all your scores!

Ciao till next time...Harsha