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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]
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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
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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
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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...
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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
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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