The entire SP Jain experience has been postponed by close to 8 months.
Now that's a long time...
Things might change...
People might change....
Situtations might change....
Happy 1 day to the weekend!
I don't have much to say....
Before my evaluation round, I searched a lot of blogs and forums on what exactly happens there. I did not come across much help on the web. I decided on being helpful on the entire application and evaluation process for the Dec intake. The May intake has been completed and yes I'll be leaving very soon.
Application process :
Anyone having a strong application (which obv translates to a good CAT/GMAT score, work ex, good acad and extra curriculars) should definitely apply. There is no application fee till you actually get shortlisted. So go ahead.... www.spjimr.org
If you get shortlisted, plan a weekend in Mumbai and a one day leave from office.
I had a wonderful weekend and fell in love with Mumbai yet again! Thanks to Yoshu and Tanu.
Coming to the process :
1). Please oh please dress up in formals.
And gals.... chudidars and salwars are not formal dresses! For guys, ties are a must...the blazer however isn't since it's a hot city.
2). It's going to be a long day, so the nervousness if there is any...leaves you after sometime. The complete process is really long and does get to you.
3). You are made to write 3 essays and are required to submit a folder with your details.
My essays were :
i). An important task that you couldn't accomplish. How did it change and affect you?
ii). An important task you accomplished. What did you learn out of it?
iii). You are heading a new business operation. What are the steps reqd acc to you, which would result in global success?
By now, hopefully you would have made a couple of friends... and you hope to see a few faces if you get there! I made quite a few friends... but I knew...most of them weren't gonna get there!
4). GD
Before the GD, the 7 people in my group interacted quite a bit. There was one guy who was mumb and surprisingly he spoke the most inside that tiny room! Back stabber!!!!
And yea....the topic was "Should India invest in aggriculture?"
Everyone agreed and the argument wasn't very heated up. We came to a lot of great points and solutions. Everyone got a chance to speak and it was a nice GD. But yeah...the topic sucked!
Between the rounds there's a lot of waiting. Lke lots and lots of it !
That is definitely the worst part of this day... be patient. What more can I say. Afterall, I am not a very patient person. Getting on with this...
5). First panel interview :
This was the best part. The most fabulous part ever... I loved it !!
There was a mam and a sir. Both tried to stress me out. I smiled and gave it back to them. Finally, Sir jee smiled and it seemed like he had smiled after ages. The interview lasted around 10 mins if not more.
Questions :
1). Tell me about yourself.
2). Work related questions (like loads of them)
3). Why an international MBA
4). US recession
After this I was told to wait. I was handed a feedback form and was made to wait for the last round of interview with the Dean (in other words the Big Boss)! Loads of people don't even get to this round, and I think it's a reject if theydon't get through to this one. However, I ain't that sure about that.
6). Interview with the Dean :
He asks you very HR related questions. He hardly ever looks at you.
Keeps noting down things and you harly realize when your 10 mins with him get over.
It was a wonderful experience.... I called up my folks and told them this "Even if I don't make it, I am glad I came here. "
It's another thing that I made it.
The million dollar question...
"Yes I am joining...!!"
I had huge motives from the time I finished engineering to join a B school. Every effort of mine had turned futile, owing to my half heartedness, reasons and lack of effort. I had no experience but still somehow I wanted to do it.
It wasn't meant to be that time... Well thank God for that!
I moved on with life and away from family in the small IT city. Did well and completed a good 4 year in this industry.
Today I am happy that I will be starting up with my MBA very soon.
Sooner than I could have imagined.... I hope I love every moment of this 1 yr and gain from the experience. I hope you all would wish me luck.
Before I forget I will be joining SP Jain GMBA prgm which keeps me in dubai for 6 months and then in Singapore for another 6 months. I will definitely miss India... my family and friends. But then 1 year is a short time.. and I promise you all that I'll be back a better person.
I do feel nervous.
Oh yes I do!
The program was developed by General Motors for its employees and its dependants. It is tried and tested and has worked for a lot of people including my cousin and his wife.
At the end of this week, they both lost 4 kgs which is remarkable.
The program however guarantees more.
First things first, before you start it bother checking your weight and let me know the accuracy of it. I start this thing from tomorrow and let there be no cheating.
DaY 1 : All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon.
DaY 2 : All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter.
DaY 3 : A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today.
Day 4 : Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.
Day 5 : Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake.
Day 6 : Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.
Day 7 : Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume.
Do remember no tea/coffee or alcohol.
You must drink 10 glasses of water each day.
One of the most inspirational stories of my life knocked my ear in one of the most unexpected ways. Now the reason I say ear is because of hearing it on the radio.
I am not a big fan of women's liberation. I never was, I don't think I would ever be. So this post definitely doesn't revolve around that.
I heard the interview of the woman who started it all. Her name is Revati Roy. The way she started it was rather stupid. Her reason wasn't a movement supporting and assuring the security of women. It was for one simple reason - she loved to drive.
One very important thing out of this that everyone knows and I still believe it to be one of the most profound statements ever made, "Do what you love for a living, and you wouldn't hate Monday mornings again!"
I am not sure if the statement goes like this or probably it's just my version.
An observation, I would look forward to a Monday morning if I loved what I did.
I have loved Monday mornings in life when I travelled in Route no. 16 cuz of the 3 stooges (Tushar, Naman and Nagendra). I have also loved Monday mornings, cuz I would see him after an entire day.
This is beside the point. The point is I still hate Mondays.
There's something definitely going wrong.
Coming back to ForShe, the woman went through a bad phase in her life. But again I am not going to elaborate on it, sometime God just gives you the determination and some great words give you inspiration. What is remarkable about her story is, there was just this thought, but there was no money, no office and no cars to begin with. But today, she has an entire training academy, a fully fledged service operating in Mumbai and now starting up in Delhi. The woman, who did not have a landline of her own, now has an entire call centre. All this in just one year. There were beautiful hurdles, but then it’s her story it’s much better from her own mouth.
Again, I don't attribute much to determination and inspiration.
But I do believe in one thing, that in life if one decides on doing something and is 100% sure of it. Most of the work is done. The best part is : there is no fear. And there is no fear, cuz you don't even know what might come in your way. It's like sitting on a roller coaster, not expecting how the ride might turn out. But once you have a mission and have set out, there are tons of people that support you. It might sound very political, but it's not. I have seen it happening, right in front of me when I set out making MAYA. It would have remained a dream, if not for the support of the people and friends.
One of the things my friend told me was...just take it one step at a time, forgetting about the titanic task ahead of you and you will be just about fine.
I am not going to ask any of you people to do that, cuz it’s not my place.
I was inspired and I am all charged to do something on my own again. However small it may be.
After all, someone once told me.... I was born to do things differently :)
Its not even been a week since I landed in Delhi....
Its been a week though since my last day in bangalore....
I would never forget those beautiful mails and those sad faces.
I would never forget those gifts...
I would never forget those last few dinners and luncheons
I would never forget the last few coffees
I would never let go of those last few memories when I had more than just tears in my eyes.
I am lost. I feel as though am away from home.... and home is where my heart is.
The audio is much better.
A beautiful song. And the man behind is Atif again. What a voice!
Whatta beautiful gaana!
Alas! there is no good movie running in the theatres!
I have nothing much to say today. Going back to Delhi is getting to me!!
She always wanted to be independent. She always imagined flying high.
She decided to leave home....
And she reached this place. People were new, work was new. She got adjusted and worked hard to make it. At times, she asked herself "Why do I need to be here?"
She thought of going back. But something or the other kept her from going.
She had a habit of not answering calls while working, eating. She didn't like to multi task. So she made all calls to the people back home with her cell phone on her way back home. The calls started as soon as she sat inside her cab and use to end while she was looking for the keys. There was a small stretch, which she forgot about every day. The phone used to disconnect at this point. There was never any signal. She hated it, she hated redialing. It happened everyday and she cursed the disconnection every day.
"Ya mom. Sorry the phone got cut again. I don't know why there is no signal in this particular region. It happens everyday"
The same thing repeated and went on for 6 months.
Her mom got used to it. And so did Natasha.
It was a Friday evening. Natasha was late again. She used to get over involved with her work. But she never said that she loved what she did. But everyone around her felt, she was a very passionate person. Truth was she didn't have many friends in the new city and she liked to immerse herself in work. Loneliness gave her the creeps and she was doing a good job of keeping herself away from it.
She was an attractive girl. Loads of guys showed their interest in her.
She liked a few of them. But never dated anyone. She was just scared. That was her nature. She didn't engage in long conversations with her peers and subordinates. She was not uncomfortable; she just had a short attention span.
Natasha missed home badly. She had learnt to cook for herself owing to the fact that she didn't have any close friends. She lived in a studio apartment and had made it look lovely. But no one was ever invited inside it.
Getting back to the Friday evening, where she was late again not TO the office but FROM the office. She had a glass of water, made her hair and decided to go down. She was waiting for the cab looking at the time in her cell phone. After all that was her only friend in the not so new place. Natasha still considered it new.
At the same point, the signal went off. She was all alone in the cab today.
She never called up her mom again this time.
The farewell dinners were in full swing this weekend.
We, the people from Take 2 met up last night and decided on our next steps...
1).Me moving out of the city is definitely not the end of our production house.
We will keep doing plays and other things. Maybe short movies as well...
2).Our next play would be a comedy.
3). Nag, Ram and Bhushan will be directors.
4). I will come in the last 2 weeks of our next production.
5).We will be holding fresh auditions for our next production, when our script is ready.
6).We have to devise strategies for motivation and commitment.
Lastly, I will really miss you all.
PS: Do go and watch the next production from "The Scripts" people.
Alexander, the great plays 3 shows on world theatre day (March 27th) @ the Christ Auditorium
Some people come into our lives and leave without warning. They leave impressions on our hearts, on our minds, in our lives…Life doesn’t stop yet it and it doesn’t go on…
One of such people, Maya.
I met Maya 2 years back in the ICU ward. My laptop was my biggest friend that time, I kept writing and Maya became a real person.
I stopped when I got out of Bombay. A competition again gave life to her and I completed a few chapters of the book, not knowing what the end could be…
Just a few months back, my father’s suggestion became my dream.
And I set out to transform the dream to reality. And this is the first time I feel that dreams do come true.
The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle.
No dream ever comes true, unless you wake up and realize it.
I did it. I found my Manasi, Karan, Vikram and Maya’s friends. All her friends’ added life to her on stage and the whole lot of people got an opportunity to meet her…meet Maya.
Without a Trace
She was gone. They all had to fight their battles. The following are accounts of three hearts that still weep while others have started to forget.
Manasi
All the conversations we ever had, the fun times, everything. They just wouldn’t leave me. I always closed my eyes and prayed to god “Please send her back.”
Why didn’t he listen?
It’s tough when his existence becomes a question especially at these times. I was losing faith every day. My father on the other hand had not lost it. He prayed every day and was sure Maya would come back.
I loved her too much. I couldn’t let go. My life couldn’t be normal. I tried but failed. I just couldn’t forget the person I loved the most. I never even tried to. I just wanted her back. The tears rolled down…
I was hopeful and the bell rang again…
Karan
It had been so long and we hadn’t found her. That day had turned out to be the worst day in my life. I had lost the biggest joy in my life. There was no way I was ready to give up.
I had hope and when she came back I wanted to be the first one she saw.
I used to dream about her every day. It had been months now. I had been staying in the hotel and my business was suffering. I had the same dream every day. In my dream I was sleeping, she used to wake me up and she looked so beautiful. Just the way she looked when she came after a bath and water droplets fell over my face. I used to wake up and see her face first thing in the morning. I was so happy every time that I woke up with tears in my eyes. I had never cried before this and there hadn’t been a day in the last few months that I didn’t cry. I missed her a lot. I could hear her voice all around me. I didn’t know before this that I loved her so much.
I just closed my eyes and prayed. “God please sent her back.” Like he even knew me. But there was no harm trying it. Maybe he would listen if only he was there.
Manasi’s name flashed on my mobile. It was early morning. Maya must be back. Nervously I answered the phone…Hope lived.
Vikram
I dreamt I held you in my arms, you were safe
Just the way when you were born
I woke up to tears falling silently.
My heart is heavy and hollow
Can’t bear the grief any longer
Can’t feel the pain today. Have I become so numb?
Please return to me before it too late.
Let me gently hold you in my arms
Just like the day when you were born
I answered the phone and hoped to hear her. But it was the police officer.
There was something important he had found out. Hope lived.
Would she ever come back? That question still dwindles in my mind.
The play was staged in the Alliance française on the 21st of December and it has left me very happy.
