I remember many people saying to me that it is a good time to do an MBA when market is in recession. People have given reasons such as since market wont be recovering it makes sense to get a degree and one can get a good job when it returns back after a period of one year. I agreed to this view until recently when I started realizing one important thing.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Bad Times
Never ever in my life I've felt so low. The time is difficult and opportunities are rare. The MBA has taken a toll on my body, my ambition and my desire to stay in a foreign country. The job scene is difficult and seniors have started to go back to India.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Papaji's Eternal Question
Today, my father asked me THE QUESTION again that he has been asking ever since I went to Toronto, Canada in 2003. I got to intern under a professor for a period of 3 months. When I told him about this, he went ecstatic, however, at the same time got worried whether I would be able to communicate with people over there. So he asked me, “yaar, tum English me baat kar lete ho?” (Can you converse in English?). Well, his doubt was relevant as I hardly secured good marks in English during school time. Though studied in Saint Paul’s Senior Secondary English Medium School from nursery to Eleventh, I could hardly speak English when I went to IIT. I justified my grasp in English when I secured 64/100 marks in 10th Board Examination. But wait, this isn’t true for only me. Take a random sample from any Boys Only English Medium School and I’m sure hardly 50% (very optimistic) of the students will speak good English. That’s the current status of Kota students.
So, while having evening snacks yesterday, he asked me the eternal question again, “tum English bol lete ho?”. I smiled subtly and replied “Papaji, Singapore ja raha hoon full scholarship pe, kya lagta hai aapko?” He said immediately, “doubt”. He is very sure that my sisters know English very well, but not me. Though I don’t rate myself excellent in speaking English yet it is still in much much better state. I explained to him that I worked in a Multi National for 5 years where almost every day I was talking to people located outside India. I told him that I’ve given so many MBA interviews both on telephone and in-person. However, all efforts went futile. Probably it is high time to show him my Toastmaster videos. But then, I think his response will be that this is only one way talk, where are others in this communication? Looks like, very soon I’ll have to give him a live performance.
So, while having evening snacks yesterday, he asked me the eternal question again, “tum English bol lete ho?”. I smiled subtly and replied “Papaji, Singapore ja raha hoon full scholarship pe, kya lagta hai aapko?” He said immediately, “doubt”. He is very sure that my sisters know English very well, but not me. Though I don’t rate myself excellent in speaking English yet it is still in much much better state. I explained to him that I worked in a Multi National for 5 years where almost every day I was talking to people located outside India. I told him that I’ve given so many MBA interviews both on telephone and in-person. However, all efforts went futile. Probably it is high time to show him my Toastmaster videos. But then, I think his response will be that this is only one way talk, where are others in this communication? Looks like, very soon I’ll have to give him a live performance.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Rakhi Ka Swayamvar – An Innovative One
No matter what public thinks, no matter what news channels project, no matter what the film industry really feels; Rakhi Sawant is one girl which is gaining popularity day by day. And why not she is the bride to be of the one of the most innovative Indian serial I’ve ever witnessed in a very long time. All the music talent reality shows, MTVs youths’ shows, numerous talent hunts are essentially copycats, oops inspiration, of foreign TV serials. However, Rakhi Ka Swayamvar is one hell of an innovative serial. And no matter what Indian public thinks of Rakhi Sawant, they are still watching the serial. Frankly speaking, my parents and I are following this serial.
At first, this seems quite intrigue, however then I analyzed why people are interested in watching this serial. Here are my two cents:
1. People are tired of watching same kind of serials on any channel. I believe they are watching just because they don’t have anything else to watch. In two days of my stay at home, I’ve realized that the current trend in the television industry is to project the hardships of villagers. New serials are all based on village concept. And the current ones that started before this unique revolution (?) have introduced the concept by marrying one girl into a family that has roots in a village. If you disagree with me, then browse any serial between 8 – 11 pm and confirm yourself. So people are looking for something new. The idols, laughter challenge shows are all old, repetitive and, hence, boring. People want change and the Swayamvar just brings that.
2. People really want to know what the swayamvar is all about. Most people I’ve talked to in this short span of time have two things to say: 1. Have you seen the contestants? All are chosen according to Rakhi’s standard, and 2. Is Rakhi really going to marry one of the contestants? I don’t want to comment on Rakhi’s standard, however, I also found the contestants funny. The first episode was hilarious when all the contestants were introduced. Watch it to understand what I'm trying to say. Even Rakhi’s expressions and his innocent type image where she claims she is looking for love in one of the ultimate contestant will bring a broad smile on one’s face. You will think what stupidity is this, but then I bet if you change the channel. Is Rakhi going to marry the candidate? I don’t know. May be yes but then how much time is spent today in taking a divorce.
But in all sense, the serial has brought refreshment and will going to pull crowd as it progresses.
UPDATE
One of the contestants says he is married. Now thats innovation. Isnt it?
At first, this seems quite intrigue, however then I analyzed why people are interested in watching this serial. Here are my two cents:
1. People are tired of watching same kind of serials on any channel. I believe they are watching just because they don’t have anything else to watch. In two days of my stay at home, I’ve realized that the current trend in the television industry is to project the hardships of villagers. New serials are all based on village concept. And the current ones that started before this unique revolution (?) have introduced the concept by marrying one girl into a family that has roots in a village. If you disagree with me, then browse any serial between 8 – 11 pm and confirm yourself. So people are looking for something new. The idols, laughter challenge shows are all old, repetitive and, hence, boring. People want change and the Swayamvar just brings that.
2. People really want to know what the swayamvar is all about. Most people I’ve talked to in this short span of time have two things to say: 1. Have you seen the contestants? All are chosen according to Rakhi’s standard, and 2. Is Rakhi really going to marry one of the contestants? I don’t want to comment on Rakhi’s standard, however, I also found the contestants funny. The first episode was hilarious when all the contestants were introduced. Watch it to understand what I'm trying to say. Even Rakhi’s expressions and his innocent type image where she claims she is looking for love in one of the ultimate contestant will bring a broad smile on one’s face. You will think what stupidity is this, but then I bet if you change the channel. Is Rakhi going to marry the candidate? I don’t know. May be yes but then how much time is spent today in taking a divorce.
But in all sense, the serial has brought refreshment and will going to pull crowd as it progresses.
UPDATE
One of the contestants says he is married. Now thats innovation. Isnt it?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
IPL: Ultimate Debacle For Team India
Many people off late have talked about IPL being a problem for the early exit of Team India in T20 tournament. Well, I agree too, however, I've my sets of reasons that probably led to the failure. Here they are:
1. To bring entertainment in the game, IPL committee brought a cut in the ground size. This worked very well for the batters in the tournament and we started assuming all Indian hitters such as Raina, Yousuf etc. capable of clearing the ropes easily. However, that wasnt the case in the T20 World cup.
2. The rule of only 4 foreign players allowed in a team put a constraint on the captain to pick at least 2 batsmen and 1 all rounder. We hardly saw a genuine bowler being included in a team. The damage that it has done is that most of the Indian batters got to score against their Indian counterparts. They rarely got to face ulitmate deliveries from reputed foreign bowlers. Raina, Rohit etc. were in great form in IPL, however, when they faced really good deliveries in T20 championship, they fell cheaply. Rohit was playing brilliantly as a finisher, so we all think he is good form and so his promotion as an opener seemed justified. But then he failed badly in T20. Hence, I think form of Indian players in IPL cannot be taken as a good reference point to determine a player's form.
3. Lack of Coordination. One more damage that IPL has done to the team is that the tournament allowed several Indian players to captain their respective team. There was Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gautam who were captaining their team. They have tried their own strategies in their games and since every player's style is different, it definitely needs a little bit of time to get accustomed to play under a captain. I feel that time was not there, and eventually what we saw was a lack of coordination.
1. To bring entertainment in the game, IPL committee brought a cut in the ground size. This worked very well for the batters in the tournament and we started assuming all Indian hitters such as Raina, Yousuf etc. capable of clearing the ropes easily. However, that wasnt the case in the T20 World cup.
2. The rule of only 4 foreign players allowed in a team put a constraint on the captain to pick at least 2 batsmen and 1 all rounder. We hardly saw a genuine bowler being included in a team. The damage that it has done is that most of the Indian batters got to score against their Indian counterparts. They rarely got to face ulitmate deliveries from reputed foreign bowlers. Raina, Rohit etc. were in great form in IPL, however, when they faced really good deliveries in T20 championship, they fell cheaply. Rohit was playing brilliantly as a finisher, so we all think he is good form and so his promotion as an opener seemed justified. But then he failed badly in T20. Hence, I think form of Indian players in IPL cannot be taken as a good reference point to determine a player's form.
3. Lack of Coordination. One more damage that IPL has done to the team is that the tournament allowed several Indian players to captain their respective team. There was Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gautam who were captaining their team. They have tried their own strategies in their games and since every player's style is different, it definitely needs a little bit of time to get accustomed to play under a captain. I feel that time was not there, and eventually what we saw was a lack of coordination.
Prisoner Of Your Own Fears
My Toastmaster Level 5 Speech Video and Content.
Friends call him a live cricket encyclopedia. And why not, Shantaram is a diehard cricket fan. Today is the day he was waiting for a long time. India v/s Australia final. After witnessing India’s bowling performance in the first half, Shantaram was quite sure India will be lifting up the cup. While watching the Indian Batting in the middle overs, he left his seat to grab a cup of coffee. When he returned back, to his dismay, he noticed India lost a key wicket. “Look at those crazy fellows. One good chance they have got to beat Aussies and they are beeping[sound] it up.” He said angrily to himself. This sequence continued a couple of times. Every time he left his seat, India lost a wicket. He got desperate and fear of losing started grappling his mind. He decided not to leave his seat until the match gets over. With more ups and downs, however without losing any wicket, India won the game. Shantaram was probably the happiest man in the world; however, he became a victim of one of the most incomprehensible phenomenon of the world. Any idea what phenomenon am I talking about? Toastmaster and guests, yes this phenomenon is called Superstition, which has gripped millions of people around the world centuries after centuries and has force them to believe in something which can never be explained using normal equations of cause and effect. Today, I'm going to talk about how it influences people in a subtle way and how we can take a small step towards curbing it.
Most of the superstitions are usually harmless. Wearing your lucky shirt, lucky tie on your interview, writing an exam with a lucky pen. So what exactly is the problem with being superstition? Superstition is so powerful that it leads you to attribute your successes to something outside yourself. This essentially means that you are held back from unleashing your own inner strengths and abilities. Loss of confidence. First problem!!! Next is even if something negative happens one is not going to attribute the failure of the outcome to the superstition. The person will start blaming other factors and not the superstition. I happened to witness a perfect example of this in the recently concluded Indian Premiere League, IPL. Match after match, Mumbai Indians kept on losing, however, Mrs Neeta Ambani was not willing to give up her superstition of having sit Zaheer Khan and Praveen Amre beside her for the entire match. One never kills his/her superstition and because of this the pile of superstitions keeps on increasing and then we graciously pass the baggage to our children who follow these superstitions blindly. Second problem !!!
Superstition is a part of the very being of the humanity and getting completely away from it is next to impossible. Even the great philosophers, famous scientists, engineers were and are superstitious. So how we get rid of it? Well, we can make a brilliant start to challenge our superstitions by start taking risks for not so important tasks where failure does not hamper us in any way. And then increasing our risk appetite slowly. For example, in case of Shantaram, if India had lost, he would suffered a setback momentarily. But not for ever. I remember when I was in 11th standard preparing for a competitive exam, my obdurate mind would instruct me to do lots of stupid stuffs. “kapil, hold your breath for 45 seconds or else you will not score well in tomorrow’s exam”. In a day I don’t remember how many times I did this thing. So I decided to take risk, not do such stupid things and spend more time concentrating on studies. The risk paid off and I started believing in my abilities. Since then, I’ve tasted both successes and failures many times, but every time I savor success I know it’s only myself that I need to congratulate. This gave a boost to my confidence and allowed me to softly, slowly, steadily kill many of my superstitions.
To conclude, I would like to empasize that these little rituals of magic are so much part of our culture that we question them, forget questioning them, we dont even notice them. I appeal everyone sitting here to not allow yourself to become prisoner of your own fears. Don’t let superstition rule your mind and wreck your life. Instead, try hard, reaaaal hard, to overcome your fears by inspiring confidence in yourself, inspiring authority in your decisions, inspiring trust in your actions. You will then realize and enjoy the person who is truly you and not someone like Shantaram.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
WWE: Perfect Entertainment
My Toastmaster Level 4 Speech. Don't have the video, hence, posting the content.
The talking has stopped, the action has begun; this is going to be a one night of hell in a cell. One second, you see a fiery fist, like a ton of bricks, smashed on the opponent's skull; the other second you witness a monstrous insurmountable body flying through the air and striking the opponent's body. Yes, I knew the fights were scripted and choreographed. I knew that the brutal blood bath in the middle of the ring was planned. However, I loved watching these fights. And my love for the game continues even today. Imagine two iconic players engaged in a fearsome battle just to entertain the audience. Imagine an arena where use of metal casket, metal chair, and sledgehammer are legal just to entertain the audience. Imagine a billion dollar industry that has got no mission but just to entertain the audience at any cost. Wow. It’s a perfect entertainment. And that’s what WWE; World Wrestling Entertainment is all about.
Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters and guests, today I'm going to step into WWE arena and punch out reasons for watching WWE fights even today.
Well, WWE is a simulated sport that combines acting, theater and wrestling. Among the three, I've enjoyed the acting part of WWE most. Not only the wrestlers act, but also the Chairman, the management committee members, the commentators and you are not going to believe it, even referees. Let me paint a picture of how a referee brings an element of entertainment in a WWE fight. Sometimes during a match, a wrestler will knock down the referee. And to emphasize the boldness, the braveness, the brazenness of the wrestler, the referee will act as if he has lost consciousness. After sometime, when the wrestler has done all the damage on the opponent, the referee will spring to life. But wait, he wont stands up on his legs. Instead, to further dramatize the situation, he will crawl slowly towards the center of the ring, inciting roaring crowd's enthusiasm, excitement and exhilaration. With all energy left, he will tap 3 times on the floor. NOW that is articulation and acting at its best.
The next part I enjoy about WWE is smartly anchored stories, ie the theatrical part. Every fight of WWE is superbly written and executed. WWE fight stories are like forest where if one loses the track for few episodes, he is bound to get lost. One week you witness two wrestlers teamed up and fighting against another team and then few episodes later, they would be feuding against each other. WWE would project a wrestler as a haunted spirit, who has got magical powers and resides in the dark valley of Bermuda Triangle. They would even stage death of a wrestler and initiate a fake FBI investigation. The investigation further would heat up equations with numerous other wrestlers and the story ends up creating catchy drama and much awaited high profile fight. Gosh!!! Too much creativity and I bet if anyone doesn’t laugh watching such episodes.
Now the wrestling part. WWE is not a professional sport; therefore, the wrestlers have to be very careful while executing their steps. One wrong step can end a wrestler's career and may be even life. Jumping off the rings, slamming on the floor are not very simple moves. I say these are not simple moves because I experienced it first hand. I remember I had an ugly fight with my schoolmate on the basketball court. After exchanging few heated words, I galloped in the air and performed a stunt of my favorite wrestler. My entire body was in the air, horizontal. And just when I was about to execute my final act, ie hit him with my legs, my opponent tricked me. He simply moved one step back. And here I was suspended freely in the air. I cycled my legs, but nothing happened and then the gravitational force took control of my body. I landed, no crashed, on the cemented floor, hurting my hand and chest badly. This incident led me to believe that how difficult it is to stage a fake fight that looks real on camera. I respect wrestlers for bringing out such a kind of entertainment to audience while hurting their own body.
As a kid, I never understood, why the concept of fake fighting works. Why do WWE producers think that the audience would believe in their masterly modulated fights or stories? Well, the answer is simple. WWE works as a Magic where if one can fool the audience, even for a second, then you get to see something really special... it is the look on the audience faces. Audience knows the truth but still can’t believe what they have just witnessed. It’s a perfect combination of acting, theater and fight that entertains the audience. And that’s what WWE is all about. Entertaining the audience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)