Double Century of Blog Posts: 200 Not Out

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Initially when I began blogging, everyone used to tell me that you need to ensure you have more followers, more commenters, more readers, more RTs on Twitter, more likes and what not. Even these days there are many who keep writing blog posts just to make some easy money and improve the above mentioned statistics without worrying about content and quality. But today, as I write my 200th blog post, I believe that all these things are secondary.

10 reasons on why I would prefer to settle down in Pune!

Having come to India in 2005 for my graduation, the number of places I have stayed / visited since then, I hadn’t even seen a third of them during the pre – 2005 era. From roaming around most of the places in the South to visiting Kolkata and Guwahati in the east to staying for 2 years in an around the West, I have seen a lot this country has to offer.

April 2nd 2011: A night of mixed emotions

When MS Dhoni smashed a six of Nuwan Kulasekara, there was a collective roar from the 1.2 billion in India as well as thousands of Indians across the world. It was the ultimate prize in cricket. It was the ultimate prize for Indian sport (since Indian sport has sadly been limited to cricket more less). It was the prize which all of us had been waiting for since the past 28 years. And finally when it was achieved, it was fitting that the captain who has led us to the Test No 1 ranking and the ICC T20 WC win in 2007 was at the forefront. The whole nation was on the roads honking with flags, with a euphoria which may have been seen only in 1947 when we got independence.

Re-lay roads across India the Pune way!

This is an open letter to the Maharashtra Government or any top authority in Pune!

Sir / Madam,

This is the story of the way two roads have been relaid or are being relaid as we speak in Pune. One is the Pashan – University Circle linking road while the other is the road which links Symbiosis International University at Lavale to the rest of the city. So what’s so special about relaying roads? Aren’t they done very frequently because of rains and a variety of other reasons? Yes there is something special about these roads. Or so to say something special which I have noticed. It may have happened before too. But then its not everyday you see such things.

Salman and Kareena at SIBM Pune: Finally get to see what celebrity worship is like!!

For the uninitiated Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor are currently at the Symbiosis Lavale campus for the first schedule of their Malayalam remake “Bodyguard”. They along with the entire gang of hundreds of extras, technicians and god knows who have encroached the entire campus as if its their own property for the past 1 week and aim of doing so for the next two weeks at least. So much so that many of us are wondering whether we are in a college or a movie studio. But then there are others. Some students have been signed as extras while many others excluding yours truly are star struck as if its the biggest event of the year.

Monsoon at SIBM Pune Lavale Campus!

The clouds have come down the hills,

The wind is hustling the leaves and making one feel really cold,

The visibility has dropped to less than 100m,

The whole campus seems so beautifully misty and foggy,

The paths leading to the college campus are gleaming with pure (yes it feels so at least ) water from the sky,

The window in the classroom never felt a better place to sit near than now,

The umbrellas and raincoats have come out in full force,

The beauty of small waterfalls formed on the hills nearby is not to be missed,

The area around never looked as green as now with each leaf of a plant gleaming with droplets of water,

Yes GUYS!!!!

This is the monsoon at SIBM Pune, Lavale Campus – Can surely give Lonavla, Mahabaleshwar or Khandala a run for their money!!!!

A month at SIBM

It’s been just a month since we entered the hallowed portals of this institution. I still remember 2^nd June which was the first time ever that I came to Pune and that to all by myself. My parents settled in Muscat (yeah I am an NRI) were like “beta you are big enough to go alone”.  To tell you the truth I was slightly apprehensive or probably you can say nervous to say the least about the place, the kind of people, the way of life etc.

My first impression of Pune was like “ok it seems a normal city like any other”. But when I went to the international office of Symbiosis at SB Road I saw the global reach of Symbiosis with students from so many countries. Finally I reached Lavale on 5^th afternoon by taxi (had to pay a bomb). Heavy rain with clouds hanging down the mountains greeted me.

I seriously felt that I am going to be studying in some kind of a resort (believe me it really does feel so especially after studying in the heat of Vellore Institute of Technology for 4 years) at 2200m above sea level for the next two years. I slowly started to take in the new surroundings, the new friends, the feeling of being in a double room (yeah I was really spoilt during the 4 years at VIT when I was in a single room!!) and also the feeling of having a hostel in-time of 12 (at college it was just 9 30).

Rains – this is the best or shall I say the worst time to be in this place (depending on how you look at it). This time though the rains have mostly played truant. For the first twenty days or so when the rains were absent everyone was like “oh god where are the rains? We want a relief from the heat. Obviously for me it wasn’t a problem because 35 degrees and no humidity is any day better than the torture at 46 degrees with 90% humidity in Vellore. But when the rains came, even though it didn’t pour exactly, it was a sight to behold. Walking in the clouds everyday literally with droplets of water falling on one’s face (or on the umbrella if one wouldn’t want to get wet) and the visibility falling to less than 50m at times, Lavale becomes like the perfect hill station nestled among the beautiful and picturesque surroundings.

Ok obviously how can I forget the most important thing in all this – studies. We had a really nice induction into the college wherein we got to know about from what one should do to what one should desist from for the next two years. After a slow start, we have started getting loaded with tests, case studies, guest lectures, extra curricular activities (like I am busy here blogging!) and many important things.

As I speak, a test and a case study await my attention. But this is what MBA is going to teach us  – “Learning to manage our time”. Isn’t it?