Reach out to the stars...is somebody stopping you?

He was an innocent kid uncorrupted by the forces of evil existing on planet earth. His mind was pure and his actions had no motive. Every night lying down on the terrace of his apartment he would gaze at the sky. Gaze at them with a sparkle in his eyes, with a hope that one day, he would be able to reach to them.His mother told him that above all existed god and every time he gazed at the sky it would be with the intention of meeting god. He was fascinated by nature. He loved to watch the water droplets fall from the sky when it rained. Nature gave rise to doubts in the mind of this innocent child. Questions remained unanswered in his mind.Years passed by and he did all routines as a normal boy of his age would do. Innocence had left long ago. He knew what the world was and what was needed to survive. He admired beauty. He developed a passion for knowing more people. He was very outspoken. He made lot of friends. He started becoming responsible. And then developed an urge in him to achieve, a desire to conquer the world, a fire in him that refused to cease. He could not stand defeat. He could not forget an injury caused to him and saw to it that the person who had injured him has been injured in return. He was the most caring person for those who cared for him. His thoughts were far beyond the imagination of his friends. He was a brilliant student.He loved thinking about serious things in life. He paid attention to the intricacies of life. His mind was muddled with thoughts about life and people. He admired beauty in its every form and felt that beauty was at its best in a woman. In his quest for beauty, he met a girl whom he thought had something for him. He felt a magnetic attraction towards her. He knew he had a challenge ahead. And without much effort he won her heart. He felt being on the top of the world. He felt as though he had reached the stars he used to gaze years back. They spent lots of time together getting to know each other well. Shared their common thoughts, argued over uncommon ones and became good friends. In the process he always had a question. Where was he heading? Was this his dream? He had no answer. But he always felt that he wasn't happy with the relationship.Time passed by as it wouldn't stop. Slowly he realized the change in him. Changed for the better? he had no answer. He felt as if he has drowned deep into an ocean of water. He felt lonely. He felt like talking to someone, he couldn't. He wanted to break away from the confusion, he couldn't. He wanted to escape from the world, he couldn't. Was it her? he had no answer. He felt as if the biting cold water deep under the ocean had frozen him and his brain to death.He decided that he has more to offer to the world than to the girl. So he broke up with her. They parted as friends and he is still in touch with her.His life had a new beginning. He felt as though he was reborn. He had new ambitions, new ideas, and the vitality in him to achieve them. He rediscovered the fire that had been suppressed in him for long. He had the drive and the motivation. He could see success in front of his eyes. He saw a new ray of hope that came out of his self-realization.That day he went upto the terrace of his apartment, looked up at the stars and said "Run away! For I shall reach you and bring you down to earth. Success is mine and I shall have it. "That was the last he saw of the stars, for he realized that success is about satisfaction of one's self. And he was satisfied.

This is how business is done !

Laloo Prasad Yadav talks to his son.

Laloo: I want you to marry a girl of my choice
Son : "I want to choose my own bride".
Laloo : "But the girl is Ambani's daughter."
Son : "Well, in that case...... Yes"

Next Laloo approaches Mukesh Ambani

Laloo : "I have a husband for your daughter."
Ambani : "But my daughter is too young to marry."
Laloo : "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."
Ambani : "Ah, in that case.....Yes"

Finally Laloo goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Laloo : "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President :"But I already have more vice-presidents than I need."
Laloo : "But this young man is Ambani's son-in-law."
President : "Ah, in that case.......Yes."

This is how business is done

CAT gone to the dogs...

Four months ago, listening to a B-School Grad who had been paid to let us know of the pros and cons of doing an MBA from the IIMs, made me think whether I should go in for an MBA. He was successful in convincing me that it is worth giving a shot at CAT which is considered to be one of the toughest management entrance exams in the world.

There began a journey....a journey of compromises, time management, regularity in classes, continuous revision..a journey which made me dream. Dream of all the things beautiful and bright that these small compromises in life could bring. The dream also carried with it a nightmare...a nightmare of uncertainity..a nightmare of competing with 150,000 students..and most of all a nightmare of failure.

"Everything about CAT is uncertain", said another tutor who was handling a workshop on strategies for CAT. How uncertain is the question. I did not believe him until the morning of 21st Nov 2004, when I was sitting in a classroom filled with dreamers like me, and the CAT paper was distributed. Uncertainity was as uncertain as uncertainity could be. The whole pattern had changed. Less number of questions, increased complexity, uncertain negative marking,...you name it .

The moment I stepped out of the hall I knew I had lost it. It was a bad feeling. I felt like I'm in the middle of no where. I felt like a loser. I have never felt so bad in life.

It took me two whole days to recover form the shock. I have recovered and am a better person now. It was told world over that CAT 2004 was tough. I was'nt bothered. Somebody told me the solutions were out ...I didnt bother. Two days later ....48 hrs of solitude ...Im feeling betterand I'm a stronger person ..I know how to handle failures.

As somebody had rightly said..

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

CAT 2005 ...I'm back

Is it time to bell the CAT ?

Its november and its time for every individual (I'm sure there are more than fifty thousand of them) to take the most coveted management entrance test in India....Common Addmission Test(CAT). A dream for most graduates to get a boost in their career or so to say to earn a few lakhs more. Is it really worth it? Lets see...

After your graduate studies , the urge to add another tag behing their names for the sake of...money...marriage..career..god knows, makes a person's life so confused ( i am not an exception). Confusion began in June when those institutes with their flashy ads and attractive statistics wanted me to enrol myself into one of their programs. All those marketing brains sitting in the AC rooms in offices of these institutes literally sweat it out to get people in.

I visited the office of a a very popular institute. There was a lady who asked me to take seat and wait till the previous guy fell for her trap. I was looking around the place and saw a magazine rack full of business magazines. I just picked up one of them to while away time. Was reading through it...till the moment she gave a sweet smile. She smiled as if she saw a 12 thoudand rupee demand draft stuck on my forehead.

She first enquired about my background and the course I would like to enrol myself into and stuff like that. She was pretty smart to pass on a form for me to fill up my contact details. I spoke to her for about an hour and at the end of my discussion she had convinced me that in four months from now I would be entering the gates of the top Business schools in India with an admission letter.

It seemed pretty simple in the beginning. All you have to study is Class ten mathematics and a good knowledge of verbal and analytical skills. "Is it all that simple ?" I asked myself but let the next four months answer this question.

I got my regular dose of class room coaching and study materials which ideally you are supposed ot do at home. Well I really felt like asking myself do you really wanna do it? I didnt have an answer as future was as uncertain as uncertainity could be.

I figured out that I had to battle it out against 2.5 lakh other people for the most coveted 1000 seats in the IIMs...What does an IIM give you....brand name...money...lifestyle...well although there is nothing more you could ask for in life...does it give you self satisfaction? does it do justice to the four years of Bachelor of Engineering honours in electrical and electronics from BITS pilani.....? Well form what I could see most people who choiose to do their MBA from the IIMs sacrifice their graduate degree and end up doing financial analysis and marketing.

Well I am not saying an MBA does not help you. well it does. If money and lifestyle are the only things that you want from an MBA from the IIMs...then there are hazaar ways of getting it....and MBA is not your destination. And what criteria are you tested on to enter into one of the top B schools in india...Simple math and English..and a GD and Personal interview...well thats not enough...

Once in class there was an instructor...himself an IIM -A Grad(pretty proud at that)...who put up a question to the students..."Why do you wanna do an MBA?"...not a soul had an answer..."Whats do u wanna do after you do ur MBA?"....same silence...well that moment...I realized a truth...I am working towards an aimless future....I am studying for an examination that would get me an admission into an IIM...but why do i wanna do it?...or what do I wanna do after that?...I seriously didnt have an idea. That was the time when I realised that 99% of the 2.5 lakh fools in this country had no answer.

a person who wishes to be a future leader...a person who wishes to transform the existing Indian society into an economically sustained developed country through entrepreneurial activity ...a person who has a dream in his mind...a vision...a person who would make india's name shine in the top conglomerates in the world...and one who is a wild animal will be tamed by the education at IIMs....his dream will take shape...he will gain a new perspective to achieve...that should be the kind of person applying for an MBA...

Now that I have realized I have started to dream...dream about what I want to do...whether or not I wanna do an MBA...and well honestly speaking I hope this self realization matures into a beautiful dream.