It has been long since I wrote my last piece. A lot has changed since then. Lot of realizations. Lot of anxieties. Lot of heartbreak. Lot of sympathy. But in the end, as some people say, may be it is all written! A new enthusiasm. A new hope. A new dream.
The placement season has begun and I don’t think any of my batchmates would have ever thought it would turn out this way. But fine, jaisa bhi hain……..one has to live with it. I had decided I won’t play cricket (on ground) or write a blog till I get a job. And once I am through I would let my anger/frustration out. But somehow it’s all gone now. Probably lost somewhere in the daily humdrum of wearing a suit, showcasing of how this is the only job I wanted and I am the only person created for this job and then come back only to get ready for a very similar next day.
However hard I try, there will always be a bias in my writing which I suppose should be allowed, after all its my writing, my blog and I am writing to let the world know my thoughts. So pardon me if all this sounds as pure frustration and arrogance because I couldn’t sell myself in the best way possible.
I am really worried about the companies….some of the most reputed companies not only in India but in the world. Randomly weird short lists, horrible interview techniques and bizarre way of handling students. I really have no complaints with the students selected by these companies; in fact I am happy for them. But I feel sorry for those who couldn’t make it – for no fault of theirs. You can’t hold someone’s strengths against him. And add to that a few companies who even dared to walk off – even on offering the best students in the institute. I know we are not the BEST…..but no one can argue on the quality of students in the top 10% of the best institutes in the country. And if one hears the feedback of these idiots (if the sources are to be believed), one can only chuckle. We only wanted a CA for this finance role. Bastards, didn’t you know before interviewing or shortlisting that the particular student is just a BE/MBA and not a CA. What were you thinking and why the hell did you keep them waiting for weeks together – add to that the hell day-long process that you made the students go through!!!!!
Then there is this problem of OVER QUALIFICATION. I personally feel that this is bull shit. First of all, if a student is applying to your company, either don’t shortlist him or if you shortlist him, treat him well. Give him a fair chance. People argue that they feel you would leave their organization once the markets are good. But then, isn’t attrition a global problem. Even when the markets were good for say last 7-8 years, wasn’t attrition the highest anyways. Aren’t you yourself convinced about your capability to hold on to a good candidate? For, if he is good, you will do anything to make him stay, and if he is bad, you are lucky, either you throw him or let him leave. And above all, if your organization isn’t the best yet, and just in case you want to take it to the higher league ( I seriously doubt that now), don’t you think you require people like these who have the ability to actually change the situation, take up the gauntlet and bring stability and prosperity with sustainability to your organization.
The funny part about the interview – the HR questions. Tell me something about yourself is a valid question. Tell me something which is not on your CV is even better. But questions like Why do you want to join our firm, Why MBA, Why finance, Why this industry – all CRAP. What can you gauge from all these? Communication skills? Confidence? Thinking? Can’t these be gauged from normal interview questions too? Funnier are the situational questions - Tell me a situation when you scratched your head. Tell me a situation when you sneezed. Tell me a situation when you laughed! I am 2000000% sure most of us would have bluffed to some extent. Some of us might now even have had faced such situations. I have given in excess of 10 interviews and I doubt if I was even asked more than 10 technical questions in all. Isn’t that ridiculous…..given the market situation?
The Interview process – Group Discussion! Man…..this part of the process has become sacrosanct. Haven’t the companies yet realized that they lose out on good talent just because they get eliminated in GD. I appreciate the importance of GD, when the profile demands skill set that can be evaluated only through a GD, but come on, for any and every role, why a GD? Add to that, the topics…..guys atleast give topics which are relevant and make sense. And above all, how do you shortlist people from a GD. Ridiculous stuff…..people who only talk shit, in all probability get through. What annoys is the fact if a student can understand that the other student is only farting out, can’t you understand that? After all, you are supposed to be the one with a halo of exposure and experience!!!! Last year, jobs were like credit – all in excess but talent was like investment opportunities – good but limited. So as credit was disbursed to invest in hopeless opportunities, jobs were given to students without gauging technical credibility. But I strongly believe atleast in such a scenario, you should atleast test the technical knowledge and not repeat the same mistake!!!!
I never thought this way….but today I strongly believe HR is one of the greatest liability for a company. HR is good when it does what it should do. Look after the well being of the company and of the employees - and the other traditional functions. Don’t poke your nose in selection/elimination. How the hell can you judge a person for the knowledge you never had. This is the reason I feel many of these fancy companies are in for a BUST! Most of the questions I have written above will be asked by some useless HR – that is it. I have done my summer internship primarily in HR Consulting, and I understand HR has some great responsibilities to handle as a business partner. But I am strongly against something like this which can go against the company in the long run!
It’s funny to hear about the interviewer’s comments/queries – “All the best!” “I love your simplicity. Stay like this!” ”Strong profile!” ”Tell me how serious you are about joining my company?” Each of these have become point of discussion for us post the interview. Generally these end up as the last interaction with the interviewer and the company atleast for this placement season for you!!!!!
May be it is time to believe that SELECTION is just plain luck. May be it is pure luck. But luck only favors the brave, isn’t it? Who is brave here? And who decides that! For I would surely love to be BRAVE someday!!!
By the way, watch Rock On if you haven’t. A better movie given the kind of movies coming up.

Many times during my sojourn to Akola (my hometown), I ponder upon the thought of what and why I will never be able to achieve, what my parents have achieved inspite of getting the best education, the chosen lifestyle and the impeccable upbringing. Many of the youths of my generation, who hail from Tier-2 cities and have to almost compulsory shift their base to metros like Mumbai, Delhi et al and whose parents are involved in any non-service type of vocation would probably relate to this thought.

Most of us would take up a job and be happy to work 5 days a week and chill out on the weekend only to realize that 48 hours of weekend seem to end up in 48 minutes. We would rent a flat, stay with friends, and probably would never be able to develop relations with anyone other than our colleagues and our roommates. At that stage, the hectic schedule would even make meeting our good old friends difficult. All this to get fifty grands at the end of the month and feel satisfied.

But just imagine how can one do the same job, meet the same people and sit in front of the same laptop slogging for hours for thirty years of his life? Wouldn’t boredom set in? Wouldn’t we feel isolated and stagnant? Agreed one will have family at some time, but then you would only spend 4 hours of active participation with them on the working days.

That is where my parents win, our parents win! They are the ones who are truly successful, who are truly living their lives, who enjoy their sleep as much as they enjoy getting up for a jog. I opine that one of the major reasons for this is that they enjoy what they are doing. The business clients keep on changing almost daily, there is something new to be done daily, the developments in the surrounding need to be kept a watch on! They know all the neighbours, in fact the whole colony and vice versa. They can just drop in at any of their friend’s place anytime. They are the one who get invites for parties, functions and marriages….and they can even attend quite a few of them. They are the ones who enjoy the goodwill of their friends, neighbours, clients, business stakeholders. They are well-conversant with almost everyone – doodhwala, paperwala, kiranewala, presswala, sweeper, maid and clients, friends, relatives, neighbours, city heavy weights!!!! Do we even know the name of the person who drops in paper at our door daily? Do we ever talk to him anytime, except when he takes initiative for collecting the bill? Forget that, do we know who stays on the floor above us or how many members are there in his family?

In a B-school, everyone told us NETWORKING is the key…..whatever you do - study, learn, unlearn, copy, paste etc, the only thing that will be with you is your network and that will count your networth. But then, whatever we do, we will never be able to match the networking skills of our parents - and in turn their networth which is anyways invaluable! That’s the beauty of being your own boss, doing your own business, staying in a small city – you can enjoy almost every pleasure in the world! And all this manifests in our upbringing – the manners, the values, the importance of relationships, the significance of respecting people, the pride of belonging to a place where you feel wanted and respected and loved! Many times I wonder, when I look around, will we ever be able to give our children such values????

Guess who?

Lofted drives, silky cover drives, lightening square cuts – define his play!

Waived his shirt on the Lords after an emphatic Indian win!

Started his career with a test hundred and ended it with a duck!

Sourav Ganguly has been my hero (in purely cricketing sense!) for the past 10 years. I have grown up watching him play, I have matured seeing him scathing the best of the bowlers in all the parks of the world, I have watched him transforming Indian Cricket. I have fought umpteen times for him to decide the best player in the team, the best player in the world!

The reason for such an admiration is not that we share a similar name (as far as I know, Saurabh is spelled as Sourav in West Bengal). The reasons are not just related to cricket. They go far beyond that.

Here is a man, who has single handedly fought for himself, times and again and has come back stronger and mightier. He has everything one looks out for in an ideal – a thorough gentleman to the core, confidence is his forte, fearlessness is his passion, determination is his ammunition and leadership is his skill. He has been responsible for changing the Indian team from timid cattle to fearless tigers. Talent was always abound in Indian cricket, but there was a need for that spark, that backing, that vision, that leader.

There have been lots written about him. There have been statistics thrown. I need not mention all those clichéd statistics which make him a great player. But there is one particular statistic that I just derived after mixing and matching his other records, and never found it being mentioned. He averages about one Man of the Match award per 10 matches! And he has played over 300 ODIs. I personally feel this is huge, as there would have been many times he has played second best in a match. And remember all this when he has played most of his matches alongwith other greats like Sachin, Kumble and Dravid, and later with Sehwag, Harbhajan and Yuvraj!

Had it not been for the recent consecutive three wins over England, I would have lost my attraction towards cricket. It is saddening not to see him go out again to drive the bowlers crazy, to bludgeon his way to another century, to make us proud. After all, Saurabh – naam main hi dam hain! :D

I feared it always….I somehow knew it was coming….I knew it had struck me. I tried to run away…. I tried to ignore it…. I tried to overcome it…. But to no avail. It’s the start of disintegration. I am sure it’s not emotional….but it probably is mental disintegration. But that is too harsh a word. Is it lack of effort from my side or consistent lapse of concentration? I know there is nothing wrong in it as it happens to mortals. But probably I have fallen prey to it a bit early.

Realization happened when I blew up my first paper, then second and then third and then today fourth. I tried of foolishly convincing myself that first time it was coincidence, second time it was lack of effort, third time it was lack of luck but I fell short of coming up with an explanation after it happened for the fourth time. I am sure God helps those who themselves. And I am trying to help myself. But then, I am weak, I am broken, I am fragile. There isn’t much left within me to fall back upon. Each time I have to fall back upon the strength given to me by my family, my God and my friends. But then, I contradict my own expectations – God helps those who help themselves.

I have no option. I have no way. I have no clarity. As four have gone, other six will also pass by. Things might change. But then isn’t this the case each time. It has been a long time since I achieved something substantial for me and my well wishers. There is a need to reinvent myself. But then that is being philosophical. Reinventing oneself should come naturally. It can’t be forced. So I have to keep trying and trying till I prove these thoughts wrong, till I prove what I am worth of, till I prove that I have reason to feel proud again, till I prove God helps those who help themselves.

This isn’t something I am writing to boast of myself or my experiences. But this is mere out of experience….. I am sure most of us have experienced this…..may be many of us have realized it…Its saddening me time and again and so thought of penning it down…Hoping if someone could relate to it, could make me feel better!

People (everyone except family and probably just a very very very miniscule % of your friends) tend to forget a lot. They tend to forget especially the good, better and the best things. And the same people tend to remember a lot. They tend to remember especially one act of yours which they perceive is wrong. This one act, however innocuous from your point of view, outweighs all your relations, all your caring, all your love, all your great moments, all your fun-filled moments.

These are the same people for whom you did everything possible….in your own small way. Just yesterday, they seemed to understand us so well….and just in a matter of 24 hours, the understanding has gone for a toss. It bewilders me to understand what suddenly transpires in their minds that they just shut off their heart and mind to avoid understanding the circumstances…the limitations…the thought process behind a particular action of ours that has prompted them to change so much. Why can’t a simple rationale work for them that if one has done something, there should be a valid reason for the same and atleast give a chance to explain things.

One would argue, if they are really our true friends, either they would understand soon, or may be its our responsibility to explain them and get the misunderstanding cleared. But I am so fed up of doing this, why do its always me who has to take the first step with everyone. Why do its always me who has to think a thousand times for others….while others just walk all over me and my feelings!!!!!!!!

I don’t mean I am always right. But chances are less that I am always wrong.

Probably that’s human nature. We tend to forget what we should not and we tend to remember what we should overlook! I am trying to develop this art of forgetting the wrong things and only remembering the right ones…….

Characters - Saurabh Rathi - Rathi, Amit Bole – Bole; Pradeep Polawar - Polya; Rahul Patil – Patla; Rajendra Rajput – Raju; Rahul Kumar Shahpurwad - Anna

Even I am surprised that I have just come back from one more exciting journey in past few months. Last time it was Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani , Raigarh and Pratapgarh. Then it was Lonavla. This time it’s Malshez and Lenyadri.

As usual, this trip too was planned in less than 24 hours with people pitching in and backing out. But finally as expected, we had a solid-determined-enthusiastic-zealous team of 6 stooges, who decided to embark on a superb adventure.

The day didn’t start as expected. The taxi we had booked gave up even before leaving its stable. But luckily after a huge investment of time, energy and phone calls, we got through another taxi. But in turn, instead of leaving at 6:00 am, we finally took off well past 9:00 am. But in the hindsight, I am sure we all would agree trip was a superb RoI.

The road to Malshez is extremely scenic. It had been long I have seen so much greenery around. The nature was at its pleasing best. The road ran through hills, with deep valleys on one side and beautiful waterfalls on the other side. Rains amicably accompanied the clouds and the sunlight to display a juxtaposition of lively hues. Rarely one sees so many shades of green – Lime green, Office green, Olive, Forest green, Chartreuse - all encompassed in one frame! The collocation of waterfalls – a dozen at in one view – was probably one of the best views of the trip. From a height, the waterfalls looked like bundles of white cotton decoratively placed by Mother Nature. The water was chilling, forceful and pure. We sang and danced, walked and jogged, soaking in the waterfalls all along the way. A sumptuous meal of peetla-bhakri was perfect for our tired bodies post which we embarked on our way to Lenyadri. Lenyadri is a beatiful place amongst the hills. The road to Ashtvinayak Temple was surrounded by meadows and sweet looking canopies made the view much more pleasant. The temple is situated on a hill-top and one needs to climb the stairs to reach the top. The view from the top was absolutely breath-taking. The pristine air and the serene surrounding made our ascent worth all the effort and much more than that. The temple is built in a cave and has a unique calmness that lends an inexplicable yet so satisfying tranquility to oneself.

Concluding, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The gossips, PJs, comments, discussions in the car made the journey much more exciting and fun-filled. Excitedly waiting for our next trip…….