A memorable and eye-opening week...

The events of the last one week, particularly over the last 3 days, have truly been incredible and have served as an invaluable eye-opener. I struggle to remember when was the last time I learnt so many useful lessons in life in such a short span of time. It's been a period where I have had the privilege of witnessing first hand why IIM-A is what it is....the no. 1 management institute in the country, the land of Gods, the most awesome campus to live and learn in, and being in the presence of the most helpful and loving bunch of "tuchchas" anywhere, anytime. In obedience of the sanctity of this institute and my duties as a WIMWIan, I won't reveal any of the events that transpired on campus over the last few days.....but all I'll say is that, I'm in awe of this place and it's inhabitants! Professionalism takes on a whole new meaning out here.

Classes began on Friday, and so we were introduced to the case method of studying. One thing's for sure...this method ensures you don't laze around. Preparation is everything out here.....u don't come to a class prepared -> u would have no idea what's being discussed -> u can't take part in the discussion -> you're screwed. Each case contains a situation that requires a person or an organisation to make a decision. Invariably, the prof. begins the session simply by saying "What should xxx do?"; there's no summarising the case or dwelling upon the facts, so if you haven't read it, you're nowhere. That also leads up to the dreaded concept of "cold-calls", where if you aren't prepared for a case, and a prof. points to you and asks for your opinion.....well...u get the idea! There's only one thing to note: tolerance for any kind of academic indiscipline is non-negotiable and ZERO (in fact I would say it strays into negative territory!).

This weekend would be our first WAC submission....a phenomenon unique and made notoriously famous by IIM-A! It's going to be quite an experience staying up all Friday night and preparing the WAC report. Although I would try my best to avoid that situation during the week, I'm fairly certain I would eventually succumb to the customary rituals of WIMWI...everyone does! Let's see how it goes. Anyway, that's it for now....rest later....cheers..

A short, sweet and warm welcome...

It seems here at WIMWI, even though you're strapped for time, days especially in the first year just zip past. For me, classes haven't even started, but today sure has flown past before I even knew it. I finally got a chance to play TT.....had to trudge all the way to the new campus to get access to a TT table.......in that way, the guys in the new campus have access to all the fun....TT tables, pool tables, foosball.....whether they get time for all that or not is another issue! But 40 minutes of TT really took its toll on me, and I realized that if I were to stay up long enough and clock enough time on cases, sports unfortunately need to take a major backseat. Hopefully, the first lesson I learn out here in WIMWI is time management!

A nice nap in the afternoon (boy I sure will miss those!) was followed by the official welcome address by our Director and introduction of all the programme Chairpersons. Some familiar faces and names came up, and it was good to see some of the profs have a witty side to them.....hope to see more of the same in the classroom. Later in the night was an introduction to the Student Activities Committee or SAC. They gave us the requisite gyan on life at IIMA, most of which we already knew anyway thanks to our highly active Google group. An entertaining Q&A session ended the round of ceremonies for the day.

Orientation begins tomorrow.....quite a packed day it is too. Until the next, cheers...

WIMWI - First impressions....

A tingling feeling ran through my body as I entered the gates of the "Well-known Institute of Management in Western India" (WIMWI) a.k.a IIM, Ahmedabad a.k.a my home for the next 2 years. I couldn't believe it......the day had finally arrived, here I am! The sheer grandeur emanating from the red brick walls that constitute the marvellous architecture in the campus reminded me of the enormity of what I'm about to venture into. As I stepped out of the cab, the Harvard steps loomed in front of me......something that until now I had only seen pictures of. Greenery everywhere......but even at 8.45 a.m, one thing kept coming up in my mind.....damn it's hot! And why is the air so still.....can't there even be a breeze of like 0.01 m/s??! Is that too much to ask for??

Dorm 15, Room 21. That's where I've checked into. First time in a hostel, yet suddenly I didn't feel alien.....in fact I felt quite at home. The room is in many ways similar to my room at home (except for one notable omission....an AC!). One thing's for sure.....IIM Ahmedabad definitely has it's own unique ways of reminding you why it's right up there at the top.....be it the magnificent Louis Kahn Plaza, the Harvard Steps, the subway connecting the two campuses lined with pictures and clippings, the characteristic WIMWI dorm architecture with the two huge round holes in the middle (looks like a mega-size speaker case with the actual speakers removed!) etc.

Some pics:

That's my dorm....dorm 15

The famed Harvard Steps

LKP...magnificent!

Am yet to venture into the mess, so can't comment on d food yet. Revisited Pakwan with my parents....food there is as delicious as ever! Some shopping done....a look around the campus....yeah that was pretty much my day today. Registration tomorrow. Shall post more later. Cheers...

Let the games begin...

Once in 4 years, comes an event that captivates......an event that spawns hysteria through the globe.........an event that adults and children alike sit up and watch with their hearts in their mouths.......an event that unites generations, cultures, traditions and peoples.....an event that gives boyfriends/husbands the sole and undisputed authority over access to the remote control.......and 4 years on since Fabio Cannavaro lifted the Jules Rimet trophy aloft in joy and ecstasy at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup is finally here!!

The favourites tag this time around is firmly rooted on the men from Spain, with the Argentines, Brazilians, Germans and English following behind. The reigning champs, the Italians, seem to have few backers, with many citing an aging squad as the reason for not backing them. They may want to look back at the 2006 World Cup, where a supposedly "aging" French team beat Brazil during a remarkable run to the finals. They may also want to note that both England and Brazil, two of the favourites to lift the trophy this time, have average ages higher than that of the Italians (28.7 and 28.6 respectively, compared to 28.2). Discount the Italians once again at your own peril!

I will be religiously supporting Spain. With a midfield boasting the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Alonso, Busquets, Pedro etc. and an attack led by Villa and Torres, how can one not enjoy and be mesmerised by the style and panache in their game! If my predictions come true, it'll be semis line-up of France vs Netherlands and Argentina vs Spain, with the Dutch and the Spanish clashing in the mega-final. Viva la Español!!!

Another 7 days to go before I leave for WIMWI, and it's slowly beginning to dawn on me that I am going to experience something completely new - a new environment where the stakes are higher than ever before. I'm just hoping that I'm at least psychologically prepared to handle it. A combination of excitement and nervousness is flowing through my body right now, as I begin preparations to leave the place I've called "home" for the last 10 years. One thing for sure.....it'll be great fun to watch the World Cup with a huge bunch of football fans (provided I get the time to watch matches)!!! :P

Anyway, I suppose my next post will be from within the red brick walls of WIMWI....so cheers!

P.S: For those confused by the term "WIMWI", it stands for "Well-known Institute of Management in Western India".....a.k.a Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad!

Raajneeti - Politics and more....

Rating - 3.5/5

With a star-studded cast including the likes of Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai etc. and a fine story-teller in Prakash Jha, Raajneeti was undoubtedly one of the most awaited movies of the year. As the title suggests, the film is about politics, and the sacrifices and immorality that supposedly go with it. Through his tale of treachery and deceit within a family that has been in power in the unnamed state for years together, Jha portrays the ugly face of Indian politics and leaves you with one simple message: Politics is a dirty game, and reality bites!

The movie revolves around 3 brothers - Virendra (Bajpai), Prithvi (Rampal) and Samar (Ranbir) whose father, after suffering a heart attack, hands over his post of President of the Rashtravadi Party to his brother. Confused?? Well, one spends the first 15 minutes of the movie simply trying to catch up with who exactly each character is, as they are all hastily introduced in the narrative. While Virendra and Prithvi are well-established in the political scene, Samar, who's about to complete his Ph.D in "(something) (something) (something) in Victorian poetry", returns from the U.S and soon gets embroiled in his murky family affairs. As the movie progresses, the inferences to the Mahabharata and the Hollywood masterpiece The Godfather become evident. Virendra plays the quintessential Duryodhana and believes he is the rightful heir to his father's throne in the Party. Assisted by Dalit leader Sooraj Kumar (Devgn), he manages to grab control of the Party, and we now have two rival factions - one headed by Virendra, and one by Prithvi. Virendra grossly under-estimates the shrewd and cunning Samar, who leaves his life and the girl he loves in the U.S behind and stands by his brother Prithvi. Somehow, he goes from a Literature student-about-to-turn-teacher to a scheming, sly aide to Prithvi. What follows is a political bloodbath on the election trail, as each faction tries to outdo the other to grab the highest seat of power in the State. Mayhem ensues, as the battle becomes personal and vengeance takes centre-stage. Relationships are compromised in the greater interest of politics, money and power. Eventually, as the dust settles after 3 hours, one wonders - was there a "hero" at all in this movie?

The movie works - through its story and its performances. Though, I must admit I was very disappointed with Ranbir Kapoor. The more I saw him in this movie, the more I was reminded of Abhishek Bachchan in Sarkar - expressionless, emotionless and monotonous. For example, even as the people dearest to him are dying, he looks confused rather than distraught. His character is pretty obviously built based on a combination of Arjuna from Mahabharata and Michael Coreleone from The Godfather. While I'm sure many people will go on to rave about his acting, I feel this was the dullest and most disappointing performance of his career so far. By far, the stand-out actor in this movie has to be Arjun Rampal. After Rock On, big things were expected of him, and he finally delivers a stellar performance again. He plays the role of the young, hot-headed politician with ease. Manoj Bajpai has the "more-negative" role in this movie, and he does complete justice to his selection for the role. Nana Patekar plays the Krishna-like Brij Gopal, who pulls the strings in the background and allows the brothers to bathe in the limelight of the political scene. The veteran rarely disappoints in such movies, and he does not here either. Katrina Kaif clearly shows that she has worked on her Hindi tremendously. As Indu, the daughter of a rich industrialist who is later forced to join politics ala a certain Mrs. G, Katrina shows that she ain't just hot - she's one of the better actresses in our film industry today as well, displaying all the requisite emotions with grace. Rest of the cast performs extremely well too. Songs are thankfully interspersed in the background in certain scenes, or else the already lengthy movie would've been unbearably long!

Now, coming to what I did not like about the movie - the message it conveys. Raajneeti clearly shows Indian politics to be a corrupt, murky, dirty and treacherous affair with people involved in betrayal, backstabbing and would go as far as murder to grab power. While this may be the ugly truth to an extent, I do not feel it needs to be shown so blatantly. Today, Indian politics is in a period of transition, with young leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah, Sachin Pilot etc. stepping up to galvanize the Indian youth and try and get them to join politics and attempt to clean up the system. In such a scenario, a movie like Raajneeti will only serve to discourage people from joining political parties. Prakash Jha could easily have put a more positive spin on this movie by focussing more on Indu's eventual rise as a leader, or Sooraj's role as a Dalit leader, instead of the family feud and all the bloodshed. All in all, Raajneeti is indeed a powerful movie with a compelling story, but unlike the Rang De Basantis and the Taare Zameen Pars we have encountered in the past, you do not leave the cinema hall with a message you would wanna take home and be inspired by.