Destiny

Destiny, kismet or whatever people may call it based on the place where they live forms a strong part of our lives. Many times I have heard or been told that we have to create our own destiny. But is it really that simple? I am not negating the fact that we can’t sit idly and then blame our kismet for the hard luck that might fall on us but sometimes despite our strongest efforts things don’t go as planned. Isn’t it then destiny or some force much stronger and higher than us who has the reins in His hands?

Love, it’s a simple four letter word but has such varied definitions and emotions. It can be towards that special someone, our families, country or anything and everything. Although a simple emotion it can be sometimes really difficult to explain and express it in a few words. But the most mind boggling yet magical part about it is that you can never guess or even be sure as to when it might affect you.

Everyone loves those people who have been close to them for the majority of their lives but what causes someone to fall in love with a person they have met barely few days or a week ago? What is that thing which attracts two people who had never even talked to each other for hours and still find an attraction between them? I don’t want to cover such a beautiful feeling under the cloak of boring names of chemicals like Dopamine or Oxytocin.

Being in my campus for the past 1 year or so, I have seen several couples being formed; some were predictive while some surprised everyone they knew. I have talked to a few of my friends and have found out how they never “planned out” on getting a boyfriend/ girlfriend while doing their MBA but it happened. Most of them were really quiet people who never really talked to others or went out in groups so that we might say it’s because they socialized or got out that much but it happened for them. Is this only because of some chemical reactions which happened on seeing the other person or is it because they were destined to meet?

We meet lots of people in our entire life; some just pass us by, some stay in our lives for some time while some leave a mark on us. How can we then predict or decide how or where our lives will lead us? Sometimes just a small ‘Hi’ in a crowded bus can lead to a close friendship while at other times even when you spend your entire days with someone doesn’t give you a sense of happiness.

Having gone through a series of my own personal experiences, some told to others and some hidden under several layers in my heart as my most private experiences I can say that at least to me destiny plays a huge part. There have been instances where I had everything planned out but exactly the opposite happened. Personally my belief is you can only try up to an extent, after which it would be futile to try and get some control over your life because it will only cause frustration.

Addictive Mirror

It has been a crazy week for me, with hectic preparations for my interim report which is to be submitted in a few days along with going to the office daily, waking up early, getting back home late. But my days have not been as crazy as the news articles which have been circulating in the Indian media for the past 3-4 days.

Love across borders…..for die hard romantics like me, it is a very fascinating occurrence. Two people from different backgrounds, representatives of two very similar but at the same time two very different countries deciding to get married to take their love for each other to a new level.

But in this case this, this love came with a twist. I am sure you might have guessed by now that I am talking about the much discussed Sania – Shoaib romance which was interrupted by another person. Don’t worry I am not going to go in all the murky details of the case!!!! I can’t even if I want to. It would be like going on a twisted ride in an amusement park, with both the parties making allegations followed by additional charges with no hard core evidence.

If on one hand, Ayesha came forward to get justice in the form of a divorce, Shoaib is saying he doesn’t even know her. Then came the allegations of the Siddiquis’ using fake photographs to supposedly “trap” Shoaib. News channels went into an overdrive in trying to cover this story which was a boon for them as it proved to be an apt masala to serve to the audience to fill the gap which was created after Rahul Mahajan finally got married!!!! Although I’m thankful that it has finally come to its end, logical or not, but yeah for many a really good way of passing time has also got over J

This ridiculous news was given so much coverage that the naxalite attack over our brave CRPF soldiers which occurred at the same time became supplementary news over many news channels as they became immersed in inviting people for discussions on it. For Indian media, which I plan to join in the future, it was a new low in an attempt to raise TRP’s.

Strange land, strange happenings!

Incredible India!! How true is this statement these days for the 7^th largest nation of the world! Where on one hand we still have majority of our population below the poverty line, on the other hand there are brazen displays of money in the higher strata’s of the society.

Dalit ki Beti, Mayawati, always attracts votes during elections by calling for dalits to bring her to power in order to come out of their current low status in the society. For many years, the political equation in U.P has been defined by Samajwadi and Bahujan Samaj Party which is a struggle between the dalits and the so-called higher class. It’s a comedy of sorts to see one party cancel out or declare illegal the laws made during the tenure of the other party. Out of two evils it is very hard to determine which is even slightly better.

In case of the present Mayawati government, money is spent in tunes of 7-figures to place statues of elephants and Kanshi Ram at prominent places. Such news come filtering out after regular intervals of time.

But this time Behenji took the entire political system as well as the entire nation by storm. A brazen display of a garland made of currency notes enveloping her during the anniversary celebrations of the party made the front news. Against the expectations of party members going on defensive mode the same incident was repeated 2 days later, albeit with a smaller garland.

Having been lived in U.P during the initial years of my life, I consider it as an integral party of who I am now. I am in a kind of a love-hate relationship with the place. It has been 12 years since I left the place with a bitter after taste in my mouth but I can’t still see any major changes which could have happened in the positive direction.

When the central government allocates funds for some sort of developmental activity, it disappears midway. A state with such huge opportunities in terms of land and labor has no huge industry to boast of. There are still huge levels of corruption, low literacy levels and major wastage of latent talent.

When the party members were questioned, they came out with the explanation that the garland was made out of the contributions from them rather than from other sources. But if they have the monetary strength to contribute money to this extent for their respected “Behenji”, then why hasn’t there been any visible development in this state. Why aren’t there any educational institutions to boast of apart from a stray IIM and a handful of engineering colleges? If they have this much money to collect why are still hordes of laborers and daily wage earners migrating to other places? Why is Lucknow, once considered a hub of Nawabi culture, now a witness to its death?

I just hope that these political parties answer these questions before U.P is also considered a lost cause and left without any hope.

My Internship

Ever since I finished my schooling I have been dying to work in the corporate sector….and even uploaded my resume on different sites…but my parents always felt that it’s better to first complete my studies and then start working….so I dropped the plan..

Well I have finished my second semester of the MBA program and am at my home doing my internship. Once I started working here I have realized why a job is perfect for a person like me. Because I don’t have to study eight different subjects these days or stay awake till late in the night to finish my course for an exam or become a parrot J

I am a very moody and lazy person so if I love something I’ll give 100% to it otherwise nothing or no one in this world can make me do it.

When my professor told me that I have been selected to be an intern at Devyani international Ltd. I wondered as to what kind of a company it is….I had never heard of it. And then he told me that it was the franchisee of Pizza Hut for north and east India and a franchisee of KFC and Costa Coffee. The first day when I reported there I was nervous but excited as we usually are about new beginnings…my first day at the corporate world!!!!

I had heard various tales where many interns were ill-treated at their respective companies or weren’t given any opportunities to learn or do something constructive and I was wondering what kind of an experience I’ll have here. My first day was not only smooth but I was also impressed by the company and its people. We were introduced to our respective guides and given detailed introduction about the company. My company guide is a really sweet person as he not only encourages me to go ahead and do my best but also keeps motivating and encouraging me. Before I began my SIP I felt as if I was having second thoughts about taking up HR, whether I was actually interested in it but now after I have a month of experience here, I think I’ll love it.

I have been allotted to the Costa Coffee section of DIL. Since it has only 44 stores till now in india, Costa is on a major expansion spree and is thus focusing on recruitment in large numbers. The manpower is less as compared to the work so my supervisor actually takes me to various interviews and has sometimes also allowed me to actually take PI’s, of course for entry level posts only.

But the most exciting thing is that Costa is the beverage partner of IPL matches which will start from 12^th March for which the company requires Hotel Management students from all over the country. I have been given the task of contacting and recruiting these people, explain to them every thing and then select them. Since it’s a very important event, there’s a lot of coordination between HR and Marketing department, working against deadlines, collecting and arranging the information etc.

So, in short I’m loving my time here!!!!!

End of the second sem....finally!!

My life has seen a lot of much anticipated changes in the past few weeks. First of all my second semester finally got over J . Although the last time my semester got over in September I had to stay back for almost 2 days in a dark and virtually vacant hostel, this time I had sworn that nothing would make me stay one more day in that place. The entire week from 25^th January to the 1^st of Feb was a dreaded journey as we had successive papers, day after day after day, and in between 2 papers on the same day. So when the exams finally got over, I literally packed my bags and ran away!!!

My sister, who had come to pick me up, and I went to the city where we stayed in a hotel. The next morning we went to visit the Charminar, the first time I went there, along with Lad Bazaar which is famous for its glass bangles and the Pearl market. It is so easy for us to generalize everything, isn’t it? If we meet one dishonest or rude person in a new city we quickly assume that the city as a whole is rude and that you simply ‘hate’ the place!

Although I am sure I have been overcharged many times by the Hyderabadi autowallahs but still when I look back right now at my past one year experience there, I can confidently say that the city is beautiful and people helpful. Although I don’t remember the name, but my first trip to Golconda Fort last year in August or September with two of my friends turned out to be real fun and informative because a guard assigned there took us on an impromptu tour, telling us all about the old tales and scientific methods used to make it an impregnable fort, before finally guiding us to the light and sound show. Although it was not a part of his job, he did this. I don’t know what else to call it if not helpful nature.

The second time such a thing happened was when I was roaming on the top floor of the Charminar with my sister. We were just standing, looking out at a mosque located directly opposite to it, when a guard on duty approached us and started telling us about the story behind the construction if the monument, the underground tunnel which has been closed now and showed us the various famous buildings which could be seen from that point. Such instances keep happening, to me and I’m sure to many of you too. We just have to remember them while we crib about something the next time.

Goodbye 2009!!

2009, the last year of the first decade of the new millenium has now come to an end...a year of which i have many memories...some not so good, some nice and some simply marvellous :-)

for me the year started with celebrations at Goa with my family...i was still trying to get into an MBA school having given my share of entrance exams and really been fed up of all of them.

i got several calls, some from highly reputed colleges while others from simple money minting factories..finally i got into my present college.

a fresh graduate and probably the youngest in my batch ( yeah i Know...i have been called a baby too many times in the past 6 months or so :P) i met some really amazing people and some sample pieces for the first time in my life!

this year saw me doing many things for the first time in my life vis-a-vis go-karting, bowling, playing golf and having sleep-overs with friends among other things :-)

all in all those trips to the city to snow world, central, city centre, eat street, golconda fort, various malls, and all the travelling and the numerous interactions with an interesting and wide array of personalities has helped me a lot!!!

but yeah some things which i didn't like about this year- my first b'day away from home ( but had fun with friends :-) ), first diwali away from home and not being able to meet my college buddies when i went home for a 7 day vacation after a four month long semester.

but anyways...this is for 2009, a wonderful and different year which opened doors to a new point in my life, it was nice knowing you. Good bye. and welcome 2010!!