It Festive season...

Hay Nikhil, Dude! Hows life?

Hay Amit, fine man. Where you up to?

Just going out.

Where?

Jlt man….nothin special.(wht a nuisance!)

Ha baba but where? Kuch thikana to hoga…

Surabhi’s room yaar.

Some B-plan competition eh?

Hmm….(shit he knows I am participating)

So whts the team?

Me, Surabhi and I think a couple of others…(there he goes!)

So whts the competition? Wht details?

(Wht the fuck!!) are there was this mail a few days back. Don’t remember who had floated it.

(He doesn’t remember? For god’s sake, u have registered and u are participating….) Ahh…

So when is the deadline?

(shit, its tomorrow….if I tell him now, he will also participate….) Don’t remember man…..but I think sometime in couple of days I am not very wrong.

Aha…

Chal cya….Surabhi is waiting.

Sure.

Amit reaches Surabhi’s room…

Are kitna time Amit!

Are Nikhil mil gaya raste me…was asking bout this competition…

Bola kya usko?

Well not much…

Hmm…

Accha sun, we need a DVD writer. We have to submit the final proposal in DVD as the film we have shot cannot fit in one CD.

Shit!! Only Nikhil has a DVD writer. I cant ask him now.

Hmm….ek kaam karte hain…Rima nahin to Suresh ko poochne bolte hay (these are the other two member of the team)

So Rima calls Nikhil.

Hay Nikhil, yaar I need your DVD writer sor some time….can u give it pls (this pls comes surprisingly sweetly!!)

K….np….get ur lappy…..will writ eit anytime u want.

Are can u pls lend it for some time?

Okies…..but wht do you need it for?

Wanna write a DVD. (To be honest enough, I am a lil technologically backward…..dunno many uses of it other than DVD writing!)

Haan but wht?

Are there was this film we had shot….just wanted to write tht.

Oho….so yet another b-school competition huh?

Yeah.

So who all?

Me, suresh and a couple of others….

Chal thik hay….leke jaa….

Epilogue: Nikhil never came to know that Amit, Surabhi, Rima and Suresh formed same team. In spite of all the efforts to keep the competition at bay, they cud not win the competition.

And someone had posed a question whether B-school help us become better human beings….

Some things never change....

Accused for: Committed one of the biggest blunders a person can ever commit.

Defendant played guilty.

Court adjourned till next hearing in which the penalty would be declared. However the offence committed is so grave that parliament and legal advisory board is thinking id including it in the list of criminal offenses.

I actually went and saw (or tried to see....) 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' by a supposed to be director called one Mr. Karan Johar.

Story on part of the defendant:

That f***** thing sucked big time. Sure. So much so that 4 people (including me - the defendant) left 10 or 15 minutes after the interval.

Preity and Shahrukh are married. Sharukh meets Rani in some park (arbit meet as typical of KJ movies) just before she is supposed to marry and sitting in full wedding clothes in park. (Point to be noted here is he is already married for 5 long years) He advises her to go and marry. So does she and ties the knot with Abhishek. Then when he is out of the park, he meets with accident and injures his leg for life. Since he was a football player before that, now it is obvious that he cannot play football. So a level of bitterness creeps in him. So far so good.

Some years later, they meet again (And the trauma starts.......for audience....not actors). Because of his son and with some typical third grade KJ jokes. Some damn chemistry strikes once again and since they are dissatisfied with their respective partners, the storyline starts. OK let us get this straight. He is unsatisfied because Preity is more successful than him. (As a matter of fact she never bosses around. But still....). Rani is unsatisfied because Abhishek is interested in parties. (But point again he always wishes that she accompany him to the parties but she always refuses).

Bottomline: Marriages in DANGER!!

Point to be noted my lord is that it is typical....dont get the notion that it is something different just because it is in Caps. (Its in caps coz I want to complete this blog. Otherwise the danger persists that writing about this damn thing, it is so boring that I might never complete my post)

But the efforts to save marriages is seen only on the parts of Preity and Abhishek. Though we see Rani and Shahrukh to try and make some efforts, all they end up doing is: Shahrukh takes Rani to some sex shop to get her some sexy lingerie so that she can look sexy and Rani tries to teach him some lessons which Abhishek seems to practice with her and in the process she herself gets "lost" (Only if you know what I mean). See......I told you it is unbelievable!!

So I left at this point (which was something like 15 minutes after the interval). But you read on as I narrate the story as i heard it from some friend. In the process of having some damage control done for their marraiges, they only end up sleeping with each other. (Point to be noted my lord is when Abhishek who is her husband and in opinion of many, handsome than SRK, wants to make love to her she refuses it on the grounds that there are many more things than just sex). Basically they are losers as all of you juries must have guessed by now.

Saving grace: Good old pillar of Hindi cinema.......Amitabh Bachchan. (Though his character is shown to be a lil frivelous)

As story by defendant comes to close, the next court session begins. Members of the honourable jury are ready with their opinion and comments.

Jury: As defendant has already played guilty, the possibility of doubting that never existed. However considering the fact that he has already undergone more punishment than required, as per the Indian law, he need not be punished again. Watching a KJ movie is a punishment in itself. Also as per the utilaterian theory, for greatest good of greatest number of people and considering the social implications of such movies, the bench of this jury feels that permission to KJ for producing/directing movies should be reconsidered. The jury stands unanimous in it decision. Decision awarded 14-0.

P.S. This is a good revenge technique however to suggest your enemy to go and watch the movie as battles could be won without a bullet.

Juniors' night and me

Junior's night.......

I danced on stage after something like 7 years.......

After my first year engineering when I had danced in our freshers party.......

And now when we threw party for juniors.......

Preparation in last couple of hours.......

First one involving 4 songs from past decades and more than 10 people willing to dance........

Dance steps, choreography, practice only twice.......

Plain fun, enthusiasm and makin sure that we have fun in prolly last year of educational career.......

Needless to say a total disaster.......

Highlights on stage.......

I forgot stpes couple of times......

So did other people.....

Someone's saree's knot got loose.......

No one got props on stage with which we were supposed to dance with.....

Song stopped once.......

We ended up dancing with partners we were not supposed to......

JLT.......

I am dying laughin even when i remember it.......


Second one when we took stage on the beats on 'Sex Bomb' song.......

One good hit to end show with.......

Call it foolishness, enthusiasm, fun, bewakufi.... I don't care.....

Just living life by some right advice.......there is certain age to do certain things.......

And then of course the traditional role of waiters serving juniors askin "would you like this sir? Would you like that ma'am?" "Drinks are served upstairs Sir!!" "We also serve special ice cremes and paans and alike ma'am"

A trully memorable and fully enjoyed evening.......

And thats that!!

Being ?

Yesterday I visited Cheshire home. A place for mentally retarded human beings. Otherwise just like us.

But how big a difference that otherwise makes. So many old questions resurfaced. What is life? Who is god?

I said, " they have no life. Its just a mockery of it. Who exactly are we being good to by allowing them to live that kind of a life?" ..............I have always been a supporter of euthanasia. More I read, more my belief is reinforced. Criminal? Who me? ok.......... To which he answered," They are feeling people mate, not thinking like you and me".......well.......in any case, on the day of judgment I have something to ask back to god.......

Am still thinking.

Same day I saw the softer side of so many of my batch mates whom I wouldn't have known otherwise. Ever. Nothing new that everyone would feel sad in such an environment but something I saw there moved me. People I always thought to be too selfish and too materialistic came out so differently. And me, myself, whom I have always looked up to as an emotionally enriched person, was nowhere to be found. I could interact with those people probably easier than most of them. But where was that feeling of sadness? I felt i was sad just because one is supposed to be sad. I felt so helpless that I am not doing anything. So damn helpless. It drained me. And that's that. I thought as if i was lying to myself when I said I am sad and angry.

But Why?........

It made me realize however how blessed we are. Fights for placements, higher education, strategic thinking seem so petty.

What I am going to do about it someone asked. I don't know. I do not know if I am brave enough to visit and spend time with them. Partly because I cant see that life. Partly because I am becoming dry I think. A state i dread of. And one more why?

But something for sure. What remains to be seen is how I channelize all this "learning".

Alive and Kicking....

Now that my blog has survived an premature death threat............alive and kicking!!

As my internship comes to a close…

This one is dedicated to all the people who made my life in Switzerland not only easy but a lot of fun………The animals appear in the order in which I met them.

Niharika: My first point of contact. Her interaction started even before we touched the foreign land. All out insatiable queries were best answered and it was so much easier because of that. Also she in troduced me to wonderful world of trainees and so many new friends that I was to make.

Sandra: My first dinner invitation and first Arab dinner invitation. Austrian by nationality, she is a very quiet and mature person. Doesn’t talk much but whenever talks, talks a lot of sense. Of course a pub quiz partner. I enjoyed it very much Sandra.
I unfortunately dont have a snap righ tnow...

Nataliya: Ms. Brazil. That is what we call her sometimes. A very enthusiastic and jovial personality. I never knew Brazil and India had so many things in common. She has even gifted me with Brazil wrist band. I will never forget the match we saw together and I am expecting you next year in India.

Nataliya: My Ukranian connection. I have hardly seen anyone laughing like her. Perfectly innocent and not caring if someone is watching or not. I really envy you for that. I wish I can do just like that some day!! Again an extreme enthusiast…..Budma…..Ho !!

Michal: My polish friend. One of the coolest people and best friends I made in Switzerland. He is the one in whose room I am sitting while I write this. He so gracefully accepted me for the last week. We share a lot of interests in common all of which I cant write here because of obvious constraints…..but football is certainly one of them. A die hard polish fan. Too sad the way in which they lost today to Germany. I supported them mate….tough luck!!
We sure will meet one day again in life. Keep in touch buddy!!

Julia: Wie geht’s? My German connection. As I have mentioned before, our first host outside Zurich. I cant describe how I enjoyed that weekend Julia. She also happens to be the one who can boast of having started this tradition of having gatherings every weekend and making a lot of new friends and a lot of fun!! Your performance while bidding us goodbye at Lausanne station can never be erased from my memory.

Emyra: Again the first host. We never really had muchinteraction. But wishing you all the best wishes for your upcoming wedding and hope you two do well in life.

Daniel: A Hungarian student I met at Lausanne……
we didn’t have much time together. But I enjoyed
every bit that we spent together.

Dominique: Fosters Australian for beer!! I will remember your advise “Give it a try, it always works!!”

Andre: My brasilien __________

mate!! He just turned a man and what a grand party we had on his birthday!! You have been a great friend mate. I hope we always remain in touch. However before I go I am expecting to meet you again at Zurich…..

Where is Brazil??.....when you ask that question where is India next time……be assured that I will be there in India!!

Asia: We didn’t have much time together either….but whatever time we spent together, I thoroughly enjoyed. My polish friend.

Unna: Scandinavian friend from Denmark. One of the most silent and most sweet people around. Tell her something and she will go out of her way to help you. She was again a perfect host in Lugano. A very well received trip and who can forget the Swiss m

iniature museum? Pity Unna that we could not meet after that weekend. Hope we meet sometime in future.

Emir: Go Tunisia go!! He and Julia bag the award for most hospitable and courteous hosts. He is a silent worker. Will never say what

he is doing but you can be rest assured that it will be perfect. He also happens to be the one who showed me around in Basel when I had been there. He also is the member of our elite team which saw Brazil playing!! That Sheesha was amazing man with apple flavour. Do try sometimes the way I have suggested. Believe me it is nice!!

Carmen: Mexico. We spent very little time again but it was good trip with you in Lugano and Basel.

Ewelina: Poland again!! And I finally get her name’s spelling right!! Met her a little late as she arrived after some time than when we arrived. However, one of Zurichers I spent m

ost my time with. You have been a very good friend. Keep in touch.

Chris: My african brother!! We had great time together....i hope some of our african brothers do well in WC.......and for all those who do not know him.....he is another laugh freak just luke Natasha (Nataliya)!!

Thank you guys and girls for a wonderful reception and a wonderful stay. Have a lot of good memories to take back and hope to meet you all sometime in future. And anytime you plan to come ti India and just remember I am just a phone call away.

For all my Switzerland trip snaps....please click here

And Mike, Nataliyas, Sandra, Andre I am expecting you next year!!

P.S. I need to mention my project guides.....

A very sweet lady. And a very nice man. I was treated very respectfully at work and was given the full freedom to work the way I wanted to. A very professional treatment and I bet I was in best of hands.

Summer of 2006

Hmmm…..so I hear that you are learning something new everyday. This foreign soil seems familiar to you now. All the initial anxieties have vanished and what remains is desire to prove and perform and go home “wiser”. You have been fortunate that the true intention of summer training is being fully appreciated in your case. In fact you should say that you are learning much more than what is intended. Intention of course is the industry exposure. You are working with a bank and a Swiss one at that. So……

But as I said you are learning much more. You are learning the real meaning of independence. Independence does not mean that you can do whatever you wish to at whatever time you want. It only means that you are at liberty to take best possible course of action keeping in mind the good for everyone. You are realizing that slowly aren’t you?

Almost everyday every week you are meeting new people. You have made plenty of friends and some of them hopefully for life. You have been fortunate than you are very comfortably paid for a trainee. Your salary is much more than most of them. But it has affected you in either ways…..hasn’t it? One way you are comforted that your life has become much more comfortable. And on other side it is the pressure to perform. To prove your worth. To prove that you are indeed from the best business school from India in your area. I am happy that you are taking it in right spirit and it hasn’t got into your head.

I am also happy that you are realizing the “value” of money but at the same time you are not being miser and are spending money amply for experiences. It is a very appropriate trade off.

I am happy that you are noticing the differences and I am happy that you are able to understand why we, as Indians, are different. The difference in some cases is because there is no other option, in some of the cases because we have faltered and in some of the cases, it is because of choice. You have seen plenty of things here which are better than those in your own country. Some you think are better than in India but many you think are far superior to existing Indian standards. The first thoughts which crossed your mind were not of disgust for India and dream of settling here but were of anger and making them come true back home. I am happy that you are thinking that “My home will be like this one day……” rather than “India ka kuch nahi ho sakta” And I am very happy for that.

I am happy that you are not shy of meeting yourself. Have a nice hard look at your deficiencies. There are so many. I think this summer has given you the “exposure” in its essence. An exposure to yourself and to life. You have started to learn and appreciate life. And it is summer of 2006.

I am missing you.......

I am very relaxed now and Ali Haider’s Purani Jeans is going on……

………..Mohalle ki wo chat aur mere yaar…..suddenly all those memories are awake and in a moment I have started missing home…….I have started missing my friends….Ragsi, Shaks, Dicky, Callboy (Koulboy…..pls don’t think anything else), Onshul, Ghattu, Chino, Mayz…….(Raghu, Vinod, Daksh, Sunil, Anshul, Ashish, Siddharth and Mayank in that order)…..and I am missing u Aadat…..and Saji, bada bhai Matthai, and roomie Jas and Shipra, Sheetal, Sandhya, ali, Mansi and of course Antu………table bajake wo gane gaana yaaron ke saath…….and all my classmates in XL……and need I say XL ??

pahuchna college hamesha late……wo kahna sir ka get out from the class…….i am so fortunate (?)……I never had to hear tht……..

Wo papa ka datna aur kahne mammi ka chodiye ji aap…………..I am missing my family…..i am missin u mom and I am missin u Dad…..and I am missin tht “datna” too which in reality I don’t remember when I got last time……..love u 2…….and 2 ashs, kaks, kaka, aaji, 2 maus, kaka and everyone back home…….

Ladkpan ka…..wo pahla pyar……wo likhna haatho pe A+R……..wo likhna letter unhe baar baar………..wo lena dosto se paise udhar……..dont even know how we always settle wo hisab………..

Tanna nana dat tat dat tat nat……….music is on………and song is getting over….

Aisa yaadon ka mausam chala…….kahan mere dost aur wo guitar……...for me one more year with all these animals (read my frds) and XL is still remainin…..and I thank u god for tht……..love u animals and love u XL……..

All u ppl have a special space in my heart ………and believe me sometimes its wise to say it out loud (at the risk of sounding “senti” and being tagged as “uncool” and)……as a friend told me today….in words of Mark Twain……”20 years from now and you will be more disappointed for things you did not do rather than for those things you did……..”…..so just makin sure that I can eliminate some of those “did not do” things, which I can………………

I am missing u home, you mean a lot to me.

Jungfrau !!

The literal meaning of the greman word is virgin. This name has been given to the highest peak in the mountain ranges of the great Alps.

Jungfrau is supposed to be one of the most expensive trips and people ere even after being something like 6 months haven’t gone. But given the time constraint for us, we were determined to make most out of it!!

So on next Sunday morning it was that we finally decided to invade Jungfrau. Got up at 5.30 am as we were advised to catch first train if we had to avoid most of the crowd……so we were ready at 6.30am on platform to catch the mountain cog-wheel train. It is another magnificent piece of engineering. It has got gears at the symmetry line across the length of the train at bottom and they give the train extra grip and required push while climbing up the steep slopes of Alps!!

While going, one needs to change trains at 2 points but as everywhere is this wonderland, its not a problem at all, as when you get down from the first train, connecting train is ready just at the next platform!! They halt at 2 points on the journey, where there are caves made out of the mountains and at the end of these caves, there are glass windows for tourists to see breath taking white snow covered peaks. This train is always full of enthusiastic people who go up to ski!! And ours was no exception. There were many of them with all the preparation and glowing ski equipments!! I was so tempted to have my first try but then first try right on the steep slopes of Alps and that too from the highest peak would have been too much (and later I came to know that it is not allowed also if u do not know how and if you don’t have the equipments)

We reached right at the top somewhere about 9.30am……there are about 4 places where tourists go. And here we decided to follow the special instructions for tourists. Starting with a completely snow covered peak (see the snaps for reference)……and I had not set more than 2 steps before both my feet were deep down in chilly snow till ankles!! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Had I not had these good boots on, it wouldn’t have taken more than 10 seconds for my feet to freeze!! (and this is not even a bit of exaggeration……we took up snow in hands just for the purpose of snaps and by the time other person had finished clicking, we were rubbing our hands vehemently to get the blood flowing again!!)….boy….wasn’t it some funnnnnnnn……..people who have visited there in winter or just on the verge of winter finishing, will agree to my statements.

After clicking like a mad person there, our next visit was to “Ice Palace”. Here there are various sculptures carved out of ice……some like bears and various other animals and come characters like Mickey and mini mouse. The specialty of this cave cum palace is that its walls as well as its floor and ceiling are of ice!!....nice little walk I must say……but…….may god save u if you are not wearing boots with good grip…..wouldn’t take much long for you to slip over it.

Next in line was of course what we had come here for!! Jungfrau (N)och!! The highest peak in Alps where tourists can go without any equipment!! (Actual Jungfrau is a different peak very close to this one and you can see it……people that are trained in mountaineering can climb it with the help of all necessary mountaineering equipments.)

You do feel like you are in heaven…….anywhere you see and its only the untouched white ice is to be seen and the sun shining above gives it a wonderful aura…….it does reflect the virgin beauty in spite of having so many visitors every day!! Its difficult for me to describe in words…..see pictures and you will understand why…..

I can still feel the pain of leaving that place…….really feels like heavenly beauty…….

Rest of that day was just another day in life of us mortals……meal at Bollywood restaurant (I am not joking, there is a restaurant named bollywood restaurant at the highest peak in Europe!!) and quiet travel back home.

RhineFalls

This is supposed to be the biggest waterfall in terms of volume of water!!.......There was a direct train to a village called Schaffhaussen. Initially Vishal and me got a ticket to Winterthur and that too full. But then we realized the mistake and the person on the counter was kind enough to make it the required one and he also adjusted the money. So we set out with right tickets and the journey was as good as it had been on previous 2 days. In the train and then in the bus we met a guy. He was studying at Zurich University and was going there to meet his friend who was working in the restaurant. We also met an interesting person who was very helping in guiding us. He also had a very sweet baby and the baby was so cheerful!! It was really really cute!! God bless it!!

The place is really beautiful and the actual fall is real great. There is a ferry ride which takes you to the island which you can climb and the view if fall from there is real close and grandiose. I clicked n number of pictures from there. After staying there till the next ferry came to pick us up, we went on a big walk. There are multiple pathways around where you can walk and see the water from various angles. One path goes directly parallel to the railway line and it also happens to be the bridge over the river. Here we and Shweta lost track of each other. (Eventually we met and came back together)….here also I have clicked loads of pictures and all of them are worth it!!

The journey back was quite uneventful and this concluded our first weekend.

Interlaken - Part I

Day 2 of the weekend and there was not much confusion regarding where we should be heading. We started for Interlaken at about 2pm. The journey this time was a break journey in which we had to change the trains at Bern. The train timings in Switzerland are synchronized to perfection. For us it was from Zurich to Bern, change the train and then from Bern to Interlaken. We reached Bern and within 5 minutes the next train to Interlaken was supposed to start. This time it was delayed by 15 minutes and gave us a little breather. For any new person it is a little tough to get used to this extraordinary sophisticated system. You waste 5 minutes and then you will have to wait for at least half an hour for the next train. One more thing which makes this whole system so amazing is that the time across the country is more or less perfectly synchronized. Also, there is not a delay of a minute (unless of course it is announced) in timings. So if a train is supposed to leave at 2pm then sharp at a minute to 2 the doors will be closed and at 2 the train will depart. No wonder why these people are so famous about there watches. Anybody valuing the time so much deserves the respect in the same proportion.

After changing the trains at Bern, we reached Interlaken at 4pm. It was cloudy and raining most of the time and this time we had no umbrellas with us. Nevertheless we proceeded for River lodge, the place Shweta had booked earlier online for four of us. Unfortunately it was full and we had to come back to station. There was this amazing map of all the lodges and hotels in the area (a very detailed one). It displays the current position of the visitor. Also, to its side, pictures of all the lodges and hotels and hostels are mentioned with a code number. When you press that code number in the machine provided, it beeps a light and the map gives you the exact location of the place you are looking for. To make it better, there is a telephone right besides it. You dial the same code number again in the phone and it connects you directly to the hotel you have dialed for. You can enquire here about the availability of the rooms. And all this free of cost again!! (You can’t help to wonder, if this whole system can ever be implemented in India. And ever and even it is, how long will it function? Some sad facts……..but one day all this will be possible) We called up all the feasible places and got the same answer from everywhere. “We are fully booked!!”. It was only one place which told us that it can accommodate us but we would have had to share a room with 31 other people…….
Next we reached travel guide office and were told that the weather next day wasn’t exactly ideal for visiting Jungfrau as showers and cloudy atmosphere was predicted. Obvious choice was to take a round about Interlaken and catch the last train back.

Interlaken is just like a country side. Though thousands and thousands of visitors visit every year, it is really appreciable the way the government has maintained the beauty of the place. Again you start making comparison with India and some common examples that come to your mind are Shimla and Manali etc. I bet equally beautiful places, but with the volume of people visiting every year, the beauty is diminishing. But here its hardly the case.

A nice couple of hours of walking around the place, some good shops and some real scenic beauty and we were close to call it a day. On our way we had noticed a nice restaurant called Shalimar which announced to serve Alu Mutter and other Indian cuisine. It might sound funny, but just in a week we were bored to death by eating bread everyday. But it turned out to be a little expensive. (3 CHF for a naan and with a thali only one naan or a portion of rice) So we went to another one called Bamboo something. Had some nice Thai food. Also It happened so that Vishal wanted to purchase something from a gift shop for his girlfriend. So the arrangement was that he would meet us in Shalimar in 10 minutes. But we decided to shift the place. Hence Shweta ordered in that restaurant and I waited for him outside Shalimar. 25 minutes passed by and there was no sign of him at 8.15pm. So I joined her for dinner in the hope that we would catch a glimpse of him from that restaurant and we would go back together. But Murphy’s law again and I think it was destined that we would go back separately.

We finished our dinner in a hurry and rushed to station to catch 8.47 train back. There we came to know that it was a bus and not a train and next train was only at 9.25. So we waited. There was this taxi driver and a girl(French I think) who helped us with the time table. Then for train we crossed the rail line and got this warning from an official as to how it is dangerous and how we should not be doing it in Switzerland. He was really caring and nice.

The journey back home was quite uneventful except for the fact that only two of us were together. Back home Vishal had already reached and truly relived that he too had reached safely, we hit the bed!!

First weekend - Lusern

We never realized how quickly our first week in Switzerland passed by……or may be I should be saying the working week!!

Time of Oesterfest and everyone in this part of world is with some or the other plans. So we had to have one. Even people in my office were concerned whether I am doing something over the weekend or I am spending my time only in Zurich.

So after a lot of contemplation and a lot of deliberation, first day (that was Friday) we decided to have a one day trip for first day as we got up a little late that day. Lusern came as one of the obvious choices as nothing much else could be found.

We left home somewhere about 12 and reached the Zurich main station. After some information from travel office at Zurich and gathering some pamphlets, we got ourselves a half tax ticket. With this pass you can buy all the tickets in half the price in Switzerland. This is nice system as trains, buses and boat travel is all integrated and is very nice.

After having this pass done, we proceeded to get ourselves a ticket for Lusern. We got a ticket and also met a person from Pune, India. Raghunandan Mone. And to our luck, he also knew German and French fluently. The train was at 13.04 and reached Lusern at about 1400 hours. Outside station was a inquiry counter for tourists and there we got to know that a boat ride was starting in 2 minutes. RUNNNN!!

We just made it on board. Half pass in action again!! We settled on front deck. Sunny and windy and scenery and nice company. Just the perfect start needed for first day and first tour.

The boat ride is amazing. The lake is surrounded by mountains either covered with ice or wit lush green grass. The scenic beauty is simply outstanding. This also happened to be my first test of Swiss countryside. It is an amazing experience to be on a boat in middle of a lake and being surrounded by mountains and ice and colours and Mother Nature!!
The ride was of 2 hours during which we experienced truly wonderful sights.

The ride finished at about 1615 and we had lot of time to explore the city of Lusern on foot. We had this map of Lusern in which all the tourists’ places are marked wonderfully. The details of the locations are mentioned to perfection and finding then with the help of a map is only child’s play. First it was a church, followed by a castle. Church was very beautiful from inside. Extremely quiet, very old and very well maintained. And then another star attraction - The walk on and around the fortification wall of the city. It is a beautiful experience for anyone who is not shy of walking. A total walk of about 6 to7 kilometers takes you around this wall. From the top of wall you get a wonderful overview of city of Lusern and the lake. Here unfortunately the battery of my camera got over but most of the pictures are available as we had 3 cameras between us. We walked and walked and walked and enjoyed every bit of it. (Here I forgot my umbrella in one of the tower on the wall and realized it when we had almost climbed down. So ran all the way up and got it back).

It was almost 7.15 and we decided to return. A train journey back to Zurich and time to bid farewells. We exchanged the contact numbers with Raghu and returned to the apartment.

A fantastic trip first up and time for three satisfied souls hit the beds!!

Switzerland Diaries – Chocolates, Time, Nature, Knives, Beauty and Me!!

Day one!!

The first day on the foreign soil was a memorable experience. This beautiful city of Zurich greeted us with rains and temperatures of about 3-4 degrees Celsius!!

We were greeted bu Jorge (AIESTE, Financial Advisor) and Niharika Pande on the airport at the meeting point and it took us about 15 minutes by taxi to find out apartment. One our way I also saw one of those big buildings meant only for parking….first in my life (and it was one of the vary few things I was to see for the very first time I my life as I later came to know).

Apartment is really beautiful. It is a penthouse on the 7th floor with 2 bedrooms, hall, dining room, kitchen, terrace and a lift directly taking us to floor no.7!! All well furnished and with fantastic amenities. We were to pay 1200 CHF as against initially informed CHF 600. But people here assure us that with the salary we are getting, we would still manage comfortably.

Sunday was mostly spent in getting to know the essential places like tram stops and markets from where we can purchase our daily food. Tram stop is like 3 to 4 minutes walking from my apartment. There is also a shop called “On the run” at petrol pump which happens to be one of the many in the chain. Luckily we get everything here. (well almost….)On the same road we visited “Bahnhofstrasse” (main train station) market. (Later we also came to know that it is the biggest shopping place in Switzerland!!)

We purchased some food items and accessories for a couple of days. Dropped them at house and went back to have the first look at UBS building and our workplace!

Rest of the day was quite uneventful except for the fact that we prepared our own food and then cleaned the dishes as well. And too damn successfully to say the least. (Cant help boasting here guys….it was really wonderful)

Menu: Rice, a mix curry vegetable of potato, tomato, onion and some limited spices (tomato batata rassa for those who know Marathi)

First day…….and what a memorable one!!

Life as it comes.......

Last weekend, I got to spend some quality time with my newly made truly international friend circle. We were invited by a girl called Julia in Lausanne. It happens to be in the French speaking part of Switzerland and is very near to Geneva and France.

She is an AIESEC trainee and lives in a place called Renens VD (this is pronounced as Renau……just the way you would pronounce Renault (car makers)). This is unbelievable. And it came as no surprise to me when someone told that the person who actually designed spellings and one who architectured the language, were two different people....(just kidding !!)

This AIESEC seems to be a great concept. It mainly facilitates the student exchange in various countries. Most of them get a chance of doing 2 internships in different countries. I think it is a great platform for anyone who wants to have a share of different cultural experiences. Also, I must confess here that I did not know of this organization when I was doing my graduation in India. Though they say that it is pretty big in home and there is a lot of competition for getting an internship abroad.

You might not get all the strategic work during your internship that you always aspire for. (Especially for us poor souls who are in this league of doing engineering and then MBA from some good school and setting more and more expectations from work). But concept here is not of getting a good job in foreign. Concept is to learn different cultures, meet different people, make new friends, learn new customs and become really culturally and socially rich. But then what work you get and do?? It could be something extremely interesting (you just might pull a cracker of a project) or if you are one amongst the unlucky very few (as law of averages will always be applicable) clerical, secretarial….aber das ist mir egal (I hardly care….).As long as it has dignity!!

Ok….I am not getting paid by AIESEC for writing this one and anyways that was not the focus…….

Focus was to see how youth can enjoy after getting into these kinds of global partnerships. So as I started, we were invited by a girl called Julia in Lausanne and we gratefully accepted it. We did not have a clue about the wonderful weekend that awaited us. There were something like close to 15 people and many of them were meeting for the first time thanks to Julia and Emira. Our hosts.

It is difficult for me to describe what followed in those 2 days because we did so many things. I had a taste of some variety of food and drinks; we danced like animals, roamed like ardent travelers, got friends as if we knew each other for years and total chaos!! 2 days, 10 people, new places and unbelievable fun!! (In these 2 days we also visited France without having a passport and visa with us……that was some daring, in spite being told by the Swiss authorities not to step on French soil!!)

A week later as we approach the next weekend, we have plans of meeting in Zurich……continue the good things as they say and we being such good students, are taking them for their word.

It is good to see so many students getting such a wonderful exposure and making most out of it. One of my expectations from life was to get an opportunity to see great many places. Pack a bag, leave your home, travel, work and earn as you travel and travel more. Let me be very candid here…..I have not yet had a courage to do that…….but good to see that so many people are doing it……well not exactly as I wrote, but through these internships, working for a year or so and then moving on…….without caring for type of work, without caring for money, as long as it is enough to take u on…….

Working towards gathering that courage and waiting for my turn to come…..

Vote of thanks:

Thank you guys for all the wonderful time and Julia and Emira for being such wonderful hosts. Had it not been for you people (Andre, Patrick, Mike, Nataliyas, Niharika, Julia, Emira, Unna, Sandra….and I am sorry if I have missed anyone here….), I probably would have missed such a fantastic and daring aspect of life.

P.S. I also have penned down my experiences from beginning on this foreign soil and will publish them soon. (For those who care to read :))

FMCG or IT ?

The answer to this question does not pose any challenge for people who are doing their management in HR. Over the years FMCG has been the preferred sector. When I say over the years, I am referring to last one and a half decade since there was no recognizable presence of IT sector before that.

No one knows why it is so......when asked questions to people who put FMCG above IT the answers were very vague. So I decided to compare myself.

Interest: Point taken. But holds true only for the people interested in subjects of law and field of IR (Industrial Relations).

However, the scene over the years has been that come placements and FMCG names are everywhere (except for people who are consult focus) otherwise ask anyone and you will hear P&G, A Paints, Nestle, Cadbury, HLL, Marico....so on and so forth.......

Brand Name: There are big names on either side.

Salary: They say its the last criteria to decide..........however that is just another management lie!

Okk.....IT companies definitely match the pay given by FMCGs......and annual average increments in IT sector are much more than that offered by FMCGs. Also in hand component with IT is more than that of FMCGs.

Locations: With IT you will definitely be in metros......with FMCGs you never know.

Job Security: Does anything like that exists anymore?

Work Content and work environment: (there comes another management jargon!!)

The point of work content is taken care by interest and as far as work environment goes I personally do not think there is any marked difference.

And still go to any B-school and ask for the preferences, its P&G, HLL and then IT, banks and the list continues......ask some topper why and get yet another vague answer !!

SpeAk uP

Learning languages has always been my hobby. I try to pursue it in every possible manner....sometimes formally and other times informally. It somehow gives me a taste of the culture of the people who speak that language. Mumbai as my hometown has always helped me to nurture it.

Mumbai is a metropolitan city and whether you wish it or not you get the flavour of many languages. Come to travel in a local train, u can't escape gujarati stock broker talking excitedly about shares, the quarrels those fishermen/women have with other people in compartment, the "happening" language of college going crowd and probably some hindi film entertainment by the beggars that come...........and these are the factors that I have always enjoyed as a student of language.

Now that its almost an year that I am in Jamshedpur, some differences show up very very prominantly. In Mumbai, the city has got its own language. Some will call it Marathi, some will call it Gujarati and who knows what else. But I will define it as language of Mumbai. I am sure anyone who has spent considerable years in Mumbai will agree with the above statement. And language should not be a barrier in good friendship is what I have learnt.

Then why is it that my this belief is being challenged again and again in last six months or so since I am here in Jamshedpur? Why is it that the groups that have taken shape after an year are predominantly only on the basis of language? Why is it that a tamil guy will be found more than 95 percent of time in tamil company? Why the same thing holds true for people from southern states? Why is it that people from north will always ridicule people from south and vise versa? Why is it that in spite of meeting people from all the southern states south remains confined to "Madrasi" for northern region people? And why is it that in spite of being so much educated, people from south don't even know the basic Hindi, which happens to be our national language? And why is it that so many questions arise although all of us belong to same age group?

For some time now, these are the questions I have been asking myself and still not able to come up with a satisfactory answers. Are our cultures so different that it has taken more than a year to get familiar with each other's culture? (This of course doesn’t hold true in case of food as so many committees keep on hosting their regional food evenings) Also, if we divide Indian geography on X-Y axis, then the resistance by the states to learn about other cultures is maximum on Y axis. Maximum at extremes (exception of Kashmir.....there goes another completely different story). So Delhi on one end and Tamilnadu and Kerala on other. And the resistance by people of states on X axis is minimum with Mumbai on one end and Kolkata on another (North east again is a different story.........also some people will argue saying Bongs are equally eccentric people and are very very region biased......but I have certainly had different experiences......here in XL and also with all the bongs I have known). Of course these again are personal opinions and observations.

Not a very serious issue this, but enough to make my mind wonder thinking about this. Can someone come up with answers to this? And if someone does, then what next??

And this is one more reason why I want some Mumbai air.........................

Him.......

I keep on meeting him a lot of times. Don’t remember when I met him for the first time though. But since then he has been my best friend. Probably the only one who knows all the secrets of my life. The secrets not even Nilesh or Yogi or Shantanu know……It came out so naturally. No efforts were needed for us to introduce each other. We knew who each other was the moment we met.

He is with me right now. He has so many questions in his head……generally…….i am being bombarded with the hows and whos and whats and whens and wheres and whys of it……and I have no answers for them. I am getting frustrated with the idea that I am not able to help the only person I know inside out for sure……..

Some of them are based on fear….some on happiness……some on relationships……and some of them are just like that…………its leading me to a state of commotion……I can’t break free……..I don’t even want to get free……..its the only thing I can do for him and I am doing that………coz I know its going to be me for him and he for me……

He says he hasn’t lost out on any major things in last few days……….its the fear of losing, not achieving the goal that is driving him mad……..we are talking…….. I am asking him not to be afraid and face the challenge head on…….but while telling him I myself am beginning to fear if I am giving him the right advice…….but then I remember the words of wisdom my mama has given me…….”Failure is not a crime…..but low aim is……..je kahi karat ashil te agadi man laun kar……lakshat thev Shri Krishnane Arjunala kay sangitale hote…….Karmanyeva………”

I gather the courage again…….I am telling him with more confidence……the result is showing slowly but surely…….he starts to understand it……..both of us are making more sense out of this foggy condition……..hopefully the road will get clearer……soon……sooner……

Promises and Com(promises)

As a child I wanted to become a doctor, a fighter pilot, a MI5 or MI6 agent, a soldier and don’t remember what more.......

As a child I loved life (so do I now) and loved probably everything it had to offer me. Nature, wildlife, treks, trips, schools, studies (yes I did....), sports, friends.......

I never really understood how I developed so many interests in life. Probably all the credit goes to my parents who taught me to enjoy the life as it is. At every moment while I was enjoying them, I made myself some promises. To be with all these things for rest of my life.

Today, I am doing MBA from one of India's most prestigious B-schools. Here everyone comes to be successful. To get a good job. A high paying job. Enjoy probably the last two years of educational career and transform oneself into a "rich"er person.

Unfortunately that richness is measured in terms of whether you get 7 or 8 or 10 or 12 or 15 lacs. In return you get a job in some top notch company. In years that follow climb the ladders of organisational hierarchy. In the process of reaching the top we don't really realise the years that fly by. The only things those occupy our lives are work, promotion and money. And I fear myself just doing that.......

I fear that in the quest for the top, I might not be able to fulfill all those promises I made myself as a child. I love reading, writing, trekking, travelling, swimming, playing, listening to music and many more simple things. But I hardly see anything of these in today's cut throat race for the top. It reminds me of the story I read sometime back....that of a fisherman and a businessman. I know I am writing this at the risk of being labelled as an unambitious person. But I also stand at a juncture of life where I need to decide whether the compromises will override my promise or I find some way to compromise on compromises to fulfill my promises.

Thats me 

Quorum and Freedom

I am sitting in my room, no. 425, and contemplating over the elections that took place a couple of days ago here in XLRI. These were for the secretaries of the various committees we have here....

They say that in here you can start any committee provided that there is an 'X' at the end of it (e.g. MAXI, FINAX). I came to know only yesterday however that it requires backing of at least 40% of the batch (which happens to be about 72 people).....the fundamental principle being that when you can have the support of these many people, then the committee is supposed to be for the good of student community as a whole. What happens in years that follow....if people are interested or not....if committee really adds any value or not......this are the questions nobody thinks of once the existence is established.....however I am not debating that here.

Now that these committees are in existence, there needs to be 'leadership' for that and the most obvious thing to do is having a secretary....and follow the elections....just the way we had them 2 days back. Again the elections are valid only if there is attendance of 40% of the batch (don’t jump to conclusion that if the required number is not present then the committee is scraped.....we are too altruistic for that.....). If the required number is not present then the elections are held again....now the people who are standing for the position of secy, use their network and gather the "janata" to reach the number 72. This we call a quorum....which if not present then elections do not take place.

But a thought keeps on bothering me that is this the way the processes are to run?.....by achieving the number of 72 is no big deal (given the friend circle of a person and fact that the elections for various committees are held together....so if there are elections for 6 committees then all each committee candidates have to do is gather 12 people.....)

I am assuming here that at this stage in life all of us are mature individuals and know what we want from life. So making me attend the election of the committee I am not interested in is in a way forcing me. The argument in favour of such process is that in this manner at least I know what those committees are up to. But if an individual is not interested in a particular committee, making him attend the election and making him vote does not make sense. Also, not only is it the question of attending an election, but also vote.........(say committee A and B are going for elections at the same time....I am interested in A but not in B....then making me sit for the election of A and forcing me to vote is not the way it should be)

Of course all this is my personal opinion and I know that there are too many people to challenge me saying you are being too individualistic and cant think of a batch as a whole. I have nothing to say to them. The only principle on which my thought process is based is that, if a person is really interested in a committee then he will attend the elections.....he will make an informed choice.....and he will create some value out of it.....irrespective of the fact whether the number of people present are 72 or just 7 and in the process student community can just be benefited !!