India winning the cricket world cup on April 2, 2011 was monumental in more than one ways. For one, it was the end of a excruciatingly long waiting period for a nation that is absolutely crazy about this sport. Those black n white pictures of Kapil and his team with the cup on the Lords balcony in 1983 needed to be replaced. Obviously those were special moments first world cup victory I guess is very much like first love, wont exactly fade away to some small black corner of the brain. However as far as I am concerned I wasn't even born in 1983 and like a million other cricket crazy young guns I deserved my world cup moment.
...and then there is Sachin Tendulkar. Doubt if there is anyone more deserving to have his personal "world cup" moment. For over two decades he has been shouldering the hopes and aspirations of a billion people like a true champion. If cricket was an individual sport, I guess we would have won all the 6 world cups that he has been part of. It is only fair that he finally got a worthy team and support staff that had their undivided attention focused towards the goal. The planning and execution by Gary Kirsten and his support staff was nothing short of miraculous. Obviously none of it would have done any good if he didn't have a talented pool of players to work with. But talent was never the problem with Indian cricket. The challenge is ensuring that players are not distracted by the God like status and treatment they receive from the fans. Dhoni as a individual seems to be handling that well, may be something to do with his small town upbringing. But whatever it is, his calm and poised composure on and off the field has been a refreshing change.
While I am at it, I should mention Dada i.e. Saurav Ganguly. It was the Prince of Calcutta who started bringing about the change in the Indian cricket circles and steered the team in the right direction. If it weren't for his out of the box thinking and stubborn attitude to support young talent despite multiple failures people like Dhoni and Yuvraj would have met the same fate as Kaif or a Parthiv Patel.
I still picture the victory shot by Dhoni, a shot filled with arrogance from a man who made sure the team stuck to their plan and took them home. Wonder how much of a credit should be given to BCCI for this. They sure are the muscle in the cricketing world these days but is there more to them than just money?
Personally I doubt it.
The very fact that they were so adamant on hosting the fourth season of IPL just one week after the most prestigious tournament in world cricket tells you something about their intentions. Obviously once they decided they would host it there is no organization in the cricketing world that could stop them. But as a cricket fan, I felt cheated. Just under two weeks is too darn less for the enthusiasm and celebrations of being the world champions. Took about 5 odd days for social media to switch from Indian victory to regional loyalties. I would love to assume that these people follow the game for the entertainment and not the love of the game itself. But it is what it is...
There was a whole post I was planning to write on this mixed feeling and love-hate relation with IPL 4 but then I read Abhishek Purohit's piece on cricinfo and didnt feel the need to say anything more.
Just in case you are curious below is the link for the post.
Too drained to care
Till the next one...
Cheers!!!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
USA....MBA....
Finally some free time to consider activities that are not on top of the priority list.
The first year of the MBA program ended about 10 days ago. Despite all the due diligence and months of planning I must admit entering the MBA program in USA was bit of a leap of faith. Having lived away from home for 4 years after graduation, I was prepared for some more of it in America. Guess the attack on 2 fronts (country and career) was just too much to handle. The biggest challenge though will have to be getting adjusted to the “low budgeted” student life. It just sucks. All those who say money doesn’t buy happiness, clearly don’t know how to spend and have fun :P
On the bright side, the fast paced MBA program hardly gave any time to think about those changes as the days just flew by conquering one challenge after the next. Sitting back reflecting on these past 10 months I am filled with mixed emotions. One word that I can use to describe this period is “New”, some new bonds of friendship, some new revelations about self and some new learning about the culture and lifestyle in USA. For a self-absorbed person jumping on both sides of introvert and extrovert personalities there have been times I’ve had to push myself to blend into the outgoing nature of social norms in USA.
However there have been few highlight moments in these past months that raised the spirits and kept me going.
Cricket World Cup 2011: For a cricket and Sachin fan, a lot was at stake in this World Cup. It was all there the preparation, the build-up and the expectation. Team India had been playing good cricket, Sachin himself enjoying the form of his lifetime. I doubt if there is a word in English dictionary that can describe or do justice to the victory feeling. The team deserved it, India as cricketing nation deserved it and above all the God of cricket deserved it. Only disappointment though would be that I wasn’t in India/Mumbai to celebrate the victory and enjoy the euphoria.
Spring Break: Ask anyone who has been a part of the American education system and you will realize how awesome spring breaks are. A couple of MBA friends and I fell for the hype and decided to experience it out ourselves. For a person who enjoys traveling, the road trip was more fun than destination. Make no mistake about it Panama City is the place to be for your spring break. Unfortunately weather was determined to ruin the experience. However the stops at Charleston and Savannah were worth the road trip, beautiful port cities with old world architecture. The best part of the1800 miles road trip was its unplanned nature, on the spot decisions about driving longer and stopping at Jacksonville or even extension of stay at Savannah. Of course all of it would have been bit of a drag without the right company viz. Deb – the driver, Muvva – the coke boy and Ravi – Tollywood’s next big thing.
There is a lot more to share but considering the reducing trend in attention span of modern day readers will end the blabbering right here. Also leaves some arsenal for future posts. Lets just call this one a precursor to the chronicles of Kaushal. ;)
Until next time, Cheers!!!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Video Project for MBA OB class
My video on Motivation and concept of FLOW.
this was a part of project work for MBA - Organizational Behavior Class.
Inspired by the book DRIVE "The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink.
Let me know how you guys felt about this one.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
My Take on "The Lost Symbol"
SPOILER ALERT : If you intend to use this blog and take a decision weather you should read the book or not.. then if eventually you end up reading the book, it might not even be as thrilling as little as it can be. :)
The Lost Symbol, third in the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown turned out to be a mixed bag. Typical Brown writing, the series of events are so fast paced one can hardly wait around and imagine the picturesque image being portrayed, but thriller’s are supposed to be so.. aren’t they?
The book can actually be split into two theme parts, first with the chase and solving the Mason mysteries which comprises of the bulk of the book and the other being the last 50 odd pages where Brown attempts a totally different stunt touching sensitive lines questioning very basis of understanding and believes of not just Christianity but all the religions around the world.
Brown does good enough to cover a few areas related to background on Solomon’s before Robert touches Washington, after which the mad chase beings introducing characters with their own justifiable spaces in the plot and twists.
The build up does seem standard, relying on the similar established formula of labyrinth’s, explanation of old symbols, works of European artists of different era’s , company of a female character and others as used in previous two releases. But this is not that big and issue for fan’s of Robert Langdon, like myself who just love to read him do what he does the best, recollect unfathomable details and data about symbols and history under stress of situation and time, thanks to his eidetic or photographic memory.
Specially want to mention the master stroke of drowning Robert in oxygenated fluorocarbons and his revival with aid of CIA director (wonder if thats really possible). However the National Security Issue which was the main entry point for CIA into the plot kinda turned out to be disappointing. The hype was too much and the outcome just not that mind blowing I guess.
In the finale after the death of Peter Solomon’s son (which was a good filmy twist :P) Brown professes this second theme of MAN being the supreme being , i.e establishing that MAN is the CREATOR and not the CREATED.
The way he toys with the brains of the readers, even the hard lined believers and followers of different religions all over the globe would be pressed to ponder over the descriptions and questions asked in the book… Is there GOD with in us and our body his temple?
To conclude, I won’t call this book a total waste of 700 bucks gift coupons but if you are spending your own money wait for the cheaper print. The book is good, but to me his best work till date remains The Da Vince Code.
The book can actually be split into two theme parts, first with the chase and solving the Mason mysteries which comprises of the bulk of the book and the other being the last 50 odd pages where Brown attempts a totally different stunt touching sensitive lines questioning very basis of understanding and believes of not just Christianity but all the religions around the world.
Brown does good enough to cover a few areas related to background on Solomon’s before Robert touches Washington, after which the mad chase beings introducing characters with their own justifiable spaces in the plot and twists.
The build up does seem standard, relying on the similar established formula of labyrinth’s, explanation of old symbols, works of European artists of different era’s , company of a female character and others as used in previous two releases. But this is not that big and issue for fan’s of Robert Langdon, like myself who just love to read him do what he does the best, recollect unfathomable details and data about symbols and history under stress of situation and time, thanks to his eidetic or photographic memory.
Specially want to mention the master stroke of drowning Robert in oxygenated fluorocarbons and his revival with aid of CIA director (wonder if thats really possible). However the National Security Issue which was the main entry point for CIA into the plot kinda turned out to be disappointing. The hype was too much and the outcome just not that mind blowing I guess.
In the finale after the death of Peter Solomon’s son (which was a good filmy twist :P) Brown professes this second theme of MAN being the supreme being , i.e establishing that MAN is the CREATOR and not the CREATED.
The way he toys with the brains of the readers, even the hard lined believers and followers of different religions all over the globe would be pressed to ponder over the descriptions and questions asked in the book… Is there GOD with in us and our body his temple?
To conclude, I won’t call this book a total waste of 700 bucks gift coupons but if you are spending your own money wait for the cheaper print. The book is good, but to me his best work till date remains The Da Vince Code.
--Kaushal.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
#9 The POST
People blog about varied category of things, giving me an option list of countless topics to write about, guess what i have done here negates the conception that one should have an idea or a thought regarding which he can elaborate and write about .
Reading ahead you will find all the build up that led to this blog and funny thing is the idea of calling it The Post, a post about the very same post in the blog crept in only after I had written the whole thing down, thus ended up writing the body first, conclusion next and the start at the very end of it.
I guess it was probably the aura or halo or whatever of the OTHLA gang that inspired me to pick up the pen (not literally of course).
As have already mentioned in previous blog’s, I never considered myself being of the writing types. But there was something in Bangalore among those pals that made me start it.
Probably it was an activity that bonded us well into a group since most of us preferred to fill the abundant web space with their portion of the crap.
You how a common activity or a common experience can bring even strangers together.
Guess BLOGGING was one such thing for us.
Of course we had other things as well, The Mafia game, RED CODERS sessions (Biggest contributor of em all), etc. were the most obvious ones and this blogging thing never came to fore front in comparison but was always there.
And obviously I haven’t found any similar source of encouragement in this post Bangalore life.
There have been a few times when I felt the experiences I had were worth sharing out here, but then the urge to write was never strong enough to overcome the laziness.
So the question is… why now?
The credit goes to 2 guys to bring the background process upfront and also the free time that a couple of days off from office gave.
It just so happened that OTHLA a.k.a kathik mv (I know the second name is just use less wonder if any one knows him by that name anymore) after long duration of absence has come up with a new blog on his post. Worst was I was forced to read and add up a comment on that one. The dialogue goes
Karthik : dude as it is you have stopped blogging completely at least add a comment on mine.
Second dude would be Parshva.
Guess the character needs a bit of intro here.
Parshva Doshi: met this guy during my 10+2 coll and has been a pal since then.
Went to the same engg coll as me and now works for Microsoft in seattle after his MS.
Back to the topic, we once ended up chatting on the dreaded topic of how things tend to change over time specially one gets into the earning life after college. (I know this itself is a super huge topic on which I can write atleast 2 blogs , but PARK IT ASIDE FOR NOW.)
Well in the discussion I narrated an experience that I had and told him that it was worth enough blogging the whole thing. (one of those failed attempts) and he got completely shocked answering back..
Parshva: Didn’t know you still blog man.
Well nothing shocking or alarmingly inspiring but the words from both of them just rang some bell and since I had four full days at home in Mumbai thought something should go in as a post this weekend.
So if you are reading this as one of those who are expected to read and leave a comment, then u know whom to blame and if you just happened to stumble across my blog (I know that happens cause got a few comments on my previous blogs from such guys) and decided to read the whole thing and found it a bit aimless then probably you could try it on your own cause writing some thing on the thing which is about to be written is a dam complex piece of art.
Blessed coders of C can probably compare it to recursive calling of functions, if you have the faintest of idea what that is….. [:)]
Drop in a comment if u have any suggestions on how this thought could be executed in a better way.
Reading ahead you will find all the build up that led to this blog and funny thing is the idea of calling it The Post, a post about the very same post in the blog crept in only after I had written the whole thing down, thus ended up writing the body first, conclusion next and the start at the very end of it.
I guess it was probably the aura or halo or whatever of the OTHLA gang that inspired me to pick up the pen (not literally of course).
As have already mentioned in previous blog’s, I never considered myself being of the writing types. But there was something in Bangalore among those pals that made me start it.
Probably it was an activity that bonded us well into a group since most of us preferred to fill the abundant web space with their portion of the crap.
You how a common activity or a common experience can bring even strangers together.
Guess BLOGGING was one such thing for us.
Of course we had other things as well, The Mafia game, RED CODERS sessions (Biggest contributor of em all), etc. were the most obvious ones and this blogging thing never came to fore front in comparison but was always there.
And obviously I haven’t found any similar source of encouragement in this post Bangalore life.
There have been a few times when I felt the experiences I had were worth sharing out here, but then the urge to write was never strong enough to overcome the laziness.
So the question is… why now?
The credit goes to 2 guys to bring the background process upfront and also the free time that a couple of days off from office gave.
It just so happened that OTHLA a.k.a kathik mv (I know the second name is just use less wonder if any one knows him by that name anymore) after long duration of absence has come up with a new blog on his post. Worst was I was forced to read and add up a comment on that one. The dialogue goes
Karthik : dude as it is you have stopped blogging completely at least add a comment on mine.
Second dude would be Parshva.
Guess the character needs a bit of intro here.
Parshva Doshi: met this guy during my 10+2 coll and has been a pal since then.
Went to the same engg coll as me and now works for Microsoft in seattle after his MS.
Back to the topic, we once ended up chatting on the dreaded topic of how things tend to change over time specially one gets into the earning life after college. (I know this itself is a super huge topic on which I can write atleast 2 blogs , but PARK IT ASIDE FOR NOW.)
Well in the discussion I narrated an experience that I had and told him that it was worth enough blogging the whole thing. (one of those failed attempts) and he got completely shocked answering back..
Parshva: Didn’t know you still blog man.
Well nothing shocking or alarmingly inspiring but the words from both of them just rang some bell and since I had four full days at home in Mumbai thought something should go in as a post this weekend.
So if you are reading this as one of those who are expected to read and leave a comment, then u know whom to blame and if you just happened to stumble across my blog (I know that happens cause got a few comments on my previous blogs from such guys) and decided to read the whole thing and found it a bit aimless then probably you could try it on your own cause writing some thing on the thing which is about to be written is a dam complex piece of art.
Blessed coders of C can probably compare it to recursive calling of functions, if you have the faintest of idea what that is….. [:)]
Drop in a comment if u have any suggestions on how this thought could be executed in a better way.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
#8 Bangalorised.... AM I?
FYI
This one is my first post from mumbai and hence the post rallies around transition time and my experiences on it.
In case you have been kind enough and have taken a moment to go thru the previous post, you would be aware of the fact that I am now a BEROZGAR who is supposed to be studying for his MBA entrance's.
Instead here I am blogging down a few feelings and narrating my relocation back home ..
Happiness:
Boy o' boy... I was happy/glad/enthusiastic/euphoric to come back home .. come back to Mumbai.
If earning my first salary was some feeling.. returning home with a successful year behind me and achieving what none in my family have ever done.. was parallel and as satisfying.
Confusion:
It took about a week for the euphoria to subside and the tension to build in .. that i am here and for things to work out good.. am counting on myself to achieve something for which ppl generally
spend years (eg. shariq - approx 2 yrs if i am not wrong.)
Optimism... "Not that impossible a task i say after all its just High school math that you need to go thru"
Pessimism.. "You cheap dumb shit.. I WILL BACK MYSELF.. crap. Dude were you drunk when u took such a decision???"
F**k I am not gonna make it this time... lets find a job and work for one more year.. next yr u can be more prepared and 2+ work ex will also be a good time to do a MBA.
As it is sitting around at home .. something that was a bliss about a year ago is way out of the comfort range now.
Frustration:
Finding a job in Mumbai was never gonna be easy...
with a year of ex on Wince i am far from stable in any off the IT fields out here. The Irony is I always wanted to be in RND in Mindtree and now i realize had i been in ITS (either java or dotnet) finding a job would be a piece of cake.
Well the struggle is one..
With offers half the scale of what MT gave.. its hardly gonna be digestible.
Missing:
i dont know if it is this state of disarray or just that i was stable in bangalore with a cool fixed income and all alone to bust all of it..
but the fact remains... that i miss that life in bangalore..
those night time rides on my bike ... the cool un-sultry weather .. the freedom.. it was awesome
Guess the most important part was ... FINANCIAL SECURITY
well the final decision on bangalore and the missing concept will have to wait till the time i get another source of income here :P
But to be honest... the time i spent in bangalore.. would definitely fall under GOOD TIMES category.. and a big chunk of the credit goes to the biggest waste bags of bangalore ... the OTHLA Gang..
This one is my first post from mumbai and hence the post rallies around transition time and my experiences on it.
In case you have been kind enough and have taken a moment to go thru the previous post, you would be aware of the fact that I am now a BEROZGAR who is supposed to be studying for his MBA entrance's.
Instead here I am blogging down a few feelings and narrating my relocation back home ..
Happiness:
Boy o' boy... I was happy/glad/enthusiastic/euphoric to come back home .. come back to Mumbai.
If earning my first salary was some feeling.. returning home with a successful year behind me and achieving what none in my family have ever done.. was parallel and as satisfying.
Confusion:
It took about a week for the euphoria to subside and the tension to build in .. that i am here and for things to work out good.. am counting on myself to achieve something for which ppl generally
spend years (eg. shariq - approx 2 yrs if i am not wrong.)
Optimism... "Not that impossible a task i say after all its just High school math that you need to go thru"
Pessimism.. "You cheap dumb shit.. I WILL BACK MYSELF.. crap. Dude were you drunk when u took such a decision???"
F**k I am not gonna make it this time... lets find a job and work for one more year.. next yr u can be more prepared and 2+ work ex will also be a good time to do a MBA.
As it is sitting around at home .. something that was a bliss about a year ago is way out of the comfort range now.
Frustration:
Finding a job in Mumbai was never gonna be easy...
with a year of ex on Wince i am far from stable in any off the IT fields out here. The Irony is I always wanted to be in RND in Mindtree and now i realize had i been in ITS (either java or dotnet) finding a job would be a piece of cake.
Well the struggle is one..
With offers half the scale of what MT gave.. its hardly gonna be digestible.
Missing:
i dont know if it is this state of disarray or just that i was stable in bangalore with a cool fixed income and all alone to bust all of it..
but the fact remains... that i miss that life in bangalore..
those night time rides on my bike ... the cool un-sultry weather .. the freedom.. it was awesome
Guess the most important part was ... FINANCIAL SECURITY
well the final decision on bangalore and the missing concept will have to wait till the time i get another source of income here :P
But to be honest... the time i spent in bangalore.. would definitely fall under GOOD TIMES category.. and a big chunk of the credit goes to the biggest waste bags of bangalore ... the OTHLA Gang..
Thursday, September 27, 2007
#7
had thought of starting the blog with the idea that this bit of writing will improve my hold over the language and at the same time give timely insight to pals back home about whats going on out here in bengaluru..
Well lets just say the improvement has one to one mapping to the frequency of the posts...
cant blame me though, there's been a lot of thinking and managing going on to make me a MAD.. BAD.. SAD imbecile retard.
major part of last four months was searching for THE ANSWER..
what to do in life...
what do i opt for MBA.. MS????
the good part is .. thankfully atleast have a final call on this one. :)
Past 4 months have also bore witness to a couple of life changing events.
1) 4th Sep:
Completed 1 yr at Mindtree Consulting Ltd. More importantly its 1 year of survival in Bangalore against all odds. Cant explain the enormous boost in confidence 4th sEp facilitated.
having that coveted "YR" on the resume sure feels good.. i mean it really feels good.
.. Would like to call this year as a CRASH COURSE ON SURVIVAL INSTINCTS.
I sure have had my tests on the way, C2 debacle... First ever Job assigned in the TEAM(WINCE,BSP,PORTING,CIRRUS LOGIC were all jargons then).. MINDTREE's tumble from 1021 to 850 to 530's ...etc etc
But the imp part is i still stand.. and was strong enough to take a bold step that would be counted as the second major event of the recent life.
(Play BLIND and raise the stakes..........................)
2) 21st Sep:Since the decision was made.. it was time to be strong and back my self on it. Many would call it a rash and very unsafe decision to QUIT the company like Mindtree without a proper back up in Mumbai.
But as i see it is... I NEED TO GET BACK to STUDY.
Took the decision late on Friday and put my papers in. Thanks to loss of phone failed to convey the message to the OTHLA gang and decided to wait till monday and prepare myself to face the TSUNAMI of questions .
but there was SHITIZ.. one of those who just has to shoot first and think later. (More like the age old - girl type GOSSIPPY character)
This big a decision..... wanted to tell it myself to the pals but dudeja stole the thunder off one of the most critical events of my career.. (Probably shouldnt write it here but just cant let it go)
whats done is done... THE RESIGNATION.
MUMBAI.. here i come
(entire post may seem a bit more abrupt, but thats how i am right now and thought of posting it before i get back to mumbai..
and the title is intentionally left BLANK)
Well lets just say the improvement has one to one mapping to the frequency of the posts...
cant blame me though, there's been a lot of thinking and managing going on to make me a MAD.. BAD.. SAD imbecile retard.
major part of last four months was searching for THE ANSWER..
what to do in life...
what do i opt for MBA.. MS????
the good part is .. thankfully atleast have a final call on this one. :)
Past 4 months have also bore witness to a couple of life changing events.
1) 4th Sep:
Completed 1 yr at Mindtree Consulting Ltd. More importantly its 1 year of survival in Bangalore against all odds. Cant explain the enormous boost in confidence 4th sEp facilitated.
having that coveted "YR" on the resume sure feels good.. i mean it really feels good.
.. Would like to call this year as a CRASH COURSE ON SURVIVAL INSTINCTS.
I sure have had my tests on the way, C2 debacle... First ever Job assigned in the TEAM(WINCE,BSP,PORTING,CIRRUS LOGIC were all jargons then).. MINDTREE's tumble from 1021 to 850 to 530's ...etc etc
But the imp part is i still stand.. and was strong enough to take a bold step that would be counted as the second major event of the recent life.
(Play BLIND and raise the stakes..........................)
2) 21st Sep:Since the decision was made.. it was time to be strong and back my self on it. Many would call it a rash and very unsafe decision to QUIT the company like Mindtree without a proper back up in Mumbai.
But as i see it is... I NEED TO GET BACK to STUDY.
Took the decision late on Friday and put my papers in. Thanks to loss of phone failed to convey the message to the OTHLA gang and decided to wait till monday and prepare myself to face the TSUNAMI of questions .
but there was SHITIZ.. one of those who just has to shoot first and think later. (More like the age old - girl type GOSSIPPY character)
This big a decision..... wanted to tell it myself to the pals but dudeja stole the thunder off one of the most critical events of my career.. (Probably shouldnt write it here but just cant let it go)
whats done is done... THE RESIGNATION.
MUMBAI.. here i come
(entire post may seem a bit more abrupt, but thats how i am right now and thought of posting it before i get back to mumbai..
and the title is intentionally left BLANK)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)