Days 347 to 355 - 2nd to 10th December 2011

During our seniors placement week last year I always used to wonder how our placement week would be. There are somethings that never change - the anxiety while a shortlist is being announced, the disappointment of  not being able to clear a GD after being shortlisted and the greater disappointment of not clearing an interview after clearing the GD. Placement week takes its physically and more importantly emotionally on all people involved. Sitting through endless company presentations from as early as 7 in the morning to as late as midnight. Giving interviews at 4 in the morning and the anxiety of waiting for the result. There were just way too many things that were common between last year and this year, which leads to me guess that its pretty much the same story every year. There are some fundamental changed that I think need to be brought about in the whole concept of placement weeks across B-schools. Will share my thoughts on that later though.

Coming to the placement week - apart from the hectic schedule it was an emotional roller coaster for a lot of people. There were a lot of good jobs on offer. Kore made to an analytics firm, Kalkar got into a gaming company, SIR will be working with a pre IPO startup firm, Sania had a PPO from a leading telecom company and yours truly made it to the leading spirits company in the world which is associated with a lot of sporting events and teams through both sponsorship and ownership. It was the only company I applied for and I consider myself extremely lucky for getting through - for starters they didn't conduct GDs which was something I was dreading. They shortlisted candidates and were conducting interviews for everyone, though the interview was a rapid fire round of questions. My interview started with my internship, moved onto my career goals and some suggestions for the company in their existing marketing strategy. Got to know in sometime that they had made me a spot offer, which was a huge relief! Got my offer letter the same evening.

All in all, it was a roller coaster ride and I'm glad that now its over. Regular classes start from tomorrow!

Day 346 - 1st December 2011

CIM lectures began at 12 today. The prof. did a mock FGD with students being panelists and the role of the moderator kept switching between the prof and another student. The purpose of the FGD was to bring out the differences perceived between motorcycles and scooters. The major learning was how to moderate a FGD by using subtle techniques to get emotional answers rather than probing questions which could panelists back into a shell. Post lunch had some MCSA work which kept me busy for a couple of hours. Had a meeting with the director regarding assignment submission deadlines over the next couple of weeks. Went to ISCON in the evening to collect my trousers which I had given for alteration. Most of the shops in the city were closed but luckily the stores in ISCON were open. With placement week starting from tomorrow, the sale of formals must have seen quite a spike! Got back to campus by 6 and got down to getting some clothes washed (yes placement week makes you more efficient w.r.t housekeeping responsibilities!). Dinner was at Honey9 with Sania, Kore, Kalkar, SIR (who has now been rebranded to Buds) and Ishan. Had some pretty interesting dinner conversations over Shikari chicken and Thums Up! Got back by 11 and decided to call it a day early.

With placement week starting from tomorrow, will now be able to post only once its done (as has always been the norm). I will be following the same approach that I took for the summers, though there might be a company which I might just apply to during the week. Until then, adios!

Day 310 - 7th October 2011

Back to campus after being away for nearly a month! It feels really good to be back. Got back at around 830 in the morning, which is when most of Kachnar is fast asleep. Not too many people from PGP-2 are back on campus since regular classes start only on 10th. Spent the first half of the day meeting  my dissertation guide and completing other formalities with the administration. Had to also unpack and my room back in order. Tried to squeeze in a siesta but couldn't manage to sleep for too long. In the evening Kore, Rana, Sir and I went to Shailby hospital to meet Ishan who was admitted there since he had malaria. The good news is he has recovered well and should be discharged tomorrow. Dinner was at McDonalds en route to college.

Met the Junior MCSA in the night. PGP-1's classes have begun, so most of them are back on campus. Will call  it a day early, will take some time to get back to the MICAn sleep cycle :P

Day 302 - 28th August 2011

Had the FIF1 Speed Nights screening at MICA and IIM-A today. I was handling MICA while Rajat and Manu were at IIM. Spent the morning putting up one last set of posters around campus and tent cards on all tables in the mess. Was supposed to go to IIM to check out the branding but couldnt do that since the people from the event management agency missed their flight from Bombay in the morning and were taking a later flight. Because of that had to stay back in MICA to ensure that the branding was done on time.

In every event that I have been a part of nothing has ever gone smoothly or according to plan no matter how much you prepare in advance. The races are screened on Star Sports and the previous day we had checked the TV connection in the audi, Star Sports was tuned and everything was working fine. With the screening scheduled to begin at 5 we decided to check the connection at 230 only to realise that Star Sports wasnt available! The cable guy had very conveniently decided to remove all ESPN Star channels on this very day! Sir, Tarang and Apar came in to help and see what could be done. Various options were worked out - the community centre had a Tata Sky connection on which Star Sports was coming, we could pull a cable from there (about 150 metres in length) to the audi and screen it in the audi. Another option was to connect a laptop to the TV at the community center and using VPN share the screen with another laptop which would be connected to the projector in the audi! In the meanwhile we also called the cable guy from Shela village to check what he could do. As all of this transpired, it started pouring and I got a call from IIM saying that the dish connection was not able to receive any transmission because of the weather. At the same time there was a power failure at the cable guy's place as well, which meant there was no transmission at MICA! All the activations and build up and imagine no TV transmission!! Those couple of hours were quite crazy. Things started to brighten up - both literally and figuratively at around 445, with 15 minutes left for the race to start. The cable guy figured out a way to get Star Sports at MICA and the weather Gods were kind enough not to interfere with the dish TV transmission. The screenings at both places were pretty decent, though the fact that there were exams scheduled tomorrow at both places meant the turnout didnt exactly live up to what I had expected. Overall though it was a decent response compared to what was done earlier. After that eventful evening, it was time to start getting ready to leave for Bombay. Have to leave campus at 6 in the morning. Will be back on Friday, until then adios!

Day 296 - 22nd August 2011

Had a rest day on account of Janmashtmi today. Spent the first half of the day in slumberland. Had the annual MICA Matki Phod Competition (MMPC). Hostels form teams and compete against each other in a dahi handi competition. Yours truly was in the base 'support' team of Kachnar ;-) We made it upto the semi finals courtesy our own Krishna oops I mean Nullu at the top of the human pyramid :-D Was good fun overall.

Dinner at the mess wasn't exactly a feast with the an attempt at Sabudana Khichdi gone horribly wrong. So Kalkar and I found an excuse to go to McDonalds for dinner. The one near ISCON mall is open till 1 in the night, the perfect place for a midnight snack! Got back to campus by 11 after which have been doing random tp. Regular classes start from tomorrow with the first set of Sports Marketing lectures. Have some good guest lecturers lined up so should be good fun! :-)

Day 295 - 21st August 2011

Didnt have any classes today still managed to wake up at 10 in the morning. Caught up with an alumnus at Chota over a cup of chai. The weather was amazing in the morning, not humid at all, spent almost an hour at Chota. Spent the afternoon working on a brief write up of the dissertation that had to be submitted to the dissertation guide. Moved to the library for a bit for that. Came back to the room and slept for a bit in the evening.

Tomorrow happens to be Sir's birthday, so Kalkar and I went to this place called Masty to pack food for the night. Since we had to wait for so long we decided to have a few starters ourselves out there ;-) Got back to campus by 1130 and a mailer was sent to PGP-2 inviting people for Sir's birthday which went like this -

It's HIS Birthday!

On this occasion of Nullujayanti which is a national holiday in South India (except Telangan of course), we invite you to Kachnar at the stroke of midnight for the following celebrations -

1200 - Shloka recitation

1215- Abhisekam

1230 - Prasadam (Donation passes available at all MiKore outlets)

1245 - Visarjan

Things went according to schedule with a havan also interspersed between Abhisekam and Prasadam ;-) The Visarjan finally culminated at the OAT! This was followed by a feast in Kalkar's room where the food bought from Masty was devoured by the residents of Kachnar south west. All of this went on till about 4 in the morning which when I started feeling sleepy. Have a rest day tomorrow on account of Janmashtmi after that a full week of classes followed by an AFM end term!

Day 289 - 14th August 2011

Today was the second day of the 3 day break, woke up at around 12 and had brunch at Chota. Spent most of the afternoon taking care of all the pending laundry. During the monsoons one needs to factor in two extra days for clothes to dry which needless to say is a huge pain! The entire exercise took about a couple of hours. The sun came out for a bit in the evening and we decided to make the most of it by playing cricket in the Kachnar courtyard. Playing with a wet tennis ball on a slippery surface is always a lot of fun.

Once the rain gods came back I went to the library to continue reading Pundits from Pakistan. This was the first time this term that I went to the library. Was there for about an hour before heading out to ISCON mall for a bit. It was one of those I-need-to-get-a-taste-of-civilisation-outside-MICA moods that took over in the evening. Spent a little time at crossword as well, earmarking future purchases :P Got back to campus by 9 and ended up chatting with Sir and Kore. We decided to watch Hot Shots 2, which fulfilled our desire to watch a nonsensical comedy. Stayed up until 3 before calling it a day. Although tomorrow is a holiday, need to get up early for the Independence day celebrations on campus.

Day 273 - 23rd July 2011

Had only 2 lectures today which began at 2 in the afternoon, so could take the liberty of waking up at 1 in the afternoon. Surprisingly could understand most of what was being discussed in class. Net Present Value, Future Value, Annuity etc. seemed to have made some sense. The AFM prof. also has this practice of asking people questions at random. Yours truly was asked a question from the case,which I could fortunately answer, phew! The class got extended because of which the case could not discussed. After class played cricket in the evening in front of silver oak, was good fun. There are some good players in PGP1 this year which is a good thing for the MCL.

Today was one of those days where a trip off campus became absolutely necessary. Went to honey9 for dinner for the customary shikari chicken, was well worth the trip! Came back to campus by 10 and have been in the audi since then. Did the AFM pre reads for tomorrow. Slotting for the committee interviews for today have been pretty smooth today as well. Have been having long discussions with SIR about placements and placecomm in general and his experiences in the JPC. Went to Chota for a midnight snack. Its 5 in the morning now, will head back to the room and catch up on some sleep. Have class starting at 930 tomorrow and also have a dissertation assignment due by day after tomorrow. Things are slowly returning to how they were in the first year :P

Day 272 - 22nd July 2011

Had our first couple of sessions of AFM today. Had read a bit of the chapters and the case that was to be discussed as a part of the pre reads. Could understand some of the discussions that went on in class because of that, though when it comes to finance (pardon the Siddhuism) I am as lost as a baby in a topless bar! After the lecture came back to the room and caught up on some sleep. Woke up at 345 in the afternoon which meant that I had missed lunch in the mess. Had lunch with Sir, Kalkar and Rana at Chota. Post that had to go through the committee budgets with Jhamb and Apar and try to figure out how we could fit into the overall budget.

Had the second day of the new junior committee selection process today. Thankfully the internet didn't give way today. Things were relatively smooth today with Sir, Megha and Sania managing all the slotting. Was in the audi since 10 just in case any kind of help was required. Did the AFM pre read for tomorrow as well - have 2 chapters and a case. Got done with all the work by 530 in the morning. Luckily have classes in the afternoon tomorrow, so can catch up on some sleep!

Days 263 & 264 - 13th and 14th July 2011

Pulled off my first all nighter of the second year! 13th was a rest day to woke up at noon (in hindsight it turned out to be a good thing since I didn't know what was lying in store for me :P). MCSA work consumed most of the day. Started off by meeting the chairperson of the dissertation committee to finalise the timelines of the dissertation submissions. Post that had to meet the associate director and registrar to have the first round of discussions regarding the committee budgets. Also had to discuss the status of the internship report that had to be submitted, finally came to a mutual agreement that no report had to be submitted! :D In the evening had to sit with Apar and Jhamb to discuss the way forward wrt to the Junior MCSA elections which were to be held in the night. This year we tried something new by going online for elections, saves a lot of paper and time as well! The Junior MCSA elections started a t 1030 in the night. Candidates had to make a speech followed by Q&A from their batch. This was followed by elections from where the top 3 girls and guys would proceed for interviews which were to be conducted by the MCSA. We had to interview 13 people after the elections. The interviews started at 230 and went on till 8 in the morning! At the end of it we've found a Junior MCSA that we are very happy with and from whom we expect a lot. Also have to say that the junior batch also seems to have a lot of talented people, a heartening sign for MICA :-)

Had the first day of the crafting dissertation workshop on the 14th which started at 930 in the morning - which effectively meant no sleep at all on the 13th! Managed to pay attention for the first hour and a half after which the lack of sleep started taking its toll on me. Pushed myself to stay awake in class until the post lunch session. At around 330 excused myself from the class and came back to my room. Slept until 7 in the evening. Had JPC speeches and elections in the night, the online voting system was tried there as well. It worked quite well for both elections, due credited to be given to our chief election commissioner - SIR alongwith with Kore and Kore for devising a foolproof system. After a long time had dinner at Chota since the mess food was quite boring. JPC speeches went on till about 230 after which I came back to the room and crashed!

Day 261- 11th July 2011

Had our last day of markstrat today. After leading the pack for one period we slipped to second place by the middle of the day. During the day the MCSA also had a meeting with the dissertation committee regarding the schedule of submissions for our dissertations. That took about an hour or so. We have been making plans of going to Honey9 for dinner for the past couple of nights, tonight that finally materialised. Kore,Kalkar, Rana, Sir and yours truly went have our first shikari chicken of the season. With no girls present we thought the food to bill ratio would be low, however to our the bill amount was pretty much the same! Got back to campus at around 11 after which we had a batch meet with PGP1. Had a placecomm meet after that to discuss the selection process for the junior committees. Have a rest day tomorrow, hopefully can wake up post 1030!

Day 260 - 10th July 2011

Sleeping for less than 4 hours for the past 3 days finally took its toll. Woke up only at 1130 today which meant that I was late for the first session of markstrat, however with Kore in our team there's not much to worry about ;-) We were market leaders for one period in the afternoon but then slipped to second position by the end of the day. A point worth mentioning though was the fact that we launched a project called SIR1 which exceeded all our expectations and consistently went out of stock. Sir's legacy thus continues at MICA! Had made plans to go to Honey9 for dinner but persistent rains ensured that we stayed back on campus. We didn't get a raw deal though since there was biryani in the mess :-P

Have our last day of markstrat tomorrow, the impending rest days after that should be incentive enough for me to wake up on time!

Day 201 - 11th February 2011

Long days have become cliched now. Managed to sleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon and maybe thats why Im able to stay up till 530 in the morning. Working with Kore, Maushi and Sir on the IRS assignment. Indian Readership Survey is this humongous database that consists of readership data and durable consumption patterns of people from across the country. Our group's projects is to develop a sales plan for Godrej Washing machines based on the washing machine ownership patterns in different parts of the country. Kore is known for working his magic with the numbers, we just use that draw insights and make the plan :-P One good thing is classes start at 11 tomorrow for us, so can clock in at least 4 hours of sleep ,that's half the normal amount of sleep I used to get before I came here and even that seems to be a luxury now!