Luck favours the Brave

Ohh My God, this has been one heaven of a journey to enter into Welingkar and then to celebrate it.
First and foremost I would like to thank Siddharth for all that he did during this entire madness trip. I mean it would not have been possible for me even to think of going to Pune at 1.30 am if it had not been for you. Those calls which v made to each other before i left and ur encouraging words about taking the train right away, really made the difference. That masala Chai at 2 am and a round around the super-duper Magarpatta city were the best things to experience after that tiring journey of 3.5 hours.
Then the best time of my life begins, we wake up at 6.15 and after having a bath and all that we leave for Pune University's PUMBA College. We left at 7.15 and reached there at around 8.10 and we see whole lot of crowd standing there outside the PUMBA College. The count of parents was almost double the count of candidates eligible. At 8.45 am the ppl were called in and thankfully no parents allowed inside. As per the first set of ppl to be called in i was the 8th one in the merit order (my actual rank was 117 but 109 ppl ahead of me did not turn up, after reading this, few of you must have exclaimed "OMG"), Well hold on your breadth the best is yet to come, now there were 4 seats in sydenham PG, 2 seats in welingkar and 1 in KJ Somaiya. While the admin staff there was busy trying to figure out how the sysyem works, first set of ppl gt chnace to discuss. N guess what, 2 out of tht 7 did nt knw JB has no seats and so there were nt eventually interested in the seats i was contending for, so i was assured tht i wud get in one of three anyways, but i wanted welingkar over the other 2. Now the main battle begins, one guy ahead of me wanted welingkar and so 1 seat and i was calmed, But there was one this wierd guy who also said that he wont take any college apart fm JB, apparently pretending to be one of those two i said earlier. But, when his turn came he took welingkar n then i was like wht the hell, n so as per the calculations i cud see wel go away frm my hand. Now the God has his role play in this drama, somehow the guy who said he will take welingkar, went to the counter and took Sydenham PG. (That was like something, isn't it?) N finally my turn came i got the last seat in Welingkar !!!
Well, after tht was series of calls and chats with the most wonderful and beautiful ppl i know on Earth. After speaking to Locales, i made calls to US without even bothering wht time it wud b there now. But Ppl were so caring and loving that they took my calls at midnight and having stamina to write 2 blogs and shouting like anything...Thank you all for being so !!!
Then, I went to Lonavla where my batch mates had planned a trip n now since i was the last one to enter the class, i went there. Met them had lunch at 3.30 and then since i cud nt meet Siddharth and Aastha, i went back to Pune and met them at 9. In the mean while Aastha, siddharth n myself were convincing Bala to come Pune so that we can Party harder, bt Bala refused to cme and then he surprises me n aastha as sidd knew he was coming, and oh mann bala, thank you fr being the part of my happiness and then our celebrations which went on till 3 am. Needless to say, everyone was in "High Spirits" with the most hilarious stories and enacted by Bala, his stories of "Crocodile", the act of "highly unstable guy in his building" and "the DX lady Neha" had us in splits. It was one hell of a time mann. At this point, i would just add that Siddharth is really lucky to have the room-mates and cool friends like Pradeep, Mathi and Hitesh, they are just so fun loving and lively folks.
At 3 we finally decide to sleep as bala n me wanted to catch bust to mumbai at 5.30. We woke up at 5.30 and in the cool climate we left frm Pune. Bala was pissed off with the Bus wala as he travelled in the same bus last night and they had put "Har Dil jo Pyaar karega" which bala was upset with and now we were in the same bus and we were watching "Raja Hindustani" and the reacions frm Bala were worth watching, all the way we kept suliking about the movie and everything tht happened in it.
Now, i am back in Mumbai n to become thoda senti n philosophical, i agree with what my friend Manasvi said in one of her post, it had been worst time ever since i took that decision of not filling up gujju quota form, found myself amidst difficult situations where in I had to defend myself in taking this Idealistic Step in the Practical World. I was ya obviously unhappy with the way things went bt never regretted my decision, i decided nt to give up n strted prep fr CAT again. But, nevertheless wht happens, happens for the best and it did. Apart from the strong sense of destiny, will power and as Bala says "Following the ethics n principles", i also personally feel that the kind of appreciation & respect u all give me for whatever i do, makes me just strengthen my beliefs.

But, after this episode of my life, i now knw wht they mean whn they say "Luck Favours the Brave."

Time & Me

Time has its own ways of turning the tables around. Well, i am just experiencing that. Last year same time of the year, i was in No man's Land, had no idea about the future, no idea where i would go, no idea as to what would i do next. But, time changed i got a good job, decided to hang on for a couple of years. I had the best time then from Aug 07 onwards...

Got settled in the job, received appreciations, awards n all that happened. But, then again as it seemed all cool and fine, life took a twist and i had to decide to take up MBA course this year... Having faith in myself, i went for it, did not know what lies ahead for me.

I went with the flow and here i am today no where again, no admit in a good college, and left the job in awe of getting a good admit, so currently all my dreams are on hold, all my aspirations are shattered...So, the same time has come again at the same time of the year, where i stand having no clue of what i will do next and what will happen to me next...

But, as it is said, no pain no gain, i guess this pain is teaching me a lot of important lessons in life. Firstly, i am understanding the true meaning of patience. Secondly, i m realizing what Courage means. And most importantly, i am finding how priceless are ones Principles to oneself and thus making me realize that why do some lucky people sacrifice their life for their Principles. I salute them all.

Having said that, I am neither broken nor I am gonna QUIT, i would rise again and would be back (as Ms. JK says), i will be back with a Bang !!!!

Living or Surviving ???

The other day i had been to Girgaum Chowpatty Beach with one of my friends, and i had been to this place after long gap of time (i can say after almost a decade). When i was a kid, i used to spend each of my sunday evenings there playing with the sand or sometimes cricket or sometimes a ride on a horse etc.. It just made me nostalgic to see that place and seeing small children play the same way i used to..
While i was talking to my friend about my childhood, i realised i could no longer do all that what i used to do, simply because i have grown up. I know that the reason i say sounds a bit funny or wierd but its true. I mean, what things that we did in our childhood can also be done by us today without any hesitation. The moment we think of doing something similar, the second thought is that "Its Childish to do that" !!! We think we have grown up for the better of ourselves, but is it really so?
In our process to grow up, we have lost our innocence, we have lost our honesty, we have lost that cute smile on our faces that brought joy to our homes. But what on the other hand, we have learned how to survive in this world, yeah we have just learned or are just learning to survive but we are not learning the important lesson of How to Live. To Live is to to be happy and share happiness (do we do the later part?), To live is to think how a particular thing will benifit all of us and not me alone (how far do we think this way?)
( Charles Darwin, when invented the theory "Survival of the fittest" did not intend to use it with respect to intra-human species, but i guess we humans have taken in too personally to apply it amongst ourselves and in process we are just deteriorating ourselves. )
Coming back to the ground reality, it is not any one of us to be blamed for what we are today because what ever we are, its because of the need of the situations, its becasue that our motive of Life is changing, the smile on our family's faces which came every morning when we woke up, now comes on their face every month end when we get our salaries or (not to sound harsh), it comes now when we do something big or achieve some thing big, without knowing how did we do this? (I mean who in this world now cares about the reasons of the success, we just see and realise what matters to us and thats the end-result thts it).
What i am trying to say is that we cannot change how others live but if at some point in time if we realize that we are not living but just surviving and if we also realize that living is better than surviving then we should start to practice it right away and that can be done simply by sharing 30 paise when you have 1 rupee. We are still Humans and we can still make this world a better to Live in !!!

An Ode to MIEL – ISTI

It was my last day @ work yesterday in MIEL and in all senses i believed i had a great learning experience to have worked with wonderful people around and just to write down what it felt like after working there, i have written an Ode to it which is given below.

My Dept, all the Instructors and above all my Boss played a huge role in whatever i have learned and achieved in MIEL-ISTI. And when i am successful tomorrow; the work, the people and the environment in MIEL will play a definite role.

Apart from my team, my boss and all support staff, there is one person who has made me realize my weaknesses and helped me to overcome them. I would say that if it had not been for Ms. JALPA KOTHARI, the journey would not have been sweeter and better, she was like a mirror to me in which i could see where i am lacking in, she was a true critic who criticized when i was wrong but also appreciated my efforts and felt proud when i did something big !!!

So three cheers to you my dear friend Ms. Jalpa Kothari (I will seperate poem for you) !!!

So, here goes my Ode to MIEL - ISTI

An Ode to MIEL – ISTI

What would a person ask for at the start of his career?
A good Organization, a better team and the Best Boss!!!

Well, am I expecting too much too early? Or is it sounding imaginary to you?
However, fictitious it may sound to you, its true for me as I have got all this right here
in MIEL,
in ISTI
& working
with Ms. Pushpa Redkar

A sales team like a family;
Having members only 3
But, on that, we had no worries
As we were determined to widen our boundaries
And in literal sense we did
When we launched trainings in Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad

We kept working day In and out
Rarely saw sunset
And rarely knew when moon came out
But that were no issues on it neither was it a big deal for us
As just positive energy was running across us

We had many roles to play at one time
But to do them perfectly was the motive prime
We switched roles; shared responsibilities
But multiplied our joy and success
Always kept a cool head
And worked like 1 thread

No expectations, no boundaries, no limits
We kept cruising at top speed
Managing 3 trainings in a day
We felt the heat of May
But, with an Excellent support from all Instructors and Admin
We certainly knew what we were in

We kept performing quantitatively
And were also upfront qualitatively
Records, Expense Sheet, Material Register, Training Centre Occupancy
You name it, we had it
And to make us happy and to make our day
Appreciation Mails, Awards and Respect came our way
It was amazing to be a part of this journey
Which proved to be an important chapter in the book of MIEL – ISTI

Now, the MIEL - ISTI family has grown to 5 from 3
And with it has come even bigger responsibility
Not just to maintain what we have done so far
But to surpass what we have achieved so far
Having full confidence in the entire team
I wish them all the best in all their endeavors to achieve their dream

The only regret I have currently
Is that I would no longer be a part of MIEL & Especially ISTI Family

MIEL Communication Meet 2008-09

The best pic so far in my tenure at my company "MIEL e-Security Pvt. Ltd.". More than the awards been given at the Communication Meet, it was the efforts in the entire year that has got those big smiles in the pic above. I mean, it was a complete "Hats-off" performance shown by ISTI division (the dept i work in) in 2007-08. Not only did we perform with the numbers but also, we developed the processes and put various systems in place. So, it was not only quantitative but also qualitative performance by the team in the year 2007-08.

Much credit obviously goes to Ms. Pushpa Redkar (centre in the pic) as without her innovative ways of thinking, her way of giving us (Smeet sir (left in the pic) & me) freedom to do things our way with apt support, this would not have been possible.

Without saying much (as i will write one more blog after i resign on 17th June 2008), i would conclude by saying that, there could not be a better way than this for me to start my professional career, as i got appreciation, awards and over-all good feedback by working here in MIEL. Not everyone is blessed and as lucky as I am to have got this opportunity to have worked under ISTI Team of MIEL e-Security Pvt. Ltd. and that to be a part of successful team under aegis of a wonderful people around....

Take care and keep smiling !!!

Off the Past !!!

There has been many a times, i wish i could do this or i could do that, but apart from just moaning over it, i could not do anything else. The reasons for it were either it was too late to do those things or i did not have time/money then to follow what i wish to do because i had things on the list that i need to do. So, need took priority over wishes.
Few things, i wish i could learn earlier in my life were swimming, travelling to places, learning some musical instrument and to have much more social and healthy routine in my life...
Its just at this time, i realize that how important it is, to have an environment around you where in you can grow with the world around. The sole reason why i missed out on learning those things was mainly due to absence of such receptive & open envirnoment around me during my childhood. I mean i got to know importance or to say passion of learning those things when i started interacting with the world around me, when i gave myself to the people around me, to my friends, colleagues et al.. Today when i see my nephews and nieces involving themselves in gamut of activities, i feel a bit jealous as to the fact of me being unlucky to be deprived of those things in my childhood days. But, on the other hand, i feel proud of cousins who are on the right path to educate their children not only academically but also non-academically (music, dance, games/dance etc.).
Talking about the receptive & open environment, i feel there was more need to be open to challenges, seeking out opportunities, learning new things around and better finacial planning by my parents in their task of letting me grow in a way world wants all of us today. Only academics was given importance when it came to determine how good i would be in future.. I mean i had no connection whatsoever with the school sport activities (though there were few of them), no connection with any social club till date, no favourite sport till 12th std. , no favourite singer or musical instrument i knew to play (then and now).
Despite having said that and looking that situation ain a positive manner, i do not regret to be in such an environment, because i got an opportunity to explore the world, the opportunities around first hand. As we say, life is a challenge, and for me the challenge was to come out of that shell and open up to the world. And i am happy not only to have done that but also been part of all those activities that ensured personal growth in some way or the other.
Just to give an example, A guy from my engg class once looked at my resume and asked "Have you mentioned any non-academic achievements from your school days in the resume?". I replied "I dont have any". He then said "You have wasted your 16 years then just studying !!!". I was silent. Then, he flipped the page to read my non-academic achievements in engg. college and he commented "how the hell did you get so much under your belt in 3.5 years? ", I proudly replied "It was in the process to make up for those lost 16 years".

What i mean to say is that there was lot of emphasis on studies earlier, but time has come to shift a bit of focus to extra-curricular activities as well. Had i been able to do few of those acts earlier, i could have been enjoying life a bit better. But, theres no regret as its better late than never.

Though I believe that learning something first hand is always better than otherwise. But that does not mean that every child should face what i did because all can not be as lucky as i was (and am) to get to meet those people who helped me in coming out of that shell !!!

Positve Thinking !!!

Going by the old saying "Where there is a Will, there is a Way", in life we come across many such instances where our attitude is at stake, and we want to come out of those situations as winners in whichever way we can. We term it as hard luck if we fail to come out as winners, and never think beyond it. While if someone succeeds in the same case, we term it as pure miracle or good luck. Well, the key difference in two cases is not the end result but the mindset of person facing it. The result in 2nd case which we call as miracle, is nothing but the outcome of pure positive thinking !!!

There is a theory behind this positive thinking which goes on to say, that "Our thoughts are commands to Universe". Whatever we think that would happen to us, would definitely happen. The strength of thought determines the ultimate impact of our thought in real life. So, if a person thinks that he is gonna lose, then entire universe supports him and help him to lose. But, on the other hand, if a person strongly thinks that he is gonna win, he will surely be supported by the entire universe to help him do so !!!

Now that the entire thing if depends on our thoughts, then why dont all of us start doing the same thing and win all the way through? Well, its not as easy as we think so. The reasons that i personally feel which would come in the way would be
(1) Its difficult to think something or to imagine something that might not be practically possible.
(2) We do not feel strongly about things for future as in most cases we tend to think just the next step (short term) and not in the long run.

But having said that, there is no denying to the fact, that positive attitude does come out as deciding factor in situations impasse.

Positive thinking in itself is a task that requires self-belief and "Fight hard" attitude. And that is the reason ppl say winning is nt easy, bt if u hav right spirit n positive though process, u shall have the glory in ur hands !!

Dont believe me, u cn always try it out, n find out urself !!!