To my Parents

“Father! To God himself we cannot give a holier name.” said William Wordsworth.

“God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” goes a Jewish proverb.

This one has been long due. So I wanted to write more, I wanted to write lot. At least that was the thought when I started. But I realized that all I may write, I would never be able to describe parents or get better & appropriate words. So I will not get into any incoherent babbling et all.

Love you Mom & Dad…

& thanks for everything (also for things you never said…)

A confession

Reasons why any person continues in his job, though he may want to do something on his own:
--> Fear of failure?
--> Risk of uncertainty?
--> Financial obligations?
--> Inertia (i.e. you are too comfortable in your current situation and don’t want to make any effort to change the situation)?
--> Lack of a right opportunity? (Though on a personal note, I think this is just an excuse. I have used it long enough)

I recently quit my job and decided to become a partner in a thriving business. This offer was made to me about three years ago. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur; I loved the work; the time spent there is the best time of my professional life; People involved are like a family to me. Still I did not accept this offer right away. Why?

From the reasons mentioned above, financial obligation was definitely a reason. & for most of would-be-entrepreneurs, the reasons mentioned above should sum it up. But my personal experience forces me to add two more to the list.
# Greed
# Ego

The offer, made about three years ago, was to do my MBA and then decide. But then as one of the guest speakers in an entrepreneurship meet said “These b-schools don’t prepare you for entrepreneurs; they prepare you to work under them.” I believe no school does it knowingly. But then, the dreams of hefty pay packets, opportunity to work with big names in big cities & glamorous job titles make you greedy & you simply stop thinking about it seriously. You talk about it because it is trendy. But:
- Who wants to go back to Patiala, when I can spend the rest of my life checking out swanky restaurants of Pune?
- Why bother when a job in HUL or ITC or Citibank etc. will be offered in a platter?
- Who would want to leave the “opportunity” to be a CXO, VP or GM in an MNC?
The greed clouded my eyes and I walked over.

But I had forgotten that nothing is offered in a platter; came the time of placements midst the worst economic times of our era and all I saw was companies coming to campus and moving out without my name in their recruitment list. I knew I was not the brightest but I could not accept that no company wanted me. Somewhere down the line, it became an ego issue for me to get a job from campus. Though the offer was made again, my ego had inflated too much for me to look beyond it.

Now 6 months down the line, I have realized that this corporate life is not for me. The companies which were not selecting me were doing me a good. They were pushing me towards what I wanted to do. They realized that I was not made for them. I hope that this is “Better late than never” moment of my life.

P.S.: This is post is only meant for those, who want to do something on their own. There are many very knowledgeable, qualified and successful people, who have their calling somewhere else. When I talk about greed, ego and other reasons, it is only for people like me. For some the same corporate life, I couldn't adjust to is the real life & that is where there calling is.

Wo Pal...

Dedicated to those few who made those two years worthwhile...
_____________________________________________________

• First day of induction in Vishwabhavan
• First day in flat 12 (The guy at the roof of house facing our flat)
• First flat eat out at Peppinos
• Placement team presentation… vrooooom… or was it the pillars? (& a name Vineet will never forget again )
• Midnight GD’s over college politics, tea, maggi & who forgot to wash his plate??
• The (in) famous kiss – Identity of the people involved will never be revealed & I request my readers (if there are any) to not to post any hints/ direct references/ pointers of any kind towards them in the comments section.
• The pre-fresher’s party and the auto ride which followed
• Council/Associate teams interviews (& stories told during interviews  )
• First hour in ASR room
• “Mere facts alag hain or tere facts alag hain...”
• Adi’s Mumbai trip & Vineet’s alarm services
• Delhi Kitchen (Beta, ye to aapki problem hai…)
• (10)Grand ASR induction party at Flags
• SIRP, GD’s, Interviews & my Wipro Interview
• SIRP Day Zero & the drunken CS champion who later became a pilot…
• Daily CS competitions in Flat 12 & 13
• Me, My bed & My Laptop
• McD orders
• METALMELON still rocks ;-)
• Adi pukes & Anna watches (& almost does a ‘matrix’)
• Preparations for “SIBM LIVE”
• ASR sessions over “Coffee with SIBM”
• Dinners at China Gate
• “Last Man Standing” (by the end of which none of us was standing)
• The whole admission process for Juniors
• The day ASR got that email from Council President and the days leading to it.
• Hussain’s one song i-pod, Chintey’s temper, Reenu’s pranks, Sid’s HR skills (with some special people on 4th floor), Pranav’s resourcefulness & Innova, Dipti’s cheerfulness
• Varun’s jokes, DeeDee’s passion, Purna Bhai’s balance of mind & coolness
• Declaration of Senior Council Teams
• Ovation for ASR on Management Day-2008
• Play at Alumni Meet
• Tea in the evening in front of mess along with a lot of views for eyes ;-)
• Monsoon in Lavale
• Extra-curricular activities of Marketing B
• PMC ke nazare (PMC doesn’t stand for Pune Municipal Corp)
• Symbiosis Premier League
• CRP (Bas naam hi kaafi hai…)
• Early morning movie shows
• Last few Breakfasts, Lunches & Dinners