Devidas

He always walked in with a smile and messed up hair

His shirt was always a size smaller for his tummy and pant an inch too long

His hands were cracked and shoes unclean but had a heart of a king

He was always eager to talk and never wished to stop

He loved his car and always shut the door a little too hard

He was always there to pick me up at the wee hours when I arrived home

He was the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave

He was also the first one to defend his beloved ‘Bhau’ and the family

He was the one we counted on and looked for, for anything and everything

He was Devidas!!!

Just this morning, when I got up to the rains and cloudy weather, mom called up and something seemed odd. She spoke about a lot of other things but seemed lost. Finally when I asked and heard her speak, my heart stopped.

Devidas is no more. Our driver for last so many years but more of a family to all of us is gone. I am so far away from home and haven’t seen him for last 2 years but still cannot stop thinking about what a great guy he was and feel the big loss and void this has caused.

May his soul rest in peace!

Quarter Mile!!

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Can’t believe a semester is already over. Seems like yesterday that I wrote this POST about moving to Boston and trying to settle down. Reading through it, I realized I wasn’t too happy about moving here. So pleased that Boston, Babson and most importantly the people turned it around. As they say, you are having a good time if you don’t realize when time passed. This is what exactly happened. Got a little busy with school and next thing I know is that the semester is over…!!

It all started with meeting so many diverse classmates from all over the world and going through the pain of helping them pronounce my name only to give up in the end. So far only 2 non-Indians have aced the art of saying my name right. For most of the rest I am baptized to ‘Ana’. I kind of like the name, I do get a lot of slack form my desi group about it but its better than being called Anagaganagdjhsfj.

Pre-MBA was a weeklong induction for the international students to understand US culture. The famous Indian ‘Head Bob’ is now the only hurdle in our way of becoming vilayati babus and bens.

Class of 2013 - International Students

Boston is a place you don’t need too much time to fall in love with. The city is one of the most beautiful ones I have seen. Lot of history, cool places to hang out and lotta eat out places what else you need. The Boston day tour during my first week here was exciting. Not only did I get to know the city but the people a little better too.

Quincy Market, Boston

Tech Mark has so far been the best experience at Babson. It is basically a Business simulation competition that went on for 2 days. The Class of 2013 was divided in teams of 7 and we all competed against each other to meet certain business goals. It was dynamic, real time, fast and exciting. In those 2 days we learnt a whole lot about business and definitely understood what we need to pay attention to during the coming 2 years. An unparalleled experience. We also won ‘a price of unspeakable value’ in the end. And more than anything, I feel the price was the phrase in itself which is overused ad over abused ever since.

Tech Mark Team

One of the best parts of staying on campus is that the party never ends. You are back from a party in Boston and another one starts in the kitchen; it just never stops. You get the liberty of getting up at 8 for an 8.30 AM class. Also I can use the gym facilities anytime. Making use of that I learned to play a new sport – SQUASH. I started in September and with the help of my awesome friends cum coaches, I can play reasonably well by the end of December. Woot!! Learning Squash has definitely been one of the highlights of this semester. Figuring out new stuff to learn in the coming semester, could be piano or probably getting back to drums.  

The difficult part of staying in a dorm especially in the US is the food. But turns out in my case it became the best part of the day. I still haven’t really figured out but just like that a group came along and the 8 of us started cooking as a group. None had any mentionable skills but we were ready to get food poisoned for fellow cooks. Surprisingly, each one of us can today take pride in a specialty dish and some other not-so-special dishes. Dinner is the time everyone comes together and after fights over dishes, spoons, rotis and chairs are settled starts a non-stop conversation about the days happenings, professors, classes and everything under the sun.

Dinner Gang \m/

SLE (Something (I forget) Learning Experience), another interesting and fun part of the 1^st semester. My team was pretty diverse - Indian, American, Chinese, Chinese American and Latin American, we had it all. This made communicating a whole lot difficult and funny but nonetheless at the end of the day we all did a great job. The 24 hour exam for Strategy stream was the real test, we slogged all night and submitted 28 seconds before deadline. Phew!! We did pull off some on the spot presentations and submissions which was pretty cool just like our team name - 3D \m/

Team 3D

While the school never took it too easy on us, we never stopped having fun either. Zipcar was not just a case study we did but an enabler for all the fun out of campus. Destinatin 1, Harvard Square + Zipcar + Awesome Music +  Endless time finding parking + Falafel = AWESOMENESS!! Once Zipcar gave us the 'wheels when we needed', anything closer than Harvard Square to have dinner was blasphemy.

1st Snow 2011

Staying in Boston has so many perks. You get to see the RED SOX play and for free if you sign up to pic some trash. Broke MBA students will do anything :P Also get to visit MIT and Harvard for various events and listen to some amazing speakers. Although the Babson pride never stops us from bashing these ahem 'other' schools in Boston.

Red Sox Game

In other news, I did manage to be a part of various club activities and get on leadership of a couple I really wanted to. Being a part of the flagship event of Babson, Babson Entrepreneurship Forum made it possible to share the same frame as Michael Porter, the man behind every MBA's (at least 1st year) most favorite words "Porter's 5 forces". I also managed to lose some elections at school and that was a maiden experience and surprisingly a good one. Definitely got to learn a lot from it, in fact a little more than all the victories of Undergrad :)

Same frame as Michael Porter!!

The achievement of the semester and might as well of the year be finally gathering some courage to perform DANCE on stage. 'I was meant for the stage' may be one of my most favorite songs but dancing as a part of it was never a part of the plan mostly for the safety of the viewers. But being in a completely new environment and having audiences with stronger hearts made even this feat possible. It wasn't as bad as I would imagine in my head or may be it was, who can tell!!!

Sheela ki Jawani ;)

Diwali 2011!!

Time kept flying amidst all these truck load activities. I did scoop some time to study and be answerable to my family back home paying for my tuition. But I truly believe everything mentioned is a part of the experience and not just the academics and classroom teaching. All this craziness adds up to what we call the 'MBA Experience'. Glad so far it has bee great.....

Yale MBA Games

I guess by the end of the 1st semester I did find a new home, new friends and lot of new experiences. Herez to an equally or even more eventful and awesome semester!! Cheers!!

Let the craziness continue!!

Koshish Karne Walon...!!!

Randomly got reminded of and started reciting one of my MOST favorite poems from school days... My Mom and Dad had gifted me this poster with Pt. Harivansh Rai Bacchan's poem about never giving up. I was amazed that I still remember it word to word.. Here it goes... (Its in Hindi, non-Hindi speakers, please excuse me this time around....)

Lehron se Darkar nauka par nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti

Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,
chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.
Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,
chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.
Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

Dubkiyan sindhu mein gotakhor lagata hai,
ja ja kar khali haath lautkar aata hai
Milte nahi sahaj hi moti gehre paani mein,
badhta dugna utsah isi hairani mein.
Muthi uski khali har bar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti.

Asaflta ek chunauti hai, ise sweekar karo,
kya kami reh gayi, dekho aur sudhar karo.

Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ko tyago tum,
Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.
Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,
koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

– Harivansh Rai Bacchan

Long Silence

Its been a long silence.... Still trying to figure out what was it that kept me away from my beloved blog...

Was I too busy.. Or I did absolutely nothing worth mentioning...??

Was it a writer’s block.. Or I am just mistaken in considering myself one...??

Was it because of the several setbacks... Or just the high personal standards.. ??

Was it cos of the sleepy days.. Or the restless nights.. ??

I am yet to figure that out but what I do know is I need to get back to this old friend... There are a lot of stories I want to share a lot to vent... So here I am back again... To... telling stories... attempting lame jokes... futile efforts at profundity... and loads of whining... So here we go again....

BACK !!!

Where the fuck was I?? Is that the immediate question that will follow?? Well, fail enough, I have been hibernating for over 2 months now. I should be happy that the blog survived such tough times. Ppl keep asking; why is the blog dying, what are you up to, where are all the reviews and accounts of occasions you promised will be on the blog????? I have been hiding and running away from all these questions. Here are a few answers…

Enduro3, immediately after the Delhi trip, oh the Delhi trip was with college friends for 5 days in and around Delhi. Enduro 3 was an incredible experience, from buying the cycle to the never ending practice sessions to long email threads motivating and de motivating each other to deciding the team name and finally quitting after the grueling competition. This left me very exhausted both physically and mentally.

TWITTER, one of the main culprit is Twitter. It has kept me away from my first love, Blogging. But soon enough I realized, Tweeting is just like a one night stand, it can make you happy w/o any commitments but a blog is where true happiness lies. I will still keep visiting Twitter but will never forget you, my Blog.

Reading, its one of the better reasons of staying away from blogging. I have been reading some off beat stuff for a while now likes of Curious case of a dog in the night time, Never let me go, Animal farm, 1984 and the Inheritance of loss. Each book a different kind of delight, each with a different voice and scenario. Loved all the time I spent with Christopher, Kathy, Snowball and folks. I wish I could do a post on these books but I do not consider myself worthy enough to review any of these books.

Youthopeia, certainly the best reason for being away. YH is trying to bridge the gap between rural and urban India with the help of the youth. It’s a way to spread the hope to the ppl less privileged that most of us are. I wont say anything much here but would like to urge everyone to visit the BLOG and know more. Its one thing I always wanted to do and finally the wheels are moving. Contribution, feedback and comments are most welcome.

TEDxPune, the latest addition in the host of activities. The day I came to know about TEDxPune, I jumped on the opportunity of becoming a part of something so amazing and exciting. The first meeting was last Saturday and it was a great opportunity to network with some of the most passionate ppl in Pune. Looking forward to contribute more to the event and making it a HUGE success.

Apart from all these reasons, menial excess like laziness, hanging out with friends, outings, movies and sleep kept me busy. But now I am back and I plan to stay J

Peace.

25 random things about me

1. I love writing, I don’t remember when I got a hang of it but now I truly enjoy Blogging.

2. I’m one hell of a procrastinator. I cant get to speed unless the 11th hour has passed.

3. I spent my first dollar in the US on a Starbucks Coffee, I still have that mug.

4. I hate being taken for granted. I’m like a child who constantly seeks attention.

5. On my first visit to college after graduating, one junior actually walked up to me and took my “Autograph” :D :D

6. I love gadgets. Technology n gadgets are big turn ons for me.

7. I have a theory proposed called “3 phases of friendship” it hasn’t failed till date and everyone who has heard bout it agrees to it.

8. I have dropped my cell in a shit hole once. No more details will be revealed.

9. My present cell phone takes 3 minutes to open one text message… Duh

10. As a child I wanted to be a Post-man, then a Police officer, later a Doc and finally settled to be an Engineer… And still don’t like it.

11. I once got the “Worst singer award”

12. I cannot distinguish any colors apart from basic ones. Tan, Purple, Lavender, Mauve etc totally perplex me.

13. As a child I had an imaginary friend and I myself was a different character in that world.

14. I’m afraid that I’m a minor Kleptomaniac. No raised eyebrows, I just have the urge to take things, I don’t actually steal them.

15. When I’m travelling alone, I play a totally different character from what I am and chat with ppl. (Once I played an NRI who has come back to India to find her ‘roots’ :P)

15. I'm proud the fact that I’m a Gemini.

17. I Google anything and everything. I have the most unimaginable searches under my belt. The top search being my own name...

18. I am also a minor case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) I need the furniture in the exact place, books in a particular order, all frames aligned, etc etc…

19. I’m NOT really a happy-go-luck or don’t-care person, but I like to entertain that fraudulent idea in people.

20. I love planning Bday n surprise parties for my friends. The happiness is infectious and glint in the eyes is incomparable.

21. The most horrible movie I have watched in a theater is Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

22. My favorite pass time at public places is to check out the brands various ppl are sporting, observing their body language and gestures.

23. I want to get a tattoo done but still wondering what and where.

24. As the name of the blog goes I’m stentorian (very loud) and so are my friends; we have been thrown out of every possible place due to the noise levels.. Lectures, Labs, Coffee shops, Hotels, Bus stops, Parking, Roads… Every damn place….

25. I ride a second hand (third hand really) Kinetic. I totally love that bike :D

Random Updates

Some updates:
1. I got a new place to stay. Its bigger than the present one but not furnished, but I'm gonna love it, will buy some furniture and everything will be on track once again.
2.Going to Mumbai this weekend for Neha's Bday blast and also to check the TCS buddies' place. They have been raving about it for real long now.
3.Watching A lot of classic movies and catching up with the IMDb Top 250 list. Thanks to KKs new HDD. :D
4. @John Deere, its more of chats over coffees lately :) Chats bout MBA, MS, Market Trends, Recession, Politics, FRIENDS, Movies and everything under the sun. Great time guys.
5. Had a blast at 1000 Oak's (the place just ROCKS) last weekend. Danced to my heart's content. (Ya, u ppl can have a good laugh!!! Morons)
6.Too much of partying over last two weekends so gonna cut down n start saving to make up for the losses incurred due to the new place jazz.
7.Reading has come to a complete stop due to these movies sessions. Will resume soon. Few book reviews pending too. :(

Err... Can't think of more. Will come up with something interesting soon. Till then, keep following...

Peace...

I'm BESPECTACLED!!! :(

It happens to all and so I always thought, I will accept it with grace when it happens to me.... But, NOOOO... I found myself shouting (inside, as I couldn't do it in public :P).. "Why GOD why..? Why ME...? Why so soon !!!!"

NO, I'm not talking bout Death or marriage (both are almost equivalents :P), I'm still talking about my SPCTS only :(

Some History: My mom doesn't want me to divulge this in public ever as she thinks it will reduce my chances of becoming a prospective matrimonial stuff... Little does she know, this can never happen... :P
Crap apart, as a child I had a WEIRD philosophy.... Like one can "write" with only one hand, one can also "see" only with ONE EYE...... YES, I could not see properly with my left eye ever since I know, but always thought it was very normal... (DO NOT laugh, it can happen and is very LOGICAL) So, I never told my parents bout it, AND... when I did, they where shocked like I was blind... he he... After some diagnosis, it turned out it was Chronic... My mom refuses to accept though (that she produced a faulty piece :P) and still thinks, it was due to one of the KARATE tournament I participated in when very young....
To cut the long story short, I can see (properly) with only my RIGHT eye (like I can write) and the Docs said it won't cause any problems whatsoever....

THEN, I joined work and started spending more that 9 hour in front of the monitor... Moreover, I have a desktop and a laptop (YES, I DO :D) both and their brightness doesn't match so I ended up affecting my Right eye too and one fine day had to meet the Oculist.... She gave me a Positive 0.5 cylindrical power glasses for my right eye...
Nonetheless, I look really SMART in these glasses and I have to put them on only while working so I don't really mind, so all you feeling devilishly happy can shut up.... :P

GOD and his ways of inkling me to grow up, but lil does he know, I don't have any plans to... Come Glasses Come what may, I will be the same spoilt pampered and bratty kid inside....