Sleepless in IIM-A
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Doesn’t everyone know the owner of the
now famous blog… had the opportunity to chat with him for quite some time in the IIM-A campus and the usual IIM – ISB discussions followed in the middle of the night! And more interestingly, memories of good times in INSEAD as we went on to talk about the fleury home (my pseudo home in France)… some great people in some great places… more about this some other time.
I have had a marathon term for the past 6 weeks and though I would not get any great grades, I am very happy with the effort I have put in… don’t remember when I worked this hard… should use this as a practice for my placement preparations and am planning to do some serious work on the same from next term (which starts on Monday).
Had the most hectic day of my life on Wednesday when I had 2 exams and hadn’t slept for the past few days… I wrote the ‘Fixed Income’ and ‘LSCM’ exams and was supposed to have an interview that evening which got postponed after a two hour preparation and a one hour wait! My body and mind were both dead by this time and I tried to get some sleep before I started my preparations for the ‘Options’ exam the next day. I could get neither sleep nor ‘options’ into my head and I wrote one of my worst exams the next day… as everyone was busy writing, I could not even sit for 2 hours in a 3 hour exam! I celebrated the end of term without any parties (!) as I had to catch a flight to Ahmedabad… reached the IIM campus at 10 pm and my body was searching for sleep… had come here as we were shortlisted for the case presentation – “Innovations on the Horizon” and I hadn’t prepared a single slide for the presentation!!!
After long chats and IIM-A night campus visits, I started the ppt in the early hours and put in my best effort for the whole day! KS has to be acknowledged for the session he took for some of us 2 weeks back, on presentations… This was the best opportunity to try out my experiments and I was impressed with the result… still to show it to the guru and get his opinions!
One of the sickest feelings I have had was yesterday night after I finished the presentations… every part of my body was aching and my mind was dead… didn’t want to give up, but wanted to give up! Realized that I needed sleep desperately and had a good sleep in a dusty room! Mind was clear in the morning to prepare well… However long I prepare, I still can’t help the pressure I feel just before giving a presentation… (if the GOD of cricket can’t sleep before a match, I can feel the same :-)) 6 teams were shortlisted for the final round – 2 from ISB, 2 from IIMA, 1 from IIMC and 1 from Fore School of Business – We came third overall and I was happy we won something for the effort put in though a lil disappointed that we weren’t in the top! The other team from ISB came second and IIMA came first.
I was quite impressed with the big campus when I came in… quite spacious and big lawns in the center were the first attractions… but the rooms that were allocated were disappointing… after staying in ISB, I must say the facilities at ISB rocks!!! (Most of the things here made me remember my BITS campus :-))
Now its time for a decent term break… planning to go around the city… waiting for Harsha Bhogle (He is coming for the quiz tomorrow)… can I have a date with him tomorrow night? ;-)
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Keep walking...
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Life hasn’t been easy! It never is… Everyone goes through these facets of life when one questions one’s own existence and also in the other end of perception where one is on the top of the world… I am no exception and sometimes I am proud of how I have lived through… those are good moments. Sometimes I am cursing myself… and those are bad moments! Every situation… one learns something new… but also refuse to learn/accept certain obvious things… but life moves on and one needs to keep walking… may be slow, may be fast, but do walk is what is learnt! Am I walking? I hope so…
Just liked the title which was written by Vijay in Warikoo’s blog and felt like writing a few lines!
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Sane and Insane… Romance @ ISB
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Been a long time since I wrote some junk out here! As usual, I think my most number of entries would be during the final exams and as they are nearing, I start my blog spree…
Well, the title was just to catch the attraction :-) all I have been romancing this term is my five courses and my love’s final test is fast approaching… all is fair in love and war and I am gonna battle it out here!
Sad part, how bad is it that you fall in love at first sight (actually without seeing the face) and then some time later you realize he is the father of four kids… hmm… still amazing!!!
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Poseidon 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Competition in the Inter b-school events has ever been sky-rocketing and we expect no less in ISB's annual B-school fest
"Poseidon 2005". Though the main event is scheduled for 16th and 17th of December, there are priliminary rounds for most of the events. Most of them are already open and you can
register here.
Energeia is a case analysis competition by the
Energy Club at ISB. Click
here to download the case.
Deadlines:November 25: Submission of case analysis by e-mail.
December 01: Results for first round. Top five teams invited to ISB.
December 17: Presentation of case.
December 17: Final results.
Pegasus is a paper presentation by the
Emerging Markets Club at ISB. Topics for this year's papers are -
Financial Instruments and Innovations for the next decade
(or)
Challenges towards developing efficient Credit Bureaus in India.
Deadlines:November 27: Submission of research paper.
December 02: Announcement of Results on the Poseidon website.
December 17: Paper Presentation at ISB.
Olympieia is a business plan presentation contest by the
Business Technology club at ISB. The participating teams have to conceive a business idea in a technology domain and present it as a business plan.
Deadlines:November 25: Submission of executive summary by email.
November 30: Results for first round. Top 10 teams invited to ISB.
December 12: Submission of Business plan by email.
December 16: Presentation of Business plan by the 10 teams at ISB.
December 16: Final results of the Technology Innovation challenge.
Negotiatus is a live negotiation interview by the
Consulting Club at ISB. It is a single member event with no priliminary rounds but the deadline for registration is November 30th.
Rhetorium is a debate competition by the
Entrepreneurship Club at ISB. Registration deadline is December 02.
Tempest Venture World is a case analysis competition by the
Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club at ISB. Click
here to download the case.
Deadlines:November 25: Submission of case analysis by e-mail.
November 30: Results for first round. Top six teams invited to ISB.
December 17: Second round of Venture World at ISB.
December 17: Final results of Venture World 2005.
Drachma is an equity research competition by the
Finance Club at ISB. You may submit a report on any one of the following:
- Shopper's Stop
- TV 18
- ONGC
- UTI Bank
- VSNL
Deadlines:November 27: Submission of report by email
December 02: results for first round. Top 5 teams invited to ISB.
December 17: Presentation of case.
December 17: Final results
Odyssey is a business, sports and entertainment quiz by the
Quizzing Club at ISB. Quizmaster is J.Krishnamurthi (member of KCIRCLE - Hyderabad's leading Quiz association). Deadline for registration is November 30th.
Eureqa is a series of four online quizzes by the
Quizzing Club at ISB. Deadline for registration is November 30th.
Elysium is a Fashion Show Competition by the
Business and Lifestyles Club at ISB. Surprise Celebrity judges from the fashion industry will be there to judge, so get funky... Design your line using either one or all five elements of nature. Deadline for registration is November 30th.
there is more to come... be future ready!
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Healthcare & Pharma Summit 2005 @ ISB
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The Healthcare club at ISB (presided by Dr. Harsh Vardhan Sharma) is organising the largest healthcare event by any business school in south asia.
Date : Saturday, November 26, 2005. Time : 9:30 am to 6:00 pm Venue : Indian School of Business (ISB) Campus, Gachibowli, HyderabadThis one-day conference is open to all top & middle level managers from Pharma & biotech, IT analysts, IT consultants, Software Developers, Business School Students, researchers, cross functional managers and professionals connected with the Healthcare & Pharma industry. This event is unprecedented in the Indian Sub-continent, with Healthcare and Pharma emerging as very important industries, this event shall focus on innovative ways to explore avenues that not only push frontiers forward but also chart out a path for all sectors under the two industries, exploring the opportunities available. The sectors covered are Hospitals, Pharma , Medical Devices and IT applications in Healthcare & Pharma. Participants at the Summit will have the opportunity to listen to CEOs of premiere Healthcare and Pharmaceutical companies on using innovative strategies and solutions to tap the opportunities in the Indian market.Author: Raghini » Comments:
A new beginning
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
At last, I thought I should do something more useful with my blog than the usual day-to-day chitchat... Though I am not going to stop my usual chit chat in this space, my new space is for accumulating at least some of the knowledge that I gather at ISB (I have a small brain, you see). Haven't really decided on one topic I am going to write on... actually I think I would need the help of at least some of my batchmates to put information there.
Lets see how it goes... I request the Class of 2006 to help me with this.
Explore and Discover at the
Pandora's Box Author: Raghini » Comments:
Cricket is a funny game
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Is it really a game played by eleven fools and watched by eleven thousand fools?
Why is that however bad our team performs, the stadium for the next match is as crowded as ever?
What makes us sit at the edge of our seats for every ODI that is played?
What makes us check the scores every other minute even in between a hectic work schedule?
What makes us treat cricketers as Gods when there are actually more people doing better work out there?
What makes the cricketers in India battle odds at so many levels before taking pride in wearing the national cap?
I am actually surprised I never wrote about cricket in any of my posts earlier… My mom would be the best witness for how crazy I have been! But for the past few months, I have not been able to watch much of the game, though I tried following what is happening… reasons, partly the time factor and I guess more importantly Sachin wasn’t playing… I somehow didn’t feel the team was complete without Sachin. Today, I finished an assignment in the morning, coz I wanted to see him play and was a bit disappointed that he was rested for a match played on a Sunday! But the game has changed… I did enjoy today’s match, watching Gambhir and Dravid display a lot of energy and commitment in the way they played and for once, I could appreciate the hard work that was displayed out there by the team.
But still, the sensation when I watch Sachin scoring a century, Schumi wining a grandprix and Sampras winning a grand slam cannot be changed by any other feat!
And by way, I am stepping into the nervous nineties today (I mean the number of posts in my blog :-))
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Gone in 60 seconds
I seem to be spending time by myself after a really long time! Listening to theme music from the movie above.
I have been struggling to keep pace with all that is happening around me… I had to do 5 courses this term… it was a voluntary decision and no regrets on that, but I am not happy with the way I have been managing it. Life is too chaotic these days… my schedule is always filled… my room hasn’t been this messy ever! I have not been able to do all that I want to do (basically all that I want to do is just too many to do in 24 hours). I have been eating and sleeping at weird timings… My blog has been left idle for a long time! And I just don’t get the time to sit back and relax. Too much of pressure does get the best out of me… but I am exhausted! Maybe I can think of it as I am learning to do things in the shortest possible time.
The schedule for the coming week doesn’t look any better… I seem to be having some submission every other day and most of these are group assignments which I have to do with 5 different groups for my 5 courses!!
I gave my Options and Futures mid term today… This course is taught by our Dean and I grade him as the best professor who has put me to sleep in the shortest possible time! There was one class on stochastic processes in which I didn’t have the handouts and decided to take notes on a blank sheet of paper… the snap in the below post was taken at the end of the class and not at the start of the class!! With a lot of tutoring I managed to understand most of the concepts in the past week… But again I got lost in today’s paper and I was cursing myself all day… I think I have some kind of bad luck with exams in ISB!! anyways, I know I put in a lot of effort for this and I did learn lots in the past week and I am going to be happy with that.
Placement season has officially started in ISB. Deutsche Bank is conducting the first round of interviews on Monday and the shortlist is expected sometime soon. Last year they took 13 rounds of interview before giving one offer… mere mortals like me need to keep away from this! We got our first list of companies that might come to campus for placements… a shorter and confirmed list is expected later.
On a lighter note, in between all those mid term preparations, Diwali was good… Maybe for the first time, I didn’t burst a single cracker, but I enjoyed watching everyone here… On the eve, the SV-1 guys lighted the jungle :)and on the day of Diwali, we had a great musical performance by our veteran singers and drummer followed by some debut performances in ISB. Shruti gave a splendid performance and surprised many – though I have had the privilege of listening to some of her recordings earlier… she should sing more often. Would miss her when she leaves to Darden in Jan. There were also some short but enthusiastic performance from kids here... nice to see such young kids singing and playing instruments. In the evening, we had a professional fireworks show which was good to watch.
Should I sleep now or start the case which needs to be submitted on Monday?
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Options and Futures
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Is my Future an Option or Do I have an option for my future?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
'Options n Futures' reminds me of the Deadly grade I received in Advanced Calculus in my first semester at BITS!
Someone help me...maybe its not all that bad!
Author: Raghini » Comments:
ISB in IIMs
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Other than the international competition I mentioned in the previous post, ISB has been rocking in all Indian B-school competitions too… In recent times, Vibhu Walia and Nikhil Chandak emerged winners in the IIM-B’s Private equity competition and workshop. Dollar Surds (Pavit Singh Sistani & Simran Khara) finished in the second place in the forex-trading game at IIM-B’s VISTA. IIM-A’s Master Plan competition has 6 of the 24 teams (in the second round) from ISB. These competitions had Indian as well as international B-school participation.
Congratulations to all these people and others whom I have not mentioned in these posts.
Author: Raghini » Comments:
Innovation Challenge
ISB is on its way to leave a mark in the international competitions – Thunderbird’s Innovation Challenge saw a 16 registrations from ISB and last term break all teams toiled day and night for this challenge.
End result –
The only Asian school in the top 10 is ISB!
The only school to have 2 teams in the top 10 is ISB!!
And 6 teams have figured in the top 100... a maximum for any school!
Kudos to both the teams and I am sure they would show even more talent in the final round in Arizona.
Team 1 – Rohit Chappolia, Rohit Garg, Anand Sairam, Bhism Chugani, Konark Saxena
Team 2 – Shameek Chakravarty, Rishi Verma, Mitika Kulshrestha, Sushma Kaushik, Saurabh Mathur
(3 of the above 10 are BITSians… proud of both my schools :-) )
Author: Raghini » Comments:
