lettheshowbegin

Romania GME

2007-03-22T15:03:00.000+05:30

Rafting @ Rishikesh

2006-05-30T18:15:00.000+05:30

3 of us (Dhruv, Praneet and me) left on a Saturday evening and reached Camp David 3 kms before Biasi(Uttaranchal, India) on Sunday morning. The bus ride from Delhi was not as much fun as we would have liked it to be but sometimes adventure doesn't start from the exact point one would like to.

We had almost the entire camp site to ourselves as the season was almost over. After a quick breakfast we got ready for a 15 km rafting experience to Shivpuri. Before that we splashed around on the shallow bank of Ganges for a long time wearing the life jackets. This was important to get used to the water as well as get ready for the thrill lying ahead of us. Our guides were 3 smart young locals who knew the river from the back of their hands. On Day 1 there was a family to give us company on the raft for about 5 Kms. They negotiated "Good Morning" and a few easier rapids (one of them was supposedly called potato) with us. After bidding them farewell we started paddling for the remaining 10 Kms, which had some real challenge for a newbie like me. Although we had already done some floating in the river from the first suspension bridge, when we were asked to jump into a "body surfing" rapid for the first time I wasn't too sure if our guides knew what I was capable of. I still jumped, first few waves in the rapid seemed easy but then I was going under the water every time and trying hard to continue breathing (bad move as I was supposed to match my breathing rhythm with the waves). Anyways, although a few seconds seemed like a few hours the first experience taught me a lot about staying above the water in the rapids ( Guides taught us a few handy tricks as well). While earlier Dhruv and Praneet had floated away from the raft when trying to get their picture clicked in the water, this time it was my turn. The raft was floating at a steady pace and I had caught speed in the fast current while floating. Although the life jacket was there for my protection I wasn't sure how I would be able to get back on dry land, if ever. Fortunately, the guides were only waiting for some acclimatization time to pass before the next rapid and they picked us back into the raft ready with the paddles.

After an exhausting but exciting experience with a few more rapids we came back to the campsite and crashed in our tents after a quick lunch. We needed those few hours of sleep to make up for the sleep lost during the bus journey. In the evening we went to the rock face and Dhruv and Praneet got to practice some climbing with a Jumar and rappelling with a rope and descender. It was a nice refresher for me although I was waiting for the rafting experience on Day 2 - 25 Kms (Biasi to Lakshman Jhoola). We also tried to make some good use of a cricket pitch mat and a beach ball net on the sand, apart from the carom board of course. Nevertheless, rafting was the high point of the day so much so that I asked the camp managers to allow me to sleep in the open next to the river on the cool bank (Fear of mosquitoes in the tent was the other reason) of river Ganges under the starlit sky.

I got up when the sun was already nice and bright and noticed that my other two companions were still waiting for someone to wake them up. We got ready in a few hours lazing around the mess tent, having our breakfast and packing our bags for the journey back home. I also took some time out to click a few pictures of a barking deer drinking water from the river, a butterfly fluttering around, a few local village belles collecting wood from the slope on the other side of the river and the camp site. We were all set to go at 10 AM with the camp owner's family. This time I was feeling more confident and wanted to see the stretch after Shivpuri. However there was another thrill in store for me. We didn’t jump into the calm water after the suspension bridge but couldn’t resist the temptation of jumping in the “body surfing” rapid which we had experienced the previous day. I started floating on the rapid and was able to keep my head up all the time as I had figured the tricks. Then, as we were approaching a whirlpool/hole in the water I swam away from the stream to avoid the danger and in no time I was floating in circles in an eddy (for the uninitiated an eddy gets formed next to the rapids where water moves in circles but is not fast enough to form a whirlpool). As much as I tried to swim away from the eddy and get back to the raft I was getting pushed back by the water. Our other friend Praneet didn’t know swimming and people on the raft appropriately decided to pick him up first. In the meanwhile though, the raft moved ahead and I was still floating with my face up and life jacket strapped on to me. I tried again to get back into the current so I could float towards them but I noticed that I was unnecessarily exhausting myself. I decided to wait for another raft to arrive or the eddy to break up into a stream (if anything like this even happens). After about 20 minutes or so (although it seemed like a life time) our guides paddled the raft to the bank close to them and started walking towards me on the bank. While they were whistling towards me trying to encourage me on to swim my red helmet was also noticed by another rafting team. It was from that team that an angel named “Sudhir” who was on his canoe paddled towards the eddy. He was guiding his rafting team and he also guided me to latch on to a hook on his canoe so he could take me towards my raft. I complied like an obedient soldier and we were all back together on the raft once again. Further beyond, Shivpuri we had some of the best rapids named, “Tee off”, Golf course”,” Washing machine” and we all paddled well through the fast water. The final piece of adventure was a 14 feet cliff jumping exercise. The height didn’t seem daunting but when I had let gravity take over I was wondering for a split second why is the water not touching my feet. I must have gone into the water, a few feet and when I emerged my ear drums could sense what the world refers to as increasing pressure of water as one goes deeper into it.

We disembarked from the raft a few yards before Lakshman Jhoola, had our packed lunch and started on our journey back to Delhi. This time we got proper seats where we could afford to doze off like tired adventurers who were dreaming of their next trip of adventure.

Trip to Bharatpur

2006-02-27T21:37:00.000+05:30

Paagal guy members,

Let me post a few quick pictures for now and I promise to do a more detailed job when I return back to town and have more time on hand.

Cheers

Outside the artificial climbing wall

2006-01-09T18:45:00.000+05:30

This spot lies in between Gyaan Hall and Thalay Sagar(Admin block)

Lining up at Bhuki Roadhead

2006-01-09T18:36:00.000+05:30

Everyone has lined up and is full of anticipation as to what lies beyond those mountains !!

A smaller log bridge

2006-01-09T18:24:00.000+05:30

Lots of our resting areas were near a stream( for obvious reasons- I meant for drinking water !) so a log bridge was also not too far !

Human Chain

2006-01-09T18:10:00.000+05:30

Can you see the end of this human chain? This is right before the stream crossing while on our way to Gujjar huts.

Wilderness

2006-01-09T17:50:00.000+05:30

I was sitting on top of a log while clicking this picture of the stream coming out of the wilderness. The white flowers gave a nice contrast to the green background.

Rest Area

2006-01-09T17:45:00.000+05:30

All of us are enjoying the rest after trekking for more than an hour from Tela Camp. Rest Areas allowed us to ea our high energy chocolates, dry fruits and sip on the orange squash:)

In the woods around Tela Camp

2006-01-09T17:25:00.000+05:30

Things were quite perky so far !! Things started going downhill from here untill we reached Gujjar huts :)

Getting ready for the crossing

2006-01-09T16:24:00.000+05:30

What can 30 kgs + on your back and 2 days of adventurous climbing do to a city slicker :)

Long shot of the crossing in progress

2006-01-09T16:21:00.000+05:30

This is a long shot of the "Dingadh crossing" taking place at "Gujjar Huts"

Crossing Dinghad

2006-01-09T16:15:00.000+05:30

We crossed the Dingadh at a couple of places but this log bridge was the most scenic one considering the open meadows all around "Gujjar huts". The 2nd closest person to the camera is "Girish Ranakoti" who was one of our favorite instructors. Some of us still rememeber how he used to call some of us "Khatam Singh" roughly translated into "dead meat"...:) when we started slouching

Welcome Back

2006-01-09T15:29:00.000+05:30

Upon returning from the height gain expedition we were greeted with Chocolates and a warm handshake. The sleet was right around the corner at this point !!

Resting at Gujjar Huts

2006-01-09T15:12:00.000+05:30

After descending about 2000 feet in an hour and covering thrice the distance we would have, if we were on our way up, all our knees got their first break at Gujjar huts. The rucksacks and trainees have lined up as per their "ropes" and the order in which we were supposed to move. With some effort you could view the Vice Principal and instructors in the background.

Angry Varunavrat

2006-01-09T14:46:00.000+05:30

The sleepy town of Uttarkashi on the banks of River Bhagirathi had to face the wrath of deforestation in a quake prone zone right around the time we were training at Advanced base camp. A huge chunk of Varunavrat broke off after a long spell of rain and thunderstorm. Luckily there were no casualties and minimal damage to property. Some of the people had taken precautionary measures as this area was declared "dangerous" by seismologists and other natural scientists esp. after the devastating earthquake of 1992 which took lives of thousands of innocent people. The earthquake has reportedly left many cracks in the hills around this area making them vulnerable to landslides.

My High Point

2006-01-04T19:07:00.000+05:30

I wanted the photographer to make me look like I have summitted Mt. Everest. I guess he did pretty well. Don't you ? :)

P.S : I would look smarter without that helmet( we weren't allowed to take off the helmet) and the sunburn (can't call that tan anymore) :)

Snow Craft training in progress

2006-01-04T18:45:00.000+05:30

We had to trudge up the smallish slope and then slide all way down(while practising walking on snow and arrest techniques). Couldn't enjoy this for too long as we had start the descent before 12:30 PM..and luckily we reached adv.base camp just in time. Our advanced party got caught up in the season's first sleet/rain and we waited for them to welcome them while hiding under rain sheets. :) Lots of fun as we were singing and hiding from the sleet at the same time.

Learning slide arrest technique on snow

2006-01-04T18:35:00.000+05:30

Thats the tanned me posing for the camera while sliding down the slope. That grip of the ice axe is a technical grip to be used while one is preparing to arrest the slide before ending up in a crevasse.

Rope 8 : My Rope

2006-01-03T19:56:00.000+05:30

This is a picture of my group. I had a great time with this gang of mountain enthusiasts ( including a liberal arts grad flashing the V sign)!

Ball of fire

2006-01-03T19:20:00.000+05:30

A setting sun behind the clouds gave a "ball of fire" kind of a snap (clicked from Base Camp-11000 feet)

Rock bridge over Ice

2006-01-03T18:59:00.000+05:30

Rock bridge over a crevasse. Can be a life saver at times while walking on the glacier.

Crevasses

2006-01-03T18:47:00.000+05:30

Open crevasses like these can be deadly for mountain climbers. The ones show here are right outside the campsite of the advanced party which has gone to summit Draupadi ka Danda.

Ice Table

2006-01-03T18:45:00.000+05:30

Ice Table forms by the slow melting process of ice under the rock. It is used by mountain climbers as an anchor at times, while walking on the glacier.

Ice fall - Source of Dokriani Bamak(Glacier)

2006-01-03T18:38:00.000+05:30

Ice fall area which is also the source of the glacier. Khumbu ice fall at the base of everest is one of the most famous ice fall(s) in the world.

Post sunset same mountain

2006-01-03T17:58:00.000+05:30

The same mountain as the one in the picture below but after sunset.

Mountain peak in the evening

2006-01-03T17:53:00.000+05:30

Light and shade in the mountains can make the same object look like a different one within few minutes. Compare this picture with the one on top of this and reserve your comments.

Camp site covered in the season's first snow

2006-01-03T17:35:00.000+05:30

This is one of my favorite pictures from the BMC(Sep-Oct'03). I took a break from the ongoing cricket match (in the background) to click a few pictures and got this gem at the Adv. base camp, right after the first snowfall/sleetfall of the season. We had just returned from our height gain trip and I was hoping to capture the moment on my Canon EOS 6.

With the trainers at Adv.base camp

2006-01-03T17:26:00.000+05:30

We had to ascend some 16000 feet on Dokriani Bamak to get the well deserved rest amidst the crevasses at the advanced base camp set up by the advanced course trainees. I am sitting in the middle with a mug in my hand and am surrounded by my instructors.

another picture of friends at base camp

2006-01-03T17:12:00.000+05:30

This group is also as diverse as the previous pictures with a few common faces. Rupesh on the extreme right is currently pursuing his post PhD research in NYC, Mala Ram on the extreme left is a paratrooper in the Indian Army , Mangat in his red tracks was a Lans-Nayak in the Indian Army at the time of the course, Ajit-standing right infront is in Pune working on various things (inc. organizing corporate trips), Nitin Singh-standing on the right hand side of Mangat is in the Indian Navy and has attempted Mt.Everest recently, along with the Indian Navy expedition team. My memory beats me sometimes and I can't think of the name of my friend standing to the left of Mala, but I recall he was from Calcutta(West Bengal) and was the life of our group in lots of ways :). Then there is Nitin 2(in the red cap) who came from Mumbai. Gaurav hidden behind Nitin Singh and Mangat was the youngest in the group (only 18 ) and represented one of the eastern district(s) of Uttaranchal.

My basic mountaineering course friends

2006-01-03T16:57:00.000+05:30

Since I am getting set to enrol for the Adv. course, I thought it would make sense to revive my blog by recording some of the basic course memories. My memories start with the people I spent my team with so here is a picture of some of my friends who had come from different parts of India.

My first Half Marathon experience

2005-10-17T15:33:00.000+05:30

I was finally able to run for the longest distance I have ever run, 21.097 Kms, but at a slow jogger's pace of 8 Kms/hr. Delhi had come out in its best spirits. For a change I saw smiling cops, cheering the runners while they were manning the route. The arrangement was making the runners feel like special people with all the non runners being diligently kept away from the roads :) There was also the television crew sitting on the edge of a chopper, all excited, so much so that at times they used to raise a dust storm by flying too low over the ground. There were people from all walks of life, representing all age groups right from a 3 year old kid to a few octogenarians.

Inspite of being a late riser, I reached the venue, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 7:00 AM. The fresh early morning air was full of excitement with people stretching and warming up in the assembly area. Amongst the group there were world class athletes, corporates, teams from the defense services and not to miss running enthusiasts like me, all geared up to run for Delhi. I tried to soak in the atmosphere but there was too much action all around and all I could manage was a few glimpses of people who had turned up in their best of spirits and costumes. There were those occasional glimpses of I Pods, MP3 players and cell phones attached to the hands free earplugs. Quite interesting to note how running can be such a fun thing to do.

Our race was flagged off at 7:45 AM by celebrities and renowned sports personalities who were also there to cheer for Delhi. The crowd scattered into groups of 2s and 3s by the time we took the first turn after about 200 meters from the starting point. I spotted the first Kingfisher water station (Thanks Kingfisher for providing all the runners with water and electral) after about 500 meters and then there was one after every 2 Kms or so. There were parked ambulances, courtesy Escorts group of hospitals, with waiting doctors although I hope they didn't get too much work on a Sunday morning.

The Half Marathon started at Nehru stadium and went via Sai Baba Mandir, Lodi Road, The Oberois, Mathura Road, Purana Qila, Pragati Maidan, WHO office on Outer Ring Road, Vikas Minar, Raj Ghat, Firozeshah Kotla Stadium, ITO, Tilak Marg, Mandi House, Le Meridien Hotel, Rail Bhawan, North Block/Raisina Hill, Vijay Path, India Gate, Zakir Hussain Marg, Khan Market, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and back to JLN stadium.

On a busy traffic day I would have taken the same amount of time traveling to all these places in a public transport as I took jogging past them. While I was returning back, the Great Delhi run was already in progress and there was a huge crowd of more than 15,000 people walking and running the 7 Kms race. I was pleasantly surprised to read in the newspaper today that some proposals for friendship were also exchanged and accepted in that group of young and pretty looking people ;)

I noticed an interesting thing around the midway point of the marathon. An elderly man from "Surat" wearing a dress colored in the Indian tricolor was offering "Relispray" to lady runners but was politely telling the male runners " Sorry, Khatam ho gaya, thoda sa hi bacha hai" :). It was interesting how he was still cajoled to spray the tiring knees. There were lots of people who were running sprints interspersed with long walks. Good strategy for people who were new to the world of long distance running.

I finished 438th out of an approximate running population of about 5000 enthusiasts. I hope that next time around I would improve my speed and timing to finish amongst the top 100, atleast. Wish me luck for that ! I am going to continue to practice and run for fun :)

Some of the T-shirts said “Are you running?” as though cajoling the walkers to pick up speed. Let me say now, “Did you run?”.

2005-10-06T18:36:00.000+05:30

There is a story, why these curvaceous roads are called "Gatta Loops". A cow had fallen down the steep slope and died. "Gatta" in Ladakhi means "cow"

2005-10-06T18:29:00.000+05:30

Shadow of the clouds make the barren landscape loook even more intriguing

2005-10-06T18:25:00.000+05:30

Snow covered mountains while going towards kargil..a rare site on the otherwise barren terrain..as the clouds are not able to cross into the Indus valley, due to high Zanskar and Karakoram ranges..most of the area gets almost no precipitation.

2005-10-06T18:18:00.000+05:30

If it was not for the pole which came in between me and the background this picture would have been mybest..earth looks like dough which has been kneaded by some large hands..the pole came infront of the camera as I was clicking from a moving bus on a high shutter speed mode

2005-10-06T18:08:00.000+05:30

Would love to roam around in these mountains..exploring the hidden gompas

2005-10-06T18:07:00.000+05:30

This is what I call "Moonscape" or should I say "Marsscape"..haven't been to any of those places..Maybe I can, some day :)

2005-10-06T18:04:00.000+05:30

This is the famous Buddha statue in Mulbekh..there is a story of a cannibal who used to stay in a hut close to Mulbekh..he used to lure unassuming tourists to stay at his place and used to kill them at night...When the increasing incidents came to the notice of local police a trap was laid and he was caught red handed..he perished but the folklore survives..I also had a meal at a roadside Muslim Dhaba in this town

2005-10-06T17:54:00.000+05:30

Mulbekh..while on way back from Leh..this town falls on the way to Kargil..There is a monastery carved into the hillface at the back of the picture..the town is also famous for its ancient Buddha statue carved into the hills..right next to the Leh-Srinagar highway

2005-10-06T17:50:00.000+05:30

Farmland, farm houses, hills, snow covered mountains and blue sky with a few clouds..all in one..do you have a similar picture ?

2005-10-06T17:49:00.000+05:30

Hills in Sonamarg..just about half an hour back I was crossing barren rocky mountains and these hills were lush green

2005-10-06T17:46:00.000+05:30

I tried to capture the contrast here..couldn't get the house out of the way as my lens was not the best..notice the mountain in the background is totally barren and the slope on the right is covered with trees..the transition happens as soon as we cross zozilla pass while coming from Drass and reach Sonamarg

2005-10-06T17:45:00.000+05:30

Grass Meadow in Sonamarg

2005-10-06T17:37:00.001+05:30

Approaching Sonamarg..very pretty approach route

2005-10-06T17:37:00.000+05:30

Kashmir Valley in the haze

2005-10-06T17:33:00.000+05:30

Gulmarg - You can see the temple which figured in a bollywood movie..remember "Jai Jai shiv shankar"

2005-10-06T17:32:00.000+05:30

Maharaja Hari Singh's summer palace in Gulmarg

2005-10-06T17:31:00.000+05:30

Road to Nubra valley and Siachen Glacier from Khardungla Pass..You could make out that I am standing above the cloud line in the background

2005-10-06T17:25:00.000+05:30

Graffiti on a rock next to Khardungla pass..people go to some extent to make their mark..this artist came from Manipur in the north eastern part of India

2005-10-06T17:22:00.000+05:30

Buddhist prayers inscribed on stones placed on top of a hill next to the world's highest motorable pass..1 hour drive from Leh

2005-10-06T17:21:00.000+05:30

Prayer flags and prayer point on Khardungla pass, 18350 feet.

2005-10-06T17:20:00.000+05:30

Namgyal Palace is right in the middle on the hillock..the polo ground is partially visible in front of the shanties.

2005-10-06T17:18:00.000+05:30

The dilapidated structure on the left of the picture is Namgyal palace and then on the top right is the gompa..a monk climbs up the hills every night to light the lamps at the ancient royal gompa..Rest of town is in the foreground..an example of an unplanned city gorwing in all directions

2005-10-06T17:14:00.000+05:30

View of the Polo Ground..main Leh..and Japanese Stupa on a hill in the background

2005-10-06T17:11:00.000+05:30

A picture from inside Namgyal Palace's courtyard..some renovation work is on!

2005-10-06T17:09:00.000+05:30

The lower part of Leh..this picture was clicked from the Nezer gompa hill..my guesthouse was right next to this gompa..u cd also see the snow peaked Stok Kangri in the background

2005-10-06T17:07:00.000+05:30

Gompa on top of a hill shadowing Namgyal Palace in Leh,Ladakh

2005-10-06T17:06:00.000+05:30

Main entrance to Spituk with the large prayer wheel

2005-10-06T17:03:00.000+05:30

Statues of various avatars of a Devi inside the Spituk Monastery

2005-10-06T17:01:00.000+05:30

Buddhist statues and gifts which came from Tibet for the king of Leh..these are kept inside a sacred room in the Spituk monastery..the stron yellow hue is due to the sunlight filtering through yellow curtains

2005-10-06T16:59:00.000+05:30

Sindhu Ghati or Indus Valley..Indus feeds Ladakh and especially major towns like Leh/Kargil to make them bustling tourist spots..without Indus Ladakh would have been without a soul..don't miss the Stok Kangri range in the background

2005-10-06T16:56:00.000+05:30

This is a buddhist temple next to the Spituk Gompa..the idol inside this temple resembles Kali but it is actually a buddhist god fighting the demons..there is a good description, on a board outside the temple, of the god and how it is often confused with Kali,

2005-10-06T16:43:00.000+05:30

Can you read something written in white ? Those are white colored stones embedded into the hill a unique way of talking to the masses in Ladakh

2005-10-06T16:40:00.000+05:30

View of Spituk Gompa from top of a hillock next to the monastery

2005-10-06T16:39:00.000+05:30

Contrasting colors..green trees..light brown hillocks with red grass..followed by the darker shade of the mountains

2005-10-06T15:11:00.000+05:30

Some patches of green in the barren landscape

2005-10-06T15:03:00.000+05:30

More pictures of the keylong valley with some step farms

2005-10-06T15:01:00.000+05:30

"Keylong" ..last place on the Manali Leh route with some inhabitants..it is a district headquarter of Lahaul-Spiti

2005-10-06T15:00:00.000+05:30

Mud covered hills which make Ladakh so unique

2005-10-06T14:54:00.000+05:30

The camps which gave us shelter for a night. A mattress and unlimited blankets for Rs.30..value for money..anyways, there is no other option if you are taking the Manali to Leh route

2005-10-06T14:52:00.000+05:30

Outside the camp site in Pang Valley. Mr. Driver is tying the bags to the luggage carrier.

2005-10-06T14:50:00.001+05:30

View of the Pang valley

2005-10-06T14:50:00.000+05:30

More of the moonscape

2005-10-06T14:49:00.000+05:30

Ladakh landscape in September

2005-10-06T14:48:00.000+05:30

While on the way from Pang to Leh after a night halt

My trip to Ladakh

2005-09-27T14:46:00.000+05:30

It has been a year,that I reached Leh and frolicked around in the land of Lama.

How to choose recommenders for B-school Application?

2005-09-27T14:16:00.000+05:30

I have gleaned some information w.r.t recommendations from various sources and would like to share it with people so it could give a broad guideline to people, in terms of, who is preferred and what is the best course of action. I have tried to rank the various criteria which should be considered while selecting recommenders. I would consider them in the order below and feel that this ranking would more or less be applicable to most of the situations. Feel free to share your opinion though.

While choosing your recommenders (referred to as "they" in the points below) check if they meet these criteria (preferably in this order)

1. They are willing to give you a positive recommendation. All said and done a negative reco from anyone in the world is not going to help.
2. They can talk about your professional accomplishments. B-schools prefer professional recommenders over academic, as they are trying to assess your business acumen rather than academic prowess. Also, academic recommenders can rarely talk about your team skills and professional promise.
3. They are your current supervisors. Although B-schools allow applicants to use other recommenders (like previous supervisors etc.) and explain the situation in an optional essay, they prefer current supervisors. The simple fact that they want us to explain "Why couldn't we get it from our current supervisor" shows that they value the recency of the recommender's comments. I think they believe, the older/indirect the context of recommendation, the more irrelevant it becomes, because the applicant could have changed since then, the applicant could be putting up a face in front of the recommender as there could be vested interests and the recommender could have forgotten the exact details. Also in the case of older contexts, the chance that the applicant is writing her own reco is higher. If your current supervisor is the CEO then so be it, but designations would not be relevant beyond a certain level.
4. They can spend some time and support their comments with specific examples. Recommendations are used by the B-schools to know more about the applicant. They would like to hear from people who can talk passionately about the applicant with real life examples. The less the number of examples the more lifeless the recommendation.
5. They can write grammatically correct, good English. This is an area where most of the recommenders would do well but it’s still noteworthy so that in case you are in a situation where the recommender struggles with English you could help her with it. Although, the tricky thing would be, “How do I tell my boss that you need help?". Be careful with your choice of words.
6. They have a good idea of the advantages of an MBA and especially if they are familiar with the MBA at the specific B-school. This is why, a recommendation from an alumnus would become important, but only if he meets all the above criteria.
7. They have a good cross section of people to compare you with. They can add the right kind of perspective while comparing you with others. This is why a recommendation from a person with cross functional experience of different functions with substantial overall experience (preferably 10 years+) helps. These recommenders would be able to objectively differentiate you from other people at your level.
8. They can talk about different aspects of your personality which the other parts of your application, or other recommender(s), don’t cover. Ideally you should use different recommendation to strengthen different parts of your candidature.

I guess these points do not cover all the various situations which you might face but in my experience I have found this list to be a good starting point.

Guaranteed loan and Indian bank's educational loan

2005-09-27T12:41:00.000+05:30

Here is some information which I felt would be useful for those who are exploring educational loan options for their MBA.

This is based on information gathered from various B-schools which offer guaranteed loans without co-signor and Indian banks which offer educational loans.

Guaranteed loans or loans without a co-signor mostly cover both years and some schools include living, books & supplies expenses.

Loan documents are also sent to the admitted students so they could show them to the visa officer as proof of funding. If one gets admitted to any B-school which offers a guaranteed loan(most of them have an excellent reputation considering that banks agree to give loans on their word), visa officers should not probe for other funding options beyond the bare minimum. But, it is always better to show whatever funds one can show. There is no advantage in not going prepared with all the funds related papers for the visa interview. On the other hand, one can only show as much as one can. Normally, if one can show funds equivalent to the first year's expenses visa office should be satisfied.

Banks in India would ask the loan requestor to sign an undertaking that she would not be taking any other loans apart from the loan being issued to her for that purpose. This also becomes important as banks issue loans on the basis of the co-signor's payment capacity and the kind of debt burden the co-signor is already under or is planning to go under.

Banks in India look into the payment capacity of the co-signor, normally parents, as a guarantee. Some banks do not allow loans beyond 40% of the liability free income of the co-signor during the repayment period. e.g. if X's father earns Rs.5 lacs per annum and there are no liabilities in terms of exisiting loans and X can pay the loan in 10 years, banks could sanction a loan of upto Rs.20 lacs(which is 40% of Rs.5 lacs X 10 years). However, for any amount over Rs.4 lacs banks would also ask for a collateral of equal or higher value.

Asian B-schools not doing well on the rankings

2005-09-22T11:37:00.000+05:30

While going through one of the threads on a B-school forum I came across this question, why don't Asian B-schools do well in B-School rankings?

I can only guess that the following could be some of the reasons:

Most of the rankings come out in American and European publications. These publications have a target reader group concentrated in Europe and America so there surveys mostly deal with those schools which they feel their readers are primarily interested in. Although IMO, they could be missing out a larger audience. To run these surveys they need resources and most of the publications don’t want to invest so much. It’s about ROI, I think!

Also, some of the Asian B-schools haven't participated in the rankings as they don't think that sufficient number of their prospective applicants access that information. One can also extrapolate the reasons given above, to the B-schools.

B-school phenomenon originated in America and then spread over to Europe and then Asia. The pros of the ranking game are the old warhorses of the arena. They know what the rankings want and some of them could have been used as benchmarks while the rankings where being designed, so in that sense it could be skewed. E.g. B-schools in US were not traditionally International in nature (some confirmation in one of the HBS cases taught to the class'07).I wonder how many points are given to the international focus in these rankings. I am sure Asian schools also have a long way to go in terms of taking their brand outside their immediate geographies but some of the European schools would like more points for their international reach. After all very few Fortune 500 businesses are limited to one country, in fact I can't recall 1 right now.

Also, I guess B-schools like ISB are too new to have enough alumni and research work etc. which could propel them into the rankings. But they would get there and so would the IIMs, NUS, and NTU etc. You can already see some of these in few of the rankings amongst the top 100 B-schools but they are destined for better ranks in the future. It would take a lot of work on their part though!

Bottom line, look at the rankings but then look beyond them. Think about what you want to do and which B-schools are going to help you get there. I would advise candidates not to limit their search to any one geography. That would include only some of the vendors who can service the business education and career needs. One should spread the due diligence efforts to B-schools all over the world and take the first steps towards going global.

Anecdotes from Gwalior fort

2005-09-12T12:04:00.000+05:30

Recently I visited Gwalior fort and had my first real encounter with a tourist guide. So far I was averse to the idea of hiring a guide as most of them are known to spice up historical facts. Although there were instances in Washington DC, USA and Mysore, India when I was part of a group and the guide came along with the package, I never thought of hiring one.

This guide however had earned my cousin's respect during his last trip to the fort. Staying in Gwalior, my cousin has been there a couple of times. Every time people like me visit Gwalior he takes them around town in keeping with the traditions of a true Indian host. Mr. Guide was really impressive with his above average vocabulary (like he he knew that the "Hindu Trishul" is called a Trident, he knew the difference between an alligator and a croc etc.).

Something which I really want to share with everyone is the guide’s interpretation of some common ground between Hinduism and Christianity. He told us that the main palace inside the fort was built as per the norms of Hindu architecture and had various Hindu Symbols engraved into the walls. One of them was a triangle which symbolized the holy trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh – Creator, Sustainer and destroyer). We were told that the holy trinity in Christianity was the Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Ghost (although they might not perform the same roles). Another revelation came in the shape of decoded “GOD” (Wow!). We discovered that day that GOD is actually an acronym for Generator, Operator and Destroyer (Interesting stuff, ha!). I had learnt earlier that Hindu religion also has a mention of the flood and a king (Manu) saving life on earth by protecting one specimen of each species so this just brings the two religions even closer, I suppose!

Another interesting aspect of the Gwalior fort, which I was unaware of, was the huge rock carvings of Jain statues resembling the Bamiyan Buddha. It seemed like the same sculptors had worked on these carvings to save their talent from Taliban.

Not to forget the "Saas-Bahu" temple this reminded me of the hit theme of some of the Indian Soaps. But it was only the name; the architecture was pre-Mughal with lots of carved figurines inside and outside the temple.

Another discovery at the fort was that due to the physical properties of sound it was eerily quiet in the fort while we stood away from the parapet but as soon as we reached the surrounding wall we could hear the humdrum of Gwalior city quite clearly. Seemed like a nice way to choose when one wants to stay clued in and when one would like to enjoy tranquility.

Origin of governments

2005-09-06T16:27:00.000+05:30

I always wonder what would happen to societies if there were no governments. Do we know how to respect each other or are we just artificially restrained? If given a chance would we miss out on an opportunity to grab someone else’s share of the pie, as long as no one minds?

Where did the system of enacting laws initiate? How did the societies accept the laws? Laws which were initiated by rulers who were only as legitimate as the strengths of their armies(as long as the armies were loyal)

I follow the articles by SA Aiyar in Sunday Times. The article this weekend gave me some food for thought. It mentioned that early rulers were mostly plunderers or robbers to start with (Thoughts of Changez Khan, Taimur Lane, Mohammed Ghauri, and Ahmed Shah Abdali flashed through my mind). They enacted laws and collected taxes as protection money (I was reminded of the “hafta” which my neighborhood tea stall owner pays to the uniformed protectors). Police and the other law enforcement agencies came into their present shape as the governments became more and more legitimate with increased societal acceptance.

When I look at the palatial residences of some of our royal heritage and the gold and silver encrusted on their cutlery I am not sure how many people had to starve to earn that. If I am not mistaken the royals were really upset when Indira Gandhi took the Privy Purse away.

Looking at the pictures and hearing the stories emanating from New Orleans there is another reminder that without a government (in control) the best of societies turn to anarchy. We have enough dictatorial democracies in the world to tell us that participation of people is still limited to the grassroots. People should actively engage themselves in the societies they live in as their is no way out of politics and governance. In this context, India has traveled a long way from its colonial past and we still have miles to go (especially after looking at the images of Haryana police venting their anger on unarmed people).

Here I go

2005-08-26T16:01:00.000+05:30

It's been 2 months now that I have been thinking about the best way to start this blog. While I am in the process of applying to B-Schools I would not like to limit the blog to it like some of my favorite blogs. It would be interesting how this blog might turn out a couple of years down the line while I post an average of one article every week. Moving on from the musings let me start with sharing a picture of my ancestral home. This is where my parents came from back in the early 70's. This is where I have my roots and this is where I find peace outside the busy city life.

The white house in the background far removed from the grove is the modern version of a house in a North Indian village. Although we can still spot the mud houses, most of the countryside aspires to build a house of brick and mortar. The thatched roofs have given way to flat concrete roofs which are huge from a city dweller's point of view, which is used to the shoebox designs. The houses still retain a central courtyard with a vacant Brahm Sthan (A Vastu term referring to the center of the house which is to be left vacant for god's antics). There is a verandah outside the house which is as far as a male guest can go unless they are a part of the family. Although the cities in India have experienced lots of socio-cultural westernization the villages still retain the purdah tradition to a great extent.

Its interesting that someone once told me how the purdah came into existence. Indian women were far removed from the diffidence associated with them sometimes. They played a role which was of an equal gender. Some parts of the Indian sub continent still witness women performing most of the outdoor activities. I am not aware of too many religions were a women takes the role of a goddess sometimes more powerful than a male Devta (Hindi for God). They were depicted as gorgeous creations of the almighty on the Hindu Temple architecture. They are still considered to be reincarnations of goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) whenever born in a household. With their gift to create life they hold a position of honor and respect in every eye. So how did the transition behind the veil happen? It is said that during the Middle Ages when conquerors from central Asia plundered the land of riches (India), men used to be drafted into the king's army and women used to be left behind looking after the young ones and the household. This used to make them vulnerable (unprotected from lecherous men). Also, as Islam prescribed a strict code of purdah (veil) and it was the religion of the king. Most of the conversions happened during the middle ages. Aurangzeb is considered to be a Mughal ruler who enforced the strict Islamic code of conduct in India. So, in some cases it was the men folk who insisted on the veil of secrecy and in other cases it was the religious influence for a few centuries.

I would be dwelling further on the rural lifestyle of the Indo Gangetic plains in my future posts but thought that I need to start my autobiography from where my journey begins, my village- Mangari.