Saved a 40 to shell out a 50

“Boss… Indiranagar??”
“Er... Hundred rupees saar”
“Yaake boss??? It costs just forty bucks to get there”
“Illa Saar... if I put the meter on, it’ll come to around 70 rupees. I’ll have to come back all alone…”
I was wondering what that meant… “Come back all alone???” I wondered.
“No way … had ive traveled from here for the last 24 years of my life…”
“Illa saar... The petrol…”
“Boss u put the meter on… I’ll pay you ten bucks more than the meter reading.”
There was a brief argument after which he relented ……….
….or so I thought…
I sat in the auto rickshaw while the auto driver mumbled, “Software engineer anthe… ipatthu rupaai extra kodakkagalva...”
I ignored his taunts and listened to some good music on my walkman… I gradually forgot the entire struggle and began to feel a joy that can only be associated with Floyd...
Soon we reached the place I was supposed to get off.
One look at the meter ad I was like … “WHAT THE???????”
I have always been a regular traveller on that route but I’ve never ever seen the friggin meter show a whopping 80 bucks. There were times when I had paid 45 bucks and thought I had been fleeced… This was unreal man…
I got off the auto and took out 40 bucks and gave it to him. The guy took that and waited… I started walking… The fellow came after me and asked me to pay up…
I was NOT going to be taken for a ride again… literally and otherwise…
More Auto drivers… more abuses… more threats… finally a cop!!!!
The cop came and saw what was happening…
“Yellinda??”
“Sir Cox town inda...”
The cop looked at the driver.
“Cox town inda ishtu??? Yaako??”
I felt safer now…
There was a brief discussion where the cop spoke at length. Abused at length is more like it…
Finally the drivers left… each one of them giving me cold stares…
Then the surprise.. The cop waits for them to leave and asks me how much money I had…
I said, “Hundred and fifty saar”
“Fifty illi tallu…”
I freaked out… TOTALLY!!!!!!
I gave him a fifty and just walked away…
Some life!!!! Saved a 40 to shell out a 50…. Hmm….

The Fast lane

I was browsing through the net when I came across this amazing pic…
The old man standing by and clapping moved me so much that I decided that the pic deserved a place on my blog.
What was the old man thinking?? Did the musician care??? Were the others so caught up with their chores that they failed to notice the musician??? Did the ol’ fella find time only past his prime to appreciate the little things that made him so happy? Do we have something to learn??
Isn’t it strange how little things in life make you stop and think. We are all so ambitious… We all want to become Warren Buffet and Bill Gates… And we will do anything to get there… we get so involved that we fail to notice the little things that make us smile… the little red flower adding colour to the garden… the naughty kid smiling after being upto mischief…
I sat back and wondered whether I was on the right track… I was running so hard in this mad race … did I even care to notice the things around me… I have cribbed so many times about little things … have I cared to see the bigger picture…
Well I will leave you with the picture and to your introspections.


This picture is courtesy Miss. Anupa Sarah Mohan. Many Thanks and peace!!!

Symbi experience :)

Well this was the first of my three calls that i received this year (as of now). I had my GD on Saturday the 9th. When i reached my centre about an hour before time... I realised i wasnt the earliest .. Nervous faces greeted me. Im sure i was just as nervous although i tried to portray a smile.I tried to find out who my batchmates were. Not all of them had turned up then. I picked up a conversation with who had and we discussed at length about how to avoid a fish market GD. Everyone seemed to have the same thing on thier mind. If theres gonna be a fish market no one would win. I was only trying to let everyone know that everyone thought exactly the same thing... With every new entrant into the waiting room, the stronger our group felt and finally about ten minute before the GD actually began we all felt a calm knowing fully well that we would all be having a fruitful GD. Nobody wanted a fish market.
The first topic that was given was a case study about Nike's Knight cutting off yearly aid to his alma mater because they supported a labour group that was against Nike's labour policies, particularly outsourcing work to the South East Asian countries.
We had a very good discussion regarding various aspects and most importantly reached a consensus.From the little Symbi GD experience i gathered that the panel was totally FOR a consensus.
The next topic that was given to us was a "punny" Dilbert strip. The comic strip about faulty HR policies had to be discussed at length.This topic was a lot easier than the first (atleast for me) because i dint really have to worry about current affairs related issues pertaining to the topic. Again we had a good GD and the group came to a consensus.
The wait after the GD was long... a good hour later the results were announced and 8 out of the 9 members in our group were selected for the interview round.I think it just goes to show how important it is to maintain decorum in the discussion.
Then there was a written essay round for those who had qualified the GD round.The topic was something to the effect that freedom of thought being more important than freedom of speech.This lasted for 10 minutes after which we had to get our certificates verified and those who had their interviews on the same day proceeded to the waiting room.I had my interviews the next day and so i peacefully got back home.
The next morning i had my interview at 10 am. The panelists were different from those for the GD. After the initial greetings they asked me to tell them something about myself briefly. The questions that followed were all based on my introduction... about academics and about my hobbies which included playing the guitar.
They asked me the cliched "Why do you want to do an MBA?" for which i had prepared a good answer and it seemed like they knew what to expect.They quizzed me on my work schedule and asked me why i was a late starter considering that i woke up at 7 every morning.
I told them that i had no need to wake up early to which they laughed heartily. They asked me questions on my preparations and wanted to know how pagalguy helped me. They also wanted to know if i had any other calls but dint probe me any further.
After about 15-20 minutes they decided that they had enough of me and let me go. I think i did reasonably well. There were absolutely no technical questions and very few questions related to my work experience although i personally tried to lead them to my work related strengths.
Well thats it as far as my GD/PI with SCMHRD is concerned. I hope they decide to call me back :)