My IIMA interview experience (documented to cherish for life)

I kept counting the days down to February 25, 2013 from the day I was called for the interview and yeah, it did come - the 25th of February, 2013.

A month's duration from the end of January to this day is the closest I can think of to how I prepared for my twelfth standard board examinations. And the morning of February 25, 2013 started with the customary revision, only that in this case, I had to restrict the syllabus for revision. Sounds so nerdy, I know.

After lunch, mom, dad and I left for Hotel Savera on Radhakrishnan Salai and reached by 1 PM. The scheduled slot for my interview, by the way, was at 2 PM. One hour was more than enough to calm down my nerves with India-Australia test match also to watch. 2 PM sharp and the nine of us were called by one of the two professors of our panel for the Written Ability Test (WAT). The topic was about India venturing into the manufacturing sector for progress in economy. As with most candidates, I was also not able to complete the essay in the 10-minute time frame given to us. However, I only fell short of a conclusion. (To any aspirant who is reading this, please do not assume that an incomplete essay is acceptable provided you have dealt with the topic appropriately. I should say I could have managed my time better. Always try to complete the essay). All of us were out of the room by 2:15 PM and what followed was a grueling wait for 3 hours and 15 minutes. I was the last of the nine candidates to be interviewed in my panel. Of course, anyone anyday would gleefully accept that it is worth the wait. Let me call the two professors who interviewed me P1 and P2.

P2 took me in to the interview room.

P1: So you are Shivram.

Me: Yes, Sir.

P2: Give me your certificates.

Me: (Handing over the certificates)

P1: So why did you quit XXX company and join YYY company.

Me: Explained.(and a short discussion followed)

P2: So, you like teaching?

Me: Yes sir.

P2: What do you teach.

Me: Told.

P2: Do you teach complex numbers?

Me: No sir.

P2: Okay. What is Ptolemy's theorem?

Me: Explained. Used a pen and paper. 

P2: Okay, what is its application?

Me: Don't know sir.

P2: Fine. Take a 2-minute tutorial on quadratic equations. Take sometime to compose yourself. No hurry.

Me: (After around 30 seconds) Shall I start sir?

P2: Sure, go on.

Me: Explained for close to 2 minutes.

P2: Okay, is x^2+1 = 0 a quadratic equation?

Me: Yes sir.

P2: How would you draw this?

Me: (I drew it just as a upward parabola that doesn't touch/cut the x-axis)

P2: Is this correct?

Me: (Kept looking at him)

P2: What is the minima of this function?

Me: Oh Okay sir. Will redraw. Drew it correctly this time.

P2: Okay. This does not cut the x-axis at all. You said this is a quadratic equation and that the roots of a quadratic equation are the points where the curve cuts the x-axis. How do you explain this?

Me: Those are only real roots sir. Here we have imaginary roots. 

P2: Fine. Okay. So how would you explain the roots here then? 

Me: (Answered tangentially) Said something about complex numbers evolved because we didn't know the roots for negative numbers.

P2: Why should you even be bothered about finding roots for negative numbers?

Me: (Dumbstruck. Said to myself, "That's a brilliant question. I have never thought about it.") I said something which obviously didn't answer the question.

P2: Okay fine. No problem.

P1: So you prepare online test content, right?

Me: Yes, sir.

P1: Any of your competitors already has this?

Me: Yes, sir. Named a couple.

P1: Okay, what is their business model? How do they make money?

Me: I do not know what exactly their business model is sir. But I can explain how these things generally work. Explained for a few minutes.
(Both of them were listening.)

P1: You know about sites that give general information about exams like CAT, GRE etc., right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: How do they make money?

Me: Primarily through ads sir. (Spoke about pay-per-view and pay-per-click models.)

P1: Okay. Fine. You have done Optical Communication in your Engineering right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: What is the basic principle in it? How does optical communication work?

Me: Based on the differential refractive indices of two media sir. It works on the principal of total internal reflection. blah blah... Drew an optic fibre roughly and explained the propagation.

P1: Okay. You have done something in robotics. What is that?

Me: Spoke about the competition in which our team won. Explained the problem statement in that and told them what we did.

P1: Okay. Have you watched the movie Robot?

Me: Hindi or Tamil sir?

P1: Some language. Doesn't matter. Have you?

Me: Yes sir. Have watched it in Tamil.

P1: Okay, who is the villain in that?

Me: Promptly said Rajini and then corrected it by saying Robot Rajini Sir. And then thought it could be Danny Denzongpa too. However, just stuck on to Robot Rajini. 

P1: Hmmm. Okay. Which law did that Robot disobey?

Me: I am not sure of the law sir. But I can explain the idea. Apparently explained the second law. The first law didn't come to my mind then. 

P1: Okay, do you know who wrote these laws?

Me: Yes sir. I know.

P1: Who?

Me: I know the name sir. I am not able to recall now. (Kept staring at the roof for about 5 seconds). Can I take a clue sir?

P1: science fiction.... science fiction writer.

Me: Yes sir. Yeah. I know that.

P1: (anxiously looking at me with his palm supporting his chin)

P2: (who was checking something on his mobile till then suddenly turned his attention towards me)

Me: (Out of nowhere it came out of my mouth. It was clearly the 'aha moment' of the day for me) Isaac Asimov. (All smiles)

P1: Okay. Name three island nations on the Indian Ocean.

Me: Said. Srilanka, Indonesia and Maldives.

P1: Okay, name their capitals.

Me: Said. Columbo, Jakarta and Male.

P1: Male? For Maldives?

Me: Yes sir (doubtfully).

P2: You are close enough. That's fine. You know where Bali is?

Me: Yes sir, Indonesia.

P2: Do you know what it is famous for? Do you even know if it is famous?

Me: No for both sir.

P2: Do you know Indonesia is an Archipelago?

Me: Yes sir. Group of islands.

P2: What other archipelago do you know?

Me: Caribbean sir.

P2: Caribbean? an archipelago?

Me: Yes sir. Group of islands.

P2: Group of islands, fine. Is it an archipelago?

Me: (Blank face)

P2: Fine. Okay.

P1: You play table tennis, right?

Me: Yes sir.

P1: What are the different grips used?

Me: Shake-hand and pen-hold sir.

P1: Can you show me how?

Me: Showed both the grips using a pen.

P1 and P2 looked at each other.

P1: Take a toffee. Thank you.

Me: Thank you sir.

P2: So, being the last one, you got to discuss a lot right?

Me: No sir. We were just talking. Not much of discussion.

P2: Yeah, I saw that (with a smile)

Me: (I was trying to explain that I was genuinely avoiding discussion as that might create unnecessary tension for me)

P2: (Cut me short). That's fine. Everyone has the right to information. We are not going to disqualify you based on that. Don't worry.

Me: Thank you sir. (Walked away with a mentos in my hand)

P.S: Yes, I did convert :) . 

Two key inferences.

1) I have an attachment with red-coloured buildings at some level. I did my UG at College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University. I converted FMS too. :D

2) Secondly, and the most important one. Weren't I asked about Rajnikanth's movie? Now, do you see how I converted? With Rajnikanth, nothing goes wrong. :D

Ramblings, just like that

For many, life after school is a rat race. Or should I say, for my nephew's generation life itself will be a rat race.

There was a time, when I was in school, when life was so simple, so fulfilling, and less stressful. It was when my life was restricted within a 7-km radius, when a visit to the spencer plaza was an excursion, when eating pizza was a luxury, when mobile phone was the show-off gadget, when Internet was on a dial-up connection, and when I was ignorant of the world in all sense. 

Just five years later life seems to be so different. The more you know, the more you desire. The more you desire, the more you strain. The more you strain, less useful you become. 

Ignorance is truly bliss!

An Open Letter to India's employers

(In response to http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/an-open-letter-to-indias-graduating-classes/?src=me&ref=world)

Dear Partner,

Kindly share this response with your entire fraternity.

If you feel that the current graduating class is spoiled by an illusion that the Indian education system is capable of producing the talent that the employers want, well, we aren't. We know for a fact that the education system is flawed and that the employers are are also not keen on matching roles with skills, at least at the under-graduation level. After all, what has a chemical engineer got to do in a firm that specializes in Java implementations.

While I agree to the fact that the English-speaking-writing skills of most of the graduates is below par, I strongly disagree to the fact raised about effectively communicating in business. This again takes me back to the previous point. The final word was always with you Mr. Employer. Language skills meant proficiency in C and C++ for most employers. And I always wanted to ask. What's it with the soft skills training during induction? Do you think it is something that can be taught and made to develop in 8 hours?

With regards to both these points, if your intention in doling out thousands of job offers, compromising on quality, was to provide employment then please don't complain. And please don't generalize.

Good at problem solving, thinking outside the box and seeking new ways of doing things are cliched expressions of employers. Please move on.

Most of the questions that the employees ask often invoke one of these replies.

"We are taking enough steps in this direction and will get back to you once things are sorted out." - Never sorted out.
"As you know, all our decisions are consensus driven. We have to discuss with the leadership." - Never discussed.

And yeah, by the time we know how we should shape our career, we are already exposed to the ground realities of the firm. Nobody quits. Everybody is made to quit. The youth is gradually moving towards an I-don't-care-about-money-I-wan't-a-life attitude.

And the last thing I want to tell you is this. Please don't expect us to ask questions about the impact of the recession on the Indian economy or about the growth strategy for the fiscal year or about how crude oil prices impact the economy. All we are interested in right after graduation is in the poor taste of food in the cafeteria and about poorly operated shuttle services. Sadly, we know the answer already.

Three idiots watched '3 idiots'

It was bhogi yesterday - the day before pongal when most of the residents in Tamil Nadu go berserk and burn up everything they see. Who cares what the Copenhagen summit was for? I had class yesterday, just one hour. While the lazy me made me even lazier, the sincere me forced me to college. I somehow made it to college just on time only to know that the class got cancelled. Ya, I did become frustrated. In fact, all three of us. Three idiots who came to college to attend just one hour. There is a limit to sincerity, I thought. So, a normal teenager has no other option other than a movie, isn't it? :P

Now, about 3 idiots. A good entertainer. But, I really don't find any element that should make anyone go crazy and say I can watch it for thousand times also. Of course, there are many things I liked about the film. The flow of ideas, jokes, dialogues and picturisation.

At the same time, there were some stupid scenes and logical lapses as well. The movie sort of trivialized some very serious issues - for example, the delivery of Pia's sister. That was stupid. And so was taking Raju's father to the hospital on Pia's bike. Aamir, who usually portrays reality in his films, has given not much thought to it this time. I feel that the chilled out mood was too heavy and cloying that even the supposed-to-be emotional scenes were not so emotional. The idea of revamping the educational system was not effectively communicated. Such an idea that has a powerful impact on the society should have a better script and screenplay to reach people effectively.

Whatever it is, I appreciate the entire crew for their efforts. The choice of actors is perfect. My favourite character of the movie is Virus, only because it has been beautifully carved by Boman Irani. If you have any reason to watch the movie for the second time, it should be only this - for Boman Irani.

Single line: Aal izz naat well.

The magic of Chetan Bhagat

Few novels take you to unimaginable worlds, few impart knowledge, few make you feel why you ever chose to read them and few make you think about them for weeks together and smile, when in solitude. because they have a correlation with your life somewhere. Writing a novel is different from writing an interesting novel. Only in few novels do you put yourself in the place of the main character and read on.
Chetan Bhagat has this gift of writing novels that can reach people faster and falls under the category of writers who write for pleasure, unlike others who write for booker or pulitzer. I certainly agree that his style of writing doesn't have a rich vocabulary or an impeccable grammar. But, who cares! Do you go to a theater with an expectation of learning something from the movie that you are going to watch? It's just to entertain you, to make you feel lighter, to de-stress you. Same is the case with novels. After all, reading is for pleasure. And, I bet my shoes, every boy who reads his novel will enjoy it, especially his latest release - 2 states.
His success can also be attributed to the story line. It's real. There is no need of creating a story from scratch. It's already there. You just have to add gloss to it. And when the story by itself is interesting, your work becomes simpler. So, I think Chetan is lucky in that aspect.
Something very strange about his new novel is that, the story is old, plain, very much guessable and yet interesting. It might be because of IIMA or because of Chennai or because of Ananya. I don't know. Might be the magic of Chetan Bhagat.......

P.S : I feel this isn't a well written post. Chetan deserves more. Will edit it, if needed.

Risking my holidays

Risk Management and Risk Analytics. Well, those are what I have been reading about for a couple of days now. It's good to learn management concepts and even better when you are interested in them. I am blown off totally. Finance is HUGE. I began to feel complacent about my achivevement when I finished reading(and understanding) Financial Risk Management, Dun & Bradstreet, but later felt too small on seeing two heavy loads of books again on Financial Risk Management in the D&B TU library.
It's been just two days since I joined here as an intern but have had quite a significant number of realizations.
* You can be on a Fazer or even on a Hayabusa but you would hate driving if you travel once from Virugambakkam to Kandanchavadi (for those who wonder what these are, they are places in Chennai)
* Even if you vow not to go by bike to office and take a bus, an AC bus, you can still hate travel because you'll be late - late by 1 hour. Murphy's law struck again
* Check the font options before you take a printout, else, you could waste a dozen papers when you are not permitted to take even a single printout without informing the IT department
* Hot chocolate sucks at cafeteria. Black coffee is way better
* Don't ever go with the expectation of meeting good-looking girls. They'll be found everywhere except where you are
* Always stick to what you know best. Don't eat rice with spoons just because others do it. One mistake and you could mix payasam with rice.

Connect'09 - a delight

September 10th,11th and 12th of 2009 are the three days I would never forget in my life. It was a top of the world feeling to talk to few people whom I have hitherto seen only on the television. The event started off with Unconference, which basically isn't a conference. I was apparently part of the organising team of the social media department and had not much of work on that day. In fact, Mr Kiruba Shankar, the organiser of Unconference made things very simple and easy. I had a great time working with him. He is an influential figure in the blogging circle and is the CEO of Business blogging and is in the board of directors of wikipedia. Now, doesn't that sound great??? Thanks to Senthil anna. It was he who helped me be a part of the organising team of this conference.

That's our team.

On the 1st day of the main conference I missed the plenary sessions due to my electronic system design laboratory exam, however, made it to the cocktail party and networking dinner in the evening :P.

The second and last day of the conference is when I spent some time with a few members of our team whom I met for the first time only a day before - Srinidhi, Radhika, Anuj, Prashanti and Harish. You know, it is nice to see new people and to make friends with them. Now, coming to the most important part. Where else would I get to network with great corporate giants and IAS officers like Mr S Gopalakrishnan, Mr Gopal Srinivisan, Mr Santhosh Babu, Mr Lakshmi Narayanan, Mr Anil Menon, Mr Mahalingam and many many more? I really pity few friends of mine who missed this opportunity.

A new look, a new name..

Yaaa. This is me, Shivram. No doubt. And this is my blog. Everything is changing and so does my blog. I really didn't know why I named my blog 'Darkness DeMystified' at first although there was a separate post that explained the philosophy behind it. Hey, I am not even 20 man. And I am being too philosophical?? Yuck.

So, here you have for my blog - a new look, a new name and a new kind of old author.

The side effects of boredom

Well, to stay idle for three hours(12 to 3) and then have class from 3 to 4 is among one of the few things I hate. It opens up so many new ways to think devilish and sometimes even to be devilish. But, most of these options are frozen when you are in college. Yes. I am in college now and I am free till 3. So I thought of writing a post and as you can see, I have written it. So, now stop gaping at your screen and go to work.

How a '*' can shatter you dreams...

I tell you, fate is predominantly evil. Just when all things seem to fall in place this factor peeps in, plays its part, smirks at you and flies back. I couldn't continue the saturday story and you'll know why. All of a sudden my craze for an iphone peaked yesterday. I don't know why but it did.

I could see through my heart's eyes my iphone being manufactured.

So immediately I hit the iphone site and was understandably excited when I saw the pricing for 3GS iphones as I knew my father would get me one for this price. As my eyes scanned its features, my hand started feeling its smooth surface(I later realised it was just the mouse).

I could see my iphone getting its final touches and being escorted out of the manufacturing unit.

I was hunting for more and more information on my iphone and each time I found something interesting I jumped out of my seat, combed my hair and came back just to look as impressive as my iphone.

I could see a man cradling my iphone in his hand and taking it to the software section to get the OS and others softwares loaded onto it.

I called my father to my room and showed him this captivating contraption. He was impressed too and I was on cloud nine when he said it was worth buying.

I could see that man bringing my iphone back for packaging.

Just then I noticed a minutest of the minutest star over the price. Although I presumed it to be the same old conditions apply star I scrolled down to the bottom of the webpage to find out what that star meant.

It said - '*Qualified customers only' which means only those who accept to use AT&T network for 2 years will get the gadget for the quoted price. I later found out that it is commonly called the 'on-contract mode of purchase'. If you use the second mode of purchase it costs much too dear.

My iphone slipped off his hand and broke into several pieces - all star shaped.

P.S: Now you know why the saturday story has seen its end??

The Saturday Story

(Raje's mobile tickles his thighs)

'Hey Raje! Are you busy??'

'Not at all. Btw Hi Venk. How are you doing?'

'Great. Where are you now? At home?'

'No I am in the library'

'Oh my God!! During holidays too??'

'Now stop it. Don't mock me. I happened to come this way, so just thought of dropping in'

'Fine. Now hop out and come to my house'

'Why suddenly?? Anything Important??'

'Not really. I just thought of doing something worthwhile to kill time'

'What is it????'

'Not so soon. You come here first. I'll tell you'

'That's all right Venk. But I haven't been to your place. Where exactly is it and how do I come??'

'Take a bus to guindy and from there take another bus which goes to ambattur estate/O.T'

'Then??'

'Get down at Golden Flats'

'Then?'

'Walk down the road, then left, then second right, then fourth left, then you would find a saloon, take left from there, then sixth right, then.......'

'Wait Wait..... When should I come?'

'But I haven't completed. You should.....(fourth, sixth first.........)'

'No Venk. Please. I'll manage'

'Bye then. Just call me up if you get stranded. I'll guide you'

'Thank God you told me this.'

(It is better to get stranded)

                                                                       ***

'Hey hello Nirm'

'Hello'

'Just hang on'

(Venk punches the buttons on his mobile)

'Prah there??'

'Yes. Tell me'

'Hang on. You are put on a conference call'

(Venk starts punching again)

'Hello Para??'

'Yes Yes'

'Hold on'

'All you people, hope you are free'

'Yes Yes Yes ', they all said.

'Good. So stop all your work,if any, and come to my house as soon as possible'

'Why?? Why?? Why??' they asked.

'I am planning to do something and I need you guys for that'

'What is...But I...Tell me...that ??....have to....about??....clearly, any......go out.....article 377 stuff??....hello.....hellooooooooo... hellooooooooooooooooo...'

'Why don't you talk one at a time??? Btw, who is that smutty guy???'

'What smutty guy???' asked Prah.

'Yes. The one who said article 377'

(Silence persisted for a few seconds)

'Now please. It is true I hail the judgement but I am not gay. You all understand???', said Venk with deep embarrassment.

(Two hours passed and coincidentally all the four reached Venk's house at the same time)

to be continued next saturday..........

Results!! Results!!

After a lot of our results would come tomorrow by my friends, it actually did come on friday. I scored 9.42. Now that I am in my 5th semester with just 3 more semesters to go, I have begun to feel the heat. In just a few more months, if you happen to walk into my classroom the three words you would hear are - MS,MBA,placements. I too have started practising this mantra - MS,MBA,placements..........MS,MBA,placements.........

What the novels teach you - everything

Soon after I finished The Second Lady, a stunning novel by Irving Wallace, impressed by his style of writing I started off with The Golden Room. Though the plot raced on a somewhat slower pace than The Second Lady it was certainly way better than The Sea of Poppies[you know,I stopped reading it when I was 25% through]. For that matter any male - hmmm the females too[just giving them their due rights lest I should be reproved by the LGBT community] would enjoy reading both The Second Lady and The Golden Room because of the author's generous citing of on-bed events in a stimulating fashion. I used to deeply condemn Sidney's way of introducing episodes of physical union because I felt they were forced into the story without any actual need. But Irving has every reason to boast about his writing - perfectly fitting. While The Second Lady speaks about the cold war that existed between Russia and the USA and an immaculate impersonation of Billie Bradford to win over this crisis situation, The Golden Room explores the internal affairs of Chicago with The Everleigh Club as its epicentre. Well after you get to know what The Everleigh Club is[sorry, you have to google it and know for yourself because I don't wish to lose the chastity of my blog], you would appreciate the phrase - 'perfectly fitting.' But, only one thing about The Golden Room remains abstruse to me and it is the name of the novel - The Golden Room itself. There has hardly been any great detail about the significance of the name in the story except that the club housed a golden room with a golden grand piano. Chuck it!! I am no panelist in the Booker Prize judging panel to scrutinise this. I read just for the pleasure in reading. But, if any of you know the interpretation of the name of the novel with the plot or if it transpires to any of you after reading it do drop a note in my comment box. 

I have just one last thing to say - I am sorry for having displayed a tinge of perversity in this post. And for those who are planning to read one of the two novels or both of them, please shed a reasonable part of your ideals and morality or else you might end up saying - Cheap!! Cheap!!Cheap!!

Mummy Mummy I've grown a tummy

The longest semester holidays, probably the first and last of my entire course, is going to end. And what have I been doing all these days????? I have grown a tummy!!! See, I have to take credit for such involuntary improvements on my body because I don't have any other voluntary activity[to state] that I have been doing all these days. A pile of ghee dhosas in the morning for breakfast, a short nap for brunch, thayir saadam for lunch followed by an afternoon siesta, any crunchy snack to munch in the crepuscule and of course anything for dinner. Now tell me, what would anyone expect out of such a creature???? 

And you know, my life is full of realisations. Recently did I read a quote. 'Middle age is when the age shows up at ur middle.' So off I go to work-out, to rescue myself from this ever-growing lump of fat that has accumulated on my middle.

P.S: I intended to make this post humourous but I wonder if it has fallen flat. And hey, for those who might be seeing me after this vacation, I'd look perfectly proper because it is just the onset of a corporation that is common among us Indians. And for those who are never going to see me, just dont bother.

How secret is your secret?

“Whoever wishes to keep a secret must hide the fact that he possesses one.”

Life has become so unreliable and so are the people. The curiosity to illegally peep into others’ possession has grown. I was appalled when I received an sms from a friend of mine who[just relieved from a state of shock] mocked me with a tone of both satire and surprise on seeing a sensual display picture on my orkut profile. The other information on my profile had also been monkeyed and modified to suit the display picture. No sooner did I start cursing the hacker than I realised the fact that my password was untouched. I uttered a great sigh of relief and said to my self ‘Thank God!! for the bad (wo)man had been good enough to leave the password undisturbed.’

But not all are fortuitous enough as I had been because Brian Green's experience with not-so-secret questions began when he logged on to his World of Warcraft account in March of this year and found all of his characters in their underwear. LOL!!! Someone had stolen the account and sold off all of his virtual equipment. He then involved himself in a great amount of research and finally came to a conclusion. "My 'secret question' has an all-too-common answer . . . This wasn't something I considered when I filled it out."

The incident bears similarities to the high-profile case involving Alaska governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In September 2008, hackers used the name of the location where Palin and her husband met to gain access to her Yahoo e-mail account via the "secret question" password-recovery mechanism.

It has been shown by the researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University that the secret questions used to secure the password-reset functions of a variety of websites are woefully insecure. In a study involving 130 people, the researchers found that 28 percent of the people who knew and were trusted by the study's participants could guess the correct answers to the participant's secret questions. Even people not trusted by the participant still had a 17 percent chance of guessing the correct answer to a secret question.

"Secret questions alone are not as secure as we would like our backup authentication to be," says Stuart Schechter, a researcher with software giant Microsoft and one of the authors of the paper. "Nor are they reliable enough that their use alone is sufficient to ensure users can recover their accounts when they forget their passwords."

The least-secure questions are simple ones whose answers can be guessed with no existing knowledge of the subject, the researchers say. For example, the answers to the questions "What is your favorite town?" and "What is your favorite sports team?" were relatively easy for participants to guess. All told, 30 percent and 57 percent of the correct answers, respectively, appeared in the top-five list of guesses.

But answers that require only a little personal knowledge to guess should also be considered unsafe, the researchers warn. Of people that participants would not trust with their password, 45 percent could still answer a question about where they were born, and 40 percent could correctly give their pet's name, the researchers found.

Schechter agreed that researchers will have to find a completely different mechanism for backup authentication--secret questions just don't cut it. "We would eventually like to see these questions go away," he says. "Unfortunately, since we didn't find many questions that were conclusively good, it's hard to recommend simply changing questions."

So what is the way out????????

I might blindly[because the feasibility is a haunting issue] suggest that the desktops and laptops henceforth produced should all be installed with some form of biometric recognition system that can be suitably linked with the networks over the internet so that any site that requires back-up authentication can provide biometric sensing as another option apart from the endangered password authentication. This, according to me is a foolproof mechanism until the attackers/hackers turn out to be as rude as the ones in Angels and Demons.

The shoe throwing era

I thought of posting about this the second time it happened. But I didn't. It happened the third time. Again I didn't. It happened the fourth time and now for the fifth time. So, if I dont post about this at least now, it might happen again. 

True to their claims, the Americans were the pioneers in this too - in being shoe-ed. And what more does a country need to strengthen its claims when the President himself falls a victim to the action. Let me first mention the incidents in their chronological order.

First : Ex-President of the USA, Mr. George.W.Bush targeted by an Iraqi journalist

Second : Home Minister of India, Mr.P.Chidambaram by Jarnail Singh

Third : A Congress M.P from Kurukshetra, Mr.Naveen Jindal by a retired school teacher

Fourth : An independent M.P whose name I forgot

Fifth : The B.J.P candidate for the post of Prime Minister Mr.L.K.Advani 

Sixth : ????(With fingers crossed!!)

Now for the succinct reviews.

The first incident was indeed an exceptional display of sharp reflexes by the then president. kudos!! kudos!! The first shoe that flung across was aimed exactly at the target but missed it by a whisker. The second throw,though, was not up to the mark.

It was a shock for every person associated with him, when Jarnail Singh pelted a shoe on the Home minister. He(Jarnail Singh) was a man known for his soft-spoken nature and this event came as a bolt from the blue. 

The other three incidents don't demand much consideration as it has become a weekly affair now. So no review on them.

But,I wonder why every person misses the target. 

So, few tips on how to improve your accuracy.

1)From the events, it could be concluded that the shoe when aimed at the face of a person assumes a trajectory that tends to deflect it to the left, thereby missing the target. So, make sure you are seated in a place where the direction of the wind is to your right.

2) Alternatively, you can aim at the left ear of the person so that the shoe at least brushes the right ear, thereby accomplishing your task.

3) Donot wear costly shoes on the D-day because you obviously wont get it back. But, if it hits the target you are sure to find your shoe in some depository or a museum few years later.

4)Last but not the least, practise well because only practice makes a man perfect. Stand in front of a mirror. Encircle your face on the mirror. Go 5 stpes backward and fire(of course with a shoe). Higher the number of shoe marks inside the circle, greater is the chance of your hitting the target on the D-day.

P.S : Although these events happen to be a source of entertainment for all of us it is a shame for each and every person of this country. It was out of shame that I had to make this post comical. But we shouldn't forget that these are depictions of the country to the world outside. These are the incidents of utter ignominy and contempt that are witnessed by all. These incidents de-escalate a country's reputation. In all these events, both the thrower and the person at whom the shoe was thrown is to be blamed. It might be true that one throws a shoe to insult the other out of agony and frustration. But, there are other decent ways of expressing one's disappointment. And the best way is to act sensibly during elections. Excercise your right to vote and do it honestly. Don't ever be carried away by those election-time astroturf manifestos. You never know if it would be consciously implemented. Use your discretion to judge a person based on his past rather than on his oft-deceptive promises for the future. Whether as a sign of revenge or interest or duty, do it for the welfare of the nation. So pls think before you act and before you cast.

The recession blues

The recession demon has not spared even the brightest minds of our country. It has marooned few IIM students for they are yet to be placed in some organisation. With few companies like Lehman Brothers that have become a history today, the spectrum of recruiters has greatly reduced. It is quite natural that the same problem exists in all other educational institutions. This in the long run would drastically increase unemployment in India. Consider this : People of the upper strata who are forced to give up their jobs would inturn take up some other job to earn their living. The same would happen for the next lower level of people for their seats are now occupied by the upper strata. This happens at every level of the pyramid leaving the people at the last level under the ground, buried, smothered to death. Is this the peak of recession menace or has it got something more ? 

In the past few months we have seen a series of stimulus packages, cost cuts by the government and by individual organisations too. But, no one is able to get down to the brass tacks of the issue and formulate a strategy to ward off this demon. Maybe it is not possible. But, it has to be done and is definitely an intimidating task for the economists of the world who have an added responsibility of allaying the fears that have started creeping into the minds of today's younger generation. 

So, let us be optimistic and keep our fingers crossed with our minds disarrayed and hearts laden with mixed emotions of dreams and dreads.  

The Blame game

The recent attack by jihadists on the srilankan cricketers epitomises the far-flung terror infrastructure in Pakistan. It is shameful on the part of the present regime for they have failed miserably in diluting these hydra-headed activities of a part of their community. That these carnages are totally bereft of any motives makes the issue even more complicated. And now, Pakistanis(a considerable minority) suspect Indian hands in this attack. Doesn't this seem foolish the moment one hears it? Just because the ISI(Inter Services Intelligence) played a part in 26/11, should its Indian counterpart, the RAW(Indian Research and Analysis Wing) avenge in a similar fashion? The Indian government is yet to bring the lone gunman(Ajmal Amir) involved in the 26/11 attacks to a proper trial. In such a state would any sane person on earth hatch a conspiracy of this kind? 

The investigation till now projects the similarities in both the attacks(3/3 and 26/11). It brings out the involvement of LeT or some other terrorist group that has copied the Mumbai modus operandi. Few Pakistani localites, including a leading television channel have however managed to intelligently relate this attack with the erstwhile tit-for-tat attacks carried out by India. Though few sources have identified the weapons left back by the terrorists as that of Indian make, no conclusions can be arrived at until proper evidence from the forensic department is out. 

Whatever the case might be, Pakistan has to realise that this is no kindergarten skirmish to point fingers at and that it has undoubtedly become the epicentre of terrorism which has to be destroyed soon, root and branch. This growing terrorism originating from Pakistani soil is turning uncontrollable. It is high time the world seriously discussed this menace and took realisable decisions. Each and every sane individual should understand that just as Swat is to Pakistan, Pakistan is to the rest of the world.   

Oscars all the way!!

What a memorable day it has been to all Indians!! It was at the stroke of 10:00 A.M this morning, just after my control systems assessment while walking on the corridors of my college that I got a message from one of my friends - "Rahman bags 2 oscars!!" It gave me goosebumps just to read about it and the news of Slumdog Millionaire winning 8 academy awards knocked my socks off. 

But, personally speaking the movie didn't seem so appealing to me nor did ARR's score for the movie. With the little musical knowledge that I imparted long ago, I would certainly not rate Jai Ho as the best of ARR keeping in mind his many other stunning compositions. But, Nature has proved its largesse once again without any deviation from its own law of conservation. ARR's years of hardwork has borne fruit only now. Ella pugazhum iyarkaikey(because I regard Nature and God as one and the same).

The whole crew of Slumdog, including those unfortunate Dharavi kids who couldn't fly to LA despite being a part of this grand victory, would be on cloud nine. Although those hapless kids with a desire to set foot on the red carpet watch their once play-mates posing for a photograph with the world renowned actors, they might also be contented by the fact that rubina and azhar would come back to them with lots of interesting tales to tell. 

A Booster

I think the jinx , seven and a half sani in our regional language, for me has been broken. Third Semester results out!! And guess what???? I scored 9.33 - for once I got what I deserved, what I desired. Nothing more on this. 

With strong hopes of a better future!