Pune Revisited ;)

Cold wave in Delhi and no woolens to wear! Oh what a wonderful situation to be in. This was one of the primary reasons for a quick trip to Pune to collect my luggage the long weekend last week. But how can one ever forget the impact of the place that had been my abode for the last 2 wonderful years. Mind here… but heart there for sure.

Must say it felt such a familiar place to be as I landed… known streets, known areas, known people. A relief from the current struggle of the new city called ‘Dilli’ that I have landed up in. The short duration that I spent was a roller coaster with mixed experiences. The primary thing as I reached was to get glimpse of those few chosen people and meet them who mattered a lot, but didn’t know that I didn’t matter to them anymore. Never mind? No ways, I did mind and felt quite sad. The other part was friends who were awaiting me… meeting them was such a comforting experience. Aakriti… aki or dhingra was a constant support juggling between her office and work and spending time with me. It was so much fun to get back to the child within us and make sudden plans to Shirdi… running down crazily on the streets of JM… having a bumpy ride in Volvo… posing innumerable times for that perfect look in the camera… having a midnight bath or spending long hours at night chatting… Yup did miss out on a lot of visits and had to change plans due to shortage of time.

In six months time changes had come… the college atmosphere had changed… R2, the famous ‘bhurji pav’ ki tapri didn’t exist anymore… Level 9 looked different… FC and JM Road became one way…

Don’t know if I’ll ever get an opportunity to come back to the place again but this place would pull me forever. Have seen a lot of places, almost completing the golden quadrangle with Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi but Pune is among the best places to be in India.

We would grow… grow in years, in position, in stature, in experience, in life… slowly would come a time when we would adorn those silver grey hairs… but what would remain would be those MEMORIES… I would remember the times I laughed, I loved, I cried, I fought… with those special entities called ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’…

In the words of Thomas Moore… “Fond memory brings the light of other days around me”

OUT of the BOX!

Check out Sakshi's blog for our unique experience during SCMLD days at : http://sakshiprakash1986.blogspot.com/2009/06/outta-that-box.html

“MBA” – THE READ AND THE EXPERIENCIAL

Do you get reminded of plush jobs, high salaries and a quick accelerator to the dream world that you ever thought of? Give yourself a slight pause at this moment and a good reality check. Ask me about the ‘recessionary chic’ of the times what a learning experience it has been.

It all started with struggling placements at the B-School. The luck over ruled the deserving this time with shrinkage in business opportunities. The heat was evident in the India Inc. business arena. Talent and experience was sought after the most during the slowdown for the little positions that were being catered to. If we ponder over the kind of opportunities many landed up, they might not be lucrative at all…not matching the area of interest or expertise that we were knowledgeable or could contribute. Fast learning, no wastage on training, prior experience and action were the key words of the time.
Learning at Sadhana Center for Management and Leadership Development (SCMLD) had been so dynamic that the current pass out batch could absorb the heat with silence… “Taking things as it is” (remember as taught at the Vipassana training camp). There had been shocking stories of pink slips at MNC’s and people completely out of job after such a long tenure and being loyal to the organizations. The top 10% made sense on the Performance meter and many put on PIP.

What we read in B- Schools made little sense when action was asked. Organizations dealt MBA’s as just as a normal part of the cycle and ‘nothing so special about’ it kind of an attitude. A lot of things could be well co-related like a ‘halo effect’ while selecting candidates, ‘Out of the Box’ thinking, Psychology studies on ‘Games people play’, Organizational Restructuring, Marketing meant ‘sales’, Lean Management, Lay offs, Sabbatical, flush of Free lancers, rise of Indian Entrepreneurs. The environment brought in the good side of the coin in India with focus on rising Entrepreneurs with efforts like Economic Times’s ‘Power Within’ campaigns and NEN challenges like ‘Hottest Startups’ etc. India’s focus shifted on the Agriculture and Rural Development, SME’s and MSME’s creating a path of a self sufficient mode for the country.

I’m a part of the present MBA Grads who is still to come across a profile where in I could contribute with the kind of skill sets I possess… but learning with whatever is at hand and doing full justice with the resources available. I keep self motivating on the lines of “no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow” and would suggest all. Lets not to too optimistic about the future but lets also not forget the ‘silver lining’ or the ‘cherry on the pudding’.
Change is dynamic and that’s the only constant thing.