The journey of MBA is nearing its end…..

The end of the year long MBA course is just round the corner. A couple of months, a few courses and a grilling presentation of dissertation is what lies between us (the batch of Jan 08) and our graduation. When I look back at these nine months of my stay in SPJCM, I see myself taking multiple strides forward, Both in terms of learning as well as relationships (The friends I have made and the contact I have developed). There have been up’s and downs, but that’s been a part of the evolution process for good.

During the course of these nine months, I have met a lot of people; seniors, juniors and own batch mates. Some of these people have become very close friends while some have left me impressed in a way or other. As I walk into my second stint in the corporate world, I know that these people would always be around because they have become a part of my life now. They have made this journey of a year memorable; all those long hours of being insomniac seemed a pleasure when these people were around.

I express my gratitude towards them, in a small way, by writing about them in my blog. (I guess, they can use this testimonial)My blog has been a prized possession for me, as it gives you space to write your heart out and that’s what a person like me who enjoys writing, ultimately wants!!

The order that I follow is random and shouldn’t be considered as a ranking (It’s just as per my thought process)

Rajeev: He has been my roommate in Dubai (I know Gaurav would be hell bent on proving it wrong with his fundas, but on records it still remains a fact). My initial interactions with him in Singapore had been in groups and I knew of him as one of the PMM (the elite group) guys. He is always busy doing things that he likes, which is sleeping and playing Age of Empires, and maintains a low profile. Yet I feel he is one of the friendliest people you can find in the batch. He is a guy who is passionate about online marketing and that passion reflect in the conversations that we have way past midnight in the balcony everyday. He wants to excel in that field and I’m sure he would someday do so and make his dreams come true.

He is also very focused about what he wants. The only thing that I think he needs to change is to remove the tag of being a chimney, which is what you feel when he lights one cigarette after another! It’s been a pleasure and loads of fun to share the room with him as both of us have similar traits; we both like to listen to music 24X7, it hardly matters if the lights are on…and so on!

What I enjoy most is the gossiping at night! We talk for hours and hours on topics which can be as varied as job scenario, to aspirations, to challenges in life, the past, latest crushes ;) and much more!!

When I look at life beyond college, I would surely miss him around! (Unless we get the jobs as per our aspiration…he in ebay Singapore and me in F&S Malaysia. In that case the party continues ;)). I hope that the almighty is listening!! :)

Avinash: Silent, sober, sophisticated is how you one would describe Avi (for those who are technologically challenged, it has no relation with “.avi” format of the video files; thats how friends call Avinash). I think me and avi have a lot of things in common; both of us like photography, travelling, a silent evening after a tiring day are just a few of them. In fact our opinions often match on most of the things (that’s when we team up against kaki, a.k.a Sheeba). He is one of the best photographers (along with Imay) in the batch. One should just listen him speak with passion about the photographs. He talks about as passionately as he feels for our kaki ;) (Opps...sorry kaki....I guess its now in public...right!!)

Avi has got a good taste of things and knows how to carry himself well. His dressing sense is very good; simple yet enough to create a style statement. Another thing that I like about him is that he analyzes things in detail (I know shubhi..aka kaki hates it sometimes). He is pretty organized in fact more than required.

I had an awesome time working with him for the IIP. He was working continuously during the last week when I and shubi were busy attending classes from morning till evening. And I can never forget the editor in him, while he just snipped off all that I had written ;)

He is also someone who is aware of almost everything around and so can talk on a range of things. You name it, and he can speak on it for hours; be it music, movies, places or his favorite topic – booze!! In short a complete encyclopedia around!!

Gaurav: Gaurav is one of the most matured guys that I have met out here at SPJCM and this is the only thing that gives out that this chap is either very close to the 30 years mark or above it. ;) My initial interaction with Gaurav started since we got elected in PLACOM and when we were working together in getting the senior batch placed; the kind of planning, dedication that he exhibits just motivates one and all around!!

On a personal level, he has been of immense help. He has vast knowledge of the industry and that’s what enables him to give gyan on any topic. This is precisely the reason that there is lot of fun with him being around and ensures that he gives a perspective which hasn't been thought off!!

He is also one through gentleman; calls a spade, a spade and pretty straight forward. He also parties hard and knows how to enjoy! Its very difficult to find people being strong, when being under tremendous pressure; situations beyond ones control; but I have seen him retain his composure and not give a whiff of the turbulence within him!

Awesome person to be with and amazing cooking skills!! Off late his interest in basket ball is something that making all of suspicious. This is the only thing that makes him go on the backfoot, other than while he is talking to Niru (while he is talking to Niru, pretends to be like a cow – harmless and silent); otherwise he leaves no stone unturned to pull others legs. The fatherly or to be precise the motherly figure of our flat ;)

Sheeba: The A+ machine (she has got more A+ than almost 65% of the students combined A+), the dancing queen are just a few ways to describe our 6^th roommate; shubi (I know she is going to get mad at me after reading all this). She was also the part of the group working on the IIP. Whenever, we used to get fed up with the work, Avi (Elina, this is the Avinash wala Avi and not the file type vala .avi ;)) and I just teased her and had fun at her expense.

If I had to follow her routine, I would surely fail in my exams. She can sleep as much as 14 – 16 hours a day and when needed just 2 -3 hours. However, most of the time she sleeps more than 10 hours. This clearly indicates that she has got a lot of grey cells that allows her to excel (well that would be an under statement), inspite of having such a sleep.

Being in PMM, we have been together in classes throughout the second semester. It was nice to have her around as both of us would have fun in the class at either bhargav’s or Sameer Sahay’s expense. So it was fun with learning.

I also remember fighting with her a lot, snapping often during the IIP’s but then we also are good friends. Opps… I forgot to mention that she is a shopping freak…any free time; she is shopping if she isn’t sleeping!! Window shopping gives her a high and so does dancing!! Its good to see her with Avi, they make a good couple – with Shubi dominating!! (I know this really irritates you to the core, but since this is my blog and I have gauravs and rajeevs support, I dare to put this on a public forum..lolz) . Kaki rocks and so does PMM!! Jai PMM!!

Elina: Editor Mohanty (that’s because of her journalism background) comes across as a serious, no – nonsense, stay away 36 yards from me types. Its only when you dare to know her better that she isn’t like what you might have perceived. She comes across as one of the friendliest people around.

I have always been mesmerized whenever Eli (that how her close friends address her and I take it for granted that she wouldn’t be offended when I use the same) come to deliver a presentation. She is flawless, complete perfection. Its not just to do with her presentation skills, but I feel the tons of creativity that she has, is also the reason for her being impactful.

She is one elegant lady, and I doubt if anyone in the batch would disagree with that. Always willing to help common souls like me, just goes on to show that she is a gem of a person. She infact makes the saying of “great things come in small packages”, come true. She can even give the finance guys a run for their money with her command over the financial domain; especially the repo and reverse repo rates.

I have really enjoyed teasing her as she fights like a kid in return and so I leave no opportunity to trouble her. Cooks awesome (I have just tasted the kheer she had made , which was great…so I’m generalizing my comments on her cooking…people are requested to take a call before tasting the rest of the items…I’m not to be blamed ;))

She has constant made a point to occupy the first bench in every class. She also makes it a point to listen to each and every word that the lecturer says; no matter how boring it is which is a reflection of her patience level. She is definitely one of the noble souls that I have met here at GIMBA!!

(See Eli, all good words; I didn’t even mention anywhere that you misunderstood .avi on the video file as being avinash’s signature (.avi). And as a good friend, I didn’t tell it to anyone :P)

Bhargav: One of the smartest chap around and undoubtedly the source of all the pranks that we play in the PMM class. He is one of the stars of PMM who keeps everyone around him charged up. Its very difficult not to be swayed by the energy this chap exhibits. Inspite of being one of the most experienced guys in the batch, he always sets an example for all of us. (I hope you people are not thinking that I am referring to the chemistry between him and chundri ;))

There hasn’t been a time that he has faulted on the standards that he has set. He always lives up to his reputation of completing the task well before the deadlines. It has been a pleasure to share the class with him and also competing with him in Industrat. I feel he is very good at communicating and articulating things. He makes a point to add a creative touch to make the things even more appealing. With the kind of experience and talent that BD has, I think he should be raking in moola at an awesome pace as soon as he is out of college!! Best wishes, CoCo!!!

Sumiti: Niki S from orkut is how I had known Sumiti initially. While we (me and Rupali) were planning to fly to Singapore from Ahmadabad, we came to know that there was this girl who would be taking the same flight. However, we neither had any contact number of hers nor did we receive replies to the scraps. I and Rupali were contemplating as too who would be Sumiti amongst the passengers of the Singapore Airlines flight.

My initial impression about her was that she was reserved and took time to mingle with people; but when she does so, she is crazy!! Sumiti believes that she is not good in communication and was afraid to address the public. However, her 1 minute speech in the entrepreneurship class was awesome and a near perfect one. That confidence did reflect in the presentation she made on “ants” (I hope I’m not wrong on that) in the OC class. So that’s when we realized that it was all an attempt to be modest.

I was really amazed to see the efforts that she had put in getting a project for the IIP. She constantly kept following up and her efforts paid off well; Quintile, Sembawang and Sara Lee. Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue in the project but the only reason why I stuck along with the group till we got the project was because of her efforts to get a project. Hats off to her patience and perseverance!!

Geeta G: She used to be known as the girl from Hyderabad who used to sleep a lot in the first term. Since it was for the first time that she had been out of home for such long, she used to just look forward to holidays!! She used to gatecrash in every lecture and used to go to her room to catch up with a half an hour nap between the lectures. Perfect utilization of time on her priorities ;)

Over the last 8-9 months, I think she has by far matured the most (That’s neglecting te fact that she was the most immature one ;)). She looks responsible now a days. The saying goes that behind every successful man there is a woman; but for her the saying needs to be modified as behind her success and development, there is Sidhu! ;) One of the friendliest creature around and have hardly seen her lose her temper inspite of the numerous attempts by us to trouble her.

As she heads off for US after the marriage on a student visa to do her PHD; it feels a little odd to digest that she is the same lady who used to barely manage to stay awake in the class and won accolades for the “sleeping beauty with a beast” tagline ;) She deserves the attention and happiness that she has been getting and hope this continues for her always!! Cheerz G!!

.........to be continued!!