Mercury Rising - SMS

Three weeks ago….

Picture this if you will... rainy day, sitting crossed legs on my mattress, trying hard to repair my errant phone. The rare occasions on which my keypad lit up those days was to tell me to ‘Select network’. I tried various things to repair it...banging the phone with a heavy blunt object, pressing down all the keys at the same time, threatening/ begging of it to work... you know, the usual.

Just as I was about to open up the phone for closer inspection, my room-mate walks in. She took one look at me and Phoney (I named the phone hoping that he’d feel loved and stop acting up) her eyes wide as saucers she said, “Its happening…!”. (Horror movie scary whisper) Shoe in hand, taking careful aim at Phoney I stopped and asked, “What is?”, “Mercury is in retrograde!”

Not one word of that sentence made sense to me. But from her tone, I realized that it would not be wise to trifle with her dire announcement. So despite all good sense I asked, “What does that mean?” My mistake.

Apparently, mercury is the planet which rules over the mind’s processes, studying, communication, businesses, travels and the like. So when Mercury goes into retrograde i.e. its course changes direction, all these areas are affected. Business, travels and communications tend to experience delays, computers and other processes that work with information may experience crashes, we’re advised not to buy cars, phones etc. and to back up our computer data and be careful in relationships because there is a lot of scope for misunderstandings.

1 hour later sitting at my dining table, coffee in hand, recovering from her explanation, I thought about all I’d just heard. What was unsettling about my new found knowledge was how accurate it seemed! Couples parting ways, everyone with network problems, my kinetic functioning as effectively as a cycle... it was all happening. For someone who ‘doesn’t believe in astrology’, I found myself spending in inordinate amount of time reading my weekly forecasts... alright fine, daily forecasts.

I have to admit though; it’s been an enlightening few weeks. Not because of what I learned about astrology, but because of what I learned about myself. And what did I learn?

1. I learned that I, like everyone else, need something to hold on to and to believe in when things are falling apart around me.

2. I learned that I’ll go to great lengths (reading daily forecasts in this case) to avoid spending time with my text books.

3. I learned that I’m scared out of my mind at the thought that my hard work and will may amount to nothing if a higher power has other plans for me.

4. I learned that all I can do is my best. And just go with the flow.

Mercury is, incidentally still in retrograde as I write this. My phone still doesn’t work, my Kinetic still sounds like an elderly gentleman with breathing problems every time I try to start it. But I’m through blaming mercury... I think I’ll just blame the rains.

Independence Day

Sirroco - Irfan

The warm sirocco blows against my face

It echoes a name in my ears

It smells of the fragrance of my love

It echoes a name in my ears

As it brushes my cheeks, I feel her touch

It echoes a name in my ears

I can feel her tears run down my cheeks

It echoes a name in my ears

The sirocco leaves me alone, taking her away

It was not my name that had echoed in my ears

Irfan

Dream dreams no one else can see - Richa

“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.
We are the masters of our own fates. People, who have the courage to make a choice and the intelligence to make the right one, earn the right to shape their destiny"

Choices are things that we are inundated with in our lives all the time. With no options we crib, with two or more we find ourselves in a fix again. The human mind is eternally insatiable. That is where the conviction of making the choice we believe right comes in.

Our schooldays are the supposedly hunky dory times when everything is compulsary and we slog it out on social science and math alike. Then we have to start taking our paths, science or humanities or commerce, engineering or medicine or architecture or music or writing...., IT or Non IT, MBA or MS or M.Tech, India or abroad, career or marriage......It goes on and on and on.
I recently read two interesting books... 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' and ''The Google Story'. The first book was all about choices. It talked about changing conventions, talked of getting out of the mundane existence, it juxtaposed two ways to live life...One, the risk free existence of getting a good education, getting a good job, settling down and retiring happily and option two...branching out, applying your talents and holding your own. That risk free existence holds no excitement of doing your own thing, carving a niche for yourself, essentially being job makers instead of jobseekers. Like I said earlier, it takes the guts and tenacity to go ahead and take that decision. That’s where the Google guys come in. The Google guys refused to take a comfy job at Microsoft and be software geeks owned by Bill Gates, they went on and challenged the might of Microsoft in a blitzkrieg that lasted less than a decade that sent the whole world reeling under the Google revolution.

Well, I have the highest regards for all the entrepreneurs of this world who turned the spark in them into a blazing fire, as well as the ones who are struggling to get a hold, these are the people responsible for changing the world, doing a service to the world, and most importantly doing a service to themselves.

Robert Frost’s lines ring so true...
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could."

So, Dream on, think, make your choice, but whatever you do, DON’T look back at the road not taken.

Richa

Life's Topsy Turvy - Aditi Sharma

There are so many words for the broken heart,
But not half comforting for a fresh head start.
There are ups & there are downs,
Some make you smile whilst at others you frown.
Wake up to a new day each morn,
Brushing away, all mock & scorn.
Erase the memoirs that slay your mirth,
Rechristen yourself –take a new birth.
Enhance your strengths, overcome your weaknesses,
Shave the blocks off your happiness’s.
Clear the mists off your head,
Rid the agonies that times have bred.
Rise above petty stuff, set yourself new heights,
And when you have achieved them, there is more for you to strive.
So when pressed down by cares & doubts,
Realize---Success is failure turned inside out
This is how you conquer the world
& carve your niche for zillions to behold.

News from the Fourth Dimension

Claim Your Life
Suppose that you had with you, something very precious; something you don’t wanna live without. And then you learnt that there was this game, which if you won, could convert what you already have into something that you’ve longed for your entire life. And that you had a fifty – fifty chance of making it. Would you play?

This is not a theoretical question. Out of business school and into the real world, one is presented with such questions everyday. And in most places, risk taking of such proportions is supported and not frowned on. Decisions worth millions are taken on the basis of information that wouldn’t fill half an A4 sheet. Theory goes for a toss, and all that you’ve learnt till date seems grossly insufficient.

All that is fine in the professional world, but the information available for decisions in one’s personal lives is lesser. The course of one’s entire life is decided in moments of insanity: rationality leads to endless wits for the right information, the right time, et al.

As a rule, people have different yardsticks, different appetites for risk taking in their professional/personal lives. I guess it has something to do with the inherent nature of man. We all look at the object of our desires but are afraid to reach out and claim it, fearing lest we lose even the sight of it. We lack the courage to gamble it all on one roll of the dice, a single throw that decides our fates. We all wait for the perfect opportunity, and slowly the wait itself consumes us in our entirety.

A random survey among friends led me to believe that the risk appetite of a person has nothing to do with that person’s sex. It depends more on the person’s attitude towards life. And this attitude is not changed or created in a day, but is shaped like a rock on the beach: weathered by the winds that blow from the sea. And it extends to all walks of one’s life. I’m not implying that all of us should plunge head first into the foaming sea of uncertainty to prove that we have the ability to take risks, but what I am advocating is taking chances, once in a while. Because if you don’t take a chance, you’ll never know what could have been.

I guess the ‘Safari’ ad says it all: ‘It doesn’t take much to claim your life’. I second that. All it takes is the courage to reach out and the appetite to let it go.

As for me, on being presented with the same odds, I gambled.

Phi says: Perfection is the natural consequence of eternity: wait long enough, and anything will realize its potential. Coal becomes diamonds, sand becomes pearls, apes become men. It’s simply not given to us, in one lifetime, to see those consummations, and so every failure becomes a reminder of death.

The month of August,
the month of never ending rains,
when the juniors have settled in,
the seniors getting used to the fact that they are seniors,
new relationships blossom....

July 2006 was the best month in the history of MM. For the first time the number of page lookups crossed 350, and actually went up to around 550. Thanx a lot guys. It means a lot to us at MadMag that you are with us all the way.

This month, we have the juniors beginning to contribute along with the old vanguards.

I have written, naan ke vaaste, about what I have gained the most since I have come here.

Majhi, need I say anything? The cartoon that he has penned has brought out the most important aspect of the freshers after the booze.. The Date...

Sumit, an junior has penned his thoughts about how and why of life the eternal question of why MBA....

Rahul Pillai, must say, I had to ask him to convert the two page article on the freshers to a six stanza poem, has captured the essence of the night that was.

Aditi, a person who mailed me tellling me that she had something to contribute, has come up with what she thinks of love.

Da Macha, the lesser the said the better. You have to read the article to see what he is trying to say. If I give an intro then you will lose the fun of the entire thing.

From this month, we have a new addition to the usual category. The saying "A picture speaks a thousand words" is best illustrated in the Photon Factory, a visual treat for all those interested in photography.

The mute observer is back with Grease styled Freshers. Sing the modified lyrics to the tune of the song man does he crack you up. If you have not heard the song the dont worry. Even then you will be cracked up.

Ashim Sethi, man, I need to thank you for the initiative that you took, came up to me and then mailed me this piece. I likey.. I am sure that the reader will likey too!!!!!


That is all for this month.

~Aditya

P.S. For all those who are wondering about the fate of the creator of MadMag, Nisha Daniel Vikram, she is safe and fine, in the city of Chennai, selling refrigerators and washing machines...

F.R.I.E.N.D.S better left unsaid.

Another day gone, another 50 pages read, another just 250 to go if I were to follow the words of advice of the prof in finance who is single handedly driving the entire finance batch to the edge of insanity and suicide.

I have been thinking for the last half an hour over something worthwhile to talk about. Not a thing has come to my mind. Therefore, I guess I am going to write about the day today, Friendship day.

Like all of us, I came here without knowing a soul. In fact, I had not even joined the yahoo group, and I was in touch with a couple of people and not more. That contact too was sporadic at best. I left my friends back where I came from and came here alone.

Over the last year and half, I have seen that no matter where you go and what you do the ones that you left behind are there to support you no matter what. More importantly, I have seen that the world is filled with beautiful people and that there is always someone to become your friend. The reason I say this is that, now, here, I have more friends than I have ever had in life.

These people are the ones that just pop in to say hi, ruffle your hair for the sake of it, do your assignments for you, give the tests for you, come and make sure that you do not eat alone during lunch, nurse you through sickness, and lift you when you are down.

This day is just to tell all those people that you care too and that you will be there when they need it.

Dedicated to all those people who make life livable, F.R.I.E.N.D.S

~Aditya

Freshers...

The Next Corner Gold !!! Sumit Khandelwal

To write an article of this kind, one might expect the writer to be an inveterate...but forgive me, I'm not yet I dare to write.

School days..ah! Golden days of life. No tension, just fun. But hey, that is how I look at it today. Remember Jack, those shitty loads
of books, monstrous teachers, unfriendly ambience. Gosh! they made you sick. You never really enjoyed waking up early and rushing to school, did you?
Ya of course, but only for friends...

Xth over, and now looking for the gold. Running high on aspirations. took up science or commerce or whatever, partly as per self desire, partly
as per peer and parental pressure. Grilled it, screwed it, appeared for IIT-JEE or PMT or whatever. Remember those painful draggy days...lots of books,
lots of classes especially when youth is knocking at your door and testrostone levels are soaring...Thinking that life on the next corner
might promise more gold, you move on.

XIIth over and as in my case, engineering begins. Reputed college, high career ambitions, thoughts of making it big plaguing every cell of the body.
The buzzword taken up...Computer Science. Today look back to those college days as the most beautiful days of the life. But remember those tonnes of notes,
assignments, cruel ruthless mentors,shitty reports and projects, monotone life, placement rejections and what not. Damn! You think, was this the thing
fro which you came to college...Certainly not. May be there is some new door opening up for me 'cos this software stuff is not what I long to do all my life.
Do I?

MBA-ahaaaaaa! Excellent choice, great oppurtunities, stupenduous offers and for sure the ability to talk like a high flier manager. Yes! this is my next
corner gold. You land up in a top notch B-School and get overwhelmed by the idea of doing MBA. Great for a couple of months, but then...its no fun here Jack.
MBA is giving me nasty blows, and only to shout out loud in your ear that life ahead is going to give you more nastier ones.
Oops! An MBA Degree for challenges on the trot, an always moving life...was this that I longed for? Is this my gold or there is another corner waiting
with gold for me. Hmmmm...worth a thought.

Getting dissatisfied and looking for more, I guess, is an essential ingredient of the human nature. Man never really cherishes for long what he desperately
desired at one point of time. But then, that is what keeps him going, giving him the drive always striving for the better...

Thats life !!!

Sugar cubes in a bitter mouth - Rahul Pillai

A Saturday night, a cloudless sky,

I am losing my patience with the time pass by.

Ready for the booze, to hit the dance floor,

till I get notorious enough to be shown the door.

“Its Freshers folks!!” read the banner,

a night during which many were under my scanner.

From the skimpiest clothes to the most revealing clothes,

Every bit they resembled Adam’s Eve, covered just in leaves.

Waiting for their date, with flowers in their hand,

our guys appeared as polished as a wet crab on sand.

A big hole in their pocket, at the end of the day,

Thanks to the big chocolate bills they had to pay.

On a hilltop, the party went on whole night.

Into the darkness, rushed few couples, way out of my sight.

Self explanatory, I guess, the reason for their darkness venture.

A medical shop, they needed the most, for a noble cause I had to censor.

A night made possible, by the Xtra-C team,

Cheers to their efforts, may they live upto their dreams.

On a night when most of us came back empty-handed,

A few fortunate ones were actually happy to be stranded.

And for all those who on that night missed a feather in their hat,

Don’t worry, don’t regret, just remember that,

“No matter we win, no matter we lose,

Let’s be happy with our fag and booze.”

What love shows... Aditi Sharma

love-a beautiful feeling which dwells in the heart,
happens in a glance but take ages to develop;
it takes to the ecstasy like a trifle drip of marijuana,
and tickles the minutest of organ rendering immense rejuvenation,
Thus making you believe every possibility.

love-invariably chaste and placid,
smoothens all crisps of worries and pains,
diving to motley of hallucinations.
Its base is trust and downfall is lie.
Wonderful yet huring,dynamic yet weak,isn't it?
But always mortal and walks till eternity.

Da macha....

Finally!!! We have arrived. My big namaskar to every Tom, Dick and Harry out there in SIBM.

As always, Adi kicked my butt and asked me to write a freakin stupid article for the Mag.And here i am.

Now I realize why this is called a B-School. No point calling this a college. With 90 % attendance and dress regulations to back up, SIBM is the most schoolish of all the symbi institutes. You get a complex when you look at other college guyz and gals in the NCC. Nevertheless,NCC is the lifeline of this insti.Hope the Students Council arranges for a NCC canteen in Lavale also.

ExtraC threw an amazing Freshers party.Fear of being called gay looming over our heads, we planned to pick the sexiest chic among the seniors. I have a great sex appeal. As much sex appeal as a garbage truck.And am drop dead gorgeous. 3 girls dropped dead.With 3 girls turning me down, i had to open my empty bag of dirty tricks to see if it works.I went up to room no 11 and gave a girl a romantic stare and a smile. There-is-nothing-like-early-morning-shitting smile.Did i get this girl?. Well use ur common sense.

A very special thanks and appreciation to our senior batch and the Students council for all the work you guyz n girls put in and all the timely advice and hints of survival.We feel at home guyz. Thank you.

As for the classes, they are packed with 6 students and 60 seats at times. You just have to look around to realize that you are all alone listening to a scary lecture.Even Ramanujam would hate numbers.

I thank Adi from the bottom of my heart for giving me this wonderful opportunity and hereby confer upon him the title of "Saathi".

Photon factory

The underlying theme for this series of pictures has been the play of light on natural entities..

These snaps have been shot at different points in time all with natural light alone. This series has been mainly shot in Bombay and one on the way to Pune

My pick from this series would be the bright white sun atop an all blue surrounding.

The mute observer

Fresher's Night
(To be sung to the tune of 'Summer Nights' from the movie 'Grease')

Symbi ragging had me a blast
Freshers date happened so fast
I met a junior crazy but sweet
I tried to be, as macho as can be
Countdown days drifted away,
Right down to that Freshers night

Tell me more, tell me more,
Was the venue too far?
Tell me more, tell me more,
Like, did she hire a car?

Got off the bus, the ground was too damp
Her heels got stuck, her leg had a cramp
I picked her up, right off the grass
She slapped me, in front of my class
Beer flowed, party began,
As we danced through Fresher's Night

Tell me more, tell me more,
Did she buy a new dress
Yes she did, yes she did
But she looked like a mess

Thought I'd buy her, a drink at the bar
She took a few sips and puked on a car
She collapsed, went down with a crunch!
Throwing up the rest of her lunch

Freshers Night don't mean a thing,
Real drinking comes with Farewell Night...

The bead in the sphere: Ashim

I am just a bead making the SIBM sphere
Chapter 1

Once upon a time ……

Tradition brings alive the past. It may also resurrect the dead. Follies of the past find an excuse to reappear and spread its influence because of this fallacy.

We live in a sphere. Everything that goes around, comes around here. In our sphere, where you and me and our friends find each other in, we go around too.
Events from the past reappear. It almost seems like history repeating in a different form. But scientifically speaking, its impossible to make a sphere perfect and discrepancies creep in. These discrepancies bring newness to the sphere. The newness begs us to reconsider if really history is repeating itself. But, it is, in some form or the other.

Our sphere isn’t really the right place to be in. It resists newness and evolution, without which betterment is difficult. Nonetheless nature finds a way and I am sure the “ influx of youth will usher in a new revolutionary evolution that brings some democracy to this otherwise constrained sphere.

The sphere isn’t really empty. It has beads in it. I consider myself a bead. The sphere rolls and shakes the beads. Beads bounce around the walls of the sphere and try to take the path it deems perfect for itself. Sadly though there are compartments in this sphere. Very tight, suffocating compartments that don’t really let the beads be.

What is surprising is that in today’s capitalist world, socialism still exists. The theory of survival of the fittest and the free market place that ensure optimal performance finds itself only in theory, not in practicality in this sphere.

A free marketplace with no compulsion forces suppliers to be on their toes and constantly improving to capture the interest of the customers. Often it puts the suppliers in a bit of a bother. For them they too become exposed to the natural process of survival of the fittest. Its an uncomfortable place to be in thus the constraints in the sphere.

It is almost though the sphere does not have the confidence that the beads will take the right path. Ironically though others outside the sphere have faith in them. This makes the beads feel unwelcome in its home, its sphere.

Thankfully though the sphere is bouncing. Its bouncing high in the air up to the “4th heaven” and back. This puts some pressure on the constraints to break open and let the traditional sphere shatter and bring in a new form that symbiotically benefits both the beads and the sphere with mutual trust and fondness between them

…. Not the end , The beginning