Taare Zameen Par - The Final Story

In January, I came to know that I had done well in my CAT exam. I had got calls for GD/PI from all 6 IIMs. My GD/PI prep was first on my priorities from January to March. Everything else took a backseat.
I used to take the classes regularly, barring the Sundays on which I had the mock sessions of GD/PI. I feel sad to say that I couldn’t make solid prep for the classes for the students. I used to decide on-the-spot as to what I should teach them. Inspite of that, I did a seemingly good job, with the help of SH.
Meanwhile, AJ and AM took up the initiative for the higher education of the students and their sponsorship. Our Nai Disha volunteer team took the initial step of approaching the schools for deciding the intake of the students for the school and the possibility of tuition waivers for the under-privileged students. We successfully negotiated with the different schools and got some good bargains. We followed up the initiative with the task of convincing the students and their parents to continue the student’s education. Both the initiatives were successful. We also finalised the schools in which the students have to be admitted into.
Next up was the funds for the sponsorship of students. Somehow, I had the knack of convincing our managers on the CSR initiatives. Others before me had tried to do it but had failed. Maybe I was too good to be refused...lolz....
I took up the issue with our manager. And he gave me the green signal. I compiled a good mail and mailed it to all Samsung employees, insisting them to contribute them whole-heartedly. Finally, when the mail was sent, the initiative was a success. We managed to arrange for the annual full-time sponsorship for 7 students.
Others in the team went ahead with the sponsorship initiative in her company. They managed to arrange 5 donors. In the end, we had a very successful initiative. We also conducted essay-writing and debate competitions. The funds for the prizes came from the surplus amount from the library initiative.
Later, we gave farewell to the passing out batch. We gifted pencil-boxes, our pictures with them and greeting cards with something written especially for them.
In one of our meetings, we discussed about our future initiatives - publishing a newsletter, blogging about the initiatives(I have been doing that) and archiving our earlier initiatives.
Later on, a new volunteer joined us, PR. Initially I doubted it whether she will continue the classes. But, she did continue and has done an excellent job of adjusting with the students and our Nai Disha volunteer team. A very cheerful gal, she can put all at ease.

After a fruitful association of 1.5 years, it was bye-bye time for me at Nai Disha on May 31st.
I could feel the love of the students for me on my last day. I could feel the sadness in their faces at my farewell. The one year that I had spent with the passing batch was a very enriching experience. It was full of fun, emotion and learning. I hope I have planted the seeds of ambition and hope in their lives.
I would like to thank the entire Nai Disha team for their support and encouragement.
P.S - This is my last blog on Nai Disha. Apologies to those who had expected my last story on Nai Disha soon.
P.P.S – My next blog will be about the initial horrid and later pleasant first week had in IIM B.

Taare Zameen Par - The Story(II)

While the classes were going on unhindered. We were moving ahead with our other initiatives.
With the various entrance exams, my attention was sort of dwindling. Just when we thought, we needed more volunteers. We got more than we had asked. We had PR, CH, GA, KUN and AS.
All of them brought something new and novel into our group. Whenever we used to have our group meetings after the Sunday classes, there was a surfeit of ideas. This time though the ideas were discussed within the realms of feasibility. Some of the ideas did went on to become true.
While we were seriously thinking about a new plan for the betterment of the students. I came up with the idea of setting up a library in Nai Disha. But, the real problem was the funds.
In this regard, I founded the “Samsung Social Welfare Committee” in Samsung with the permission of our managers in SISC. With the help of funds collected from employees of Samsung, we set-up the library in Nai Disha. We asked them to read the books and tell us what they understood. The next week, the enthusiasm of the students for the books justified our belief. I believe the students gained a lot of knowledge and the employees of Samsung got a chance to contribute towards the betterment of society.
Papa John(A pizza restaurant) was conducting a painting/drawing competition for students of class IV and V.
We had to take them in the chilling morning at 9 am to Papa Johns. As usual, I was more interested in the free cold drinks and chips offered. Enough of joking round. The students had painted so well, I was stumped by their creativity. I could realize the talent that these kids had. Coming from a background where creativity and dreams are shoved away into obscurity and preferred to be ignored, it was all the more incredible. One of the students, Pinky actually won an award.
The students were very excited after the event. Social events do help us shed off our inhibitions and coyness. It helped them be more confident. I could see the glitter in their eyes at the mention of a competition.
P.S – I had forgotten to mention RB in my last post. She was very much a part of our Sunday classes. My sincerest apologies to her. Her contributions have been immense. She’s soon going to tie the knot. Congratulations to her.
P.P.S – Next up is the final chapter of my TZP story. I will cover the most initiative we had taken and had completed successfully. This chapter will cover the year 2009. This and the previous one covered the year 2008.

Taare Zameen Par - The Story (I)

I begin from where I had left in the last blog. It was for 3-4 months that we had been taking classes, but not with a lot of enthu. A lot of volunteers used to come and teach the students but they never used to return after 2-3 weeks.
In June 2008, 3 new volunteers AJ, AM and SH joined. I had my initial doubts about their continuity. After 2-3 weeks, I could sense here were the folks who would infuse the much needed stimulus into our activities. So they did.
Before, there was so much dependence upon me that if I was not able to come to Nai Disha, Sunday classes were invariably called off. I felt really guilty. With the oncoming Sunday AIMCATS(Mock CAT), I was really worried how will I be able to manage both. So, there was no escaping from the guilt pangs.
But, AJ, AM and SH gelled excellently into our team. I could realize the importance of working in a team. A team can overcome all hurdles only if all members work selflessly towards the all-important goal. In our case, the goal was the empowerment of the under-privileged students.
Before the trio joined, I was working in Nai Disha for my satisfaction. But, now, I could feel that we were actually shaping the grassroots of our society. Coming from a background where survival is the issue, it is very tough to dream.
Our limited teaching period of 2 hr on Sundays looked very limited in comparison to the regular classes on weekdays and Saturday. But, I could sense that we were making a big change to lives of the under-privileged students. We were teaching them to dream. The students were idolizing us(Funny…I know…But not from their context).
They wanted to come out of the shackles of insufficiency and limitations, they wanted to become like us. They wanted to make it big. Our bakar sessions had worked. Though not all of them would become a winner, but even if, 10 students take their studies seriously, our initiative is a success.
The team didn’t stop growing. Later, there were many new members in our group. I will cover their contribution and the various initiatives we took in our next blog.
PS – I have used initials to represent people, so that they don’t feel awkward.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR - Prologue

While studying at NIT, Rourkela I was associated with a leprosy colony. I was appalled to find them segregated from the mainstream. Some of the youths had ventured out to earn their livings. The children used to get their basic education from volunteers. The colony used to survive on the basis of the funds from government and voluntary agencies. Those children who studied beyond class VI studied in outside schools.
When people used to know about my Samaritan works, they used to praise me by saying, “You are doing a good job”. Sadly, the encouragement ended there. When I used to tell them to come with us and meet the lepers, there were a lot of unfulfilled promises. Occasionally, some of my very good friends used to accompany me on the visits. But, the initiative was limited within a small circle of people.
Initially, I had supposed people would feel motivated by me and themselves would take up the cudgels for the suffering, in some way or another. But, the support was very limited, which was primarily monetary. I decided I would go alone with another of my dear friend of my institute, whom we fondly called Bada. The chap was otherwise notorious for his pranks(especially against girls), but he had a heart of gold. He and I used to lead the initiatives for the lepers. We used to interact with the lepers and supply them with books and other stationeries from our own pockets.
But, I was never satisfied with our efforts. My realization of the need to help came very late in my 3rd year. In final year, I was busy in my placements, projects and parties. So, I couldn’t make a prominent difference to their lives, which I regretted for a long time. With a powerful student base of NITRKL, I felt I could make a major change to the lives of the lepers. But, the lack of support, financially and person-wise, somehow downed my confidence.
Finally, when I joined Samsung in end 2007, I decided to make a better impact. I browsed through various NGOs in Noida. I had heard a lot about CRY foundation. I wanted to join CRY. But, after several requests to enroll as a member, I didn’t even get a suitable reply. Instead, there were arbitrary requests to contribute money to their NGO. Probably, they had no shortage of manpower and they needed money.
After a lot of searching, I found an NGO, Nai Disha. The name sounded good. I surfed through NGO’s website. It was impressive. It was an NGO which provided free education to under-privileged students upto class V.
I found the name of a volunteering guy, Sandeep. We had presumed he must be some khadi-wearing social worker types – The ones with big rhetorics and inferior motives. Nonetheless, we decided to give it a try. I called up and enquired about the procedure to enroll as volunteers. No procedures as such. We were asked to drop in Sunday at 10:30 am in Nai Disha.
The memories of the Sunday, 6th Jan are a distant one. As such I have a very weak memory, I think I am growing senile.But, I do remember Sandeep. The initial impression turned out to be so wrong. We found him a soft-spoken and down-to-earth guy who was ready to help in all ways. Later, when he told us that he was a graduate from IIT Kharagpur and was working in Mentor Graphics, I felt embarrassed about my initial notion of him.
After a month, we got a bit bored of teaching the students. We could find our interest waning. The similarity in this endeavor and the previous one in NIT, was the lack of support. There was a sheer lack of volunteers. We had to make do on our own.
Nonetheless, Sandeep’s will to work for the students irrespective of the outside support, inspired us to carry on. For some 3-4 months, it was just me and Sandeep.
I felt it easier to motivate the students to go for higher studies than to motivate our team. Though we had big ideas, we didn’t have the manpower to implement those ideas. Somehow, the ideas were lost with the passage of time.
But things changed for the better. I understood what it is to work in a team. It was great to work with like-minded people. We could easily relate with each other.
I will capture the “How and When things changed for the better” in my next blog.
P.S – Details about Nai Disha can be found out at http://naidishanoida.googlepages.com/

Paisa Ye Paisa

On May 15th after I had converted IIM B, I had to withdraw my admission from IIM C. Sounds so easy, but it isn’t.
It was downright awkward to inform an institute that I am not going to join your institute. An institute as legendary and iconic as IIM Calcutta with a history of almost half-a-century. I took about 10 minutes as to decide what to say. The moment I told the admissions-in-charge that I am not going to join. He told me okay. Huhhhh. Much ado about nothing. Probably they were expecting it. Or maybe they accepted my withdrawal rather gleefully as they can offer admission to one who is on-hold, thereby decreasing the erosion of their brand-value.
I asked I wanted my initial deposit of Rs 1 lakh refunded. He told me very casually “you will get it in end of June”. End of June…..Did I hear it right? Asked him to repeat. He said the same thing, this time rather rudely. Before I could ask him anything else, call went blank.
I had to send Rs 1.55 lakh to IIM B within June 1st. From where the hell, I am going to manage such a huge amount. Therein I realized the value of money. Money needs to be saved to meet such eventualities. Unfortunately, I was very ill-prepared to meet the situation.
One major concern was treats. Some I had already given and a couple were still due. It’s a caught-between-the-devil-and-the-sea situation. At one hand, you cannot refrain from giving the treats and at the other hand, you don’t have the money to give the treat. Pretty dicey, you know. Well, I decided treats will have to wait.
I requested IIM B to extend the deadline. IIM B asked me to fill up the fee-waiver form and then they will consider the request. But, the form had more to fill up than even my Tenth’s history exam and probably more confusing than map reading in the geography exam. I decided against it.
So, I had to sent them the money. In these moments of helplessness, I fell back upon the people closest to my heart. They helped me a lot financially. It really feels good to have such people around you, who can see you through all rough moments.
P.S – I will take a break from IIMs. You have got bored of it and so have I. So, my next blog will not be about IIM. It will be about something very close to my heart.

Picture Abhi Baaki Hai Mere Dost

Just when you know where you are heading, life throws a beamer at you. The beamer may give you some free runs or it may hurt you real bad.
While I had almost made up my mind to join IIM C, there was this something that I missed. I knew studying in IIM C is itself a dream to die for. The fact was that I had always dreamt of joining IIM A or IIM B.
But this yearning was a minute element of my thought at that time. I was so happy that I would study in IIM C. I was attending the TIME felicitation ceremony. While I was thinking I would say this and that in my speech, I didn’t get the opportunity to speak. Not that I was dying to speak, I nevertheless expected that I would be asked to speak. As it happened, the students who had got thru IIM A or IIM B were given more opportunities to speak. Felt sad at not getting the acclaim I had thought I deserved.
Cut-back to 2008, I was so frustrated that I could even kill someone to join MDI if I would have converted. And now in 2009, though I had got a GD/PI call from MDI, I didn’t even attend the GD/PI. Circumstances can change so dramatically. You can so easily change from a pauper to a king and vice-versa.
In the TIME meet, after the speeches, we went for a lunch. The food was good, so were the junta. I didn’t allow any disappointment or inferiority complex to creep in. I decided to be satisfied with what I had. Life’s bliss only if you believe it to be. Depends upon what you find bliss in. One of my friends who had got thru IIM A told us that IIM B is coming out with a 2nd Waitlist. Though he had already converted 5 IIMs, he wanted to convert IIM B so that “it would complete the picture”.
I remember a famous dialogue from the word “picture”, “Picture Abhi Baaki Hai Mere Dost” .
Strangely, the aforesaid dialogue applied for me. As if life had not taken enough ups and downs. I found my name in the waitlist on May 2nd.
When the results had been declared, a first waitlist of 50 people had been declared. I wasn’t there. In the second waitlist of 50, I was way down at 37.
I asked myself now what. Chances didn’t appear rosy. My admission into IIM B depended upon how many people from the waitlist didn’t accept the offer of admission. On May 2nd, 15 people of the 50 waitlisted guys were offered admission. Some hopes arose.
Subsequently, on May 9th, 15 more offered admission. My new waitlisted number was 7. So near yet so far. I used to check the pagalguy threads time and again waiting for updates. Felt like two strong forces were attracting me towards each other. I didn’t know whether to love IIM C or IIM B at this crucial juncture. At one end, I assure myself that IIM C is a great institute. But at the other end, unknowingly, I would start dreaming of IIM B. So, typically confused. I used to pick up the mobile to call IIM B and know about my chances and then used to keep it down, thinking they will call on their own.
I was really afraid of disappointment. Here I was dreaming of IIM B, what if I don’t get thru. I called up IIM B and asked them about the status on May 13th. The lady told me that the status can be only known on May 16th Saturday. I told ok. Back to square one. Had had enough.
It was on May 15th, that the unexpected happened. Got a call from IIM B. I had been offered admission. Took some moments to recollect and then accepted the admission.
But my admission let loose another tide of problems which I will capture in the next blog.

P.S – This blog was not as funny as the earlier one, "Why MBA". My apologies.
P.P.S – People are not leaving comments. I mean it’s nice to receive comments. Atleast, I can know someone is reading the shit I have written. I will be inspired to write more shit…..hehehe.

"Why MBA"

I, for one, really don’t know why exactly I want to do an MBA. The “Why MBA” question used to give me nightmares during my preparation for the PI process of IIMs. I used to get virtually raped during the mock PIs. From an all-knowing Harry, I used to become a bloody Mary.
During my prep, if there was any question that made me nervous, it was this question. “Why MBA”.
This question is a torture for all aspirants. People cook up all sorts of stories to convince the interviewers. The interviewers are shrewd enough to understand that. Anyways, they get some inkling of the logical thought procedure I guess. It’s purely suicidal to get emotional and think by the heart, while answering the question. The best answer any aspirant has given to the question, “Why MBA” is “Why Not MBA!!!!!!!!!”. Pretty tongue-in-cheek. Not wise to try it out during an actual PI. Remember the warning on TV, "These actions are performed by professionals, please don't try it out at home". Replace professionals by fools and "home" by "PI".
Somehow, I had prepared an essay as to why I wanted to do an MBA. I had connected one of my tech projects and my social service initiatives and came up with a decent answer to the killer question, ”Why MBA”. Although, I was not entirely convinced, I had decided to project as if it’s my raison d'être, my sole goal of life. How inspiring!!!!!!!!!!
You have the best profile, you have the best percentile and you are the best orator, but the “Why MBA” can stump you by a long margin.
During the IIM PIs, whenever I was asked the “Why MBA”, I used to repeat the same answer again and again. Yes, like a parrot. LOL. I used to say it with such passion, that it looked very authentic.
However, All’s Well That Ends Well. Now, that I have cracked IIMs, I can make a mockery of the question, “Why MBA”. Else, it would have been the IIM’s way of asking “Why MBA, dude????? Don’t care to apply again”.

CAT - Capricious Admission Test

Life changes so drastically.
Just when you settle down in you cocoon and think that life will go on as it is. It takes a sudden turn and throws you into the maelstrom of uncertainties. If only life could be predicted.
I had prepared well for CAT exam for two long years 2007 and 2008. But, I was able to muster a very average performance. Such is the cruelty of CAT, that not only do you have to manage a certain percentile in total but also in the individual subjects(For those who dont know Maths,English and Logical Ability).
People can have all the ability in the world and all the determination in the world, but when it comes to CAT, it all boils down to the 2.5 hours of the exam. It took me two long years to realise this. I used to belong to an older school of thought that believed in the benefits of hard work. But hard work is hardly a pre-requisite in CAT. Its only a minor factor.
In mid 2008, I got a call to join IIM Shillong, the newest IIM. I had almost decided to join it out of my frustration(that I might never ever crack CAT). But, some good sense prevailed and I didnt join it. Yet, I had left all hopes of cracking CAT. My preparation came down to a only a week of brushing up, just to convince myself that I had put in some effort. Infact, my efforts were in some other direction.
I realised the absurdity of CAT. How can we gauge a person's ability on the basis of a 2.5 hrs exam. The entire concept appeared misleading.The people who were too smart will put it across any exam they give. They comprise maybe 10% of the ppl who cract CAT and 0.0000000000000001 % of those who appear for CAT. For the rest 99.999999999999% it's luck(Atleast, that's what I think, I maybe wrong.).
The day results came. I was sure I will not make it. It was because that I was out of hope that I decided to check late.Finally, I did check my results after some days and I had made it - BLACKI . The interviews came and went in a hurry with no time to introspect.
Now that I have got thru IIM Calcutta. I can feel how my time has changed, how luck has favoured me.........Touchwood.............
From a loser who appeared to squander the minimal triumphs he deserved, I changed onto a lucky dawg who has over-achieved (By over-achieving, I don't mean IIM C is heaven. I know I have a long fight to fight. I simply mean over-achieving from my own perspective).
When I had accepted my bad luck before, now I have to accept my good luck and move ahead.
A new battle......A new life..........