Ramblings of a sleep deprived mind..Project Thomso

So, for a while i was toiling with the idea of actively conducting a marketing/financial survey. But the target customers and the prospective results was somewhat not clicking together. So, why the hell I am writing this post, you ask me! Sorry, to get all "The reluctant fundamentalist" way of writing, but it sounded like fun.

So, here comes Thomso in the picture. Thomso, the annual fest of IIT Roorkee which hosts a mind blowing event every year, witnessing participants from around the country and some foreigners too. The estimation ranges to more than 10k students both from IIT and other colleges coming in to Roorkee. So, what am I reaching at, you ask me? Wait and be patient, you will know it all. So, as I was saying, this fest provides lot of dough to circulate within the campus and the city. And to learn the significance of this money could give an insight to what people consume.

My first month experience of IIT Roorkee MBA

My Dear DoMSIITes,

Being an engineer, it gave me an immense excitement to pursue my journey from the gates of IIT Roorkee. Like a lot of other engineers in the country, I felt an urge, to go beyond my profession as a software developer and look forward to being a techno- manager. And here I was, with eyes full of dreams of becoming someone big…

I disembarked the train at Roorkee station and tried to inhale the city which was going to be my 'partner in crime' for the next 2 years. But the first look rooted me to the ground. And my first and only scepticism occurred that it was going to be hard living in a small town after living almost half my life in the city. But the journey towards the Indian institute of technology made it a lot easier. The famous Ganga Canal spanned nicely in the way provided freshness that no words can describe. After completing registration process in the campus, it was time to begin my hostel life. Someone has rightly said, “The best years of your life are spent in your hostel.” Since I had already lived in the hostel in my undergraduate years, it was no stranger to me.

An Interview Excerpts

So, recently I took an interview of my class senior. The result was to judge whether I am "Domination material" (college magazine). I am publishing here the full interview of Vaibhav Shrivastava.

“I WRITE TO SIMPLY SHUT DOWN MY THOUGHTS”

                                                                                                                                               -VAIBHAV SHRIVASTAVA

                                                                                                      (An interview by Kunal Bansal)

What were you doing prior to joining Doms, IIT, Roorkee?

After my engineering, I joined Infosys. 2^nd July, 2012 was my last date in Infosys and on 22^nd July, I joined Doms.

Maybe this question must have been repeated to you umpteen times before, but still I would like to hear from you, why MBA?

 See, MBA is as much a degree of an individual as much of an institute.  I mean, it differs from person to person depending upon their perception, their ambition, their skill set. MBA for me was a way to come out of my shell. I had certain qualities, I wanted to nurture more. I had certain deficiencies; I wanted to go away with. And in a way, I would say that I have succeeded. What MBA does is, broaden your horizon, your way to perceive other things. For example, I did my internship in advertising.  My view towards business is completely different now. I look at businesses as less risky and more profitable; previously, it was the other way round.
 

Since you did your summers in advertising and at the same time taken marketing as your specialization. What prompted you towards it?

First of all my skill set and my reasons for joining MBA program were pretty clear. Being an engineer and working in a corporate while in Infosys, my purpose in MBA was to understand businesses and communicate that to clients. By communicating businesses, you talk about your organization’s goal and other salient points and in a way, you sell. And selling is all about marketing. Basically, I see myself as a person responsible for transforming needs into a product like a brand manager or a marketing strategist.

Employee Poaching

Web definition: The act of enticing key employees from one competing firm to another.

    Why is this even worth a topic to debate? Well, for me, if some other firm is giving better incentives and lots of mullah, does it really matter whether my present employer is worth leaving? For starters, the net worth of every company is his people and the satisfactory index of the employers is what defines the real assets. Not the patents, not the machineries and certainly not the closing-opening stock. Now, if you are not creating a suitable environment for your employees, it is certainly your loss.

    According to a study by The American Society for training and development predicts that by 2015, 60% of the new jobs created will require the special skills held by only 20% of the population. In 1991, by contrast: Less than half of the U.S. jobs required skilled workers. Hence, the poaching.        

                                 

                                                                              

Where does the problem lies then?

The problem lies in the unethical way and going beyond what is fair and legal. For ex. well known stock brokering firm Ord Minnett recently fell foul of restraints in a different way. It used the confidential information of Wilson HTM, an employer of some individuals who were angling for jobs at Ord Minnett, to try and 'lure away' even more of Wilson HTM’s employees. 

Entry into the tunnel leading to a new world

I have been looking for a reason to write for a couple of days. The reason not, just to tabulate the things, I am going through. It is more of an egotist nature. Well, I really am going through a transitioning phase, adapting to the new surroundings, meeting some very interesting people. But, why I wanted to write about it is to see whether I could really write about it. Confusing, lets start from the basics.

Exactly one week ago, I was an idiot boy with some stupid doubts and some more stupid cravings that only a certain type of education could cure. So, I took an admission to a school. And after months and months of planning, preparation, scheduling, interviews, it all paid off. So, here I was, thirsty with knowledge, 2 bags in hand and a laptop bagpack coming out of the railway station and off to the prestigious school of Indian institute of technology. Some more nervous faces crept from the platform. Nobody knows who and when these same people will be running the top corporate houses of the world. So, is the factor of uncertainty. But the fact that I have been given a chance to play my destined role alongside these future leaders is just exhilarating. What comes out of the grinding machine goes to the refinery to fine tune the final product. It is the same with us.

Purpose of Life

Recently in an interview, I was asked, "what is my take on the 'purpose of life'!" And the great turmoil which has encroached me forever, like a cricket buzzing constantly in the helm of night, dawn upon me. It all started with a simple question of how i pass my time! And the boastful me started throwing the name of book after book to accomplish the doubt, that I am a well read men. But the result was disastrous when they asked me the above said  question. I for once,  was not going to give up so easily. So, I sat there thinking where to start. I might have taken a little more time than usual because in the meanwhile, he clarified on his asking this type of question, "since you have read a great lot many good books". And there I was still thinking where to start and how.

Finally, when the silence became unbearable, I started answering somewhat magnanimously, "From the dawn of time, this question has been of some interest to men. And time again they have quarreled over it. So it is insurmountable a question to be answered correctly. But in a politically correct way, I can surely say that I too have thought about it and according to me each life form on this planet has a different reason to live. And in a singular fashion, they cannot be clubbed." And that was the end of general questions. The interviewers  took a 90 degree turn, faced each other and I knew I was doomed. I knew their next question and it was a matter of time for me to be prepared for it. The lady opposite to me asked to please elaborate.

When is it that I am going to see the light?

Night after night, I walk in my sleep deprived state, turning the pages of a new book, flicking the moronic television channels. I lie to myself tomorrow will be better. What is it that I am looking for? I turn to the big question, why am I here? Is there any purpose? Generations have dwelt into this pathetic yet essential question, philosophers have laid down their lives. But are we really nearer? Do we really have a purpose here? Or are we Darvinian’s evolutionary cycle, the fate to which lies on the survivor’s quest. The meaning to life is then so much easy, that centuries have been wasted in futility. Food and shelter, the only two things we need to concentrate to, and to forget about Nasa’s Mars mission or the president’s election. We even don’t need our clothes unless of course it contradicts the shelter purpose. But it is not so.

So what exactly am I doing here? Will someone stand up and guide me? Why do I look upon me as useless, like a crushed up soda tin waiting to be kicked on the road. At least, it served its purpose, quenched its master’s thirst. But, what about me? Do I have a master? Should I serve somebody? Night after night, I see a dream in which I am walking bare feet and a grand door is waiting for me, so much grand that the length and height is not visible, just a white hazy blur. And there I am, about to push it open. And yes, it opens. And all I see is just white light, the same one seen by many at the end of tunnel. It must be heaven, I reckon. But is it the purpose really? Is it what everything comes down to, finding a way to that door? If yes, then how? If I know anything, just praying cannot be it. It is something else, to fulfil our duty, to fulfil our destiny, that is only how it can be achieved. That is all we know beforehand. But the same question presents itself, what is our duty? What is our destiny? Some say it will be shown to you at the proper time? Till what then? Do I keep on living my moronic life with my no-clue-what-I-am-doing-with-my-life attitude? No, sir no. I refuse to do that. I want my answers and I want them now. I do not want my life to go aimless and to think that someday, by some sheer luck, I will be interviewed with my prospective destiny and if I chose, I will be able to open that bloody gate and if not, well, who gives a damn when you are dead!!