Career , education and other oxymorons...

I have just realized- more like calculated over the months that I have (I here, includes only obligatory funding of my dad, Mom,brother, Bank,Concessions etc) spent close to a Million INR ( ah feels so good to say million!) in a 16+year education so far - the chunk of it being my prestigious BBM from CMS- " India's only undergraduate Bschool "- and that's excluding all the trips, the Coffees, Accessories, gadgets, n other sundries that are demanded of you to be a part of a sound and successful education system)

and where am i right now?
Typing away on a laptop that i did not BUY. Checking sms on an iphone that's someone else's 2months' salary .and from a house i can afford to live in on my own any soon. Fresh after a brief PR job (Like 10day brief) , a dream advertising job ( yeah cos I had an imaginary, dreamy pay) ) and a constant mental war between the option of working or studying further. ( i hope we'll have a winner soon)


well i dunno about the profile of that record-breaking IIM grad that's secured a 87 lacs paycheque (was he like the only employee in a medium-sized Indian company?) even before passing out. Just for the heck of it. i feel like saying it. " what did heeeeeeee have that i dont !!! :( umm an IIM-A degree? oh yeah. minor detail.and Talking of entrance tests- CAT,XAT,SAT,FAT,IBSAT,RAT,VAT,BAT,KITKAT, ....AT! will set you back by another 15-20grand, 40 if u count GMAT and the preceding preparation classes !)

you know, Frankly I'd settle for an MA in maybe gift-wrapping or candle-making any day but you know parents and the usual " Beta, Girls should be MBA to secure a good guy". guy?? excuse me? is that the new word for self-respect??

So in case I do manage to land a half-decent institute here in India or take the easy way 'out' ( of India) and get into say a Leeds or a cardiff , draining out an avg 1.5 million more next year( there!) getting more educated, cramming more income tax, more Organization Behaviour, Toyota's TQM principles that i will not remember an iota of post-exams.

Will the jobs scene still be the same? My mailbox will still be flooded with most articulately titled mails like " WE have excellent job opportunity in one of Top MNC. looking for a MBA candidate" filled with terms that will have connotations of their own.

For example.


Business Development Executive- We have no existing business whatsoever . we're hiring you to get us some. Is joining from umm , 5 minutes from now work for you?

International work environment- You'll be making 250 calls a day to a tom, dick, and harry in the US of A, solving their queries on mixers at 25bucks an hour. ( bucks= Indian rupees)

Multitasker -basically we have no hierarchy. no defined job role whatsoever. You'll never know where you fit. You will be doing pretty much everything. from getting clients to selling business to making tea and on occasion fixing the tea-machine.

Process Associate- fancy term for Call Centre Employee

International Business Support- Team Member- Fancy term for Call Centre Employee

Dynamic work environment - You might be given the pink slip anyway. or read about the company's closing down on your way to office.

two-wheeler MUST- you'll be hopping from home-to-home, retailer-to-retailer- stall to-stall selling our products to them. come rain, shine, puncture.

Travel Allowance- we'll sponsor your annual BMTC pass or considering your activa gives a mileage of 30. and you're doing 25 kms everyday. we'll give you , err compensation for 25kms done in 30mileage-X rs ( sorry you do the math! told ya!)


Only Graduates- Yeah we don't care if you have particularly impressive vocab, done speeches at an international platform, are really cool socially or carry yourself well enough to clinch a deal.

Pleasing personality- Should be Aishwarya-lookalike. or Ramya even .


Good communication skill- must be able to say " We have an excellent Business Proposition for you' without slurring.

Ooh, As i write this I just came to know the CAT deadline's extended by 8more days.
damn and i thought the competition was easier this time! I think I've decided that I'd rather work than be one in a million in the rat race of the CAT. ( how ironic)

Perfect Studying Environment a?You bet.

Imagine a Final year Student of BBM with the aggregate percentage just touching 80s and the scenario that'd prevail during Her Final Semester exams.
What do you see? A bespectacled , Arjun-ly Focussed looking nerd sitting in one corner of the room amidst a Sea of books, Reference material, notepads, pens,milk, and other cornucopia typical of exams in a house characterized by quietude and a sombre air....right??

Wrong....( apart from the bespectacled part) This is the typical scenario during my exams...
Im spread out in my Cosy bed, with a laptop on my lap checking mail, chatting, reading random blogs about increasing disbelief in western medicine, amidst a throbbing head and runny nose , through the audible-extremities of a 10yr old relative, A couple of newly-adopted Pet-dogs ,the incessant sound of "chaai chaai' associated with cartoons on the 112+ Tv channels and my utmost intolerance towards Bangalore university text books and its authors...

So here's what happened, MY final exam start morro ( and assumption is i haven't studied before) and my brother decides to open a company just before that ( last time i had exams,he decided to marry)the Inauguration ceremony and influx of relatives ensues. There's constant Catching-up-tale-telling-utensil-clashing-Ginger-grinding noise contributed by 12+ inhabitants in the house and tantrums of the earlier mentioned 10yr old who just wouldnt quit watching Nickelodeon how much ever I hate the "purrrr..purrrr..parman aa gaya" sound reverberating in the house.( why,just WHY the cartoon dubbing artists cant speak in normal voice?). I need to check on my bitches ( No offense, i mean my female dogs) every ten mins to see where they have peed/pooped and clean it so that i dont end up getting my feet smeared in the gooey stuff, oh and the fact they're so adorable and one wants to cuddle them all the time, is hardly help. Having a laptop by your side with a wi-fi- connection , and even worse an iphone which 'd make sure you're wired to the net when the laptop's shut-down and beep every time a mail from a "UK lottery" informing me about the " 10 million pound sweepstakes I've won or the various "major MNC recruiting" mails doesnt help.Neither does the amazing Bangalore weather in early June with beautiful rains and winds blowing straight into your room ( aah the cancerian in me sighs)
Add to that, gems like these in my revered BU text book.(quoting verbatim i swear)

*on talking about salesmen and their qualities- " each of us has divine in his heart chamber. divine grace and touch can make wonders. all of us have that golden chain. a common consciousness enlightening enliving our body "(?!@#?!@#$%)

* Consumer behaviour and causes of wants n needs- " dreaming leads to arousal"( True but not related!)
*" In India there is a 'fashion' of Joint families"( Really?then we must be soo damn outdated!)
*" Hindustan Motors RECENTLY released their contessa" ( yeah and Gandhiji recently went on Dandi March)

and so go my Final exams( Perhaps The last I'll ever be writing)
Mr Paolo Coehlo, when you really don't want to study, the universe will conspire to make sure You don't.

Coffee here i come,i need you tonight .lots of you.

Farewell.........

feels like just the day before,
Those unsure steps and curious eyes,
walking your way through a new door,
to a place intimidating yet nice,
Impressions were to be made,
friendships to be formed,
destiny's plan to be laid,
Rushing to the first hour
Trudging through the rest
Looking dreamily at the sights afar,
All for the jackpot called the hall ticket
Begging the teachers for favours galore
The life-saving coffee at the coffee shop,
Or cheap food in the canteen,
thanked and Relished to the core,
Seminars, fests and those damn exams,
You struggled, you cheated,
All night slogging and last minute crams,
Sem after sem the history repeated,
Trends followed and trends created
doubling up as a fashion temple,
You’d be dead seen in the Dated,
To steal a glance and turn to mush,
To come to college just for that one ,
To blush and talk in a hush,
partying, movies and the fun,
Giggling and gassing through the class,
gossips, naughty and nice,
About things trivial and crass
Out there a mini world it was,
The cool yo,the geeks and the freaks
Some loathed,some loved,
And then some friends for keeps
We laughed we cried
Won and lost,
failed & tried,,
Of struggles and pain
lessons of life to learn,
Experience to gain,
time seems to have flown by,
time to look back and sigh,
Finally , the big day arrives,
you don a robe and a hat
And leave it all behind,
A million different emotions
Nostalgia, Mixed feelings,
Self-made relations
People you could call your own,
all go their separate ways,
All part of this journey
To The destination unknown,
Armed with a degree and more
Move on to bigger things in life
Things to do, decisions to make,
Life will change,perhaps
It won’t be all a cake
Of those bitter-sweet college days,
The memories will remain,
Lingering on in our mind,
Like the sweet smell of rain…



As a fresh graduate, I'm inundated with feelings and emotions...and what better than to let em all out here through this small ( or rather long!) attempt at a poem dedicated to the 3years of My college life at CMS, which I'm sure any other person whos been to college could relate with ...
( however please do not copy this without my prior permission for your year book!)