Emerging India: Where is it?

The last five minutes I have been thinking on what shall I talk about - My experiences at work, India's win over Pak in the first test, stupid UK Home Office regulations, and the list could be endless.

Suddenly, today's news at IBNLive replayed at the back of my mind. And I am left with so many questions unanswered.

We talk about secular India - where is the equality when people like Modi still bank on their fortunes by dividing the different religious sects of the society. You can still listen to the horror stories of Godhra and how this God-like figure of Modi has been able to over power all the wrongs that were done not so long ago.

We talk about security in India - what does security mean when women are harrassed publicly in full daylight and no one has the courage to revolt against it. I am talking about what happened in Assam when the tribals were in a procession to seek ST status. The event leaves me horrified and deep in shame to learn about the mental sickness some of the citizens are suffering from. Yet again, like so many times before, I donot expect the Govt. or the law to provide justice to the victim and the issue to die down in the FIRs of some unknown police station.

We talk about young India - what will happen to the youth if the future doctors have to take to streets and clean cars in order to protest against the ruling which requires them to spend an year extra in studies. Media calls it 'Gandhigiri' - the word probably coined for the firm time by Sanjay Dutt in 'Munnabhai' - but its so unfortunate to know about how decisions at the top level (in this case, our wise old politicians) are taken without really considering all facets of the issue from various persepctives.

We talk about mass welfare in India - the BIG question really is whether the GDP growth of 8-9% is having any significant impact on the lives of people living in rural India. The benefits haven't trickled down to the people at the bottom of the pyramid. The divide between rich and poor is widening as ever. It doesn't require deep thinking to realize that India really has two stark personalities today. One, of growing India, where you see an average young Indian - graduate from any engineering/arts/ commerce college - earning his living without any problems (courtesy, largely the dotcom/BPO boom). The second, and completely opposite, is that section of society which still finds it difficult to earn daily bread. What is still very unfortunate is the fact that the latter section outnumbers the former and represents the country true face.

There are so many reasons which hamper India's progress to becoming a truely democratic, secular, emerging India where people's rights are respected. And when I say people, I include people from all castes/religions/sections/states of the country. To my belief, the biggest roadblock is the very nature of the present government - The Coalition Politics. Despite having one of the finest economist the world has seen in recent times at the helm, the government has failed to deliver much of what it promised in the Common Minimum Programme. Dr. Singh has repeatedly been called a lame-duck over the past few months. I don't pity that old man but I salute his honesty, his work-ethic, his sense of responsibility that he has displayed over the last three and a half years at that position. I pity the Karat & Co who have done no good to the nation and are responsible for the havoc they have caused in Nandigram. Moreover, it doesnot take big brains to understand that for India to continue developing at a growth rate of 8-10% annually, the country needs energy to fuel this growth. And, nuclear energy is the only solution to the issue unless you want to prevent Delhi/Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai and other big cities to go the Shanghai and Beijing way.

Whatever's written above are all random bits clubbed together. But there's one common thread amongst all these thoughts - India still has a long way to go before it emerges as a nation where its citizens are proud of what they have achieved. Still a long way to go!

Om Shanti Om - Cam Something Be Worse?

An utter waste of a Saturday evening! I am left thinking that there's something grossly wrong with the Indian media which has hyped the movie to such an extent.

The movie has the worst storyline amongst all the movies I have ever seen. There are so many loose ends and you keep wondering how the sequence of events keep unfolding one after the other without any connections. Did I hear somebody (Farah Khan?) say that it is a tribute to the 70s!!! It is like making a mockery of good old Indian cinema. Just how cheap people can become in order to market/sell something. I feel I will support Manoj Kumar in his criticism - just because everything about the movie is so bad that I want to criticise this supposedly 'Biggest Hollywood Movie of 2007' as much as I can. Can I PLEAD to everyone not to waste time and money to watch this utter crap of 3 hours. Please also spread this word to everyone else you meet - I genuinly believe that this will be a kind service to our brethren.

One thing which has stood out while I am sharing my anger is how easy it is to fool people by promoting something which is total crap. People like Rajiv Massand (IBN Live critic) should be fired for laying out an inappropriate and false review of this movie.

Sunil says its half baked - For me, the movie doens't even have the right ingredients at all. Amidst all this, I feel that Bhansali's Saanwariya has suffered unnecessarily because all the attention has been wrongly give to Om Shanti Om. I will sleep today pondering over my question - 'Can Something be Worse than Om Shanti Om?'

Pak: Emergency Rule

All the news channels flashed that emergency rule/martial rule was imposed in Pakistan yesterday. For a moment, I couldn't help thinking whats going on in our neighbourhood and what's likely to be the immediate impact of martial rule on the country's economy. But then, just then, a sense of security engulfed me. Afterall, everyone in India has this impression (largely media creation) that all terrorist activities in India are Pak state sponsored and to an extent, the emergency rule may just help curb some of these activities in my home country for some time. I wish good for Pak and its people.

On the same topic, the headline today is 'Imran Khan escapes arrest, flees home in Pak'. Khan has his own small political party but what took my attention was the fact that he studies in Oxford as well. He was here between 1972-1975. I just searched a blog that details about all his experience. No doubt, he was a great cricketer in his time, but to be studying in Oxford and then becoming a legend in sport is a double achievement. Here, you can read more about some of his experiences in Oxford.

http://www.oxfordstudent.com/tt1999wk5/news/the_interview:_anything_he_khan

Taking a step back, I realize that this is my first posting on the blog for almost two months. Its not that I have been busy; on the contrary, I have been relatively free during this time barring a week in-between when the Capstone (final one week assignment at the business school) was running. The course ended on 14th September with a MBA farewell reception hosted by the school. It was a gala evening (Black Tie Dinner - just that i didn't have a black tie!). People drank a lot and they had good reasons for it - They drank because they wanted to get drunk.

I spent the next three weeks at home with mom n dad. It was so good to have a lot of time back home and do things which I had missed for the last whole one year - like having paranthas n lassi in the breakfast, talking to dad about so many things, riding in our very own dhanno and just being in chandigarh gives me that feeling which is difficult to describe. But like all good things, my stay at Chandigarh came to an end - I felt I should have had more time a home.

Things have settled down quickly in London, though. I joined Oliver Wyman on 15th October. It has been a steady going till now. As my advisor suggested, I have been focusing on keeping the basics right - not really trying to do anything very smart - just going on with the flow. The first project is kindda OK... not really great but its giving me valuable time to settle down and learn some tricks before taking on increased roles. Weekend's been busy - managing the move and getting stuff in the new place. Below are some pics - enjoy!

Punting in Oxford

This is a very famous sport in Oxford and Cambridge. Before coming to Oxford, I had read in one of the last year student's blog that your Oxford experience will not be complete if you leave without punting.

So, here we were - myself, Andres, Perla and Sunil - trying to master the art of punting. It looked very easy from outside but, to be honest, those 80 minutes were a lot of hardwork for all us. Below, some shots!

25 Gresham Street: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM

The venue for the final SCP presentation - this is Lloyds head quarters. We reached London in the morning at 9:15 AM to meet Paul and Yuvraj (from the Lloyds team) and headed off to Building 25 which was just a few minutes away. I had slept off during the entire one hour ride on the train or atleast my eyes were closed and I was not thinking about the presentation. I could hear Angel, Cesar and Fernando doing some last minute discussion on the train.

In the presentation room, we were joined by Paul senior and a few members from the Lloyds strategy team. After a bit of a chit-chat, we began with our presentation. What followed was a long - long session where amongst four of us, we shared the insights we had gathered over the last two months. There were some questions from the audience in between, which I welcomed as they broke the monologue from our team. But to be fair on the audience, it is difficult to understand all the concepts on 'carbon markets' in just one session. Hell, we spent the first three weeks on this study just to understand the basics of it all.

The presentation lasted for around 2.5 hours. I was glad that it finally ended as 2.5 hours is definitely long for anybody sitting in the audience. But after attending three hour long sessions regularly at the business school, it felt nice to be on the other side of the table and see part of the audience struggling to concentrate (read, struggling to wake up :)). At the end, the effort was appreciated by all. Both the Pauls thanked the team for a fantastic effort and mentioned that this was much above the expectations they had. Paul Wylie commented that he was very happy with the interim presentation and never expected that we guys would be able to do so much stuff after the interim - and all this has made him even more happier.

It was good to know that Lloyds liked our work. And, we do feel that this will help Lloyds in one way or the other to shape up their future strategy related to the carbon market. After breaking out of the meeting, the Lloyds team hosted a lunch for all of us. We went to a great Indian restaurant. My Spanish friends relished every bit of it. And, for me, there couldn't have been a better place for a full course meal. Over the lunch, we had a chat on various random issues - it was all such a great atmosphere; these guys are really good.

The journey back to Oxford was tiring. We all had hardly slept for long hours for some days. After I reached home, I helped myself to a long nap. The morning after was much relaxed.

Golf - The New Sport

Hours ago, I took my first golf lessons. Awesome, it was!

Angel and I went to the Oxford Golf Driving Range. 5 minutes from the school. We had planned to visit it today just to enquire about the timings/prices. Luckily, we found it wasn't very costly. Get 50 balls and rent a club for 5 pounds. Costly but manageable - atleast, this added another 'First' in my Oxford experience.

I think, for a beginner, I did pretty well. After learning the basics from Angel, I was getting into a better swing with every shot. I counted and hit 10 balls very well - that's a good 20% hit rate. Pat on my back! Good job. I now know that swing is the most important aspect of the game. If you want to hit the ball long, the swing has to be perfect. Lots to learn, but I will improve. Now that I have broken the first-timer hang-up, I can visit the driving range on my own and work on my game. Once every week for sure. Stragely enough, I am coming to an end with my stay at Oxford and I am having some of my best days here. As they say, its never too late!

Day before yesterday, we made the interim presentation to the Lloyds team. We had done good work and they recognized it. I believe, as a team, we are doing very well. We complement each other's strengths well and that makes a lot of difference. One of the guys from Lloyds also mentioned that we seem to be very close to the final output. That was encouraging. More so, from our point of view, we wanted to be sure if our work is going to help Lloyds in some way or not. It appears that this piece of strategy work is going to go a long way in Lloyds' immediate business plans. Here, I paste one of the pics after the presentation (L-R: Cesar, me, Angel, Fernando).

Meeting Room 16

One white board, Three markers (1 each of Red, Blue, Green), Two flatscreen desktops, One Table, Eight Chairs.

This is where I have been spending most of my days off late. Not that we have been working hard on the project. But, its also true that I have not really done much of the random stuff. Life's been a bit monotonous these days - Wake up in the morning, get ready, eat breakfast, come to Meeting Room 16, thrash ideas, a lunch break in-between, conference calls with industry experts across the world (i feel i will be expert after this project gets over as well, really not many people who know about this business as of now), go back home in the evening, watch movies/tv serials, sleep. A bit of guitar in-betweeen and some tennis, squash on a few days.

Something's not fair. Here's why:
1. 4 MBA students (almost full graduates) working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 8000 @ GBP 1000 per person per month
2. 4 MBA Full Time Salaries working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 36000 @ GBP 4500 per person per month

GBP 28000 is a huge difference. This is a cheap way of getting things done. People say that you should utilise this opportunity to put into practice business principles that we have learnt over the last one year. But then, if its just another learning opportunity, why are we expected to come up with recommendations which can be implemented straight away. And why does the project contract mention the following,

"The Consultants undertake to complete a Project and prepare findings for Lloyds TSB Bank on the manner in which Lloyds TSB should enter the carbon emissions market and launch a carbon emissions trading business, which shall include, but not be limited to, researching, listing and analysing potential opportunities in the market. The results of the Project shall be presented to the Company in the form of a business plan. Upon completion of the Engagement, the Company may in its sole discretion agree to pay to the Consultants a fee of an amount to be determined by the Company."

I don't really like the last part of the above script. That really means that we are not even sure if we will all get our supposed GBP 2000 - Another cheap trick to get the work done. The Business Projects Office should increase the minimum stipend for the students - after all, it is almost the time for all of us to take life into the fast lane.

But, on the brighter side, the project is really interesting and making us learn lot of things about the Carbon Market which is definitely going to be the focus of attention over the next 5-10 years.

Meeting Room 16 is likely to see the same faces for the next three weeks (including the weekends, maybe). We've got our interim presentation two days later - That should separate Milk from the Water :)) Ok, what I meant was dhoodh ka dhoodh aur paani ka paani hona! Is there a better way to translate that in English?

Lloyds - Project Update

Our team just had a meeting with our project supervisor at the school. It is a funny and strange thing to understand why do we need a project supervisor for the summer consulting assignment. I believe its like all other things wherein you need a person at the top to resolve any issues that may arise. As Han (our project supervisor) made it clear in the first meeting, he will be here to oversee that all the team members work towards the project and none is a free rider. Given that the first meeting was just a 5 min session, I expected not much out of today's meeting as well. After we presented him the roadmap for the next two weeks, he appeared quite interested and started asking more questions about our work and research. The meeting was useful as he motivated us further stating that this project has all the ingredients to be selected as the 'Best SCP' this year and for those who do not know, this is a coveted recognition as this is our chance to work on a real-life business issue. End implication - Extended hours in the library and more team meetings in the next six weeks.

We also had the first full team meeting with Lloyds as we traveled to London this week. The meeting was successful as we presented our findings till date and chalked out the plans for the next couple of weeks. The good (or the bad) thing about 'Carbon Trading' is that there is a lot of interest (also read speculation) shown by all stakeholders and this has been touted as the next BIG thing. But, to be honest, once you go through all the published material and you realize that the industry needs more structure and regulations to move further, you feel that everything is like a shot in the dark. And why not, no body perceived that the carbon credit prices in Phase 1 of the EU Trading Scheme will fall from EUR 25 to EUR 0.50... If nothing else, people have started speculating a bit more. Mark my words - CARBON BUBBLE is not far away.

But, all in all, we believe that we have had a good beginning for this project. The next two weeks are going to be crucial as we dig deeper in our research and then start the process of narrowing down to one single business opportunity for Lloyds. Writing a B-plan will definitely be a difficult exercise but we all are looking forward to it.

Life's not just work these days, if you've got this impression after reading the above text. I recently purchased a guitar - local brand but good sound. Here are the pic - black always looks majestic to me.

I am beginning to get my touch back after learning a few new songs.. and this surely has added another dimension to my life these days. Of late, I have also been watching lot of movies - Bourne Identity, Shooter, Anti Trust, Silver Surfer... to name a few. Life's good!

Oxford Bhraman!

Feels like its so easy these days to be in Oxford. How much difference one change (read not being unemployed) can make to your life. I remember the last few months when I was always under pressure to get a job, any damn job. And now, it feels like a better and a totally different world altogether. I still have to do the Lloyds project but its OK.. don't really care much about that now.

Last Friday was Open Day for most colleges and people were allowed inside the college premises to look around. Myself, Ruchir, Saurabh and Vikar went around college hopping and clicked some memorable shots. I guess my Oxford holiday has just begun and will continue for the next two months - long holiday, I know. I plan to move around the town a bit and visit the surrounding locales as well. This Saturday will be a barbecue at Fernando's place and then on Sunday a club cricket match - lots of fun.

Below some pics of the Oxford Bhraman! Changed the colors to black and white to give it a more vintage look.

Clicked from University Church of St. Mary. At the backdrop is 'All Souls College'. This college was founded in 1438 and only about two guys are elected to fellowships each year. Fellowship of All Souls is regarded as the highest academic honours in the UK. Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Amartya Sen have been fellows of All Souls. Fabulous achievement!

At Magdalen College. Founded in 1448, one of the most spread out colleges amidst woodlands, riverside walks and lawns; the college also has the most hautingly beautiful buildings of Oxford

Built in 1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library, the Radcliffe Camera (camera is another word for 'room') is now a reading room for the Bodleian Library. The distinctive circular dome and drum of the structure makes it one of the most recognizable and often-photographed building in Oxford. This building is not open to the public (its open to university students). The inside of the building is spectacular with brilliant art work. Will post some pics soon:)

Turf Tavern. The Turf is "probably Oxford's oldest pub". Its foundations date from at least the thirteenth century. The current timbered front part is seventeenth century. The Turf was renamed the Turf Tavern in 1805. The pub has been frequented by such likes of Bill Clinton.

One of the smaller lanes around Turf Tavern

Oxford High Street

Trinity's Over

Exams for this term are up! And now we can rest assured that we'd soon be Oxford MBAs. Am not really eager to start on the Lloyds consulting project, but will take it as the time comes. For now, its just next 3 days of khlena, koodna and full masti. The trip back home last week was a much needed break. Met so many friends/relatives and yes, champagne finally did flow on the very first day itself. It was all good fun though quite hectic. Shots...

With Dad, sharing a light moment

Mom and Dad, Gobind Mamaji on the left; All eyes on the Champagne

Dad opened it in just one shot

Mom enjoying herself, Alok (front) and Kuppy (standing)

Small Indian Family

That's one big hug with Raj Mamaji

Brothers and Sisters
(Sitting) Monudi, Alok
(Standing) Mitu, Neeru

Not unemployed anymore!

The title says it all... isn't it?

The search which started around eight months ago is finally over and I now have job. Relief! After many applcations, interviews, some networking, many trips to London and many missed lectures, the efforts have resulted in one the best opportunities for me. I have no doubt in my mind that Oliver Wyman is going to offer me a highly enriching and rewarding career post-MBA. Pat on my back! Deloitte Consulting's offer is also encouraging. Starting as a Senior Consultant, I would be given many responsibilities right from the start. But still, OW does stand out on many counts.

What a busy week it has been! OW's offer came late last week. And since then, there has been little time (almost none) to celebrate. We (myself, Sunil, Saif) did go out for the customary dinner on the day offer came. But after that, it's been just this term's course work. This was the last week of Trinity Term and I am glad that now it is over. Don't think I have learnt much in this term but yes, for sure, I have improved my writing skills further (as has been the case for the last two terms) .. ha ha..

M off to chandigarh this evening. catch u later

Good Indian Food After Long

Today evening, I went to meet my distant relatives. My dad's buaji and her family, they had been here since 1970s before moving back to India a few years ago. Since then, they have been coming to Oxford to spend a month during summers every year.

This was the second time I was meeting buaji and Sunil in my entire life! And the first time I was meeting uncle, Sonia, Shivani. I had a really good time, they were very welcoming and I immediately felt a part of the family. The first time I was meeting an Indian English family where we were mostly coversed in English - that was the only peculiar thing in the setting :)

I stayed there for 4 hours, and the discussion revolved around a lot of things - Indian summers, traffic, tax evasion, salesmen in Indian malls who always flock you if you make the mistake of entering at a non-busy hour (apparently, the family went for shopping the morning and were still in the shopping mood), IIT (ha ha ha, uncle had done his graduation at IIT D - the moment I got to know about that, I felt even more comfortable talking to him, he was a participant in the first IITD batch, and yes we talked a lot about IIT :)), sai baba and puttaparty (the family is a great devotee of baba and are now settled at baba's ashram) and so many more things.

I didn't realize that time went by so quickly. It was already 3 hours when buaji asked for dinner and then I had the time of my day - karhi, paneer, salad, puuurrrrriiiiiiiiiii. Desserts including strawberries, mangoes (Indian mangoes), ice-cream and hot love (some fudge which Sonia/Shivani had prepared from ice-cream, cream, and some more stuff - i didnt have it). Really good food and again we had a very good discussion over the table. One thing which really stood out during the entire 4 hours was that kids and parents were debating on a whole lot of issues - uncle, buaji, sonia, shivani and sunil - all were talking about regular day to day things and ne'er seemed like stopping and taking a break :) As I now know, this is quite common in an Indian English family.

Back home, I still have kaju ki barfi to gorge on. Buaji gave me a box of barfi before I left. Indian sweets are just too good - I miss them.

Strategy Consulting Project

With the term (last at Oxford) nearing an end, things are getting less ambigous now. Now I know where I will be spending my summers for the Strategy Consulting Project (SCP).

The SCP allocation is a long process in which the companies had started presenting the projects right at the start of this term. There were not many good projects on offer but those which were good attracted a very strong competition. My eyes were on Macquarie, Lloyds, Standard & Poors (in the order of preference).

Four teams bid for Macquarie and we lost that bid (Team included Robin, Diliana and Kian) to a better team. Allan made a lot of difference in the two teams and the result was known and obvious to everyone in the school even before the teams presented their bid.

Lloyds also was a tough nut to crack. Here my team included Angel, Cesar and Fernando. We did a fair bit of job on building the presentation as I could extract some ideas from my Macquarie presentation. The other two teams were equally strong if not more. But I think what really clicked in our favor was the team dynamics we were able to pull out during our presentation to the Lloyds team. I led the presentation effort and it was a very good experience; before we ended, we knew that we had put across a very good effort and communicated all our ideas strongly to the panel. They called us after all the three presentations were over to tell us they want our team to work on the project. It was quick!

Now only a few more weeks of class room study is left. Or, its already over? with students already bunking most of the classes to explore job opportunities or just enjoy the Oxford experience. But yes, the assignments never seem to end. Somebody somehwere had told me that Trinity Term will be a walk in the park - it remains a distant dream, atleast for now.

Any case, I am already looking forward to the Lloyds consulting project. And yes, we may go punting sometime soon!

Oxford Cambridge Day

Sports is fun. And more so, when it is between arch rivals like India-Pakistan. Yesterday, it was Oxford-Cambridge. A day that began with a variety of sports and ended with music n masti.

Squash, soccer, touch-rugby, cricket, badminton, rowing. Oxford came on top except the last one. The domination continues and tradition lives for another year.

The weather was perfect for outdoor activities. We guys were looking forward to a win against Cambridge after our loss to St. Hughes couple of days ago. More so, as it would act as a good confidence booster ahead of our next Oxford inter-college match next week.

We lost the toss and Cambridge invited us to bat. What followed was absolute mockery of the new ball/old ball attack :) Murtaza, our star opener, punched boundary after boundary. As runs continued to flow from his blade, the team ended the innings at a very healthy 240 (20 overs) - Murtaza's contribution: 149 runs. Exhilarating.

It would always have been a difficult chase barring some outstanding performance from the opposition. And Adi took 2 wickets in his second over which forced them on the backfoot. We kept on maintaining the pressure right through and bowled them out in 12 overs for some 60 runs. It was absolute demolition. Some call it Murtaza v/s Cambridge - No doubt. My contribution - 2 catches, imp because catches win matches. Pics below.

Murtaza and Anuj - Openers going in

Murtaza in action

The brigade cheering the openers

Oxford XI

(Sitting: L-R) Rahul, myself, Chris, Anuj, Kartik

Standing (L-R) Satya, Andrew, Rushabh, Sumit, Murtaza, Adi

Another Team Pic

Red Cherry

Oxford and Cambridge XI

After the match

Cambridge guys in whites and light blues

Winners take it all

More pics - Enjoy!

Coming out of the Examination Hall - Hillary Term (Last Exam)

With Chris at the Oxford Castle (For the OM project)

Sunil and Satya - On way to Oxford History Museuem

At the Oxford Castle - Kids on a Tour

From Top of the Oxford Castle

Entrance of the Oxford Castle

With Deepak, Archit - At Andrea's bday party

Romain and his toylike kid

It was just too good

Archit, Xing, Angel (Anti-clockwise)

Archit, Esther

The party was at Templeton common room

With Saif - At the London eye

View from the bridge

In deep sleep

Another shot

Big Ben