I was watching a movie on T.V till late last night. The movie in question was "Iron Man " an action thriller. I was just remembering the time when I had seen the movie in the theater a few years back. However during one of the commercial breaks in between the movie as I was channel surfing, I was thinking in my mind about a hindi song which I hadn't seen for 8-9 years. The song in question was " Zanam Samjaa Karo" from the movie of the same title. I think the movie released sometime in May 1999 and I hadn't heard the song or seen the movie on T.V since then...That's 11 years back. Well to my surprise as I was channel surfing, I chanced upon the movie on one of the hindi movie channels and that's not all; with in minutes the song in my mind was playing on the screen...Talk about wishful thinking coming true.
However, it's sometime nice when something which is very insignificant in the larger schemes of things comes true even though you could easily do without it.
Well of all my wishes in the wish list God decided to grant me this one. Thank you God...!! It was worth its weight in gold in the circumstances
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
First Week Back in Mumbai...
It feels so good to be back home…Back to my roots, back to my friends and family.
The last one week has gone in a blur. Everyday there is something or the other happening. So if one day I was busy getting my license at R.T.O, the same evening I found myself sitting at Sambit’s terrace having Chivas Regal. In between I have managed to play cricket & carom with my engineering friends too. The first venue was Sanket’s place where we tried our hand at both cricket and carom and then on the weekend it was Matka’s place.
It was fun catching the Man Utd and Chelsea match at a sports bar… (More details on the same in my previous blog entry)
In between all this I have also managed 3 trips in a span of 7 days to the now rechristened “Zeus Fanoos” to have hukka with friends. Reliving old times. Well it seems nothing has really changed here in Mumbai, but at the same time my life has changed a lot since I left the shores 11 months back.
The last week has also been good in terms of catching up with people who are back from the States for a while. I met up with Ruchi, Aditi and Aarti in the past 2 days too.
Well the only thing which I hadn’t been able to do yet in my first week was play squash at the club. I did manage a practise session with my coach but until yesterday I hadn’t played a game of squash for exactly 11 months now. Well my this wish was also fulfilled yesterday when I had the chance to lock horns with Mandar at the club yesterday. Though I was comprehensively beaten it was fun to be back at the court. We celebrated the game by having a couple of beers afterwards. Even Manpreet had come for a game after a long time. So it was kind of a reunion of sorts.
The first week of my short Mumbai trip has gone better than expected and as I enter my second week here; my internship at HUL is just about picking up steam. I guess from tomorrow all my time and effort will go into doing the project at HUL well in order to get a PPO. Anyways I am sure I’ll survive since the after work scenario now is much better and I have friends to catch up with every evening and play squash which is a welcome relief…
The last one week has gone in a blur. Everyday there is something or the other happening. So if one day I was busy getting my license at R.T.O, the same evening I found myself sitting at Sambit’s terrace having Chivas Regal. In between I have managed to play cricket & carom with my engineering friends too. The first venue was Sanket’s place where we tried our hand at both cricket and carom and then on the weekend it was Matka’s place.
It was fun catching the Man Utd and Chelsea match at a sports bar… (More details on the same in my previous blog entry)
In between all this I have also managed 3 trips in a span of 7 days to the now rechristened “Zeus Fanoos” to have hukka with friends. Reliving old times. Well it seems nothing has really changed here in Mumbai, but at the same time my life has changed a lot since I left the shores 11 months back.
The last week has also been good in terms of catching up with people who are back from the States for a while. I met up with Ruchi, Aditi and Aarti in the past 2 days too.
Well the only thing which I hadn’t been able to do yet in my first week was play squash at the club. I did manage a practise session with my coach but until yesterday I hadn’t played a game of squash for exactly 11 months now. Well my this wish was also fulfilled yesterday when I had the chance to lock horns with Mandar at the club yesterday. Though I was comprehensively beaten it was fun to be back at the court. We celebrated the game by having a couple of beers afterwards. Even Manpreet had come for a game after a long time. So it was kind of a reunion of sorts.
The first week of my short Mumbai trip has gone better than expected and as I enter my second week here; my internship at HUL is just about picking up steam. I guess from tomorrow all my time and effort will go into doing the project at HUL well in order to get a PPO. Anyways I am sure I’ll survive since the after work scenario now is much better and I have friends to catch up with every evening and play squash which is a welcome relief…
Sports Bar experience in Mumbai
Venue: - Gamley’s, Phoenix Mills (Lower Parel)
Occasion: - Manchester United vs. Chelsea (EPL)
The experience of watching a football match at a sports bar far outweighs the experience of watching the same sporting spectacle at home.
The atmosphere in a sports bar is electrifying and watching the action as it unfolds on the big screen surrounded by fellow lovers of the game is just not the same as watching the game all by yourself in the comfort of your living room.
Well my first experience of watching a football match in India with friends at a sports bar, sadly fell a bit below expectations.
One of the reasons could be that I was comparing the experience at “Bowling Co” Phoenix Mills to the experiences I have had at “Heckles & Jeckles” in Manila.
Let’s dissect my experience piece by piece in order to fill up the puzzle.
First the good stuff…
The décor of the place was good and fitted the image of a sports bar quite well.
The cover charge for the game was Rs 700 per head (i.e. min expenditure of Rs. 700 per person was mandatory) which was quite acceptable given that the match being screened was between Manchester United & Chelsea (End of the season top 2 clash).
The menu was had enough varieties for both veggies and non veggies to keep the stomach happy.
The bar also provided with free tit bits during the entire duration of the match. Hence we had something to nib into all through the match.
The bad stuff…
The most depressing part of the place was the lack of understanding & homework on the part of the bar owners. They started showing the match just a few seconds before kick off. Hence the pre match reports and team news was missed in the process. By doing this the owners missed a trick since by getting the patrons involved early in to the game by broadcasting the pre match show would not only have increased the consumption of beer and food but also made the patrons more comfortable & involved. Since they started showing the game just before kick off, the anxiety and irritation was very much visible amongst the sports enthusiast who had come to watch the football match. I guess the saving grace for the owners was that the IPL match between CSK & RR was already showing on the numerous small screens.
Next, the picture quality and the sound quality of the big screening had much to be desired. I spent watching most of the match on the smaller LCD screen since it was much brighter and clearer.
The sitting was a bit to cramp to my liking but it is the case in most sports bar when you are watching a highly anticipated clash between table toppers.
The service was also not that great (May be I am influenced by the service provided by “Heckles & Jeckles” which is an all woman workforce compared to CO’s which had only male workforce). Well on a serious note the whole experience could have been better if the crew at the place was well informed. For e.g. During a pivotal moment of the match when there was a penalty appeal by Park for Manchester United, the waiter comes right in front of me and starts pouring beer and in the process I missed the part on the big screen. He did get a firing and we asked him to keep the beer pitcher and go.
All in all the experience was good even though the team I was supporting suffered a disappointing loss. As a marketer I see a lot of potential and improvement in this aspect of sports entertainment.
The dearth of good sports bar in the city is a wonderful opportunity worth exploring. Given that India is on a growth spree both in terms of economical growth as well as population the prospects of having sports bar though a costly affair is one worth venturing into.
My rating for Gamley’s on a scale of 1 to 5 would be 2.5… The ambience and location scored good points but the service and the overall experience was missing something.
Occasion: - Manchester United vs. Chelsea (EPL)
The experience of watching a football match at a sports bar far outweighs the experience of watching the same sporting spectacle at home.
The atmosphere in a sports bar is electrifying and watching the action as it unfolds on the big screen surrounded by fellow lovers of the game is just not the same as watching the game all by yourself in the comfort of your living room.
Well my first experience of watching a football match in India with friends at a sports bar, sadly fell a bit below expectations.
One of the reasons could be that I was comparing the experience at “Bowling Co” Phoenix Mills to the experiences I have had at “Heckles & Jeckles” in Manila.
Let’s dissect my experience piece by piece in order to fill up the puzzle.
First the good stuff…
The décor of the place was good and fitted the image of a sports bar quite well.
The cover charge for the game was Rs 700 per head (i.e. min expenditure of Rs. 700 per person was mandatory) which was quite acceptable given that the match being screened was between Manchester United & Chelsea (End of the season top 2 clash).
The menu was had enough varieties for both veggies and non veggies to keep the stomach happy.
The bar also provided with free tit bits during the entire duration of the match. Hence we had something to nib into all through the match.
The bad stuff…
The most depressing part of the place was the lack of understanding & homework on the part of the bar owners. They started showing the match just a few seconds before kick off. Hence the pre match reports and team news was missed in the process. By doing this the owners missed a trick since by getting the patrons involved early in to the game by broadcasting the pre match show would not only have increased the consumption of beer and food but also made the patrons more comfortable & involved. Since they started showing the game just before kick off, the anxiety and irritation was very much visible amongst the sports enthusiast who had come to watch the football match. I guess the saving grace for the owners was that the IPL match between CSK & RR was already showing on the numerous small screens.
Next, the picture quality and the sound quality of the big screening had much to be desired. I spent watching most of the match on the smaller LCD screen since it was much brighter and clearer.
The sitting was a bit to cramp to my liking but it is the case in most sports bar when you are watching a highly anticipated clash between table toppers.
The service was also not that great (May be I am influenced by the service provided by “Heckles & Jeckles” which is an all woman workforce compared to CO’s which had only male workforce). Well on a serious note the whole experience could have been better if the crew at the place was well informed. For e.g. During a pivotal moment of the match when there was a penalty appeal by Park for Manchester United, the waiter comes right in front of me and starts pouring beer and in the process I missed the part on the big screen. He did get a firing and we asked him to keep the beer pitcher and go.
All in all the experience was good even though the team I was supporting suffered a disappointing loss. As a marketer I see a lot of potential and improvement in this aspect of sports entertainment.
The dearth of good sports bar in the city is a wonderful opportunity worth exploring. Given that India is on a growth spree both in terms of economical growth as well as population the prospects of having sports bar though a costly affair is one worth venturing into.
My rating for Gamley’s on a scale of 1 to 5 would be 2.5… The ambience and location scored good points but the service and the overall experience was missing something.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mumbai Calling!
In less than 24 hours I'll be embarking on my trip back to India and aamchi Mumbai!! 11 months since I left the shores of India to come to the Philippines and start a new chapter of my life...Well in the truest terms it has been a new beginning.
Pursuing an MBA had been a long cherished dream which is seeing the light of the day.Along the way in the last 11 months I have made some wonderful friends, taken some harsh but really required decisions and partied like crazy...
I have fallen in my own eyes in more than one occasion but the past 11 months have taught me some really important lessons which I would do well to remember in life.
It has been a wonderful 11 months which has taught me more about life than the 26 years which I have spent on the face of this earth.
I just can't wait to get back to Mumbai and indulge myself to the simple things in life such as a vada pao by the road side stall, or a walk through Lokandwala or just roam around school all by myself.
Well here's to Mumbai...Mumbai here I come...
Pursuing an MBA had been a long cherished dream which is seeing the light of the day.Along the way in the last 11 months I have made some wonderful friends, taken some harsh but really required decisions and partied like crazy...
I have fallen in my own eyes in more than one occasion but the past 11 months have taught me some really important lessons which I would do well to remember in life.
- Life is ever changing.Don't fight it.
- Time is the most precious.You will never know when you will run out of time.So enjoy it.
- Respect the feeling of others.
- Freedom of expression is a must.
- Relationships are important but there is more to it in life.
- Anger management is the most important virtue I can ever develop.
It has been a wonderful 11 months which has taught me more about life than the 26 years which I have spent on the face of this earth.
I just can't wait to get back to Mumbai and indulge myself to the simple things in life such as a vada pao by the road side stall, or a walk through Lokandwala or just roam around school all by myself.
Well here's to Mumbai...Mumbai here I come...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Term 3 comes to an end...
What a whirlwind week I have had...This term just disappeared in front of my eyes. Can't believe that 10 weeks went by so quickly.I am almost done with my MBA.WOW!!!
The term started on 11th January'01 and though it was one of the shortest terms, I can't believe that it's all over.
I started this term completed rejuvenated from my trips to Banaue, Sagada and Boracay and was optimism personified as the term began.
All my personal problems seem to have been sorted and I was content with myself willing to take on the whole world.
One of the milestones which I set myself for this term was to try my very best to get into the so called "Deal List" for term 3. Hahaha....wishful thinking I say...
Well that plan fizzed out with in a week or so but I enjoyed every bit of the term and for once absorbed a lot of knowledge and wonderful take aways from the last 10 weeks.
I can actually be proud of the fact that in 2 of the electives I ended up with 100% attendance which is in itself a great achievement.
Also for the first time in my life I made a power point presentation all by myself making use of all the tit bits offered by office 2007.It sounds childish but I loved every moment of making it...
The term ended on a bitter/sweet note with the MR finals.A completely qualitative paper to decide whether I pass the subject or not.I had so much high hopes with the elective which actually stands for "Marketing Research" but it was taught by the worst professor that I have come across in my life as a student yet...
But the exam also bought back memories of engineering days where whenever we were not prepared for a exam or something we used to just write our name and leave.Well I took that practice on step further.Not only did I write gas on the whole paper but I actually started during the paper loudly and got the others to join me.Completely insane I tell you.Well I am sure to flunk that subject. Only God can help me get pass this one.
The end of the term was celebrated in true AIM fashion with a bash by the poolside and for once I saw all my classmates chilling and getting drunk together.What an experience.
It has been a good term overall...
Now MUMBAI... Here I come...
The term started on 11th January'01 and though it was one of the shortest terms, I can't believe that it's all over.
I started this term completed rejuvenated from my trips to Banaue, Sagada and Boracay and was optimism personified as the term began.
All my personal problems seem to have been sorted and I was content with myself willing to take on the whole world.
One of the milestones which I set myself for this term was to try my very best to get into the so called "Deal List" for term 3. Hahaha....wishful thinking I say...
Well that plan fizzed out with in a week or so but I enjoyed every bit of the term and for once absorbed a lot of knowledge and wonderful take aways from the last 10 weeks.
I can actually be proud of the fact that in 2 of the electives I ended up with 100% attendance which is in itself a great achievement.
Also for the first time in my life I made a power point presentation all by myself making use of all the tit bits offered by office 2007.It sounds childish but I loved every moment of making it...
The term ended on a bitter/sweet note with the MR finals.A completely qualitative paper to decide whether I pass the subject or not.I had so much high hopes with the elective which actually stands for "Marketing Research" but it was taught by the worst professor that I have come across in my life as a student yet...
But the exam also bought back memories of engineering days where whenever we were not prepared for a exam or something we used to just write our name and leave.Well I took that practice on step further.Not only did I write gas on the whole paper but I actually started during the paper loudly and got the others to join me.Completely insane I tell you.Well I am sure to flunk that subject. Only God can help me get pass this one.
The end of the term was celebrated in true AIM fashion with a bash by the poolside and for once I saw all my classmates chilling and getting drunk together.What an experience.
It has been a good term overall...
Now MUMBAI... Here I come...
Lateral Thinking...
I haven't cried since a long time but tonight I feel lonely.Not that I am alone but for once I feel like the whole world is against me.It has been a while since I felt like that n I thought I am strong enough to fight it but I was wrong. I really believe in what goes around comes around.
It has been since the start of the year that I have gone against norm and held my own against actual practice but tonight has triggered the worst in me.I don't care about anyone esle anymore.It has to be about me n my family from now.
I have had enough taking care of everyone.The end is here.It's now my choice and thought I have made my decision it doesn't matter anymore.
I have decided.Whatever I do I'll do for my own well being.I am done thinking about people.Ihave had enough on the back seat.It's my time and I am going to utilize it to my best advantage.
It's my life n I am gonna live it my way.
Mumbai here I come...
It has been since the start of the year that I have gone against norm and held my own against actual practice but tonight has triggered the worst in me.I don't care about anyone esle anymore.It has to be about me n my family from now.
I have had enough taking care of everyone.The end is here.It's now my choice and thought I have made my decision it doesn't matter anymore.
I have decided.Whatever I do I'll do for my own well being.I am done thinking about people.Ihave had enough on the back seat.It's my time and I am going to utilize it to my best advantage.
It's my life n I am gonna live it my way.
Mumbai here I come...
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