Chennai Likes n Dislikes

Last weekend i.e from 1st Oct'10 to 6th Oct'10, I paid a short visit to my friends Sambit, Rajdeep, KK, Saumya, Amrita and Sid Das in Chennai... It was a fun weekend alright but I was actually smitten by Chennai and its greenery.

Here is my list of like n dislike for the city of Chennai...

Well the dislikes first...Actually not that many but still Chennai ain't perfect...(Sorry Chai but that's the fact)

1.] Lack of ice- a place which is known for its sweaty and humid conditions does not provide one of the basic commodities in its grocery shops. We roamed around the whole of Velachery to find ice but to no avail. Its definitely a business plan waiting to be explored...(Chai are u listening)

2.] Lack of quality and economical booze- The place where we were staying had only one liquor store in its vicinity and it provided only signature whiskey as a premium whiskey. Man Signature sucks especially without ice.

3.] Lack of eye candy- One criteria where Chennai lacks in comparison to other metros is in the paucity of good looking opposite sex. I didn't find a single good looking girl in my whole Chennai trip...Sorry for being a sexist here.

Now to the good part and there are many.

1.] Awesome roads- The roads is Chennai are 100 times better than what we have here in Mumbai. Traffic or no traffic at least the roads are ridable.

2.] Perfect setting for House party- The houses in which my friends were staying in Chennai were not only huge but well furnished too with Rajdeep's in particular a very wonderful place with a joint personal terrace. With the paucity of high rises in Chennai as of now the view is spectacular and the place can accommodate 20 people very easily. (Next to impossible thinking of having a house party for 20 in a house in Mumbai).

3.] Greenery- May be because I was staying away from the main city, that I felt that way about Chennai but it is still 100 times more greener than Mumbai. Plus the city also has its cover of greenery which is a rarity in Mumbai.

4.] Spacious trains and no crowd what so ever- The train which I caught from Velachery to Light house was actually bound to the Beach which was its last stop. No only were the trains spacious and clean but unlike Mumbai locals they were not at all crowded (according to Mumbai standards). The 23 minute trip from Velachery to Light house was a blissful journey where I saw the different colours of Chennai. (I was told later that that was one end of Chennai; so there is lot more to see and explore).

5,] Cheap South Indian food- Just like Mumbai is known for its sev puris, pani puris etc it was heaven to have dosas, medu wadas and Mysore filter coffee. A cheap and a wonderful cuisine.

6.] Long beautiful, clean and secluded beaches- Well the credit for showing me the beach in Chennai goes to Gokul (Kumi's engineering batchmate). The beach he took up to at 3 am in the night was not only beautiful, but it was pristine clean. We even found a dude you offered us a joint. What else could you ask for?

Here are a few pictures which for me symbolizes Chennai the way I like it...:)

Manila ---> Mumbai...Transition

It's been close to 2 weeks since I have got back to Mumbai after completing my MBA from AIM. In those 2 weeks I have rarely missed AIM as much as a few of my batch mates. They still can't believe that the honeymoon period is over and we are back in reality. May be since I am enjoying a short holiday before I start work again, my feeling differ from my peers. I am in a way now happy to be back in Mumbai, and be with my parents after a gap of 5 years.

However the memories of AIM, and Philippines will endure in conscience for years to come. It has been a life changing experience for me. An opportunity to learn in a new country, embrace a new culture and make new friends.

I guess when I look back in hindsight, there was so much more which I could have done and achieved in Manila & The Philippines. There were so many more places which I could have visited, so many more friends I could have made etc.

Now back to reality, in the busy city of Mumbai, and I am starting to find my feet all over again in the city which has been my home for 25 odd years. Its difficult to get used to life here in Mumbai after having had lived such a carefree life in Manila.

The last few days in Manila went off in a blur, without me having an idea whether it was night or day even though during the last week alcohol consumption was still very low by our own set standards.

The last pool party was worth remembering and thanks to Megha, the last of the cohort 4 junta can remember & savor the last pool party of batch 4 at AIM by watching it on VLC...

It has been a memorable experience...

Heart Break End to a Great Finale...

I had put my money on Netherlands at the start of the world cup itself and seeing them progress to the finals without losing a game was a wonderful and majestic feeling.

Holland have been one of the most exciting teams in Europe for years now, but due to the infighting in the team they have never been able to reach the lofty heights of success on the world stage.

On the other side of the equation were the "Golden Generation" of Spanish footballers who in the past 2-3 years had squashed every side in their path to the Euro-2008 championship.

The World Cup finals was as enthralling as any I have seen till date. It was more exciting since there were only 2 to 3 Dutch supporters in school against an army of Spanish renegades.

While viewing the finals in our small SSR t.v room, it seems like I was in a war zone, with the enemy waiting to slaughter me. Every action on the tele was accompanied by oohs and aahs from all around.

The game in itself was highly entertaining, with each team showcasing their strengths on the field. The Dutch midfield was resilient and organized and contained the Spanish mid field much better than the Germans.

The first half was punctuated with couple of easy scoring chances which were missed by Sergio Ramos, with 2 easy header.

The Dutch resorted to touch tackling and fouls in order to slow down the Spanish armada. They were successful to a large extend but had to offset the success with having more than half their team booked by the end of the 90 mins.

Robben and Sneider were the star performers for the Dutch in attack and the defence was well handled by Heintinga and Van De Weir.

The Spanish armada rolled as then had all through the tournament with Villa getting close to score on more than one occasion. the mid filed duo of Iniesta and Xavi kept creating sublime football in the middle of the park but the Dutch defence was at their their supreme best.

The 3 defining moments in the match for me were

1.] When Robben missed a simple chance to score in the 2nd half and his shot was well saved by Casillas. The ball by Sneider from mid field deserved a goal and Robben will be kicking himself for the rest of his life for the poor effort in front of goal.

2.] The save from Stekelenburg to keep out a Fabregas shot in the 2nd half of extra time was again a piece of brilliant keeping.

3.] The defining moment of the match was the red card to Dutch defender John Heitinga in the middle of the 2nd half of extra time which reduced Holland to 10 men.

Spain got the breathing place they wanted and as it seemed that the match would be heading for a repeat of World cup-2006 with the climax ending with penalties, in comes Iniesta with a goal in the 117th min of extra time. The man with the defining and all important cross being none other than "Fernando Torres" who till then had been a peripheral figure in the Spanish side in this WC.

It was a heart break to see Iniesta to score a goal so late in the game and the mad rush in the t.v room didn't help at all as all the Spanish supporters got together to hug each other as well as show their apathy towards the handful of Dutch supporters who were stunned to silence.

It was sheer joy to watch the final of the world cup with so many people and replicated the experience I had in 2006. However at that time I knew only a handful of the people around whereas this time, everyone present was known.

I still cannot believe that the Dutch lost the game and I can just imagine if I was feeling so bad after the game, how would the Dutch nations as well as the Dutch players feeling themselves.

I have been in the same situation myself when I was in engineering and lost the semis twice on penalties, but then I know that the experience just made me stronger. I guess the same goes with the Dutch squad.

I was the only one left in the T.V room after the final whistle and the presentation were done and I saw the last few minutes of the most magnificent world cup to date all on my own. The disappointment of defeat was balanced by a sumptuous breakfast at McDonald at 6 am in the morning and though I had class at 9.30 am, I chose to bury myself in the comfort of my bed.

Well for all my Spanish supporter friends...Congratulations...

You put your money on the right team...

South Africa 2010-You Beauty!!

South Africa-2010 was the greatest spectacle on Earth till date. Agreed the quality of football on display as well as the drama quotient was at a level lower than what we experienced in Germany-2006; however South Africa as a host nation;TAKE A BOW...

The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of international football and as such the tournament offers fans the unique experience of seeing so many stars performing at the highest level.

What an extravaganza!!! Everything about the tournament was perfect, right from the stadiums, to the organizers, to the crowd. The action on the pitch could have been better but still the tournament saw it's glimpses of extraordinary skill and supernatural performers with the likes of Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneider, David Villa, Meuller, Messi lighting up the stage at every given opportunity.

The stadiums for the tournament were indeed a piece of art as far as infrastructure is concerned. Not only were they state of art but the buzz around each stadium was an experience to cherish. South Africa came alive in all its colour and splendor; especially because of its people who were instrumental in making the tourney a huge success...

The Soccer World Cup provided South Africa the opportunity to show case to the world that they are no longer a third world country and are more than ready to step into the limelight.

The World Cup in itself was a wonderful sporting spectacle capturing audiences world wide. The action on the pitch was wavering in terms of quality and drama. However the strong showing of countries like Ghana, Paraguay and Uruguay brought the element of uncertainty to the fore.

However countries like England, Brazil, Argentina,France & Italy failed to live up to the pre-tournament hype.

The World Cup however did throw up some new soccer powerhouses who were traditionally known to be big tournament chokers. Spain and Netherlands did their reputation no harm and showcased their pedigree all through the duration of the tournament, establishing themselves as best 2 teams in the tournament.

In it's 80th year since the inception of the tournament in 1930; World Cup-2010 bought forth a new holder of the trophy in the form of Spain. Spain became the 8th nation to have won the most prestigious tournament in the world.

To conclude, as I said earlier, World Cup 2010 will be etched in my memory for a long time to come. The month long extravaganza has been one of the most memorable event in my 26 years of existence.

Cartoon Anyone...

In today's BEM class (BEM: - Brand Equity Management for the uninitiated), we were discussing about how brands are formed.

The discussion ranged from what are the do's & don't for brand formation, to the attributes and values which a brand name should symbolize.

During the class, we also discussed about the origins of some the world's most famous brands such as Rolex, McDonald's, Nike etc.

The most insightful learning from the session was the reason behind why cartoon characters have large heads with respect to their body size. any ideas why????

Well the logic behind the whole thing as stated by our prof was that since cartoon characters were catering to the target segment of children above 3 to 12, the characters had larger heads since the children also had larger heads w.r.t to their body size when they are young.

Hence the cartoon characters were replicating the physical form of their target segment...i.e children between age 3-12...Funny isn't it...

So next time you find yourself watching mickey mouse or tom & jerry on cartoon network, sit back and think for a minute about how much thought and strategy has gone into making the characters of your beloved cartoon shows.

Test of Patience...

Monday, 17th May 2010 will have to go down as one of the most frustrating days of my life yet. The last month and a half has been nothing but useless in terms of work experience, or any experience for that matter. I started my summers at HUL on 5th April'2010 thinking that in the next 8 weeks I'll learn a lot, execute a lot and achieve a lot in terms of my individual development.

Well the only thing which I have learnt over the course of my internship has been the art of being "patient".

On Monday I arrived at office and my desk at exactly 9.30 am hopeing to meet up with my bosses and to discuss the status of my project which appears to be in tatters. I waited the whole day for my divisional head in order to brief him. The wait ended at 21.30 in the evening when my brand manager informed me that the meeting looked bleak for today and I should try my luck again tomorrow.

Can you believe that? Waiting 12 hours in office doing nothing but waiting for your boss in order to just meet him for 5-10 mins. Utter nonsense I say...

I have no respect for those who don't have respect for other people's time.

Well, there is more to this dreadful day that this. I reached home by 10 pm completed exhauted & frustrated. However my day was just going from bad to worse. As soon as I reached home, my moom started with her usual banter which I had no inclination to hear at that moment. She just over did her bit and I completed lost it...Period...

I guess at the end of the day, I come out on the losing side as far as testing my patience was concerned.

How Ironic Part II

Well it seems it was a week of ironies for me. On Friday, at work as I was browsing through facebook (yeah that's a part of my J.D here at HUL), I came across a status message of one of my friend from engineering college.The guy has been in the U.S for the past 3 years and I hadn't communicated with him since then. I was very tempted to reply to his status message but decided against it in the end.
Well to my utter amazement I met the same guy, in the evening when I was on my way to Sambit's place to have a few rounds of beer.
The expression on my face said it all...It seemed as if I had seen a ghost...Well how ironic is that!!
Anyways this friend of mine is in Mumbai for a few months now & when I met him he was also on his way to grab a few drinks with his friends near Dadar...Hahaha...
Well isn't it funny that the status message which started this whole thing was the following: -
" Mixing drinks is never a good idea"...LoL