The Final Poem

This year at INSEAD has finally come to an end. Seems rather strange actually. There is a finality to the events of this week as though every dinner comes with a "Last Dinner with..." tagline.
This past week has been about maximising opportunities and partying like crazy.
I have seldom partied this frequently and this hard and yet it all feels natural, like this is what needs to be done and that this will bring closure to the year and end it with the bang that it deserves.

This week has also seen my final INSEAD poem go out. This poetry business is something that started out small and was written purely for my own benefit. I have been drowned in comments since this final poem went out to my class and it feels very special that something that I write for myself and to convey some of my thoughts and feelings can strike a chord with so many.
There have been shout-outs from a few that I should do the graduation speech and while I have volunteered to do so, I can only say that if I were asked, it would be terrific.

So here's the final INSEAD poem... and because it aims to summarise the entire year, its the longest of the lot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This final poem was written with mixed feelings of relief, because these end-of-P poems had gotten longer and harder to write, and regret because it signifies the end of what has been a fascinating year.
To all of you fellow travelers who’ve been with me on this year-long road, Thank you for the good times. It has been more than just a little fun and quite a distinct pleasure.

This poem goes out to all those hot cups of tea I was offered even if it was 1am, to the only occasion I ever drove an automobile in Fontainebleau, to badly sung songs and karaoke sessions around a winter fireplace, to shooting stars on a dark and deserted forest road, to rainy day soccer on the NUS field, to an Indian INSEAD wedding, to a memorable group Valentine's night dinner in Singapore...

This poem is dedicated to all of my INSEAD memories and asks a simple question, what are yours?


Sights, Sounds, Thoughts, Memories - Summarizing the INSEAD year

This poem is about our singular year
'Bout what we'll look back at and miss
Its also about all of the little things
That make it what it truly is

'Bout the many adventures, the dire straits
'Bout the long and winding road
'Bout those who walked this road with us
And shared some of the load

'Bout looking back at where it began
And now how far we've come
'Bout slowly retracing our steps
And doing the final sum

All this started over a year ago
With the arrival of a mail
"Congratulations", it had said, in short
And thus, we had set sail

So we left homes and comfort zones
And excitedly packed our things
Trusting logic or in some cases, gut feel
To see what the future brings

We came with expectations high
Hoped for experiences new
And hoped that at the year's end
There'd be a different world in view

We hoped for some new sights and sounds
For new travelers along the way
Or for some quiet time to compose thoughts
Before re-entering the fray

I've tried, as we've gone through this year,
To capture how things came to be
And picked a single theme to represent
The essence of every P

I could sum up P5 as I've done before
With a poem with just one theme
But this year is more than just 5 defining moments
Its about so much more in between

And so I'll turn the heat up
Under these memories instead
And get a bunch of them to pop
Like corn kernels in your head

If I told you the b-school days were fun
Would you readily concur?
Will you recall this year, have a silent chuckle
Or will these days be a blur?

Remember introductions at Outward Bound?
Remember your first champagne fine?
Remember classroom shenanigans?
Remember the glasses of wine?

Remember asking questions for class participation?
Or nodding off in post lunch sessions?
Do you remember the Welcome week
and other strange, unique traditions?

Will you remember the decadence of post P parties?
Waking the next day with a groan?
Or being slumped in a dimly lit break-out room
Working late, awake and alone?

Remember the sun reflecting off chateau roofs?
Or the pristine shores and sparkling beach?
Will you remember beautiful faces on campus
Or someone who was just out of reach?

Remember the ridiculous amount of traveling
When INSEAD resembled Club Med?
Do you remember the 8:30am classes?
Wishing for an extra hour in bed?

Will you recall the sound of the cafeteria buzz?
Between classes students rushing along
Will you recall the sound of 300 souls
Singing the same favorite campus song?

Remember the exam invigilators
Reading out those instructions curt?
Will you remember 100 voices in unison
Demanding that you "rip that shirt"?

Remember the murmur from the back rows
As yet another classmate falls asleep?
Do you remember the sounds of a camera shutter
Catching someone counting sheep?

So what are your most cherished memories?
Are the year's precious moments clear to you?
Or have you been focussed on other happenings
And on simply getting through?

With this year now being finally done
What is it that you truly feel?
Have your thoughts, hopes or ideas changed?
Are your dreams unattained or unreal?

What has this year done to your psyche?
it really changed you that much?
Have you become infinitely business like?
Or gained that extra human touch?

Do you understand other people better?
Do your own opinions matter less?
Does working with culturally different folk
Give a different definition of success?

Have you learnt to choose between choices?
Do you to procrastination tend?
Knowing you have just the final decisions
Before this school year comes to an end

Does a state of conflict stress you out
Or have you truly seen it all?
Have you experienced life's ebbs and flows?
Has this year shown you both rise and fall?

This year is ultimately about an experience
Unlike little we have previously known
And its based on what you take away from it
That you make it all your own

This year at times has divided the class
This year at most times has bound
Another year that runs a similar course
May hardly ever be found

After all has been said and done
It is time for an answer true
If asked if they had regrets about this year
Some would say they had none, could you?

Could a single answer encompass this year?
Could the emotions truly be caught?
Can this chapter ever be fully closed?
Can these memories be forgot?

On your journey through your professional life
After a work day when you unwind
When you seek some lightness and sudden comfort
May the days from this year come to mind

As the poem and this year finally draws to a close
There's just one thing left to be said
Irrespective of where you go from here
May you all have a great life ahead.

Back to Life

After a loooong gap, my photo gallery at PBase is now back to life following a tiny online cash outflow. Needless to say, it feels pretty good.

All the photos from my holidays to Annecy, Brittany, Brugge, in and around Fontainebleau, Paris and even next week's proposed trip to Spain can now all be uploaded.

You can of course check it out here, leave comments etc.
You know the drill.

Change of Heart

Consider that home is where the heart is, what would you say if I shifted apartment?
To reduce exposure to the increasing winter, I shifted closer to campus and to a place of my own.
The reasons are twofold. Firstly, the walk to campus now takes about 8-10 mins as opposed to 25 mins earlier and with the folks visiting for graduation, it makes sense that I have a place of my own that is suitable enough to host them. It is a prospect of home cooked food that also partly inspired this move.

Have been in this new place about a couple of weeks and yes, its comfy and convenient. Photos follow.
Please, no comments about the colour of drapes, bed-linen and wallpaper. None of it was my idea.








Considering how functional the apartment is and how well-stocked in groceries I plan to have it when my folks visit, I'm guessing it will be easy to convince my mom to cook up some nice food. Can't wait. There's only so long that one can live off Bangladeshi take-out.

The Break and After

I finally got some traveling done out here. In the past I have tended to prioritise other activities, such as coursework, job hunting a lot higher than just easing back, taking a break from the academic year and just looking around but this past period was a little too stressful and therefore two trips have been made in the last 10 days though both have been within the confines of France.

Still, Annecy is a quaint little village on the Swiss border (30min from Geneva) and Brittany is a coastal town about a 6 hour drive away from Fontainebleau. Having company on travels is always pleasant and having had Gayatri, Nicolas and Florence with me on trip1 and 18 other batchmates and partners with me on trip2, it has been a tremendous past 10 days.

Photos follow... but just 5 this time.

During the break I also managed to shift apartment and attend three job interviews, but that will have to be a topic for another post.

Update: Can't get the bloody photos to upload. Can't imagine what the problem is...











Update2: Photo-upload works again. Hooray.
Update3: and video upload works too...

This is what happens when a bunch of b-school students invade a quiet little carousel in Brittany.

More B-School Poetry

Time sure goes fast. Only another two months remain in the MBA programme. Another period has ended and that means it is time for another poem.
Each end-of-period poem usually has a theme to it. This one is about the job search.
Without further ado, here it is.


Discussing P4's Big Question

When the days get short and the nights get cold
Will you wonder about what's in store?
Will you turn on the heater, huddle in the sheets
Will you reflect upon P4?

Bear with me while I ruminate
Give me some moments of your time
While I follow my regular end-of-P tradition
And sum up the P in rhyme

A major question has arisen this P
It has spread, yes, it surrounds
Without the answer, without a way out
We seem to simply run aground

Classes seem incidental, a matter of course
There's only one thing that we see
And when we greet old long lost friends
We ask them, 'Got a j-o-b?'

Tension has a death grip upon our mind
'Wasn't b-school supposed to be fun?'
And when we get a 2nd round interview call
We anxiously wonder, 'Is this the ONE?'

Do you even notice rare days of glorious sun?
Did you realize that 8 weeks have slipped by?
Do you understand that you can't have all
This time back even if you try?

At the end of the year what will you remember?
Will it be the good moments of the year?
Or will be it the moments of desperate search
Or an interview eve spent in fear?

Will you remember your time spent with friends?
Or your moments in the pack?
Or will you think about the rejection letters
From Bain or from big McK?

Do you think that's a true measure of your worth?
Is that what really counts?
Will a pay hike then cause an increase
In your worth's amounts?

When someone asks you, "How was b-school?"
Just what will you say?
Will you say, "Oh. Yeah. It was really great.
My job pays 100K."?

A job is certainly really important
You may have to pay off a loan
But you can only control some circumstances
And have to leave others on their own

You may have had an initial vision
Getting a job of which you dream
Gaining riches unprecedented
Achievements on your own steam

Will you remember that dreams are important?
Can you, with bumps in the road, still believe?
That Dreams are present to make it even sweeter
When it is that you achieve

Can you keep the faith, draw support from friends?
If you don't have a job, can you smile?
Atleast on weekends can you let stress dissipate
And just relax for a little while?

This is a network that will last you years
So treasure the moments, the small happenings
Try to dismiss disappointments with a round of beer
And thus, with friends, celebrate your 'dings'

Celebrate also others' job successes
Make sure you wish them well
The weather changes so quickly here
That you'll soon see your own sunny spell

What about you who already have a job?
What do you feel, on the whole?
Are you glad to be out of this stressful rat race?
And do relief waves flood your soul?

Feel no guilt in the fact that your job hunt is done
You deserve your every success
Just bcos there are others who are still in the hunt
Doesn't make your success any less

After all we're a gang who is in it together
We're part of one disparate group
There's no way that a chaotic recruiting season
Could cause dissention within the troupe

There is often genuine pleasure in another's success
It feels like victory in a mini-war
And for perspective when a stubborn recruiter rejects
Isn't that what this great gang is for?

So remember the parties, the times of fun
Don't hold on to moments of pain
Write a journal, at the least take photographs
This will soon be your memory lane

Recall P1s stumbling through welcome week
Or P2 when we hardly slept a wink
There's so much of P3 that you'll recall
If you just stop to think

Run your fingers over your class photographs
Recall the details of these days
If you had to remember your b-school life
Shouldn't this be the appropriate way?

To those of us leaving Fonty's borders
I bid you a thunderous 'bye'
And wish you safe passage with a sailor's toast
'May you always see clear blue sky'

To all of you, I wish you all possible luck
May you have endless heart to strive
And may the force be always with you
In these, the glorious days of our lives

Of Metamorphoses and the Job Search

Another post of observations. One would think, going by my posts, that an MBA is rarely about action but I'm a young guy with much to learn and a whole bunch of what I'm getting out of this year is simply by observing, studying others and just seeing how various people react to different situations.

It isn't a stretch to say that different people react differently to different situations but having that difference so clearly illustrated by observable actions, enhances the impact of the observation.

Job search at my b-school is an incredibly tough, stressful time. Statistics indicate that 75% of people find a job upto within 3 months of finishing the program through campus placements and other allied services. Nobody wants to be in that other 25%. It is a time of intense competition, rivalries, perceived face-offs and one-upmanship.

It is also a time of inflated egos when a single rejection can cause people to denounce humankind and question the intelligence and abilities of others, especially those who've been selected. It is a time when egos can be massaged with the poor performance of others and satisfaction derived from others' pitfalls. It is a time when innocent questions come fully-loaded and hidden meanings are inferred from simple answers.

It is a time when people have to make a decision to either focus solely on the job search and well, self-interests or to chip in with group assignments and coursework and do as much of both as is humanly possibly until the sleep deprivation proves to be too much. It is a time when free-riders roam free.
It is a time that not everyone deals with well.
It is also therefore a time where you know who the really great and genuine people are and your appreciation for these people increases multi-fold.

There is a question at the end of this.
What tells us more about someone's personality? Reactions during stress, trouble and adverse situations or those on a normal day when there is far less at stake?
Do intense moments bring out true personalities or the worst in people?
Should some people be reassessed and their actions examined in a different light?

I'm not sure. What does it mean when some people seem to metamorphize overnight, however temporarily? Is this the 'changing' part of the Life-Changing aspect of an MBA?

I'm not sure what the answer is. I'm not sure if there is just one answer.
However I'm observing and I'm recording.
And yes, I'm definitely learning.

I recommend...

That you watch 'Omkara'.


The movie is really good and the acting, Saif in particular being bloody brilliant, is excellent.
I won't review the film in detail since there are far superior reviews out there, like this one.

However, I will say that the UP(?) dialect of Hindi had me groping on occasion and though I always got the gist of what people were saying, I would certainly had enjoyed it more had I understood exactly what each dialogue snippet meant.

Secondly, the supporting characters performed much better than the leads with Saif and Konkona Sen Sharma stealing the movie from under the leads' noses. You end up investing less in the main drama playing out in the movie when the supporting characters hook you more. If Bhardwaj is the kind of director it takes to have Saif performing like this, man, lets have more of him.

Thirdly (and this may link to my first gripe) I didn't follow some of the motivations behind the initial theft of the cummerbund that forms an essential part of the movie. I didn't quite get why Langda Tyagi's wife helps out in that regard.
Was it explained in the scene after? Was it not?

All things considered, just go see the film. See it twice. Take your friends. Even the music, which is wonderful, is so entrenched in the movie (except for one song, 'Namak') and the atmosphere that you don't feel the running length, don't look at your watch or wish for a remote control with a fast forward button.

Random Sights, Sound Bytes

This is going to be a crazy few days. Have a couple of interviews coming up.
It just seems like the entire MBA thus far has been a dress rehearsal, a dry run, a light scrimmage, a warm-up game, a shadow box for the events of the week.

Interviews coming up within the next few days for a Marketing position, based in Asia, for an International Bank and a UK based position for a top Consulting firm. This, as they say, is what its all about.
Seems strange that despite all the fun, work and 'education' of the last 10 months, if I don't end up with a job, it'd all seem pointless, which is far from the truth.

The last 10 months have been some of the most memorable of my life and I shouldn't let the job search affect me so much. In truth though, the prospect of being jobless post-December is a little too daunting to comprehend and contemplate at this point. Maybe if I don't think about it, the possibility will just go away, like Boogeymen in Calvin's mind and sunshine in Fontainebleau.

Its getting very cold very quick here and today I inaugurated the heavy artillery winter clothing. For a while I thought I looked like I'd be more at home in a Siberian Dacha but then came across a few locals similarly attired and instantly felt warmer.
Now that I'm onto fashion trends, I definitely need to know what the deal is with all these women wearing shin-length boots? Methinks its the latest fashion trend. Practically every woman on campus is wearing 'em though some wear them tucked inside their pants / jeans. Strange.

Speaking of Consultants, they're all over town, with all hotels completely booked up this recruiting season. There's a spate of interviews scheduled for the remainder of the month and most of the suit attired people you see walking the streets turn out to be prospective interviewers.

I passed a bunch of these people, walking in twos, as I walked past them on my way home last night. Caught snatches of conversation which included, "Round table conference", "We had to fire all of our people", "Recruiting for the London Office", "late for the client meeting". Seemed like they were returning back to their hotel after dinner and I couldn't believe that even a single group wasn't talking shop.
I think that's a sign.

From now on its no-nonsense, pure-business.
Wasted enough time. End of post.

Ricky Fitts' Dilemna

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, like my heart is going to cave in.

Its been a while since I've been overwhelmed by the physical beauty of a city. Normally what hits me about a city is how convenient it is to live there or how great or crap the weather is or how many grocery stores and movie theatres I'd find in a 5 mile radius of where I stay.
Paris is... different.

Its rare that I can walk around in a city, turn a corner and say "Whoa. So here it is."
Last Thursday I was in Paris to get my UK Visa from their embassy and found myself with about about an hour to kill. I found myself in Madeleine, aimlessly wandering around, walking the streets.

Within 20 minutes of walking around, I had found L'Eglise de la Madeleine, the Headquarters of the FIA in the Place da la Concorde, Cleopatra's Needle, my first view along the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, Jardins des Tuileries and at the end of which is the Musée du Louvre.
Omnipresent throughout was the towering La Tour Eiffel.

I could have honestly walked around there forever but the shock of seeing so many recognizable symbols in such a short time was a little overwhelming. I wandered about with dropped jaw for quite a while.
That walk... it was something else.

To capture the magic of that little interlude, this blog is a rather poor excuse but like Ricky Fitts in this movie, I need to remember.

Finally, pictures of Home

After several requests, I have finally taken pictures of my IKEA upholstered home.
I wish I'd taken these photos earlier. I've been living there a little over a month and the place is considerably dirtier than when I first moved in.
Nevertheless, here it is... for better or worse.


The front gate from inside



From the gate to the front door



The kitchenette, as soon as you enter on the right



Straight ahead, the miniature tv, wall hangings and table top vases all IKEA


And that's my room with the pigeonhole storage space, which I quite like


My bed, which at the best of times is a mess



The rectangular bathroom. Remember to walk in sideways



The window facing the front gate and the street



Finally, a photo of my bike

Wet Weather Skills... and other things

The regular readers (both of them) of this blog may be aware that a little while ago a cycle was purchased to enable me to get to campus on time at least once in a while.
And until I get myself a car, this bicycle will have to get me to campus through rain and shine and in weather fair and foul.

In a way its a good thing. It gets me exercise that I wouldn't normally get and for that I shall remain grateful.

However when its 2am and when its pouring down and when you have to escort women home and when you have an 8:30am class the next day for which you really need the bike, even when its the last thing you want to do, you HAVE to cycle home.

Cycling home this one past night involved hoisting my backpack over my shoulders, shielding my ears using the windcheater hood and using my right hand to hold onto an umbrella while I bravely endeavoured to control the bicycle with the left hand, in the driving rain.

Its true... its all true.
B-school is truly an experience and yes, it does teach one new skills.

Life for the next few weeks will be an endless blur of late-night job applications, campus presentations, schmoozing to company representatives, CV selling and ordering Bangladeshi take-out.

This past weekend, pick-up cricket games were organised, after which some resolved to get more ppl involved and play a more formal, traditional version of the game (i.e. runs on both sides of the wicket, taped ball, runs behind square) the coming weekend.
Just for a much needed distraction, I hope that happens.

Speaking of distractions, managed to watch 'One Flew Over...' for the first time. Another movie gets knocked off my imdb Top 250 list.
As it happens, another 140 remain un-viewed. They include a significant number of Kurosawa and old Westerns and even some modern classics, such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Monty Python (Holy Grail, Life of Brian), Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting and some by the Japanese animator (whose name I can't immediately recall) who did Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. A visit to the Virgin megastore may be imminent.

Getting Around in Paris

Just needed to make another post to put up further photos from my trip around the city.

Various modes of transportation taken... buses, trains and a lot of ground was covered just walking around.

Some of these photos were part of a theme that I thought was worth developing: Paris through windows.
As it stands, these are just a few more random photos.

Hmm... I think I like photo blogging.

Mother of all Museums

You just know I'm talking about the Louvre which is now ever more popular thanks to the story telling abilities (or not) of a certain Dan Brown.
Almost everyone who goes in there heads directly to the Denon gallery where the Mona Lisa, Madonna on the Rocks etc. find their place.
No photopraphs are allowed in the art and paintings section and certainly none of the Mona Lisa.

Photos though are present of the famous glass pyramids, the Palais Royal, the Winged Victory, the hall of sculptures, Louis XIV's Apartment.
There are more photos mind you but with a five-photos-a-post limit and my laziness, all you're getting is a tiny glance.

The Stained Glass of Notre-Dame

Commisioned during the reign of Louis VII, construction of the cathedral, its chapels, graves and the famous stained glass windows took place between 1163 and 1250.

There's a lot more information available through this link.

Photos below are of the cathedral from the outside, of the carvings above the entrance, of one of the windows in the north wall, of the lit hall during a service, and a sculpture of Charlemagne in its courtyard.

Eiffel Good - You knew that I would

Determination and a newly married couple who would have liked company ensured that this Sunday I found myself on my way to Paris for the first time.
For someone who has immersed himself in foreign culture, English movies as much as I have, the there was tremendous anticipation to see 'live' the stuff I've only seen on movies and TV thus far.

Will make several individual posts on the sights covered yesterday because a single post only appears to allow a max. of 5 photos.

Le Tour Eiffel is excellent... everything it is made out to be and a bit more. We couldn't quite catch it with the lights on and photos of that will have to wait till another day. It really is magnificent when you get out of the subway station, walk about a block and a bit and suddenly see the structure looming above your head. You probably need to walk another km to get the entire thing in one perfectly framed horizontal shot. All this is exhibited as evidence... photos below.

p.s. some are sepia, B&W attempts at high-art.
The couple in the last photo are Shreela and Abhi, whose wedding I attended in Cannanore about 2 weeks ago.

The Walk

The walk to campus takes me about 25 mins, if I really hurry. On a cold day, this can be especially painful and even the windcheater can be a curse.

Ever had the zipper flick you on the knuckles during a brisk walk on a really cold morning? I didn't think so.

However when its sunny and right about now it is (touch wood, touch every piece of surrounding visible wood) its abso-blooming-lutely delightful.

The walk takes me through the Fontainebleau town center, the focal point of which is this Carousel or Roundabout around which the cinemas, restaurants, bars, hotels, Post Office, Town Hall are all located.

The Carousel



The Hotel of the Black Eagle (L'aigle Noir)



My walks though are now seemingly at an end with the purchase of a 2nd hand bicycle worth 45E. Comes with locks, bicycle pump and other standard fixtures.
Yes! (small fist-pump)

Entry about cycling to campus next up.

The Campus - A Sneak Peek

During later weeks there will be more photos of campus but for now this will have to do. Laptop running out of batteries and need to buy a converter to plug this thing into the plugpoints available in the country and on campus. The store is closed.

The main block... housing the MBA office and the amphis.


The cafeteria as seen from the main block.


Inside the cafeteria, with a view of the Store - Footnote.


Looking past the cafeteria's sit-out area.


The Residences on the right.

French Kitsch

When I wrote the tag line for my blog, it was meant to be firmly tongue in cheek. However, with incidents and studies bringing me to France, it allows for a certain "Hey... Cool!" feeling.

I'm now in Fontainebleau, completing my MBA at one of Europe's premier b-schools. I have atleast 4 months left here in which to visit Paris, travel through Europe, find a job that pays me several thousands a year, drink lots of wine and occasionally study.

With classes starting on Monday, I have some time in which to do a little sightseeing, get my eye in and get used to the onset of winter. This is actually supposed to be the end of summer but for an Indian, trust me, this is pretty much winter.

On my 30 min walk to campus I took a detour through Napoleon's Palace (or is it Cheateau??). It is rather jaw droppingly wonderful...

Several photos follow...