SCOPE INTERNATIONAL :)

Phew !! Finally I feel so relieved . Words cannot do justice to the amount of happiness , relief and joy I have now. Euphoric would be an understatement for the kind of state I am in. I would rate this higher than JEE ,thats because I was confident of cracking it. But, I was in a total depression now after screwing up CAT - resulting in a feeling that I am analytically challenged and reject after reject in the 1st 3 days. Like Sisyphus who continued to roll the stone up , very well knowing that it would roll down the other side of the hill, I continued filling up infinite forms, writing the tests, waiting eagerly and the inevitable reject. I cannot agree more with Kesavan's (Baada) words after he got his job - Hajaar, no, lakhs of money are there. I am elated and excited, probably have not been this much since post JEE. Dad is impressed, mom had never heard of the company, but is of course extremely happy. And I am sure junta here are slightly syked and surprised by this turn of events, especially given my worst level CG here.

My mom's initial reaction was "Oh no not another banker in the family !". Thing is there are too many people in banks in our family and extended families . I suppose her apprehension was short-lived after further impressive details from my side. Dad is yet to digest it ! Many do not seem to be knowing Scope International, so I prefer saying I got placed with Standard Chartered Bank as Scope is a subsidiary of SCB.

There were 5 rounds - 2 online tests, 3 250 word essays, 1 GD and a final interview. A pain maxx psychometric test took 2 hrs, a quant test 1hr. After that the 1st s/l of 80 guys was put up just yesterday night and today morn was my GD. I went in with zilch expectations because the PPT said we would be having a tech and HR interview after the GD .In the tech part, analytics and coding, both would be tested. I thought pack,I dont even know the syntax of printf or what include meant. Lets do the GD and get a feel of it.Thats all.This was my first GD.

The first lucky aspect was a mild group with no sood putters. GD was peaceful. He wanted our views on Next Gen banking. I started off very arbitly, my points not being very well received. A weird point by one guy was the driving force for me. I blasted him, diplomatically of course, and from then it was very strong. Someone suggested grassroot banking and I came up with sood points ,using jargon which not everyone was well versed with ,like microfinancing andNobel Prize for Grameen bank, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)- educating farmers and giving them loans would be a win-win situation, thinking on the lines of NREGA in banking for rural areas and all that. I am sure the moderator was perplexed. Junta in the group were talking about gadgetry, fingerprints, eye detection, security, a new 3rd form of virtual money this that blah blah and I was totally tangential , talking irrelevant stuff like microfin , upgrading PSUs, and crap in all forms. 4 from each group were shortlisted. I felt I would have been screwed had it been 3 , because there were 3 guys better than me.

Then followed the interview. Again luckily, the same mod was the interviewer. As soon as I walked in, he recognized me and asked me if I was Rajeev. That was really heartening. I was kinda prepared for HR , so it was a cakewalk. More so, because he was very friendly. I felt that it was a travesty of an interview. It was like a conversation in a pub between 2 strangers. Not an iota of C, not a speck of tech !! HR, unadulterated. Finally, when he was through, he told me that my GD performance was excellent. I had a flicker of hope then. And finally I get the news. The profile says Business Analyst , the way I see it, it is more of coding with a full knowledge of banking operations.

The training as of now will be in Nungambakkam. With MOP Vaishnav, Ethiraj, WCC, Stella all nearby I can look forward to some eye candy now after 5 years in this place. It is also a shopping hub and has many good restaurants and is in the heart of Chennai, so no cribs as of now. With no other branch in India, I will surely be here for the next 2-3 years. Room mates are already taken care of, a couple of my dear old Btech wing mates who are with Covansys here. This is again something which I really look forward to , as I badly need a frequency matching social life.

I only need to meet my prof to kill this euphoria. He has told my fellow Mtechs that all Duals under him are on the verge of getting an extension and a couple of guys have already called me up saying prof is seething with rage and I need to meet him once. I am about to leave now , will cook up some story on the way.

For a change, after years of mediocrity, I am proud of myself .

MURPHY

Whenever I go to Shakes and Creams (or any ice cream outlet for that matter)I always get a feel that the other guy's ice cream is better. Even recently , among 3 ice creams I felt mine was the worst. Is it due to wrong choice or a perception of the mind ? So, while I was married to Pista , I lusted after Nutty Affair and Black Currant. Is the same perception thing applicable to wife also ?

BASKING IN REFLECTED GLORY

Why was SRK's presence at the final accorded so much importance ? Like all others he just went there (a) To watch the final live (b) Give his son that experience and (c) Promotion and publicity for his new film Om Shanti Om. After the presentation ceremony he went and hugged them. So far so good. Now, Rajdeep Sardesai interviews him and asks a question on these lines - " Shah Rukh , do you think your presence inspired the Indian team ? " What crap! Thankfully, he did not take credit away from the Indian team.

It was free publicity for him and the eternal diplomat and charmer that he is, he perfectly cashed on that. I am happy he did not promote himself . But every news channel , online news sites like cnn-ibn , rediff and even newspapers had a photo and some unnecessary coverage.

So much footage and publicity for just being there !

Why CHAK DE is a winner

Enough has been said about this movie . I do not wish to start all over again. Here are some of minute details and a few reasons why I rate it high -

1) The choice of the lead actor- SRK . He suits the role to a T. He was a hockey player during his college days and is a very good athlete. Never in the movie do you get a feel that he is "acting" as a coach. People have said that he has sacrificed his image and his role is kind of subdued. The film started and ended with him , so he is the real hero.

2) SRK is shown going home on a scooter . His house is in a near slum like area. Though I would contest an Indian Hockey captain being depicted as a lower middle class guy , it certainly tells us about the sorry state of the players.

As an aside , to give you a flavour of the facilities and treatment meted out to the players , the Chennai Open -2007 was won by India recently. A couple of weeks ago we had been to Savera , at- the- max -a -4 star hotel. The Indian team, along with the Japanese guys, whom they had beaten in the semis just then, was having dinner there. Though I was elated to have food alongside them , one certainly would not expect the National Team to have food sitting beside him. There was no autograph seeker either. Fittingly , the Ind-Eng final was being aired and people preferred that ! The entry at(to?) the Nungambakkam Stadium ( I think) was free. Too bad, being a part of a sports crazy wing gumbal, we never knew that . Most of them passionately follow cricket, football, tennis , hockey and F1 . Phew !

3) The training sessions , practice, exercise etc are near perfect. Having undergone many similar ones , I can vouch for the authenticity. Once again, I never felt SRK was acting . Full marks on this count.

4) The choice of the girls - Apart from a couple of them, there was no glamour or oomph content.They were pretty much the cliched girl-next-door types. Sensible

5) This is the best part - It is devoid of the Great Indian Film Curse. No songs, duets or love track. Almost all the Indian movies of this genre have had a love track. Lagaan, in fact, had a small triangle element too, with the firangi also putting fight for Aamir. Closer home , Sye in telugu, based on rugby had a full love track with 6 songs. And much closer, Chennai -600028 , based on gully cricket, had duets too.

6) The players are asked to register at the desk before the training for the WC . An AP female , Nethra Reddy, says
Nethra, Andhra Pradesh se .
The clerk says- Oh Madrasi ho kya .
She - Nahi Andhra se hoon.
He - Madrasi ya Andhra, Kya farak hai .
She - Utna hi jitna ek Rajasthani aur Bihari mein.
Perfectly sums up the attitude of the guys above Vindhyas .

7) I am not sure of this one, but there are many who feel Muslims in India support Pakistan in an Indo-Pak match. While I personally know of some classmates in my school who did that , but that is a very minute fraction. As expected , SRK aka Kabir Khan, center forward, and captain, goofs up the shot in the WC final against Pakistan and is branded a traitor. In fact a guy scribbles gaddar on his wall. This needs guts , given the superstar status he enjoys , and also due to the fact that he is also a Muslim.

Readers are welcome to chip in with their views . My personal rating - * * * * (scale of 5)

UTI - I don't TRUST U

Recently , I went to the SBI ATM in the campus to draw about 500 bucks to get a track at a shop near Velachery. In fact , it is just below the TIME coaching class and for some inexplicable reasons is named Sperm . Without going on a tangent , the issue was that the ATM had cupped and I borrowed my friend's UTI bank ATM-cum-debit card. The guy at the shop accepted the debit card and he swiped it at the counter. To my amazement and horror it did not ask the PIN . I asked the guy and he said that the machine did not ask for any PIN. My friend and I just left without much delay and then this question surfaced - What if he loses the card and the finder swipes at it at will, since PIN is anyway not being asked ? Assume that he takes a few hours to discover the loss and block it. Those few hours could spell disaster. I later came to know that even ICICI cards do not need PIN . In my experience with SBI , I have always been requested to punch in the PIN .

I wish to know 3 things -

1) Is it absolutely mandatory to punch in the PIN everywhere ( for UTI/ ICICI ) and that this was a one-off incident ?

2) Is the requesting of PIN machine specific ?

3) In the unfortunate and foolish case of PIN not being asked , how do you safeguard against losses in the wake of a lost card ?

FUSSY NIGHT

Disclaimer - Extremely objectionable language and content

Yesterday, on the way to the mess I found a whole bunch of guys in "Superman" attire i.e the briefs (to be more crude undys) worn on the pants ,heading to Students Activity Centre (SAC) . Another gumbal had bedsheets as dhotis . Our hostel guys had their pants worn on the heads like caps . All these guys , under the able supervision of their second yr seniors and hostel secretaries were on their way to Freshie Night at SAC. Btw this is the same place where the convocation takes place .

A Freshers Night is supposedly to break the ice between the juniors and seniors , the end of the ragging sessions and is mainly to pave the way for their smooth transition from the spoon feeding of schools to independence here and finally for a peaceful integration into the campus atmosphere. And how do the guys do it ? Firstly, every hostel has a dress code like the ones mentioned above . I won't be surprised if the freshie junta come partly naked or in objectionable attire sometime next year. Next , every hostel has a space earmarked and you are not supposed to trespass or intrude in other territories. After some stupid lecture the culturals start . All you have to do is boo majorly , mouth choicest expletives at the guys (God save the girl who has mustered enough courage to sing on the stage there) and discourage the participants. Next , under the able supervision of your seniors you have to take turns to scold other hostel junta . It is a no-holds barred abusing session . Then form a chain and run around the SAC . If you are centred or cornered in any area , you get bumps .

The culturals invariably have a skit , a couple of dance numbers -most often some country max gult song , some mimicry session by talented guys and the usual singing sessions. What do you have in the skit ? Dialogues and jokes with only one meaning- double meaning and blatant ,explicit references to porn, sex, shag, etc. The first year courses are like CY 101 - Chemistry, PH-101 - Phy. In our first year the play was called PY 101 - Pondy , which is lingo for porn here. If you thought I enjoyed it then and decided to be preachy now , well I never enjoyed the freshie nights . As a matter of fact even the hostel night plays. People are much more sensible now , thankfully , and there have not been any such plays in the recent times. Most of us, me included, do enjoy double meaning jokes and stuff, as long as it is subtle and not crass. This certainly is not enjoyable. If you are obsessed with porn go and watch it in your room . Under the pretext of entertainment , do not spoil the atmosphere. And if you think I am dead against watching porn , ping me in person, my blog is too decent to answer that :P

Finally for the most important thing of the day - Mr and Miss Freshie . After the usual catwalk or whatever is the questions session. The so called oxymoronic "beauty and brains" . Do I need to give you a flavour of the questions ?

Will all this ensure peaceful integration of the freshers ? Will this ensure developing a great rapport with the seniors ? IIT s have always prided themselves in their irreverence to established tradition - the credit system , informal classes, facilities, quizzes, 3 months of summer hols etc are some of the things found exclusively in the IITs and to some extent other colleges. As my friend said , it is this irreverence that has taken us this far. I beg and plead the organisers to follow established tradition atleast on this front . You need not go to expensive pubs and book dance floors (Like every coll in Hyd does ), Whatever happened to innocuous intro sessions , leg pulling and decent fun sessions . In fact I prefer stuff like paper dance to this, not for the obvious reason of being close with females, atleast it is not disgusting .

All said and done , I would prefer doing away with this night . At any cost you are bound to get ragged and very soon will develop a great rapport with the seniors. our batch had a great rapport with the 4th yr junta in our 1st yar and most of us remember every 2nd, 3rd and 4th year guy even now. We didn't need any fussy nights for that . If a guy is talented in dance or singing , it will come to the fore in the hostel surely. You don't need to get booed by 500 guys for that . And how do you call curtains ?? Without a drop to drink ( I mean water) and without a morsel of food. They can't even think of having a dinner !! Don't even think of asking about departmnet freshers party . They are better , atleast we got tea and cakes and unfairly more than one !!!

This is the 3rd crib post about IIT after the Himalaya thing and the monkey menace. I always maintain that but for some of these things , not all of which are trivial , I have had the best stay of my life here .

President ,Poly-tricks and Issues

Recently , July 20th to be precise , we had a woman taking oath as the President of India. There was a huge hue and cry over the fact that it would send a strong message to the world that India was committed to empowerment of women and that this would usher in a new revolution and mark the emancipation of women . This election was not without controversy and dirty politics .It was very well known that she wasn't the ruling Congress-Left alliance's first choice . The linguistic chauvinists - Shiv Sena refused to support their old friend's candidate Shekhawat on the grounds that Patil ji was a Maharashtrian and it would be a great honour for Maharashtra. Old timers would remember that the last time around they refused to support the candidature of Sushil Kumar Shinde ( I guess VP post), who was a Maharashtrian. Strange are the ways of these guys! The thing which interested me was the farce called UNPA or Third Front - an alliance of disgruntled regional opposition parties and discredited leaders. Notable among them were our very own Amma , Naidu garu ( Yeah, AP and TN are my own ) and ousted CM's like Mulayam etc . In a press conference Amma was at her belligerent best - "The boorish and churlish language used by the blah blah.... " . Our Naidu garu was nodding his head up and down , sticking out a finger here and there . It was pretty much like GD wherein all others were arguing and one man simply saying "Yeah . yeah.... No No... Errr.. But.. Yeah " . Eventually they ended up being the proverbial dhobi's dog ( Dhobi ka kutta . Na ghar ka na ghat ka - A dhobi's dog doesn't have a permanent dwelling. Neither a house nor the washing ghat ) . Coming back to the July 20th thing , Pratibha Patil seemed so frail and weak that she could very well be called Pratibha Paati . ( Paati = granny in Tamizh ) . At one instance Sonia madam was beside her . I couldn't help but wonder at the aptness of super star's dialogue . Sonia "pera kettale summa athurudhu la" ( Ok I agree. I am a plagiarist. This dialogue was seen in Baada's blog). Sonia even has Manmohan Thatha to dance to her tunes . Let's see what Sonia madam has in store for us , for she now has " Mere do anmol Ratan , Patil aur Manmohan" !

The run -up to the election was also pretty amusing . There was this Shekhawat vs Shekhawat contest. Apparently Patil's husband was a Shekhawat and the candidate contesting against her was our VP Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. At about the same time Bollywood super star Himesh Reshamiyya had roped in the scorching hot Mallika Sherawat for the remix version of the immortal Mehbooba Mehbooba. My friend remarked "Machi she shakes her assets very well da . She should be renamed Mallika Shake-a-wat ". We continued the discussion and felt that Mallika wouldn't be a bad choice for the Prez post. She is also a woman , she is also a Shake-a-wat , she is pretty bold , smart , sexy etc . In short she would be a sensational and sexational first citizen . By the way, what would Mallika be called if she were to be the Prez ? Rashtrapatni for sure!!!

Munnabhai has been sentenced to 6 yr imprisonment . He is housed in some Yerawada jail , in the same wing as his one time accomplice Abu Salem . The place is (in)famous for in-prison , inter gang fights. It reminds me of the jail scene in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and circuit are put behind bars for a day . Munna says great leaders have been imprisoned and they have had roads and margs being named after them. Hats off to Sanju Baba's vision . He perfectly envisaged that he would be imprisoned sooner or later . Now, public sympathy is bound to embrace him . I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Munnanagar / Munna marg soon in Mumbai . For Kollywood actors embroiled in legal issues, this is your best chance. Pain some director to remake Lage Raho Munnabhai , put in hazaar jail scenes and Voila! You have the entire state vouching for your innocence . Pathiban Kanavu Srikanth , are you reading ?? ( His wife has filed some case .)

Will ponder on other issues sometime now .