Another Term is Gone

Finally one more term is done and I am a 1/3rd MBA now (hopefully :P). Yea you can just be hopeful after having such exams. But at the end of day 'who cares' because all are in the same boat. Well, the good news is that I have a one week off but the flip side to that is that I am not going to home this time.

So, with nothing else to do, I can look back at how did this term go. It was much different from the first term. Not only in terms of subjects, but also other activities that happened and the way we approached this term. Being a JPR, the burden of placements work grew by leaps and bound this time. Had a week of night outs. Twice I went to the class without having any sleep. Slept on my desk in placeroom once while working and by the time I got up, I realised that I have missed another operations class and thus another interesting case discussion. But still it was fun as usual.

I got to see a lot of ups and downs in this term and learnt a lot too. Starting from the buzz of the Placement season itself I knew this term will be far more exciting and important. I got to see two sides of the picture: both as a JPR and as a candidate in the process. Starting from the company PPTs to the shortlists coming out everyday was adding to the thrill of the entire drama. It was a high activity time: people working hard for each and every bullet point on their CV, putting endless efforts in cracking cases and understanding the downfall of Wall street; studying numerous reports of various companies/industries to become expert of one in such a short time. Stage was set and we finally went to the much awaited process: Summer Placement Process. Some people say that its one of the most complex process that we can be part of in our life. The complexity and pseudapa was much more than we had expected and I am glad that two months down the line, I will be running this process.

It was really a well organised event and hats off to our PRs who managed to place the largest ever batch of IIMB even in such tough market conditions. The best part was how the entire batch came together to help each other and do as much they could in their own capacity. Nobody celebrated his/her achievement till the time entire batch was placed. There was a lot to take away for all: even if you got a day 0 job or not; even if you got your dream job or not; if you got the highest salaries or not. It was a great learning experience and the winner is obviously the one who comes out of these up and downs with a even stronger spirit. Ultimately, IIMB batch 2008-10 was victorious and we celebrated it in true B style with a great L^2 party which I missed because I slept early after so many sleepless nights.

Oh did I miss the mid terms in this whole explanation which just happened a week before the placements. Its not like that they are no more important to us but the only thing is that once you go through all this in the first term, you get used to it and this time I had relaxed mid terms with just 3 of them. Hopefully next term would be even more chill atleast in this aspect. And yea as usual there were a lot of submissions, assignments, quizzes. And its tough to remember which one I cracked and very easy to forget the ones which screwed me. After all who cares for a .1 or .2 here and there.

Finally, the term is over and its time for another one and more exciting one. Dont know how much I will get to study in this term but I am happy that I would be doing something which I enjoy doing!!

One Term is gone like a zoooom!!

It was June 22 when I stepped into the revered walls of IIMB with loads of dreams and aspirations in my eyes and I am happy to see that all of them are still alive and the passion is still firing with all guns to achieve them. The rigour academic pressure had tried to put many dents in the firm will but it finally ended in just testifying the strength of the same. Zillions of assignments, surprise quizzes, tests, and presentations have just helped in sharpening my jaws which are hungry to bite more of learning everyday.

First of all I am sorry to all my readers to whom I have promised that I will keep them updated about my life @IIMB as I had done during my work at Google. Well, when I entered IIMB, I knew that’s its going to be tough but I never knew that its going to be so hectic. At the same time, I never knew that its going to be filled up with so much fun. More I worked harder, more I had reasons to enjoy and live every single moment to the fullest. Be it the BHASAD of our sec A guys on nay random topics or be it the fruitful project and assignment discussions, it was always good to see be surrounded with such bright minds of the country. Everybody here is GOD in some way or the other and has a lot to offer to learn from: Be it through the CP(Class participation) or be it through their enlightening presentations or be it any arbit chat on any random topic. Godly profs giving awesome gyan to sleepy chaps with full CP enthu was a scene of almost every class. The system is so strong that it forces you to question yourself and your abilities and in the process prepares for the bigger challenges of the future. But yea sometimes in this strong system and hectic schedule, you tend to ask yourself: are you at the right place? Are you doing a right thing? Are you still focussed? But then suddenly you realise that you are nearing another sacrosanct deadline which you cant afford to miss and you postpone the answer to these questions by one more day.

After every L^2, we used to think that we wont waste time on the next one and would try to do some mugging, but the sound of the rocking DJ and frequent pings on Bracket(internal messenger) used to pull me out to forget all the tensions with a beer and some leg shaking.

Some unforgettable events: Well so much has happened in the three months but still some few hand picked events that will remain much closer are :

1. First week – full of fun and thrill and the best welcome that we could have expected.

2. The first L^2

3. The first placu party…Hail PRs

4. First movie at the theatre with secA guys

5. Bhasads with VBLs

6. Daily JPR meetings

7. Hooshings at bday parties

8. Submitting the Finacc project 2 minutes before the deadline

9. Night out before two exams on next day and then running for my flight back to home and thus not sleeping continuously for 40 hours and just 6 hours in the last 3 days

It was really nice to have a vacation where I slept for more than 60% of time and now its another term, another round of screwing but with fun :)

P.S: The words in italics come from IIMB lingo and I am sorry if you are not able to decipher the same

Change in admission procedure of NITs

I just came to know recently that the HRD has abolished the state quotas in all NITs. Well the 50% of the seats still remain reserved for the state where the NIT is located, but for the rest of the 50% seats, there is no state quotas and it will be open for all states. So, for new applicants, only AIR rank of AIEEE will matter if they are seeking admission in NIT outside their state and I guess they will have more number of options to choose from.

Its good on one side as the intake quality would be better but the diverse culture of NITs would be hit and it will interesting to see what happens when the culture of these established institutes changes

Sweet memories@Google

Last week my team gave me and Akshay a farewell party as we are heading to IIM B. It was a very sweet gesture on their part and I thank one and all for that evening. During the dinner, some of them asked me to share some of my sweet memories at Google. Initially I thought it to be a very simple question to answer but when I started answering, it got very tough. Its not like I do not have many sweet memories there, but I had so many that it took a long time in scanning all of them and shortlisting only a few for sharing at that moment. It was then, that I thought of writing a blog for the same. So, here it goes:

As I go into the flashback, I can still clearly remember the first day. The feeling of going to “the best company to work for” (Fortune) was great. My cab came a little late to pick me up and when I reached Google, the induction had already started. The receptionist told me that its going on in Mumbai. For a moment, I was shocked, how will I get to Mumbai now. Then I learnt that its just the conference room name. The naming conventions of rooms and printers (based on city names, lakes, cartoons, movies and stars) is really cool and something which I would always remember. And believe what, the induction wasn't so boring as in other companies and was over in just a few hours. I got a laptop too, my first one and a goodie bag which had a T-shirt and a cool noogler cap with a fan on its top. I also got two 24" monitors which were looking so huge and I felt like watching movies on them instead of coding. The way other engineers were coming and greeting me, I was already feeling at home. They helped me in adjusting at Google soon enough by providing assistance whenever required. The manager gave me an overview of all the work that we were doing in Hyderabad(though he could have just told me about my project). I loved this openness and trust amongst the Googlers

Having the first popcorn on the bean bag, making maggi, enjoying coffee day express, munching all kind of snacks and chocolates for the entire day, help in foosball from other pro players were some of the things which attached me to Google and Googlers. And how can I forget the most important part: free meals which were wonderful. They had everything in lunch: North/south indian, chinese, italian, subway, salad bar, fruits, soups, deserts, blah-2. That was simply amazing and soon I gained a few pounds which was like a dream come true (you should see my college pics to understand this :P)

Then was the chance to see the dreamland: Google MTV(Mountain View) office. The feeling of stepping out of India for the first time was great. Got to see the beautiful Singapore on my way. Got a wonderful team and learned the pair programming art in MTV. I got a chance to pair with one of the smartest brains of the world: a guy who was world champion in rubix and had been coding since the year I was born. Others were also great and it was a tremendous learning experience( can write a complete blog on this itself). And yea I even had the much heard about Google onsite massage. It was so soothing that I was able to work till 2 am in night on that day without any complaints of head/back ache.

Then one day I went to the main buildings of Google; saw Larry and Sergey's cabin. I was also thrilled and excited to see the cabins of Orkut and some of the great Googlers(Google fellows). I could feel something different in the air and felt like working there for my entire life. Also, did I tell you that I got a chance to talk to Sergey face to face(though for just a minute) and also saw our CEO and Larry many times over. It was really a wonderful feeling to hear the company updates along with Sergey's PJs and some beer in TGIF. I loved the trust shown by the senior management on each and every Googler. The greatest learning in one year from Google was not any technology or language but the organizational behavior.

I also had a blast outside the office, went to so many beaches, mountains, valleys, Los Angeles that my picasa album was full of them. I loved driving there, had some beautiful scenic drives and went upto 80 mph on some freeways. I loved the Indian food there and of course Starbucks was the best. The trip also gave me some wonderful friends for life time. I must say it was a nice team building exercise :). To summarize, it was a wonderful lifetime experience and got to learn a lot from the US people: to be organised and patient(was evident in their driving itself).

Life at Hyderabad office was also fun. We loved the transition to the Google building. It's beautiful. To add to the colors, we had the cube decoration competition which was complete fun. Decorating the cubes as jungles, islands, villages, bars etc and showing all our engineering creativity was a good change.

Coming to offsites and parties. The offsite to Goa and Dandeli was too good and deserves another blog itself. Loved the first time rafting, trekking and water sports. We still tease Rahul for the wonderful dramas he did during all of this. The picnic party and rock night with Atif rocked!!

When I think of all this, I really feel nostalgic. I am sure I am gonna miss the fun of pair programming and the close foosball games. I am gonna miss the humorous Hindi phrases from Krishna and Sachin. I am gonna miss the leg pullings and the bumps for any and every reason. I am gonna miss my daily papaya servings and numerous dish choices in all the three meals. I am gonna miss the excitement that I used to get on learning about the latest Google inventions before the rest of the world. I am gonna miss the learnings from my peers and managers. I am gonna miss this lavish work environment and working with the smartest people of the world who have perfected the art of not being Evil.

I just wish that I continue being Googley!!