Life and Times an Update

The first month of 2007 has already gone by. A summary of the events that shaped 2006 for me and plans for 2007 follows.

2006 was an exciting year for me, as you might know I have shifted base to San Francisco, USA since August of last year to pursue my MBA - Entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco -USF ( http://www.usfca.edu)

I started 2006 at Asia Plateau, Panchgani, India planning for the annual MRA-IofC youth conference slated for June 2006. I remained busy with my work and other activities between January and March. Also in the meantime I received admission to the Executive MBA program at NMIMS in Mumbai. In the months between April and June I began the process for business school admissions abroad, eventually sending out applications to just USF and another backup school in San Francisco towards May end. I also undertook a road trip to Pondicherry, Chennai and Bangalore and a short trip to Nagpur prior to that.

In June I was in Panchgani for the MRA-IofC National youth conference as I have been for the last 10 years, that trend is likely to break this year since I will be in the US. Soon after my return to Mumbai, I commenced my Executive MBA program at NMIMS. By end June I received a acceptance letter from USF and things started moving really fast. I received my visa in the third week of July and by first week August I was already in the US of A.

I spent the first month in San Francisco, pretty much looking for a place to live. Finding apartments in San Francisco can be quite challenging as I found out. I lived out of a Hostelling International, youth hostel for little over a month before I finally found a paying guest style accommodation at a retired school teachers home, a short 10 minute walk from my university. Really comfortable and convenient, as I didn't have to spend a dime for furniture or appliances and it feels like home. This house where I am now was originally built in the year 1915. The Indian consulate in San Francisco is on the same street too, a 5 minute walk from where I live.

In September I also took a trip to Orlando, Florida where I met my sister and bro-in-law after 5 long years and my 2 year old twin nieces for the first time.

I soon got busy with lots of activities at school. September to December the following things happened
- a part time job at the IT department on campus
- Activities with different clubs/societies both on and off campus
- played on the MBA American football team for inter department sports
- represented USF at the annual Www.NetImpact.org conference at the Kellog school of Business, Chicago.
- Won the student body elections at the business school for the post of VP - Information technology
- Commenced a research internship with TechBA, a Technology Business accelerator program funded by the Mexican government

After exams got over in mid-december, I was again in Orlando, Florida to spend 3 weeks of my 5-week long winter break with my sister and her family. During this time we took a short vacation to Keywest, the southern most tip of the United states, a series of small islands (key's) connected by a thin trip of road, the Overseas highway (US Route 1). I also drove around Orlando in my sister's car, visiting Kennedy Space Center, the home of the US space program. I returned to San Francisco by 10th January in order to prepare for a reverse business plan competition that I was selected to participate in.

At the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC) on 19th January, student teams of 5 each were given business plans of real companies looking for funding, an interaction with the CEO's of these companies followed. Throughout the process teams had to act as venture capitalists (VC's) trying to decide which company they wanted to invest in and why. Real VC's judged the teams during the entire process and awarded winners. http://www.vcic.unc.edu/about.works.html

The USF team of which I was a part won "The Entrepreneurs Choice" award at this competition, the best our University has ever done at this event. It was by far the most exciting experience of my MBA career and an immensely intense learning too.

School began on 22nd Jan and the whole of this semester looks busy with my job on campus and added responsibilities as VP-IT of the Graduate Business Association. My work with TechBA continues and for the next two months I will be working with CEO's of two Mexican companies training them on different aspects of doing business in the United States.

This semester I am also with the Board Fellows program facilitated by NetImpact. Through this program MBA students get to be on the Board of Directors of Non-profits and add value to the Non-profits with their business skills. For the next 9 months I will be working with NFTE (http://www.nfte.com) The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, helping them look at various things including building a strong Board of Directors for their San Francisco operations and fund raising.

I will visit Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg in March for a business plan competition and will most likely begin a full time summer internship in June, I am on the lookout for the right opportunity at this point. I have also volunteered to help at TiECon 2007 in May, this is the annual conference by TiE silicon valley. TiE is The Indus Entrepreneurs, a global network of people interested in fostering the spirit of Entrepreneurship http://www.tie.org/

Best wishes for the remaining 11 months of 2007.

Indian Call Centre

Awesome.. funny !!

LOOK ! Hilarious Lifeguard Pee Break ! HILARIOUS !! Mwahahah Very funny

Funny Video

The ultimate test of Age

So if you are 40 years old and a dwarf, you still qualify for a half ticket on the state transport buses in Tamil Nadu. I thought it was brilliantly stupid.

 

Beautiful Pondi - Sunrise and Moonrise from my Room at the Guest House

Pondicherry

lman
After a overnight train journey to Chennai, I boarded a "Boing Jet 747 (above)" to take me to Pondicherry. ( 3 hours & Rs.55/ [approx 1 Euro] ).

I spent over a week in Pondi, mostly relaxing. Also I did these series of eye exercises at the School for Perfect eyesight there to help improve my "vision" ;)

I can say that those exercises definately helped, my number was down .75 point after a week.

Pondi is a former french colony and the french influence is still very much visible in one part of the town. The Indian part is fast growing over it though. Road names are still in french in some places but the other end of the same street would have an indian name, couldnt get more confusing.

I also visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville, both impressive institutions in their own right. The star attraction at Auroville is the 'Matri Mandir' this giant sphere with a mediation room inside.

Bangalore

So once Citibank gave me the free ticket after that nasty negative review on Mouthshut, I was in bangalore, staying with Kamal. A friend of mine from mumbai, now working in Bangalore.

It was good to catch up with him after a long time.

Bangalore is a nice city, except its unbelievable how the who is who of the IT industry from the world over have setup shop there inspite of the pathetic condition of roads and traffic.

Its a city literally bursting at its seams in some places.

I met up with some old friends, bumped into one out of the blue at a mall . On my last day I took a half day bangalore city tour, which took me to some impressive sights, including the Vishveshwaraya Industrial And Technological Museum. The picture above is of this installtion there. The Magic tap, I couldnt figure out where the water came from . .. can you?

I also visited Tipu Sultan's summer palace in the city, Lalbaugh Botanical Gardens and the Bull temple. All in all it was a nice 4 days spent in Bangalore.

Who says complaining doesn't help

Whoever said complaining doesn't help .. In the last one month, my complaints have yielded results beyond my own imagination.

1) Citibank had this fly for sure offer in January, where if you spend 30K in a given month you were guaranteed to get a free air ticket.

I was sent a voucher to claim my free ticket, which I did. Subsequently I got calls from Citibank expressing unavailability of tickets for different choice of dates and destinations. In mid march I was 'given' confirmed return tickets to bangalore for the month of May. In end April a week before my travel date, Citibank calls me to inform me that tickets are not available.

I fired the executive who called me and wrote this threatening review on Mouthshut.com

I got a call within the next two days, offering me free tickets as per my original plans.

2) In April, I was booked by Mumbai Traffic police for over speeding. I was doing 55 Km/hr when the speed limit was 40 Km/hr while climbing a flyover at andheri, mumbai.

Anyways, I reasoned with the traffic cop on duty about there being no visible boards suggesting the speed limit on the flyover. Reluctantly I had to pay the fine that day.
The next day i visited the Mumbai Traffic Police websitee and sent across a feedback using the form on their site.

Within four days I get a call from Traffic officer Patil (incharge for Bandra - Andheri) saying he is in receipt of my complaint and would like to come and meet me. He does and understands my point of view. Within hours I have a written letter confirming receipt of my suggestions and promised action.

3) The road outside my house had been dug up since the last four months. It was proving to be a traffic menace and a pedestrian disaster.
I complained to three different Municipal corporation departments using the Online Complaint management System provided by PRAJA in association with BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation).
The next day there were men and road rollers, working on the road outside and within 4 days a road which wasn't attended to in 4 months had some semblance of repair.

Three positive experiences in as many weeks. All of us should stand up for our rights.

Make the administration work for us, there are here to serve us. The government is working for us, the politicians are our employees. We pay them salaries through the taxes we pay.

Nagpur - Adventure, Misery and Triumph, You dont need to bribe

Adventure and Luck don't always go together but that's what I experienced on my trip to Nagpur from Mumbai.

traveling by rickshaw from home to the local train station turned out to be more than the usual 10 minute rickshaw ride, as a result I missed my train to Nagpur. I had confirmed seats on that train.

Next I get the ticket cancelled. Unbelievable but true, in India you get 50% refund if you do not complete your journey. The deputy station manager advises me to buy a regular general class ticket (cost Rs.177/US$ 4 for a 800km train journey) and board the next train to Nagpur leaving in the next one hour.

I do exactly that without being sure of getting a seat let alone a berth for the overnight journey to Nagpur from Mumbai. I get on the train, leave my bags with a kind soul and set out on a mission to find the ticket checker. After walking through the train for 15 mins I finally find him and speak to him to see if its possible to accommodate me in the Air Conditioned coaches by paying the difference in fares.

Get a flat refusal from him saying that he cannot allot me a seat without taking care of the wait listed passengers first. I am not allowed to even sit near the AC coach and shooed away to the general coach which is literally bursting at its seams with people.

At this point the future looks bleak and I resign myself to spending the night on the floor of the train in the gangway between two compartments. If only I had started earlier from home and not missed my train .. If only..

Meanwhile I make interesting conversation with two other young men, sitting on either side on the floor of the train with me. They are in a similar situation as me, though not exactly. One had to rush in an emergency to Calcutta (eastern India) and could not get confirmed tickets. This chap is a Bachelor of Arts student from Bhawanipore college, Kolkatta (as Calcutta is now called). The other is a young man from Wardha, heading back home. He works as a service engineer with a diagnostic company in Wardha.

Soon we are outside city limits and cruising along at breakneck speed. This is the Superfast Howrah Mail. It takes 36 hours to cover the distance between Mumbai and Kolkatta.
Many others like me have given up hopes of getting a ticket without bribing the Ticket checker or some other official/authority on the train. None have funds to afford both, a ticket plus the bribe.

Hoping against hope I go to meet the ticket checker again to explore the possibility of a berth. I am very clear in my head that I wont bribe, and if at all he asks for something I would lecture him on morals, ethics and corruption :)

When I meet him, he recognises me immediately and says there is one seat available. At this point I am half expecting a mention of 'favour money' aka bribe.

Nexy he begins calculating the exact fare with taxes after deducting the fare for the general class ticket which was already paid for. He writes down a official receipt and I pay him exact change for the lawful fare being charged. He allots me a seat number and instructs the coach attendant to give me the blanket and pillow I am entitled to.

Thats it, no "favour money" asked for, no "favour money" offered. I head back to the general compartment to retrieve my bag. Along the way I meet others who are without a seat, they ask me "How much money did the ticket checker take?" meaning how bribe did you offer to get a ticket.

When I say, "nothing" I see about 10 people rushing in the direction of the ticket checker to get their tickets. I am not sure if they met with the same luck as me though. None of them could believe that one could get a ticket without paying "favour money"

You might say thats a very happy ending to the story of how I got a place to sleep without paying a bribe. But no. When I got to the Pantry section of the train, I discovered the shutters were down. Apparently after 10:30 at night they down shutters to avoid hungry "seat-less" hence sleep-less travellers looking for food.

The Pantry coach is the only coach seperating me from my bag and in turn from the berth I had just found, for a blissful sleep through the night.

Fortunately the train stops soon at a station and I get off the train walk up to the coach where my bag was, thank the young man from wardha for looking after it and head back to my bed in the AC coach.

Blissful sleep in air conditioned comfort for the rest of the night after that.
You really dont need to bribe to get your work done.

Writing this from Nagpur .. 43.5 degree celcius (approx 110 F I think) here.

Hello world

Those two words "Hello World" is what most computer programming books teach you to print, when you write your first little piece of code.

Thats my way of saying hello to the world of blogs, with a promise of lots more to come.