The Romanticism of Honesty

Various things and activities are perceived as ‘romantic’ such as a walk down the lane at night, sudden midnight ice-cream trips, dancing, candle-light dinner, gifting flowers, teddy bears and chocolates, poems, songs and innumerable acts of innovative silliness people often tend to indulge in. I am not particularly uncomfortable with any of the above being termed romantic. However, a thought recently crossed my mind : “Is there a possibility that ‘Honesty’ be considered romantic?”

Now, for most of you reading this, the knee-jerk reaction could be something like “Of course, all relationships are based on mutual trust”, “Honesty is the foundation on which relationships should be built on” and similar globe. But let’s be honest. When a girl asks you about how she looks in a particular dress, didn’t you always agree? Or for that matter, when she asks “Do I look fat in this outfit?”. Whether it was to save yourself from the much feared wrath of your loved one, or if it was just to save time in case she decides to change or sometimes you not even paying that much attention and simply nodding to get along. The problem with saying the truth often is that it is more often than not considered brutal, cold and emotionless.

Why is it that we care so much about what others would feel about and how they would react to our actions? Why are ‘lies’ and a ‘make-believe’ world of flattery and fake chivalry considered romantic?

Being a huge fan of Ayn Rand and having been significantly influenced by ‘Objectivism’ and ‘Idealism’, it is an intriguing thought to consider if there are people in the world who not only value ‘honesty’, but find it romantic. The inherent romanticism of honesty lies in the fact that it is not only a difficult trail to trek, but it also says something profound about the person trying to go that path - a subtle, but clear enough implication is that the ‘honest’ person is not too bothered about the outcome. Or maybe he is bothered, but is more than prepared or ready to accept the consequences of his action. That is more romanticism than mushy stuff shown in movies. A very important thing about 'honesty' is that it shows the mutual respect people have for each others' intellect. Because end of the day, a person who thinks he or she can fool you is not a partner anyone would like to be with.

Sources of Inspiration : The Fountainhead, The Invention of Lying, Real Life :D

The Mask

Why is it that we all pretend to be someone we are not? Why is it so bad to show what you really think and feel? Today, when you meet someone very different, you more often than not feel that he or she is trying to be different just for the heck of it! On more probing, it often seems to me that most of what we have done, are doing and will be doing in the future is actually not for us, but for someone else. In fact, I feel that selfishness in many cases is actually a result of being extremely socially oriented and ignored.

Getting hurt changes people in a lot of ways. Some take it with a pinch of salt and move on, others create a shell around themselves blocking almost everything and everyone to see their real self. And then there are those who take it as a defeat and gear themselves up for the ultimate revenge. This revenge has various forms – it could be through excessive display of material wealth as in many cases, taking control of one’s prized possession through any means possible or doing what everyone considered was beyond his capabilities.

Coming back to why I think people live and do most of what they do for others, I think they are not always aware of it or look at it in that perspective. I would think an extremely tiny percentage of all human beings are able to reach Maslow’s much coveted top of the pyramid – the stage of ‘Self-Actualization’. Everyone else ends up living for others. Selfish people would lose their objective in life if they have nobody to show-off too.

All this talk on outer-directedness makes me ask one question – What have I done for myself? Though there could be something here and there, I can’t think of very significant things. There have always been stakeholders whom I’ve tried to please and tried to find happiness in their happiness. Maybe this is how life is supposed to be. Or not? I really have the least clue. Is this the reason man is considered a social animal? Because he is incapable of finding happiness on his own?

Enough nonsense written for the night. I need to loosen up. Drinks, anyone?

Half a manager! Here it comes, finally!

Written : 11th April, 2010
Published : 19th May, 2010

The only reason I restrained myself from posting updates like “Yippee! I am half a manager already!” was not because I felt they were way too immature, but I felt that simple status updates on twitter, facebook or gtalk will not do justice to the magnitude of accomplishment here. After three terms here at ‘one of the most coveted’ campuses in the country, have I become a changed being, is my thought process more ‘managerial’ or have I become more ‘professional’ and business-like? 25,000 feet above the ground on-route to my internship at Mumbai seems to me as opportune for some self-introspection and passing time.

Like every yum-bee-yeah aspirant, I was flush with dreams when I entered the hallowed portals of this prestigious institution in June. The initial preparatory course, a light breezer that I am so glad to have attended doesn’t seem so far away. But what will probably stay afresh a lot longer in most of our minds would be the ‘orientation week’ that was so wonderfully planned and almost flawlessly executed by our seniors, who by now must be on their way to joining their companies.

After having witnessed two mega events on this campus, namely our summer placements and our seniors’ final placements, the ‘billion-dollar question’ which everyone wants the answer to, “Is the ride worth it?”. I am extremely tempted to give the answer in typical MBA style : “ Depends”. This word, as I have learned in due course of time, is the best possible and most widely accepted answer to any complex question asked which requires one to weigh both sides of an action and their consequences. That is how I feel we are expected to be : Non-committal: Stuck in the middle and ready to plunge to whichever side seems right, or rather more ‘justifiable’ at the moment.

I know anyone reading this post to this paragraph must be getting impatient for me to elucidate as to what are the variables on which the answer to the billion-dollar question so daringly and shamelessly ‘depends’ on. The first thing it depends on is “Your objective” – Every serious aspirant does prepare an almost identical answer to this question as he is bound to be asked the deciding question of “Why MBA?” at the interview once he manages to bell the CAT or any animal that is friendly to him. The answer in everyone, alright, pardon me for generalizing, almost everyone’s mind seems ‘so-fucking-obvious’ : Money and probably, a faster career growth. However, as popularly said, the devil is in the detail. One can earn a decent amount in an IT-job or any technical role they are in with due course of time. Is it the frustration of the IT-job you want to get away from, or simply the headline-making insane salary figures that have caught your imagination? You need to ask yourself these troubling questions, and maybe some more to unearth the real reason, which as in most cases usually is ‘all-the-above’. I can go on rambling justifying or trashing as MBA, but the truth is no one knows better than you, I will only make the facts a little clearer if you are really interested.

One of many significant learning s from B-school has been that one cannot really win all the time. It’s the truth and the earlier one realizes this, the better for him. This might seem quite obvious on the face of it, but believe me, it isn’t obvious in this place. Most of the people here have been achievers all through their lives, that being the reason they are here. But when you put the best people from the country and ask them to fight among themselves, some will eventually win the battle. The most important thing here is respect others. Give it your best shot and if others are still better than you, its alright to lose to the best in the business. In fact, take pride that you were the ones they had to fight with. Eventually, what you have in you is going to matter along with what you learnt by fighting and enduring these battles.

What started out as an exercise in self-introspection has turned out to be more of gyan about knowing what one wants from life! I, however am of the opinion that a good read is one which comes freely and hence pardon the deviation from the course. Posting my self-introspection report online is postponed indefinitely and the inconvenience, if any, is deeply regretted.
Cheers, Anand.

Globe !

Today I wish to speak about a phenomenon very common in every B-school - GLOBE ! The nomenclature might be different, but the concept is omnipresent and penetrates every kind of business school in the country and probably elsewhere. In fact, not only business schools, 'globe' is usually the major constituent of most casual discussions and political manifestos. Globe is vague, but ususally delivered specific to a context. Being such an inseparable part and parcel of our lives, it was not a surprise to see that the Student's Cultural Committee had chosen 'Globe' as the theme for Unmaad - IIMB's Cultural Festival.

The thought of writing about globe did strike me very early in the first term itself, but the complexity of the task coupled with the 'hectic' schedule here forced me to procastinate unwillingly for an incredibly long time. 'Globe' is most evident during case discussions. As soon as the professor asks for comments on the case, he announces WAR. A shrewd battle of confidence, dominance and timing to put in the much needed CP a.k.a Class Participation, which is one of the graded components of our 'performance' in some courses, starts and the proper identiable aspects are covered within the first two minutes. This is exactly the point when globe starts to come into the picture. Often this is in the form of someone very cleverly trying to paraphrase one of the already mentioned points and trying to project it as a new direction. 'High level globes' like 'their procurement strategy needs to be improved', 'the discontent needs to be addressed', 'the environment is dynamic and the company needs to be flexible in its outlook' are some examples which give a very broad outline of what is obvious, but no specific way as to how to go about achieving these objectives.

Now, I am not at all against the idea of globe. In fact, it turns out to be the only savior while writing project proposals. One glance at most of the project proposals submitted will make you wonder if these guys are actually going to change the way business is carried out world over. However, a closer glance will reveal time-perfected techniques of putting in globe at the crucial and critical places without going into the details. I dread to even think of the reaction of people who would have read 350 of our "Cover Letters" and "Statement of Purposes", which is nothing but well-articulated and formatted globe. A perfect example of globe could be this very blog post, where nothing substantial has been written, yet it might give the impression that I have pondered enough about 'globe' and took a lot of pain to actually put down what qualifies as globe.

Of Lounges(Ouch!) & L^2

One of the most important aspects of life @ IIMB is the L^2, rather the L^2 parties. Our seniors had planned our first L^2 at the end of the rigorous 'orientation week'. Many of us had heard about these fancy parties, but the real thing was worth getting our asses kicked for a week! I take the liberty to start with the boring details first - the name L^2 is simply because it is a L-shaped elevated platform, with stairs and a small basketball court. These parties are organized by the Student's Cultural Committee(fondly known as Culcom) and I am not very sure about the frequency of such parties, but I sure hope they happen more regularly.

The party started at 11pm and it was meant for two reasons - Firstly, to welcome the new "fachcha" batch and secondly, to celebrate the DMLs. Now, DML or Director's Merit List holders are a different species of people on IIMB Campus who have managed to trounce the competition and emerged as the 12 people with the highest CGPA on campus. So, the party was flagged off by the DMLs with a bottle of champaigne and then some numbers by the rock band. Meanwhile, the bar had started in the background and junta was automatically crowding that corner and demanding re-fills of the free booze. The stage was then cleared and the DJ equipment setup. L^2 was now ready - Disco Lights, DJ with blaring music, Students with most of them a peg or a can down. The girls didn't miss the opportunity to come all 'decked up' for the first party on campus and our eyes weren't complaining either. The guys were also at their best with party shirts and similar stuff. Slowly, as the booze flowed freely, the hips started swinging and the mood was setting in. Then, it was an all-night non-stop party till 4.30 AM ! Surprisingly, most of the girls did stay till the end.. I had two pegs each of vodka and whisky and found that it aids dancing a lot. My arms and legs didn't hesitate to the music and I had a rocking time. This is the definition of fun at IIMB - L^2 !

Now, the sad part of the blog - Lounges. The concept of lounges was started by our seniors, who were creative and took the initiative of making these 'madhushalas' in almost every hostel block. The ambience of a mini-bar was replicated very well in these. They all had names like 'A-top or Madhushala' , G-Spot, J-Bar, etc. Very creative use of coloured lights and old banners and publicity posters. We 'fachchas' were looking forward to inherting these lounges, being a part of them until one of our own batchmates stabbed us all in the back. Someone had gone straight to the Director and reported about these lounges and the supposedly 'bad influence' they were having on us. End of topic. The director entered the hostels for the first time in years and ordered an immediate closure of all lounges. Sad ending to a great inititiative.

Thats all for now, have lots of studies to catch up with. Managing Organizations (Globe !), Financial Accounting and Business Statistics.. 3 tests next week.. Shit, I should have studied instead of writing this crap !