A message to your future self - A poem

A message to your future self                                     

 * A poem written for Kalakruti

The child in me yearned to be you...

The youth in me wanted to be you...

You are the person I looked forward to be,

Or I thought I will turn out to be.

I hope I haven’t committed a sin,

So grave that you turn away from yourself.

I hope you still have the child in you,

Uncorrupted by the frivolous ways of life.

I hope you make someone so happy,

That the smile reaches her eyes.

I hope you make someone so proud,

That they are at a loss of words for you.

I hope you are so fond of someone,

That you let go of your ego.

I hope you are so loved,

That makes you so sure about yourself.

I  hope I haven’t lost Myself.

                                                          Arun Babu.

It felt like I never left...

Almost 3+ years after I left ASB to join the corporate world - a world that all of us students are dying and fighting to join during the 2 years that we spend in college - I felt as though I had never left the beautiful and the forever so peaceful campus of Planet E....

Deepak Sir - my mentor - my guide and the best teacher ever - managed to pull me out of the life that I was so caught up in to visit the campus and meet the students - my juniors - something I was just 3 odd years back....

It was the most nostalgic experience ever.... My driver stopped the car at the main gate as the security told him to... I was dreading this as I did not have a Gate Pass ;)  however I was pleasantly shocked when one of the security guards recognised me and said "Megha??? u may go in" I was left with a dumb smile on my face - cos this was the sweetest they had ever been to me - or my guess to any ASBian!!!

Well movin on - I guided the driver towards the college and ended up moving towards the girls hostel - when I suddenly realised what I was doing... that moment was the first of many when I then felt as though I never left ASB...

Once near the canteen - I first met with the ever smiling face of Kulkarni Sir...it felt so good to see him after so long and in good health - To me as an Alumni - more a marketing specialised Alumni - ASB would be incomplete without people like Kulkarni Sir and DG....

Well I had come with the idea of talking about my experiences as a Brand Manager to a group of Marketing enthusiasts... but well with DG - I am sure most of u would - one cannot predict anything - it was not a simple session but a Colloquia!!!

I was given in the safe hands of the colloquia team.... I have a very special corner for that committee - I was a part of one 3 years back and being with a bunch of young excited students wanting the colloquia to go perfectly well was all it took to make me feel - why does college life ever end... the carefree attitude, the simple worries - the many smiling faces and so many dreams....I felt a part of Team colloquia yet again - and thanks to them I felt like I never left yet again....

Well I did the assignment given by DG - spoke to a whole bunch of students (I will share that experience separately...) - I really do hope that I added some value - cos being in the colloquia team - I do know what students really feel about colloquia's...but the whole assignment brought me back to my college and made me forget the fact that I was stuck up in the pressures of the corporate world....

I felt carefree - I felt as though I was back in campus - and meeting Dean Sir, Uday Sir and so many other familiar faces - library Sir who remembered me... admin anna who brought me tea when I was in dean Sir's room... some great students who had so many dreams - all in all it was an amazing experience...

I took back a lot more than maybe what I came back to give... More memories, a lot of happiness - and loads of love from my juniors, teachers and everyone at ASB....

ASB - the place to be... now and always....

Thank you everyone esp. DG Sir for bringing me back to Planet E :)

I luv College Life

With memories still fresh in our minds of sending off the previous batch, IN we enter into the final trimester of our MBA education (or shall I call “OUR STUDENT LIFE?”). With loads of hopes, wishes and prayers in the minds and hearts of all of us to get placed, there is also an intention in the corner of the minds to store each moment in the form of pictures/videos and enjoy every second to the fullest.

Yes! In this auspicious moment, we all take oath to strive more harder like never before, burn our mid night oil even beyond the wee hours, take that extra pain,... not for studies, but to disturb our pals even more, celebrate a little more, play a lot more, bunk classes furthermore, and sleep in day time. Yes… an oath for a new year, an oath for the last trimester and an oath for everyone to finish our college life and enter into the corporate life - playfully…ooppsss… responsibly…!

Reflecting on Arunbabu’s post on the empty second floor not even a year before when the previous batch left ASB, time has come for each of us to realize the same awaits us in three months time. This is the moment guys… ENJOY it, CHERISH it and RELISH it!!! Cuz we don get another chance to sit in the REAL bench, sleep in working hrs, bunk first hour and still feel as proud as a king while we come to the second hour, (and some good uses like the variety of books in lib, inter-collegiate competitions for whatever reasons J) and a lots more.

Welcome to the sixth trimester my pals J

Why So Serious?...Because it’s my Life!

Why So Serious?...Because it’s my Life!

Why is it important to have a serious approach towards things that matter? Getting serious does not mean tracing out the smallest hint of fun in one’s life and executing it! Life will be so bland and boring without those lighter emotions. But to ‘get serious’ is to have respect towards things one take up –those things that will have a lasting impact on the person – relations, academics, work, habits & hobbies – all that matters.

To get started, it is important that we allow ourselves to indulge – not in the passing pleasures of life, but in meaningful introspection that leads to a soul searching. That separates people ‘who are’ from ‘who could have been’. I am not against taking life as it comes. But there is a certain passiveness to it and that might become counterproductive.

          Soul searching does not necessarily mean taking to activities like reading a book or listening to spiritual talks or practising yoga. It can be done much more joyously. Pick up something you love to do or you have always wanted to do but procrastinated for long. It could be anything like a sport or a workout regime or a get away with friends. This activity will shake one up from the abyss of complacence. It acts as the fountainhead of energy to move away from the status quo.  It will give enough impetus to wake up from the daily chores and use time productively, adding flavour to life. As a very meaningful Ad recently said, “It is what you do in your free times that make you who you are”.

          There is nothing wrong in taking a laid back approach towards life –  to each their own - and what suits best. But it should not happen so that 10 years down the lane, you look back and despair over the things you could have done, however small they may be.

Life is too short and uncertain to not be serious about. Have short term goals for life...Work towards achieving them...Enjoy the pains and pleasures involved...

At the last mile, when one looks back, the rear view mirror should be full of mile stones to be proud of.

Arun Babu.

Let the Reason be...

Never imagined I'd feel this happy to log in and key away...without the faintest clue as to what this would be about.

 Looks like asb blog has undergone some great change! There is a fish pond :-)...active bloggers..and well...the great name "Best kept secrets"!!! 

Glad to be back...guess that is how it begins!!!

 Here is the first one as an alumnus (Gee that sounds weird!) and this is not about job or pay or career :-) :-)

I guess it is the time of the year when ASB is at its busiest best! Suits, trousers, ties, sarees...proof of what we have done over two decades summarized into two pages of "resume"...waiting for placecom message about companies. Suddenly you are a B-school grad...bargaining for salary...profile.... :-) 

Reliving it again.....

And then again...its Pragati time!!!! The ASB season!!! Suddenly we have an identity! And I guess it would have kicked in by now. The discreet smses under desks,scrolling inbox as we lose track of what we told whom, increasing scrawls and doodles on the back of notebooks, small notepads filling with things to be done, desktop screen cluttered with Pragati stuff, classroom boards with meeting reminders, new company for tea....Yes! Its Pragati time again...and like every year, we will scale a new "awesomeness"....

On another note it is Christmas time...the trees are up and decked. Bangalore seems to have an extra chill for the occasion...and Santas are in plenty...just like the reasons to be back to ASB Blog.... and like I began.... 'Let the reason be..."

-Anitha Kaveri

Set in your ways?

Set in your ways?

Who doesn’t like to be in control? Be it of our deeds, our thoughts, our urges, we all would like to rein them in. Then what is it that is stopping us? It is our diffidence, our indecisiveness.

Although we are aware the way we are leading our lives is not exactly the way we want it to be, we do not want to change the status quo. It is true that we WISH to, but its feebleness stops it from becoming a WILL. This is why it is said that a person’s life turns out to be the way one deserves.

Take the case of an addiction – Alcoholism, Smoking or anything for that matter. The most primary indication is a shift in our priorities. Our Friends, Family, Career – everything takes a backseat. The addiction takes over our life to the extent that it dictates our very way of life. You lose focus. This is exactly why many promising, abundantly talented people burnout early in life – just because they have let themselves fall in to the downward spiral of an addiction.

Often, addiction is an attempt to run away from the facts of life. That is why even though people say they no more enjoy the process, they cannot give up. Unconsciously they think it is helping them forget their suffering. But in fact all it is doing it is aggravating it.

And the accompanying guilt, it’s cancer for your mind. The reigning emotion becomes numbness. The mind loses its ability to take cognizance of emotions – be it glum or glee.

We think we will change the way we live by the weekend or month end and most popular one, by New year. If you really want to do it, today is the day. All we need to do is think about what we are losing out. For the passing pleasure of a frivolous way of living, we lose out on a fulfilling journey. Take control of your Life and live it to the fullest. All you need to do is DECIDE and the time is NOW.

ArunBabu.

Yi National Summit

25 & 26th November 2011 were two days of a different world all together! Yes! The entire nation gathered in Kumaraguru College, Coimbatore for the CII - Yi Net national summit.
Day 1:
The proceedings started with Ms. Namrata Samra, National Chairperson - Yi, welcoming the audience for what seemed an amazing 48hrs ahead, followed by Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar just energizing the crowd with his flamboyance. If this wasn't enough to realize what lies ahead, Dr. Rahul Mirchandani, Mr. Srikant, Mr. Prasanna and Mr. Romit were all on stage, taking us through a series of thought provoking discussion on TAKING CHARGE - The theme of the summit.
Hold on guys!The best is yet to come... Yes.. it was post lunch, and there stood a tall man with big mustache, Black coat and staring at the crowd. :-) Mr. Kiruba Shankar Started the session with energy, deep breath and his talk revolved around his mantra - "In any work you do, just tell OH YES, I CAN, OH YES, YESSS, YEs, Yes or Just a NO(and don't do it)." Mr. Murugan of Nizhal Maiyam followed Kiruba with a scintillating speech on the ways and means of youth Taking Charge, which literally drive the entire crowd emotionally motivated. OH YES !:-)
Is that all? Well the highlight of the day was Mr. Karthik Kumar (KK) - Evam Entertainment, who spoke for close to an hour, right from his journey which started after graduating from MICA to this passion in setting up a theatre (drama), his satisfaction in doing what he always wanted to do, the social barriers and most importantly, his energy. There was a mutual admiration between Mr. Kiruba and Mr. KK, we can all it mutual respect, admiration or anything, but it was quite amazing to be on that day in that venue to share, see and feel the admiration that each speaker had for other.
The day ended with Anmol Vij going out of Entrepreneurship and speaking about Studopreneurship.
And the stage for Day 2 was set and rearing to GO!
Day2:
Did the Day one keep us excited? OH YES! Well, Day 2 was equally exciting with lots and lots of speakers lining up for the day, the list which included names like : Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar - National Chairman, Mr. Irfan Alam - Founder, SammaaN Foundation, Dr. Kancha Ilaiah- Social Activist/writer, Mr. Rajeev Karwal - Founder, CEO Milagrow Business and knowledge solutions, Mr. KK - Evam Entertainment, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan - President Lok Satta Party and lots many.
The auditorium was filled with at least a century of experience in myriad of fields and literally, every single person TOOK CHARGE after the two days. It was the best couple of days one could wish to be a part of. Lots of experience, bit of gyan, more of networking, more of life changing ideas, situations and knowledge sharing was bound to happen.
Thanks to CII-Yi Net for arranging such a wonderful summit in Coimbatore, for it definitely made a lot of difference in many minds.