One thing you learn quickly in Mumbai is to call every male–irrespective of age–as “Bhaiya.” Be it the laundry guy, the canteen walah, the shop keeper, or the janitor, everyone is your bhaiya aka. brother. Most statements you make will contain the word. For example, “Arre bhaiya, khane ke liye kya hai?” (“Oh brother, what’s there to eat?”).
I wonder how it would be if used in Kannada. There’s actually no general word for brother. You either say “Anna” for elder brother or “Tamma” for younger brother. “Tamma,” however, has another entirely different meaning and which I dare not explain!
On a side note, my last sentence for the day nowadays is, “Arre bhaiya, ek bournvita dena,” usually on the stroke of midnight.
I learnt a cool accounting trick today. We had to play a game of Monopoly in class. Unfortunately, my teammate and I ended up with a cash imbalance at the end of the game. Don’t ask me how, but we did! The missing cash meant that our Balance Sheet and P&L Statement would not match. Thinking hard, we came up with a genius of a solution; stolen cash. Yep. If you ever take an accounting class in your MBA, remember that “stolen cash” as an expense item can save your butt.
This is a question often asked – and often unanswered – in admission interviews at SP Jain. SP stands for Shriyans Prasad. If you are observant, you will notice a board that carries the expansion for SP when you step into the college. I am not very familiar with the history of the college. I’ll try and hunt down the story.
Many people actually mistake SP to expand as Sardar Patel simply because the Sardar Patel College of Engineering is also on the same campus and neighbors SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. But the full expansion would then read as Sardar Patel Jain… which does not make much sense.
I am finally back in my room after a gruelling three-exam marathon and an accounting class. Here’s how I fared:
Managerial Economics:
30 questions; 45 minutes; multiple-choice format. I discovered that I have a very active subconscious. I managed to tick many answers correct relying on the drowsing cum studying I did yesterday night. Just went through the answer key and I must say I have done pretty well. Need to wait for the official results though.
Quantitative Methods:
23 questions; 45 minutes; multiple-choice format. The easiest of the three. Got a few wrong but on the whole satisfied with my performance. Need to wait for the official results though.
Financial Accounting:
4 questions; 1 1/2 hours long. I really wonder how accountants do their job. Managed to screw up all the answers. None of the sheets balanced. My answer sheet looks like it’s been through the hands of a two-year old child. So many scratches. Found out that all my classmates had imbalanced the balance sheets to varying levels. At least we have a level playing field! There’s no one with a finance background in class.
Also submitted an assignment and came back with one more. An MBA is really not easy on the body and mind.
Shree Krishna restaurant serving “Royal Seema Dosa,” “Perfect Dosa,” and “Tasty Dosa” in front of another store that calls itself “Wet Concepts.” Leaves very little to the imagination. The weather is hot and sticky. You cannot walk a few feet without sweating (reminds me of those water tankers in Bangalore that merrily chug along while the water is constantly leaking). Step into an STD/ISD booth and you’ll be cooked raw! I have got to admit though, that Mumbai has its own charm. I’ll be writing regularly on my “Mumbaising” (as in acclimatising).
My Hutch connection has just been activated and it works. Thank God, for that.
Hope to snap some pictures today. But, only if I finish studying for my three back-to-back exams scheduled for tomorrow. A common query I have received is “How come you have exams although you have just arrived in Mumbai a day ago?” Well, I may have come just a day ago, but I have been studying from the past three months (the pre-foundation courses). Tomorrow’s exams are on these subjects. We have been told that it’s a multiple-choice test. That should bring out all my latent skills of intuition.
Wish me luck!
I had never lived in a hostel until today. It’s an experience I have been looking forward to. I wasn’t disappointed. Walking into my room I was met by two cots with Kurl-On mattresses and pillows on them. That and a mosquito screen lying on the floor. My room is in the new hostel wing that’s still undergoing construction. My innate house-keeping skills (whatever little there is of it) were called to the forefront. I had the room dusted and swept; the mosquito screen fixed. A copy of the Vijay Times served as sheeting for the cupboard (I flew KingFisher in case you were wondering). In went all my belongings in no particular order. The bed was then made. Thankfully the network ports were up and running. I logged in and bugged a couple of old friends. It was time to do some shopping. I came back with a prepaid Hutch (oh no!) connection, a dustbin, a lock for my room, and a doormat. My room is now quite spic and span. It’s actually our room because I have a roommate.
Things to do tomorrow:
- Buy a mirror
- Strike a deal with a laundry guy nearby
- Strike a deal with the mess guy
- Submit an assignment (sigh!)
Here’s a useless strategy from HSBC to get you to spend your hard earned money.
Did you know that if you make purchases of Rs. 2500 or more using your HSBC debit card between April 15, 2006 and May 31, 2006 you will get a priceless Rs. 51 as cash back? That’s an amazing 2.04% ROP! Yeah, that’s a new term coined by me. It stands for Return on Purchases. Now, before you run out with your HSBC debit card to make that mega-purchase worth Rs.2500, just remember that this offer is applicable only to those debit cardholders to whom HSBC has sent a mailer.
Am I lucky or what?
Two recent incidents have led me to believe that the Hutch mobile network is haunted.
- A friend recently tried reaching me on my Hutch number. The call was answered by one Salim. My friend disconnects the line and presses redial. Presto! This call reaches me. Now, who’s this Salim who can also be reached on my number?
- I call a friend’s mobile using my Hutch connection. Ring… Ring… Ring… No one answers. I call through my land line. My friend immediately picks up the call and says that her mobile did not ring at all and that it was right in front of her. Left me wondering about spooky calls.
I don’t know what AI Hutch has on its networks, but it’s surely gone bonkers. However, the worst Hutch incident (non-spooky) I have witnessed is this: I and a friend – both Hutch number enabled – are standing exactly one foot apart. I try calling this friend’s number only to be greeted by a “The Hutch number you are trying to reach is unavailable.” How’s that for connectivity?
When it comes to money, there are two schools of thought – the old and the new. The old school of thought believes that “One should save for a rainy day.” Save for tomorrow even if it means you have to be frugal today. The new school of thought, on the other hand, believes that “One should live one’s life today.” After all, you don’t know if you are going to be alive tomorrow. So why bother saving for it? My only question to people who believe this is, “What if you live till tomorrow?” This new thinking is further exacerbated by the easy availability of loans in all forms. You can borrow money to buy a car, to buy a house, to educate yourself, to invest in the innumerable IPOs, to go on that foreign trip, or for entirely personal reasons (no questions asked!). You can buy just about anything on an EMI. Today’s youth have never had easier access to money.
In my opinion, it is prudent to save a fair bit for a rainy day. That, however, does not imply frugality. You should enjoy luxuries, but only those that you can afford to. I personally believe that loans are a necessary evil. Take a loan to enjoy a luxury only if you know that you can pay it back without resorting to frugality. After all, what’s the point in enjoying a luxury if paying for it means you have to think twice for your next meal.
What’s your take on this?
Consider our experience with Sangeetha Electronics, a popular mobile phone vendor in Bangalore, with stores located on JC Road, Jayanagar 4th Block, and at the Forum Mall, Koramangala. We (myself and Avinash) have been regular customers at Sangeetha over the past couple of years, having bought several mobile phones for friends and family. In total, we have done business over INR 60,000 with Sangeetha. About ten days back Avinash bought a Nokia carry pouch (worth INR 250) for his new Sony Ericcsson K700i – both the items being bought at Sangeetha. A couple of days later he noticed that the new carry pouch had a defect.
We could not take it back to the store until today. The dealer refused to acknowledge the defect insisting that he could not send it back to Nokia. It seems he would have happily replaced the pouch had we brought it back within a day or two. No amount of explanation (expressing our helplessness for not coming earlier) could change his mind. He admitted that he was ready to lose us as a customer (and any future business that we would bring) but would not replace the pouch. That we felt was injustice because we have always convinced (and in some cases forced) people to buy their mobile phones at Sangeetha. We had no reason to be their brand ambassadors, but we chose to. From today, we no longer are.
“Customer Service” is one business acumen that many a business in India needs to learn. What would you have done if you were in the dealer’s shoes? Would you be willing to sacrifice INR 250 just to keep a loyal customer? And having read about our experience, would you buy your mobile phone at Sangeetha?
“True Copy” and “Attested By Me” – these are two phrases which you often require to be stamped on your photocopied documents and for which you need to visit a notary (def. “Someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify a document’s validity and to take depositions”). You, of course, need to part with your hard earned money. Different notaries charge different amounts per signature. There’s no pre-defined rule.
So, where can you find a notary on short notice? If you happen to live in Bangalore South here’s where you can find them.
Head over to Jayanagar 4th Block. Locate the very popular Adiga’s Restaurant. Take a right turn here. This road is full of notaries. You can even find signboards – with bold arrow marks on them – pointing you to the notary. Unless you are in a hurry, ask around for the price per signature till you get a fair deal. In my opinion “notarizing” is a very lucrative business.
Two must read articles from the latest McKinsey Quarterly:
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Pluto, the most distant planet in our Solar System, has been known for nearly 30 years to have a moon – Charon – although some scientists suspected it may have other, smaller moons. Now, Nature reports the discovery of two new moons orbiting Pluto and presents streaming video of lead scientist Hal Weaver and News & Views author Richard Binzel discussing how they were found using the Hubble Space Telescope — and how a giant impact could explain their origin.
Watch the streaming video. (Requires Macromedia Flash)
Public service advertisement
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Yesterday’s edition of The Economic Times carried the following article (on Page 6):
Is biz school salary hype only a myth?
MARQUEE B-school grads are definitely the chosen ones in the job market. The starting salary is sky high, opportunities are abundant and the experience is global. Bluest of the blue chip global companies and investment banks queue up to sign on a handful of guys and girls with mind boggling eight figure salaries. The career of a fresh graduate definitely starts on a high note!
That’s the marketing spiel or call it the myth. Now the rub: just a couple or perhaps four get that kind of salary. And its definitely not the the fresh graduate with no work experience to show who is taking home that cheque. Those who get the eye-popping salaries are students who have slogged it out in the corporate world for around a decade, in many cases. Also, the big salaries are usually for overseas postings with salaries quoted in dollars, euros or pounds. An overwhelming 95% of the B-school grads actually take home a more down to earth pay package. For the HR industry watchers about 80 % have to be happy with around Rs 6.5 lakh per annum or less.
When asked about the compensation neeneedof [Vinaya: I have no clue what that word means.] B-school graduates, K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International told ET, “In many cases these are dollar salaries converted into Rupees and that’s why they look bloated. Even at IIMs there are students who get between Rs 3.6 lakh to Rs 4.8 lakh per year. At lesser known institutes fresh graduates may not get more than Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh a year. People always talk about the one spike and that creates a myth of B-school salaries.” Dr Santrupt Mishra, director HR, Aditya Birla group agrees.
The same paper reported, only recently, the astronomical salaries being offered at the same B-schools, in headlines. I think it’s appropriate that the whole story be reported together, instead of in bits and pieces. I also wish that articles be atleast run through a spell-checker before being published. If you pick up any recent edition you’ll know what I am talking about. For a paper that claims to be the top business daily in India this certainly is a let down.
Here’s what you absolutely must do this weekend. Start at 07:00 IST on a Saturday morning for a one-day trip to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Balmuri Falls, and Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam. That’s exactly what Avinash, Shruthi, and I did this Saturday. And what a fun trip it turned out to be. None of us knew we would be doing this trip till late Friday night. All our trips are this way – absolutely no clue till the very last minute and then loads of fun experiencing the unexpected.
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is about 130 kms from Bangalore. Hit the Bangalore-Mysore highway (it’s in awesome condition now) till you reach the bridge at Srirangapattanam. You’ll soon find directions to the bird sanctuary. On the way you can stop for delicious breakfast at Kamat’s Lokaruchi (lookout on the right when you are about 55 kms from Bangalore) or at Shivally MTR (again lookout on the right when you are about 70 kms from Bangalore). The first thing that strikes you about Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary (RBS from here on) is the cleanliness. It’s spic and span everywhere. Quickly catch a boat ride to see the innumerable number of bird species. You have two options for the boat ride. Pay 20 bucks a head and cram yourself in a boat with a dozen people. Or, pay 200 bucks and rent a whole boat exclusively for your group. I suggest the 200 bucks route. It’s worth the extra money. Try and get into the boat navigated by one Narayanappa. This guy’s passionate about his job and he’ll make your trip a memorable one. We got to see a few crocodiles up close, real close. It’s best if you reach early and beat the heat.
The following pictures were shot by Avinash and Shruthi. The A95 was hijacked from my hands.
From RBS, head back to the Bangalore-Mysore highway and drive towards Mysore till you see a sign for the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam (you need to take a right turn here). Continue on this road till you spot a sign-board for Balmuri Falls. You need to take a right turn here and drive for 3 – 4 kms to reach the falls. If you were expecting a huge drop of water then you are going to be disappointed (see the picture below). Balmuri Falls should be visited just for the sake of doing so (and possibly to experience that “I’ve been there” kind of feeling).
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Drive back till you reach the original road that leads to the KRS dam. A further 8kms down the road you’ll reach the toll gate for KRS. The Krishna Raja Sagar dam is mesmerizing. It’s an engineering marvel that’s withstood the tests of time. I had been here as a very young child and so my memories were close to nonexistent. Today was a great refresher. The view from the top of the dam is simply overwhelming. There was absolutely no one around and we had the whole dam virtually to ourselves. You can’t help but feel insignificant in front of this majestic structure. I heard that it’s very crowded in the evenings. So you might want to beat the crowd by visiting KRS dam in the noon.
From KRS, there’s a road that connects back to the Bangalore-Mysore highway near the Srirangapattanam bridge. You need to ask the locals to show you this road. Let me know if you take this weekend break from Bangalore. I would love to share your experiences on this blog.
Clicking on any of these photographs gives you a 1024 x 768 version. Let me know if you want the original photographs (much higher resolution). Just mention which ones you need in your e-mail / comment.
A side-effect of owning a broadband connection from BSNL is how quickly you become adept at “The Art of Negotiation,” particularly true if
- Your phone is a fair distance away from your ADSL modem and
- Your family lives with you and competes for usage of the phone (both incoming and outgoing)
Picture this.
You are cruising the Internet at 256Kbps (bandwidth may vary in your case), you find something, a few hundred megabytes in size, that you MUST download, you are halfway through the download, and then the phone rings. Ring…Ring… You think “Hah! I can use both my phone and simultaneously download that must have multi-megabyte file because I now have ADSL.” Someone at home picks up the phone and says “Hello.” Voila! There’s no longer any Internet connection. So much for your arrogance at owning ADSL.
Once the above incident becomes a part of your daily routine you start to become adept at “The Art of Negotiation”. You suddenly find yourself doing favors, both big and small, to your family members. You find yourself cooing sweet nothings. In a short time you become the darling in the house. All this for the single hope that you can influence their decision to use the phone when you are using the Internet.
Here’s another bizarre incident. At a friend’s house, the broadband activity lights go kaput when he switches on the fan! I’ve seen this happen in front of my eyes. My friend says that his broadband experience has now turned into a “nudeband experience”. The summer’s turned worse in Bangalore and the poor fellow can’t turn on the fan!
Lured by the recent advertisement from BSNL that offers free broadband for two months? Just make sure your computer’s a very close neighbor to the phone socket (the one that comes into your home from the pole outside). If that’s a no go, you could always enroll for tuition in my classes on “BSNL Broadband and The Art of Negotiation”.
