My life story May 12, 2009
Posted by sri14manu in Uncategorized.7 comments
SCHOOL DAYS:-
I started off my career with an ok 82.60% in my 10th standard..I never got above 80 in my entire school and in the last 15 days leading to the board exams,i studied a bit and manged this percentage sumhow..I was a very shy boy thru out and one of my maths teachers always said-’he is a very dull boy’
..But,he was the one who taught me maths early in my life..My father once came to ask one of my teacher’s at school how I was doin..she said dat i ll do better as i grow up..i thought dat she said it just like dat to make my father happy..And today wen i look back,I realise the meaning of it..there were numerous occassions wen i was scolded by my teachers for not studying and tarnishing my sister’s reputation who happened to be a topper at the school..
INTERMEDIATE DAYS:-
This was the time when my family moved to bhubaneswar from khurda road,a small town wer i grew up..
so,now i was in a city for the first time in my life and i was sort of puzzled so as to how will i adjust here in the crowd..i gt admitted in a gud college(BJB) where there were many toppers..I studied very normally those 2 years and alwas dreamed about buying a mitsubishi lancer which i saw everyday..
I whiled away most of my time in those 2 years working hard for only 4 months and as expected dint do well in any of the exams..gt a decent 86.00% in the board exams..but apart from that i gt nothing..never thot of IIT as sumthng i can achieve,but i was hopeful of NIT..but that too i flunked badly..
..padhunga tab na hota..I had made up my mind that i ll prepare for another year and do well..But,as destiny would have it,I got a 2461 rank in the state JEE and gt myself admitted in Civil engineering in CET,Bhubaneswar(ghar main bole-’bharti hoja,why waste 1 year’)..again a good college..
COLLEGE DAYS:-
I joined Civil branch finally but wanted to change my branch.So,studied a bit seriously before the exams and at the end of first year changed my branch to electrical..now,i was happy and i thought-’sahi hai ab,life ban gayi meri..college main placement toh hojayega koi software company main n i ll earn 20k per month,big money..coool’.In my first year,I took part in an Extempore competition in my college fest..I gt ‘ambience’ as my topic..I wanted to speak,par kya karun i dint knew the meaning of the word..
But,then happened sumthing which changed my life forever..I fell in love with a girl at the very first instant i saw her..The truth is that i started my MBA prep only to impress her..I started reading THE HINDU newspaper religiously and found out the meaning of every new word i got..I started Norman lewis for Vocabs..For the first time in my life,I was sincere abt sumthing..I vowed to do 1 exercise of Norman lewis everday..43 exercises completed in 35 days..meanwhile my level of frustration increased as i increasingly came to know dat i will never succeed in my pursuit and she ll never say yes to sum1 like me who had nothing..Meanwhile,fests were on in the college and i saw my friends win in many events and here i was participating in evry event and geting nthng but dissapointment.. I felt that i am an absolute loser aur merese kuch nahn hoga..My HINDU was wat kept me goin at that stage..
In my 3rd year,I joined career launcher with no real aim but just to carry forward my relentless pursuit which gt more agonising everyday..Also,joined a computer course just to keep myself occupied..was least interested wat was taught there..
I was reading now regularly and solving the material that i got..was getting more serious everyday and studying hardd and real hard was my only way of venting my helplessness due to the girl i was after..she rarely talked to me..
But,again as destiny would have it,after 1.5 years,i got committed one fine day and my dream came true..she said yes to me...I was very happy that day..But,very soon i realised that now I have to get into a gud B-School in order to convince her parents ki main layak hun..Now,my parents came to know abt this and i was bambooed like anythng for this..It was only getting difficult for me to concentrate on my prep as it was geting very emotional coz of my relationship and the flak i received for it on a regular basis..I knew that for personal reasons this will be my first and also the last attempt at MBA exams..a do or die situation..But,she alwas stood by my side n encouraging me that i can do it..Now,i grew only stronger everyday and was determined to do well..My parents sacrificed a lot to make sure that i get good education..
My coaching was goin on in an ok ok manner with me geting occasional bamboo at home..I studied hard n real hard,cried many a times for making my parents and her unhappy at times..worked like a donkey..
Then came the mocks and i started with a 83 percentile with only 1 section cleared.I kept on working..sum mocks were gud but most of them were bad for me..I knew all along that i can do better..I learned a lot from mocks..these exams teach u a lot about life..i learnt to be patient and realised that there is no place for personal ego here..learnt from my mistakes..I even told her lies abt my mock scores just to make her happy..den in one mock i gt 43 percentile with a -13 in English section..13 attempts,13 wrong..my confidence took a serious blow..after all those endless hours of practice,i gt this..i thought i can never do well in xams..merese hoga nahn,i am nt made for big things..but i went on to work hard,and she alwas was der 4 me..
D-DAY
After 1.5 years of endless mocks and practice,I was all geared up for the big moment..My last mocks were gud,nt IIM types though..I was fairly hopeful of my chances..struggled to sleep the day before as i remembered all the things i had done in the last 2 years for this very day..slept at 2,woke up at 7..went to my center too early,carried a choclate as sum1 suggested it wud keep me cool and an ipod that will again make me cooler..
..my nerves gt the better of me n i flunked CAT..it was over before i cud know wat happened..I was dejected like hell..my friends who prepared with me did well as xpected and were xpecting IIM calls..
Then, i sumhw managed to get out of it and geared up for IIFT the following week..did fairly and was xpecting a call..results came soon on dec 12th and i missed the cut-off my 1 mark...14th dec,JMET.I was determined to do well this time and went in with a very cool head(no more choclates and ipods this time).had a very good paper and it was the best of my life..i could never have done better..xpected a SJSOM call n a rank below 150..was very happy that day..den came SNAP,did well there also..xpecting a SIBM,Pune call..
3rd Jan.
The day before XAT and JMET rsults were on net..I gt a 437 rank,cud nt bliv my eyes..just cudnt bliv that my best performance ever gave me this...this was the lowest point of my life..next day was XAT n i was in no mood to appear for the xam coz i felt that i can get nothng in life even after giving my everythng for it..XAT day,went in thinking nthng this time,did fairly well..came out,no hopes this time around..9th jan. SNAP results declared and i missed SIBM,Pune by 0.5 marks..i was just speechless at my luck..10th jan,the day b4 FMS,CAT results declared..gt 96.74,no calls obviously..many of my friends gt BLACKI..i felt very very low..all this time i was thinking just 1 thing-’wer has all my hardwork gone?’..FMS day,gave it my best with a cool head and returned home..All the way along,she was behind me..my mother encouraged me dat i ll get sumthng gud at the end of it all..Also,there were ppl who said ther is no use of crying coz of bad results and i shud have worked harder during the preparation time..
19th Jan
XAT results declared and to my utter disbelief,I got a XLRI,BM call..I cried for 20 minutes,cudnt sleep dat night..den came FMS,gt both the calls from it..i was happier..now i had sumthng to cheer about..den came GD/PI stage, i worked normally this time..all interviews wer over and den came results..
VERDICT
First came FMS..waitlisted at 49 for MBA n rejected for MS..i knew FMSÂ was over for me..actually had an xcellect PI there..My XL interview was also very gud..but after this, i was doubtful now..XL came on 25th Mar,i was waitlisted at 53 for BM..i knew i had a fair chance..
Finally,after all the effort that I had put in for the last 2 years,the agony,mental pain and ofcourse sum lovely moments also,on 27th april,I got a mail dat said I am thru XLRI
.Felt a big big relief,tasted success for the first time in ma life..I was happy..felt vindicated..I had proved myself finally..
I would like to thank my parents for everthng that they have done to me,thank anushree for being with me all along and showing the faith wen i had lost it all..I thank my friends avinash and gogi for helping me out of very emotional situations..ur really special to me..arnav n jami for preparing with me and showing me wat this world of MBA means..a special thanks to PG..
BELIEVE IN URSELF AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.ITS NEVER ALL OVER.
XLRI, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND HUMAN RESOURCES.
BM BATCH OF 2009-11
The greatest pleasure in life lies in doing things which other people say you can’t! 
Word Power November 6, 2007
Posted by sri14manu in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Hi,here is a an attempt to discover some new words and their meanings…just read on and get a feel of words…
1. Winner of Noble prize for Literature,Doris lessing’s oeuvre is mind-bogglingly various,consisting of at least 25 novels(one has lost count);volumes of short stories and sketches.
OEUVRE- the total output of a writer or an artist(or substantial part of it)
2.Lessing comes up with her own unalloyed way of depicting a quiet but clear purview of qoutidian events.
QUOTIDIAN-daily,commonplace
3.In a rather angle-covering attempt,Lessing came up with Memoirs of a Survivor,where children with a motivation to evil transform into street gangs.The book lacks a strong thematic foundation and disintegrates into a series of phantasmagoric images.
PHANTASMAGORIC- characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions.
4. Converesly,in The Fifth Child,the eponymous Ben is autistic and absorbs all his mother’s attention,to the exclusion of other siblings.As he grows older and more criminalised,he becomes a canker.Ben’s cousin is a mongolid but utterly lovable.
EPONYMOUS-after whom a book is named
CANKER-become infected;sicken(when used as a verb),an ulcercation(used as a noun)
MONGOLOID- someone who resembles a mongolian; one affected by Down’s syndrome
AUTISTIC-disorder; usually of children ,characterized by lack of response to people and limited ability to communicate
20-20:Its all about Firecrackers September 29, 2007
Posted by sri14manu in sport.add a comment
The new face of the gentleman’s game ,the 20-20 has gained immense popularity among cricket lovers and the ICC has perhaps got the best publicity for itself on the stage of international sport.The T20 is the shortest version of cricket that seems to challenge conventionally popular sports like tennis and soccer in terms of excitement and verve.
Indian victory in the inaugural world cup was a pleasent surprise and a much needed breakthrough after Indian cricket was literally pushed into a state of bedlam after the Carribean debacle.The fact that all this was accomplished by an Indian team with a steadfast Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain and a handful of charged up youngsters sans the Sachin-Sourav-Dravid trio is certainly a good sign for the future of the sport in the country.The Indians went into the tournament with the tag of underdogs where they had nothing to loose and everything to play for.The sense of fearlessness ,a spirited fielding performance and consistent bowling(i dont mention batting because this is always our niche area) transcended this lot into World Champions.Captain M.S.Dhoni was more than impressive on his first assignment and there is no reason why he can’t continue on this.
The T20 format has little room for error.The thin line of balance oscillates erratically between the two teams defying the basic principals of physics and is accompanied by jittery emotions,frayed nerves and increased amount of adrenaline in the veins that makes 20-20 an excitingly charming game. Moreover, there is never a first hand rule to approach this game.A light gamble is always on the cards and the side that is more compatible with split second decision changes on the field has a fair chance of making it through.The stress on right technique is not felt and a stree-smart approach best fits the game.Afridi as man of the series accentuates this logic.
20-20 has no doubt provided a new direction to the sport though not many veterans are convinced about this version of cricket.But,we should remember that the 50 over game was also received in the same fashion.As long as it continues to entertain the general masses and sponsors keep pouring in,there is no looking back.
Dire Predicament Of Indian Agriculture September 17, 2007
Posted by sri14manu in general.1 comment so far
Its a sad state of affairs when we speak of our Agriculture-the darker side of INDIA SHINING.Its disheartening to note the penury stricken state of the Indian farmer and the agriculture industry which is the source of livelihood for more than 70% of our population and contributor of 31.8% to our GDP.
One question which covers the problems of farmers of this nation in its entirety is ‘why the Indian farmer who places the food on our table starving?’.The answer is a never ending melancholic fairy-tale.
Its a shame to note that more than 1 lakh farmers have killed themselves in the last decade(I eschew the word ’suicide’ because we have got a new definition for it these days in the context of Agriculture).Let me put forward some of the statistics to accentuate this fact.
One of the noted columnists of a leading business newspaper quotes-”The bottom 400mn of this country are a disappointment,they dont buy enough, its a difficult market to tap, but they do have a social understanding”.The Per Capita income of a farmer is Rs.225/month.This has to cover all the expenses of food, clothing, shelter, health, transportation, education, bank loan, electricity etc.Where is money left to BUY ENOUGH?
In the year 2001, the crisis in Vidharba,the worst hit district, reported 15970 suicides in six 100% rural villages.But, the authorities classified only 2138 of them as farmers, dont know what the rest of them were doing in those six villages other than agriculture.The suicides are categorised under various columns and when we reach the last column,the ingenuity of the Indian Mathematical genius brings down the figure to a meagre value which is put under the category of ELIGIBLE SUICIDES.A suicide is considered to be eligible if the person against whose name the land is registered kills himself,otherwise not.But, in most cases its a landless farmer or the son of a 80 yr old father who hangs himself.And because there is no land against his name,there is no evidence of a suicide.
We have deregulated our Agriculture to a level where we have brought down the minimum effective rate of germination to 60% from 85%.This means if a village buys 10,000 bags of seeds,they eventually get only 6000bags.40% loss even before it(read vicious cycle) starts.
Grameen banks which are supposed to give loans to the farmers and look after their well-being are investing tens and thousands of crores in the BSE. It comes as little surprise that these days they are on a hiring spree, after 3500 Grameen banks have been closed in the last decade.Now who is eating up the farmer’s share.
Let me make it very clear that the village Shaukar is no more the money-lender who burdens the farmers with heavy interest rates,those days are long gone.Its the seed sellers, pesticides sellers and aiding corrupt bank managers who are slowly but surely designing the suicide process.Our Agricultural boards are working on behalf of private Corporations.
A feasible alternative would be to give the farmer a loan for a period of say 5 years.Even if we take 2 good yrs,2 bad yrs and 1 neutral one, the farmer can repay his loan with interest and dignity.This will benefit the bank as well as prevent the farmer from kneeling down before a corrupt bank official every six months.
Do not treat agriculture as a headache, it should be declared as a public service.The farmers loose out a lot.Let us end the hypocrisy on subsidies which are nothing more than pathetic life supporters.Let growth be inclusive. We have already entered a stage where a farmer kills himself to get compensation for his family.But, the irony of ironies is that he does not know his helpless family will receive a cheque of Rs 7/- signed by the Prime Minister of India.
Why I am myself? September 7, 2007
Posted by sri14manu in personal.2 comments
A few days back,we were given to write on this topic at Career Launcher.This is what i came up with….
‘Adversity brings out the best in me’.When its all on song,everything is in phase.But,when things go from bad to worse,the brute inside me stands up and is ready to deliver.One can easily get deceived by the calmness of my personality,very rarely the other side is visible.
I know my niche areas and occasions that thwart my pace, am a conspicuous ‘Kaizen’ follower.Taking on challenges is a passion,living upto them is reality-I understand.I set high goals for myself and finishing before time is great fun.
Whatever i do on a given day,what i make sure is when i go to my bed,I should not have a feeling of guilt .For me there are no excuses and there is no benchmark for COMMITTMENT.I am myself just because the only person who knows me better is no one but me.
What makes MAN utd so special? September 4, 2007
Posted by sri14manu in sport.3 comments
hi! this is my first post and i look forward to keep this going…
What makes the red devils’ the most coveted football club on this planet,despite the fact that the Madrids,d Barcas and the erstwhile Flamingos and Sambas(Argentina and Brasil) play a game dats simply better both in terms of technique and excecution?
London based Manchester United is among one of the oldest football clubs in the world with a rich history that adds to itself endlessly after every derby.Its sheer popularity throughout the world can be extrapolated from the number of fan clubs associated with it,some of them are known to add upto 1000 members a week(other league clubs can only dream of such an adulation).It is perhaps the only club that retains its players and managers for a lifetime-Sir Alex ferguson,Manager for the last quarter century and players like Ryan giggs n Paul scholes who have played their entire career at Old Trafford giving their fans priceless memories.I think it takes something more than mere million pounds every year to achieve this.
United has taken club level football to unprecedented levels, people from Boston to Botswana witness even the routine weekend matches on their television sets.Seeking all the attention despite not being the best football playing club is innate to the London based reddies.Also, their line-up has never been the best of d best like Real which is crammed with all the big stars.The ambience of Old trafford ground can make anyone a fan of the club at the very first instant and after that it can only get better.It is one of those clubs which reflects why winning is not the only thing to look forward to on a field.
The ManU mania is definitely here to stay.Lets hope that some day,may be after a few generations we have our own Indian version of this great club.
