Some observations about Ahmedabad

Before coming to Ahmedabad, I thought that traffic in Kanpur was the worst possible anywhere in the world. But welcome to Ahmedabad! And you see no rules followed at the crossroads. People cross from all sides at the same time. It is really a wonder to see people still managing to drive along without any damage.

But there was another great difference that I saw. The police stations of Ahmedabad when compared to UP ones made the UP ones look like Dhabas being compared to 5 star hotels. So that was a nice relief. Although, I must confess, I have no clue as to the efficiency of the police.

IIM Ahmedabad

Yes! I finally reached IIM Ahmedabad yesterday - all safe and sound. Quite a feat! :-)

The luggage also reached safely, barring the tear on the big suitcase. The stuff was all intact though. The story of how the suitcase got damaged merits telling over here. I flew into Delhi from Lucknow on a JetLite flight. I had a connecting SpiceJet flight to Ahmedabad 3 hours later. SpiceJet flies from a differnt terminal than JetLite. So fair enough, I was asked to move out of the terminal 1C (JetLite one) and proceed with the luggage on the trolley to 1D (SpiceJet terminal). Now the funny part happens - when I am about to enter 1D, the airport staff asks me to change trolleys. They say that trolley from terminal 1C cannot go into 1D. Then they proceed to pick up my stuff from the trolley and damage it in the process. Not in the mood to create a great furore, I create a minor show, ensuring that a airport staff accompanies me to the check-in counter and gets my luggage checked in properly. But, the important thing over here is, why the heck does one need to change trolleys?

Coming back to the main focus of the post - IIM Ahmedabad. Coming from IIT Kanpur campus, which I should say is a little too lavish to be an educational institute, the campus seemed smaller and was a tad bit disappointing. I would definitely miss the awesome canteens and the incredible infrastructure of Kanpur campus. On the other hand, as people pointed out, IIM Ahmedabad seems to be a more functionally effecient campus with all essentials in place and running smoothly. The rooms in the old campus are 'old'. :-) New campus rooms are much better. But, life is on old campus. So overall, I am not really disappointed to be on old campus. Don't know what would I be thinking while running for my classes to the new campus in the morning. To add to my early morning woes, I have alloted the dorm which is euphemismatically called 'Living on the edge'. This issue seems to follow me from Kanpur where my department and my hostel were on the diametrically opposite ends of the institute.

Ask me to sum up the feeling in a line. It's IIM Ahmedabad!!! Top people from all over India are here. The undisputed leader. So it's good. What's lacking? Obviously, it's not Harvard, Wharton or Stanford.

Thoughts at an airport

Here I am sitting at the New Delhi IGI Airport waiting for my flight for Ahmedabad. First of all, this marks the important point in my life where I am done with all work at IIT Kanpur and am proceeding to IIM Ahmedabad. Quite a feat! :-) Secondly, this feel of an airport reminds me of the world tour that I made after my third year. I travelled extensively at that time and infact completed almost one and a half trips round the globe.

Does the post seem incomplete? I am not feeling inclined to write any more. So adios.

Dhoni's Strategy

Looking at people shouting for Dhoni's blood, I decided to write this post. I know, I know - this would not make much of a difference. Yet, I would write it anyways.

At the outset, I would agree that Dhoni has been into a lot of ads and has been earning a lot of money off the field. But should we be after his blood for that? You would say that his on-field performance has not been up to the mark. May be yes, may be no.

I just have the last England match for evidence as I had just watched that one. Let me still go ahead and look at the Indian Innings for you. When Dhoni came into bat, he batted real sensibly. He asked the batsman at the other to go for the big shots and kept himself for the last over. I agree that the ploy did not play off and India lost. But for another four somewhere and India would have won. The same people who are baying for Dhoni's blood today would have been all gaga over him. It is still the same Dhoni and he is still doing the best he can. It is just that for people effort does not matter and all that matters is the result.

Campus

It really pains when you begin to realize these are the few last days in the campus that you have called home for the last 5 years. When I came in, I was a kid and today when I am about to leave, probably I am still a kid. But still, there is a lot of difference in my attitude towards life. I have met some of the most amazing people and made great friends. I know this post sounds really cliched with everyone echoing similar emotions while leaving their college but then this is so true. Moreover, having spent 5 years here, almost everyone knows you. From the auto-wallahs to the travel agent in the Shopping Center from whom I have never bought a single ticket. Now I have to move to a new place and to try and create all those connections all over again.

There is an interesting thing that I would like to ask all people who have left college or are leaving college. What will you say if you were asked to complete - "I will always remember ... ". I know, this is out of the movie, 'The Girl Next Door', but still, it is an interesting exercise to do.

If to do were as to know what were good to do

If to do were as easy as to know what were good to
do, chapels had been churches and poor men's
cottages princes' palaces. It is a good divine that
follows his own instructions: I can easier teach
twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the
twenty to follow mine own teaching. The brain may
devise laws for the blood, but a hot temper leaps
o'er a cold decree: such a hare is madness the
youth, to skip o'er the meshes of good counsel the
cripple.

These are the words of Portia in the play "Merchant of Venice" by Shakespeare. I had read them when I was in class 10th and was suddenly reminded of them today. How true are they!

Nostalgia - is it?

Here I am - thinking what should I be posting here. Since I don't really know what I am going to be writing this is going to be an arbit post. These are the last couple of days with my wingmates in the hostels of IIT Kanpur. And the emotions are weird - would not call it nostalgia. As Nitin put it, may be last year, when most of our batchmates left, we were nostalgic. This time around - when we are finally leaving - the emotion is some kind of indifference. Probably its the communication revolution that makes us believe that people are going to be close to you no matter where they physically are. Personally for me, the emotion is weird because I have spent the last couple of months in the lab working and now suddenly I am spending a lot of time in the hostel. But anyways, I am sure that later on in life I am going to look back and look fondly on these days.