tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281446822024-03-07T09:36:43.683+05:30Confusions of a Dangerous MindAdding to the entropy of the Universe.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-74511207380678781092009-11-17T11:36:00.002+05:302009-11-17T11:38:14.558+05:30This Blog is MovingThis blog is moving to Wordpress.<br />All the posts and comments have been moved.<br />Please update your links:<br /><a href="http://nissimnabar.wordpress.com">http://nissimnabar.wordpress.com</a>Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-84598417321435964002009-10-01T23:54:00.004+05:302009-10-02T00:18:14.784+05:30Sing for the momentShe had been tired and unwell and upset that weekend two years ago. Then on Monday, he asked her a question she had not at all expected. Don't think Eminem was telling him "If you had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment, would you capture it or let it slip?"<br /><br />He felt at peace after a long time. She went home, he sat at the library he ran on campus with some friends.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-19980950442364935062009-09-30T21:49:00.001+05:302009-09-30T21:50:39.901+05:30Reminder...Every once in a while, something happens that reminds you of what is well and truly important.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-4856897155039190232009-09-23T02:45:00.004+05:302009-09-23T02:53:15.656+05:30Thoughts from an alumnusHarsha Bhogle, famous cricket commentator and quizmaster on ESPN, is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. Recently saw a video of his, of a talk he gave in the auditorium on campus.<br /><br />Had many wonderful thoughts: why live life like its a 100 m race? Why get into a job thinking about exit options and early retirements?<br />He says, "If you choose your first job based on the salary it offers, you might be making a mistake. Choose a career, that is what you came to (or should ideally come to) IIMA for." Maybe someday, when the day zero fever subsides and the media stops blaring the crore-plus salaries, maybe then some of us might get some of this perspective.<br />To end the talk he recited 4 lines of his (and my) favourite Urdu poetry:<br /><br />"ख़ुद ही को कर बुलंद इतना<br />की हर तकदीर से पहले ,<br />खुदा बन्दे से ख़ुद पूछे,<br />बता तेरी रज़ा क्या है?"Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-16804868743036337412009-09-05T19:40:00.006+05:302009-09-05T20:16:01.503+05:30Teachers' Day - a long overdue thank you note.I've been a student all my life and teachers have played a very important role in my life. Right from the ones in KG (which I sadly have not much recollection of) to the ones at IIMA, they have shaped the person I am and I will be.<br /><br />This blog is for all the teachers who I have not been able to thank in person: I will be ever grateful for your guidance. The foundation you laid has helped me get to where I have got, in the way I have got there.<br /><br />To my teachers in KG - Chincholkar teacher and the others, who taught me the absolute basics (literally the ABC), who made sure I never had stage fright- thank you. I cannot imagine the effort and patience you must have had to handle the number of rambunctious kids that you did.<br /><br />To my teachers in primary school: who made sure I got talking in English, the ones that made me write fast and in good handwriting, the ones that supported my fascination for astronomy, the ones that encouraged me to participate in many extracurricular activities; thank you. They gave me an excellent base in English and Mathematics (what you taught me was extremely useful in the CAT). Nisha teacher, Rajput teacher, Anuvi teacher, Seetha teacher, Radha madam, Jaya madam- thanks for your teaching. I still aim for the sky; sometimes get there but atleast reach the top of the tree.<br /><br />To my teachers in secondary school - too numerous to name; you made a wonderful impression on my mind. When a teacher who taught you 3 years ago says, "Nissim, your problem is that you take the languages for granted", it makes you take a good hard look at all the things you are doing wrong. Your constant encouragement was very important to me- thanks a lot for all of it.<br /><br />I hope some day I get a chance to thank all of my teachers in person, but this blog is atleast a start.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-90954977896586368962009-07-13T03:02:00.003+05:302009-07-13T03:03:25.789+05:30A Random Walk down memory laneRead my old blogs today...should have been reading FORM.<br />I used to write well...the pain, the happiness it all comes through even 3 years down the line.<br /><br />At some stage I should start writing again.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-1863660967639758222009-06-28T01:36:00.001+05:302009-06-28T01:37:25.844+05:30This blog needs a revival.<br />Tuchchadom promises some more time but I have so many things to do outside the class that it might seem as busy as fachchadom itself.<br />Then again, there's hope.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-45428206883931521602009-03-01T18:29:00.001+05:302009-03-01T18:30:03.174+05:30<div>Just thinking about the way my life is going now...</div>When it rains, it pours!!Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-57014178218127074072009-02-15T02:16:00.002+05:302009-02-15T02:21:53.227+05:30V-day for some, D-day for others.February 14th, Valentines' Day- the day of reckoning for lovers around the world.<br />February 14th, IIMA interviews began- day of reckoning for some.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-58816183990810340142009-01-07T22:33:00.004+05:302009-01-07T22:43:46.346+05:30The Perfect 10And I'm not talking about Nadia Comaneci.<br /><br />Seven months ago she sent an SMS, "You were perfect today."<br />He did not...she has always been perfect.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-55589198958205299482008-12-18T15:44:00.003+05:302008-12-18T16:02:57.515+05:30Came across a couple of very interesting posts on the anti-terrorist steps India should take by Prof. R. Vaidyanathan of IIMB.<br />Given that a nuclear war is not at all beneficial to us, screwing the already MASSIVELY screwed economy of Pakistan seems reasonable. Have no money, feed no terrorist will happen.<br />Here are the links:<br /><a href="http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/10mumterror-8-things-india-inc-govt-must-do-against-pakistan.htm">8 things India Inc must do.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/11mumterror-12-steps-to-shock-and-awe-pak-economy.htm">12 steps to shock and awe the Pak economy</a>.<br /><br />On a very personal note, I felt like someone got into my own home when those bastards did what they did. I've grown up seeing the very spots they hit and I'm sure anyone who grew up in Mumbai feels the same. I spent a good amount of time thinking of innovative ways to torture the one bastard who got caught. Had a discussion with Aseem on whether terrorists have religion.<br />His take was that religious sentiments made them do what they did and hence terrorists have religion.<br />I am no believer, but religion is essentially a human thing, and I refuse to accept terrorists as humans. They should not have any human rights and the bodies of the dead terrorists must be disposed of in the most disrespectful way possible. Also, make a video of the same and pass it to Al Jazeera...that should scare them all right.<br />India needs a strong anti-terror law, it needs good anti-terror organization and most of all it needs a Guantanamo Bay where to keep the terrorists. Maybe its time to get the Cellular Jail back to its 'infamous' glory.<br />The message ought to be clear..."You don't attack my home and get away with it."Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-62177513518059691722008-12-06T23:43:00.001+05:302008-12-06T23:43:35.832+05:30I spent seven biblically-lean years in the physics department.<br />One friend spent ten.We both got out alive.<br />Some didn't. It wasn't long before we had all heard the legend about<br />the graduate student who had shot his PhD advisor. Several years ago I<br />read a New York Times article about two graduate students who committed<br />suicide while studying in the Harvard laboratory of Nobel Prizewinner<br />Professor E. J. Corey. In a subsequent letter to the Sunday New<br />York Times magazine of December 20, 1998, Linda Logdberg of Upper<br />Nyack, New York, wrote in to comment on life as graduate student:<br /><br /><b><i>. . . Perhaps even more now than then, graduate education is an<br />extended adolescence during which highly intelligent young<br />people see their world shrink to fit the dimensions of their advisor's laboratory. . . . With their identities bound to the outcome<br />of the thesis project, graduate students are socialized to view<br />other options (teaching, industry, even changing to another type<br />of work altogether) with contempt.Wanting a decent wage and<br />meaningful work that occupies, say, only 50 hours per week are<br />considered signs of selling out.<br /><br />From, 'My Life as a Quant' by Emanuel Derman, PhD (Physics, Columbia) who headed<br />Goldman Sachs' Quantitative Strategies group.<br /><br /><br /></i></b>At IISc, I met a few of ppl who reacted almost violently to the idea of going on to do a mgmt degree and to<br />the idea of wanting to make more money. I thought I knew what they were thinking and this describes what I thought I saw perfectly.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-79441971190682880142008-10-15T23:39:00.002+05:302008-10-15T23:44:28.622+05:30I knew then, as I know now...A year ago, my throat sore with a horrible infection, my head spinning and stomach hurting from all the coughing, I said "I know". How wrong I was!! I didn't know anything, how my life would change, the experiences of the last year (happy and sad), decisions made and unmade and remade...the disappointments and the exultation of achievement, one thing has remained unchanged...in fact grown stronger.<br />My answer though, remains "I know".<br />And that I belonged to a stage in human evolution thats a step or two behind the rest of the world :P (this is what you call an 'inside' joke being made public).Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-80948683146267696132008-09-27T15:33:00.002+05:302008-09-27T15:37:49.359+05:30I wonder why...Went to the library at IIMA today...to borrow books from which I need to revise for placements.<br />The only thing that is on anyone's mind these days...placements. maybe next week the short quizzes might take our minds off it once in a while.<br />Browsed books on probability and time series analysis...borrowed a couple of books.<br />Wondered what I was doing here...I loved these things so much. Reminded myself that this was what I wanted to do and that finance was probably my best chance of actually working on these things.<br />Blogging more frequently these days...maybe more on the current affairs soon.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-9697890701900272532008-09-22T21:03:00.002+05:302008-09-22T21:08:41.994+05:30A little break...A 3-day break from WIMWI...a hurriedly arranged, tremendously anticipated visit to Bangalore.<br />Wanting to fill as much in every day as we could...to meet as many people as I could.<br />Thesis accepted pending small corrections for the award of the MSc degree.<br />Had really good coffee after almost 40 days, walked at Sankey, roamed Malleshwaram.<br /><br />Then something unexpected, unwanted, horrific.<br />Somethings change your life, your outlook towards life.<br />Make what is REALLY IMPORTANT very clear. This was one of them.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-72314415345088876042008-09-05T15:51:00.003+05:302008-09-05T15:54:19.344+05:30The Tenth Anniversary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06OslXlAUeHzdWArkdk4fuKdbC3dtG103WqwiCHyfpBxStP6VYiM01b-VaMCd_Cam41lTVtmUU768Jl6T00-wVWgHtvbhMUj531sykdLlmXvWiewO_q9Egja1luO4UWrgXRyt/s1600-h/bm_gunda2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06OslXlAUeHzdWArkdk4fuKdbC3dtG103WqwiCHyfpBxStP6VYiM01b-VaMCd_Cam41lTVtmUU768Jl6T00-wVWgHtvbhMUj531sykdLlmXvWiewO_q9Egja1luO4UWrgXRyt/s400/bm_gunda2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242480965272843698" border="0" /></a><br />10 years ago a phenomenon was born. How I managed to be unaware of it for so long is an absolute mystery to me.<br />On 4th September 1998, Gunda was released. We at IIMA had a special screening of this cult movie.<br />Jab Gunda dikha rahe hon...toh dekhna hi padta haiii!Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-544593409923632072008-06-24T01:54:00.000+05:302008-06-24T01:58:24.069+05:30KFC...My plight for the last 10 days reminds me of the comment that got our US envoy into trouble:<br />"Running around like a headless chicken".<br />Haven't had much good rest all these days as I stare at the daunting task of surviving PGP-1 at IIMA.<br />Finishing the report...getting it printed...getting the relieving memo.<br />the vaccinations and hurried meeting nearest-and-dearest ones.<br />Being scared and tired and hurting to leave the place I have known as Home<br />and the place that was getting there...finally I had begun to be at home in IISc.<br />Next post...probably CC at IIMA.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-50474638508804124692008-06-20T20:33:00.003+05:302008-06-20T20:44:07.505+05:30Leaving on a Jet (Kingfisher) PlaneFlew back to Mumbai from Bengalooru on a Kingfisher flight and this was the one song playing<br />in my mind all the way through:<br /><br /><em>So kiss me and smile for me</em><br /><em>Tell me that you'll wait for me</em><br /><em>Hold me like you'll never let me go</em><br /><em>'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane</em><br /><em>I don't know when I'll be back again</em><br /><em>Oh, babe, I hate to go</em><br /><em>There's so many times I've let you down</em><br /><em>So many times I've played around</em><br /><em>I'll tell you now, they don't mean a thing</em><br /><em>Every place I go, I think of you</em><br /><em>Every song I sing, I sing for you</em><br /><em>When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring</em><br /><em>So kiss me and smile for me</em><br /><em>Tell me that you'll wait for me</em><br /><em>Hold me like you'll never let me go</em><br /><em>'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane</em><br /><em>I don't know when I'll be back again</em><br /><em>Oh, babe, I hate to go</em><br /><em>Now the time has come to leave you</em><br /><em>One more time, oh, let me kiss you</em><br /><em>And close your eyes and I'll be on my way</em><br /><em>Dream about the days to come</em><br /><em>When I won't have to leave alone</em><br /><em>About the times that I won't have to say ...</em><br /><em>Oh, kiss me and smile for me</em><br /><em>Tell me that you'll wait for me</em><br /><em>Hold me like you'll never let me go</em><br /><em>'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane</em><br /><em>I don't know when I'll be back again</em><br /><em>Oh, babe, I hate to go</em><br /><em>And I'm leaving on a jet plane</em><br /><em>I don't know when I'll be back again</em><br /><em>Oh, babe, I hate to go</em>Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-42682231756782242922008-06-11T19:06:00.001+05:302008-06-11T19:08:01.955+05:30Writer's BlockBeen thinking will blog about something for a while...but ideas flit in and out of mind.<br />Haven't been able to write much...unless you count a thesis with a number of changes.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-41812109073593375972008-05-27T13:04:00.001+05:302008-05-27T13:05:59.133+05:30New BeginningsStarted 2 new blogs:<br /> <a href="http://snapshots-from-wimwi.blogspot.com">Blogger</a><br /><br /><a href="http://snapshotsfromwimwi.wordpress.com">WordPress</a><br /><br />Hit them!!Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-9028359962502558292008-05-20T11:51:00.003+05:302008-05-20T11:55:50.267+05:30The Eternal TruthHundreds of years before Billy Shakespeare wrote :<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">" To B or not to B":</span><br />the Great Aristotle uttered the greatest truth in the world:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"A is A"</span>.<br /><br />And Ahmedabad is 53 meters (171 ft) above <span style="font-weight: bold;">C</span> level.<br /><br />Converted the IIM A waitlist to confirmed admit.<br />YAY!!!Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-78518067836533392212008-05-02T08:23:00.001+05:302008-05-02T08:24:48.476+05:30Results!!A: Waitlisted 13, Not much scope.<br />B: Reject<br />C: Reject<br />I: Admit<br />K: Admit<br />L: Reject.<br /><br />:((<br /><span style="color:#888888;"><br />Don't know what went wrong . Can't figure anything out right now.<br /><br /></span>Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-61511797956464410242008-04-10T14:06:00.005+05:302008-04-10T14:17:10.191+05:30Reservations reduxThe Supreme Court upholds the reservations for OBCs...the timing is very interesting.<br />Less than a month to go for the Karnataka assembly elections, many more assembly elections to come and then the General Elections next year (unless they are held this year...Chidambaram is prepared for that possibility).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/may/24agn.htm?zcc=rl">South and Reservations (rediff.com)</a><br />Read what this guy called Reuben Raj has to say:<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" class="sb13" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">I got into medical college through the backward class quota. There should be reservation in the premier institutes.<br /><br />The forward classes are more talented than us. You will find a lot of them in the premier institutes already. Here they score much higher marks than us. By the time I read two pages, they can read ten more pages. Their capacity to learn and understand is better than mine.</span></span>"<br />And this is why we need RESERVATIONS?? So the forward caste people who are better than them are denied while these buggers get admissions.<br /><br />Nothing, absolutely nothing should cause someone with lower marks to get admissions over someone with higher marks. Reminds me repeatedly of the situation in Atlas Shrugged (referred to it in some previous post as well).<br /><br />Scary...Reuben might be treating me or my family in some hospital.<br />As Pink Floyd said, "...Run Like Hell".<br /><br />More to come as I gather more info and find more crap.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-58627142368826866582008-03-21T11:43:00.004+05:302008-03-21T11:58:37.379+05:30Change, anyone?Change apparently is the only constant in life.<br />I somehow disagree. Look at the basic question in my life.<br /><br />1995-96: To B or not to B?<br /><br />1997-98: To B or not to B?<br /><br />2000-01: To B or not to B?<br /><br />2001-02: To B or not to B?<br /><br />2004-05: To B or not to B?<br /><br />2005-06: To B or not to B?<br /><br />In between it varied a little to : To B or to B?<br />or to : To BE or not to BE?<br /><br />2006-07: To B or not to B?<br /><br />2007-08: To B or not to B?<br /><br />The B's change...the question still remains.Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28144682.post-6902042734795448992008-03-11T23:09:00.001+05:302008-03-11T23:11:45.558+05:30Breathe...<span style="font-style: italic;">Run, rabbit, run</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dig that hole, forget the sun,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And when at last the work is done</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't sit down, its time to dig another one</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For long you live and high you fly</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But only if you ride the tide</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And balanced on the biggest wave</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You race toward an early grave.</span><br /><br />Why do these words scare me everytime I hear them?<br />Why does my life seem like these words were written to describe it?<br />When is Enough well and truly ENOUGH?Nissimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06505365673331348397noreply@blogger.com3