Perfect Weekend - II

After the wonderful response on the beginning of the perfect weekend, and the complete approval of the rest of the post, here i am with the continuation.

Continuing from the previous post, where I left you all eating at comesum at 3:30 in the morning. My friends then thought of getting back home, though I suggested staying over for some more time and then going to the new delhi station directly from there. (Why?)

We get back home at about 4AM, and then after a quick conference call, we retire to the bed. Doc was really sleepy and so were all of us. Me and puneet were woken up from sleep a couple of hours back for Comesum

At about 7AM, I get a call on my phone and I lazily answer it. “Hello.. I have reached the station. Are you there?”, the voice on the other side screams.

“Huh! Oh okay, babes I am so sorry", Damn the alarm clock.

"Can you please come down on your own?”

She replies, “ Cool, no issues”, with a very obvious disappointed tone.

I sleep for some more time, and then again get a call.

“Hi, I am at the gurudwara!”, the same voice.

“Ah! Oh.. I.. I.. I am on my way. See you there in two minutes”.

Saying this, I quickly grab hold of my brush and finish shining my teeth. It was more to get over the smell of the cigarettes and masala dosa we had at comesum early in the morning.

Trying to hold my tracks ,I run down to the nearby gurudwara.

“Hi baby, missed you so much.”, and I plant a kiss. It did not really impress her.

She was already walking towards the house when I pick her up. Visibly angry that I did not come to the station and then again for the long time I took in coming down here to lead the way home from the gurudwara.

One more kiss. Hope this gets her out of her angry mood.

The real reason that got me late to the gurudwara was not the brushing, but waking up Doc. He was sleeping in my room, and I had to clear him before getting P. Seriously, that was tough and time consuming.

Before entering the house with her, I peeped into my room to ensure the fatso was gone. He was still in there!!! I had to make her wait in the balcony, get this lazy bum out of my room to the couch in the dining room, and then get her to the room.

Lots of kisses, hugs and sweet talk later, we realize that we are hungry. This was like at about 10AM. It took us one more hour, and many more kisses and “ I love you.. I miss you” stuff, to realise we had to get up to be in time for the breakfast.

At about 11, we finally get up from the bed, still not tired of the kisses. We lazily walk down the road, crossing the gurudwara to the tea point at sharmaji's.

After a sumptuous bread omelette and tea, we walk back home. Even doc, who was sitting idle in the living room all this time, getting bored and trying hard to read a book lying there, joined us for breakfast. He is good company, and is a thorough gentleman with girls around. That much credit I give him. But then so am I! remember Doc, that night at QBA.

Doc asks me if I could stay out of the room for sometime, as he wanted to get ready, and I had to agree. I spent some good time in the balcony with P, reading newspapers, and talking about the wonderful view of the balcony, overlooking the garden. Dreams flew by, and so did talks, that we nearly ended up living in bungalow with a huge balcony. We just designed our future home in great detail.

Doc was done, and he was going to meet his grad friends. We bid him a good bye, and got back to our own little sweet, non-ac room. The other room mates were still all sleeping dead, with their ac ON!

Again after idling for long and chatting, at about 2 we decided to go out for lunch, and after further lethargy we got up from the bed. Not before I got kissed a good three times! (This was the bribe to get me off the bed!)

We went down to SAKET, the closest hang out place from our home, and were thinking of watching a movie. She was more enthu for kaminey.. while I wanted to watch Quick Gun murugun. We finally zeroed in on LAK. The show was at 5:30PM, and it was still only 3, so we though of having good lunch.

We entered this awesome british restaurant at SAKET, where a single pint of beer costed Rs.250/-. Shit expensive. Well, I had just got my salary a couple of days back, and it was an impressive six figure. I was in total mood for indulgence. We indulged.

“A beer each please. Carlsberg”, I directed the fake smile faced chinese waitress.

Wow! This was turning out be like the best lunch date. I am out with a beautiful girl, and she loves beer. She also loved the prawns. Wow! A complete match.

At about 4 something, one pint beer down, we get mischievous. She heads towards the rest room, and we take full advantage of the isolated common area between the men’s and women’s washroom. Amazing! I had just seen it happening in films.

After that, I had one more beer, and she decides that she would just take a sip or two from mine. She was not that used to beer apparently. In the bill, we realize that happy hours are on, and we are entitled to one more beer due to the one plus one offer on. Beer anyday, so I go for one more beer, while her highness just stares at me. She had now shed her inhibhitions and after sitting long on the opposite chair, decides that it is better if she sits closer, right next to me. this way she can talk better is what she claimed! I believe otherwise though.

Probably one of the best luncheons I have ever had.

We then head to the auditorium and watch the movie. Corner seats.

After the movie, we were again on this decisive mode. One more movie, or home? She decides home it is, where we could have a romantic evening together. Anything for you ma’am!

We head straight to home, and change. We then set off again, to get some beer. Yes, she has now developed a taste for it. My roomies ask if I can get them some beer too, but then their order size was way too much to carry. One full case!

Me and P, head to the local theka, get three bottles of beer and then head to Café Coffee Day. CCD has a prominent place in our relationship. Our first date was at one of the many CCD outlets here in Delhi.

After spending some quality time there, me ogling at the beauty of delhi girls. (psst. There were two very good looking (read Supermodel type) girls sitting opposite to our table!)

We head back home, and order for Domino’s pizza and their newly launched pasta for dinner. Perfect romantic setting it has to be.

The pizzas arrive in sometime, while we were catching up with the 4th season of HIMYM on my lappy. She goes to the restroom for a minute, and I take this opportunity to have the perfect setting.

After a quick clean up of the room – clearing the newspapers and books, getting the bed clean, and arranging the laptop in a comfortable place. I then light a candle that I had bought earlier that week, and switch off the lights.

She is in for a huge shock. Obviously!

Dark room. Candle lights. Pizza and pasta with beer, and a super hot guy (Me! ). She was visibly impressed and gave me a tight hug.

“All this for me?”, she whispers, nearly in tears.

“yes darling!”, and I get a tighter hug.

After sometime out of the pleasant surprise and the hug, we settle down to have dinner and the beer.

What a pleasant time that was – everything was perfect. To add on, she was not like the other girls who always minded beer! (girls please, beer is much more better than vodka!)

After dinner, we head to the terrace which was my second plan. One more romantic setting. I just had this one night, so I had to get in everything fitted in right then.

Alas! I could not get the time to arrange anything up there at the terrace, but the moonlight did the magic.

With beer in my hand, and P in my arms, it was a wonderful feeling altogether. So now, if you my dear reader would please allow. i would like to spend some private time with my dream.

to be continued..

Perfect Weekend - Humble Beginning

While in college I don’t remember ever waiting for a weekend. There everyday was like a weekend, and every weekend was like any other normal day. Simple, if there are impending assignments, deadlines, exams the weekend is spent in the library, and if there is nothing of that sort any day could be a Sunday.

But well, it does not work that way in corporate life. Here after a whole week of sweating out in the hot sun, one starts to wait desperately for the weekend. Sometimes the wait begins from Wednesday itself.
So here was this awesome weekend I had, and I am sure it is going to be a memorable one for a long time to come.

It all started right from Friday evening. After a whole day of sales on the streets of rajendar nagar, I was dead tired and just wanted to crash on the bed. I reached home at about 8:30 just to discover that the maid has not come. So no dinner! Ah! I was too lazy to actually order something. Chuck the dinner, I am sleeping. And wroom I am on the bed dead asleep.

P calls, and some others too, but I don’t care. I am too asleep to even listen to the “twist” ringtone on my N72. Doc tries calling and messaging but I am not part of this external bliss. I am deep into slumber. At about 1, I hear bangs in my room, and the light on! A huge body is standing in front of me, and is ready to pounce on me. Oh! My Gawd! Is there a bull at home? Nah! It was Doc.

Doc is home, and after his tries of waking me up get futile he tries abhinav, and is successful. After exchanging the initial pleasantaries (read expletives) and the hugs (read fights), and a smoke, we come to a conclusion that we all are hungry. But well, no food in the kitchen. Doc has this crazy plan – lets go to comesum.

So, now while we have the much required night snack at ComeSum, you too go grab yourself a bite.

Coming up with the subsequent continuation soon..

Awesome Monday

Its been more than a month here at Delhi, and after those initial hiccups I am now completely enjoying the stint. The days are filled with learning the nitty gritties of the processes and systems in selling chocolates. And the weekends are filled with loadsa fun and frolic. The campus setting is all recreated, what with the same bunch of people staying up together – every night is a potential party night.

Especially the past two weekends have been really awesome, and am sure its going to stay memorable for a long time to come. This post is about the awesome Monday that I had last week.

Early in the morning I was woken up at 4AM (my gawd! Who wakes up at that time? Not even the birds!), and after getting ready into my formal attire we start off to the New Delhi railway station at about 5. The train was to departure at 6:15AM, and we reach the station well in time. After the train departs, I wonder what to do?

Go back to malviya nagar, and start for gurgaon later? No point in this, as I would have to start as soon as I reach home. So a better option would be to get going to guragon (my office for the day, as discussed), though it is quite early to office. I take a bus to Dhaula Kuan, and then take another crowded bus from there to IFFCO chowk in gurgaon. I manage to reach gurgaon at 8 itself, while the office starts at 9:30 something.

After hanging around, and having breakfast at a roadside eatery, and tea and smoke, at about 8:45 i enter the office to find all staring in a strange manner. It was just the maintenance staff doing the cleaning, and by their looks it was apparent they did not recognize me. When I start settling down in my boss’s cubicle a guy comes running towards me.

“sir, kaun ho aap?” (who are you?)

Okay, now that was pretty straight forward.

I reply calmly, with a smile on my face, “mein yahin par kaam karta hun” ( I work here)

Another guy comes in, and remembers serving me countless cups of tea, and thus confirms my appointment.

After lazing around there for some time, and a visit to the bathroom I try settling down in the cubicle. Right then, I get a call from boss, who asks me to come down to rohini instead.

Great! I check on googlemaps on my mobile, and it shows rohini being 40km away form where I am right now. It would take atleast 2hrs to reach there and that too after blowing up a considerable amount of money on travel, and a sojourn in the crowded public transport.

Can I do something about it? No! So, well a sleep starved myself gets on into a rickshaw to get to IFFCO chowk. Now another irony here is, I don’t know the best way to reach rohini. I was initially thinking of reaching Dwarka, take a metro back to central delhi and change for the metro to rohini. Nice option it seemed.

Luckily the shared cab I got into was going to azadpur, and my googlemaps (to which I remained hooked during the travel), showed that it is on my way to rohini. On confirmation with the driver and paying an additional 10 rupee, I could still sit in the cab. I get down at wajirpur (thank you googlemaps), and then catch an auto from there to the distributor point where I was supposed to reach.

At the distributor point I am in for a shock – it is locked. Oh! How could I forget, this market remains closed on Mondays!

I call up my boss again, who then asks me to come down to prashanth Vihar instead. Awesome! The map showed that to be comparatively close. I walk out from the market to the main road, and try loking for empty autos to ply me there. I could just find a rickshaw, who argues of coming only till madhubhan chowk. I was helpless, and I had to take it.

At madhuban chowk, after crossing the huge traffic signal lights there, and the metro above, I get to the other side of the road. I am again looking for an auto or a rockshaw to ply me till my final destination (hopefully). After a wait, and walk, of about 15mins in that hot sun I finally get a rickshaw. And after asking a zillion people, and travelling randomly I finally locate one of the sales officers, and get assured. Yes, I have finally reached the required destination.

I get a call from my friend, who announces her arrival to lucknow. Wah! I am just crisscrossing aross NCR, and within this time people have reached lucknow. The time it takes for me to office, is as good as the time taken to reach lucknow. Well, such is life!

The destination I reached was a food court called rameshwarams. Yes, we generally have our meetings at such places, and that day was the time for mid year review. I just sit on my laptop trying to interact with the sales officers, and trying to complete the work assigned.

After about 4 hrs there in the food court, discussing random stuff ranging from stock markets to the trip to manali, and also working in between, I get to talk to my boss at about 4.Well, the lesser I talk about the meeting the better it is.

At about 5, after being dropped to the metro station I set out home. I reach home at about 6:30 and find my cell phone battery down. Damn! Last one minute probably and I try caling up TB (my room-mate), but before he could answer, the battery is dead. It so felt like that scene in hindi movies, where a person is dying in the lap and is uttering something very important earnestly, but before he could say the actual thing he is dead falling on the lap of the holder, mostly with the eyes open.

Now no keys for home, TB had said he would be going to the snooker parlour. And I don’t know where it is. I have a pair of keys that Abhinav ( another of my room-mate) had given me a week back or so. I go home with a heavy laptop bag on my shoulders and hoping that the key would do the job. Nah! How could life be so simple?

After trying hard, and even going to the terrace and having a smoke hoping that TB would be back by then I give up.

I had to use some salesman jugaad (more about it in detail in the ensuing posts) to get through this. I could not be waiting for ever for TB. I walk down to Sharmaji (the tea stall owner), and hav a tea. I was looking for a dispenser hung somewhere with mobile chargers. They are such a common site in malls. But well, why would any pug following company set one up here in this housing locality.

Then an awesome idea strikes me.

“Sharmaji, aapke paas mobile ka charger hai kya?”, I shout to the tea stall owner.

He gets all eager to help and asks his wife to check. The disappointment on his face when his wife finds one was apparent. He obviously did not want me to mess up with his things, lest I spoil them. He anyways gives the charger to me.

Alas! Why did nokia have to change their charger specifications? This one was of a thick pin, while my mobile jock accepts the thin one.

Now if you are still wondering why could I just not call up TB? Well, blame the mobile phones In the good olden days we would all have a small pocket diary having all the important numbers, but no more. The contacts were all in that dead phone. It seriously set me thinking, what if my mobile dies a permanent death someday. I would really land up in tough times.

I again get this rockstar idea, trying to convince myself – “come on dude.. you are a salesman.. use salesman jugaad”

I ask,or did it sound more like a demand “sharmaji, ek baar apna phone dena”.

Sharmaji, who by now was relieved that I had left his charger did not know that I had more serious plans. He replies,

“sorry sir, isme balance nahi hai.”

Okay, I am not interested in using up your balance.

“nahi mere paas bhi number nahi hai.. mujhe to kuch aur chaiye”, i chuckle.

Very reluctantly he hands me over the phone, and just stands beside me. This phone really means a lot to him probably. I am sure, even a stock broker would not take his own phone so seriously.

I start removing the battery, and sharmaji screams as soon as I open the compartment of his phone.

“yeh kya kar rahe ho.. kharab ho jaega!”, he is visibly worried.

“kuch nahi hoga. Aapka phone sahi salamt aapko wapas kar dunga”, I try explaining him calmly.

Yes. The salesman jugaad has worked yet again. I call up TB from my mobile having sharmaji’s battery, and TB gets back home in 5 minutes. I can now go home in peace to open doors.

After such a frustrating day, a person sure needs some vent out. I change into shorts and go out with puneet to CCD. After a relaxing black coffee, without sugar (no! not inspired from love aaj kal, I am addicted to this right since my 4 seasons days in vizag), it feels completely calm.

I am ready for the next day, ofcourse after a good night’s sleep. It seems like days since I have slept.

Thus ended an eventful Monday, after a very good weekend. Now you know where the term Monday morning blues came from

INDEX'08

INDEX- Information through Disguised Experimentation - this effort is aimed at tapping into the sub-conscious of the consumer. Businesses try to do this using conventional marketing tools, but at a high cost in terms of money, time and the inevitable biases that creep in. INDEX is IIM Lucknow's endeavour to provide to the industry quality market research from desensitized data.

Initially, about one and a half years back, when I got into IIML and introduced to these committees, I don't know what? But I was attracted to the INDEX. I so desperately wanted to get into it. But well, destiny had something else scripted for me, and I could not get INDEXed for life, as they would call it. No regrets. I got into Student Exchange Committee (STEX). But then, this pinch that I need to do something about INDEX.

 
 

I was already in a team – W.I.N. – Whats in a Name?. I did have lots of fun while in the team. Made some great friends. Many mentors among seniors – Prashant (Uncle), the team lead; Abhishek Bhatia; Mandal; Bhunia, and so many others. Also had many memorable memories, exciting adventures and also some learning. In whole, it was an amazing experience, and I had then decided that I would form a team.

I opted out of the exchange program, in my dearth to lead a team in INDEX. We started forming the team right in march with Tanuj and Srinivas as the first members. I had this zealous enthusiasm that I want to win INDEX'08. During my summers I always had this INDEX thing on the back of my mind. I also spoke to Mukesh Patnaik in detail about the whole process. (He is my senior and the INDEX winner last year. I had the chance to catch up with him in vizag during my summers). When the second year started, we were done with the senior team formation (comprising ten members) and after lots of heated discussion named the team – TOTAL RECALL. (The name was suggested by Varun Reddy).

 
 

As soon as the facchas came in, as suggested by Mukesh, we started scouting for them. Getting to know them, interviewing them, explaining them INDEX and then finally taking them in on the three point evaluator – Creative, Jugaad, BhakChod. The process of the junior team formation was tedious and it also raised healthy competition among teams fostering into camaraderie. Tha faccha team was formed and we partied out at nashwa.

Now comes the first step. Proposal making. We needed to win a proposal. We as a team recognised that this was our weakest link, and I had so many nightmares that I would land up without a proposal. A terrible thing to happen. The dynamics are so – there are 13 teams in campus, and INDEX core would get about 9 or maximum 10 projects to be executed. So about 3-4 teams would get dissolved. I at no cost wanted to be in that 3-4 teams. We did work hard and smart, and finally lapped in CITIBANK. That called for a celebration, in an 'unconventional' party. Everyone dressed and ready for the party and we all head to Fauji Dhaba outside campus in a open truck. One party that I am sure everyone would remember. Iit could not not get more weird than that.

Then the unexpected pleasant shock. I got a PPO from Cadbury, and everyone started believing I would have no more motivation. Actually yes, the CV did not matter anymore and I did not see any reason I should work for it. But well, how do I explain that INDEX is something that I was not doing just for the CV. I had things to prove. I still work, of course not with the same rigour, as lethargy and relaxedness had taken toll on me.

 
 

INDEX'08 was scheduled on 22^nd and 23^rd November. We started off with the prop design and the questionnaire design, along with the game design well in advance. It all went smooth, and our props were like one of the best among the teams, I can vouch. The process in place for prop preparation was intact and it showed in the results. The two days at the fair were tiring and fun at the same time. I slept for not more that 4 hrs in those two days. It was a very gratifying experience. We did party out a lot during those two days. Went out to Ritz for team dinner on both days, and also followed it up the nest week with a team outing for dinner. Also, in the tent itself, we arranged for alcohol, and even invited INDEX core for it. All the actors were having their glass ready while enacting their parts to the respondents!!

Now comes the final lag – the report and the presentation. Everyone had lost enthusiasm, and that includes me. The data was not being coded in spite of repeated requests. Mahale was busy preparing for TOEFL, and so were others in their own pursuits. The final blow, I was leaving town and would not be available when the report has to be submitted. Even Srinivas is out of town, and well tanuj was out long back (different story!). So only gaur left, and I hand him over everything with a request to everyone to follow Gaur. On Monday evening, when I was busy having fun in Jaipur at the wedding, I get reddy's message – "Dude, Please talk to gaur. No work is happening". I was like shit; I call up srini instead, and ask him to please complete the formality. Whatever little chances of winning were left are all forgotten, and now it has reduced to just a formality. The report does get submitted.

 
 

Saturday night is the deadline for the presentation to be submitted. I try and divide the work among the team members, but to no avail. No one seems to be interested. Why should i? I don't have anything at stake. Chuck it. Finally, after lots of persuasion, I and Srini start working on the ppt at about 10PM, with some inputs from Mahale on quantitative analysis. We complete some crap by 12 midnight. We then go out to the mess and eat lightly just to follow it up with some pegs of Royal Stag – My lucky charm. Trump card it is Abhinav if you want to call it so.

Presentation at 9:30AM on Sunday morning. My hair is oiled so I necessarily have to bath in that cold chilling fog filled weather. I mail the entire team to be present without much hope, and then mail some key members separately asking them to join me compulsorily. In Vain, I realise next day morning. I wake up baka and ask him to wake up Gaur and Mahale at least. Gaur replies back blatantly – "NO, I am not coming". Srini asks him some details about his part, and then me and Srini head to Mahale's room. After lots of requesting, he agrees to come but not in formals. We were like, "come in whatever way you like. Just come and present the quantitative part" He replies back, stopping where he is, "no Dude, I am not presenting anything. If they ask any questions I would defend you". With the fear that he would retract back to his cozy blanket, we agreed.

 
 

The first presentation people re walking out, and now thankfully we also have Ankush and Ali – none in formals. The saving grace were Swati and Shwetha who came in formals. At least to show the team bonding, and the gender diversity we have something. I and Srini are on the stage trying to explain everything in the uttermost smartness we can. We do a good job I am sure. I present the major part and Srini handles one part. In the end part of the presentation was the quantitative analysis of which I knew no shit, so I just skim through it. After we end with the thank you slide, the judge from ac neilson does not seem very happy, and remarks, " you gave a good presentation, but you know what? Somewhere in the middle I completely got lost". He then started shooting questions along with his counterpart on the rational of using various data, and the methodology by which we arrived at the numbers. A hard core statistician. My weak area. We try fielding him for some time with some globe, but of no avail. Now enters Mahale, who was just sitting idly all the while. He replies back in the same numbers tone and speaks quant for some 5 minutes. (maybe it was greek and Latin, I did not know). Then the judge again provokes Mahale by further introspection. Mahale is raged, and gets down to the stage. He takes a chalk piece and starts drawing the most obscure signs and equations explaining things with some graphs. Now I am sure it was latin, many of the signs on the board were. After the detailed explanation he retorts, " NOW AM I RIGHT?", after a brief pause, " YES, I THINK I AM". The whole hall is silent, and the judges awestruck. (Abhinav one more trump card this is for TOTAL RECALL). Prof. DDG, who was also the judge along with those from ac nelison finally asked some question to break the silence. This I handed with élan. My core competency as Baka calls – Speaking.

 
 

We have little hopes on the outcome, and only I and Srini attend the presentation ceremony in the evening. Shweta followed after sometime, and Ali and Ajit also were present. Other teams had a good 10-15 people representation. Great. First the traditional speeches by the judges. Thankfully they were brief. Then the individual stages results. We do not win any. 

 
 

Now for the final results. Overall INNDEX'08 winners. First the 2^nd runners up..

TOTAL RECALL

Whoa! I and Srini were like the most surprised people on the planet. We just keep staring each other for a moment. And then after Kaushik signals to come over, do we go the stage to collect the award. Huh! Finally it paid off.

We partied in the night at genesis club, where I got totally drunk! As usual!

 

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

MTV Marketing

MTV has managed to be the youth icon for a decade or so now. (Ah! it voted Orkut as the youth icon last year, though )

It has been showing some really creative bent of late, and it reflects in each and every activity of theirs.

MTV managed to keep the buzz alive on its flagship hugely popular reality show - Roadies, even when the season was not running. Constantly showing repeat runs, involving the game participants in another reality show - Splitsvilla, and even launching the Roadies Cheatcode DVD set. This has managed to keep alive the same enthu all across, and also keep the cash registers ringing.

Also in adopting the latest youth fabs as the medium to reach out to them, MTV was always the front runner.It make use of Social Media marketing and is using the Orkut community MTV Roadies Battleground to create an Online Contest which is similar to the show's TV version, making it completely interactive.

The roadies show is now ready to go more international after the last year's stint at bangkok. Its Australia now. The posters for the city auditions are mind blowing if anything.


The campus programs also manage to mantain the same fun language. the recent event that it has launched in premier BSchools - A typical BPlan competition, but positioned it as " DO SOME DIFFERENT SHIT". The whole tone of the competition is quite informal, quite appealing to its target segment - Youth. Right way to attrat the young managers to join Vizacom18.

Also, the latest series to hit its screens - "FULLY FALTOO FILM FESTIVAL". The ads presented here are filled with humour. The poster itself would create the curiosity to watch the show atleast once.

Admimst all this, hoow can it miss out India's OSCAR entry.

things one should not do

This is no discourse. This is something from my own life.

I guess people should know their limitations and interests before they venture out into something, just for the heck of it. n then give it a name - " Thrill".

Yeah! This is exactly how i reasoned this decision to my friends - "Yaar, life bahut hi chill ho jaati, thoda excitemtn aur thrill laane ke liye uthaya hai"

Y??.. in no way was my life less thrilling, that i needed to extend it to the heights of depression. Seriously, the next step to thrill is depression. NO! I don't want it.

Jus get me out of this quagmire.( Quagmire on my gtalk status says something else though".

But now, no moving back. Now that i am into it, i have no other option but to fight it. n fight i will. Just need to see how far i reach?