Events this past week (MBA and non-MBA)

I was in Bengaluru these last couple of days. The Darden event was on the 17th and it was a different experience. Unlike other MBA events that I have attended in the past, this one had no presentation. In fact, there was no adcom member at the event!

It was conducted by two current students, Vinod Raman and Anand Rao. The session was quite informative, especially for those who are in the initial stages of their research on Darden. For people like me, it was a great opportunity to meet current and prospective students, discuss the case method, know more about life at Darden, and assess where we stand at this stage of the application process. Darden hasn't sent out invites to its Indian applicants yet and so "when would they" was a popular question. The decision deadline in on January 30th. So there is plenty of time left for the invites to be sent out. An interesting fact - 739 Indian citizens applied to Darden last year and 61 were offered admission.

Another important piece of information is that Darden will ensure that the admitted students get all the financial help that they need. There have been instances in the past when Darden has played the role of a guarantor for loans that require co-signors. Fantastic!

Now onto another event. I attended a charity show called "Hrudaya Spandana" (Touching Hearts), conducted by the Sahaaya Foundation, on Dec 13th. It had music and dance performances by visually challenged kids - some of the most amazing performances that I have ever seen. Here are children who, though blind, have the will power to not only be creative but also perform for charity. The event was a fund raiser for the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Quoting one of the performers, "We don't want your sympathy. We only need an opportunity." - touching hearts, indeed.

We had played Deloitte, in the semi-finals of a cricket tournament, earlier that morning and had come out second best. The charity event was the perfect solace.

Ross Interview Done

Back home now after the interview. It was with an alumnus, at his office. It lasted for an hour.

The interview started with a resume walk-through and had loads of questions on team activities, setbacks and my subsequent take-aways. I, actually, got a chance to tell him about every major achievement and his responses/acknowledgments sounded positive. Then, there were the usual why MBA, why Ross, goals while at Ross questions. I think I handled them pretty well. He then asked me about the other schools that I have applied to and wondered why I had limited my choices to only three schools. I told him why I thought that I best fit my target schools. I think I managed to convince him that I am an individual who is very focussed at all times.

Overall, I felt it was a good interview but I could have done better. I have a terrible cold and was trying my best not to cough during the interview. That made me pause a couple of times. Thankfully they weren't long ones. There were also a few "you know"s that I could have avoided.
So begins the wait for the results. Decisions will be mailed on January 15th. Lets hope I hear from Darden and Stanford before that.

Back from Sabarimala

I'm back from my annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the holy abode of Lord Ayyappa. There was heavy rush but we managed to pray well. This temple that does not pose restrictions on men from visiting the temple (Ayyappa is a bachelor God and hence, women between the age of 10 and 50 aren't allowed). People from all religions throng the temple and during the peak season the rush is second only to Mecca.

The visit to the temple involves a 41 days fast that requires the devotee to:

• Wear black clothes
• Remain unshaved
• Walk bare feet
• Avoid non-vegetarian food - supposed to eat food that is only cooked at home
  
• Avoid alcohol, intoxication and women
• Wake up as early as 4am, have bath and offer prayers before doing anything else

Basically, one must live life like a saint for those 41 days. Since I live alone, here in Hyderabad, I couldn't follow certain rules (like clothing, food from outside). I also had to shave my beard before my ISB interview. But I did follow the rest of the stipulations religiously. The pilgrimage helps develop tremendous self-control.

I started going when I was four years old. This was my 17th year to the temple.

I returned on Saturday and spent the weekend reading about the terror attacks on Mumbai. I was shocked to say the least. For long has India and Mumbai been savaged by these stains on humanity. I salute the ones who sacrificed their lives in trying to rescue the hostages. May the souls of the victims rest in peace. I pray that God gives their families the courage and strength to bear the losses.

Its my sister's birthday today. I plan to gift her "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", by J. K. Rowling. I am sure she'll like it.

Today also happens to be World Aids Day. So, people, please spread the awareness.

I had sold my Dell Inspiron laptop two weeks ago and will be getting my new Dell Studio 15" this week. So thats one other thing to look forward to...

Now I better rush to work. Tc.