Happy Valentine's Day !

I guess it is very unlikely of a person sending good wishes to his friends for v-day (at least!), but I choose to believe otherwise and frankly beg to differ! When I want my friends to be with me when my dayz r not green, I would also like to share with them whatever I feel when the sun seems to shine on me all day !!!

Enough of circumlocution buddies, what I wanna say is that I'm excited (though for no concrete reason) and would like to wish u a fantabulous St. Valentine's Day.

By choice u can take this to as Saurav Goyal's soliloquy!!!

Cheers…

Excerpts from the Diary of a Schooler !

June 30' 2005

The day is still loud and clear in my mind. Flew from Kolkata to Goa via Bangalore. A bad weather welcomed me in Goa and the aircraft made landing amidst strong headwinds and pouring water on a drenched slippery runway. Took me around 5 minutes to realise that Dabolim Airport and Goa Airport are one and the same thing. And then a cab to Ribandar. It was lush green and the 34 Km drive passed in anxiety with numerous calls to family, friends and of course admissions office as it was already 5 Pm.

Met Jenifer at Admissions and boy, she was so helpful. Then off to Prof Madan (Hostel Warden) to get myself a room allotted. And Guess what, was one of those 10 privileged guys who got to stay in the Girls' Hostel for a year. Before I could grab the keys and settle in the room, dad called up to take the address to mail me something and there went the address on the phone. LH - 97, Goa Institute of Management, Ribandar, Goa - 403006. However the momentary shock came to me, when he asked me, "What does LH expand to?" And i replied with precision, Left Hand Wing of the College. When I realised that I said this, I knew it was an MBA in the making. Poor Dad! Till date he calls it Left Hand Wing of the College!

September 16' 2006

Reflecting back that day, I could see a different Saurav. Someone who had changed a lot. Hopefully for Good. The Guy who has always been to bed at 2200 Hrs had caught a knack of going to bed not before 0300 Hrs in the morning... Someone, who feared making presentations before an audience was damn neat at it by that time. Some one who needed atleast 7 hours of sleep a day was damn happy with a 4 hour grabbie.. And most important of all, some one who has always been a 80 % or plus till bachelors was so damn satisfied with a 5 pointer...

December 17' 2005

And with 10 more weeks, came another term to an end. Placements were on and the feeling in the campus was different. Even the trees and the walls gave a new look and seemed that they had risen to the occasion. One could feel something different in the air. Fear of unknown or anxiety about the same. Looked like as if it’s just one of those days we live in the school for.

June 17' 2006

Back at GIM after three months. But all looked the very same. Just that there were tons of new faces all around the corner and the so called introductory sessions of Juniors (hate to call them juniors though) was on. My Summers had been quite an eventful one and there was so much to cherish. And very sooner, i got a pre placement offer from them. Before i could feel happy about the same, was badly spanked on campus and then I realized if at all you have to feel happy at GIM or a great news breaks out, your bums have to pay for it !

December 25' 2006

The Placements for my batch was over and out as well with everyone selling themselves to high end Cos for a premium and grabbing profiles of hot tins. And seemed that the Doctor had ordered for parties for us in this term. They seem to be never ending.. Anyways with Goan Beaches and the kind of accessories available should not parties be a daily affair at GIM !

February 2007

And thats it! Have reached a place from where its really difficult to think about leaving the campus. June 30' 2005 looks as if it was just yesterday. GIM gave tons to me whilst my 2 year of stay but looks like now it will take more than a ton when i graduate and bid my bye to the campus..

The serenity of the campus, the 300 Plus year old Building and the aroma will keep reminding me of this place in the decades to come. If at all, I could express my feelings for the same. For the time being, I stand and Salute the campus. It’s not what it takes to be here, but what it takes not to be here.

This one for you mate !

You came into my Life unexpectedly

and

everything took a turn for the better.

Your warm eyes, your laugh, the sincere way you spoke,

and the kindness you showed me

all became a part of my life.

Without even knowing it, you were slowly making a place

for yourself in my life.

It used to seem so hard at times to feel close in a relationship.

But its so easy to feel close to you,

I cant tell you how nice that feels.

I realise now that I had never known what it meant to be friends

untill you befriended me..!

Soliloquy of a Schooler - Part II !

Scholars for long have been emphasizing for a strict demarcation line between one’s personal and professional lives. Let’s stop here and think about it again. Forget about the demarcation line, are there two lives in the first place. To a schooler, it’s a screen image or mirror image of one another. There are days when he is not laden with unending work and can think of resting his back on a mattress which has otherwise been a host to the text books, case studies and other study material, when he tries to take a break from his professional live - Is this what we call a personal life? But then, what next. He is still thinking about the early morning class next day and the assignments due in the coming week. Or the time when he is grabbing a morsel with a fellow schooler is his personal life, or when he is bathing!

Then learned people have also talked about friends. To a schooler, who is a friend? Some one who is little less indifferent to live and can make him smile or listen to his so called personal life and lend him a shoulder to rest on. Or someone who says, Mate! It’s already 5 o’clock in the morning. You go to sleep. I will finish the rest of the assignment and will submit it. Or someone who says, I know what it takes to be you right now. Life looks so blank without mates of every species. Thankfully, I have always been blessed with the best of the bests. But then! What the heck, Mr. Boeing? Why the hell you have to use this but so often? Oh yes, lets move on.

They say as Stone rolls down the mountain, it accumulates lot of matter with itself and makes them roll too. This happens with almost everyone. At times, you are what the situation is or what the situation wants you to be or what one does not want to be. The flip side of having a mate is the fear of loosing him or her. Some call it possessiveness, some call it madness, and some what not. I would simply call it, cost of being happy and the fear of being lonely again.

Coming back to the life of this chap. someone who always believed that, well does it matter at the end as to what he believed? Well it should. If it does not then the belief was not faithful to itself. This chap never intended to hurt anyone, especially his mates and pals around the corner. But then he never bowed down too. Why bow when you don feel like doing so? Why don be original? It pays. May be right now, he does not have the data or facts to back it up but then he is sure of having one soon. As they say, well chuck what they say. As he says, the day they taught how to loose a match, I bunked my school !

Contd..

Soliloquy of a Schooler !

It was not long ago that two brothers were on board 8004 Yeswantpur Howrah Express from Bangalore to Howrah JN. It was only after they had finished their share of education in Bangalore and were sailing through. Not to mention the sorrow of leaving a city to which both were so closely attached to. The younger of two had just finished his 12^th and was looking forward to study further in Kolkata. And the elder one was not more than a pack of looser with him finishing his B Com and remaining on the wait list of Goa Institute of Management for his MBA.

The massive train mauled by a diesel engine pulled out of Vishakapatnam Jn on south eastern railway and the brothers stayed put on their seats (Side Lower and Side Upper) munching the tamarind rice which they picked up at Vishakapatnam. And it was then that some one named Ms. Fernandes, Jenifer Fernandes called up and said what the elder chap was dying to hear for weeks. Saurav, you have been confirmed a seat at Goa Institute of Management. And the session starts in 4 days. Phew! Shall I jump from the train in excitement or pull the chain. The moment it seemed that the coach AS-2 was his home and the fellow passengers were his family members. The moment was so unexpressive that both the brothers hugged each other tightly and were laughing and crying. Wonder if Steam Engines were still in place, they could have managed to run the steam on the tears. And then what followed were series of calls to all nook and corner of country.

The turnaround time at home was 11 hours. Reached home, unpacked baggage, threw things around and started packing again. And suddenly grandpa’s health started deteriorating. Doctors flying from all corners and in seconds the house were full of family and friends. The chap gets the momentary shock. Leaves his packing and there he goes to his grandpa. What the heck? The happiness sunk deep and was lost. It was one of worst moments of his life seeing his grandpa gasping his last breaths. Now what? Cancel the tickets or move on! There are times in life when one feels, its all over. Lost everything. This moment was beyond that. But then the grandpa continued breathing till the flight took off. What the hell? How could this chap board the flight? Such a inhuman and selfish act. But then, I am sure today he is up there and is happy about the same. Hey daddu, love you. I mean it.

Was surely the worst flight of his life. Landed in Goa amidst strong headwinds with water pouring in. Wonder if God was angry. But as they say, time is a great healer. The course started and soon the chap was lost. Lost in a crazy world where time zones are not respected and the food consists of intense pressure and mounting work. Face it or fade in!

Life was lost in assignments, presentations, projects and it seemed that a B school requires the day to be a 30 hour one in place of 24 hours. So what ! Do not sleep for 8 hours. Have not you learnt crashing ? Keep crashing until you reach optimum ! But then one got to remember that too much crashing may give birth to a critical path. So what ! Life is critical as well. If you have it in you, then crash the critical path. If life does not follow logic, why shall we?

Contd...

The Weekend at the Woods !

As a kid, i remember reading Poems and essays by some western poets "A day at the Woods". Though i always managed to do well in literature in my school days, it was only this weekend that i could feel the poems and the essays. Now i know, what it takes to be a poet and what it needs for the receipe. I know for sure that I am not even near to those supremos of the english literature but then guys, I have got the recipe. And lets share the ingredients.. May be, ders another Wordsworth in the making somewhere back home !

Enuff of circumlocution buddies, lets get struck with awe (Click on the pics to enalrge).. However at the end if you say that you were not mesmerized, i will know for sure that u are lying...

The Wallpaper Shot...

Outside my Bunglow at the woods...

Ssshhhhh! The Greenery is talking ...

Oh boy...
No, its not a canvas or a wallpaper! Its me with the nature...

Does it need a caption...

Stairs to heaven...

Beautiful is one word and Sacred is another...

I choose to call this a CHARISMA..

Nudity at its best !

Boeing 737 - 800 NG on Jet Airways !

Some tall moments !