Jaipur Trip

We reached jaipur on saturday morning at around 8 am.Instead of finding lodging as LI suggested,we had a picture session near the lake of Jaigadh Fort.



(i am in green jacket and blue jeans)
Slightly misty morning added that lil ???? that makes pictures look gud.Went to the Jaigadh fort after that.It was a steep climb with the smell of elephant $#!t all around.It was time for some more pics.After that we went to the main section of the fort and the view was great.





The sun just above the horizon shining not too brightly,the ancient walls of the fort,the misty morning and the elephants-all made a fine picture.Here we went about taking pics in quite a few poses.This was followed by a 'Mirchi Bajji' session at the end.And it was the finest bajjis i have ever had.YUMMY is all i can say.After eating the bland food in north,this sure was a welcome relief.Then we were scampering our way down,overtaking elephants,dodging elephants coming in the oppposite direction and playing a game of stepping stones with the elephant dung all around,i finally managed to reach the base.Unfortunately,I suffered a casuality.I had lost my cap.

It was around 10am by the time we found lodging.We took a short break to freshen up and went to the hotel's restaurant for brunch.Amazingly baaad food.I was hoping for a refreshing cusine and this seemed to be no good.Just edible.

Next on the agenda was the jauhari bazar.It consists of a line of shops on either side of the road.Roadside hawkers were in abundance.It is time for bargaining.

I would like to digress for a moment and write about the 'bargaining' that happens in delhi.This aspect flows in the blood of ur average delhiite.And i dont know how this started.But i surely have had to change myself-as long as i stay here.The typical bargaining goes like this

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Bhai yeh Kitne ka hai.

250 saab.

100 ko deh do.

Nahi saab yeh toh sau rupaiya ke liye nahi milega.

Mil jayega yaar.Deh do.

Saab,150 ko le lo.

125 final.dena hai to doh.

theekh hai saab!!!!!!!!!

If u thought that was ridiculous(atleast that is what i thought), beat this.A friend of mine bought a shirt quoted for Rs 500 for Rs 85.He quoted 75 initially and got it for 85.It was a fake nike but what the hell.Any newbie couldve been fleeced.

A typical auto conversation

CP jaaoge??????????

Baaithiye.

Kitna loge?????

Rs100

Nahi.Pachaas rupaiye(50)

Theekh hai.Baithiye!!!!!!!!!!!!

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U even find aunties haggling in small retail shops!!!!!!!!

Anyways.I went shopping in jauhari bazaar and bought all sorts of weird stuff right from processed mango to a hookah!!!!In the middle of the entire flank was a huge sweet shop.As soon as i went in,i was mesmerised.This is HEAVEN.Bloody.These guys even made me have lunch.But that did not stop me from trying 4-5 sweets before i realized that we were short of time.On my way back,i came across this shop.I was attracted like a fly is attracted to fire before my friends warned me to stay away.

Next was the birla mandir.And it was such a beautiful monument.After the darshan,it was time for a photo shoot.And next was the planetorium.But there were the paani puri bhandars waiting for us to devour their contents.After initial hesitation,i decided to go for it.And i had paani puris as long as these guys were around.Though a slow eater, i managed to have 25 odd gol gappas in the 10-12 minutes.I could go on!!!!!!!!!And inside the planetorium,once the lights were turned off,so did we.That was the soundest bit of sleep ive had in quite some time.

Refreshed,it was time to go to the other end of the city to Chowki Dhani(ala Dhola ri Dhani in Hyd) which is a rajasthani village setting.Went for a camel ride and it sure was fun trying to hold on from falling.Visited some shops,saw some amazing folk dance before we went for dinner.

And it sure was some dinner.We had 12-14 items served.Butter and ghee were served generously as if we were some guinea pigs.Even jaggery was served.It surely was a dinner that made up for the losses in the entire day.Some took it as a challenge,some gave up initially.Among those who took it up,some succeeded but many failed.Some people's plates gave the impression that they hadent even started.And among those who succeeded were the bengali babus of our batch.I barely made it through.In the end,people were having difficulties trying to tie their shoelaces or in getting up from the floor.Battered and bruised we lived on for another day!!!!!!

Birthday Times

Lets whack his @$$.No.This is not some italian mafia lord talking to his goons.Its BIRTHDAY TIME!!!!!!!

Birthday celebrations are one of the most interestening happenings on campus. If one is late for the celebrations even by a minute,it becomes difficult to find out whose bday it is.So much for participative management!!!!!!!!!!! By the end of the first couple of minutes,everyone is covered with cake.

The ritual begins with kicking the bday boy out of his room,followed by a masai style dance or a choir.This is followed by a butt-warming ass kick session.Then the cake is cut(either using the knife but mostly using our prehensile abilities).Before this some part of the cake is also smeared on the bday boy's face.

This is when he becomes dangerous.Like a wounded lion,he is ready to seek out his prey.And then all hell breaks loose.He chases his victims down,smearing cake by hugging/rubbing these guys.Sometimes-especially during exams time when people are looking for a way to let out their frustus-things get ugly,or should i say interesting.The management freak in each of us takes over and everyone is dragged out of his room one by one and drenched completely.People who resist do at their own peril.Almost seems like a pogrom to me.Only that everyone gets a chance!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the winter slowly covering us in its sleepy arms,the water games have ended.And yesterday was one of our cul secy's bday.Running around wildly,he made us all scamper for cover.And someone was holding me by my sweater all the time.Fearing it was the bday boy,i ran even more wildly only to see that it was a false call.Boy.He was a good runner.

Hoping i get some time to post about my jaipur trip.I have a crisil ppt to attend right now.So here i go.

Prof Kim Clarke

Am back from the jaipur trip.Was a fun-filled experience.Will fill in details later when i get sometime.

This monday, we hosted Professor Kim Clarke,Dean,Faculty,Harvard Business School @ Le Meridian. He spoke about Leadership and Values in Turbulent times. The talk was about our personal bright line etc etc.

I was the unofficial photographer.Hope the pictures have come out well or else the entire batch(es) will be rooting for my blood.

One important point he made was that if course on leadership and values were not to be taught in b-schools,then the students would assume that they are not important.This is felt was a very pertinent point.How often have we come across endless debates about how values cannot be taught to 25+s and how leadership cannot be taught.This point of his justifies it all.And it surely does add a new perspective to learn from other people's experiences.

And of all the things,I was not able to stand the food at Le Meridian!!!!!!!!!!!!!Had a rough time trying to digest it.Have got over the hangover though.

Am done with my classes now.Will have lunch and then some margin trading classes by a senior.Shall try to fit in having a bath in the middle of all this!!!!!!!