My First Salary #MINDBOWSER

As they say it, the first job is never forgotten. From the tiniest of details, every step that one takes gets etched in the memory; the stress, the challenges, the questions and the new world that inevitably become a part of one’s life. But the one thing that stays with any person forever is the first salary. However small the amount may be, but the moments that it gives is cherished and stays etched in memory for the rest of the life. MindBowser did bestow me with the opportunity to feel the joy at a ripe young age of 22...I’ll be grateful for the same...

Cheers --> The MindBowser Family

MindBowser, the place where I was hired as a Marketing intern, is mostly into app development, though other web related services also form a part of their wide portfolio. It has been a great learning experience overall and helped me grow as an individual by learning from the mistakes I have made...A new place, a new bunch of people and a new job- too many new things there, but its surely been a journey worth its weight in gold...The heart touching farewell given to us will be treasured forever...It was indeed a nice gesture to provide a bouquet and a Cadbury Diary Milk to us in recognition for our efforts.

Indeed, getting the first salary and the experience certificate did bring tears in my eyes, tears of joy as they say it...Something unexplained but only to be experienced...What I do with it may be immaterial in the end but the feelings attached to the First paycheck yet fails to die down...I wish I could frame the cheque and keep it but that won’t serve any purpose(A crazy thought in itself in the first place)…Better to encash it and spend it on doing something good...So, here I am, moments away from parting with my first paycheck...I have no clue how I am going to spend this amount, may be some people out there can give me better ideas on the same...Something good, something memorable and something that is truly mine...

The Farewell Gift

The first salary is just the beginning as it is the time when one actually learns about ones dreams and desires and also carves a path to which will surely help oneself get there... As they say it, money can’t buy you happiness but it’s always better to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle...May be it’s my first baby step towards that Mercedes...

Quote- Unquote:

If to love each other is the job, then the happy life is the salary.

Thank God Its Friday!

Its Friday again and the last day of Summer Internship dawns on me...It will be all over in a few hours’ time leaving me wiser with some experiences to be cherished for the rest of my life... MindBowser, the place for me for the last 2 months will surely be missed, if not now then may be sometimes later...

Coming back to the more important thing, it’s a Friday again but I guess things will be back to normal again, with classes on weekend as well... MBA Life all set to resume after a 2 month break... I may actually not end up saying the phrase “Thank God it’s Friday” again for the next one year cause it would rarely matter...

Weekends have indeed been pretty dull and boring and made me fall madly in Love with my dear bed, something I have rarely left on the weekends...The Pune heat has not given me enough reasons and opportunities to go out as well...I still remember the time when my roomie used to go missing on weekends on numerous occasions to meet his friends...I guess my time will also come somewhere down the line when I have an entire group of friends together and up for fun filled weekends... Weekends where there will be no classes and obviously no restrictions on the entry and exit timings...Freedom from all restrictions and the license to live in an uninhibited manner...Till then, it’s the same old drill week in and week out...

Quote- Unquote:

When I get home I take some sleeping pills and within what seemed like half an hour of unconsciousness it was Monday morning again.

A Journey Called Life #SITM

All in all life goes on. A few things stay with you forever but those minute little details of life which change leave an inedible mark on your life. Coming to SITM was one such event, a culmination of a year of hard work which finally paid rich dividends. SITM, the college which I longed to get into was finally going to welcome me.

The journey began with a trip from my home state Goa where I had spent the last 21 years of my life enjoying every moment of it and living my life to the fullest. My first full time stay away from home, away from parents and most importantly away from my state of Goa, a place I can truly call mine. All in all I thought I had seen it all as far as natural beauty is concerned but I was proved wrong as soon as I reached Symbiosis Lavale campus. I was finally a part of the Symbiosis family. I look back at this day, last year (i.e. June 2nd 2013) as the biggest turning point in my life and one where my life has taken the biggest turn for my good.

Symbiosis truly encompasses the feeling of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – Whole World is One Family‎”…There are people who come from diverse backgrounds, cultures, ages, sizes and these  are the same people whom you ll meet may be only if you travel the entire nation...May be an admission to Symbiosis will be a cheaper and somewhat a better option here then going on a India Darshan, at least I will have a degree to show off at the end of it all…It’s like having a complete meal...The entire India united at a place...I have never visited North India and for that matter even East India but no-one stopping me for making friends with the people from these places…

Life at MBA, specially the first year could be as tough as it can get. The 1st semester obviously...The number 13 has its own significance, unfortunate for some but imagine having to study 13 subjects in 1 semester... Are you seriously kidding me, and to top it all that was not it...Simply mugging a Kotler would get you anywhere, but what was the basis on which these thesis stood that mattered...We needed to apply it as well at some odd places…I guess it can get much more taxing for the teachers, as to how on earth make engineers understand the psychology of consumer behavior or managerial perspective...Ever tried explaining a 4year old kid how certain a car works? Tough to do so… It’s indeed more like learning to ride a bicycle; you learn it not through the theory but only by trying to ride it… And its only bruises that teach you how to ride it...

Experiences do take you forward in a great way... The nature around you does the healing effect and as they say “Wakt jakhmo ko bhar hi deta hai”. The motto here is Slog and slog till you succeed...May be not in literal terms but in the broad sense of the term...There are some times, when you feel like giving it up and looking for better prospects but that's what cowards and its the brave people who truly stand out in such times of adversity...

Celebrating festivals has always been an integral part at SITM…Almost all festivals are celebrated with equal joy and fanfare and to top it all, the mess serves good food on these days...Strangely yes, they do...Often makes me wonder where do these cooks go on other days or are they hired only to cook for some special occasions like these...There are endless activities, that happen on campus...These provide a change from the routine life of studies and college...Weekends are mostly spent in the city, either shopping or on munching some good food, as a respite from the mess food...Never had I imagined that I ll have to travel 20km in search of good food...I guess we seriously do deserve to get something better than what we are presently getting but here is another important management lesson that they are teaching us...Learning to adjust in the adversity of life...

The challenges that college throws at you does make you a much stronger individual in due course…A new learning experience with new people in a new environment...I guess too many new things out there…Balancing the personal and professional MBA life is difficult and will always be…There could be odd times that you may not find time for your own self and get lost in the rat race...Once in a while, it is always that we stop, take a pause and see where we are actually heading towards… It’s a true test of a person’s character… As they say it, MBA prepares you for the drill that you have to face in future…

SITM never sleeps and the journey surely is going to take new turns (hopefully for good) and leave me memories for a lifetime. The career will be truly defined during the course of this one year and may be rightly take me to the place where I truly belong…This on the eve of having completed a year at SITM and now I truly feel it is my home away from home...This is what truly sums it up as the boy who was in his home town since birth, has been to his hometown just once in the last 1 year...

Quote-Unquote

If you’re interested in ‘balancing’ work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.

Oh God! Its Monday

Life teaches you lessons at all points of time ...Over the period of the last 2 months, I have learnt a thing or two as well...The Corporate world is not all rosy as it looks... It’s a bit too boring for my liking or maybe I just need that extra effort to go with the flow... Till then, I guess am happy to be a kiddo in this world...

Somehow during the course of the MBA in the last 1 year, I had heard the phrase “Oh God! Its Monday”... I had never understood the significance of it all...The weekly cycle would repeat as per the nature’s laws and the Monday had to dawn and it seriously did not appear as appealing as it did to some others...Obviously, I had no experience of working before as some others did...

Obviously, Monday has its own significance in the Corporate world and I have realized this with the 2 months work ex that I have got...A weekend just passed by and getting ready for a tough and may be a more challenging week ahead at work...Who knows what’s in store for the coming week...The transition from the weekend to a weekday happens much faster than expected...The weekend ends in a flash without much notice and the slog begins...All efforts for a swift weekend are dashed as weekdays appear much longer than before, may be 48 hours a day or sometimes even more...

But frankly speaking, nothing groundbreaking has actually happened on the weekends during the last 2 months, other than a few visits to my college friends, that really makes me look forward to the next weekend. It actually makes more sense to live life from Monday to Friday by accepting things the way that they are, enjoying each moment of it and move forward on the growth curve...Everyone needs a holiday but how one spends the holiday is what is more important and what counts in the long run...All said and done, with the internship all but ending soon,may be I may not say this phrase again for long, cause obviously there are no Sundays off in MBA...

Quote- Unquote:

If you ever see me smiling on a Monday, you'll know that an alien has killed me and it's wearing my skin as a disguise...

A dream come true

IPL Frenzy in its full flow at the Business end of the season and the team I have supported and always will has indeed ended up giving its best to may be sneak into the playoffs. Yes MUMBAI INDIANS it is...A pretty late charge towards the top 4, but the effort is well worth...Something that will be remembered for time immemorial and will go down into the cricket folklore as one of the greatest chases ever made... It did come a bit too late for my liking but the brilliant masterclass at the end of it all does make up for all that...Desperation does things that people could not have done otherwise, same is the case here... The team so desperate for glory can only do wonders as what Mumbai did tonight...

Faced with an adversity to chase down whatever target they get in 14.3overs, may be many would not have given them even a remote chance of victory...Chasing 190 in 14.3 overs and all hopes of a victory and eventual qualification had all but subsided and may be, just may be a miracle could take them through...In stepped Corey Anderson and truly showcased his mettle, the talent that made him one of the more sought after players this season... At each point it was getting down to the wire and it would have been a big heartbreak if it was so close and yet so far...

With 9 to get of 3balls, it was still an open game. However with 2 to get off 1 ball, the Rayudu run out happened...A heartbreak in its true sense, Mumbai had choked it up after all the hard work...As Rayudu sank to his knees after the dismissal, gutted because of the thoughts that Mumbai had fallen were so close yet so far, chaos broke out all around. Calculators went to work off the field, the batsmen and fielders crowded the umpires for clarification, and play halted for several minutes. Some Royals players had begun to celebrate - 14.3 overs had been bowled and the scores were only tied, Mumbai had not won...But, there was a twist in the tale still...A six or a four off the next ball and they could still go through and in stepped Aditya Tare with the hopes of the entire team on his shoulders...This reminded me of the epic scene from the Lagaan movie... Could Tare do a Bhuvan ??? And he actually did...What a blow!!! What a HIT!!! Mumbai Indians through to the qualifiers and 3 wins away from a probable IPL Victory...Can the defending champions defend their crown only time will tell...

The match was played in full energy and there was not a dull moment in the game...

Pollard and Shane Watson have previously had some real moments against one another right from the 2013 season and Pollard was one up for the day as he took an outstanding catch to dismiss Watson…What followed immediately after that was an amazing guitar celebration, just as a rockstar would... Indeed Pollard is a rockstar in the true sense…To sum this game up. It was sheer, convoluted drama and at the end of it all, the defending champions Mumbai Indians stormed into the playoffs ...A moment to celebrate the joy of the game...Watching a Sachin less Mumbai do it at their own home ground "The Fortress Wankhede" in the presence of the master himself was a fitting tribute to one of the greatest man to have ever played the game...Hard luck Rahul Dravid...You'll have to live in the shadow of Sachin one more time...

On the flip side, the ICC and BCCI may still want to have a look at some random claims of "Match Fixing"running around in the media due to some strange happenings during the course of the game but I just hope it is not so and match fixing does not raise its evil head again... This was destined to be Mumbai's night and my entire faith in the game will be shattered if proved otherwise...

The qualifiers are here finally and am so glad that Mumbai will be there and rubbing horns with Csk, the team I have hated forever… With plenty of old scores to be settled, I expect this game to be an absolute cracker, a game well worthy of being an IPL Finale...All said and done, May the best team win... Kudos to IPL for such fantastic entertainment...

Quote Unquote:

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rankle with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat...

A Night to Remember

The encounters with Supernatural often ends up confusing the ideologies that have been built in time and gives you something more to think about...May be its time I share one such experience which has indeed left me wondering for long and will continue doing so may be for the rest of my life...

The final year of Engineering was in full swing and the project review was the last thing to wind up the 7^th semester...The group consisting of my 3 superstar friends- Pushkar, Kapil and Vibhav... It was indeed a rocking group in itself...The plan was for a night out after the review was done and off we set to Panjim, our most preferred spot for such outings... A little munching at KFC along with some light drinks later on and we were all set for the long drawn night... Quite unaware of what was in store for us...

The night went on with a trip to one of our friends place, Rahul and he joined us along...Some time spent at Donapaula and it was all normal till then...However one of us jumped up to the idea of visiting the British cemetery which was not so far away...Strange things happened from there on...The timing of the trip was such that we reached there almost at 12 and with no lights around, the feeling was  spooky in itself...It did send shivers though when we heard a loud gong at 12 and dogs started barking all of a sudden...Something had changed and something was not right about it...May be it was not all safe after all there in the company of the ghosts...It was indeed the time to move from there by abandoning all plans to see the cemetery from inside...

We left from there and after bidding goodbye and set back on the way back to the hostel... 2 of my friends dozed off in the backseat and it was me and Vibhav in the front seat...Somehow all was not well with me and the suddenly we saw a few people by the roadside, supposedly doing nothing at that time of the day and without any bikes or anything...Something strange to see at about 3 am nonetheless...

The journey continued on... There was this patch where the lights outside the houses acted as streetlights for us, however just as we passed these and suddenly turned behind, it was all dark…Spooky in the true sense... Lights ahead but no lights just as we passed through it... May be our minds playing tricks with us but seriously another such event and it would have been disastrous for the 2 of us...However we did reach hostel safely...

To this date I can’t explain what I had experienced and whether something like that actually exists in today’s world... May be there does exist such evil forces and encounters with them do leave you puzzled for long enough... The supernatural is indeed the natural that is not yet understood...

Quote- Unquote:

“They are from another world, another way of life that somehow has merged with our own. These worlds are kept separate for the safety of everyone. And yet, we may connect with them...”

Down the Memory Lane

Coming across some old photos always gets back some memories which stand cherished for the rest of one’s life. Writing today on one such event. The farewell at Goa College of Engineering. One day that I will never ever forget for the rest of my life...

After fantastic and fun filled years at GEC, it was finally time for me to bid adieu. It was indeed a bittersweet departure as I was equally excited about my next great adventure which I had planned in advance... The photo shoot was done and dusted by then and the last ceremony was left to be done... Dressed likes kings and princesses, the students arrived, each being greeted by a rose each. Me being amongst the more fortunate ones to get a rose from one of the junior girls JJJ

I have never been a great listener when it comes to hearing long boring speeches but as the event went on, I was gradually beginning to enjoy it... I guess it was probably the only day I actually didn’t mind hearing to the long drawn speeches...It was something strange, something different... I myself ended up making a speech admitting the innumerable mistakes I made during the last 4 years...I had indeed learnt the art of apologizing and feel great for this... It takes a lot of courage to do so must admit and it had taken some hard times and 

plenty of mistakes for me to understand this...

The fun games ensued that the fun continued... Obviously the “Saree game” was the best one which I still remember... Why on earth would a boy wear a saree in front of his entire batch??? Ensuring that was a challenge in itself and making him wear the saree was an equally uphill task...Why on earth would a boy learn the art of wearing a saree??? Finally after a lot of trouble our “Dulhan of the Day” was ready to walk the ramp though he (she) did quite bad with the saree eventually falling off J...All the efforts of 3 make up guys was down the drain in a flash...

The final salvo by the HOD ended it all and I feel blessed for being acknowledged for my honorary act of breaking a few tiles in college out of anger...Though I had gotten away with just an undertaking and an apology then, I do have to admit that I had done so on purpose to take out my frustration... A pic with the HOD and a self-nomination for the Best Outgoing student gave the crowd plenty to laugh about... That was it for others I guess but I still had a mission to accomplish, a pic with the teacher whom I admired (and as others said loved)... The mission was done in no time and I still treasure the picture with her looking at it quite often during my spare time...

The dance floor was thrown open pretty late but the energy levels had not dropped one bit as it was one final dance before bidding adieu... The night went on for more boys at the hostel where a drinks party livened up by one epic speech of close to 2 hours brightened the night...

It all ended by embracing people whom I had never spoken to in the last few years...Be it my own sworn enemy(there were plenty of them though) or the classmates whom I had never interacted with. Promises were made to stay in touch & meet every now & then but I guess a few promises were meant to be broken...The GEC Journey had indeed ended with memories for the rest of my life...

Quote- Unquote:

Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart

Living to fight another day #IPL

The IPL is a conclave of extraordinary events. The frenzy actions on pitch and the crazy displays that teams put on the field, day in and day out makes the craze stays on for long...IPL Fever is truly ONNN and the team I have supported and always will is giving its best to may be sneak into the playoffs. Yes MUMBAI INDIANS it is...A pretty late charge towards the top 4, but the effort is well worth...May be it has come a bit too late for my liking...Desperation does things that people could not have done otherwise, same is the case here... The team is desperate for glory but whether it will take them anywhere, only time will tell...

The loss of RR means it’s a much tighter race than expected to the playoffs thus making up for an interesting weekend viewing where the fortunes will be decided...It’s a direct fight between SRH, RR and MI...Firstly expecting SRH to mess it up against KKR and then finish off the Royals in style...The margin for error is tighter than before and one of the most coveted prizes in Cricket is up for grabs...Hoping that Mumbai Indians gives me another reason to smile and rejoice...

All said and done, May the best team win... Kudos to IPL for such fantastic entertainment...

Quote- Unquote:

Winning isn't everything--but wanting to win is.

A New Start

Finally, I have made up my mind to start writing.

It’s a great feeling to start this new hobby, a bit nervous and a bit excited but happy nonetheless that finally I have decided to take this up. This may be a chance to explore the hidden me... Running of words already for the first post but may be a personal introduction won’t do much harm...

Well, I am Darpan Kamat, more commonly known as DK by most of my friends. I hail from the beautiful state of Goa and currently pursuing MBA in Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management... I am currently in midst of my Summer internship which is all set to end next week... Up next, I am all set for the 2^nd Year of MBA... An interesting road surely lies ahead in the days to come...

Looking forward to where life takes me and what’s in store for me in future.

Quote- Unquote:

It is good to have an end to the journey; but it is the journey that matters, in the end