Walking The Tightrope

So an hour or so ago, I finished ‘MBA At 16’, by Subroto Bagchi. I must confess I did not purchase the book, but was given/gifted the book by someone close to the author, and obviously me. Yes, so, I must admit I was a little baffled when I got the book(not a huge fan of non-fiction) and obviously, the purple cover kinda screams right at you. Not to mention the B-school esque logo which has the title. I’d say it’ll draw the crowds pretty effortlessly. Put in a Golden Retriever and voila, they sell like hot cakes.

Anyway, I sat down to read the book after dinner, and was slightly disappointed with the size. True, it is aimed at the teens, but a book the size of a Hardy Boys novel isn’t cool anymore. All the same, I spent a couple of hours reading every word, not just perusing. And I was done. Just like that.

And I will admit, it’s a great book. A great business book. Unfortunately, it is not for the young adults that Mr.Bagchi envisioned. I am a 20 year old MBA aspirant and found the book to be extremely informative, including the tidbits about each businessperson’s inspiration. Also, I must add, I understood majority of the book, which is quite an achievement, considering the not-so-simple terminology used. True, there is a genuine attempt to explain each of those terminologies to the young reader, but alas, that is all it is. The attempt fails, and I must say by quite a margin. Note that it is not because the book is horrible; quite the opposite actually. It is too good to be titled ‘MBA at 16’. 

Allow me to elaborate. Each of the topics discussed, from micro finance to venture capitalism are right out of Mr.Bagchi’s mouth. Yes, a 16 year old may be well informed on a few of the topics, but the buck stops there. I’m sorry Mr.Bagchi, but your attempt at creating a young adult business book would’ve paid off if you had redefined the term “young adult”. Instead, the thirty one students that Mr.Bagchi has worked with are 16 year olds whose parents are in the industry or associated with the industry. Also, there is no doubt that these 31 are intellectuals and were “handpicked” by their respective heads of school on that very basis. Precisely where it goes slightly wrong. 

Two points of order here. Firstly, these 31, though intellectually capable of having insightful and very productive discussions on the business world, are too small a sample space. For all you might know, there might be one single person with a business acumen on par with or possibly greater than these 31 who was not picked. Secondly, no 16 year old today speaks of the current rate of the dollar or the Eurozone crisis. All they speak of is the next graduation party they’re attending and what country they intend to visit in the summer. 

If the very same book had been aimed at an audience of 18-20 year olds, I assure you, it would have been a bigger success. I am still grateful that I had the opportunity to read the book. As a book, it is no doubt exceptional. As a young MBA book, it fails. Unless the idea was to reduce the age bar for college aspirants, in which case FIITJEE is way ahead of you.

Feedback is welcome.

Cheers.

Surely one of you must be wondering why this post has been titled so? No? That’s alright, I prepared for that contingency anyway. Ha.

So, I have an Android Phone. 

*basks in glory for a minute*

So it was one of those afternoons where you laze around just because you want to, that I came upon this idea. And there are some things that I immediately want to blog about. This was four weeks ago. *ba-dam-tish*. Here I am, a not-so-proverbial early bird, who wishes to amuse you, the reader, with an idea ever so simple, yet so agonisingly… Wait for it. No seriously, wait for it.

So, here goes something that I’ve visualized to be hilarious, and insensitive, (the two somehow interconnected) but you might not. In that case, read the entire piece, and walk away bro. Seriously, walk away man. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the Android Phone yet. Oh no, I ain’t giving you that satisfaction *Megamind-esque grin*. 

Now I’m going to do something I hoped I would never have to. Sadly, this piece requires me to fill in a few gaps. And so..*drumroll*…I have an ex. And I don’t say “have” because not only is she still alive, but because we’re on pretty decent terms. So, I drifted from this female to breakups one fine afternoon (don’t ask me how and all. Okay it was easy…the trick is to.. shhh, do not speak a word about this to ANYONE…), I decided to “contemplate” on the various effective methods men use to break up with a woman, or a boy uses to escape his girl. NC-17 people.

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Okay, no drama here. I don’t generally do things like this. That stopped when I left school. But hey, for a friend :)

Who tagged me : fairy-stories-held-me-high

Rules: Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, then make 11 new questions, tag 11 people and link them to your post let them know you’ve tagged them.

1. Where would you want to live when you grow up?

Umm, to be honest, I don’t want to live in one place. I want to keep moving around, hopping from country to country, preferably in Europe. But if I have to pick, I would have to say France. Come on, I don’t really need to defend that choice.

2. Do you think it’s important to put yourself before anyone else?

I would take a bullet for a friend any day. So, yes, it is important, but there are few things where I’d put myself over anyone else. 

3. Reading or travelling? (I got asked this by someone yesterday and it was the hardest choice I have ever had to make).

I am the reason for that question :P But, I would have to pick travelling. I’ve read about enough I need to see. Will travel and then read some more.

4. Do you/have you ever constantly worried about someone?

Yes, I always am worrying about someone or multiple people. 

5. Are you a right brain or a left brain person?

I’m right handed. Go figure.

6. One person who has constantly been with you and you’re totally comfortable around?

Umm, I’m totally comfortable around very few people. But I haven’t had a constant companion all the time. I would choose Keerthana if I must. The longest I’ve known someone. Hence.

7. Do you find it hard to accept certain harsh facts of reality?

Nah.

8. Something you want to achieve before this year ends?

Oh, some proper ownage is due in a few respects. That.

9. A small thing that makes you really happy?

A smile.

10. Something you want to change, in the world, your country, yourself, anything.

The world, yes, make everything and everyone less dependent on money. Money isn’t everything. Happiness is. Me, it’s a learning curve. Call me in five years and we’ll talk.

11. Are you sad that I tagged you because now you have to answer these rubbish questions?

Extremely depressed. So much so that I actually sat down to do this :P

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Hello everyone(okay, everyone who STILL reads my blog). It has been quite a while since I did anything useful, and this is just an extension of that. Wait, no, there was one useful thing that I did do. I downloaded Stick Cricket from the Android Market. Yes yes, I have an Android phone. Don’t any of you dare flash your iPhones at me!

So, Stick Cricket, yes. An absolutely wonderful use of time better spent doing anything else, including, but not necessarily, gazing at a computer screen endlessly. Also known as the summer holidays for most of you. See, I’m a man,child, who is easily drawn to things that shine or look glossy enough. Okay, I’m coming out of the closet. I am a man in a child’s body. Oh, no surprising faces I see. Hmm, looks like you all are. Not to be sexist though, but the men know what I’m talking about. Oops, I did it again. Okay, why am I thinking of Britney Spears now? Right, we’re talking about men, so, yeah, that makes sense.

SOOO. Stick Cricket,yes. I reaffirm that it is indeed time well spent downloading, which isn’t much, considering how much I’m looting Airtel with respect to GPRS speeds. Yeah, so I did all the installing and what not, and began my journey into the wondrous world of Stick Cricket. Must say I did find the going tough, but hey, some poet will have something wise to say about that, so, I’ll leave that to him. Aw man, sexist yet again. What’s up with that? 

So Stick Cricket has three modes of play - Stick Cricket Academy, All Star Slog and World Domination. The first two are interesting blah blah whatever. Play the game if you care to know, I am not reviewing it here. But I am willing to say that the game has only MALE cricket players representing their respective countries. The third mode, for all those who haven’t read the above paragraphs, wait, why am I even saying this? Oh damn, my backspace key doesn’t work. Oh well, how comfortable..Sorry, yes, World Domination.

World Domination pits you against international teams to prove your prowess as a team in the 20 over format. Mind you, the international teams are updated and consist of fiery players like Maurice Odumbe, Hamilton Mazadaska, Adeel Raja etc. Who is this “you”, you ask? That is where it gets interesting, mon ami. You is basically an All Star XI, which, eponymously, consists of an amalgamation of the best players in the game. Obviously right? Just verifying, because the All Star Team reads as follows :

Sunil Gavaskar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Brian Lara, Greg Chappell, Ian Botham, Adam Gilchrist, Imran Khan, Phil Tufnell, Abdul Qadir, Glenn McGrath and Curtly Ambrose.

REALLY?

That is your All Star XI for an ODI/T20? No no no no no. No.

Or as Luke Skywalker says, ever so calmly, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”.

Here is MY All Star XI. Note that I said “my”, which means you have to have an IQ below Forrest Gump to argue it. 

Sanath Jayasuriya, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting(c), Jacques Kallis, Aravinda De Silva, Adam Gilchrist(wk), Wasim Akram , Shaun Pollock, Shane Bond , Glenn McGrath, Muthiah Muralitharan.

Okay, most of this, rather, all of the above are stars from the 90s. That was the time when ODIs were really worth looking forward to. Also, this is not a eulogy to ODI cricket, but more of a request to increase its viewership as well.

Most importantly, these are random ramblings of a nocturnal.

Thassal.

Feedback is welcome, cheers!