The memoirs of Tyler Durden

It was Christmas' Eve and I was decorating both our Christmas Trees.. why do we have two? One is real and the other one is fake .. lol.. Anyway, and I was talking to Mom and we suddenly realised something very strange. That I had played 4 different roles in various Nativity Plays which have been staged over the year in School and finally in B School as well. 1983 The year I was born. Of course, the only role for me was to play Baby Jesus, and this wasnt by choice. 1987 This year I played a shepherd boy.. complete with make up, rouge, toga etc. I dont remember anything from then though. Its only the photographs which bear testament to the fact that I was in the play that year. Thank God that Dad is so passionate about Photography else I would have never been able to recall most things if he hadnt captured them in the lenses forever. 1993 Much needed respite from Choir Practice :) Yes this time I am playing One of the Kings.. Yes there are 3 Kings and they are from the orient. And ye...

What is it that attracts a guy to a girl? Is it beauty or brains? Beauty many say or as we heard in the beauty pageants which all the Indian girls would win in the 90's is "skin deep". But honestly, if you were dating Aishwarya Rai would you be bothered that you can't carry on a conversation with her because she is so dumb? Well, I guess not! So that brings me to the title of this post. I am not sure, but I feel that the male populace will be divided on this one. Personally, while it would be great to hangout with a good looking girl, if I cant carry on a meaningful conversation with her, then she will merely turn into a trophy chick whom you flaunt as arm candy. That's it! I don't know if beauty is skin deep or not, but I sure do know that its ephemeral. Twenty years down the line, the "Aphrodite" you married is not going to look the same. Does that mean, you are going to love her any less? Of course not, however that's only when the mental conn...

When I talk about 2010 35 years from now, I will have many things to say, however as of now what I would like to write about is the Travel :) January Well I started the New Year in Kolkata. Attended Riddhi & Penny's Engagement and then head to Paul & Jonita's wedding in Mumbai. Though the Mumbai trip was dry thanks to the headbanging affair at Penny's house with a certain Old Monk :) Back in Chennai after a week of settling down at work, I head to Bangalore to be part of Shelton's Birthday Bash. February With Mom in town, we both head to Velankanni to fulfill a few promises we had made. Still cant forget the awesome Prawns there :) March In March, the beaches of Goa were home to me and even though Goa was supposed to be dry due to the Panchayat Elections we managed to get some of our favourite poisons.. As the Taxi Driver said, " Sahab .. Goa aur Dry Day.. Aisa Kabhi ho Sakta hai?" which translated means.. "Sir, Goa and a Dry Day? Can that ever Ha...

How many times have you heard this from a girl? “I like you; you’re a great guy, but I am not ready for a relationship right now.” Of course, the “We’ll always be great friends” will also be thrown in. What exactly does “not right now” mean? I first heard something on these lines around 12 years back and I still fail to understand any of it. Does it mean, “Not right now”, but “sometime in the future”? Or does it mean that “dude, you just have to try harder, I am not giving in so easily!” Well, volumes can be written on this, but this post is not about what that phrase means, but about “THE HOOK”. Yes, either you’re “Off the Hook” or you’re “On it”. And it works both ways; I might be on someone’s hook while I might be keeping someone else on the hook. But it all starts with those 3 words “not right now.” I guess it stems from the fact, that the other person is a good friend and you probably enjoy spending time with them and wouldn’t want to lose them. However what we fail to conside...

A Designation... When you dont have one, then you want it.. and When you have one, then you may not want the responsibility that comes along with it. Nevertheless, it feels good to have a nice fancy designation. Doesnt it? Whether you deserve it or not is secondary. However, one would have to agree that in the recent past with the advent of the new age "Knowledge-based" organisations, organisational hierarchy as we knew it 20 years back in the traditional manufacturing industries has gone out of the window. Today I can be an Assistant Vice President at the age of 23 and a Vice President at probably 26. If something like this were to happen back in the old days, even the thought of it would have been blasphemous. However, with the advent of the "MBAs"; the guys who think they know it all even before they start working, throwing fancy designations has become to norm with all companies looking to attract the best talent from business schools. In the previous generation...

Spontaneous is an adjective that means seeming to occur through self-generation, by one's own means, or in a way requiring no outside influence or help. The noun form, spontaneity, refers to the quality of being spontaneous. This is of course the dictionary definition of Spontaneity. However, the question is, “What does Spontaneity mean to each individual?” Is it an action that is self generated? Or occurring by one’s own means? Or in a way that requires no outside influence or help? Or is it all of the above. I guess for most, spontaneous is more of a “spur of the moment” act rather than something which strictly sticks to the above definition. Or is it something different? Is it imperative for the outcome of a spontaneous act to be positive? Or does a negative outcome signal a spontaneous act turned stupid? Deciding to bike it down to Mahabaleshwar from Pune at 2 am in the morning and setting out immediately according to me is spontaneous. However, in case something goes wro...

While Marketing Students were devouring their Kotler for the nth time, Finance guys were running through their balance sheets and P&L statements and HR guys were memorising labour laws, I was watching a movie by the name of "Thank You for Smoking". Aaron Eckhart is the smooth talking lobbyist for the Academy of Tobacco Studies in this movie and does what a lobbyist does best, he "spins" his way through his office, celebrity talk shows, his son's school and even his ex-wife's boyfriend. All one needs to see is how he would turn a seemingly lost situations into a winning ones. What better place to learn from? Especially when you know you are going to be badgered and pinned down with questions from a panel of 6 - 7 people. He is convincing and believable and steals the show wherever he goes. That doesnt mean that your knowledge is superficial and all you need to be is a smooth talker. However, even when you gain mastery of the subject, you need to know how ...

Placements!! Apart from the rankings, this is one of the most important aspects which students consider while choosing a B-School. Of course, Good placements in turn contribute to a better ranking for the institute. Once you are in, even if you dont want them to, Placements take the center stage in any and every activity. Whether its 2 months into the 1st trimester and the internship interviews start or you have some head honchos visiting the campus as part of the corporate interface program, life is all about placements. Come the conferences, and you need to target speakers based on the companies you want to recruit from campus. A few months later, the internship begins and you are gunning for a top slot there to score a pre-placement offer which would make life so much easier. Internship done and then you are working hard in the 4th trimester to ensure your grades are up to the mark so that you make the cut for the placement week itself! 5th trimester and you are trying to select lig...

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) Jharkhand Jamshedpur’s<I>Udaan</I> takes wing in Cannes Like all other true blooded Jamshedpureans... I am waiting to get a copy of Udaan... This is simple amazing.

Been a long time since I wrote but, I am sure that in the coming days, much to the delight of a few of my friends, I will be writing on a more regular basis. Last week, I was in Kolkata to attend the wedding of one of my closest friends. I stayed at an old family friend's place. Sunday afternoon was spent chatting with his son who is a Regional Manager at a Healthcare Company. It was an enriching conversation and below are a few pearls of wisdom which he gave me. INCOME = EXPENDITURE For a healthy life, income must always be equal to expenditure. Now I know what most would be thinking and trust me, the same thought were running in my mind as well. If income is equal to expenditure, then I will always be broke! He went on to say, Yes, your bank balance should always be zero. By now I was completely confused. Was it the mid day vodka snack which was talking or was he going to make some sense. Then he says, " I am not talking about your monetary condition, not in the least bit....