Life in a line

"The fact that most people in the world are selfish, makes the handful who aren't, look like utter fools."

10 coolest photos you wouldn't believe are not Photoshopped

Food for thought

It annoys me like hell that I can't eat most things I love, because of this stupid migraine. Migraines tend to be very depressive and when people are depressed, they like to eat good food, and by good food I mean of course, chocolates, pizzas and ice creams. But I can't have any of those because they all trigger my headaches, some of them more badly than others. Just to give you an idea of all the great stuff I have to miss out on, here is a short list:

1. Chocolates
2. Most dairy products including cheese, curd, yogurt and sometimes even milk
3. Pizzas(because of the cheese content)
4. Ice Cream
5. All kinds of nuts including cashews, almonds, peanuts
6. Anything with nuts
7. Fizzy drinks
8. Oranges, including orange juice
9. Lemon juice
10. Chinese food, especially noodles(because of MSG)
11. Maggi Noodles
12. Kurkure
13. Tomatoes, including tomato ketchup

Plus I get headaches from eating spicy food. There are many more things which give me headaches, but I can't remember them right now. There are other foods which don't exactly give me headaches but I still can't eat them because I'm on anticoagulation therapy. These are foods rich in vitamin K, such as cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, green salads, and others. Also, I recently learned that I can't eat too many mangoes because mangoes potentiate or enhance the effect of anticoagulants. All this makes me wonder what I can actually eat. It's just frustrating. 

Painful times

I've had the most horrible last four days. Have been in bed with a non-stop  migraine. Why is this happening to me God, why? In a post not too long ago I wrote that things are looking up for me and that the worst is behind me. I guess I spoke too soon. Migraines are just absolutely unbearable, and anyone who's suffered from them would agree with me. I know a lot of people who suffer or have suffered from migraines, but I've never come across anybody who gets them as often as I do. 

I've had a chronic daily migraine for nearly nine months now. There are hardly 4-5 days in a month when I don't have a headache. It's just killing. Every time I get migraine, I just lose the will to live. It's really that bad. Even in the best of times, my head pains like hell, my body goes numb and I can't even keep my eyes open. The only thing I can do is lie down on my bed. Most people don't understand what I go through, probably because they haven't experienced the pain. They think I'm just pretending the pain, to shy away from my duties. That hurts me more. I feel like a lone soul, with no one to share my pain and sorrow with. Nobody understands. Even if they do, they can't do anything to help me. Sometimes I feel nobody can help me. 

I have developed what the doctors call 'Medication Overuse Syndrome', a condition where one has gets a chronic daily headache, because of having taken too many pain killers. There's no treatment for it, apart from just stopping pain killers completely. That's very hard to do, especially when you're addicted to them, like I am. Every time I get a headache, I pop in a pill. I've taken so many of them that my body has practically stopped responding to them. If I don't take a pain killer, my headache just doesn't go away for several days, and I'm confined to bed. So in order to function even a little bit, I have to take them. And as I do, I only make things worse.  I don't know how I'm going to get out of this rut. 

When I look at people around me, being active, being happy, being healthy, I feel jealous. I want to be like them too. There are so many things I would like to do, which I can't because of  all these headaches. It is like slow poison, killing me slowly. I'm not able to think clearly these days. I want to say things but my mind just goes...blank. Even as I'm writing this blog, I'm not getting the words(if you know what I mean). I can only pray to God that these horrible headaches go away soon. I want to lead a normal life. Please help me God. Please.

Behind the Razzle Dazzle

The Indian Premier League is in its third season, and looking at the euphoria it's creating across the country, I almost felt obliged to write something about it. As everybody with the slightest interest in the game of cricket knows, the first two seasons of the tournament were a massive success. The inaugural edition in India achieved blockbuster success thanks to the exciting nature of the twenty20 format and some brilliant marketing. The second edition in the Rainbow Nation was equally successful, if not more. Now, the IPL is back to India and if the commissioner of IPL, Mr Lalit Modi is to be believed, it is going to be bigger and better. 

It's been less than a week since the tournament started and already, the response has been absolutely overwhelming. The IPL tickets(touted as more important than an election or railway ticket) are selling like hot cakes. Costing more than what an average Indian earns in a day, they're not even the major source of revenue for the organisers. The highest revenue is generated from sponsorship rights(which have been given on a five year basis) and television rights, which have been given on a ten year basis. The sponsors have invested astronomical sums of money and just to give you an idea about the sort of money that's at stake, here are some statistics:

• Sony Entertainment Televsion, the official broadcaster, has paid a staggering Rs 8700 crores to BCCI
• DLF, which is the title sponsor, has paid Rs 200 crore
• Hero Honda, the associate sponsor, has paid nearly Rs 100 crore
• Pepsi, the official beverage partner, has paid Rs 50 crore
• Kingfisher, the umpires and travel partner, has paid Rs 106 crore

And you thought there is shortage of money in India! BCCI, which I'm sure is already the richest cricket board in the world, is going to pocket 20 % of the proceeds. The rest will be shared by the franchise owners, including the winning team. Apart, from the major sponsors that I've mentioned above, there are several other companies promoting their brand(s) through the IPL. The tournament is a fantastic platform for both big and small corporations to promote their brand. I had never heard of Karbonn Mobiles until I saw its ad in the IPL matches. Same with Micromax. The enormous audience base of the tournament gives these relatively new companies a chance to create a brand awareness, a key aspect of marketing. In fact, talking about marketing, I think IPL is a very good practical example of marketing and product placement. As a business and marketing student, I've observed the following marketing aspects of IPL:

• It is based on the twenty20 format, which makes it really popular and thus acts a major platform for product placement. 
• It is offers a whole lot of opportunities for advertising. Companies can choose from a variety of spots/areas to advertise their brand. If you watch the broadcast carefully, you'll realise that the advertisers don't miss a single spot. There is the on-ground advertising in the form of billboards, adboards, pitchmats, cheerleaders costumes, player costumes, Umpire costumes, sightscreen, scoreboard and so many others. One can see some sort of advertising or the other in every corner of the stadiums. I even saw an MRF blimp hovering over one of the grounds. Apart from that, there's on TV advertising, such as the basic between-over commercials, advertisements attached to various broadcast segments such as highlights, replays, Third Umpire decision, Hawk-eye, Super sixes, super fours, best catches and a million other things. It's just incredible. 
• There's the element of segmentation in the form of different ticket prices and advertising(on the basis of sex, income, etc)
• Media selection is another very important aspect of marketing and advertising and IPL because of its wide coverage offers a whole lot of options such as television, Newspapapers, magazines, Internet, Radio, tickets(yes even the tickets have ads on them!), and many more
• Because it is held in different locations across the country, it also offers good distribution and availability options. The venues are chosen strategically to ensure maximum supply of entertainment. 

Apart from what I've discussed above, there are a lot of other business lessons that can be learned from the IPL and its success story has prompted a lot b-schools in India to use it as a case study. Although the tournament is in its early stages, there's already been a huge buzz and everybody, both young and old, male or female, rich or poor, seem to be talking about it. Apart from the broadcasting channel itself, most news channels are full of IPL news. Even channels like MTV and V aren't leaving any stones unturned and are using IPL to boost their TRPs. One thing is clear, the magic of IPL is everywhere and whether you like it or hate it, you just can't ignore it.

Having said all that, a lot of people in the cricketing world continue to raise eyebrows. A lot of people feel that tournaments like these reduce the 'holy' sport of cricket to the status of a commodity. I think they're just being hypocritical. Ask any of them for an honest answer and they'll tell you that they love watching twenty20 cricket more than any other form of the game. I don't agree with those who say that test match cricket is 'real' cricket. Nobody has the right to decide what form of cricket is real and what is unreal. I think every sport must adapt and evolve with the changing times and changing demands. In today's fast life where husbands don't even have time to tell their wives that they love them, you just can't expect people to sit and watch a game for five days. We're living in an age of instant gratification and people like quick results. Tournaments such as IPL are ideal for today's world and should be promoted. Not only do they provide better entertainment but also induce investment, a key to economic development. Moreover, they provide a lot of employment opportunities to people. In fact, I think IPL benefits everybody. The audience get good entertainment from the cricket and the frills, the sponsors get publicity, the franchise owners get huge profits, its helps in the development of grounds and infrastructure, the BCCI gets a lot of money as well so I think everybody is happy. I don't understand what the fuss is about. So be happy, sit back and enjoy the fun! 

Let's join hands - Save the Tiger

I am sure most of you are aware of the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign by Aircel. I feel it's a great initiative to protect our national animal from becoming extinct. According to the latest survey, only 1411 tigers are left in the country. This figure might not be accurate as there may be more tigers killed as we speak. I was saddened to read somewhere recently that nearly 70 tigers have been killed in the last 8 months. However, It is not too late and we can still do our bit to save these wonderful creatures. There are many credible organizations working towards tiger conservation in India, and they need your support. WWF-India is one such organization at the forefront of the effort. Click on the link below to see how you can chip in and help... every little bit helps. 

http://www.wwfindia.org/help/donate_for_tigers/

The donation can be as little as Rs 500, which is a very small price to pay for ensuring the survival of our national animal. I am sure that if each one of us donates even Rs 500, it will go a long way in helping this cause. 

If we don't act now, we could lose this part of our heritage forever. Save Tigers, save our heritage. 

About Schmidt

There is no doubt that Jack Nicholson is a fine actor. His portrayal of dark, often non-conformist characters in so many of his films have touched audiences across the world. 'About Schmidt' is another film which just leaves you thinking - 'What an actor!'. I saw About Schmidt yesterday, for the second time and couldn't help but admire the craft of the man. The movie is very simple, slow and at times, seemingly boring. Yet, it has certain indefinable elements which evoke a lot of emotions. 

The film is about Warren Schmidt, a retired insurance salesman, whose life starts falling apart after the death of his wife. He looks for comfort and love in his daughter Jeanie, but she is not able to give him time because of her impending wedding to Randall, a pony-tail wearing, dodgy water bed salesman and wannabe businessman. He is disapproving of her daughter's choice and tries everything to talk her out of marrying him. His undying attempts continue to fail and Warren after a series of insults from her daughter, starts realising that he is a useless, insignificant person and doesn't have an impact on anybody's life. One day, he stumbles upon a television advert about a foster programme for African Children. He enrolls in the program and receives a package about his foster child, a Tanzanian boy called Ndugo. He starts mailing him some money every now and again, along with letters about his life and his feelings. He feels that the boy is the only he can talk his heart out to, as he thinks nobody else cares about him. 

He decides to journey across the country in his caravan to see his daughter but his daughter refuses to see him and asks him not to come until two days before the wedding. Distraught, Warren makes a trip back home and en route, visits many places from his past. He arrives in Denver, and stays with Randall's mother, who turns out to be very sexual and open, much to Warren's discomfort. After meeting Randall's family there, he becomes even more sure that Randall is not suited to his daughter. Once again, he tries to dissuade Jeanie from marrying Randall, but she is not ready to listen, and insults him once again. He attends their wedding with a heavy heart and goes back home dejected and failed. Upon reaching home, he finds a pile of mails lying in his empty house. He opens a surprise letter from a nun in Tanzania, who looks after Ndugo, and writes to thank Warren for his generous contribution and tells him that warren receives all his letters and feels his pain. Warren finds attached a sketch made by Ndugo, showing two stick figures, one tall and one short. Warren, breaks into tears and realises that somebody has benefited from his life after all. 

I found the movie extremely touching and was able to relate instantly to Warren's lonely and empty life, which I found in some ways, mirrored my own. The movie also makes a point that nobody's life is worthless and that selfless deeds don't go unnoticed. Sometimes, even complete strangers understand us and care about us more than even our closest relatives or friends. Jack Nicholson was simply brilliant in the movie, and single handedly transformed what would otherwise have been an insipid movie, into an intriguing and poignant one. Hats off to him!

Funny resume statements

These are taken from real resumes and cover letters and were printed in Fortune Magazine:

1. I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience.

2. I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet progroms.

3. Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year.

4. Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave.

5. Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions.

6. Its best for employers that I not work with people.

7. Lets meet, so you can ooh and aah over my experience.

8. You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time.

9. Am a perfectionist and rarely if if ever forget details.

10. I was working for my mom until she decided to move.

11. Failed bar exam with relatively high grades.

12. Marital status: single. Unmarried. Unengaged. Uninvolved. No Commitments.

13. I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse.

14. I am loyal to my employer at all costs... Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voice mail.

15. I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing.

16. My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I possess no training in meterology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage.

17. I procrastinate, especially when the task is unpleasant.

18. As indicted, I have over five years of analyzing investments.

19. Personal interests: donating blood. Fourteen gallons so far.

20. Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store.

21. Note: Please don't miscontrue my 14 jobs as job-hopping. I have never quit a job.

22. Marital status: often. Children: various.

23. Reason for leaving last job: They insisted that all employees get to work by 8:45 a.m. every morning. Could not work under those conditions.

24. The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers.

25. Finished eighth in my class of ten.

26. References: None. I've left a path of destruction behind me.


If you're not in splits already, here is a sample resume that will surely have you laughing your ass off!!

(Click on it to enlarge)

Did somebody say Migraine??

It has been one week since I’ve had a headache. I havn’t had a headache free period this long since August 2009. I am naturally very happy and also, thankful to God. I think my Doctor, a neurologist, deserves a lot of credit for this, as he was the one who suggested anti-coagulation therapy to me, after so many doctors had failed to treat me. In case you are wondering what I am talking about, here is a little recap.

It all began in the spring of 2004. I was in the last year of school, and my parents had just filed for a divorce. It had been a tough last couple of years for me, with things being pretty rough in the house. A lot was changing around me, and there wasn’t much I could do about it. I tried to remain strong and focus on my studies. One day, while returning home from the coaching class, I started feeling a sharp pain my left eye. It was something I had never experienced before. It felt as though something or someone was pulling my optic nerves like a rider pulls the leash of a horse. I wore glasses and thought that the power of my left eye had gone up. So I went to get my eyes checked. The optometrist told me there was nothing wrong with my left eye. I was a little relieved and ignored the pain.

As the days went by, the pain grew worse and started spreading in the head. I didn’t know what was happening. All I knew was that it felt like somebody was stabbing the left side of my head repeatedly. Although the pain was infrequent at that point, it was intense and prompted me to see my GP. After examining the symptoms, he said he suspected Migraine. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I had never heard that term in my life and had no idea what it entailed. He prescribed an over-the-counter analgesic for the pain. I came back home and discussed the meeting with my Mom. She comforted me and asked me not to worry. ‘It’s only a temporary thing and would go away soon’, she said. I somehow believed her, not having the slightest idea of what was to follow in the next six years.

It did not go away. In fact it came back stronger every time thereafter and starting dictating my life. It would come on suddenly and leave me paralysed. I could do nothing but just take a pill and lie down. It started affecting my studies. My school attendance began declining and my grades slipped. Even the analgesics weren’t working. I did a lot of research on migraine and its treatment. The more I read, the more scared I got. Migraine is incurable. Somebody suggested homeopathic treatment and I went to see a top doctor in the field. After asking me nearly four hour worth of questions regarding my condition, he gave me some medicine, which I took for a week. There was very little improvement. Homeopathic treatment takes a long time to work and didn’t have that kind of patience. Then I saw an Ayurvedic doctor who also gave some medicine which not only had no effect, it was the most disgusting, most horrible tasting thing I had ever had. I had had enough of all this rubbish and went back to western medicine. I started taking this NSAID (Non-steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) called Diclofenac Sodium. It was really effective and took only a few minutes to knock out the pain. I had no idea that it was a really dangerous drug, banned in several countries. At that point, I didn’t have other symptoms normally associated with migraine, such as nausea, vomiting, aura etc. It was just really bad unilateral headaches and occasional sensitivity to light and sound. I used to get these headaches once about every two to three days, sometime less frequently.

This pattern continued in college and it was manageable. I was quite fine until the second year. In the second year, the headaches started to get more frequent and now even my trusted drug was losing effect. Again my attendance went down and so did my grades. I started going into depression and became unsociable. I saw a lot of doctors during this period, including eye specialists, ENT specialists, neurologists, headache specialists, etc, and despite spending hours and hours with them explaining my case, they couldn’t treat me.  I was losing hope and getting addicted to pain killers. The frequency of my headaches was increasing and became worse during summer and monsoons. I was getting about two to three headaches a day, with the pain killers lasting for only about 5-6 hours.  A lot of foods like chocolates, cheese, soft drinks, orange juice started triggering my headaches. Not only was I depressed, I couldn’t even eat my favourite foods to feel better. BBA was over but the headaches weren’t.

A couple of months after BBA, in June, I saw the top neurologist in Baroda. He also diagnosed me with migraine and prescribed me a bunch of medicines including more effective pain killers, preventative drugs and anti depressants. The medicines were able to control my headaches for a couple of weeks but lost their effectiveness later on. My headaches got so bad that I had to cancel my plans of going to London for MBA. After the failed treatment, I saw that same neurologist again along with a couple of others, in August. They prescribed me an MRI and CT scan of the brain. The scans revealed the following:

•    a deviated nasal septum (a shift in the partition in the nose)
•    Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (a blood clot in the sinus)
•    Diffuse Dural enhancement (thickening of the Dura Mater, which is the layer of tissues covering the brain)
•     The possibility of Idiopathic Hypertrophic Chronic Pachymeningitis (inflammation of the dura mater due to bacterial or viral infection).

The report was very serious and required immediate attention. My doctor asked me to undergo a Lumbar puncture to check the Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and the presence of a possible infection in the CSF. The lumbar puncture is a diagnostic test for pachymeningitis. When the doctor told me that the procedure involved inserting a needle into my spinal cord and extracting the CSF, I got apprehensive and said no. My parents were abroad and I didn’t want to take any chances. When my mum returned, we decided to Ahmedabad and consult the best doctors there. Strangely, all the doctors there said that there was nothing to worry about as all I had was migraine. They also prescribed migraine medication, which I took for a while and stopped because it didn’t work. After that we went to Mumbai to consult the leading headache specialist in Asia. After a long consultation with him, he also dismissed off the brain scans and diagnosed me with migraine. The moment he said that, I knew he was going to prescribe migraine medication as well and that’s what he did. Although I had no hope, I still tried his medication for a few days but there wasn’t any improvement. I had joined TCS and the busy nature of the job helped in diverting my mind off the pain for the first few months. However, my symptoms started getting worse in the last few weeks and I had to quit. With no hope of getting treated, I decided to go to UK for MBA. I would never know why.  

My headaches somehow subsided briefly in London and I was able to study and work. But in a couple of months, the headaches returned with a bang and started taking their toll on my life. It was harder to cope with the pain in a foreign country with no one to look after me. Once again, my attendance dipped. I got irregular with my job as well. I saw a local GP there who prescribed me some medication. It was reasonably effective and kept the headaches down but didn’t relieve me of them completely. I used to get attacks intermittently. I scraped along for a while but in July, my worst period started. I started getting non-stop daily headaches with little relief from pain killers. I started taking more and more pills which only compounded the problem and started giving me rebound headaches. More and more days started going in bed. My headaches started to be accompanied by nausea and unstoppable vomiting. There were countless days when I vomited all day, every 2 minutes. My mum had sent me ayurvedic medicine from India which I took for nearly two months but with no effect. I was losing weight and growing weak. Everybody around me was worried. They had never seen something like this. They all tried to console me but nothing worked. Life was really miserable. I didn’t want to live. I couldn’t attend college or go to work. The college was sending me mail after mail and even threatened to cancel my visa. I was finding it hard to pay my rent as I couldn’t go to work. I just couldn’t stay in that country. I returned to India and continued the ayurvedic treatment I had started in London. Four months went by but there was no relief. I was in bed 24x7 with horrible headache and constant vomiting. I stopped the ayurvedic treatment and started homeopathy again. It offered some relief but not enough for me to stick to it for long. 2009 was over and I can safely say that it was the worst year of my life, healthwise.

Somebody told us of this doctor in Mumbai who was supposed to be a top neurologist and a brilliant diagnostician. As a last throw of the dice, I decided to go and see him. He saw my brain scans and said he was startled nobody had taken them seriously before. He said that my headaches weren’t caused by migraine but due to things going majorly wrong inside my head and possibly blood. He asked me to go through another MRI to check if things had gotten worse since the last scan. The result was positive and he asked me...I’m sorry, forced me undergo a lumbar puncture, something I had said no to the last time around. The procedure was highly unpleasant and definitely not something I’d like to go through again. Thankfully, the result of the LP was negative which meant that my CSF pressure was ok and I didn’t have pachymeningitis. However, the MRI did reveal Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis, which led the doctor to put me through a series of blood tests which lasted over a month. One of the blood tests, the Lupus Anti-coagulant test, revealed that I suffer from what is called Antiphospholipid Syndrome or Hughes Syndrome. It is a very rare and serious condition wherein the patient’s blood has the tendency to form clots, due to the presence of lupus antibodies. It is an autoimmune disorder which has no cure and the treatment for it is lifelong. The doctor put me on Anti-coagulation therapy entailing a daily dose of Warfarin (a blood thinning drug), restriction on the intake of anything with vitamin K and regular blood tests to check my blood thinness. I need to keep my blood at a particular level. If it gets to too thick, I can develop clots and bear the risk of a stroke or heart attack. If it gets too thin, I can develop bleeding. It’s quite dangerous.

But thankfully, due to the anti-coagulation therapy, my headaches have subsided significantly and after a long time, I’ve had a whole week without headaches. I am feeling a lot more positive and hope to go back to London in June to finish my studies. I’ve suffered terribly for the last six years but something tells me that the worst is behind me and that life ahead is healthy and happy. I have faith in God. 

Funny Billboards

Here are some of the funniest billboards in the world I found on the web. Some of them make me laugh so hard I almost cry. Hope You enjoy them. 

My All-time favourite songs

Listening to one of my favourite english songs from the 80s, on my laptop today, I thought, which are my most favourite songs of all-time? Songs which have an everlasting melody, songs that you can listen to anytime regardless of your mood, songs which have you singing along every time you listen to them, songs which remind you of the good times in your life, or some not so good times for that matter. 

Everybody changes with time and so does their taste in music. People love catchy, fast, foot-tapping numbers when they are young and as they grow old, deep, meaningful, often poignant songs start appealing to them more. There are exceptions to this of course. I know somebody who is just 24 but has a great liking for Ghazals and old sad hindi songs. Her father on the other hand, somewhere in his late 50s, is crazy about Himesh Reshammiya's music and can't get enough of it ! But if you ask anyone, young or old, male or female, almost everybody has a collection of songs which remain right up there on their 'most listened-to songs playlist', so to speak. Like everybody else, I have such a collection as well. These are my are my top ten all time favourite songs, as of now, in random order:

• Tujhse naraaz nahin (Masoom)
• Choo kar mere man ko (Yaaraana)
• Zara zara (Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein)
• Yeh haseen vadiyaan (Roja)
• Music of the night (Michael Crawford)
• Pehla nasha (Jo jita wahi sikandar)
• When you say nothing at all (Ronan Keating)
• Life for rent (Dido)
• We are the world (Various Artists)
• Unbreak my heart (Toni Braxton)

I am Back !!!

Hello readers,

I return to the sanctuary after a two year hiatus. You might wonder where I’d been these two years. I do too! The fact is that a lot has happened in my life in these two years. End of BBA,headaches,countless visits to the doctors, MRI and CT scans, a few months working at TCS, Moving to London for MBA, changing houses like one changes one’s underwear, working at the T20 World Cup, meeting some great people along the way, more headaches, coming back to India for treatment, more doctor visits, more MRI and CT scans, diagnosis, misdiagnosis and finally the right diagnosis...to name a few things.

Needless to say, these two years have been the most eventful years of my life. These have also been the most painful two years of my life. Pain in any form is unpleasant. Even more so when it’s in the head. Add to that the fact that the pain is constant and lingering. I shall talk about the ‘painful journey’ in another entry. For the time being, let me just talk about the non-pain aspects of the period gone by.

PART I

It was the summer of 2008. BBA was finally over. Phew! During BBA and after it, I appeared for a million entrance tests, GDs and PIs all across India (Well actually mostly in the western and Southern parts of the country). I made it into ICFAI Business School Bangalore but turned it down as it was crap (I would have been selling peanuts on the street if I hadn’t). I would have made it to one of the best colleges in Mumbai if it wasn’t for the stupid regional quota thing. Anyway, after so many failed attempts at getting into a good business school in India, I dejectedly decided to go abroad for MBA.UK to more specific. Why? I don’t know. Maybe because I know more people there than any other part of the world. Maybe because I felt I would be ‘safer’ there than say, in America or Australia(well Australia was never in picture) or maybe because it was the land of James Bond and home to the Mecca of cricket. No logic. Just instinct.

I surveyed a lot of good colleges/universities that offer MBA at an affordable cost. I visited a number of agents in Baroda and Ahmedabad. It turned out that most ‘universities’ were either too expensive or required significant work experience. The ones that were cheap or didn’t need work-ex were just no good. So I started looking out for some decent private colleges offering a University degree. College or University, what does it matter at the end of the day I thought.

I chanced upon this rather decent yet mundane sounding college called West London College, or WLC, as lazy bums call it. I did a lot of research about the college, talked to its then-current students and alumni online, gathered feedback from some of my contacts staying in London and so on...The college was in the heart of London, offered a top university degree, had an experienced teaching staff and the students seemed nice too. It all looked good. So, WLC it was going to be. I was excited. I double checked with my agent about the reputation of the college and its future (I had heard that a lot of colleges in London were bogus and were being shut down) just to be hundred percent sure. That was good too. And so began my preparation to go to London.

Although it was optional, I took IELTS(the English exam needed for for visa clearance) anyway. The exam was conducted in a really plush hotel in Ahmedabad and turned out to be great experience. This was my second major exam in Ahmedabad after CAT and this time I was a lot more confident of a good result. And so it was. I scored 8.5 bands out of 9 with a perfect 9 in speaking and listening!! Some may say it’s not a big deal given my academic background and the fact that the exam was assessed in Gujjuland but I don’t care. It made me happy.

It was the end of June and my MBA intake was getting closer. Just when everything was going like a Cinderella story, I was hit by a series of awfully bad migraine headaches. It wasn’t the first time they hit me. I had experienced them for nearly 4 years prior to this. But this time they were really bad. Anyway, the headaches require a dedicated entry and shall be discussed elsewhere. My UK dream was shattered. I was upset. A few weeks went by. My sadness subsided but boredom started creeping in. I was just sitting at home doing nothing while everybody I knew was either studying further or working. I decided to work too.

August onwards, I seriously started looking for a job, any job, so long as it paid money, not peanuts. I appeared for one interview after another. I cracked a few of them. Two were in the insurance game and the third one was in a BPO. I didn’t mind. I had three offers waiting. I felt happy. I felt powerful. Naturally, I took the one with the highest pay. It was Friday evening. The job wasn’t going to start until Monday. I did some thinking. Somehow, the idea of selling insurance didn’t seem like a very good one. I thought to myself – Am I a Salesman? Can I convince people to buy insurance from me?? Do I really want to hear some middle-aged stranger tell me “Get lost you Son-of-a-Bi*ch??? The answer was an emphatic NO! It was Monday. I never turned up. A few days went by and I was back to twiddling my thumbs.

One day, out of nowhere, I got a call from a recruiting agent about a job interview. It was at Tata Consultancy Services or TCS as lazy bums and verbally challenged call it. It sounded good. I went for the interview and cleared it easily. They just loved me. I joined the next day itself. I was really thrilled. I was a part of TCS...Wow!!! The first few days were a lot of fun. I was so happy I wanted to work there all my life and felt nothing would change that. Nothing but fate. The job started to get really boring and monotonous after a couple of months. Apparently it was like most hindi movies these days. The promos look great but the movie turns out to be total crap! I hung in there and just went through the motions. I started realising that if I worked there for one more month I would surely kill myself. Understandably, thoughts of trying again for UK started coming in. There were days when I would be sitting at my office desk and pretending to work, when I would actually be browsing for information on UK student visa. The more I learned the more serious I got. I wanted to go to UK for MBA whether fate wanted it or not. I was prepared to challenge it.

I began preparing my visa file with full rigour. There was a lot of struggle along the way but you know what they say – No pain no gain. By the 1^st week of December my visa file was ready for submission. With the blessings of God almighty, my elders in the family, I went to Ahmedabad for submission. The process was smooth and I came back a content man. I had done my bit. The ball was in British Government’s court now. I was confident I would get the visa. And so I did. Just in the nick of time. My airline ticket to London had been booked for 30^th December and it was non-refundable. I HAD to get the visa before that. Luckily, I got it just 24 hours prior to the time of departure! I was relieved....my prayers were answered.

PART II

It was 30^th of December, 2008. It was a very significant day for me, a day that would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I was all set to fly to the city of my dreams, the city which is home to so many exciting things – Lords Cricket Ground, Madame Tussaud’s, Hyde Park, River Thames, The London Eye, The Millenium Dome, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Royal Albert Hall, Big Ben and yes...The Queen. I had grown up hearing about all those places, seeing them only in photos or the telly. Now was going to be my chance to see them ‘live’(for the lack of a better word). But somehow, more than visiting all those places, I was excited about studying in London. 


One of the primary reasons I chose West London College is the fact that the MBA degree awarded is by Heriot-Watt University, one of the leading universities in the UK. This degree would give a good impetus to my career, and will help me fulfil my career expectations as a senior manager in the future. Moreover, I felt that studying with students from different nationalities at would help develop a better understanding of the various cultures that exist across the globe, a key requirement in today's consumer centric economy. London is the financial capital of Europe and one of the most influential cities in the world. I felt that studying in such a stimulating environment would significantly enhance my personality.

One of the things I was so pumped up about was the fact that my college is located on Oxford Street, the liveliest, most expensive high street in the world, costlier than even 5^th Avenue in New York. It is also home to some of the biggest names in business such as Gucci, Virgin, M&S, Apple, John Lewis and many more.

My flight to London took off at 1345 hrs and so did my dreams. Had a pleasant flight, thanks to some sumptuous Indian meal, fun in-flight entertainment and my friendly British co-passenger. While I was flying at 30, 000 feet, a number of random thoughts were going through my mind. Thoughts such as – How would the weather be in London, would it be cold, chilly, rainy, snowing, what would the immigration officers ask me, will they ask me to unpack my luggage, will they let me through, will I reach safely, what if there were terrorists in the plane, what if the plane is hijacked, what will I do, where will I run,who will I call-mom or dad, How, would I be able to jump off the plane, would the parachute open???? Just normal thoughts. Thoughts which every airline passenger gets, I guess. Thankfully, the plane landed at Heathrow airport on schedule, safely, without any newsworthy happenings. For me take-off and landing are the most exciting things about flying in an aeroplane. The rest is just plain boring.

On landing, the stewardess announced that the temperature outside is 1 degree centigrade. A chill went up my spine. It was just 5:35 in the evening. It dawned on me that I had made a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here this time of the year. I was better off in Baroda, where it was a pleasant 25 degrees. I did not want to freeze to death. Everybody started taking out their jumpers, jackets and woollens. I had nothing. I knew I was going to freeze to death. I couldn’t borrow someone else’s either. They wouldn’t give me anything but a cold smile.

Thank God for Air conditioning! The airport was centrally heated and I didn’t feel that cold after all. I had renewed hope that I would live to see another day. I proceeded towards immigration. It’s a good thing Airports abroad have better signage than those in India. Heathrow is massive. I mean massive. It’s probably equal to or bigger than all Indian airports put together. The signage was helpful and I could find my way to immigration and customs. At the counter were two hefty Caucasian fellows with a physique that a WWE Wrestler would be proud of. They weren’t the kind of people you would like to mess with. Trust me. They asked me some routine questions and asked to me to go to the adjacent room for a chest x-ray. I wanted to ask them why but didn’t have the courage to. I went in and was politely asked to undress. Now I’m the kind of person who doesn’t taken off even his shirt in front of anybody. But In this case I had to. I was stripped off my dignity even before I stepped foot in London. I proceeded with that and other formalities and walked towards the arrivals lounge where my host family in London was waiting to collect me. I walked out of Heathrow. I had arrived.....

PART III

London is one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. It is one of the exemplary cities where traditionalism meets modernity. London is a place where culture goes along with innovation and where music, drama and architecture are aspects captivating the attention of the entire world. The city is certainly phenomenal in preserving its varied culture not only through art, music, drama and architecture but also through the esteem which the Royal Family still holds in the eyes of the British. In addition to this, it is also one of favourite destinations for students like me from different parts of the globe as it is home to some of the best universities with high standards of education. It is home to the topmost business school in the world, London Business School. Although I never had the resources or experience to get into it (the fees for MBA is a whopping 49,000 pounds!), there will always be a little part of me wishing that I could.

I was lucky I got a chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve in London. I spent it with some of my friends at the place where almost all of London congregates on New Year’s Eve – at the London eye on the South Bank of River Thames.  The fireworks there are absolutely breathtaking. There is soaring excitement in the people gathered there as the countdown to the New Year begins. The massive sound of the great bell atop Big Ben as it struck twelve still echoes in my ears.

It was 2^nd January, 2009. I had almost two weeks before the start of college. Two weeks with nothing to do. I thought to myself, what better opportunity to go out and explore the town while I have the time. I was staying a long way from Central London and would face a bitch of commute. Besides, it was chilly and gloomy. But none of that deterred me. There was just too much life flowing through my veins. I was excited about seeing all the places I had only dreamt of, for real. But before I would set out, I had to buy some warm clothes. So with a few pounds in my wallet, I went to Primark, a budget store and bought myself  a nice jacket and some thermals to keep warm. I was ready. I boarded the South-eastern rail service to London Bridge station, one of the busiest stations in the town, located in central London. 

Although I was alone, I had a blast. If you want to get a real taste of what London is all about, you have to be in Central London, especially the West End. It’s the most posh and busiest area in the town and full of tourists, no matter what time of the day you go. There are several great places to see in Central London. Some of the fascinating and significant places are:

The House of Parliament with the Big Ben: Like every other Parliament, this is the place where bills are introduced and laws of the country are enforced. The Queen inaugurates every new session of the parliament. The structure is unique and enormous as it has been built in Gothic style.Big Ben stands tall next to the houses of parliament and is one of the most recognisable structures in the world.  

Buckingham Palace: The palace has been the residence of the Monarch ever since the rule of Queen Victoria. The Change of Guards, a ceremony taking place almost every day around 11am, gives us a glimpse of the long- lasting royalty of the Monarch’s family. Although I’ve never got a chance to see it, the ceremony lasts for about an hour and hundreds of people gather here daily to enjoy it. The palace is opened to tourists for a couple of months in the summer. But there is a rather hefty fees for it.

London Eye: based on the banks of river Thames, it is the biggest observational wheel in the world. One gets a magnificent sight of different buildings and bridges through the capsules that move slowly for about half an hour, thus giving a panoramic view of the entire city. 

Trafalgar Square: Seen in many movies it’s must-visit place for every tourist. The statue of Admiral Lord Nelson was built here in order to commemorate his naval victory. This is one of the most happening places in London as it is situated near one of the biggest museums, the National Gallery. Being an art lover, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the gallery. It houses some of the most famous and exquisite pieces of art from greats like Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gough, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Da Vinci and many more. My favourite painting there is ‘Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula’ by Claude. Apart from this, thousands of pigeons come here every day making it unique. It’s a joy to feed them as they flock in large numbers and eat right out of your palms. Truly one of the simple pleasures of life.

The Tower of London: The Tower has been the place of execution of prisoners. In addition to this, it is the place where the Crown Jewels are preserved.  While going to the section of the Jewels, an elaborate video of the Queen’s coronation ceremony is shown which gives an idea of the British history. The place can be a memorable for Indians in particular as it is here where the Kohinoor is preserved. I was both happy and angry to see it there. No need to explain why.

Leicester Square: It is the place where world film premieres are held and the nearby Piccadilly Circus which is famous for its huge electronic advertisements. As it’s walking distance from my college, I often hang out there with friends or even alone. All the major musical theatres are in close proximity to this place. Someday, I dream to see my all-time favourite musical, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at Her Majesty’s Theatre which is a short distance away.

  

Oxford Street: It is one of the most happening and crowded places in London and the location of my college :D.  The street has all leading franchise outlets and a number of souvenir shops too. My favourite place here is Selfridges, the second largest departmental store in UK after Harrods. The place is huge selling almost everything under one roof, most of which is ridiculously expensive though. The extravagance of London life-style is manifested explicitly and even if tourists are not keen on shopping, they end up buying something after visiting this place. Never go there with your girlfriend or you’ll end up bankrupt.

Madame Tussaud’s: I don’t think this place needs any introduction as its the most famous wax museum in the world. A place which immortalises even the merest of mortals. This place is fun to visit as the some of the wax figures look lifelike and you feel as though you’re actually standing with Tom Cruise or the Dalai Lama. I was surprised to see Aishwarya Rai’s and Salman Khan’s figures there. Apparently they are selected via a public poll so I guess it makes sense. Sadly, Amitabh Bachchan’s figure had been temporarily shifted to Hong Kong and I missed seeing him.

The best part about my trip to Madame Tussauds was the fact that it was free!! I didn’t pay a single penny. How? I managed to get a 2-for-1 ticket which allows two people to get in on the purchase of a single ticket. I took the coupon with me and somehow persuaded a guy from Afghanistan to let me in on ‘his’ ticket. He was a little sceptical at first and must have sensed something dodgy but when I told him that it was a legitimate deal and that he would NOT end up in prison, he was happy to oblige. Through a little shrewdness, I got in for free and saved myself 22 quid! Somebody rightly said – The Indian brain is more fertile than the Indian soil !!

Anyway, sightseeing apart, the real reason I went to London was to do my MBA. As, I mentioned before, I chose West London College, which is an approved learning partner of Heriot-Watt University, one of the leading universities in UK. My college itself is regarded as one of the best private colleges in London. Besides being located in Central London, it has excellent facilities backed by a very good teaching staff. Most lecturers have an industry experience of over 15 years many of whom are successful business and law professionals. All the teachers are friendly and very helpful. West London College is a multi-disciplinary institution and offers courses in a wide range of fields such as business, law, fashion, IT, travel and tourism and many more. Each of the courses leads to a good University degree.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my life at West London so far. It has helped me get to know several fascinating people from different parts of the world. It's an enriching experience to interact with such a diverse group of individuals. I'm confident this experience is going to prove very useful to me in the future. 

Because of the relatively high living costs, most students work part-time along with their studies to pay for their expenses. Getting a part job isn't very difficult as London is a big city with a lot of work opportunities. Most students find work within the first month of their stay. There are a lot of employment agencies in the UK which help students find suitable jobs. Besides that, the university or college often has its own employment department which helps students find work during and after their education. My college has it too and the staff is very helpful not only in finding work but also in offering guidance regarding resumes, covering letters, interviews, soft skills etc. 

I was lucky to have found work in the very first week of my stay. I got a well paying job with a market research firm as a telephone interviewer. It entailed calling up offices or households and conducting surveys. It was a new experience for me as I had never worked in a call center before. I was happy about the fact that it didn't involve selling. Just surveys. I worked there for a few months and had fun. Unfortunately, due to recession and the subsequent downsizing, I had to leave that company. A couple of months went by and without any income, I started finding it hard to pay for my living costs. I worked hard looking for jobs on the internet, agencies, asked my contacts but was unable to find anything suitable. 

It was summer and I was beginning to get anxious. Borrowing money is the last thing I wanted to do but I had to do it. One day, I was casually browsing the web and stumbled upon a recruitment link on ICC World Twenty20's website. After the enormous success of the tournament in South Africa, ICC decided to stage the second edition in England In June. I found out they were recruiting people to help out with the organizing of the 3 week long event. I applied for it and after a few weeks got called for an interview. The interview was at Lord's Cricket ground. I was really thrilled. I had been a cricket buff ever since I was 13 and always wanted to visit Lords. The interview went well and the next day, I got a call from the recruitment manager saying that they want me to report to the Dennis Compton Suite in The Danubius Hotel next to Lords at 9 in the morning and collect my uniform and ID. I was ecstatic. It was like a dream come true. Although they had mentioned vaguely during the interview that it was going to be a supporting role, I wasn't sure about the duties. I went there and was briefed about the job. My primary duties were to look after the players and media(including the ICC commentators) before, during and after the match, and if needed, assist with the ticketing and accreditation at the ground. I didn't mind what it was going to be as these are once in a lifetime opportunities. The first match of the World Cup was England vs Holland, Lords on 5th June. I had been given an event staff manual which contained all the facts about the tournament including the itinerary, contact numbers of all the important people, maps of the grounds, do's and don'ts and a lot of useful stuff. I was asked to report to Lords at 12 noon, for the pre-tournament briefing. There, we were told about how to conduct ourselves on and off-the field, how to talk to the players and VIPs, how to tackle the various possible issues etc. It was really boring. 

The briefing lasted about an hour after which everybody was designated their areas of work. This was done primarily on the basis of one's preference and their areas expertise. At the time of the interview, I had made up a story that I had experience of handling the media during the  IPL in India. I was assigned the media role. My Supervisor, the lovely Annie Scott, guided me to the various media sections at Lords, including the famous Media Center. She introduced me to the members of the local and international press, the commentators and other important staff members. I was particularly thrilled to meet the commentators, whom I had only seen and heard on TV. The commentators included Ian Botham, David Lloyd, Ian Chappell, Ian Bishop, Michael Atherton, Wasim Akram, Nasser Hussain, Anil Kumble and many others. They were all quite friendly, especially David Lloyd and Wasim Akram. It took me a few hours to realise that I was actually in the company of such greats. 

Although my duties were primarily media related, I also had a minor role to play in looking after the players and hospitality. The whole experience was a lot of fun as I got to meet so many wonderful people and learned a great deal about what goes into organising a global event. Plus, I got to see all the matches in London( Lords and Oval) live for free! On the flip side though, I learned some dark secrets about the world of cricket, which left me disheartened and later dwindled my faith and interest in the game. 


It was July. The T20 World Cup was behind me. I managed to get my second proper job in London, this one too at a market research call center. This company was much bigger and a lot busier than the company I had previously worked for. Despite my previous experience, I had to clear four rounds of selection to get the job - Telephonic Interview, Face-to-face Interview, a written test and a test call. There were about 80 people working at that call center, all of them British and with not a single Asian among them. On one hand I was proud that I was the only Indian, and the youngest person in the team. But on the other hand, I felt a little awkward. Luckily for me, the people around me made me very comfortable and were very cordial. The job itself was nothing new to me but it involved a greater challenge as the targets there were pretty stiff and one had to meet the targets consistently to stay in the company. Fortunately, I was able to do well on most days, barring a few unlucky days when most of my calls would go into voicemail, hitting my productivity very badly. But my supervisors were generally satisfied with my work. 


It was September and I was nearing the end of my second semester at college. My health started to get really awful and it got to a stage when I just couldn't get out of bed. My absenteeism rate was at an all time high, both in college and work. I started to get mails from college and work, asking for explanation. The college threatened to report to the Home Office if I did not produce sufficient evidence regarding my condition. I went to the doctor and got a medical certificate and mailed to to the college. They were satisfied with it and granted me leave. As days went on, my health went from bad to worse and I just couldn't live in UK anymore. I decided to return to India for treatment.