Thursday, July 24, 2008

Investment Performance Measurement – Introduction and Importance

Investment Performance Measurement is a series of modern day application of classical statistics to investment related data, so as to differentiate investment manager’s success from failure on a macro level. On a micro level it is used to determine the success or failure of a particular portfolio’s performance too.

Investors, be it individual or institutional, create their investment portfolio which consists of various investment assets that are traded over several stock exchanges like NASDAQ or NYSE and many more. Such trading does affect the rates of returns of individual securities. If an investment asset in a portfolio brings in more return, it consequently increases the overall rate of return of the portfolio.

Investment managers are approached by the investors to strategically design their portfolios. Depending upon their reputation in the market such Investment Managers charge hefty commission or fees to the investors to chalk out value based asset allocation thereby predicting / targeting increased portfolio returns. Of-course, apart from targeting returns, the investment managers also consider various risks and time frames. If the portfolio fetches returns above predictions / targets, the investment manager is considered to be successful in strategizing asset allocation and would add feathers in his cap of success.

Many reputed companies in the United States like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Mellon, Wachovia Corp., Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney etc., do performance measurement and evaluations to analyze the performance of their client portfolios and success of their investment managers. Of-course, there are other companies too, which might not be so very popular, but are actively involved in this foray of business. Such companies would be Ortec-Pearl, Base-Two Investments, Wilshire, First Rate, Sungard, and Wilmington Trust and so on and so froth.

Each portfolio is evaluated against certain guidelines and parameters (such as duration or weight by sector, free inflows & outflows, quality rating, country or region) that are established before the launch of the portfolio. Often portfolios are measured against established benchmarks like S&P 500, Russell 1000 or Dow-Jones Industrial Average. While investment manager makes trading decisions within the scope of each portfolio, how well he has executed these decisions is determined through the portfolio’s return and performance against its benchmark. Investment Performance Measurement clarifies whether the trades executed in a portfolio have been profitable and whether the bets (over-weights and under-weights) made in the portfolio have been paid off.

Being in the business of Investment Performance Measurement does not mean that anyone can change or invent his / her methodology for evaluating performances. This domain of business is tightly griped by the established Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). Companies involved in this business have to adhere to the guidelines governed by the GIPS, for calculating and reporting investment related whitepapers and analysis. These standards provide requirements and guidance for calculations, frequency of measurement, composite architecture and disclosure of methodologies and anomalies in the presentation of performance related data.

In developing countries like India, Investment Performance Measurement is a domain which is less explored and is still in a very nascent stage. The fact that there is not even a single Indian authored book written on this subject and that educational institutes have still not identified it as a discipline, shows us the virginity of this investment science at-least in India. Till date CIPM remains the only acceptable designation globally in the field of investment performance measurement, and is awarded by the CFA Institute in the US.

I am totally thrilled and excited to demystify whether the portfolio’s return is attributable to the investment manager’s skills or just luck and whether the portfolio is being managed to the style identified in the investment management agreement. If you are also equally thrilled and excited as I am, then don’t forget to check this blog-page in future for more detailed information around this subject. Your feedback and suggestions would definitely help and would be embraced with both my hands.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Wo Peele Rang Ki Shabh...

Chaudhavi raat ka chaand tha,

aur ufak (horizon) me santoori sitare bhi they.

Zabi (forehead) taane,

wo chamak rahe they

damak bhi rahe they.

Maano unse sunder,

unse paak,

us raat koi na thaa.

Poore ek sau aath gulaabo pe paao rakh kar,

kabhi girte hue,

to kabhi mere haatho ko thaamkar…

sambhalte hue us raat,

wo ghar aayee thee.

Na jaane kitno ke armaano ko raundhtee hue,

surmayee raat me,

peela joda pehne,

meri tanhaaee ke andhere saahil pe wo utree thee.

Use peele jode me dekh,

chaand bhi gash khaaker

apne hi kaasho (slices) me but gaya tha.

bikhar gaya tha.

Santoori sitaare bhi haya se jaise,

rooposh (hide) hi ho gaye they.

posheeda (secret) ho gaye they,

kehkashaan (galaxy) me.

Raanaai (makeup) uski aisee thee,

ke khud Eesa (Jesus) ke haatho se,

girija gharo me,

anjeele (bible) gir padee thi.

Uske jism se niklee,

rogan (body oil) ki mehek,

saba me bikhree,

to matho (Buddhist monastry) me leen,

Buddh ka dhyaan,

chatak gaya tha kasam se.

Uske noor ke chund katro ki jumbish (movement) ,

bardaasht na kar paaya tha,

madeene (holy place) ka khuda bhi.

Raat ne bhi,

haule se apna,

mazhab badal liya tha.

Andhere us raat ke,

peele padne lage the.

Aise hi peele andhero me,

jhat se lapak ke, mere haatho se,

chheen liya tha usne,

chaabiyo ka guchcha.

Chaabi ko ek hi baar ghumaake,

meri tanhaayee pe lage taale ko,

khol hi diya tha usne aakhir.

Apne pairo se,

shagun gira kar,

bilkul ek nayee naveli dulhan ki tarah,

jab rakha usne apna pehla kadam,

mera ghar tab,

ghar nahi raha thaa.

Aashiyaana ban gaya thaa.

Aur isee aashiyaane me us raat,

wo umadhtee rahee,

itthlaatee rahee,

balkhaatee rahee,

nakhraatee rahee.

Achaanak daaat ke bolee,

"Rishi, khaana kha lo,"

bilkul jaise Nagpur me Maa,

Baabuji ko,

daaat ke khaana khilaatee hai.

Khaate waqt,

doodhiya kheer se usne,

kaaju, kishmish, aakhrot aur baadaam,

alag kar diye they.

unhe wapas pateele me daal diye the.

maano zindagi ke saare mewe,

usne mere liye rakh chhoda ho.

Chaand sitaare,

Eesa, Buddh aur Khuda,

sab ke sab,

hairat se dekh rahe they.

Jal rahe they,

thandi aag me.

Rukhsat ki ghadi me,

jaate jaate,

bilkul angrezi lehze me,

usne meri mohobbat per

sawal puchcha tha.

Mai hasee mazaak me,

kisi tarah se,

taal gaya tha wo sawaal.

Uske jaane ke baad,

wahi sawaal mujhse,

aasmaanee farishto ne bhi puchcha.

Chaand aur sitaaro ko to,

bata dee maine,

apne dil ki baat.

Aur kaanafoosi me,

Eesa, Buddh aur Khuda ko bhi

pataa chale mere jazbaat.

Na jaane kyo,

ek bus usee se mehzoob (confidential) rakha,

maine apne eeshwaangar (godly lover) ka naam.

Shayad jaanta tha mai,

ke meri hi tarah uski zindagi me bhi,

ek ishq-e-ilaahee (lover) hai.

Jiskee wo dil-o-jaan se,

parastish (prayer) kartee hai.

Uskee isee parastish me khalal na daalna bhi,

to meri mohobbat ki ek adaa hi hai.

Wo apne hisse ka ishq,

bade Gaurav (her lover) ke saath,

nibhaa rahi thee.

aur mai apne hisse ka ishq,

lambee saase lekar,

nibha raha hu.

meri saaso ka uski Khushbu ke saath,

ruhaani rish(i)ta hai.

To kya hua,

gar mere saath,

wo nahi hai aaj.

To kya hua,

gar uske dil me,

nahi hai mere naam ka taaj,

Wo peele rang ki shabh to,

aaj bhi mere dil me,

meri rooh me,

mere aashiyaane me jaavidaa (evergreen) hai.

Jise dekh dekh aaj bhi,

aasmaani farishte,

hairat se jalte hai,

Thandi aag me…

Bilkul meri hi tarah.

Ek hi raat me, puri zindagee jee lee maine,

Ek hi raat ne, puri zindagee le lee meri.--

Aadab Arz Hai...

Rishi Gajbhiye (Sukhanwar)

Date : somewhere in July 2005

A writer always derives inspiration from a particular source and then falls in love with it.

Only then, he is able to pen down his original thoughts…and craft poems which makes him prolific…

The day when I joined IBM, I met her in my induction session…and thereafter we became good friends. Khushbu, as her name suggests, gradually got spread in my days and nights, just like an aroma…I was the biggest Casanova in our entire batch where as she had Gaurav in her life…and we both tried our best to be the open books for each other…

One fine day, I invited her for a dinner. Since my residence was very near to our office she agreed and came to my place. She was dressed in a yellow salwaar suit. While I was serving dinner, which I cooked for her, she found my diary and read few of my poems. She did not believe that I used to write poetry. So to test my writing skills, she insisted me to write something on love…Now love was something, which I never attempted in my earlier life…not even in my poems…

I used to pen down other aspects of life except love…because it was not my cup of tea…So I simply denied writing and talking about this complicated subject…

It’s more than three years now that she came to my place for dinner…forget about communication, we were not even in contact with each other…reason could simply be a misunderstanding…which we never tried to resolve…and we both got busy in our respective life, thereby giving priority to our career…

Suddenly after three long years, we inadvertently faced each other in Philadelphia…that too accidentally…

She is pursuing her MBA there and I went there on an onsite project…now why on earth, such accidents happen and that too when we don’t even expect them to happen…

With puzzled looks, we both tried our best to greet each other…

I asked her about Gaurav and she asked me about my poetry…

we both gave same answers to each other…no answers.

Over few sips of coffee, we both got nostalgic and tried to recollect those moments that we spent together during our IBM days…and then finally we were about to say goodbye to each other so that we may re-enter our respective world which I think both of us forgot for a while…

When we came out of Starbucks, she said that she concealed few things from me…one, she still could not forget my holistic gesture and simplistic style of inviting her to have a self cooked home made dinner rather than buying her a candle lit somewhere in a posh restaurant…two…she disclosed that there was no one in her life by the name of Gaurav. She just used this fictional character to test me as a person…three; she was expecting a red rose from me that day when she asked me to write something on love while having dinner at my place to which I plainly denied…and lastly, she recently got engaged to Arvind in US itself and was waiting for him when we accidentally met each other…

I was speechless for a while…then with a fake smile, I congratulated her and asked her to invite me in her marriage...and left for my hotel in Malvern…

Today, after almost six months post Philadelphia accident, I was shifting my room from second floor to first, in the same building in Gurgaon…while shifting; I got my diary which I did not see since past few years. I turned few pages and found my own Nazm, which I wrote when Khushboo left post dinner three years ago…Wo Peele Rang Ki Shabh, my real life Nazm still prevails…

Aadab Arz Hai...

Rishi Gajbhiye (Sukhanwar)

Date May 04, 2008

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Mission Impossible...

Dear Nidhi,

To sarkaar aap wapas Ahemadabad pohonch hi gaye. Good. Very Good. Waise bhi Delhi aapke layak nahi hai. Tabiyat kharaab ho jaati hai yaar. Is pollution se aur bakwaas se weather se hum jaise Bond nahi bach paye, to aap jaisi naazuki kaise bach paati bhala.

Yaar Last Saturday ka din to mai apni poori zindagi me kabhi nahi bhool paaoonga.
Tujhe pata hai tujh tak pohonchne me maine us din apni poori jaan lada di thi.
Par nahi, jab bhi mai ek zabardast koshish karta hu, ek zabardast tel to mera hota hi hai.

Us din bhi hua. Aur us din bahot hi bura tel hua mere saath.

Hua yu ke us din subah subah humne apne haatho se badhiya si bhindi ki sabzi aur roti banai, ye sochkar ke Nidhi Mam ko bahot pasand hai. Fir ek haath me tiffin aur doosre me hamare company ke evaluation scores and Post it stickies lekar lagbhag 12.30 pm ko ghar se chal pade railway station ki or. Aapko phone lagaya to pata chala ke aap lunch pe gayi hai. Tejas se pata chala ke tum sab log Ashram se jaa rahe ho. Jaldi jaldi office ki cab pakadker mai New Delhi Railway Station pohoncha. Time theek 2.00 pm. Socha Nidhi Mam se ek ghanta baat ho jayegi. Par kise maaloom tha ke aisa hona nahi tha. Railway station pe jabardast bheed. Itna rush ke kya bataoo. Jaise taise line me lagker maine Platform ticket liya ke utne me mujhe aisa laga ke meri jeans me jo cell phone hai, woh shaayad baj raha hai. Crowd and noise ki wajah se ring tone ki aawaz kam si lag rahi thi. Jaise taise cell phone pocket se nikaala, ke call disconnect ho gayi. Usi waqt palatke humne call kiya to pata chala ke koi ladki ka call tha, matlab ke aapka. But aap to sarkaar wahan se jaa chuke the. Chalo koi baat nahi.

Platform ticket lekar hum pohonche, enquiry counter, ye pata karne ke liye ke Aashram kaonse platform se jaati hai. Enquiry wala ye kehkar chala gaya ke ye railway station hai, koi aashram nahi. Gussa to aisa aaya ke lagaoo use ek kheechke, per nahi ab hum corporate world wale hai, Isilye tameez se pesh ana majboori si ho gayi hai. Le de ke kisi tarah se station ke under aaya to ek coolie se poocha ke Aashram exp kaonse platform se jati hai. Woh bola ke yaha se nahi jaati. Usi waqt Tejas ko phone lagaya aur tab pata chala ke Aashram Exp to New Delhi Railway station se nahi balke Old Delhi Railway station se jaati hai. Oh God time kya hua? Oh no 2.05pm .

Usi waqt bhaga aur ek auto board kiya. Auto wale ko bola ke bhai jitni jaldi ho sake Old Delhi railway station pohoncha do. Sardar Uncle the. Bilkul hi filmi style me Bole so nihal kiya aur zabardast signal todte huye, saare traffic ki aisi taisi karte huye, kai two wheelers ko cut maarte huye, jaan bilkul hatheli pe lete huye, Usne mujhe Nizamuddin Railway station aakir pohoncha hi diya. Time 2.33 minute. Jaan me Jaan aayi, issliye nahi ke accident nahi hua. Balke isliye ke kum se kum aadha ghanta hi sahi, Nidhi Mam se mil to loonga. Usi waqt call kiya Tejas ko, ke hum pohonch gaye hai, platform bataiye. Platform Number 16. call disconnected. Platform number 16 search shuru. Per ye kya. Platform 7, 8, 9, 10 ke baad wale platform kahan hai. 16 to door ki baat, 11 aur 12 hi dikh jaate to theek hota. Coolie, mera dost!
"Yaar ye platform 16 kaha hai."

"nahi saab yaha nahi hai".

Tejaaaaas ye kya ho raha hai.

Socha fir se phone milata hu Tejas ko. Arere yeh kya, mera cell phone network catch kyu nahi kar raha hai? Oh God! Ise bhi abhi down hona tha.

" kaunsi gaadi se jaana hai saab?"

" Ashram Exp"

" saabji wo to purani Delhi railway station se jaati hai."

"kya matlab? ye puraani Delhi railway station nahi hai kya"

" saabji ye to Hazrat Nizammuddin railway station hai. Puraani Delhi railway station to doosra hai."

Oh my Godddddddddddd!!!
time 2.37 pm.
Bhago!!!!!!

Sardaaaaaaaarji! 12.00 bajne wali baat samajh me aati hai, per kya 2.00 se 3.00 baje bhi aap logo ka dimaag nahi chalta kyaaaaaaaaa?

Firse ek Auto. Chalo koi baat nahi ek aur risk.

" Auto, Old delhi railay station Kitne der me pohochayega."

"Sir paon ghanta to lagega."

"Dekh bhai, 3.05 pm ki train pakadni hai. kya bolta tu."

"Sirji aap saath doge to samay pe pohocha doonga."

"Diya bhai, tujhe maine apna sabkuch diya. Bus tu samay se pehle pohocha de. Per ek baat bata, Delhi me koi chautha railway station bhi hai kya?"

"Sirji aapto joke marne lage."

" Abe joke ne mujhe maara hai. Tu auto chala"

Fir se chala auto aeroplane ki tarah. Kabhi bhi kuch bhi ho sakta tha. Ya to auto se takrakar truck chaknachoor ho sakta tha, yaa fir traffic police ka accident bhi ho sakta tha. Per Nidhi se to aaj mai milke hi rahoonga. Wow! what an optimism! Good Rishi Good. After all blood group bhi tera B positive hi to hai. Fir to tu positive hi think karega na.

"Are bhai. Hospital to nahi pohochayega na"

" pohonch bhi sakte saab, bolo to auto rok doo."

" Auto nahi rukna chahiye. The show must go on."

"Nidhi mai aaa raha hu."

Oh No ! I hate Delhi. This time Traffic jam. "sirji, sirf thodi door hai, per jaaaam lag gaya hai."

Bakwaaas!

Time 2.54 pm. Sirf saat minute baaki hai.

" Suno bhai, station ka raasta bolo"

"sirji, left le lo aur thodi door chalo to station aa jayega. Chalte chalte jaaoge to 10 se 15 minute lag jaayenge."

Rishi beta, aaaj is traffic me tujhe aise bhagna hai ke saare world records toot jaye. On your mark 1, 2, 3......ZOOOOOOM.

Kitne gire, pata nahi. Kitno ko cut maara ye bhi pata nahi. Kyuki mai to bhaag raha tha.

Aur ye pohoncha mai Old Delhi Railway Station. Platform ticket baadme dekhenge. pehle platform 16 dekhle bhai.

Time 3.01 pm. chal beta Rishi, 3-4 minute hi sahi. Nidhi Mam se mil to le. Platfor..........

" Aiye. Ruk. Pakdo Use Pakdo. Ruk..."

" Arere ye kya kar rahe ho bhai. "

" Chupchap haath uper karo, aur bhagne ki koshish mat karna.."

" Arere, per maine kiya kya hai ..."

" Chup! jyada zabaan mat lada nahi to lock up me itni dhulai hogi ke saari akad nikal jaayegi"

Oh my God! what is this. Police kaise kya pakad li yaar.

" Dekhiye. Mai yaha kisise milne aaya hu. Train Chootne me sirf 2-3 minute reh gaye hai. Please aapko jo bhi checking karni hai baaadme kar lijiyega. Mera aashram express pakadna bahot jaroori hai."

" Ekdam chup reh le. Jitna pooche utna hi bolna. issme kya hai?"

" Bhindi ki sabzi aur Roti hai."

" Aur kya hai "

" aam ka aachar bhi hai"

" kholke dikha"

" dekh lo"

" Iski talashi lo..... Ye kya hai?"

" meri company ka ID card hai"

" Saabji aap CONBADGYS me kaam kadte ho kya"

" haan"

" Ade saabji, Pehle bata dete, to aapko padeshaani nahi hoti. Meda ladka bhi wahi pad kaam kadta hai. Driver hai. Jayiye shaabji. Galti ho gayi. Inko jaane do bhai"
Oh God ! I hate Delhi.

time 3.07 pm. bhaaago.

Platform number 16. Ashram Express Chal padi hai. Rishi Daud raha hai. Nidhi use nahi dikh rahi hai.

Aur ye lagaya Rishi ne Train ke aakhri dabbe ko apna haath.
Maano Nidhi ko Goodbye keh raha ho.

Train speedy ho gayi. Kuch der me aankho se ojhal bhi ho gayi.

Rishi platform benches pe baitha baitha sa reh gaya. Kabhi tiffin ko dekhte huye to kabhi scoresheets ko dekhte huye, ek ghante tak usi platform bench per baitha baitha sirf ek hi mantra ka uccharan kar raha tha.

" I hate Delhi. I simply hate Delhi. I will not like Delhi any more, even in future."

traffic jams,

routine check ups,

nasamjh sardarji,

and itne saare railway stations.

Huh ! Bakwaaaaaaaaaas!

Office ki cab pakdi aur seedhe office. Half day me login kiya. Pure paanch sale maari, matlab ki paanch dollar kamaye. Kai Adjustments issue kiye. Raatme ghar gaye.
Tiffin khola aur khud bhindi ki sabzi ke saath roti aur aachar kha liya.
"Sahi bane the yaar. "

"I love bhindi ki sabzi. But I hate Delhi"

Bond ka bhale hi MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ho gaya ho, per Bond ab bhi haar nahi manega.

Agli baaar pooori jaaaaan lada dooonga. Dekh lena.

"Has le yaar tu bhi has le"

waise bhi mai chahta hu ki meri kahani me hamesha happy ending hi ho.
kahani khatm hui ya fir shuru hui pata nahi,
per tu aajka ek naya Sher padh

Arz kiya hai,

" Shaam se aaj saans bhari hai
Bekarari hai! Bekarari hai!
Apke baad har ghadi Humne
Aaphi ke saath Guzaari hai."

--Adab arze.

Take Good Care of Yourself. And Do miss me

Aur mera birthday yaad aaya ki nahi. Ek hint deta hu.
Mera birthday abhi tak 2003 me aaya nahi hai.

Good Bye.
Have Nice Times
Enjoy!!!
BOND

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Fostering Innovation

Innovation is one word which is really buzzing around these days in the corporate corridors of India, especially with the companies moving into the super league.

Wacky ideas are getting cooked in product, technology, marketing, services and business strategy departments to provoke 'Out Of The Box Thinking'. As somebody pointed out, "Successful Innovation is not about ideas or inventions - it's about people. Rising to the challenge, more and more companies are coming up with strategies to instill a culture of innovation and competitiveness among employees.

There is no fixed approach to driving innovation - for some companies, it is about creating an open atmosphere at work so that the environment can produce a Eureka moment. For others, it could be through promoting diversity. Some companies invest in trainings, so that employees abandon linear thinking and break out of associative barriers. Another trend - which most of the companies, involving modern work like designing, IT and BPO's are following is the appointment of CIO...Chief Investment Officers...

Here are some ways that companies go about making innovation a religion among their workforce -

CREATING A CULTURE OF CHANGE – Although companies derive their own Change Advocacy model to be followed, organizations like GE and Motorola follow the Change Acceleration Process (CAP). CAP compliments Technical Strategy with Cultural Tools to achieve the Change Initiative. It follows six simple methods to manage the cultural side of any change – creating a shared need, shaping a vision, mobilizing commitment, making change last and then monitoring progress. First three among these gives enough scope to practice innovation...

RELENTLESS QUESTIONING - Encouraging employees to ask questions often simulates innovation. Many companies today have 'Out Of The Box' idea boxes in the office where employees can drop their suggestions and ideas. Some even have question boxes to encourage a culture of asking questions. At Airtel, experiments were done with 'Appreciative inquiry', an organizational development tool that is used to foster change as well as create more of what's working and what's not...

SETTING STRETCH TARGETS - Taking a lead from Jack Welch's famous stretch targets at GE, many companies today believe in setting goals that are outrageous and look well-nigh impossible. Either way, it is a win-win situation as stretch targets always energize people. As Welch himself, famously said, "We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible: and even when we don't quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better that we would have done."

FUN AT WORKPLACE - A joyful environment promotes the spirit of innovation. Innovation can not happen in an environment that is not associated with fun. Recognizing this, most companies today invest in a fun filled workplace where people volunteer to do certain assignments because it is enjoyable. However, majority of the employees have a tendency to wrongly interpret 'Fun at Workplace'. As a result of which, they end up playing Dumb Charades, Watching Movie at PVRs by bunking work hours and arranging debates on non work related topics. These things might be good for enjoyment, but they certainly don't contribute towards process streamlining or improvement strategies that might affect the bottom-lines of the organization. These activities might not affect the cost to the company; however, they have huge impact when we analyze the opportunity cost, (the next best alternative) to boost improvement through fun...

MAKING ROOM FOR FAILURE - Although I am not so very optimistic and sympathetic towards failures, I do believe that there is no room for success without initial failures. When new ideas come forth, not all will succeed. Rather, rejected ideas allow room for experimentation. Often failure to implement an idea may force an employee to quit the workplace and start off an entrepreneurial venture based on that same idea...

Ultimately, it is about giving the right inputs. Successful ideas only burst forth when companies manage to create conditions that are conducive to innovation. It's therefore necessary to have an open culture, encourage questioning, break down associative barriers, challenge assumptions and provoke non-linear thinking for growth...

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Spoon of Sugar

It was a dark rainy day of 2002, when I was struck in the Poonam Chambers, a local mall, still situated in one of the posh areas of Nagpur. Since I had nothing to do, I just entered in one of the showrooms which used to retail luxury shirts from “Van Heusen”. With Chappals on my feet and unshaved beard on my face, I was completely a misfit in that AC showroom. The Friday collection showcase, in the showroom had a navy blue shirt which attracted me and I finally dared to pick it up in my hands.

“Hi Rishi” said a passer by and I was slightly astonished to notice him…although I could not recognize him, I still knew that person. I said, “I am sorry, I couldn’t recognize you”. He introduced himself as Parikshit, one of my juniors at SEARCH International, where I took my coaching for clearing MBA entrances.

He said, “Sir, you might be on a hometown visit….right? I am sure you might be enjoying your MBA from IBS…” I plainly smiled at him saying nothing.

He introduced me to his girlfriend…”Archana, meet Rishi Sir…he was my senior at SEARCH…and the only one from our Coaching Institute who managed to get an admission at the top 12 B-School in India…I want to be like him…I consider him my role model.”

That was the moment, when it hit me really hard…and my soul was completely shattered…I still don’t remember what interaction we had thereafter for another few minutes, as my mind was completely out of consciousness…

After some time I regained myself. The salesman in the showroom asked me, if I would like to buy the shirt which I was holding in my hands. When I denied, he forcibly grabbed the shirt and placed it in the showcase murmuring, “why do people even enter this showroom, when they don’t have a big pocket to buy stuffs.” He literally asked me to walk out of the showroom…believe me that was another shock which I could not bear…

It was still raining and I was not in a mood to go home with a sad mind…all I wanted was aloofness…I peeped into Haldiram’s Piccadilly…as usual, people were hardly present there…my next big challenge was Rs 12/- the actual cost of the coffee…and to my surprise, I had few coins which totaled to Rs 16/-. So I ordered a regular coffee and owned a corner seat for next few hours…closing my eyes…

I was trying to demystify what went wrong with me…whether it was my casual attitude towards life, or lack of awareness or may be the absence of an elder brother or mentor who could have guided me during my college days…and would have motivated me sufficiently to be serious with my studies. Perhaps, I would have had an intellectual friend circle, or would have possessed a razor sharp mind…Alas, I had nothing…I was just an ordinary average student during my college days and above all, I had developed a sense of pride in making fun of education and keeping myself aloof from it…That was the only reason why I could not secure 50% marks in my graduation, which led to the cancellation of my provisional admission, which I took, for the prestigious MBA program from the Icfai’an Business School (IBS), Hyderabad.

“How much sugar do you want in your coffee sir?” asked the waiter, and I was back to the real world.

I said “sufficient.”

To which he said, “One spoon or two?”

I was slightly irritated, so I yelled at him, “Don’t you know what a sufficient quantity of sugar would be for a cup of coffee?”

He explained, “Sufficient is a word which comes differently to different people. For some, one spoon is sufficient, but for few, even three spoons are less”

I said “one might be sufficient for me…if I would need more, I would ask for it”. He smiled and added a spoon of sugar in the cup, served the coffee and went away. Probably that was the moment, when I learnt what objectivity was all about. To my dismay, I realized how subjective, life was for me, which had already caused serious injuries to my future.

After getting theoretically convinced by Mr. Srinivasan Rao, the Coach at SEARCH International, I toiled days and nights to clear CAT, the mother of MBA entrances in India. But that happened only during my final year of graduation. Till that time, I already lost the opportunity to contribute enough grades so as to obtain an aggregate of 50% in all three years collectively. And when I was in Hyderabad, at IBS, I never thought that destiny had some other plans for me. After spending two months among the bright of the brightest people from different parts of the country, I got a message that I secured only 49% marks in my graduation. Since I could not meet the eligibility criteria, which was 'Graduation with 50% marks', my admission got cancelled and I was again at the zero level of my life. For the first time in life, I came to realize how important each single drop is, to collectively form an ocean…

Today I can not drink a cup of coffee which does not have at least two spoons of sugar, however, at Haldiram’s Piccadilly, I didn’t ask for more sugar…may be I realized that sweetness of my life has already evaporated…completely. I paid the bill and moved on in life…

Since, all the premier B-Schools have the same eligibility criteria, I never attempted for MBA again. And I never intended to do MBA from any mediocre B-School. However, I reworked my thoughts, personality and ways to live life. I shuffled and reshuffled many things thereafter so that a corporate professional should actually germinate within me…and believe me…it was not an easy task. Consciously or accidentally, I reshuffled the B and S from IBS Hyderabad…just to obtain ISB Hyderabad. May be my fate wanted me to exercise shuffling and reshuffling to carve my own destiny.

Today I nurture an aspiration to get my life transitioned from ISB Hyderabad…which is one of the top 20 B-Schools throughout the globe...

No matter which ‘Zodiac’ Shirt do I wear today in my day to day life, I would still consider myself ‘A Failure’, till the time I actually get myself admitted into ISB Hyderabad…