15.11.09

shawshank redemption

Saw this movie recently - again.
and simply loved it - again.
I think it is among the most brilliant movies ever made. the most intelligent scripts ever written, nearly flawless. It feels like the writer has lived in prison all his life - been institutionalized. The acting is amazing. the dialogues r unforgettable. and above all, it moves you. it takes you along with its ebbs n flows. when Tommy dies, u feel sad. and when Andy gets the better of the warden, u feel jubilant. And it is truly a triumph of the human spirit.

abt eternal sunshine n me.

For the record, we never broke up. We just had a 20 month vacation. :)

1.1.08

Still.

the open door
overloooking the afternoon sun
a pair of sandals
basking in the sunshine.. especially after the chilly night
the lonely quadrangle
except for a cleaner doing his midday chore

the Taskbar says Master CV, Class schedules
and the Now Playing list with some new songs

the piano prelude..

o re paakhi, o re paakhi
kaisa yeh tera fasana

dhoonde hain kyu, daari daari
har pal ek naya thikana

These quiet afternoons would be
remembered as much as:

the Jetty
the Tyre Raid
the Man Game Puja
the walk along side the lake to the lecture hall
the 5 min chai n sutta break during Lectures
the noisy discussions that resonate in the square
the Dramatics Cell performances at the Audi
the quad cricket sessions on december afternoons
the Freshers, the Badla, the Jobbers and the GGP




27.12.07

Spoiler Alert!

I have my doubts.
Doubts about how it could be real and about what is real and what is not. If you somehow convince yourself about the technicalities, 6 doubts remain.
In ascending order of importance:
  1. When he went there for the 2nd time, why did K go there alone?
  2. Why were the attendants at the Call Center wearing veils? Symbolic? Of what?
  3. When did they cut his fingers?
  4. How did he get to the 5th stage?As far as I can remember he only smoked thrice:1st when he went all the way to Africa. 2nd when his friend forced him to. And 3rd in front of the detectives.
  5. How did he dream about Siberia before he enrolled into the program?
  6. How did K not have any withdrawal symptoms when was forced to quit smoking? He was a chain smoker after all!

Gibberish?

Go. Watch "No Smoking"!

PS: Do let me know if you have other doubts.

7.11.07

The Management 'Types' - Part 1

This one was long overdue, considering that Ive been in this place for over a year now and that this place must be the breeding ground for fellow 'judgemental-types'.( Ariel, Vini u would have simply loved it in here!)

Disclaimers, before I actually go about defining the 'Types'. One, it is not all black and white. A person could, would and should fall into more than one of the Types. I have been pleasantly surprised on more than one occasion to find someone who has been typoed behaving totally differently than expected. But the Type is generally the more dominant in them. Alright, occasionally they might act differently. But dont you dare change their Type because more often than not, the next day they would be back to being their normal selves. Two, I dont hate, loathe, despise any of these Types. I simply judge them.

Ok, here goes:
The 1st one is the Judgemental Type. (Well, have to say it. This is also where I belong) They are the paragons of righteousness. They are the gatekeepers that control the destinies of others around them! or so they think. These 'Little Professors' walk with their heads down and their hands behind their back. They are always thinking. You are constantly under their microscope. They are just waiting to tag you. They are just waiting for you to commit that one big mistake! These are those who you would typically find saying, 'he is a ch!#$', 'he is a freerider', or 'he is a glober'. Well, not all of them are so in-your-face! There are the more subtle ones also. These are more dangerous. You would not realize that they belong to this type. These are typically the analytical ones. One way of tracking them- albeit not a foolproof one- is to see if they have a 99 percentile on their CAT DI and Anat section.

The judgemental types deserve more space as there is lot of diversity among them. Typically at B schools, you learn giving structure to every thing. You learn a lot of models like the BCG model, the Porters 5 forces etc. The judgemental types are the ones that have an inclination for these models. They form their own models based on which they judge. One model I know of is the 'CG' model. This model judges people based on their 'cgpa'. e.g. ' that guy is all crap, but he is a 7 pointer-so he must be a stud!' or 'this one makes sense, but he is a 5 pointer!' Btw, it is not all hunky-dory for this type. Judgement kinda becomes a habit for them. They themselves dont escape their own scanners. Infact they end up judging themselves the most. They put up the best behaviour that their model suggests. But Alas! Their model is not a universal one and they might themselves end up being typoed as a 'Ch%#$' in someone elses model.

Then there are the 'Glob' types. First of all, let me define 'glob' for you. Glob is a B school term for gas, fart etc. These charecters have a penchant for talking. They can 'glob' about absolutely anything under the sun. Now since I have decided on being stereotypical, let me leave no stone unturned. These are the ones that generally take up all the marketing and the behavioural science courses. And they are genuinely good at it. They are the ones asking most questions in the most 'glob' subjects. They end up scoring A pos in Marman, Indian Social Structure and Business Ethics. There are sub types in this type also. The very blatant ones are the ones that open their mouth first and think later. The more subtle ones know something about everything. These are the more difficult ones to catch because they are very confident at whatever they say. But eventually they do get caught. They only have to meet someone more knowledgeable on a particular topic.

There are quite a few types to follow. The 'gyaan' types, the 'always-in-sleep' types, the 'out-to-change-the-system', the 'Fighter' types. But this has already become quite a long post. So I ll save these for next time.

So, till next time.
Chao!

5.11.07

Option Strategies

just.. for quick reference :)

Covered Call: long stock + short call
Bull Spread: long call + short call further out of the money; stock price to increase within a certain range
Bear Spread: long put + short put further out of the money; stock price to decrease within a certain range
Butterfly: Long call + long call further out of the money and short 2 calls midway between the 2 long calls; stock price to remain constant
Straddle: long put + long call at same strike price; stock price to change drastically
Strangle: long put + long call at a higher strike price

.. am I missing something?
.. coming up next: Option Greeks and Exotic Options

PS: this is to remind me of the times I did nothing!

26.9.07

We are the champions!

There was nothing between the 2 sides. That ball could have gone anywhere. Luckily for India, it fell in Shreesanth's lap. All of us jumped out of the sofa in anticipation. And so must have everyone all over the country. And then it took a few moments to sink in. World Champions! Albeit T20 World Cup. For once India knows how it feels to be on the winning side of a global competition. We now know how the Australia would have felt in 1999, 2003 and 2007, though that might be a case of diminishing marginal utility. How Pakistan felt in 92 and Sri Lanka in 96.

But does it feel so much more when you r on the other side? Much worse when you are on the losing side than good when you r on the winning side. I can imagine how Misbah-ul-Haq would have felt. That photo on Cricinfo captures it all. Ecstasy for some, despair for the rest. The heartbreak of being so close, yet so far. It might take a life time to get that opportunity again, that shot at the championship. In the life of many players it may never come again. That is the worst part of quadrennial tournaments, and that is also what makes them so special!

23.9.07

The South African Party

The organizers of the inaugural T20 World cup couldn't have asked for more. Explosive batting, nail biting finishes, 6 sixes in an over, a tied match...and the icing on the cake: an India Pakistan final! Just when ODIs were becoming a tad monotonous, T20 is a welcome respite.

Cricket is a game of a bygone era. Games lasting for 5 days. Players and umpires dressed in white. Run rates-though they have been improving of late- being puny 3 storey buildings of the 70s than the 20 storey scyscrappers of the new millenium. Well dont get me wrong here. I am an avid fan of Test match Cricket. It is the best game that can ever be. Same players adapting to different conditions. WACA being the bounciest track, Kingsmead and Headingley offering the most lateral movement. the swing of Lords and the spin of Eden Gardens or Chepauk. Matches swaying from one team to the other just because some dark clouds suddenly showed up. Shane Warne weaving his web around the batsman. Steve Waugh taking on the deadly duo of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh on a lively Sabina Park track with his best weapon, grit. Glen McGrath's perfection. Virender Sehwag's flair. Saqlain Mushtaq's guile. Inzamam's lazy elegance. Wasimbhai creating magic with leather. Rahul Dravid taking a hit on his ribs so that the next batsman can murder the English bowling attack later. Test matches are the truest test of a sportsman's charecter. There is aggression here, but more subtle than the blatant T20 format. Skill and flair may be the lead actors, but temperament and patience are important supporting actors. Test Match Cricket is and shall always be the game of glorious uncertainities. It would have an audience in every era.

But it's just a part of me saying that. Another part of me belongs to this fast paced, high adreniline times. After a hectic day's work, there's nothing like going to Hard Rock Cafe and enjoying some good music with friends. Or heading out to the movies. I dont have an entire day to spare for Test cricket or even for One day cricket. So for this high action, slam dunk kinda lifestyle, Twenty 20 cricket is an apt reply. It gets over in 3 hrs flat. And every minute of those 3 hrs is pure entertainment. If you look deep it is the same 50 over format with those boring overs between 15 and 40 cropped and the hard hitting power plays retained.

And it is not all hard hitting either. With sporting wickets offering something to the bowlers like the one we've had at Kingsmead during the WC, there is a genuine contest between bat and ball. The batsman have to keep innovating. The bowlers need to think on their feet. And it all happens very fast; one moment you're cruising along, the next your in a deep hole.

This format is here to stay. But while it stays, I hope it doesnt poach into the other formats. T20 can at best be one very well made trailer for a blockbuster movie. And while I hope, I am also eagerly awaiting the Indian Premier T20 league to begin, with matches every week. And I hope it provides the same value for money as has this WC. While that will have to wait a tad longer, I am eagerly awaiting the clash of the subcontinent giants on Monday at the bullring.

Are you watching it too?