An open letter by an Alumni

An open letter from an Alumni 

To the current and graduated alumni of SIMS Pune . 

Firstly thanks for the NAM / 25 Yrs Celebrations done in the campus. And for the on going effort of the students to get in touch with Alumni just before placements . 

Some things that need clarity though, an as an alumnus of some esteemed colleges & schools nationally & internationally, I would like to point out some basics here ! 

We alumni are not desperate to come back to campus !  Yes we are nostalgic fools .. For sometime, but we move on.  We love the quote “You are students for life” but its just a quote at the end of it. When we come back to campus,we deserve some respect. We have really worked hard from where we started and do believe “We have earned it” 

This year, was an experience to remember, the good old days it was about attendance, exams, food. This time it was all about how we need time to chill in life, Smoke (if you know what I mean) & of course Alcohol means so much ..!  We are here to make a life !! .. Read a meme recently on the college “ Kingfisher – King of good times, SIMS – Kingdom of good times” . Well, we loved our booze, Smokes too and probably much more ! But was that everything?... Yes you are all great people, partly arrived, way more secure, as the economics have changed but a job, a career still matters. And believe it or not we as Alumni are your best bet, only if u really try and keep the relationship intact. 

Further more , we feel that the current management is flawed in treating the “STUDENT MANAGERS” , as we were called back in the day ! .. they are not cadets or school children, they are adults who need to learn responsibility and one form of that learning is self responsibility . Like we were and they are... mostly fauji kids, and if they can’t do self discipline, then they rather not call themselves as a fauji kids. 

More so, can you please stop running this like a factory, just churning out its produce, from 300 to 700, 700 to a 1000!  Whether you believe it or not (Like it or not), this institution was made for Fauji kids, I wonder why the Southern command is silent on this matter ... You have literally sold your soul to the business men , please be a Fauji first. 

Last but not the least, placement & incubation are the most important things to focus on or what you really can offer to the students for the money, time & effort they spend in the campus. Its rather surprising to see the kind of people that represent them in front of corporates and in various angel network circles .. Is there such dearth of talent, cant we find someone better , I know charity begins at home, but can it come at the cost of your student's careers ? 

And finally, we are the Alumni .. Emotionally engaged !  ..  and so will the next batch be … take action and mend your ways ..  Or slowly we will disassociate ourselves from SIMS .. And probably just say, yes we studied in Symbiosis .. ! 

From  Meraki to Antio Sas its a thin line ! 

PS: if you are so Fauji .. Get the campus cleaned and painted, currently hostel room with 4 ppl feels like one f the slum rehabilitation houses ! 

Passion - or phased passion!

Born in the Indian sub continent, the first few words you probably are going to say ... will include something to do with food .. This was a passion which has been build over the years .. but off late has been a pull which is difficult to ignore ..

Stereotypes

 Grown up - U have to have a job ... Earn well .. save money .. Die leaving all for kids ..

No where in our society does passion appear .. wonder was it not taught or is it to be taught ... or how will it happen ... ???

Ever wondered .. suddenly when we make a statement .. look he/she is so passionate about the job  or when .. a JD reads .. should be passionate .. what does it really mean .. Is passion in the box or out of the box... Am i supposed to have a trigger in me .. which tells me to be passionate about something ..

As a guy who has lived around the country and has some variety of jobs .. I have been travelling across the country and in lands far far away ..

but passion has changed from music .. which is by far the most common to impress women i guess .. couldnt go all the way to learning a guitar to impress though .. but its something on the bucket list for sure .

Then Travel .. i guess second Fav.. of the world .. here too herd mentality .. it started with road trips .. then international trip .. funds all for few cool fb pics and some bit of using the word "nirvana "

then came photography .. of how can i have the best pics to put on social media .. my #life
so the expertise or lack of it helped in capturing the moving world .. and really enjoy some of its beauty in the still/ static world .. which was honestly the first bit of passion i would say in my life .. but then came movies like wake up sid .. after which every monkey in the world wanted a DSLR .. and licence to edit .. so the thing with herd mentality is that you follow it .. till its cool .. then its like oh everyone is on the same thing ..but managed some nice clicks in all this bargain ...

Then came the Harley life i want to be the cool biker .. i am the stud .. riding with lots of guys who had all the money ... but also had mid life crisis... neither did u fit the ship crazy .. the young rich kids ..or the old ...oops .. mid life crisis guys .. so what .. This is my passion . LIve to ride .. I am too coool ... I ride a harley .. I am a part of HOG .. lets join the upgrade race .. lets get one more .. one more .. till u r bankrupt in the bargain .. lets go to the biggest bike rally in the world ..sturgis .. of we are the coolest guys .. Its amazing how passion can cover insecurity or was it really passion .. The patches the cool facto the cool pics the biker life .. 10000 isnt cool 1000000 is more like it .. burning ur own money to support ur identity .. 

Was it really passion .. by now some of you are already like this guy is negative and pessimist .. but its not about what i feel . its about defining passion .. or is it still open ended ... 

if i was so negative . i wouldnt be still riding .. or playing a 6000km ride next month .. but that life then .... 

Now you must be wondering .. why did i start with food .. I guess thats the only constant in my life .. Yup away from stereo types .. #mencancook .. I love too cook .. host people .. out of th Eat Pray live .. I stick to Live Eat bit .. 

Also this is a culmination of all the passions so far in life .. 

its music to my ears when someone talks about food ...

I would travel to the corners of the world for good food ... 

I love to click food pics .. i think they make great pics 

Biking these days . are about destinations which are food .. breakfast rides . Long rides for dhaba food .. and yes .. leh ride for lots of good food to keep you going .. 

so WHATS MY PASSION .. is it food .. Or is it just first few things that I though about when i was born .. 

Currently the roll food is playing is in my future start up .. FoodgasmIndia .. wonder where it will take me .. but anything that has food ,, cant be wrong ..

SO have u figured ur passion .. or is it phased passion ... 

if you think Job is ur passion .. then u are great !! 

So for now ..  https://twitter.com/FoodgasmIndia

TImelines or timing

For most of us timeline is what the boss gave us to finish something !! or the sales target or some sort of result oriented nonsense !
Though some of us are big planners .. we have these calenders where every year has these targets set out which may relate to new car.. house .. gf ... etc etc ... but you know what I kind of love the new timeline which facebook has come out with ... it tells you when u did what in the last 3-4 yr at least .. " it more like the game this day that year !! "
so u figure out how diff were u to the last year !! may be happy or sad ! i dont think anyone would be the same ! ... ya but then i have frnds who said they hate mondays back then and say the same now !

have u ever thought of these tele callers who have your history of buying something for someone in a particular day and they suddenly would call you after 3 years because they want to tap all resources for a sale ! In ur mind u have 3 or 4 reactions
 - thank god they reminded me !
- Shit I did this for her or him too
- I dont know if I should go that far this year

you know each of these reactions have something in them ! maybe a whole story which flashes ! so even though I hate these calls I sometimes are left reminded of the timing or the timeline that my life has been through !

So all that is past is not lost ... it comes back to hound u or make you happy ... u may like it ....or hate it ..

facebook timeline is just another tool by someone who believes in the theory that past shouldnt leave u !! or is it !! that for you to decide. !

The girl next door !! ... Reality or a myth

Ya ya .. before i start this most of u will be wondering have i found someone finally .. and will join ur (great :p) married life race ... for now the answer is no !!

but my question to most of u is .. what happ to the girl next door... yes some of u got married to her .. Puppy love and all ... but what happ to all the girls next door that we used to wait for at the bus stand or the gaming station .. yes we fauji kids could only afford these kind of places ... and yes even though we were born with a silver spoon.. fork and knife ..even fish fork ... they all belonged to the Unit mess .. we were the perfect generation who would dress up in suits at 12 .. and look and learn how to use them ... end up eating egg on toast in the movie room ..

Now many of us have lived in the palatial houses given to our dads by the forces on request ... these were generally in towns whose name ppl didnt knw .. and yes thr were no google or google maps to find them ... i can also bet even the latest map of India .. published by the govt .. doesnt hv them .. ok whether they are found or not is later ..

For now lets get back to the girl next door .. u knw .. whether it was those weather proof 3 tons .. or bus stands .. which had aps ..nps or afbbs or any other school bus coming in ... one thing was common .. we all guys would have someone we waited for ... with food and water in most cases ...

Maybe facebook has connected u to some of them now .. they happily showcase thr kids and u urs ... what a beautiful relationship u guys share in the digital world ...

Is it reality or myth .. well it was reality till i became of marriageable age and now its a myth .. however the quest shall continue ..

Its interesting how connection were so difficult to make .. how much we had to struggle to get somebody to be a friend in school .. now its all abt .. sending a frndship request ... hmmm i wonder what if we all had fb in those days wld the myth be reality today ??

Curry Leaf in Sarsoon ka Saag !!

Hey as it may surprise many of u .. how i got to this title ... actually today .. i did have the pleasure of seeing few curry leaves in my Sarsoon ka saag .. If u guys couldnt guess so far ... yes i am in chennai .. and no this isnt a cooking recipe blog !!

This actually is not only about the food .. but in general .. (As life in general) .. i have been in chennai now for almost 2 yrs ... have tried most food places ... spoken to most ppl in language .. which can only compete with sign language ... But today i dared to order sarsoon ka saag in a place called Sangeetha .. which is a south Indian joint .. I knw .. I knw .. u will tell me are u mad to do that ... u order north indian in south indian joint .. like i have loads of choices ...come here and then u will knw

It looked really good ... 1st bite had 3 curry leaves .. hmmm maybe it was telling me that if u stay here any longer .. u will change from the Gabru jawaan of punjab and get a hint of curry leaf

So as people have an impact on u .. when u spend loads of time with some .. they make u realise that even though the next one u meet might not be the original recipe ...... (Stop thinking of KFC ppl) ... every person .. is so different yet we end up looking for the same thing in each one ..!!

Y do we compare ... y do we generalize .. y do we have same expectations ... X is not equal to Y !! is it .. May be its time for me .. and u not to have same expectations from diff ppl ... if someone made u happy by doing something u liked... dont expect the next person to follow the same .. maybe this one has new ideas ...

I knw our feelings and emotions are not mobile phones with new models every week. ... But we dont need to be gadget gurus .. to decipher the differences ..

Am i confused while writing the blog ... SURE I AM ... that y want u guys to read it and figure it out ..

but on a serious note .. i have learned not to have any expectations , let life unfold the more u try and push for ur recipe the ..curry leaf will find its way into it >>!!