The Littler Master

If there is one thing that can help me write tons of posts, that would be my ability to feel nostalgic at the drop of a hat. That, combined with my natural talent to suck at cricket, would form the crux of this post.

Nostalgia is one emotion that has helped me maintain my sanity and optimism. As for my cricketing abilities, I was not always a loser. There was a time when I was quite gifted (primarily due to my fertile imagination) When I was five, I realized that I could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by scoring 21 runs from 3 deliveries thus winning the man of the match and helping India reach the finals of the World Cup. Later that week, I discovered much to my amazement that I had just taken seven wickets in an over against Pakistan in the World Cup Finals when they were coasting along with a required run rate of 3 per over. No, I did not bowl a no-ball. I completed a caught & bowled dismissal while simultaneously running the non-striker out. Thus did I achieve the first twin dismissal in the history of cricket. Thus did India win the '92 World Cup and I, the man of the series.

However, with time, I lost my innocence as I learnt the rules of the game - the stringent rules which shackled my imagination from pulling off some incredible victories. Thus ended the first golden era in my cricketing career. Though it was short-lived, I had made a name for myself as the genius all-rounder from the streets of Dombivali who could make Imran Khan shit in his pants. My focus also gradually shifted from becoming the next Kapil Dev to the next Sachin Tendulkar. After every Indian victory, I'd ask my mother if it would be alright for me to become a cricketer. She'd smile back and ask me to finish my homework first. This is where part-I concludes. Find below the career statistics of this boy wonder unearthed from old issues of Wisden and the by-now-erased files of cricinfo.com.

Full Name: Srinivasan Sampathkumar
Born: July 13th, 1986
Current Age: 23 years 141 days
Major Teams: India, West Zone, Mumbai, Dombivali (W)
Batting Style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast, Right-arm medium, Right-arm off-break, Right-arm leg break

Batting and fielding averages (1992-94)
(Read as Matches, Innings, Not Outs, Runs scored, Highest Score, Average, Balls Faced, Strike Rate, Number of 100s and 50s)
Tests 13 17 5 2143 247 178.6 1644 130.35 8 1
ODIs 27 27 9 1721 146* 95.61 923 186.46 9 5
First-class 2 2 2 346 257* -- 149 232.22 2 0

Bowling averages (1992-94)
(Read as Matches, Innings, Balls Bowled, Runs Conceded, Wickets, Best figures - innings, Best figures - match, Average, Economy, Strike Rate)
Tests 13 21 1075 394 99 8/4 16/29 3.98 2.2 10.85
ODIs 27 12 372 92 89 6/1 6/1 1.03 1.48 4.18
First-class 2 - - - - - - - - -

Dada - the skipper!

It was July 13, 2002, Natwest series final - India vs. England. I remember it so vividly not only because India had pulled off one of the most sensational run chases but also because I turned 16 that day. My father, who idolised Sachin's humility, Dravid's discipline and Kumble's gentlemanly conduct despised Ganguly for his unabashed arrogance. Fed on a regular diet of down-to-earth cricketing idols, he could never come to terms with Dada's pride and aggression.

Coming back to the final, India had lost the preceding nine consecutive finals and were well set to lose the tenth one. Nasser Hussain scored a century and pointed to his shirt while gesturing to the press box. My dad spoke about the skipper leading from the front. We had to chase a huge record total of 326. In those days, 326 was almost impossible (Now even Bangladesh can score that) And when we began our run chase, we faltered. When Sachin was cleaned up by Giles and the scorecard read 146/5, my father switched off the television set and began to mourn. (My father and I are hardcore Sachin fans) As for me, it was my birthday and I switched it back on praying for a birthday miracle.

As the chase gathered momentum, dad returned and we both were glued to the TV set until Zaheer and Kaif scampered for the winning runs from the overthrow with an ecstatic Ravi Shastri shouting in the commentary box, "India have created history here." And then they showed Dada. There he was - brash, proud, waving his shirt wildly yelling at the top of his lungs. My lipreading skills told me that I should be looking anywhere but the screen. You see, I did not want my parents to know that I'd learnt new vocabulary. When I turned to my dad, the look on his face said it all. It was a look of joy.. admiration.. pride!

And then it struck me. Of course, he'd never want his son to idolise someone who yells 'fuck' from the Lord's balcony after a victory. But he sure admired him for his aggression and arrogance.. the way he inspired and marshalled his troops.. the way he led from the front.. But he never showed his admiration. Neither did I.

Dada stood for everything which a middle-class Indian would not want to see in his son - he was a rebel who defied every norm. When he was made the skipper, he injected the Indian team with loads of enthusiasm and self-belief. Fearlessness and team effort were the mantras and the media, noticing the changes, coined the term Team India. Team India captured the nation's imagination with our aggressive attitude. Suddenly, cricket was no longer a gentleman's game. May be that is why, although we had some new found admiration for the Prince of Calcutta, our loyalties were unmoved.

That night, after the presentation ceremony, I took a playful jab at my dad, "He's not a bad captain after all." My dad's reply was an expected one, "Well, if he could be less arrogant, he'd go on to become a great captain."

Dad, if he could be less arrogant, he wouldn't be Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. Sensational, dramatic and yes, arrogant. Hats off, Dada!

"I dont know whether one duck made my career more dramatic. It was dramatic in any case."
Sourav Ganguly on what his last Test innings signified

Not even a quantum of solace *no spoilers*

DISCLAIMER: This post may contain little description of the movie. Hence, if you've watched the movie, then you can afford to read the rest of the post. However.. and this is a big however, if you've not watched the movie yet, then I'd strongly recommend you to read the rest of the post and then take a wise, life-changing decision of whether you want to watch the movie or not. Amen.

So we decided to go to Crown theatre to watch James Bond's latest flick "Quantum of Solace". For the uninitiated, Crown is the only theater in Calicut to screen the latest English movies. Since we could not get the balcony tickets, we had to settle for the second class tickets. Now for second class tickets, you do not have seat numbers. The seats are allotted on first come first serve basis. So there was a mad rush when the gates were opened and since we are not really big fans of rushing, (unles we have to rush out of classes) we ended up getting front row seats.

Before the movie began, the usual commercials were being aired. But surprise surprise! A Kohinoor condom commercial was aired and the entire crowd sat there in complete silence and attention. I was stunned by the idea of playing a condom commercial in a theatre. Playing the national anthem is perfectly fine with me, but playing a condom ad?? Which genius came up with that idea? But what came as a bigger shock was the crowd which sat there watching and listening to everything. I had not expected such a decent crowd in Crown! If it had been Hyderabad, people would have gone crazy and vocal showing their approval.

After the ad ended, they played the Dostana trailer. AB Jr in shades and Priyanka in a bikini got a few claps but when they showed a bare bodied John, the theatre erupted! There were whistles, howls, shrieks, comments (which thankfully I could not understand) and claps.. only from men! Only men!?! I did not really understand why a Priyanka-in-a-bikini is not a more attractive proposition than a John-in-shorts. Did I say decent crowd? Crowds here are really messed up!

And finally the movie started. And with great regret, I say that the movie failed to provide me with even a quantum of solace. The title track was long and boring. The editing was horrible. I think a monkey decided to chew down half the script and the director decided to shoot the movie anyways. And the English accent at places is completely incomprehensible. I dont really get this - these guys invented the language! How can they speak in such gibberish accent? Somehow the ladies find the accent a real turn on. Strange. Coming back to the movie, the stunts were cool, not too many technical gadgets were used and the lead female was not that great looking. And finally when the movie ended, the crowd was howling - I think they were thankful that the director decided to end the movie halfway. So to all my friends in leading metros, do not waste your 100-150 bucks on this movie. I'd rather sit at home and watch repeat telecast of Sachin-Sourav partnerships on Star Cricket. Sigh.. am all nostalgic now!

Status message of the day:

"The black man is called in to clean up the mess. What's new?"

- An Egyptian blogger on Obama's election

PS: Watch Deshdrohi - from what I saw in the trailers, the male lead has a funny way of mouthing off dialogues :D Dr. Eddie Murphy meets Bhagat Singh.
PS2: Twin setbacks to the Indian cricket team in this series. No Jumbo.. no dada.. Watching cricket will not be the same again :( Lets hope we win the series 2-0! :D Go India go!
PS3: Hope to blog more often.
PS4: That's the 3264th time I've promised myself to blog regularly.

Seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

Today, we shall learn how to play safe, indoor cricket – cricket in the living room to be precise, and win. This post is by no means inspired by the Stephen Covey book. Now that I have clarified that part, shall we?

The seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

1. Sledge – Sledging is an integral part of indoor cricket. It is highly unlikely that one can get a wicket if the one-bounce-catch rule is absent. That is exactly why one should sledge. Sledging can be offensive, vulgar or funny.
a.Offensive: How to offend others with sledging? The most tried and tested methods focus on weighty issues. Literally. One can also comment on culinary skills and the spherical quotient of one’s tummy in mathematical terms (usually calculated using a complex equation - the variables involved being surface area, S and capacity, C)
b.Vulgar: The less said the better.
c.Funny: One can always be offensive AND funny. But usually being sarcastic helps.

2. Moving on to more technical tips, ahem. If a fielder is positioned close, the best way to scare him is to charge down the pitch – yes, I am referring to the 6-10 yards pitch here, and play a defensive prod. And if you’re known to be a pinch hitter, the fielder by now would be literally shivering waist down. I remember this one time when I was fielding at silly point and this senior of mine who weighed twice as much charged down the wicket. I literally shit in my pants.

3. Try to flight the deliveries above the eye-level of the batsman – especially if you’re a spinner. When you do that, the natural instinct is to come on to the front foot and heave it - until the batsman realizes that he’s playing in a 15x8 room. In which case, he’d either go through with the shot and hit the wall directly (in our case there is a TV as well!) or would miss the ball and be adjudged out. You, of course, can bowl that occasional faster delivery and later defend yourself by claiming that you’re a spinner and the delivery was not fast. (It always worked for me :D)

4. Always encourage your bowlers. Even if they’re pathetic. And appeal. Do add in your share of sighs (ooos and aaaahhs) even if the ball missed the stumps / edge by miles. It puts a lot of pressure on the batsman.

5. And if you’re the batsman, watch the bowling action – especially if he’s a spinner. It is very important to decipher the spin on the delivery before deciding how to play it. Usually the fingers and the wrist position give away the spin on the delivery. Also try taking the delivery on the full or play it as late as possible. Never be stuck midway! It’s too dangerous. Even if the pitch is akin to the Chennai track prepared in the last series.

6. Play with soft hands! Especially the balls which have more bounce. Taking the bottom hand off helps a lot. Sometimes getting the bottom hand into play is also useful. Refer to tip #2 :D Using your footwork is also very crucial. A Virender Sehwag cannot survive in the Gully Cricketing scene.

7. And in case you’ve forgotten – sledge!

PS: Next post might be on anything! Mostly it will be something highly random.
PS2: Any comments on the IPL? (Am I asking for trouble? :P)

India and the T-20 WC

India vs England:
In your face, Freddie Flintoff.. next time, try keeping your trap shut.

India vs SA:
In your face, Justin Kemp.. running as if we wont get direct hits! Sometimes we do.. :D

India vs Aussies:
In your face, Aussies! Look who just choked!

Never did I think that a day would come when we'd outclass SA in the fielding department.
Never did I think that a day would come when the Aussies would choke against us.

The inaugral edition of ICC champions trophy- we defeat the best in the business (the Aussies and the South Africans) with a bunch of young cricketers. Yuvraj, Kaif and Zaheer shot to stardom. Now forward 7 years into the future. Just when things were slightly bleak, we do it again. And this time, again, it is equally sensational. As a feeling of deja vu seeps in, I cant help but feel apprehensive about the final. The Pakistanis must be waiting for revenge but as long as we get a fitting finale, I dont mind. Who am I kidding? Chak de India!

PS1: By the way, I still am not a huge fan of cliches.
PS2: Went to IIIT campus. Did you know that OBH has been recently painted?! It looks very different! The campus looks a lot greener though
PS3: Saawariya title song is nice.
PS4: The finals are being screened here at the auditorium! :D K rocks anyday!!
PS5: Time for the finals! adios! And fingers crossed.. :-ss :D

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Spot 5 differences and win exciting prizes! Please SMS JOBLESS "your answers" to 8778.



Moving on to something totally unrelated, finally I went for a hair cut. And I dont regret it. Of course I do weigh a few hundred grams lesser now, but then I guess it was worth it. No wonder I've been feeling light-headed lately.

So finally ug2k3 performed again in Amalgam - now known as Splash. We gave quite a terrific performance. And as expected, Inam's dance and speeches from Bushi and IV proved to be crowd-pullers. T3 took care of the hip-hop quotient. At the end of the day, we as ug4, fulfilled our responsibility of setting high standards for the coming years. Overall quite a nice and satisfying experience.

Tried writing a couple of short stories but somehow I am not very satisfied with my effort. So wont be posting the stories. I just am not able to put to words what I have in mind. I guess I need to get back to reading - full time.

Went to attend a friend's engagement at Green Park. Nice decent food. Nice company. Had lots of fun pulling legs.

And the farewell got postponed again! This time to 16th of April. And we finally got our batch T shirts made which in itself is a big achievement considering the notorious reputation our batch has. The yearbook deadline has also been postponed.

Have been playing cricket early in the morning. Its fun! WC without India is so boring. Speaking of boring stuff, exams have begun. And as is the tradition, people have been getting quite bored.
But there are a few specimen who are putting their heart and soul towards preparation. Frustrated souls! :P BTW what in the name of holy cow is a Jayanth quantiser?

I just cant wait for my IIM results. Although I am quite optimistic of making it to A, somewhere deep down in my heart I am not very confident of getting through. Is this what they call last minute jitters? Lets hope not. Quite a few have been getting their university results as well. Tipo has got his first admit. Fauji and Goyal got theirs quite some time back. And of course even our director, YarG has got an admit into Arizona university. Hopefully some more make it through.

Quote of the day:

You justify your existence by being sarcastic. That is what all people think about you.

- V.V. Harish Baba's comments on me.. :D

PS1: Summer is unbearable.
PS2: Need to blog more often.
PS3: I'm done writing everyone's testimonials except for one. I am getting good at this.. :D
PS4: Get this feeling that somehow there is very little bonding in our batch. I guess most of them are yet to realize that they'll be leaving everything behind soon.
PS5: Hajime no Ippo has become one of my all-time favourites. I recommend it to one and all! :D
PS6: This is the end!

Requiem for Team India

And so it ends.. Of course, I've got people on my gtalk list with status messages like "Come on Bermuda, you can do it!" And I used to think I was the optimist! :D (There are people from the other end of the spectrum with their status messages like "Chappel and the BCCI heads should be murdered.") But one very important point we all are missing here is this:

Bangladesh is not team India..
Hence Bangladesh cannot lose to ANY team!

Now we all know how the Indian team works. I have been one of the most faithful fans of Indian cricket. And I still believe that India can win against any team; even Australia! And it goes without saying that India can lose to any team; even Bangladesh. Last WC was one of the most memorable world cups I've ever witnessed. (FYI I've witnessed 5 of them including the present edition) Everything went according to the script except the grand finale. This time around what I hoped could have been a fitting farewell to Sachin's illustrious career turned out to be a damp squib. And the icing on the cake - we're eliminated in the first round! Can't believe how France would have felt after they were eliminated by Senegal in FIFA WC 2002.

So where does this defeat leave the Indian cricket team now? In Trinidad! (It's a joke. The homes of the cricketers might not be standing over the weekend after the early exit. GET IT? aahh.. how I hate explaining my jokes) On a more serious note, I dont think we have a reason to be majorly disappointed. Yes, we've been knocked out. And this was a very hyped WC what with the experts telling how any team making it to the Super 8s had a chance of winning the coveted trophy. A billion hopes were pinned on a 15 man squad but then we have always been, as the records suggest, slow starters. And this WC did not give scope for us to get into the groove or as they say "adapt to the conditions" There is no reason to fret and fume and start burning their effigies. We've got better things to do - like burning err.. not their homes.. we've got politicians! Instead we, as true cricket fans (No Rakesh, I aint talking about you) need to take this defeat in our stride.

We cannot deny the fact that the Lankans played better cricket. Of course their batsmen were lucky not to lose their wickets to beautiful deliveries from Zaheer and co. And their bowlers were luckier to get wickets of bad deliveries! But Muralitharan's ploy of going around the wicket was brilliant. It was totally unexpected and the batsmen were left guessing. I think it was his secret weapon which he did not reveal in the earlier stages of the tournament thus catching us off guard. And the Lankans fielded like their lives were at stake. The passion or the fire in the belly, as one of my friends might choose to call, was missing in us. And finally the attitude and the mindset made a huge difference! I think the following paragraph taken from cricinfo speaks about the Lankan attitude.

Their captain Mahela Jayawardene also talked the talk. "Bangladesh did not meekly surrender to us," he asserted after Wednesday's wholesome victory, "we made them surrender." And if India "showed us a few things when we were in India, it is now our turn to show them." Few things excite the smaller nations of the sub-continent than slaying the big beast.

The only time I've cried was in 1999 - India vs Pakistan test match at Chepauk, Chennai. It was the match in which we faltered at the last hurdle in spite of Sachin's fighting century. But yesterday's defeat was much more shameful and tame. We deserved to exit in the first round.

This - my 100th post - is a requiem for team India.

PS1: Lets hope that we put up a better performance in the coming twenty-twenty WC which could possibly act as a redemption for the success-hungry cricket fans.
PS2: Footboarding on MMTS is unbelievably awesome! :D
PS3: SA get a pasting from the Aussies. I am rooting for SA since they've never won the WC before! :D
PS4: I hope Sachin is around for the next WC.. :(
PS5: I could hear my dad shout "Rascal!" when dada got out. Telepathic, huh?
PS6: Yes, we tamilians prefer rascal to other expletives. I wonder why.. :-??
PS7: Avatar is good. Chobits is decent.
PS8: When the whole IIIT is busy doing research and development, ug4 shall rehearse for the play! :P :D
PS9: Somebody gonna miss IIIT real bad.. :(
PS10: Rumours say some sardar mistook Bob Woolmer for Greg Chappel and strangled him to death :P
PS11: Ok. That was very insensitive of me.. :( But it was funny! Right? :D
PS12: I've lost 2.5 kilos over the past week. Guess my heavy heart isn't heavy anymore! ;))
PS13: "Pawar also cancelled a yacht party that he had planned to give the Indian team on April 3 in anticipation of their entry into the Super Eight stage." lollzz.. :D [Courtesy: cricinfo]
PS14: Next post might possibly be on my IIM-C interview.

THE IIM-A interview

And here comes the third installment of the IIM interview series - my IIM-Ahmedabad interview. This was on March 7th. Nice sunny day it was. Anyways coming to the GD, it was very ordinary. The topic given was a case-study and we all had to write a summary at the end of it. I couldn't finish writing the summary in the allotted time. Then moving on to the personal interview, this time around we had a panel of 3. If I'm not wrong, one of them is from the industry or an alumnus and the other two faculty from IIM-A.

P1: A formal and sophisticated looking guy.
P2: Somewhat sporting and cool. Dressed in casuals.
P3: Dark guy with a French beard.

As I entered, one of the hotel staff was bringing in lemonades.
Before I completely drift from the topic, they asked me take my seat and as usual I wished them with my loud, somewhat cheerful customary "Good afternoon sir". They seemed to be in good spirits.
P1: Srinivasan. Srinivasan.S. huh?
Me: Yes, sir.
P2: Ohh Srinivasan. How tall are you?
Me: I am 6 feet tall, Sir.
P2: Just 6 feet?
Me: Yes sir.
P2: Exact? Because you seem taller.
Me: Thank you sir. (Didn't know what to tell.. :-??)
P2: Are you still growing Srinivasan?
(Now everyone starts laughing as if it is some inside joke.. I was slightly irritated but then was quick to retaliate once the laughter died down)
Me: Sir, I took a conscious decision to stop growing a couple of years ago.
(Now they were laughing louder and I also joined in.. :D)
P1: Ok, Srinivasan. So you must be doing your final year project. Can you explain it to us now?
Me: Sure, sir. Our final year project was based on he principle of..
P2: *interrupts* Dont mind if I interrupt but what do you mean by "was based on". You've stopped doing your final year project? *chuckles*
Me: No sir. Our director was of the opinion that students tend to slack off on the FYP front once they get placed. So he got it advanced by one semester so that people end up finishing their final year project.
P2: aahh.. nice! Please carry on.
[Explained the project. They asked me a few doubts and I answered them satisfactorily. Then they asked me to encrypt a C-program into another C program. And then some technical stuff followed which ended up with me confessing that I could not recollect the algorithm. They were fine with it.]
P1: Ok. fine. Can you tell us about your areas of interest?
Me: Sir, I am particularly interested in Cognitive Science. *explained what it was*
P1: *Not very impressed* So what other subjects interest you?
P2: You've done Linear Programming! Do you mind me asking you questions in it? *He was looking at my 7th semester projects*
Me: err.. I am not very comfortable with Linear Programming as a subject but I dont mind you asking me questions in it.
P2: Ok fine.. if you're not comfortable with it, then I wont ask you. Tell me any subject which you're comfortable with so that I can ask you questions on it. Maths - I?
Me: *NO WAY* hmm.. well..
P1: You must have some core computer science subject in which you're interested. Right?
Me: *yeah right!* hmm.. Can I take some time to think? *still twiddling my thumbs*
P1: Sure..
Me: *immediately* Sir, I am interested in Multi-robotics course. I did it in my 6th semester. *Explained the projects which I did. They grilled me. Understandably. And I answered pretty well, to the best of my knowledge. After explaining the constraint space coverage projects, they decided to stop and let the French beard guy take over*
P3: Srinivasan, huh?
Me: Yes, sir.
P3: You dont seem to have too many extra-curricular activities.
Me: *Are you kidding? I have ONLY extra-curricular activities!* Sir, I beg to differ. In fact I think I've mentioned that I am even part of our college theater group.
P3: Oohh.. so what do you do?
Me: Being the college theater group, we enact plays sir.
P3: No no.. I meant what do YOU do?
Me: *still confused* I act in the plays, Sir.
P3: No no.. apart from acting.
Me: *Now I am puzzled. I just cant say I do nothing. At the same time I can neither say that I direct plays. It would seem way too far-fetched* Sir, I helped my director choose costumes for all characters. *And then I felt like the most stupid soul on earth!*
P3: *chuckles* Ok. So are you going to write a paper on your final year project?
Me: Sir, my project partners.. 2 of them.. are right now working on it. And I also hope to work on it once I am done with all my IIM interviews.
P3: Ohh.. ok. So you are from Hyderabad?
Me: Sir, I was born in Coimbatore. Since my father works in a bank, I've travelled quite a lot. But right now we're settled in Hyderabad.
P3: Coimbatore. Ok.. So Srinivasan tell me.. what is the other name for Coimbatore.
Me: *I should have said Kovai.. but instead* Sir, err.. if I am not wrong, it is also known as Manchester of the South.
[Again everyone had a hearty laugh! Is there any catch here? :-??]
P3: So do you think we can still call it by the same name.
Me: *I tried explaining but then I realised that they were just fooling around and stopped before completing the answer*
P1: Thank you, Srinivasan. Take one chocolate from the tray. *It was a melody chocolate*
Me: *He was practically ordering me* Thank you Sir. Can I take two?
P1: Yeah sure.
Me: *Then I realised that if I take two, there wont be enough left for others.* Sir, if I take one more, there wont be enough left for others.
P1: What? Then you can't take two. *turns to P3* Ohh.. someone has already taken two. Now we're one short!
Me: Thank you sir. *leaves*

The interview revolved around my final year project. And a couple of topics I took in engineering. The panel was pretty cool with us not answering all questions. It was not a stress interview. They wanted us to relax completely which was quite unlike the L and C interview. Now, if I do get selected, I wonder on what basis they'd select me.. :D So overall a very ordinary GD and a somewhat-ok types interview. All I can do now is wait for the results to be out.. :-ss

PS1: India lost to Bangladesh! WHAT CRAP! And I actually saw the whole match.. not that I believe in miracles or something.
PS2: I am on the verge of breaking the testimonials record.. :D Have written quite a few but dont want to break it.. dont feel like writing any more.
PS3: Awesome day, today has been. So far.
PS4: Moving out of wordpress.. mostly to blogger again.
PS5: Woolmer passed away.. sad :( India better whip Bermuda's ass. Else Chappel would follow suit.
PS6: Cal GD was very bad. Interview was also somewhat ordinary. Dont know what to make out of such interviews.. :-??
PS7: Watched 5 minutes of Nishabd yesterday. Decided that I'd rather sit at room and whine than sit through the movie! That movie's only meant for senior citizens!! :P
PS8: The labels thing in blogger is cool! :D
PS9: People want me to go for the clean-shaven haircut a la Michael Scoffield! They've gone to the extent of bribing me! What do I do? What do I doo?? :-ss
PS10: BTW I made it to IIFT Kolkata.. So I have my backup secure! Of course I wont be joining IIFT. Only IIMs for me.. :D