The Cup that counts...

It was the 13th of March, 1996. The target on the board was 252. Of those, 98 had already been knocked down at the cost of only one wicket. A cr0wd of 100,000 eagerly supported their hero. He had made 65 of those 98 and looked on course for a big 100.

The explosive star from the other team failed to shine with the bat earlier that day. Now, he was attempting to have a go with the ball. The crowd expected nothing but more runs from this.

It was evident that the Little Master was trying hard to concentrate. But there was something not right. What was he thinking? Was he thinking too far ahead instead of the approaching ball? Was he thinking about the upcoming final?

And then came the ball down the leg side. Clearly a wide. The Little Master suddenly lost his balance and his right foot lost contact with the ground. The guy behind the stumps was patiently waiting for this very moment. He quickly took the bails off and the Master's innings was over. Off a wide. The crowd was wide-eyed in despair. A collective groan echoed around the Eden Gardens. The Lankans went up in glee. The Master could not believe it. He had lost the plot that day.

And then the collapse! 98/1 to 120/8 as the opposition team celebrated with glee. The crowd could not take it anymore. Enough was enough. Stones and bottles traced their parabolic trajectory to land on the field. A nation was let down by the heroes it idolized. And the Eden Gardens was venting its anger.

The insult and injury had to be avenged. Experts and ex-players criticized the crowd not being sporty. But who said it was just another sport to the crowd? The Eden Gardens and the rest of the nation was united in their allegiance to the religion of cricket. That day went down as the darkest moment of Indian Cricket.

That day, one of two childhood friends walked away with tears of sorrow in his eyes.

7 years on, it's 23rd of March, 2003. India vs Australia in the World Cup final. It appeared that the GOD would get his first World Cup medal. But the immature Zaheer was foolish enough to try sledging the mighty Matt and the cool Adam. He got clobbered for 15 runs off his first over and it was an ominous start. Australia put up 359/2 in their 50 overs and it was clear that only GOD could win it for India.

The first three balls fetched no runs and the nation held its breath. The fourth ball off McGrath was dispatched to the cover boundary in a divine fashion. The nation applauded. It sensed that there could be something special that evening.

But it was not to be. The very next ball, disaster struck. A slower ball from the wily Glenn and the GOD fell for it. A billion hearts were broken.

Another 8 years on. It's 2nd of April, 2011. It's the same two teams that had met 15 years ago. But only 1 player in each team has survived from that game 15 years ago. It's the newly made Wankhede stadium in the Well-known Island of Mumbai in Western India (WIMWI). The stage is different and the occasion is grander.

Toss time. The coin was flipped and Kumar had made a call. It looked like India had won the toss when Sangakkara feigned confusion. Since the outcome of the toss was known and Sanga knew what he had called for (notwithstanding the noisy crowd), "sportsman spirit" would have demanded that Sanga own up to his call, even if that meant losing the toss. But you cannot expect that from Sri Lanka. A team that goes on batting from the second day to the last of a Test Match on a dead track after the team batting first has declared and which bowls a wide to prevent a batsman from getting his hundred clearly does not comprehend the phrase "sportsman spirit".

This match had to be won by India. For the GOD and for the religion of cricket.

Zaheer again had the new ball. But the result this time was vastly different. He returned an amazing opening spell of 3 maidens in 5 overs with a wicket (wickut, as the Lankans call it). It was a good start. But by the end of the innings, the Lankans had a managed to put up a massive score of 274, with that hated Mahela getting a century.

No one had scored a century on the losing side ever before in a World Cup final. Only twice of 9 world cup finals were won chasing before this one. No team had won the World Cup on home soil. The odds were stacked high against India.

Out came the Lord and the GOD of Indian cricket. The Lord fell off just the second ball to the slinger. Would it be a repeat of the 2003 final? No, the GOD was still out there. People believed it was his night. He was soon stroking the ball well and the nation hoped that the GOD would make a ton of tons that night.

But again it was not to be. Just one loose shot and the GOD also fell to the slinger. A billion hearts were broken. The crowd was stunned into silence. This could not be happening. This was not true? India cannot lose this one. Not to Lanka.

It was time to change position. I went with a friend to the same place where we'd watched India beat Pak in the semis. This was the lucky place for India, we reasoned. And blamed ourselves for not having realized this before, which cost the GOD's wicket.

That seemed to work as the cool and confident new face of Indian cricket emerged to salvage the match and the nation's pride. Captain MSD came out after Kohli fell at a difficult point in the innings. Was it strong leadership or was it merely having a left-right combination? Whatever it was, the duo of Gauti and Dhoni made sure that the Lankan bowlers had sagged shoulders and despaired faces. Gauti missed out on his ton but the damage was done and with in-form Yuvi next in, it was India's match from there on.

Dhoni finished off the Lankans with a massive six and a nation erupted in joy. That moment is one of the most memorable ones from two decades of following this game. The night-long celebrations and the drive to India Gate to witness the followers of a religion that binds this country were legendary.

And why not? It was the crowning moment for the legend that had enthralled the nation for over two decades. It was the night when Team India had won the Cup that counts for the Little Master. As Kohli aptly put it after he and Raina carried Sachin around the Wankhede, "Sachin has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It's only fair we carry him now".

That day, the other childhood friend walked away with tears of joy in his eyes and the Cup that counted in his hands.

Note: Though I have intermittently blogged elsewhere, it was only fitting that I put this particular post here, in memory of the post four years ago. And hasn't the dream come true! :-) And even the exit in 2007 had come against Sri Lanka. How very fitting the victory of 2nd April 2011 has been!!

The Victor Boy is Back!!

So 2009 was the peak of the recession out here with zero posts!

Sad, but that does not mean I have not been writing at all... I now have an alternate blog identity here.

But the fact that today, my bike (The TVS Victor, which was the inspiration for this blog title) has been repaired today (after being out of order for the whole of 2009) marks a good occasion to make a comeback on this blog. :-)

What will follow? Nothing in particular. Thoughts, experiences, bike trips, interesting snippets, etc. In short, pure unadulterated randomness...

Eurotrip-II

Long time no blog?! That is very normal as far as this blog is concerned!

But this time it is special... I am in the midst of the second Eurotrip of my life! :-)

A brief overview of the trip so far...

No. of countries planned to cover in the original plan: 21

No. of countries covered so far: 11

Most loved country: Of course, Switzerland!

Best evening: On top of a sparkling Eiffel Tower.

Best Party: Visum Pub Crawl!

Best Souvenir: Oktoberfest Mug


I have been traveling too much to get time for anything on the blog but sooner rather than later, I will post the most memorable snaps of the trip...

Till then,

Viel Spass! :D

The Undercover Economist

Economics is one subject that has special appeal to anyone who ever wonders why things happening around him are the way they exist. It tries to explain the mysterious myth that people refer to as "Common Sense" or as Adam Smith called it - The Invisible Hand.

However, over the years, economics, like religion, has become undecipherable for the common people whose actions it tries to explain! Quite ironic, isn't it?

But then, economics really need not be as arcane as it is made out to be. Tim Harford gives you a chance to be The Undercover Economist!

Beginning over a cup of coffee, Harford the question "Who pays for your coffee?" Something that we would not normally get ourselves to think about though it appears to be a very natural and innocent question. The book expertly introduces the concept of marginality that is the basis any economic analysis while attempting to answer the question. Herein comes the most powerful insight from economics (and which has easy applicability almost everywhere in life): "Strength comes from scarcity." The simple sentence that explains both the buyer and supplier powers in the Porter's model, why coffee bars located in popular places have to pay more rent, why workers want governments to work against immigration, and pretty much everything else!

The book then moves on to first degree and second degree price discrimination (oh that reminds me of first Term!) . The two ways that can be used to eat up into the so called consumer surplus, the difference between the maximum value you would be willing to pay for something and the price that you end up paying in the market. The discussion is kept simple and lucid and Harford also shows how price discrimination is not always bad (read inefficient). Inefficiency means that in the current situation, no person can be made better off without making someone else worse off. I think it will be wasteful for me to explain in greater detail here because the book has done a much better job of it (in line with the Theory of Comparative Advantage).

Next comes the critical analysis of markets and market failures. Here, it is again refreshing to find that Harford has not lost focus and does not get too much involved about the all-encompassing power of markets. As he says, markets are merely a means of finding the truth about what people desire through the price mechanism and market failures occur when the ability of the market to determine this truth is hindered. Even the term externality has been effectively defined as something where negotiations between the affected parties are not possible.

The keyhole economics, that he suggests to counter market failures, is insightful. What it means is that government policies should target the problem exactly where it occurs in a manner that is least disruptive to the functioning of markets and their ability to discover the truth. He uses this to address the social insurance problem and containing public spending on insurance. He focuses on the key issues of adverse selection and availability of information. He shows how passing the responsibility of making the choice about treatment from the insurance company to the patient can help curtail the social insurance bill whilst ensuring that no one spends too much on medical expenses (through catastrophic insurance).

The undercover economist also touches upon the issue of lemons in the market, why stock markets crash and why poor countries are poor. The conversational approach of the book gets the reader involved into the subject while giving the reader merely the right direction to thinking. The concluding parts of the book provide a comprehensive perspective of globalization and how it is not as bad as it is made out to be. We often hear about big companies having "sub-human" working conditions in their factories in developing countries and the outcry against them in the media. However, we seldom realize that the conditions of the workers should be compared to what they would be in the absence of the factory (they would not even have two meals a day!) rather than sentimentally comparing them with the conditions that developed countries consider as human. The book allows you to think about all these issues with a great degree of the "fairness question" in a more rational manner. One realizes how sweatshops are better than the alternatives and without doubt, starvation.

Finally, the book sheds some light on the growth of China since the late seventies and how the Maoist Great Leap Forward never really worked because it stifled the market and discovery of truth. How investing for the future and growing out of the plan helped China unleash the great growth potential for economic development.

After all, economics is about people and economic growth is about a better life for individuals - more choice, less fear and less hardships. An understanding of this fact is critical to what we think about economic policies and everything that is happening around us.

RBV +ve

Red-bricked Virus (RBV): The virus that has an irreversible effect on the victim's mind. Unlike other viruses that may affect the body or reduce the immunity to certain biological diseases, the RBV changes the way of thinking of the victim in a subtle manner and reduces the immunity to irrational thought. The virus is found to have some of its most serious victims among students at the Well-known Institute of Management in Western India (WIMWI) but milder variants may be found elsewhere. The influence of the virus quickly permeates any action/event/thought in the life of the victim and the victim loses the ability to just accept things at face value without understanding them.

The symptoms of being affected by the RBV are pretty obvious.

• One starts viewing life as a real option and tries to value it using the Black-Scholes formula.
• One always thinks about the opportunity cost of anything one does in life.
  
• One is able to quickly identify the relevant costs in life.
• One begins with the macro-environment analysis whenever confronted with a problem.
  
• Every advertisement on television speaks about its segmentation, targeting and positioning in a much more obvious manner.
  
• Advanced victims of the virus have been found to apply the Porter's Five Forces Analysis to any conceivable situation.
  
• One revels at the Martian view (global view of the highest level) of everything in life.
  
• And as is obvious, one finds it natural to present one's point of view through bullet-points.
  

But despite the many times when one would just want to think simple and take things at face value, the RBV adds that intangible spice that will change life forever. So one has the choice to enter the furnace and keep walking or to just choose a life of blissful ignorance. The choice is yours. Ready to value the real option?

2008 arriveth..

Finally Curtains on 2007.. A year full of memories.. good, bad and ugly... now it is history..
Lots of memories to carry from Modelytics.. First Marathon Run.. An eventful six months at WIMWI.. and that leaves a huge backlog on my blog.. Several posts written half-way and left incomplete in the flurry of events that was 2007..

Now that I am lazying around in my term break, I am planning to catch up with these old posts.. After all, what has begun must reach an end.. So, the first resolution for the new year is to complete the blog backlog..

Welcome 2008! But some of your time will be spent to catch up on your predecessor...

Rules of thumb...

Studying EEP from Macroeconomics by Greg Mankiw is an experience.. Not many people write a book from the perspective of the reader (called the market concept of competition in marketing terms) and hence end up rambling about things that concern them rather than their reader (I am stating this at the risk of exhibiting the same malaise).
When you read Mankiw, you gradually uncover an engrossing story that is macroeconomics and ideas that never occurred to you thus far in life seem to be naturally extending from common sense.. And then suddenly some concept comes up that you don't really understand and then you begin to even doubt what you had understood so far.. This throws you a few chapters back but you emerge back stronger and with more clarity of concepts.
Recently i came across a paper by Mankiw wherein he spoke on his six rules of thumb. Now I know how Mankiw managed to write his brilliant book without losing focus of his audience's needs. Definitely a good read.
On a tangential note, in case you have not seen the video on the ten laws of economics, there is no better way to have a positive economic profit.
Here it goes... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVp8UGjECt4

Second anniversary

20th November 2005.. Attempted the CAT for the first time and wrote my first blog post..
20th November 2007.. After 2 attempts at the CAT, am sitting in WIMWI preparing a marketing presentation.. Life has changed so much in these two years.. So many people have moved in and out of life.. The constant metamorphosis continues...

Happy Birthday to "thevictorboy"

Yippeee! I go to WIMWI!

Note: Just realized years later that I have left many memorable posts incomplete. There have been several blog posts over the years which I wanted to write (I used to write the title and let it remain in the hope that I will write sometime later). I kinda regret that laziness because I failed to capture some brilliant moments like leaving from Bangalore and my unprepared run at the Bangalore midnight marathon. I don't think I can complete those posts now and so I instead deleted the drafts. But this one post was about 70-80% complete and hence, I felt, better late than never!

For the umpteenth time, I have had a long long break from blogosphere.. The things and events that have occurred in the meantime are just too many to narrate... So, to cover up my backlog on the blogging front, here is the narration of one of the most memorable days in my life.. The day when life changed from agony to ecstasy.. and the change was not so smooth after all..

It began with the dawn of the much-awaited 27th of April. The previous day, the revered DHRM had reluctantly agreed to end the Cruciatus curse that it had cast on the many aspirants of CAT 2006 who were eagerly waiting to be let into one of the six coveted institutes.

I reached office early and was feeling all the anxiousness all over again. After 15 days of facing the question "When will the results be announced?", the situation had suddenly changed to "What the results would be?" I had felt that the delayed results would just wash away all the excitement of results. But that was not to be.

The first blow came at about 1:30 pm when IIMC came out with their results. And the institute was sorry to inform that I was not among the list of candidates selected for the PGDM program at IIM-Cal for 2007-09. Well, I knew C was one of my worse performances at the GD/PI stage but the sting of the first reject was painful nevertheless.

It was a rather light lunch thereafter, given that 5 more were to go. I got a call from another colleague (who had all calls but A) and he had made it to C. I congratulated him and talked about not getting through and he gave me all the gyaan on patience and staying relaxed. Yes. I smiled to myself. "It's just one of the six", I thought. Five more to go.

There was certainly no way to keep concentrating on work and my boss, Gaurav, was well aware of it. About 2:45 in the afternoon, given the tense atmosphere, Pappu (a senior colleague) suggested to have a walk out for an ice-cream. The rest of my team had my login details and were checking the results periodically.

We reached the ice-cream store and ordered some chocolate flavor. We tried to talk about something unconnected with CAT. Pappu tried to crack a joke or two and it lightened the moment.

And then the phone buzzed! It was my colleague Prady. "Dude, you've made it to I", he said. "Oh great. Thanks!" I replied, certainly relieved. Well, having six calls, people would have thought that getting into Indore was no big deal but it was indeed a big deal for me. At least I had cracked one of the IIMs! :-)

Well, we soon finished off the ice-cream and were on the way back when the phone buzzed again. This time it was Kozhikode. I had made through God's own IIM! I silently congratulated myself.

And by the time I had reached office, there was a wave of congratulations amid which, another colleague Ramlal announced that Lucknow was done as well! So 3 of 6 in the bag!

Then there was a gap for some time it was close to 4pm. No more results coming out. Gaurav suggested that we go out for our evening chai and biscuits. It was a treat from me to the team. Just a starter treat, of course.

The two big ones, A and B, were still out there. Would I get through. I was more confident of getting through B than through A. I thought back on the interview. I could look at it as being positive as well as negative. It all depended on how I wanted to look at it. The interview was done and the only thing to do now was to wait.

Gaurav thought that we may as well get back to doing some work in the meantime. So we were talking about something when my phone rang one more time. This time, it was my dad. And the happiness in his voice was almost evident. His words "Congrats. A madhye jhala" are the only ones I remember now. I just smiled and whispered A to Gaurav and walked out. I spoke with parents for about 5 minutes. And then the flow of congratulations began!

The rest of the evening was just surreal and I had at least a couple of dozen phone calls. In the middle of it all, someone told me that I hadn't made it to B but then who cared! The Well-kn0wn Institute of Management in Western India had admitted me! It was a dream come true!

I left from office at 10PM that day. 27th April 2007 is certainly one of the most memorable days of my life.

Two weeks of agony

I have had a long break from active blogging. And that was because I was living in a dream. But before that golden dream was a very dark phase. The two weeks from April 12th to 26th.

The final results for the admissions to the IIMs were withheld because of the quota issue. And the D-Day which was supposed to be 12th April was pushed back several times. I spent most of the time on Pagalguy (for the uninitiated, it is THE MBA discussion for anything related to CAT).

So here is how a typical day at office after April 12th went:

I reach office around 12. Actually it is just about 12 and so I am tempted to put 11:55 in the register (It has a kind of psychological effect that I at least reached office in the morning). I see the security person and say with a smile, "Good Morning!"
He frowns. Looks at it watch and replies, " Good Afternoon Sir!"
I give him a frown (and he is smiling now; That security guard is a sadist, I tell you).

Entering office, most of the people have already come in and everyone looks up to me with a questioning face. Then while I am just logging in, someone comes about and asks "Kya yaar! Results aa gaye kya?" And though I am mightily irritated by this question, I try to put up a smile and say, "Nahi re.. Abhi tak toh nahi aaye.. Dekhte hai aaj ki news mein kya hai?"

I settle myself into the chair, drink some water (how nice that I don't even have to get up from my place to fetch water!) and run through Outlook with a detached attitude. There is always a Good Morning mail from my sister (along with some sort of inspirational message) and I wonder when was the last time I read a Good Morning mail in the morning. Within five minutes, I am done with checking my mails and I am already onto PaGalGuY on the "Results frozen" thread for the latest developments on the quota issue. Also, I use Google News to keep track of any news on that issue.

Another 15-20 minutes and I am through with updating myself (though the update is only that the Govt is trying "all legal and constitutional measures" to resolve the quota issue and is "acting in the best interests of students from all sections of the society"). I curse the govt and the politicians who are always emphasizing the "sections" in our society. It is now time for my morning(?) tea and I look for people to accompany me to the canteen outside office. Almost always, I do find someone to come along (either willingly or unwillingly after my coaxing) and I try to rid myself of thoughts about the quota and results. But whenever I do not want to think of something, that is exactly what I am thinking about (some sort of Murphy's Law) and I find myself utterly depressed and helpless. Nevertheless, I enjoy the small walk to the canteen and the cup of tea does help me relax myself.

The next one hour is spent with several refreshes of both the Results Frozen thread and the Google News Page (the latter does reload by itself periodically but then it always feel better to see a page reloading before your eyes). There is some intermittent work to be done but I either delegate it to an intern (our precious Murgi :P) or just do it myself with the least possible amount of interest and concentration.

And then it is lunch time. Either I am feeling damn hungry because I want to be somehow away from the workplace (to stop refreshing those forum pages) or my colleagues have had some sort of Lembas bread that keeps them from feeling hunger. The next fifteen minutes are spent coaxing people to drop whatever they are doing and go out for lunch immediately. But then the next question that comes forth is, "Where do we go for lunch?" There are really very few options at this and the scorching sun adds further to our misery. Most of the times we have to wait for about 10-15 min before we get a place to sit in the restaurant (Bangalore definitely needs more good quality restaurants). The food does not interest me at all and I simply try to divert my mind from any thoughts of the results. The company of my friends at lunch lightens my mood and I am cheerful again on my way back.

Again some more time spent refreshing news pages and cursing the government and then reluctantly trying to concentrate at the work at hand. Solving a couple of sudokus in the afternoon helps keep sleep at bay. Soon enough, it is 4:30PM and I find willing company for a cup of tea. More often than not, the tea time discussions drift to CAT results and the childish behavior of the government but it again helps to vent out the frustration. I return and post a few replies on Pagalguy after having read the afternoon updates. Most of these updates are frustrations of working junta all over India who are narrating their woes and easing their pain. The mutual support of PG members for each other was simply amazing. Once in a while though, someone posts a fake result link that makes my heart jump. But the most I can do is post an angry response or read other angry responses. I feel utterly depressed as if a Dementor in the form of AS is sucking out every happy emotion out of me.

The evening has more work for me. The work is quite boring stuff; nothing new. But then it had stopped being anything new a long time back. Why am I feeling the intensity of boredom at work so strongly now? Probably I can blame it on the MHRD. How can they announce a meeting to be held at 8pm, meet at 8:45pm and then after 45 min decide that some allies are not represented and just postpone it to the next day? That is the height of irresponsibility. And in the meantime, the news channels are playing havoc by spreading rumors and making equivocal headlines. "Down with coalition politics and free media!", I scream silently.

Another day goes down and no results are out. People are more worried about when the results would be declared rather than what the result would be. But still there is that mystical thing called hope which keeps us going through yet another day just like the earlier one. And life moves on. Will write soon about THE D-DAY (27th April).