Photography - Lonavala Cycle Trip

Some of my pick pics from the trip

Copyright 2014 Rishikesh Misra

Photography

I like to take random pictures and am not a photographer of any sort. So no great pictures. All taken from my mobile or Nikon Coolpix P520. 

Hope you like em!

Most of the pictures are taken in my hometown Cuttack or in/around places near Mumbai.

Above picture was taken at Bhandardhara. Dam near MTDC resort.

 

              Above and below pictures was taken at Bhandardhara. Lake near MTDC resort.

Below pictures were taken at Malshej Ghat. Few hours from Mumbai.

Below pictures were taken at Worli sea face, Mumbai.

Below pictures were taken at Cuttack.

Copyright 2014 Rishikesh Misra

Second Orphanage Visit

Swami Bichitrananda Kalyan Ashram has about 14 children with 3 of them in higher secondary level and the rest younger. This was my second visit to the Ashram. I had once visited it about 4 years back. Then, with my mother’s help, I had found out about this Ashram. The Ashram had a caretaker who had been looking after the children since about 1946 and was about 86 years old then, which makes him 90 today. A happy lean old man is he. I asked him what does he want. Guess what, all of his very few requests were only for the children. Even for the most selfless people, after going through 90 years of trials and tribulations, it is hard to imagine to be as unattached as him. I had found that then the children did not have proper blankets to sleep under. Hence donated a blanket for each one. However, this was rather an unhappy experience as I could not bring a smile in the children’s faces. So the question is whether it is important to meet the necessities of these children or do something that would bring a smile in their faces. Or do something that will keep their minds healthy.

The children have pretty much a routine life that comprises meals, study, schooling, prayers and an hour’s time of sports. This time, I decided to do a mix of things that could make them smile and also help in keeping their minds healthy. The Ashram had just got its water purifier, which is a must and common thing in Indian household. The Ashram did not have any electronic equipment. However, the Ashram did have a small, probably 3 decade old television. No refrigerator. For sports, they had a worn out cricket bat and they had just lost their cricket ball. This time, I decided to give them a television, a soccer ball, a chess board, three cricket balls and two ludo sets. My would be life companion also supported my thought and provided a cash amount, which is definitely a significant amount compared to the Ashram’s operations and funding. Well, I had done a bit of thinking before I decided on these items. A television would keep the children abreast of what was happening in the outside world. The Ashram is situated in my hometown Cuttack and the inhabitants, in my opinion, have scarce knowledge about what is happening around the world, may it be technology, travel, politics, sports, and entertainment etc., things that would keep their minds occupied and healthy. Well, the television did bring some excitement and smiles to their faces much to my innermost satisfaction. On the other hand the purpose of the small range of sports items was to bring out the interest of the children as per their personality, may it be in the form of physical, strategy or simple ludo games. Involvement in a range of sports can help the children exercise both their mind and body.

The visit did give me ample food for thought. Unmistakably, I have not forgotten about the education of the children, which according to me is one of the most important aspects in the development of the children apart from providing the basic necessities and compassion. The idea is to help the children grow both physically healthy and mentally thinking that could enable them to earn a living for themselves or taste independent life. There is definitely plenty of things that can be done to make their lives better. Judging using the lens of absolute truth, the children have shelter, timely meals, basic education and clothing, which are luxury for many others around the world. The next question is where one should direct her /his efforts. Towards the most needy? Well, for one I am certain, one can only know by taking the next step....by experiencing ....

MBA at Schulich School of Business

It is almost 2 months and 10 days at Schulich and has been quite eventful so far. I will try to pour down as much as I can remember.

Launch Week

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To get a kick start into the program, we have a Launch Week program. This week is full of events consisting of activities on team building exercises, overview of academic sessions, presentations by profs, sessions to familiarize with Schulich's facilities including libraries, classrooms etc and finally the Dean's reception and the CEO panel. The Dean gives the students an insight about the current market trends, prospects for MBAs and much more. The CEO panel introduced us to the CEOs, who talked about their experiences and they addressed the questions of the students. Soon after the students had a chance to interact with them on a one on one basis. The Launch week was great in the sense that we had many events to interact with other students, have great food and at the same time adjust to Schulich's surroundings.

Right after the launch week, we had a big event called Olympia. This is where the students get to know each other. It is a trip conducted by GBC where we go to a scenic place outside of Toronto. We have fun games both conducted by GBC and also one gets to play all sorts of sports like soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, boating on the river, camp fire etc. Good fun. Will tell you about GBC a bit later.

Classrooms

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Then started the classes. The instructors are different in their teaching styles but are quite impressive in their own fields. Each one of them has a great profile. They encourage class discussions and having such a diverse student mix in the class makes the class more interesting. Schulich truly represents its image of a business school with global diversity. Assignments started pouring in and gradually we learnt to manage our schedules. We have a good mix of individual and group assignments. The students get enough opportunities to prepare for presentations and present; hence build qualities to develop leadership skills. The group activities may be difficult but they are great platforms to know the ideas of different people.

We have more than enough stimulus to learn from the school. Eventually, if you reflect you will find the difference in you. Your perspective increases to a good extent. For the first term, there is a course mix which will give you a feel of different fields and at the same time improve your knowhow.

You start to perceive the markets, the economy, operations of organizations analytically and as a critic. The case based approach in the courses and assignments stir you imagination and at the same time give you approaches to develop strategies for different kinds of problems.

Clubs, Infosessions, Representatives

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Within the first few months, the students get a good exposure to a lot of companies. A Career Day fair happens where a lot of companies come in. The Market Place (Schulich's lobby) is filled with companies's stands. This is a great platform for a new student to talk to the companies and learn about their work and opportunities. Besides that companies also come over and hold separate info sessions, where a student gets an opportunity to talk to the employees. These are great platforms for students to explore opportunites.

Since you get into a b school, you are expected to take initiatives, network and contribute in various activities. This adds to your profile. We have a student body called the Graduate Business Council (GBC) which comprises representatives from different sections on various parts like academics, international, atheletics. These representatives take responsibilites of their sections and Schulich as a whole on many activities.

There are lot of student clubs with various academic and non academic themes, which conduct events. Many of these events familiarize you with the different careers. A lot of students shift from one career to another and these events can help them to understand different careers, where guest speakers from different companies come over and speak and then QnA sessions happen. There are events on fun as well. There are clubs on finance, consulting, marketing, golf and list is on. Again there are a lot of case competitions as well both conducted by Schulich and also when you form teams to represent Schulich in other competitions.

Fun

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I have already told you about Olympia. Apart from this we have regular events which happen both

on and off campus. There is Halloween and it was good fun. There is culture crawl, where we get to have cuisines of different countries. Its for you to come here and experience.

Note: Schulich School of Business have been ranked no 1 in Canada and a top ranked school in the world by Economist. I would back it up with the experience I have had so far.

Reached Schulich

I have spent more than 10 days now at York and it has been quite an experience here. However before I elaborate on my experiences I want to put forth some of my past experiences which have driven me to where I am today.

I can categorize my past one and half years of effort into distinct phases. Preparing for GMAT, building my profile, applications and visa processing are the main phases on my way here and are also mentioned in the chronological sequence. Although building one's profile is a part of everyone's life, while preparing for MBA it becomes essential and an important factor to get you into a top B School. I can also say that the phases mentioned are listed in ascending difficulty levels, with GMAT preparation being the least difficult one (cannot say it was easy :)) to Visa processing being the toughest one. Visa processing became tough for me because I had not planned well on financing my MBA. If one takes care of it beforehand it can be a piece of cake.

Coming back to York, it has a pretty big campus and it is a part of Toronto itself. To explain you a bit more there are no clear boundaries to isolate it from the city. However, one immediately
feels inside campus as he/she is in it. I had booked a bachelor's apartment inside the campus. Pretty comfortable. There are apartments which can be shared and more economical. Once you are inside York you can explore more options to live in it as per your budget. Schulich School of Business takes a small part of the campus but has got impressive infrastructure and facilities. More or less the entire York Campus has got wireless connectivity, including Schulich of course.

I have joined Schulich to pursue a two year full time MBA course. I am yet to finalize on my specialization but plan to do it in finance. My classes are going to start next week. Having said that I have got a first hand feel of class room experience while I attended some MBA prep classes. These classes were fantastic in a way to gear up an incoming student to the actual MBA classes. Whether the student perceives it or not, he/she gains a good headstart in academic and classroom experience. Moreover, it was interesting to see a great blend of diverse mix of students in the class in terms of industry background and geography. Sometimes the discussions and ideas can overwhelm you. Talking about the Profs, each one of them has his unique style but effective in their own subjects. They often lead you to ideas which you may not have thought about on conventional topics. Of course, there are avenues for students to party which I have not availed of yet but plan to soon. Apart from that Schulich environ encourages you to network and there are lot of clubs to facilitate it.

The current week is the Launch week for the new incoming MBA students. There are programs lined up for this week. Next week the actual classes are starting. Hope to keep you posted more about Schulich.