Half a day Trip to Chunchi Falls & Sangama

If you are looking for a day off from your regular schedule and looking to enjoy nature, I would suggest Chunchi Falls & Sangama.

Though it is not a place for girls, if you are a group of girls and guys and guys outnumbering girls, it is worth a visit!

We left at 8.15AM on Independence Day. Chunchi falls is approximately 90kms from Bangalore-15kms from Kanakapura. 

It is a lush green State Highway unlike our NH roads. A few small villages which reminds you of your own native places on either sides of the road makes you go nostalgic (if you had enjoyed being in your village).

We reached Chunchi at around 9.50AM. It is basically a rocky place and the river cuts through these rocks.

If you love trekking on rock beds, this is the place for you!

One thing which I did not like was that this place seemed like it was often visited by guys who love to booze in isolated/undisturbed areas. You need to walk with a little extra care to ensure that you do not stamp on broken glass pieces/bottles. 

In between the rocks and on your way down to the falls, you will find a lot of small streams crawling over your feet! It feels like heaven!

It is strongly recommended not to take bath in the falls. But this time since it wasn't raining and the water was considerably less, we decided to have shower in the falls. The falls bed is a little slippery, so be careful. But once you get on to it, you will have the time of your life! Since we reached there a little early, we were the only ones in the falls. But when we were on the way back, there were close to 30 people around.

Chunchi does not have any outlets to sell snacks or even water for that matter. So, please carry what you will need. From Chunchi, we started at 12 PM and went to Sangama.

One annoying incident on the way was that the kids in the villages started stopping the cars and collecting toll on account of Lord Ganesha. This happened 4 times to us-may be this was because we were there on Independence day.

Next we went to Sangama. It is just a river and you can take a "parisal" trip to reach the other bank of the river. There are even buses on the other side of the river which takes you to Mekadattu (this place is similar to Chunchi). Sangama had a good amount of families visiting it and guys on their booze trip. 

The water level when we went was only upto the knees-a good place for people to play in waters. Beyond one point the force of water is a little high, so it is recommended to restrict yourself.

There is a KSTDC restaurant called Mayura which serves you decent food. We had our lunch there and started back to campus.We were back at campus by 3 PM. It was indeed an awesome day.

Are FMCG Companies sucking the blood of Middle-class population in India?

Are FMCG Companies sucking the blood of Middle-class population in India?

I was talking to Prof. Avinash Mulky at IIMB and came to know of this "blood-sucking" by FMCG companies. I then started investigating it myself for almost half a day and found it to be 100% true.

Here is what it actually is!

For ages and ages, all products have been coming in different quantities. "Bigger the quantity per pack lesser is the price." This is done 100% of the time to promote the product and ensure consumption increases. 

For example:if 100g of Product X's price is Rs.10 then the price of 200g of the same Product X's price is expected to be <=Rs.20.

This does not hold good in a very few cases-And the classic example all these years has been Shampoo bottles and Shampoo Sachets. The primary reason for this has been to promote the product in the rural areas and ensure even rural masses get to use shampoos.

I just went on to investigate if it was just a perception or true in all context and found it shocking. 

Brooke Bond Red Label:

100 gms pack : Rs. 25

250 gms pack : Rs. 87

These pictures were clicked at Hypercity, Bangalore. Another noteworthy fact here is that 250gms pack is at the reachable space on the shelves and one needs to invest time in searching for a 100gms pack of the same.

The same was the case with most of the "Premium Tea" brands which includes Tata Tea premium, Tata Tetley and Brooke Bond Red Label Natural care. This wasnt the case in coffee powder brands-not to mention coffee itself is considered to be a premium product when it comes to Tea.

This did not stop with Tea. 

MTR Snacks:

50 gms pack : Rs.10

80 gms pack : Rs. 20

Colgate Max Fresh:

40gms : Rs. 15

80 gms : Rs. 40

The same was the case with Colgate Active salt, Colgate sensitive and all these products are considered to be the "Premium" products in Colgate's tooth paste category.

Arguing the same way as in case of Shampoos and assuming that this price differentiation was done inorder to make the product available to the rural masses. The argument does not hold good logically. This was not the case in Colgate dental cream and close up, products which are actually available in most of the rural mom and pop stores.

When Prof inquired this with the shop-keeper, his obvious answer was that "Consumers generally ask for a bigger pack assuming that it costs them low". Even if there is a price comparison being made, it is usually not being made between different pack sizes of the same size, it is made only between different brands.

A few questions which remain unanswered here are:

1. Why are companies like HUL, Tata and Colgate-Palmolive into this?

2. Do they have an ethical rationale behind this?

3. Are consumer's perceptions being taken for a task?

4. Are these FMCG giants milking rather "blood sucking" Indian Middle-class?

Right now investigating on the lines of Excise duty. Will write to you once its done.

Hope to get an answer sooon!

The Reality behind cracking CAT!

The fever starts every September, when applications are invited for admissions to the great IIMs-the Institute for which every child is conceived and groomed from the day one; the institute which will make not only ours but even our parent’s dream come true, phrases goes unending to describe the passion which more than 2 lakh buddies have!

The entrance ticket to the hall of fame is CAT. And there are millions of “Coaching Institutes” which keep booking profits in millions every year!:P  But what is it all about?? For those who are giving it for the first time, without any “royal” preparation and training from these coaching classes-it is just an exam for which you will need to F5 your brain. For those who are into these “royal” preparation modes, I don’t need to talk about it, you are already in your way.

The hype which the society gives to CAT is enormous. Seeing which I once decided not to give it, as it sounded beyond my scope or above my heads! But trust me, it is not! Cracking CAT is not a rocket science which only Dr.Mylsamy Annadurai or Dr.Abdul Kalam can do. It is not that difficult, rather are you expected to be so intelligent to do so.

After having a work experience of about 2 years, with the advice of a few of my trusted friends and my parents, I decided to give CAT for the first time, if I failed that time, I made up my mind to take it as a trial run as I knew I had invested only Rs.1400/- which was not a big deal in fact. The reality was that close to 40% of my friends have been giving CAT year after year with constant prep doses from these coaching institutes. I could not digest the reality when I thought I am going to compete with 2 lakh of them who have been nurtured by these coaching classes perfectly.

Coaching Institutes churn out a lot of money making methods. Most of which do benefit the students with real passion. I agree that the concepts they teach are in fact refreshing, but only if we put in consistent efforts after that. The reality behind these MockCATs and AIMCAT series:

·         First of all, these series are really tough and are much more difficult than the real CAT. Unfortunately, students set their minds to this difficulty level and train themselves, at the end of the day; CAT is so simple-that they are not able to catch up this level of simplicity.

·         Second comes the analysis which these institutes provide after every test: “Most of the time, they deem the students to be WEAK in certain area say DI”. As a result, these students concentrate more on that area in which they are WEAK. When these students go in for the exam, they are already under the crutch that they are WEAK in one area-Trust me! This makes them WEAKER at times.

I have seen so many friends of mine, who concentrate on their WEAK areas and finally forget what their strength was. They end up scoring low in their STRONG areas. Perceptions vary-there are people who take these feedbacks positively and work, but remember they work equally on their strengths also. Once you get feedbacks on these so called WEAK areas, please understand that you are not weak; you only need to put in some more efforts into it. Let the mentality not rotten your thoughts and eat up your harvest!

For a good harvest, I would sincerely advice you all to take it in a positive note. Start working on all areas. Nobody Is really strong in anything, rather nobody is really weak in anything. Its all the 3 hours which needs to be hassle free and your smartness there will for sure be appreciated.

And going back to my CAT results, today I have the entry ticket into IIMB in hand. Loads of excitements waiting!

All the very best buddies! Let your Dream come true!

The Art of Resume Writing!

The Art of Resume writing! There are a loads of websites which give you sample formats and Millions of people who proof read your resumes-with a charge or free of cost. Here comes the question-"Is Resume Writing,really an Art??-that only a few are capable of doing??"

My answer to that question will be "NO". To all my dear friends, at the end of the day,it is after all
1. What you have done all these years.
2. What you really want to do for the rest of your life.

Having been on both sides of the Interview panel, I know how important a Resume is. Two important things what is being looked for in a resume are:
1. Simplicity and Originality
2. Truth.

Please keep in mind the following when you write your resume.

• Do not add unnecessary design templates to your resumes. Everybody knows that MS Word is capable of doing all these perfectly.
• Do not copy paste "Career goals/Objectives,etc". It is supposed to be YOUR career goal. I agree that Ctrl C+Ctrl V is the easiest way to go ahead. But unfortunately it is very easy to figure it out coz at the max,all these sites which provide 'free sample formats' have the same career goals! And you will find it funny only when you sit on the other side of the panel and read it.
• Beware!Make a mention of your strength and weakness only if you are capable of handling these questions at the end of the day!
• Personal Details! OMG! who on earth is going to be bothered about it?? All what matters is your technical skill set. You can make a mention of it. But In 90% of the resumes/CV, this is always found at the beginning, even before the academic qualification details.
• Please do mention your Hobbies and Interests. Do not put "Reading books or listening to music" only coz ur friend had it in his resume. Believe me,it is easy to talk a lot about your hobbies and interests,if you really have a passion for it.

The Mystery behind Projects:

It is sad that most of the Engineering graduates today, tend to sit idle and enjoy the last few "most enjoyable college days", instead of going in and banging their heads against making their own and original project.

My recommendation would be-"Please have an industrial interaction/Real-time project at an Industry-be it small or big, for a month or two" believe me this really helps!

The reality today is that People on the otherside of the table look out for "the chap with maximum industrial interaction."-One who can HANDLE things with care!

Make it point that you bring out every single industrial interaction you had in this head! Remember even sharpening your pencil at an industry is a project!-It is all the lucrative title that you give proves that you a versatile genius! “Exposure of graphite surrounded by a thick wooden Planck using a metal blade made of xyz ” Under the guidance of Mr.ABC, manager, pqr ltd.

Co-curricular and Extra-curricular:

For all buddies who do not understand the difference:  anything which goes hand in hand with your curriculum in your class is called "Co-curricular" and all other stuffs fall into "Extra-curricular" category. A few examples for Co would be: Essay writings, Quizzes, all olympiads(technical), your papers and projects rewarded by other institutes and those published. Extra-curricular would include: all sports activites and hobbies which are rewarded.

Hobbies and Interests:

Everybody is Unique and every single individual has his/her own hobbies and interests. When you make a point out of it, it is the best way to kill time when you sit for the interview.

Cooking might be your hobby. But My suggestion would be "Make it specific"- say if your interested in trying out new recipies, just put it this way-"Exploring cooking with corn". or say if you are specialist in making tea or coffee, put it up buddy-"Expert in making ginger tea". It is worth talking about-only coz you are different from others in this aspect!

Above all! Make sure your resume is crisp and not boring! This does not mean that you have to restrict yourself to only 2/3 pages. Decide what you have to put up and what not. Self-Introspection is what helps at the end of the day to build a perfect resume.

My final suggestion will be:"Please dont not type "free sample resume formats" on Google". Make your own! "Be yourself!"