25 things

Facebook has this interesting marketing technique, of trying to help you broadcast yourself around, hopefully in a bid to garner positive attention for yourself, and free publicity for itself. Seeing the shift from Orkut to Facebook as a more frequented social networking medium, I am inclined to agree. Anyway, this post is hardly about any of the above. It is about one such broadcasting note.
This one is called 25 things. Basically you put down 25 (hopefully interesting) things about yourself, and tag people so that they do the same and so on. I was never too much into publicising myself on the internet, but the idea caught my attention. I thought I might attempt similar trash, but in a more private space, here.

So here goes –
1) My first love was mathematics. By the time I had reached class 10th, I could almost see the beauty in the theorems and identities. And then class 11th and 12th happened, JEE preparation and IIT followed, and everything became history, including my love.
2) Whenever it has come to success at critical juncture, I have been incredibly lucky in life. Incredibly. I can’t think of a single important instance where my luck has deserted me.
3) I am one of the worst network-ers around. To put it simply, I completely suck at keeping in touch with people. In my defence, it is not because I don’t want to, I am just lazy.
4) I read as much as possible. In the past it was almost exclusively fiction, but of late I have started reading a lot of non-fiction as well. Although, I must admit, it is mostly restricted to history.
5) While I was never a fan of history as a subject in school, I have now started reading and enjoying it a lot more. I just feel that to contribute in one’s capacity, it is very important to know and appreciate where we come from.
6) I was pretty smart as a kid – always wanting to know more, learn more. I guess higher education killed a sense of curiosity by confining me more and more to my subject matter.
7) I had a perennial problem of falling rather seriously sick in the first month of the school opening – April. Credit it to that, but I have never ever boasted of a 100% attendance record in my life, wherever I was.
8) Since childhood, I have always lived in a world of my own. Hopefully I have become more pragmatic with time, but that statement probably explains why I absolutely adore sci-fi/fantasy fiction/movies. I can’t think of one fantasy series that I read and did not like.
9) I used to have an almost obsessive desire to be as informed as possible. This included checking news updates, like, 20 times a day. Over time, some sense of sanity has prevailed.
10) Although I have a reputation of being the chatterbox in my friends’ circle, in reality, I am still pretty shy. I will typically not speak first, unless spoken to.

11) No matter how shitty I felt while I was there, I feel a special attachment to Bhadrachalam, which prompted me to return there twice. Maybe it was to do with the fact that it was my first job, my own first address, and my first friends outside academic circles.
12) In hindsight, the letter ‘B’ seems to have a special significance in my life. I did most of my early schooling in Bhagalpur (in Bihar). I moved to Bhadrachalam for my first job, then to Bollaram, and then came to IIM Bangalore, where I was in section B. in the meantime, my parents shifted to Barh. I won’t be surprised if Bharooch calls during my stint at AT Kearney.
13) I realize that I tend to be pretty loyal to my employers – even if I didn’t stay long enough, I typically do not like hearing negative things against them. This goes true for both ITC and Goldman Sachs, where I had the best set of colleagues. Hopefully this series too will continue.
14) I used to have a disdainful MCP-ish outlook towards the female species right since school. I only developed a real respect for them after my summer internship in Munich, during undergraduate.
15) I absolutely love to travel. It is one thing that I would like to do as much as possible, apart from reading. Just like the latter, I think seeing and interacting with people from different geographies and cultures develops a sense of respect for all humans. In the least, it helps us shed stereotypes.
16) There are four places I would absolutely like to visit before I die – South America, Egypt, New Zealand and Jerusalem.
17) I have forgotten my toothbrush and shaving kit in the past, but there are two things that I never forget while going on a trip – a book and a music player.
18) I don’t mind being alone – even travelling for long distances, or going to movies, or anything, for that matter of fact. I think I prefer that to having a boisterous crowd around me.
19) There are two principles that I adhere to very firmly – one, I absolutely hate hypocrisy and pretensions, and two, I firmly believe that everyone has a right to his or her opinion. Arguing the correctness of it comes after.
20) Given a choice, I would never ever interfere in anyone’s personal life. The last time I did so, it backfired so bad, it sort of brought about a permanent fear in me.
21) I have never kept a grudge against anyone in life. Ever. I may not forget, but I will always forgive.
22) Perhaps the most difficult thing I have found in life is letting go – be it of people, of places, of events. It might sound contrary to what I said earlier in 3), but its not.
23) The second most difficult thing I have found in life is getting up early in the morning. My mom has been chiding me for close to two decades for that.
24) I strongly believe in toning down one’s expectations from the world. That way, you end up with pleasant surprises but no disappointments.
25) I would like to be more humble and less sarcastic in life – but often suppressing sarcastic rejoinders becomes a herculean task. I guess that doesn’t help.