The Presentation



I have largely refrained from writing my MBA experiences in this blog; not because they are not worth it but for the fact that everyone has a little schadenfreude inside him and I didn’t want to feed yours.

Without digressing further as has been the case in all the long answers I have written, spoken or listened to since getting here, I’d rather go straight to the topic. ‘The presentation’ was meant to be ‘the’ presentation for one of the most dreadful courses of my life. What’s more, it contained 10% of the most vital marks ever, which all five of us so desperately needed to pass the course. Yes, it was a group presentation for a finance course.

The topic and all the related questions expected to be answered were clear beforehand; at least a month before the actual presentation. When did we start working on the final presentation? Yes, you guessed it right; the night before.

Characters:

IITian: A diminutive IITian; (perhaps) the most talented of the lot, famous for saying wrong things at wrong times to wrong people

CISCO: A slender looking, former CISCO employee known for his astrological skills; Also known as Sanskari, the guy could guess whole papers before exams and even the chance of presenting beforehand

Smiling Buddha: The smile factory who could unconditionally smile through heights and plights alike, his and of others; the most active of the lot

Super-smart Sardar: One of the most skillful sardars that XL ever had
And my usual pessimistic self

Last night discussion:

Time: 9.30 PM

“Abe don’t worry guys! It’s 3 out of 9; remember probability? It won’t be our chance; I can guarantee you”, started Cisco.

“Yar OB bhi padhna hai! Are you guys done with it?”, stepped in Sardar. The Buddha began to smile looking at the shambles our presentation was in; trying to control it, he started (not before garbling a couple of words in his semi-laughter), “Let’s divide the parts and mail it to Sardar (who incidentally had great presentation skills); Leave the rest to God!”

I had to enter the discussion with some expert advice and so I did,” Guys, how are we ever gonna pass this subject”.

“Well that was quite reassuring”, said Sardar angrily, showing his maverick bird score to one and all. Cisco joined in with his score and by seconding his argument that I actually was quite a ‘rotlu’. What ensued was an intense battle of maverick bird scores, followed by some random videos, a couple of ads and a handful of cuss words to each other. The clock had struck 12 by then and it was time to go/ study/ prepare the presentation/ sleep.

Time: 2.00 AM

Sardar: “Send your parts buggers! I’m not gonna sit all night to prepare this presentation while you all keep mugging OB.”

In a couple of minutes he got 4 files, all named... Yes, you guessed it right again,
“My part”

Time: 2.25 PM (5 minutes before class)
“Abe recommendations to daali nai!!”

“Haan, mera WACC mein 1 assumption wrong tha, the real value is like 20 times this one!”

Sardar: “Aur kuch? What else? Done... Yes, should I change the theme? OK, Done!”

Time: 2.30 – 3.30 PM

Inside all our heads,“God, I went to a temple last summer. Please God! I have always been a devotee; went to Balaji when I was 4 and Vaishno Devi a year later. Just this one time and I promise you I’ll pay you visit every Sunday...Just this last time...”

Inside IITian’s head,” The blue one looks hot!”

Time: 3.30 PM

Carried away in his thoughts the IITian had taken too easy a seat and was regularly chatting with the Sardar when God’s wrath struck (for not praying for the right things of course)!

“Yes, you... You’re next”

Swiftly swaying his head to the other side, the IITian looked behind. There was no one; this part of our lives, this little part is what we now call ‘disaster’.

Presentation, we did deliver; of our bare selves, our ignorance and of our hanging souls... A few coming up this week.

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