Oeejay-san - The Harbinger of Hope

Meet Oeejay-san (O-E-J san) - our Japanese silent partner (he has no mouth - yet!). Hugo got it for us when he came for Mohit's wedding. Oeejay-san is a Daruma (dharma) doll. These dolls are traditional Japanese good luck charms. The dolls themselves have no hands or feet and are really quite cute. They just have white spheres instead of eyes. You are supposed to make one black eye when you make a wish and the other one when the wish is fulfilled.



Nikhil and I made a wish for our company and now our Oeejay-san (One-Eyed-Jack san) sits on Nikhil's grandmother's ledge reminding us about the wish.





In fact, you might say that Oeejay-san is the entire charter and scalability plan for 'Sapnay' rolled into one. The poor guy is not going to have a life or a mouth until we get our wishes! Hamaaree maange pooree karo - or else! :)





Poor Oeejay-san has to earn his body parts - our first customer gets him his smile - the first paying customer his dimples and the first time the company breaks even - Oeejay-san gets his second eye.

While he waits for his body parts, we have left him on the ledge, burdened by our wishes .... he really is quite cute and quite alone ...




Nikhil is the only one who dusts him once in a while. Me - I am just waiting to draw the damn body parts! lol!














Here's to Hugo - Oeejay-san and the Hope that it brings us!

Of INSEAD Dings and shared rejection

For those who don't know - one of the most cherished traditions at INSEAD is the 'Ding' Bell. It's a Bell in the bar at Fontainebleau which is rung by a student after getting rejected (dinged) for a job. Fellow students are supposed to buy a drink for the poor soul to cheer him/her up and share in the misery. (Special mention and a big shout-out to Gautam Narasimhan for telling the best post-ding interview stories over his beer).

Given that my class graduated in December 2008 - the bell was ringing off the hook - every day of the last two periods. For me - especially - it was cathartic to ring the bell - admit defeat - get a free drink - laugh at myself and move on to another fight. What joy in knowing that the market was so democratic in its rejection of my class!

The Dings back home are less enjoyable. They are emails (ugh!) or phone calls (double ugh!!!!)..... rejections followed by espousals about how GOOD I am - how GREAT INSEAD is and how they CANNOT believe that I will not have an offer soon. (seriously!)

I really WISH to have a drink - in fact - I really WISH for a FREE drink. However, life in Mumbai is different .... I don't drink - when I do, I do so consciously or secretly as I am living with family. Having a good reputation is such a bitch!

So - this is me raising a long-distance glass of pure, adulterated mineral water in honour of the Dings and the rejection we have shared at the INSEAD Bar my friends.

Dashamlove

'Dashamlove' - literally means the decimal point - the distance between 0 and 1.

It signifies the importance of everything, irrespective of how miniscule it is and provides a means to represent it. It is also representative of the digital world - binary and yet with a universe separating the distance between 0 and 1.

This word was suggested by my मामू and it struck a chord. All alone in this city, pursuing my dreams - I often find myself pondering about important and insignificant things with equal enthusiasm. Solitude allows me the space to follow whims that I would never be able to get past my family and friends.

This blog records the trials, whims, dreams, self-motivational speeches ... eccentricities ... of a 'phoren-returned' entreprenuer in Mumbai.