LUMS Business School Alumni Association

A long absence but a return with some good news.

When LUMS started churning out MBAs (back in 1988), there was no formal alumni association. An initiative began and fizzled out in a couple of years due to a number of reasons best left undiscussed.

However now the Dean of our business school, Dr.Shaukat Brah initiated the formation of an official alumni association under the patronage of LUMS. It is a spectacular initiative and the first baby steps have been taken with the election of the first committee members from LUMS alumni.

In a voting process that must have been crazy to coordinate (hats off to the election team!), every alumni member had the right to vote from a panel of nominees.

The results were announced today and yours truly is now an elected representative on Alumni Association Board of Directors!

A big thank you to everyone who voted for their support! Will keep you guys updated on what happens....

Christopher Lee talks about his role in Jinnah

Christopher Lee on his favorite role for the movie - Jinnah

The link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE_1ofnBFos&feature=player_embedded

Doggy!

Here's a photograph of my doggy (yes thats what we've named her!), who is about 4 months old now. She doesn't look it here but she is the most adorable little thing!

Email Updates & More

Some informal statistics on the placements for the graduating MBA class are that about 85% to 90% of the people in my batch (2009) have gotten jobs. The situation looked rather dismal a month back but it looks like the LUMS MBA brand has withstood the recession test rather well.

The average salary according to informal estimates is about 75,000 which is considerably higher than previous years' packages.

However I wonder how many of us are underemployed though. A figure, I think might be high considering the fact that three organizations have hired appoximately 30% of the batch.

I also wonder how IBA's MBA batch is doing.

Btw a new addition is an option to subscribe to recive notifications for posts. In the top left corner of this blog.

Ending with a link to an interesting article that I saw on the RAND corporation's website. The RAND corporation being a very well respected global think tank.

I'm Back!

With due apologies for the long delay, here's a post after the longest break. So what's happened since I last posted?

- The final few months of my MBA, which were bitter-sweet, chaotic, very draining physically and mentally.
- Moved into my new house. Yay!
- Got a little freaked out when a friend told me about how this blog was a breach of my privacy and almost convinced me to shut it down! But I persevered! :D
- Got a great job at a management consultancy, something that I was actively looking for and was very very lucky to find. With some very experienced and inspiring people all around, its a place that fits in very well with my long term goals in life (more on that sometime later)
- Realized that people actually read this blog and complained to me about my sloth. :P

So with absolutely no promises about being more regular, here's me off to grab a Frooze (my new addiction), leaving you with a song that I've been hooked since the last few days.

Breaking Point

Sharing three (unrelated) videos today, the first features Karachi City's Nazim, the second is a video by Google Earth showing a time lapse of how Karachi's Map has been populated by Google users like you and me and lastly there's an interview of Fatima Bhutto. Enjoy

Karachi City Nazim loosing his cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyKAJxfo2c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6d-MSbyqcg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCzhFys6lBw

Critical Mass

For of you who haven't heard Critical Mass is an initiative by a bunch of dedicated Lahorites who get together every Sunday and cycle around Lahore. Those who participate aim at rediscovering the much neglected sport of cycling, enjoying the weather and just generally having a good time on Sunday mornings.
Inspired by them I've started cycling to LUMS and it found that it takes only about 15-20 minutes each way. Haven't been robbed of my cell phone yet (my Lahori friends insist that its the paranoid Karachite in me who worries about things like this) and its interesting being on the road. Its a great workout, much more fulfilling than speeding around in a metal mubble spewing out and this frees up one car for use by the family.

So until the weather gets unbearably hot, I get robbed, bored or the owner of the borrowed bike wants his property back... Two wheels good, four wheels bad

The Daily Show on Barack Obama

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inauguration

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Senator Mushahid Hussain talks about Pakistan foreign policy in LUMS

I don't necessarily agree with everything he says but wanted to share this talk by Mushahid Hussain on a number of foreign policy issues. This talk was given to the Law and Politics society at LUMS this week.

Solidarity for Gaza: Protest Against Israeli Attacks, Tuesday at LUMS

The continued Israel attacks on Gaza violates one of the most fundamental principle of International law i.e. inadmissibility of harming civillian populations in armed conflicts.

Not only are Gazans being subject to collective punishment by Israeli use of indiscriminate force but also that 80 percent of it's 1.5 population face a dire shortage of electricity, fuel and food supplies which have been cut off by the Israeli Army.A humanitarian crisis looms over Gaza as its population has been virtually imprisoned and isolated from the rest of the world

The rest of the world (including us) continue to watch in silence as Gaza struggles for survival.

How much longer until we step up and say enough is enough?

Express your solidarity with Gazans and demand an end to Israeli hostilities tommorow outside PDC, at 1.30pm

regards,
Amnesty International LUMS Chapter

P.S. People are encourage to bring in their placards, posters and fliers tommorow

Arundhati Roy on the Mumbai Attacks

Amid the nonsense being spewn out by the Indian media and the incessant calls for "action against terrorists", here is Arundhati Roy with a supreme piece of journalism

Why the Mumbai Attacks are not India's 9/11
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/12/mumbai-arundhati-roy

So with all the Indian propaganda... the endless rhetoric and Anti-Pakistan nonsense being thrown at us...

here's me feeling proud to be a Pakistani.....

and to everyone who hates my country...

screw you and the horse you rode in on....

Karachi Burns Again

KARACHI: Eight people were killed and 77 were injured, including 11 women, in incidents of violence in different parts of Karachi on Saturday as ethnic tension continued to tighten its grip on the city of 16 million.

http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/sindh/ethnic-tensions-toughen-the-grip-on-karachi--qs

Where have all the flowers gone?

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

Warn A Brother

The Green Kaleidoscope

The Green Kaleidoscope is an e-zine published monthly, that seems like a breath of fresh air compared to the other more conventional sources of information that we have...

I've only skimmed through the articles,so will refrain from passing a judgement, but check the e-zine out yourself at http://www.thegreenkaleidoscope.com/index.html

Things to do when you're bored in Lahore

[look forward to this list being updated ]
1. Eat , eat some more and have coffee and then eat some more. (Food street, restaurants, cafes... the list is endless)
2. Paintball (comes on your right on the way to the airport, near bhatta chowk)
3. Ravi Siphon. Haven't been here but was told it's the closest thing Lahori's have to a beach. (the Karachite inside snickers :P)
4. DHA Cinema , Sozo World
5. The gate closing at Wagah Border
6. Poondi.. (credits for the suggestion go to Sajjad :p)
7. Mini-golf
8. Long drives
9. Flying clubs

Thanks to Sajjad & Zaheer Iqbal for the contributions to this list.

I know I get about 150 odd visitors a month... so was just wondering who reads this blog?

How about leaving your name (and any feedback) in the comments section?

Spelling Mistakes

5 marks for spotting all three mistakes...

and in case you are thinking that this is hoax... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yywxW2eFLg

Hypocrisy at LUMS

It's been more than a year, and while it is arguably the best educational institution in Pakistan (at least as far as management is concerned), there are still glaring reminders of the fact that we are still in Pakistan... 

what exactly am I talking about? a lot actually... uneven application of rules... missed deadlines...wastage of resources... the list is endless... had this been an anonymous blog I would have been able to vent, yet there was a decision made a year ago to publish under my true name and the fear of being taken to task even for even coining the title stops me from saying more... 

so all I can say is that I can't say exactly why....but the amount of hypocrisy is staggering... and it makes me very very angry.... :[