ISB is over the sun and the moon for cracking the Financial Times bschool rankings once again. They have in fact moved up 5 places - from # 20 last year, to # 15.
I have the highest regard for ISB but to be honest, I do not buy the # 15 ranking. Reasons are as follows:
* These are 'global MBA' rankings. But how global is ISB? The student community is 96% Indian. Only 4% hold non-Indian passports (and my guess is many of those would be of Indian origin).
The faculty is only 82% Indian, despite the many many visiting professors.
* In the area of research ISB is ranked no 75 out of 100. It does not have a 'doctoral rank' at all because it did not have a PhD program till recently.
So where does ISB score? The weighted salary (calculated in PPP) and % salary increase (before and after the MBA). Those figures stand at $148,339 and 160% respectively.
These two parameters account for 40% of the weightage when calculating the ranking.
The question however is, if you were anywhere in the world and aspiring for an international MBA would you place ISB higher than Northwestern Kellogg (#21), Duke University: Fuqua (#22) or UCLA Anderson (# 29)?
I think the absence of international students at ISB is telling. But who know what came first - the chicken or the egg? A few more years in the FT top 20 is just what ISB needs - to make that demographic shift.
The second big question everytime the FT rankings are released is: "Where are the IIMs"? Well, they do not qualify as 'MBAs' under the criteria used by FT as they also admit fresh graduates.
As far as I know IIMs do plan to approach FT to rank the 1 year PGP X program where work ex is compulsory. These programs become eligible only after 3 batches graduate as the survey requires historical salary data and alumni responses.
But PGP X is not the flagship program of the IIMs, so it will still seem unfair - at the end of it.
Reminds me of the hoo-ha in India over our films making it to the Oscars. A Bollywood film - no matter how good - is only going to be considered under the category of 'best foreign film'. It takes a movie like Slumdog Millionaire, in an Indian setting but with a Western sensibility to get 10 Oscar nominations.
But the box office reaction to Slumdog in India is mixed.
Similar is the case with the IIMs. For the average 21 year old they are THE bschools of choice. ISB will never get 250,000 applicants for its 400 odd seats.
And yet, IIMs - or at least their alumni - do itch for the 'Oscars'. But are the institutes willing to cater to the international audience? Or take an interest in marketing themselves?? The answer is "no".
So they remain kings of the local market (for the near future - aagey ka keh nahin saktey). Like the quintessential hit Hindi film!
My comment on ISB in FT rankings last year
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Dope from foreign bschools
If you're a current student or recent grad of a bschool anywhere in the world apart from India, please drop me a line at rashmi_b at yahoo.com.
I am looking to conduct some email interviews with you. Or persuade you to do a small write up. Details, when I hear from you :)
A brief update on the transcription posting - I am quite astounded by the response. 22 people have written in so far. I'll be in touch with you guys in a bit. Currently I have only a couple of interviews done, bust scheduling the rest!
I am looking to conduct some email interviews with you. Or persuade you to do a small write up. Details, when I hear from you :)
A brief update on the transcription posting - I am quite astounded by the response. 22 people have written in so far. I'll be in touch with you guys in a bit. Currently I have only a couple of interviews done, bust scheduling the rest!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
'The Changeling ' - 3.5 stars
I saw a 'serious English film' in a theatre after a long time. The reviews of Chandni Chowk to China are just too abominable. Kind of confirms my suspicion that Kal ho na ho was ghost-directed by Karan Johar. There's no evidence to the contrary from Nikhil Advani since!
So, Changeling it was. And it is a pretty hard-hitting film. The story is simple: Christine Collins is a single mother who comes back from work one evening to find her son Walter missing. Five months later the LAPD finds a boy who matches Walter's description and claims to be Walter.
At the railway station where they are 'reunited' Christine exclaims,"That's not my son!" But she is manipulated into agreeing to take the child home because she is not 'thinking clearly'.
What follows is a very Indian-sounding tale. Corrupt police force, lone woman against system (ok, not totally, there is a crusading activist pastor on her side).
Christine is thrown into the psychopathic ward of LA General Hospital. The doctor says she can walk free if she admits that the boy returned to her is Walter. Thanks, but no thanks, says our heroine.
Now the shocking part in all this is it is a TRUE STORY. Not even "based on" a true story but an actual one. Of course it happened in 1928. . So guess what, Los Angeles - city of dreams - was once as lawless as good old UP or Bihar.
Although even back then the streets were cleaner.
What I liked about the film:
Using sets or digital photography, the film manages to convey a beautiful period feel. The trams on the road, the clothes worn by the boys to school in the era before jeans, and the Pacific telephone company where operators run manual switchboards and the supervisors swish by on roller skates. I just loved all of that.
There is very little hysteria or melodrama - it is all very sad but sombre and understated. Without revealing any more of the plot let me just say that there is no 'happy ending' although justice is eventually served - in more ways than one.
What I did not like:
The film was long - way too long. Aadha ghanta easily snip ho sakta tha.
Secondly at some point I felt it was trying too hard. It practically screams, "Nominate me for an Oscar!"
Lastly, I didn't care much for Angelina Jolie in this role. Director Clint Eastwood apparently chose her as soon as he discovered she was interested because her 'face fit the period setting'. Maybe she did fit the bill, and maybe she did put in a good performance.
But I can't really say. In many scenes the only thing that held my attention were those huge pouty lips - smeared with a newlywed-in-Gurdaspur shade of bright red lipstick.
Overall I would give the film 3.5 stars but of course it is not something to watch for 'timepass'.
So, Changeling it was. And it is a pretty hard-hitting film. The story is simple: Christine Collins is a single mother who comes back from work one evening to find her son Walter missing. Five months later the LAPD finds a boy who matches Walter's description and claims to be Walter.
At the railway station where they are 'reunited' Christine exclaims,"That's not my son!" But she is manipulated into agreeing to take the child home because she is not 'thinking clearly'.
What follows is a very Indian-sounding tale. Corrupt police force, lone woman against system (ok, not totally, there is a crusading activist pastor on her side).
Christine is thrown into the psychopathic ward of LA General Hospital. The doctor says she can walk free if she admits that the boy returned to her is Walter. Thanks, but no thanks, says our heroine.
Now the shocking part in all this is it is a TRUE STORY. Not even "based on" a true story but an actual one. Of course it happened in 1928. . So guess what, Los Angeles - city of dreams - was once as lawless as good old UP or Bihar.
Although even back then the streets were cleaner.
What I liked about the film:
Using sets or digital photography, the film manages to convey a beautiful period feel. The trams on the road, the clothes worn by the boys to school in the era before jeans, and the Pacific telephone company where operators run manual switchboards and the supervisors swish by on roller skates. I just loved all of that.
There is very little hysteria or melodrama - it is all very sad but sombre and understated. Without revealing any more of the plot let me just say that there is no 'happy ending' although justice is eventually served - in more ways than one.
What I did not like:
The film was long - way too long. Aadha ghanta easily snip ho sakta tha.
Secondly at some point I felt it was trying too hard. It practically screams, "Nominate me for an Oscar!"
Lastly, I didn't care much for Angelina Jolie in this role. Director Clint Eastwood apparently chose her as soon as he discovered she was interested because her 'face fit the period setting'. Maybe she did fit the bill, and maybe she did put in a good performance.
But I can't really say. In many scenes the only thing that held my attention were those huge pouty lips - smeared with a newlywed-in-Gurdaspur shade of bright red lipstick.
Overall I would give the film 3.5 stars but of course it is not something to watch for 'timepass'.
Stuck to Satyam?
You can check in but you can never leave... That was Hotel California but the situation is somewhat similar at Satyam right now.
Firstly, there are few openings elsewhere. Secondly, as far as freshers go, the company has taken a Rs 2 lakh bond from each trainee. Apparently it works like this: you keep a fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakhs with State Bank. If you leave before completing two years you forfeit that FD to Satyam.
Asking employees for a bond is an IT industry practice. However Satyam is the only one which asks for so much money upfront and for a period of 2 years. TCS and Wipro too have a bond but for Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively.
Says one recent engineering graduate working with a consulting firm: "Other IT majors have SLAs .. so if they train you in some niche skill they have SLA for large amount".
He explains, an SLA is a Service Level Agreement. Although it would be more appropriate to refer to it as a bond. A legal document on 'court paper' signed by your company and you. "So when settlements happen while leaving.. they get this amount if you leave job early."
How exactly can one 'enforce' this? Well, the company can refuse to give you the experience letter or NOC required to join the next place unless you pay up.
This guy, let's call him Engineer X, had an SLA of Rs 1 lakh for 1 year. Now that period is over and he can move on freely (if he wishes to). Until he gets trained in some other skill and is under SLA again for some time.
I don't know if SLA bonds work efficiently but certainly keeping cold hard cash does! The fact that I have to literally PAY 2 lakhs (or at least lock it in for 2 years) raises several issues in my mind:
* I need money to get a job. They promise to give it back to me but it still sounds very un-capitalist.
* Would every fresh engineer have this money to spare. If not, does the bank provide a loan for this purpose?
A job at Satyam for a fresher would pay between Rs 2.4 lakhs-3.5 p.a. Engineer X adds,"Satyam many a times offered jobs to top 10 students in many colleges..!!" Obviously not the IITs or other big brand name colleges but still.
So where is this money? If we estimate around 10,000 freshers joined the company in the last two years (and that is a conservative estimate) the amount collected as bond would be Rs 200 crores.
Given that Satyam managed to manipulate its bank FDs in all kinds of interesting ways one has to wonder whether this money is safe! Hopefully the new auditors will get to the bottom of this one.
As for the bond itself - kya yeh Fevicol ka hai jo kabhi tootata nahin? Under the changed circumstances it should be revoked. When things fall apart, why should freshers hold?
Firstly, there are few openings elsewhere. Secondly, as far as freshers go, the company has taken a Rs 2 lakh bond from each trainee. Apparently it works like this: you keep a fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakhs with State Bank. If you leave before completing two years you forfeit that FD to Satyam.
Asking employees for a bond is an IT industry practice. However Satyam is the only one which asks for so much money upfront and for a period of 2 years. TCS and Wipro too have a bond but for Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively.
Says one recent engineering graduate working with a consulting firm: "Other IT majors have SLAs .. so if they train you in some niche skill they have SLA for large amount".
He explains, an SLA is a Service Level Agreement. Although it would be more appropriate to refer to it as a bond. A legal document on 'court paper' signed by your company and you. "So when settlements happen while leaving.. they get this amount if you leave job early."
How exactly can one 'enforce' this? Well, the company can refuse to give you the experience letter or NOC required to join the next place unless you pay up.
This guy, let's call him Engineer X, had an SLA of Rs 1 lakh for 1 year. Now that period is over and he can move on freely (if he wishes to). Until he gets trained in some other skill and is under SLA again for some time.
I don't know if SLA bonds work efficiently but certainly keeping cold hard cash does! The fact that I have to literally PAY 2 lakhs (or at least lock it in for 2 years) raises several issues in my mind:
* I need money to get a job. They promise to give it back to me but it still sounds very un-capitalist.
* Would every fresh engineer have this money to spare. If not, does the bank provide a loan for this purpose?
A job at Satyam for a fresher would pay between Rs 2.4 lakhs-3.5 p.a. Engineer X adds,"Satyam many a times offered jobs to top 10 students in many colleges..!!" Obviously not the IITs or other big brand name colleges but still.
So where is this money? If we estimate around 10,000 freshers joined the company in the last two years (and that is a conservative estimate) the amount collected as bond would be Rs 200 crores.
Given that Satyam managed to manipulate its bank FDs in all kinds of interesting ways one has to wonder whether this money is safe! Hopefully the new auditors will get to the bottom of this one.
As for the bond itself - kya yeh Fevicol ka hai jo kabhi tootata nahin? Under the changed circumstances it should be revoked. When things fall apart, why should freshers hold?
Friday, January 16, 2009
Beyond CAT: the issue of fairness
Sorry to make a hat-trick of posts on MBA entrance but CAT is just one exam. There are others. Too many others, in fact.
Now the argument for 'more' is that students should not be crucified for poor performance on one day in one test. But the sheer number of these other exams is I think an issue.
It is common knowledge that institutes make a lot of money by conducting their own tests. But even those bschools accepting CAT or XAT scores ask you to apply separately after buying a prospectus of Rs 1000-1500. So they get the money minus the headache.
The other reason some bschools might prefer conducting their own exam is to have more leeway in admissions. But here too you can always establish your own criteria or conduct a second test (like MICA does).
Anyhow, the reason why I am bringing this up is an email from an MBA aspirant (let's call him Aspirant X) which brings up several issues related to how various tests apart from CAT are conducted. I am reproducing what he has written with my comments:
1) During the IIFT test, as i heard and witnessed myself, many students started the paper as early as 10 mins before the scheduled time. 10 mins in this paper means one whole section! When few of us complained the invigilator warned the class once but it had no effect and the students continued to write the paper.
This was mainly because the paper had no seal so there. They must be cutting costs but at whose expense? Many students complained to the institute but the matter died down soon and no action was taken.
2) Something similar happened during the SNAP test but this time I was a party to it and i also started the paper 5 mins before time as others had started 10 mins before time.
3) NMAT and XAT were conducted quite professionally and i haven't witnessed or heard any comments about such issues.
My comment: This is not the first time there have been complaints about the conduct of the IIFT test. Here is an online petition asking for reconduct of the test in 2005 because of invigilation issues. 140 students had signed the petition back then. At the time students had similar issues with NMAT as well.
But there is a second issue which is more serious than some students getting a headstart. And that is regarding the evaluation of the SNAP paper itself.
This year for the first time students were allowed to take the SNAP test paper home. Naturally, every coaching class produced a key and students calculated their likely scores. Now here's what happened to Aspirant X.
I checked my scores from all these keys and the lowest net score i was expecting was 73.5. This score would not have landed me with a call from SIBM Pune but i was hopeful of calls from other institutes including SCMHRD.
But now that the results are out, it turns out that my score has dropped to 63.25. As per the cut offs predicted by all the major coaching classes, now i stand no chance for a call even from SIIB.
Aspirant X is not an isolated case. I checked with coaching institutes and they said most of their students were in the same situation. Their scores were 10-20 marks below expectation and not just in verbal where there is room for ambiguity but sections like logic.
TIME has even put up a webpage acknowledging the issue, adding that they have 'brought this issue to the notice of the Symbiosis institutes'.
The head of one coaching institute offered a simple solution: "They should release the answer key." That is what the IIMs did when they faced a similar controversy on CAT a couple of years ago. Now they release the answer key to CAT as a matter of routine every year.
My comment: Believe it or not there was a similar issue with SNAP in the year 2005-6 which was covered by JAM magazine. At that time we reported:
Pooja Sengupta, an Anna University engineering graduate, appeared for the SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) on 18th December 2005, along with thousands of aspirants across India. But when her result arrived on 7th Jan 2006, she got a rude shock. "I scored 15 marks less than expected in the General Awareness section. Immediately, I sent off two emails to the SNAP office requesting them to re-evaluate my answer sheet."
Pooja is not alone. More than a hundred other students who took the SNAP have doubts about whether their answer sheet was evaluated correctly. Megha Moolkim (SNAP id 515948) says, "I got 3/40 in GA which is impossible." When aggrieved students called the Admissions Office they were told by Mr Shinde, Controller of Examinations, "There is no process for re evaluation.. the decision is final and binding."
Then too, students had put up an online petition. The SNAP spokesperson told JAM in a telephonic interview, "A few students have called... It is not a new thing. Students always have complaints and think they should have scored more".
An email sent by JAM to the director and deputy director of SIBM yesterday re the latest controversy has not elicited any response so far.
With the number of students taking the SNAP nearing one lakh now it is important to address the issue of fairness and rigour in evaluation. Even though it is true that if most students have scored lower than expected, cut-offs will also fall accordingly. The point is the principle of natural justice.
When we teach concepte like transparency and accountability AT bschools, we should also see these concepts applied BY bschools!
Do send in your comments and experiences on any bschool entrance related issue to rashmi_b at yahoo.com.
Now the argument for 'more' is that students should not be crucified for poor performance on one day in one test. But the sheer number of these other exams is I think an issue.
It is common knowledge that institutes make a lot of money by conducting their own tests. But even those bschools accepting CAT or XAT scores ask you to apply separately after buying a prospectus of Rs 1000-1500. So they get the money minus the headache.
The other reason some bschools might prefer conducting their own exam is to have more leeway in admissions. But here too you can always establish your own criteria or conduct a second test (like MICA does).
Anyhow, the reason why I am bringing this up is an email from an MBA aspirant (let's call him Aspirant X) which brings up several issues related to how various tests apart from CAT are conducted. I am reproducing what he has written with my comments:
1) During the IIFT test, as i heard and witnessed myself, many students started the paper as early as 10 mins before the scheduled time. 10 mins in this paper means one whole section! When few of us complained the invigilator warned the class once but it had no effect and the students continued to write the paper.
This was mainly because the paper had no seal so there. They must be cutting costs but at whose expense? Many students complained to the institute but the matter died down soon and no action was taken.
2) Something similar happened during the SNAP test but this time I was a party to it and i also started the paper 5 mins before time as others had started 10 mins before time.
3) NMAT and XAT were conducted quite professionally and i haven't witnessed or heard any comments about such issues.
My comment: This is not the first time there have been complaints about the conduct of the IIFT test. Here is an online petition asking for reconduct of the test in 2005 because of invigilation issues. 140 students had signed the petition back then. At the time students had similar issues with NMAT as well.
But there is a second issue which is more serious than some students getting a headstart. And that is regarding the evaluation of the SNAP paper itself.
This year for the first time students were allowed to take the SNAP test paper home. Naturally, every coaching class produced a key and students calculated their likely scores. Now here's what happened to Aspirant X.
I checked my scores from all these keys and the lowest net score i was expecting was 73.5. This score would not have landed me with a call from SIBM Pune but i was hopeful of calls from other institutes including SCMHRD.
But now that the results are out, it turns out that my score has dropped to 63.25. As per the cut offs predicted by all the major coaching classes, now i stand no chance for a call even from SIIB.
Aspirant X is not an isolated case. I checked with coaching institutes and they said most of their students were in the same situation. Their scores were 10-20 marks below expectation and not just in verbal where there is room for ambiguity but sections like logic.
TIME has even put up a webpage acknowledging the issue, adding that they have 'brought this issue to the notice of the Symbiosis institutes'.
The head of one coaching institute offered a simple solution: "They should release the answer key." That is what the IIMs did when they faced a similar controversy on CAT a couple of years ago. Now they release the answer key to CAT as a matter of routine every year.
My comment: Believe it or not there was a similar issue with SNAP in the year 2005-6 which was covered by JAM magazine. At that time we reported:
Pooja Sengupta, an Anna University engineering graduate, appeared for the SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) on 18th December 2005, along with thousands of aspirants across India. But when her result arrived on 7th Jan 2006, she got a rude shock. "I scored 15 marks less than expected in the General Awareness section. Immediately, I sent off two emails to the SNAP office requesting them to re-evaluate my answer sheet."
Pooja is not alone. More than a hundred other students who took the SNAP have doubts about whether their answer sheet was evaluated correctly. Megha Moolkim (SNAP id 515948) says, "I got 3/40 in GA which is impossible." When aggrieved students called the Admissions Office they were told by Mr Shinde, Controller of Examinations, "There is no process for re evaluation.. the decision is final and binding."
Then too, students had put up an online petition. The SNAP spokesperson told JAM in a telephonic interview, "A few students have called... It is not a new thing. Students always have complaints and think they should have scored more".
An email sent by JAM to the director and deputy director of SIBM yesterday re the latest controversy has not elicited any response so far.
With the number of students taking the SNAP nearing one lakh now it is important to address the issue of fairness and rigour in evaluation. Even though it is true that if most students have scored lower than expected, cut-offs will also fall accordingly. The point is the principle of natural justice.
When we teach concepte like transparency and accountability AT bschools, we should also see these concepts applied BY bschools!
Do send in your comments and experiences on any bschool entrance related issue to rashmi_b at yahoo.com.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Transcriptions, anyone?
I have started the interviews for my next book and am looking for someone who would be able to transcribe them.
If you have prior experience, great. Otherwise, no problem. The important thing is you must be a stickler for accuracy.
You could be a student with time on their hands or anyone at all, looking for freelance home-based work.
You could be based anywhere in India although co-ordinating despatches of tapes/ CDs would be faster and easier if you're in Mumbai.
Drop me a line at rashmi_b at yahoo.com if interested and we'll take it from there!
If you have prior experience, great. Otherwise, no problem. The important thing is you must be a stickler for accuracy.
You could be a student with time on their hands or anyone at all, looking for freelance home-based work.
You could be based anywhere in India although co-ordinating despatches of tapes/ CDs would be faster and easier if you're in Mumbai.
Drop me a line at rashmi_b at yahoo.com if interested and we'll take it from there!
Past perfect II: the other side of the story
My previous post brought out a great deal of angst. But here's the thing:
CAT + past performance may not be the best way to identify future business leaders. But it is the most OBJECTIVE method available.
Now we can debate the amount of weightage that should be given to various parameters (this year weightage given by IIMA to class 10 & 12 marks in the tie-breaker seem excessive to me). We can also ask for normalisation across boards.
But can we really ask for a more subjective process, a la Stanford and Wharton? In the Indian context that may not work.
One of the foundations of the IIM brand is that the intake is purely on merit. There is no room for influence, money, or any other means of 'getting a seat'. Whether you are the Prime Minister's nephew or the director's son, the IIMs are above bhai -bhatijawaad.
The moment you include more subjective criteria, there are questions. Now you may say ISB also follows a subjective process but then it is not a government institute. Rejected candidates do not go and file RTI.
In an interview to Mint's Sidin Vadukut, last year IIM A director Samir Barua stated that the fall in diversity of the batch (the 94% engineers) was a direct consequence of 'things like the RTI act'. To quote from the article:
... because of RTI and extreme pressure on the IIMs and IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) to explain admission procedures, the institute could no longer be “fuzzy” in the selection process. “Previously, we ensured some sort of diversity by picking up a mix of people from those who cleared the written test. We could introduce a level of subjectivity at the interview stage. But now, because of RTI, applicants who don’t make it demand to know why they weren’t selected when they scored better than another admitted student in the written test.”
But this seems to bother me more than it does Barua. “I think engineers are just as creative as arts or commerce graduates. What irks me is that I lose the ability to pick up someone even if they scored a little less on the test but impress in the discussions and interviews,” he adds.
Of course, I still think it is upto the institute's prerogative to figure out a means to have more diversity (eg lay out a lower cut-off for students from non-engineering streams if they feel it is important to get the right mix in the class!). I think IIM Bangalore has managed this process best amongst all IIMs.
But it is upto the students to accept that either way there will be some 'arbitrariness' in selection.
For all those who hold up the high standards of Ivy League schools, I recommend a book called The Price of Admissions: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges -- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates by Daniel Goldman.
The book mainly looks at undergraduate admissions, not bschools, but it outlines how subjective an admissions process can become!
Ideally we should have objective criteria, with some room for subjectivity. Which is what we did have, until the IIMs became more transparent.
In my time, if you didn't get in, you accepted that as your destiny and moved on. Now, people take the CAT again and again, and some will use instruments like RTI to know 'why'.
Incidentally, IIMs do use the 'international' method to select candidates for the 1 year PGP X program. But there, applicants are in hundreds, not lakhs!
Given the 246,000 test-takers in the fray for the PGP program, and how important this test has become to them, methinks we'll be fighting CAT and dog over weightages and percentiles for some years to come!
CAT + past performance may not be the best way to identify future business leaders. But it is the most OBJECTIVE method available.
Now we can debate the amount of weightage that should be given to various parameters (this year weightage given by IIMA to class 10 & 12 marks in the tie-breaker seem excessive to me). We can also ask for normalisation across boards.
But can we really ask for a more subjective process, a la Stanford and Wharton? In the Indian context that may not work.
One of the foundations of the IIM brand is that the intake is purely on merit. There is no room for influence, money, or any other means of 'getting a seat'. Whether you are the Prime Minister's nephew or the director's son, the IIMs are above bhai -bhatijawaad.
The moment you include more subjective criteria, there are questions. Now you may say ISB also follows a subjective process but then it is not a government institute. Rejected candidates do not go and file RTI.
In an interview to Mint's Sidin Vadukut, last year IIM A director Samir Barua stated that the fall in diversity of the batch (the 94% engineers) was a direct consequence of 'things like the RTI act'. To quote from the article:
... because of RTI and extreme pressure on the IIMs and IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) to explain admission procedures, the institute could no longer be “fuzzy” in the selection process. “Previously, we ensured some sort of diversity by picking up a mix of people from those who cleared the written test. We could introduce a level of subjectivity at the interview stage. But now, because of RTI, applicants who don’t make it demand to know why they weren’t selected when they scored better than another admitted student in the written test.”
But this seems to bother me more than it does Barua. “I think engineers are just as creative as arts or commerce graduates. What irks me is that I lose the ability to pick up someone even if they scored a little less on the test but impress in the discussions and interviews,” he adds.
Of course, I still think it is upto the institute's prerogative to figure out a means to have more diversity (eg lay out a lower cut-off for students from non-engineering streams if they feel it is important to get the right mix in the class!). I think IIM Bangalore has managed this process best amongst all IIMs.
But it is upto the students to accept that either way there will be some 'arbitrariness' in selection.
For all those who hold up the high standards of Ivy League schools, I recommend a book called The Price of Admissions: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges -- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates by Daniel Goldman.
The book mainly looks at undergraduate admissions, not bschools, but it outlines how subjective an admissions process can become!
Ideally we should have objective criteria, with some room for subjectivity. Which is what we did have, until the IIMs became more transparent.
In my time, if you didn't get in, you accepted that as your destiny and moved on. Now, people take the CAT again and again, and some will use instruments like RTI to know 'why'.
Incidentally, IIMs do use the 'international' method to select candidates for the 1 year PGP X program. But there, applicants are in hundreds, not lakhs!
Given the 246,000 test-takers in the fray for the PGP program, and how important this test has become to them, methinks we'll be fighting CAT and dog over weightages and percentiles for some years to come!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Past perfect?
Do people peak in performance at class 10 and 12?
Should poor performance in these exams haunt you for the rest of your life?
The IIMs certainly seem to think so. And particularly, IIM Ahmedabad. The institute recently released a document which laid out the selection process it is using for the 2009-11 intake.
In the general category, you would need to score at least 98 percentile overall and 94, 94 and 94.5 in sections 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Now 1160 candidates from the 2.46 who appeared for the CAT this year qualified under this criteria. That number was further whittled down to 609 based on your past academic performance - in class 10 and 12.
The bottomline is that the institute needs to use some kind of tie breaker and it has opted for class 10 & 12 marks.
Unlike IIM Bangalore or IIM Lucknow, IIM A does not consider work experience, graduation marks or any other factor at the tie-breaker stage. I guess that is IIM A's prerogative - they basically want all the 'toppers'.
But there are two issues with this profiling
One is a technical one. Ankit Doshi is a BCom graduate from Mumbai with 3 interview calls, but he missed out on A. He believes it is because marks across different boards were not 'normalised'.
Giving his own example, Ankit states that he cleared the pre-screening criteria but probably lost out on the Academic Performance score as he scored 85.86% in class 10 (SSC) and 85.13% in class 12 (HSC). According to which his AP = 12
But in the ICSE or CBSE board (or even a state board like Andhra) scoring above 90% is common and those students would have an unfair advantage and score an AP of 16.
I think this is a very valid point and the institute should take this into account!
Ankit adds, "If you study the marking and scoring patterns of students, such a criteria completely closes the doors on students of Arts and Humanities across India . How many Arts std XIIth toppers even cross 85%?"
Well, that is a whole separate Pandora's box. At the 15th year reunion of IIMA's class of '93 held two weeks ago, we had a raging debate with some of the faculty on the changed student profile. From a 70: 30 ratio (70 being engineers and 30 being 'other streams'), we now have 93% engineers in the batch.
The faculty says it's because most smart kids in India gravitate towards engineering and hence more engineers crack the CAT. But factors like 'AP' make it that much more difficult for even the smartest of arts and commerce grads out there to get that interview call.
The second - and more fundamental - issue is should the past be given so much importance at all? Is it really an indicator of 'success' in the future?
One way to look at it is that if I am successful at an early age, I get a lot of positive strokes for it and therefore remain motivated to continue succeeding in the future.
But the other side of it is that now that I have the label of being 'successful', I no longer really need to peform. To do something more, or better. Because I am already 'there'.
Psychologist Carol Dweck has written a book on this subject called 'Mindset: the new psychology of success'. Which inspired Guy Kawasaki to make this post explaining why most 'hot' companies eventually drift into mediocrity.
Let’s say a startup is hot. It ships something great, and it achieves success. Thus, it’s able to attract the best, brightest, and most talented. These people have been told they’re the best since childhood. Indeed, being hired by the hot company is “proof” that they are the A and A+ players; in fact, the company is so hot that it can out-recruit Google and Microsoft.
Unfortunately, they develop a fixed mindset that they’re the most talented, and they think that continued success is a right. Problems arise because pure talent only works as long as the going is easy. Furthermore, they don’t take risks because failure would harm their image of being the best, brightest, and most talented. When they do fail, they deny it or attribute it to anything but their shortcomings.
I think those two paras precisely explain why we've seen that enormous mess on Wall Street! The sub prime mess is the ghastly creation of bschool bred minds who firmly believed they could do no wrong. And even if they did, the safety net of being part of an elite club would save them.
Carol postulates that people have two kinds of mindsets: growth or fixed. People with the growth mindset view life as a series of challenges and opportunities for improving. People with a fixed mindset believe that they are “set” as either good or bad.
The issue is that the good ones believe they don’t have to work hard, and the bad ones believe that working hard won’t change anything.
As far as I can see the past performance, topper-centric intake of our most wanted bschools is only reinforcing the fixed mindset. A mindset which is certainly not suited for an increasingly unpredictable world.
Should poor performance in these exams haunt you for the rest of your life?
The IIMs certainly seem to think so. And particularly, IIM Ahmedabad. The institute recently released a document which laid out the selection process it is using for the 2009-11 intake.
In the general category, you would need to score at least 98 percentile overall and 94, 94 and 94.5 in sections 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Now 1160 candidates from the 2.46 who appeared for the CAT this year qualified under this criteria. That number was further whittled down to 609 based on your past academic performance - in class 10 and 12.
The bottomline is that the institute needs to use some kind of tie breaker and it has opted for class 10 & 12 marks.
Unlike IIM Bangalore or IIM Lucknow, IIM A does not consider work experience, graduation marks or any other factor at the tie-breaker stage. I guess that is IIM A's prerogative - they basically want all the 'toppers'.
But there are two issues with this profiling
One is a technical one. Ankit Doshi is a BCom graduate from Mumbai with 3 interview calls, but he missed out on A. He believes it is because marks across different boards were not 'normalised'.
Giving his own example, Ankit states that he cleared the pre-screening criteria but probably lost out on the Academic Performance score as he scored 85.86% in class 10 (SSC) and 85.13% in class 12 (HSC). According to which his AP = 12
But in the ICSE or CBSE board (or even a state board like Andhra) scoring above 90% is common and those students would have an unfair advantage and score an AP of 16.
I think this is a very valid point and the institute should take this into account!
Ankit adds, "If you study the marking and scoring patterns of students, such a criteria completely closes the doors on students of Arts and Humanities across India . How many Arts std XIIth toppers even cross 85%?"
Well, that is a whole separate Pandora's box. At the 15th year reunion of IIMA's class of '93 held two weeks ago, we had a raging debate with some of the faculty on the changed student profile. From a 70: 30 ratio (70 being engineers and 30 being 'other streams'), we now have 93% engineers in the batch.
The faculty says it's because most smart kids in India gravitate towards engineering and hence more engineers crack the CAT. But factors like 'AP' make it that much more difficult for even the smartest of arts and commerce grads out there to get that interview call.
The second - and more fundamental - issue is should the past be given so much importance at all? Is it really an indicator of 'success' in the future?
One way to look at it is that if I am successful at an early age, I get a lot of positive strokes for it and therefore remain motivated to continue succeeding in the future.
But the other side of it is that now that I have the label of being 'successful', I no longer really need to peform. To do something more, or better. Because I am already 'there'.
Psychologist Carol Dweck has written a book on this subject called 'Mindset: the new psychology of success'. Which inspired Guy Kawasaki to make this post explaining why most 'hot' companies eventually drift into mediocrity.
Let’s say a startup is hot. It ships something great, and it achieves success. Thus, it’s able to attract the best, brightest, and most talented. These people have been told they’re the best since childhood. Indeed, being hired by the hot company is “proof” that they are the A and A+ players; in fact, the company is so hot that it can out-recruit Google and Microsoft.
Unfortunately, they develop a fixed mindset that they’re the most talented, and they think that continued success is a right. Problems arise because pure talent only works as long as the going is easy. Furthermore, they don’t take risks because failure would harm their image of being the best, brightest, and most talented. When they do fail, they deny it or attribute it to anything but their shortcomings.
I think those two paras precisely explain why we've seen that enormous mess on Wall Street! The sub prime mess is the ghastly creation of bschool bred minds who firmly believed they could do no wrong. And even if they did, the safety net of being part of an elite club would save them.
Carol postulates that people have two kinds of mindsets: growth or fixed. People with the growth mindset view life as a series of challenges and opportunities for improving. People with a fixed mindset believe that they are “set” as either good or bad.
The issue is that the good ones believe they don’t have to work hard, and the bad ones believe that working hard won’t change anything.
As far as I can see the past performance, topper-centric intake of our most wanted bschools is only reinforcing the fixed mindset. A mindset which is certainly not suited for an increasingly unpredictable world.
On the right note
Being my first post in the New Year and all that I should be writing on something monentous. Like Truth and Hturt.
On the other hand, what I am really excited about at this moment is this ad for Cadbury's Bournville. Brilliantly executed and what a tagline!
I am dying to have a Bournville but you see I can't just buy one... I've gotta 'earn' it. And so I shall!
On a lighter note did Ramalinga Raju get into this mess because he bit into a Bournville without asking the question:"Have I earned it?"
He should have stuck to good old fashioned fudge :)
On the other hand, what I am really excited about at this moment is this ad for Cadbury's Bournville. Brilliantly executed and what a tagline!
I am dying to have a Bournville but you see I can't just buy one... I've gotta 'earn' it. And so I shall!
On a lighter note did Ramalinga Raju get into this mess because he bit into a Bournville without asking the question:"Have I earned it?"
He should have stuck to good old fashioned fudge :)
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Ghajini and Rab ne bana di jodi: the common thread
Could there be two movies more different in style, story, theme and presentation? And yet, there is a thought that is central to both films.
The coin has two sides.
The mirror has two faces.
Every human being has another aspect to his/ her personality, rarely seen.
The Ghajini version is more plausible. The impact of witnessing a brutal murder coupled with a massive head injury literally brings out the animal in Sanjay Singhania.
I HATE violence on screen and even in Ghajini I covered my eyes every time the amnesiac-animal went on a rampage. But I must compliment Aamir Khan for the way in which he played the role.
When he bashes up (or actually just brushes aside) an army of goons in the climax scene, I did not feel this is the typical 'herogiri' of Hindi films. Sanjay Singhania was an ordinary guy with extraordinary power because he had a 'mission'.
The fact that he could not remember what that mission was made for the twist in a tale which would otherwise have been a 'kameene main tera khoon pi jaoonga' kind of revenge drama from the 1970s or 80s.
I was happy to see that Aamir's rippling muscles and even the Ghajini 'hair style' were not mere packaging but integral to the storyline of the film. That's what one expects from this very fine actor :)
Coming to Rab ne Bana di jodi. Here too, we have a hero with 'two sides' although one really has to take a huge leap of faith to accept that a woman won't recognise her husband from two cm distance just because he does not wear his spectacles and moustache.
Aamir ko ek tarah ka short-term memory loss hai to Ms Taani ko uska doosra version hai. I guess that's another (unintended) similarity between the two films :)
Although Mr Aditya Chopra conveniently uses God to circumvent any and all such problems with Surinder Sahni making the observation: "Agar rab chahte to ek second mein Taniji mujhe pehchaan jaati, magar aisa nahin hua kyunki woh meri love story likhna chahte hain." Go figure!
Apart from that of course, Aamir is a case of 'before' and 'after'. He was one person before the haadsa and a completely different one after it. Even after he completes his mission - and especially from the last scene - it appears that he will live in cuckooland, pretty much forever.
Surinder ji on the other hand is leading a 'boring is normal' kind of life. And yet, in a candy floss version of the old Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde routine, he transforms into Raj while claiming to be in office working 'overtime'.
Now since this is a Yashraj production, he is actually trying to romance his own wife. The Anurag Basu (and closer to reality) version would have a Raj making out with some hot chick in the office!
The question that is never convincingly answered in RNBDJ is why Surinder could not be a little more expressive and get a better haircut without pretending to be Raj. But you see Rab ne banani thi teen ghante ki picture. So the Dr Yellow Tiffin Box and Mr Tight Yellow T shirt tale has to stretch on.
In real life, however, you find that even Raj eventually progresses to a Surinder-like state of stupor and the only thing that keeps the average Indian couple is the common ground they find in their children and social obligations.
Moral of the story:
From Ghajini: A haadsa can transform life as you know it. Yes, that is the case most recently with the survivors of the Mumbai terror attack. But is 'revenge' really the answer?
In the film we see Sanjay earn the satisfaction of killing Ghajini the very same way he bludgeoned Kalpana. But will the relatives of those killed in the terror attacks get a sense of 'relief' when Ajmal Kasab is sentenced to death some months, or even years from now?
Coming to term with senseless acts of violence and the evil side of human nature is one of life's biggest challenges. Ultimately revenge is an option but not the 'solution'.
From Rab ne bana di jodi: Men and women are both stuck playing 'roles' in their earthly lives. Okay, but they can either sleepwalk through it all or be fully alive and involved while performing their parts!
There is no perfect partner out there. Just different combinations of Surinder and Raj, Golgappa and Biryani - or whatever you choose to call the yin and the yang inside each of us.
So undertake the physical makeover, mental makeover, spiritual makeover - whatever it takes to 'light up your life, ji'. Rishta nibhana is the Indian solution to the oldest of all relationship problems in the world. And Rab ne almost convinces you that yes, it surely works!
But as I walked out of the hall I couldn't help thinking of the irony in reel life vs real life. Aditya Chopra, director of the film did not see rab in his jodi with Payal - he chose the route of the divorce court.
The coin has two sides.
The mirror has two faces.
Every human being has another aspect to his/ her personality, rarely seen.
The Ghajini version is more plausible. The impact of witnessing a brutal murder coupled with a massive head injury literally brings out the animal in Sanjay Singhania. I HATE violence on screen and even in Ghajini I covered my eyes every time the amnesiac-animal went on a rampage. But I must compliment Aamir Khan for the way in which he played the role.
When he bashes up (or actually just brushes aside) an army of goons in the climax scene, I did not feel this is the typical 'herogiri' of Hindi films. Sanjay Singhania was an ordinary guy with extraordinary power because he had a 'mission'.
The fact that he could not remember what that mission was made for the twist in a tale which would otherwise have been a 'kameene main tera khoon pi jaoonga' kind of revenge drama from the 1970s or 80s.
I was happy to see that Aamir's rippling muscles and even the Ghajini 'hair style' were not mere packaging but integral to the storyline of the film. That's what one expects from this very fine actor :)
Coming to Rab ne Bana di jodi. Here too, we have a hero with 'two sides' although one really has to take a huge leap of faith to accept that a woman won't recognise her husband from two cm distance just because he does not wear his spectacles and moustache.Aamir ko ek tarah ka short-term memory loss hai to Ms Taani ko uska doosra version hai. I guess that's another (unintended) similarity between the two films :)
Although Mr Aditya Chopra conveniently uses God to circumvent any and all such problems with Surinder Sahni making the observation: "Agar rab chahte to ek second mein Taniji mujhe pehchaan jaati, magar aisa nahin hua kyunki woh meri love story likhna chahte hain." Go figure!
Apart from that of course, Aamir is a case of 'before' and 'after'. He was one person before the haadsa and a completely different one after it. Even after he completes his mission - and especially from the last scene - it appears that he will live in cuckooland, pretty much forever.
Surinder ji on the other hand is leading a 'boring is normal' kind of life. And yet, in a candy floss version of the old Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde routine, he transforms into Raj while claiming to be in office working 'overtime'.
Now since this is a Yashraj production, he is actually trying to romance his own wife. The Anurag Basu (and closer to reality) version would have a Raj making out with some hot chick in the office!
The question that is never convincingly answered in RNBDJ is why Surinder could not be a little more expressive and get a better haircut without pretending to be Raj. But you see Rab ne banani thi teen ghante ki picture. So the Dr Yellow Tiffin Box and Mr Tight Yellow T shirt tale has to stretch on.
In real life, however, you find that even Raj eventually progresses to a Surinder-like state of stupor and the only thing that keeps the average Indian couple is the common ground they find in their children and social obligations.
Moral of the story:
From Ghajini: A haadsa can transform life as you know it. Yes, that is the case most recently with the survivors of the Mumbai terror attack. But is 'revenge' really the answer?
In the film we see Sanjay earn the satisfaction of killing Ghajini the very same way he bludgeoned Kalpana. But will the relatives of those killed in the terror attacks get a sense of 'relief' when Ajmal Kasab is sentenced to death some months, or even years from now?
Coming to term with senseless acts of violence and the evil side of human nature is one of life's biggest challenges. Ultimately revenge is an option but not the 'solution'.
From Rab ne bana di jodi: Men and women are both stuck playing 'roles' in their earthly lives. Okay, but they can either sleepwalk through it all or be fully alive and involved while performing their parts!
There is no perfect partner out there. Just different combinations of Surinder and Raj, Golgappa and Biryani - or whatever you choose to call the yin and the yang inside each of us.
So undertake the physical makeover, mental makeover, spiritual makeover - whatever it takes to 'light up your life, ji'. Rishta nibhana is the Indian solution to the oldest of all relationship problems in the world. And Rab ne almost convinces you that yes, it surely works!
But as I walked out of the hall I couldn't help thinking of the irony in reel life vs real life. Aditya Chopra, director of the film did not see rab in his jodi with Payal - he chose the route of the divorce court.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The next 'hot' career
I promised to post about the placement scene other engineering colleges. But what is there, really, to say? When the going gets tough, the employer finds excuses to postpone joining dates (some software companies have asked 2008 grads to hang on - upto February '09!).
IBM in particular has even taken 're-tests' of candidates it hired and used that to rescind some offers!
So in a 'right-now' sort of way it's all kind of depressing. One can only report yeh ho raha hai, woh ho raha hai. Others are doing this - I can add little of value :)
Instead, I have written a piece on how I think you should actually go about choosing your career. This has nothing to do with today, or tomorrow. Who is hiring or firing. Yes, it is a completely different world view.
The next 'hot' career
- Rashmi Bansal
Many of you write to me asking for career a advice. What you should be doing is consulting an astrologer. Because invariably, what you want to know is how to quickly get a degree which is sure to be the 'next hot career'!
Actually, the large majority has already made up its mind on what those careers are. They're only seeking a stamp of approval from an 'expert'. Or maybe a heartfelt 'All the best - you can do it!'
Sample this question from a class 12 passout. Now this guy is actually preparing for medical entrance exams 2009 yet says:
“if i could hve got the right guidance 2 yrs ago,, thn certainly i would hve been taken the maths as the main nd prhaps now i wud be in an IIT.....”
But regardless of what course of study he takes up he is already hung up on doing an MBA. He asks:
1. wud it be better to do mba with graduation or post graduation or phd in bioinformatics
2. wud it b better to do mba with mbbs..
plz. answer these questions with an outlook over the job prospects and the salaries in both the above case in india as well as abroad....
The question is can you really ‘time’ yourself to match the job prospects and salary scenario which will exist five years from now? That’s like trying to sell your stocks exactly on the day it reaches its peak. Highly desirable but practically impossible to do!
The right attitude
There are two kinds of investors in the stock market – those who are out to make a quick buck and those who seek long term value. It’s the same with careers. Since you are going to be in the working world for several decades, it is much better to take the long term view!
So the class 12 student who is ruing his ‘lack of foresight’ really should not worry. Medicine will always remain a hot career, despite the recent trend towards engineering. In fact, if you ask me, medicine is the only truly ‘recession-proof’ career.
But yes, if you take a day-trader view of the world, medicine can feel like being stuck on the slow train while your friends are travelling by air!
The trouble is that taking a long term view requires patience and fortitude. If you track the value of your stock portfolio on a a day to day basis, you are bound to feel upset in the current market scenario. But if you invest in intrinsically sound companies and hang on to those stocks over a period of time, you will grow rich beyond your wildest dreams.
That is the story of Warren Buffet. And his philosophy of ‘value investing’ is as valuable when applied to choosing a career.
You are the best judge
Value investors, it is said, look for securities with prices that are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth. Now determining this worth is the tricky bit.
In case of stocks – there are different methods to establish worth. According to investopedia.com: “When Buffett invests in a company, he isn't concerned with whether the market will eventually recognize its worth; he is concerned with how well that company can make money as a business”.
In a similar vein, I would say that when you set out to choose a career for yourself don’t be distracted by whether the market will recognize the value of that profession, be concerned with whether you can shine in that sphere.
“Ah, but I don’t know… I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what I am good at. I am no good at anything in particular.”
I’ve heard enough of these laments, and more.
If you don’t know and refuse to make any attempt to know, then you should be okay with blowing whichever way the wind goes. Aaj retail hot hai, chalo usme ghus jao. You may be one of the lucky ones who manages to catch the headwind and develop skills along the way which help you cope no matter what storm.
These skills are your ‘wings’. If you can identify a God-given talent, aptitude or temperamental advantage, those too are your wings. The more you use these wings, the higher you can soar.
Circle of Life
Oh, this is all very general and philosophical, you will say. So let’s look at some concrete examples.
I think education will be the next big boom sector. Yes, for years it has been a very unrewarding profession in terms of money. But with the rise of so many elite schools and and private universities, that is changing. Teachers are being paid better than before and when foreign universities are allowed entry, that bar will be raised even higher.
But who will be in demand? Those who have excelled in their field, regardless of the hardships. Those who are highly regarded for their knowledge and abilities, their expertise built over the years. These are the people who have stuck to teaching for the love of this profession and the love of their students.
So what if you join teaching next year because you think it is the ‘hot’ thing to do? A few of you may be able to cash in on the boom. But ultimately, because too many are joining this line of work with the thought of ‘cashing in’, there will be a glut. Supply will exceed demand, and we will be back to square one.
Only those who really love the teaching profession and excel in it will be able to command a price. And you see this same demand-supply phenomenon across every possible career.
People entering civil or mechanical engineering were considered ‘bechara’ four years ago. Today they are much in demand as placements on tech campuses veer towards ‘core companies’. That’s not to say computer engineers won’t get jobs but apart from the googles, yahoos and Microsofts (which hire sparingly), right now core sector salaries are higher than in software.
Basically, capital markets are self-correcting. Whether that capital is human, or financial. The wheel will once again turn – who knows where!
Tectonic shifts
Lastly, there is always the possibility that life as we know it changes. And that could bring up whole new kinds of possibilities.
I got an email this morning from Arjun P J. He says:
I am doing my under graduation in MECHANICAL ENGG.The continued recession affecting worldwide i have decided to pursue my Post graduation in AUTOMOBILE ENGG in UK.I have selected UK because it has one year (Msc) course and also my cousins are staying in UK and also i would get a Global exposure.
I wanted to know job prospectus in UK and INDIA after i complete my Post gradaution?? I also confused whether to take AUTOMOBILE ENGG OR MECHANICAL ENGG??...The reason i selected AUTOMOBILE is that my father.He has his own workshops.I have worked with my father. This made me addicted to AUTOMOBILES.
Well, duh-uh! If you are addicted to automobiles can there be a better choice? But I also happened to read this column by Thomas Friedman today which talks about a whole new kind of auto business model being developed by a company in Israel.
It is Shai Agassi’s electric car network company, called Better Place… The Better Place electric car charging system involves generating electrons from as much renewable energy — such as wind and solar — as possible and then feeding those clean electrons into a national electric car charging infrastructure.
Under the Better Place model, consumers can either buy or lease an electric car from the French automaker Renault or Japanese companies like Nissan (General Motors snubbed Agassi) and then buy miles on their electric car batteries from Better Place the way you now buy an Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T.
Wow. That is amazing! This may be a pipedream, or the Next Big Thing. Either way, I think Arjun is safe because people will still use automobiles.
But think about what might happen to all the very well paid oil company executives and petroleum engineers... someday!
At the end of the day
I leave you with these thoughts from one of my favourite authors - Po Bronson. In his book ‘What Should I Do with my life?’, Bronson notes:
Individual success will not be attained by migrating to a particular 'hot' industry, or by adopting a particular career guiding mantra.
Instead, the individuals that thrive will do so because they focussed on the question of who they really are, and from that they found work that they truly love, and in so doing unleashed a productive and creative power they never imagined.
Here’s to all of us finding ourselves and unleashing those powers. Here’s to discovering our inner ‘Warren Buffet’!
IBM in particular has even taken 're-tests' of candidates it hired and used that to rescind some offers!
So in a 'right-now' sort of way it's all kind of depressing. One can only report yeh ho raha hai, woh ho raha hai. Others are doing this - I can add little of value :)
Instead, I have written a piece on how I think you should actually go about choosing your career. This has nothing to do with today, or tomorrow. Who is hiring or firing. Yes, it is a completely different world view.
The next 'hot' career
- Rashmi Bansal
Many of you write to me asking for career a advice. What you should be doing is consulting an astrologer. Because invariably, what you want to know is how to quickly get a degree which is sure to be the 'next hot career'!
Actually, the large majority has already made up its mind on what those careers are. They're only seeking a stamp of approval from an 'expert'. Or maybe a heartfelt 'All the best - you can do it!'
Sample this question from a class 12 passout. Now this guy is actually preparing for medical entrance exams 2009 yet says:
“if i could hve got the right guidance 2 yrs ago,, thn certainly i would hve been taken the maths as the main nd prhaps now i wud be in an IIT.....”
But regardless of what course of study he takes up he is already hung up on doing an MBA. He asks:
1. wud it be better to do mba with graduation or post graduation or phd in bioinformatics
2. wud it b better to do mba with mbbs..
plz. answer these questions with an outlook over the job prospects and the salaries in both the above case in india as well as abroad....
The question is can you really ‘time’ yourself to match the job prospects and salary scenario which will exist five years from now? That’s like trying to sell your stocks exactly on the day it reaches its peak. Highly desirable but practically impossible to do!
The right attitude
There are two kinds of investors in the stock market – those who are out to make a quick buck and those who seek long term value. It’s the same with careers. Since you are going to be in the working world for several decades, it is much better to take the long term view!
So the class 12 student who is ruing his ‘lack of foresight’ really should not worry. Medicine will always remain a hot career, despite the recent trend towards engineering. In fact, if you ask me, medicine is the only truly ‘recession-proof’ career.
But yes, if you take a day-trader view of the world, medicine can feel like being stuck on the slow train while your friends are travelling by air!
The trouble is that taking a long term view requires patience and fortitude. If you track the value of your stock portfolio on a a day to day basis, you are bound to feel upset in the current market scenario. But if you invest in intrinsically sound companies and hang on to those stocks over a period of time, you will grow rich beyond your wildest dreams.
That is the story of Warren Buffet. And his philosophy of ‘value investing’ is as valuable when applied to choosing a career.
You are the best judge
Value investors, it is said, look for securities with prices that are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth. Now determining this worth is the tricky bit.
In case of stocks – there are different methods to establish worth. According to investopedia.com: “When Buffett invests in a company, he isn't concerned with whether the market will eventually recognize its worth; he is concerned with how well that company can make money as a business”.
In a similar vein, I would say that when you set out to choose a career for yourself don’t be distracted by whether the market will recognize the value of that profession, be concerned with whether you can shine in that sphere.
“Ah, but I don’t know… I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what I am good at. I am no good at anything in particular.”
I’ve heard enough of these laments, and more.
If you don’t know and refuse to make any attempt to know, then you should be okay with blowing whichever way the wind goes. Aaj retail hot hai, chalo usme ghus jao. You may be one of the lucky ones who manages to catch the headwind and develop skills along the way which help you cope no matter what storm.
These skills are your ‘wings’. If you can identify a God-given talent, aptitude or temperamental advantage, those too are your wings. The more you use these wings, the higher you can soar.
Circle of Life
Oh, this is all very general and philosophical, you will say. So let’s look at some concrete examples.
I think education will be the next big boom sector. Yes, for years it has been a very unrewarding profession in terms of money. But with the rise of so many elite schools and and private universities, that is changing. Teachers are being paid better than before and when foreign universities are allowed entry, that bar will be raised even higher.
But who will be in demand? Those who have excelled in their field, regardless of the hardships. Those who are highly regarded for their knowledge and abilities, their expertise built over the years. These are the people who have stuck to teaching for the love of this profession and the love of their students.
So what if you join teaching next year because you think it is the ‘hot’ thing to do? A few of you may be able to cash in on the boom. But ultimately, because too many are joining this line of work with the thought of ‘cashing in’, there will be a glut. Supply will exceed demand, and we will be back to square one.
Only those who really love the teaching profession and excel in it will be able to command a price. And you see this same demand-supply phenomenon across every possible career.
People entering civil or mechanical engineering were considered ‘bechara’ four years ago. Today they are much in demand as placements on tech campuses veer towards ‘core companies’. That’s not to say computer engineers won’t get jobs but apart from the googles, yahoos and Microsofts (which hire sparingly), right now core sector salaries are higher than in software.
Basically, capital markets are self-correcting. Whether that capital is human, or financial. The wheel will once again turn – who knows where!
Tectonic shifts
Lastly, there is always the possibility that life as we know it changes. And that could bring up whole new kinds of possibilities.
I got an email this morning from Arjun P J. He says:
I am doing my under graduation in MECHANICAL ENGG.The continued recession affecting worldwide i have decided to pursue my Post graduation in AUTOMOBILE ENGG in UK.I have selected UK because it has one year (Msc) course and also my cousins are staying in UK and also i would get a Global exposure.
I wanted to know job prospectus in UK and INDIA after i complete my Post gradaution?? I also confused whether to take AUTOMOBILE ENGG OR MECHANICAL ENGG??...The reason i selected AUTOMOBILE is that my father.He has his own workshops.I have worked with my father. This made me addicted to AUTOMOBILES.
Well, duh-uh! If you are addicted to automobiles can there be a better choice? But I also happened to read this column by Thomas Friedman today which talks about a whole new kind of auto business model being developed by a company in Israel.
It is Shai Agassi’s electric car network company, called Better Place… The Better Place electric car charging system involves generating electrons from as much renewable energy — such as wind and solar — as possible and then feeding those clean electrons into a national electric car charging infrastructure.
Under the Better Place model, consumers can either buy or lease an electric car from the French automaker Renault or Japanese companies like Nissan (General Motors snubbed Agassi) and then buy miles on their electric car batteries from Better Place the way you now buy an Apple cellphone and the minutes from AT&T.
Wow. That is amazing! This may be a pipedream, or the Next Big Thing. Either way, I think Arjun is safe because people will still use automobiles.
But think about what might happen to all the very well paid oil company executives and petroleum engineers... someday!
At the end of the day
I leave you with these thoughts from one of my favourite authors - Po Bronson. In his book ‘What Should I Do with my life?’, Bronson notes:
Individual success will not be attained by migrating to a particular 'hot' industry, or by adopting a particular career guiding mantra.
Instead, the individuals that thrive will do so because they focussed on the question of who they really are, and from that they found work that they truly love, and in so doing unleashed a productive and creative power they never imagined.
Here’s to all of us finding ourselves and unleashing those powers. Here’s to discovering our inner ‘Warren Buffet’!
IIT placements slow down
This report was the first indication that it's not 'business as usual' at the IITs. Four days into the placement season Economic Times noted:
The number of IITians recruited this year has been 60% lower than 2007, when there was a huge response during the first few days. Many companies like Shell, RIL, Credit Suisse, HUL, Transocean, Dell and NetApp had initially said they would be coming to the campuses, but later backed out...
So far, IIT Bombay has had the best opening placements this year, with 32 students being offered jobs on the first day and around 28 on Day 2... IIT Kanpur saw around 55 students being placed on both days, compared to 90 last year...The IITs in Chennai, Delhi and Kharagpur saw only around 30-35 of their students being hired on both Day 1 and Day 2, while in 2007 the recruitments were as high as 90 on both days.
Well, while all the attention so far has been focussed on MBA placements, the Wall Street meltdown was bound to affect IITs as well. Leading investment banks had been hiring students for analyst positions from IITs over the last few years. The numbers they recruited were rising every year - these were the *dream jobs* which put IITians in a different league.
As an analyst at Lehman Bros Mumbai office puts it: "12-15 students from EACH IIT joined this year as analysts and several such companies used to visit the various IITs." Lehman (now known as Nomura) is not visiting any campus this year and neither are the likes of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.
Names like Lime Group, Mercer Oliver Wyman and Pimco (which offered a $100,000 packaage last year) are now history. There are a few naam ke vaaste recruitments from HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and (surprise!) Citigroup.
The other prestigious recruiters at the IITswere consulting companies like McKinsey, BCG and Tower research. They have reduced number of offers. Same with the likes of HUL and ITC. Yahoo, amazon, google, Microsoft, Oracle - still hiring. But it's not clear if the numbers are equal to last year.
So where are students going? "Core" companies or tech as they call it on campus. This morning ET reported: While IIT-Kharagpur saw 140 'core companies' visiting the campus this year — up from 120 last year — at IIT-Delhi, out of 150 companies, 100 were from the core sector.
Companies like NTPC are more than pleased.
“Till now, we have been getting low-ranking students, but this year was different, with better slots and better students,” says NTPC director (HR) SK Srivastava. The PSU plans to hire around 1,000 students this year from IITs and NITs (National Institute of Technology). While the number of students hired from IITs were around 100 last year, it is expected to jump more than 100% this year. NTPC has already sent 400 letters of intent (LoI) to freshers.
However even on the core job front one of the traditional favourites - Schlumberger - has cut back hiring drastically. Last year this company had picked up 35 + students from IIT KGP and IIT Roorkee alone - now it is down to 2-3!
The newer IITs like Roorkee seem to be the worst hit. Prestigious recruiters would rather show up and make a couple of goodwill hires at the likes of IIT B and D.
Anyhow - those are the facts of the matter. Here is what I think of the entire scenario.
* It's all about expectations: Strangely enough IITs are more affected than say, the NITs, VJTIs or DCEs of the world. That's because they had placed a lot of their eggs in the finance basket. These jobs offered glamour and high pay packages - which other companies coming in their place now cannot match. So even though I am sure all students will get placed, there will be a feeling of *poor me*.
Bhai 'ordinary job' lene ke liye thodi itne saal bheja fry kiya tha. Not all IITians got those glam offers but at least *some* did. And that was a huge boost for 'brand IIT'.
The lesson for IIT aspirants: Instant 'success' in terms of an out-of-this-world job at age 22 may or may not come to you. It depends on factors that have nothing to do with you. So think carefully about what you really want to do in life!
* The dice is dicey: Even within core companies, some industries are affected. Semiconductors, for example. Texas Instruments and Analog Devices are offering far fewer jobs and this impacts Electronics & Electrical Engineering grads.
Civil and Mechanical are in demand due to the infrastructure boom. L & T is now a cool company!
The lesson for those trying to choose a 'hot branch': You can never know! The best strategy is to try and embrace whatever branch you choose, or happen to get. Immerse yourself in it, learn to 'enjoy' it. Because you may need to or want to make a career out of it. Don't sleepwalk through your course and close that door.
* Choosing the lesser of two evils: I felt the NTPC guy was a bit bombastic. But speaking to a couple of NIT students I learnt this interesting fact: Asked to choose between joining an Indian software company and a PSU, junta prefers the PSU. Why?
"Because they pay more (avg CTC of Rs 4-5.5 lakhs) and offer job security."
But the students hasten to add,"If you join an Infy or Wipro you will spend at least 6-8 months on the bench doing nothing... At the PSU the work culture may not be too exciting but at least you get some experience which will count when the time comes to switch jobs."
And that time will surely come - say two years from now. Yes, sadly for NTPC. It can recruit all it wants but it will never be able to retain these 'better students'. They will jump ship at the first available opportunity!
The lesson for those who think they got a raw deal today: Things can only get better. So take a long term view of your career. Wherever you work, make sure you learn, grow and shoulder significant responsibility.
And never mind what the doomsday pundits say. One enterprising BTech who was with Lehman quit and joined an Indian finance company some months ago. They pay less but give him far more exposure. And he is sure his gamble will pay off when markets bounce back, as they are bound to. In due time.
In the meantime, remind yourself,"Life is not a Formula 1 race". Even in the best of times, don't push your career di gaddi too fast or to the limit. Or everyone and everything else around you will be nothing but a giant blur.
Sometimes Destiny applies the brakes but at other times you have to!
Tomorrow: The impact on other engineering colleges. I've been hearing some sad stuff from here as well. To share news and views from your campus drop a line to rashmi_b at yahoo.com.
The number of IITians recruited this year has been 60% lower than 2007, when there was a huge response during the first few days. Many companies like Shell, RIL, Credit Suisse, HUL, Transocean, Dell and NetApp had initially said they would be coming to the campuses, but later backed out...
So far, IIT Bombay has had the best opening placements this year, with 32 students being offered jobs on the first day and around 28 on Day 2... IIT Kanpur saw around 55 students being placed on both days, compared to 90 last year...The IITs in Chennai, Delhi and Kharagpur saw only around 30-35 of their students being hired on both Day 1 and Day 2, while in 2007 the recruitments were as high as 90 on both days.
Well, while all the attention so far has been focussed on MBA placements, the Wall Street meltdown was bound to affect IITs as well. Leading investment banks had been hiring students for analyst positions from IITs over the last few years. The numbers they recruited were rising every year - these were the *dream jobs* which put IITians in a different league.
As an analyst at Lehman Bros Mumbai office puts it: "12-15 students from EACH IIT joined this year as analysts and several such companies used to visit the various IITs." Lehman (now known as Nomura) is not visiting any campus this year and neither are the likes of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.
Names like Lime Group, Mercer Oliver Wyman and Pimco (which offered a $100,000 packaage last year) are now history. There are a few naam ke vaaste recruitments from HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and (surprise!) Citigroup.
The other prestigious recruiters at the IITswere consulting companies like McKinsey, BCG and Tower research. They have reduced number of offers. Same with the likes of HUL and ITC. Yahoo, amazon, google, Microsoft, Oracle - still hiring. But it's not clear if the numbers are equal to last year.
So where are students going? "Core" companies or tech as they call it on campus. This morning ET reported: While IIT-Kharagpur saw 140 'core companies' visiting the campus this year — up from 120 last year — at IIT-Delhi, out of 150 companies, 100 were from the core sector.
Companies like NTPC are more than pleased.
“Till now, we have been getting low-ranking students, but this year was different, with better slots and better students,” says NTPC director (HR) SK Srivastava. The PSU plans to hire around 1,000 students this year from IITs and NITs (National Institute of Technology). While the number of students hired from IITs were around 100 last year, it is expected to jump more than 100% this year. NTPC has already sent 400 letters of intent (LoI) to freshers.
However even on the core job front one of the traditional favourites - Schlumberger - has cut back hiring drastically. Last year this company had picked up 35 + students from IIT KGP and IIT Roorkee alone - now it is down to 2-3!
The newer IITs like Roorkee seem to be the worst hit. Prestigious recruiters would rather show up and make a couple of goodwill hires at the likes of IIT B and D.
Anyhow - those are the facts of the matter. Here is what I think of the entire scenario.
* It's all about expectations: Strangely enough IITs are more affected than say, the NITs, VJTIs or DCEs of the world. That's because they had placed a lot of their eggs in the finance basket. These jobs offered glamour and high pay packages - which other companies coming in their place now cannot match. So even though I am sure all students will get placed, there will be a feeling of *poor me*.
Bhai 'ordinary job' lene ke liye thodi itne saal bheja fry kiya tha. Not all IITians got those glam offers but at least *some* did. And that was a huge boost for 'brand IIT'.
The lesson for IIT aspirants: Instant 'success' in terms of an out-of-this-world job at age 22 may or may not come to you. It depends on factors that have nothing to do with you. So think carefully about what you really want to do in life!
* The dice is dicey: Even within core companies, some industries are affected. Semiconductors, for example. Texas Instruments and Analog Devices are offering far fewer jobs and this impacts Electronics & Electrical Engineering grads.
Civil and Mechanical are in demand due to the infrastructure boom. L & T is now a cool company!
The lesson for those trying to choose a 'hot branch': You can never know! The best strategy is to try and embrace whatever branch you choose, or happen to get. Immerse yourself in it, learn to 'enjoy' it. Because you may need to or want to make a career out of it. Don't sleepwalk through your course and close that door.
* Choosing the lesser of two evils: I felt the NTPC guy was a bit bombastic. But speaking to a couple of NIT students I learnt this interesting fact: Asked to choose between joining an Indian software company and a PSU, junta prefers the PSU. Why?
"Because they pay more (avg CTC of Rs 4-5.5 lakhs) and offer job security."
But the students hasten to add,"If you join an Infy or Wipro you will spend at least 6-8 months on the bench doing nothing... At the PSU the work culture may not be too exciting but at least you get some experience which will count when the time comes to switch jobs."
And that time will surely come - say two years from now. Yes, sadly for NTPC. It can recruit all it wants but it will never be able to retain these 'better students'. They will jump ship at the first available opportunity!
The lesson for those who think they got a raw deal today: Things can only get better. So take a long term view of your career. Wherever you work, make sure you learn, grow and shoulder significant responsibility.
And never mind what the doomsday pundits say. One enterprising BTech who was with Lehman quit and joined an Indian finance company some months ago. They pay less but give him far more exposure. And he is sure his gamble will pay off when markets bounce back, as they are bound to. In due time.
In the meantime, remind yourself,"Life is not a Formula 1 race". Even in the best of times, don't push your career di gaddi too fast or to the limit. Or everyone and everything else around you will be nothing but a giant blur.
Sometimes Destiny applies the brakes but at other times you have to!
Tomorrow: The impact on other engineering colleges. I've been hearing some sad stuff from here as well. To share news and views from your campus drop a line to rashmi_b at yahoo.com.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
'Stay Hungry 'crosses 40,000 copies!
And other updates, on www.stayhungrybook.com. Including:
* Feedback from an IAS officer
* Q from a wannabe 'real estate tycoon'
* Stay Hungry reader from Nasik
* An IIM Calcutta grad's compliments
* A couple of harsh reviews to which I can only say,"You can't please everyone!"
btw I love all the feedback from readers and do reply to all emails personally. In case you are wondering!
* Feedback from an IAS officer
* Q from a wannabe 'real estate tycoon'
* Stay Hungry reader from Nasik
* An IIM Calcutta grad's compliments
* A couple of harsh reviews to which I can only say,"You can't please everyone!"
btw I love all the feedback from readers and do reply to all emails personally. In case you are wondering!
A wake up call: Jaago re!
Corporate social responsibility or CSR is a buzzword. It generally translates into:
a) Companies supporting NGOs or social causes directly
b) Companies donating a small % of their sales to charity.
For example, P & G linking its brands to Shiksha - a campaign to educate the girl child. And Surf Excel 10/10 which asked customers to participate by buying packs and then sending an sms, with money again going towards childrens' education.
But the recent 'Jaago re' campaign where Tata Tea has joined hands with Janaagraha takes the whole idea of CSR much further.
This is the first time I have seen a brand completely integrating a social message into its ad campaign. Now Tata Tea had started using the Jaago re theme last year (see ad below), but usually these campaigns remain on screen.
It is not clear who (the company or the NGO) came up with the idea of converting this into an actual on-ground movement. But it is a rocking partnership.
You can see this is a genuine movement because it is painstakingly reaching out to young people, college by college. In the first week of December Jaago re held a drive to register voters in Abhinav and Sathaye College (both in Mumbai) . In the coming week they are visiting Mumbai's NSS college, among others.
Campaigns which are naam ke liye only would not even touch these rather unglamorous campuses! Of course you need not wait for anyone to come to your college or workplace, you can register on their website www.jaagore.com as over 70,000 people have done already.
You have to fill out a 2 page online registration form and then take this form to physically register at the regional election office. In future, the Jaago re team may be authorised to collect forms in bulk from institutions registered in their outreach programs.
I don't know if all these efforts will improve Tata Tea's market share in the short run... But it is a better use of precious money usually spent on ads which look at 'jaago re' literally: "Drink our tea and coffee and feel like the Energiser bunny!"
You gotta have faith, Tata Tea believes it will reap benefits - in the longer run. And so it is with our votes.
We can't lose faith in the idea that each one of us CAN make a difference.
a) Companies supporting NGOs or social causes directly
b) Companies donating a small % of their sales to charity.
For example, P & G linking its brands to Shiksha - a campaign to educate the girl child. And Surf Excel 10/10 which asked customers to participate by buying packs and then sending an sms, with money again going towards childrens' education.
But the recent 'Jaago re' campaign where Tata Tea has joined hands with Janaagraha takes the whole idea of CSR much further.
This is the first time I have seen a brand completely integrating a social message into its ad campaign. Now Tata Tea had started using the Jaago re theme last year (see ad below), but usually these campaigns remain on screen.
It is not clear who (the company or the NGO) came up with the idea of converting this into an actual on-ground movement. But it is a rocking partnership.
You can see this is a genuine movement because it is painstakingly reaching out to young people, college by college. In the first week of December Jaago re held a drive to register voters in Abhinav and Sathaye College (both in Mumbai) . In the coming week they are visiting Mumbai's NSS college, among others.
Campaigns which are naam ke liye only would not even touch these rather unglamorous campuses! Of course you need not wait for anyone to come to your college or workplace, you can register on their website www.jaagore.com as over 70,000 people have done already.
You have to fill out a 2 page online registration form and then take this form to physically register at the regional election office. In future, the Jaago re team may be authorised to collect forms in bulk from institutions registered in their outreach programs.
I don't know if all these efforts will improve Tata Tea's market share in the short run... But it is a better use of precious money usually spent on ads which look at 'jaago re' literally: "Drink our tea and coffee and feel like the Energiser bunny!"
You gotta have faith, Tata Tea believes it will reap benefits - in the longer run. And so it is with our votes.
We can't lose faith in the idea that each one of us CAN make a difference.
Oops, there is no Section 49-0
I bet you've got that email in your inbox exhorting you to vote for 'nobody'. Because if enough people do that, and 'nobody' gets the maximum votes, the election result will be cancelled and all candidates who stood for that particular election will be disqualified.
And this is all under a section in the Indian Constitution called 49-0.
But sadly, as Shekhar Gupta observed in his column in the Indian Express today:
Any number of illiterate emails and SMSes now float around, not merely cursing politicians, but spreading utter falsehoods about the Constitution and laws... Most of us passed our class X Civics a long time ago, and God alone knows how, so let’s not question anybody’s knowledge of our Constitution.
But none of the thousands of very well-educated, rich, successful, respectable people through whom this silly mail has passed and been forwarded, have bothered to check that venerable document. For, if they did, at least one myth would have been set at rest: Article 49 deals with something very important, but it is not the right of negative vote, but the protection of our monuments.
The funny thing is I actually got to know of this Section 49-0 from a journalist! It was last Sunday and I was on my way to see Oye Lucky when a breathless young voice from DNA called and explained to me what it was all about.
"So what do you think?" she asked.
I said,"Not much... It's just another way to think I have done something when actually you have not. Real change will come only when 10% of the youth who today toil to crack a CAT or GMAT or dream of success in conventional terms change their outlook and devote themselves to the hard task of nation-building."
I have no idea whether a story was published on Monday but a search at the DNA website shows that on Wednesday the paper itself woke up and realised the email being circulated was a hoax.
Goes to show anyone can pull an 'Oye Lucky' ... The mythical section 49-0 expressed an emotion we all felt ("screw those politicians"). And that emotion robbed us of good old common sense!
P.S. Ritesh wrote in with this clarification:
You are very correct in pointing out that such thing does not exists in constitution. But the article being talked about in forwarded mails is actually Rule 49-O of Conduct of election rules. Fact is that there is a "Rule 49-O" in the "Conduct of Election Rules 1961" which is published in the gazette of India which states only that you may decide not to vote even after you have signed the "register of voters". Source: http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/subord/cer1.htm
However, there is still no evidence of revoting if no of people opting out exceeds no of votes secured by the winning candidate. So have really no idea how effective this could be. But at least we can inform people that such a clause exists.
My friend even tried this at recent Rajasthan assembly elections. The booth officer told him to sign against his name in the voter list and write "Not voting to any candidate" against his name.
And this is all under a section in the Indian Constitution called 49-0.
But sadly, as Shekhar Gupta observed in his column in the Indian Express today:
Any number of illiterate emails and SMSes now float around, not merely cursing politicians, but spreading utter falsehoods about the Constitution and laws... Most of us passed our class X Civics a long time ago, and God alone knows how, so let’s not question anybody’s knowledge of our Constitution.
But none of the thousands of very well-educated, rich, successful, respectable people through whom this silly mail has passed and been forwarded, have bothered to check that venerable document. For, if they did, at least one myth would have been set at rest: Article 49 deals with something very important, but it is not the right of negative vote, but the protection of our monuments.
The funny thing is I actually got to know of this Section 49-0 from a journalist! It was last Sunday and I was on my way to see Oye Lucky when a breathless young voice from DNA called and explained to me what it was all about.
"So what do you think?" she asked.
I said,"Not much... It's just another way to think I have done something when actually you have not. Real change will come only when 10% of the youth who today toil to crack a CAT or GMAT or dream of success in conventional terms change their outlook and devote themselves to the hard task of nation-building."
I have no idea whether a story was published on Monday but a search at the DNA website shows that on Wednesday the paper itself woke up and realised the email being circulated was a hoax.
Goes to show anyone can pull an 'Oye Lucky' ... The mythical section 49-0 expressed an emotion we all felt ("screw those politicians"). And that emotion robbed us of good old common sense!
P.S. Ritesh wrote in with this clarification:
You are very correct in pointing out that such thing does not exists in constitution. But the article being talked about in forwarded mails is actually Rule 49-O of Conduct of election rules. Fact is that there is a "Rule 49-O" in the "Conduct of Election Rules 1961" which is published in the gazette of India which states only that you may decide not to vote even after you have signed the "register of voters". Source: http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/subord/cer1.htm
However, there is still no evidence of revoting if no of people opting out exceeds no of votes secured by the winning candidate. So have really no idea how effective this could be. But at least we can inform people that such a clause exists.
My friend even tried this at recent Rajasthan assembly elections. The booth officer told him to sign against his name in the voter list and write "Not voting to any candidate" against his name.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Dil Kabbadi - some thoughts
There is no such thing as a perfect relationship, or a perfect film. And this one in any case has apparently been ripped off from a Woody Allen classic.
*** warning, spoilers ahead ***
Given the generally poor reviews it's getting I doubt it will get much of an audience. But I still think Dil Kabaddi is an interesting watch and brings up a lot of issues which hit any couple in a 'steady state' (a k a marriage).
Dil Kabaddi is the story of two couples - Meeta (Soha Ali Khan) and Samit (Irfan Khan) & Simi (Konkona Sen Sharma) and Rishi (Rahul Bose). The first couple decides to 'amicably separate' and the second couple (their best friends) start questioning their own relationship.
The question is 'what went wrong'?
Mayank Shekhar observes: "It’s a little hard to believe that the two central characters here, possibly in their early 40’s (Bose, Irrfan), going through the usual mid-life crisis, would suffer excitement issues with women so young and intelligent (Konkana, Soha)"
The issue however is not how attractive these men or women may be to other people. The main problem seems to be constant criticism.
The very first scene opens with Meeta and Samit in a car, with Meeta rebuking him roundly for wearing dark glasses in the night. "Yeh style hai.." he replies lamely. "What style? Style for people with no style," is her verdict.
Meanwhile Simi says of her college professor husband not once but several times in the film,"You are too critical." Which is why she never shares her poems with him, but with Veer, the cute guy at her office.
We all like to be validated and appreciated. So why DO we become so critical with those who are closest to us and who want our emotional support the most? Well, partly I would say it is the negative side of our much vaunted "Indian culture".
Family hai na, we can take each other for granted. Few of us have seen our parents being affectionate and appreciative of each other. And we follow the same pattern.
And basically we create a cycle. Maybe Meeta is the critical type... but maybe it all gets worse because Samit does not show any respect for the things that are important to her. She feels neglected and unheard and so, a small thing like those dark glasses which she could have remarked about in a more light hearted manner ends up sounding very harsh and critical.
So lesson # 1: Love is not enough. Appreciate, appreciate, appreciate!
The second interesting thing which Meeta remarks at one point is really about the tipping point in a relationship. She muses,"After X incident I had decided in my heart that I am leaving this guy and so anything he said or did started irritating me."
Yes, the truth is that it is not irritations which lead to people breaking up but a small voice inside that has already spoken:"Pssst - he or she is not the right one for you."
And then EVERYTHING about that person starts bothering you.
Remember what they say about rose-tinted glasses? Well many of us exchange them for a pair like Irfan Khan was wearing and then suddenly everything goes dark.
So what is the 'escape route'? The film explores the most common one: hooking up with someone else.
In what must be every 40something guy's fantasy, Samit shacks up with an airheaded aerobic instructor who is happy to have sex and watch mindless films with him. Now this character called Kaya (played by Payal Rohatgi) is a complete caricature but the bottomline is there is NO such thing as a low-maintenance partner. Everyone has some quirk or some control drama which means you will have to 'compromise'.
Samit realises it's better to live with an uptight Meeta and watch art films than eat ghaas-phoos and suffer a socially embarassing Kaya.
Meanwhile Meeta too has 'found someone' but please note that despite the modern packaging she is a bhartiya naari. And so although she has not one, but two guys interested in her she never actually has sex with either of them.
How realistic is that? I guess the director thought the audience would not accept the couple getting back together again if she had her fair share of escapades as well. Remember 'Life in a Metro' (which was of course more sensitively handled)?
Even the men in the film are amazingly inhibited (there is a v funny scene where Irfan does sheershasana when he is first trying to have a fling and starts palpitating).
One of the most interesting characters in the film however is Raga (played extremely well by newcomer Saba Azad). She is a young student Rishi is attracted to. The monologue where she talks about how older men always get the hots for her is both sad and funny. You *know* there are girls like this out there. It's an ego trip as they flit from one such victory to another until one day they wake up feeling empty and confused.
The most complex character of all is Simi - the passive-aggressive type who 'knows how to get her way'. Without actually, directly, asking.
And it's instructive to note that Simi - the one who gets MOST upset about her friends breaking up - is the one who has been suppressing similar issues. Like the guys who shout the loudest against obscenity and Valentine's Day - I bet at some level they are struggling with those issues deep inside!
At the end of the film, there are no answers. On the one hand Meeta and Samit have patched up. They 'never fight' now. When Meeta gets angry she just goes and starts washing already washed clothes again in the machine.
"We have kept a black shirt there - kya pata kab zaroorat pad jaaye", says Samit. The shirt is almost white now, and we laugh, ha ha.
Simi leaves Rishi and marries Veer, whom she manipulates with a smile. Who knows where they will be four years from now? Maybe Veer will keep a black shirt next to their washing machine - to cope.
So although the film is a comedy (and yes there are laughs at several points) it is ultimately a depressing message. Maintaining a relationship on the basis of love and mutual respect is bloody difficult. Don't even try!
Of course, as Mayank noted in his review: Clearly the setting is copiously derived. Marriages in India are instantly a function of families, where parents are most involved. Divorces and experiments don’t come this easy.
Woh to hai. I mean half the couples in this country would probably have been playing dil kabaddi it weren't for the kids and log kya kahenge. And of course, many of them do, while pretending to live 'happily married lives'.
As for the film - for the great performances, some great moments and gags - I give it 3 stars. It's definitely the best of the 3 Bollywood releases on this weekend!
Friday, December 05, 2008
College fests: is the party over?
On the one hand, the mood is sombre with the recent terror attacks. On the other, sponsorship to festivals has been hit due to economic slowdown.
The annual festival of Mithibai college - Kshitij - cancelled its pro-nite. Instead, they had a concert by the alumni and current students. and the money they had raised will be donated towards treatment of victims of the terror attacked.
Also, Mumbai Mirror notes that the usual celebs were missing on day 1 of the fest as they were busy the peace rally at Gateway of India.
Meanwhile, Tempest, the annual festival of Miranda House in Delhi University received a rude shock when one of its main sponsors (a well known telecom company) backed out a day before the fest was to start.
JAM magazine received an SOS from the Miranda House Students' Union on Dec 3, the day the festival started. At this stage Miranda was willing to offer a special deal with benefits for the next two years!
Unfortunately it was too late for us to rustle up an emergency sponsor. The festival concludes today.
Meanwhile the status of other festivals - at least in Mumbai - is not very clear. SIES college Fantasies' for example, is currently in limbo.
The moral of the story is that the party seems to be over - for reasons of sentiment, security and scarcity of sponsorship. Like the rest of the economy, college fests will have to downsize.
This may not be a bad thing at all because IMHO, in recent years, college festivals had become more about one-upmanship and sponsorship than a platform for talent, friendship and personal growth.
You don't need large amounts of money, media coverage and celebrities to have a rocking festival. Or well, you will have to learn to do without them.
And guess what - you will have just as much fun, probably more!
In fact I personally think colleges should have intra-fests and then an inter-collegiate fest should be hosted by ONE college in a particular locality every year. eg in Matunga-Sion area this Ruia could host it one year, Podar the next and SIES the third.
The organising committee can be from across colleges - whoever the main host may be. Events can be held at more than one college, given the space crunch. Surplus from sponsorship revenue can be put in a common pool and shared.
Is this at all feasible? Well. We talk of inter-department co-ordination in the government, police, armed forces and so on. But when it comes to our own little worlds, we want to protect our turf and declare 'mera fest tere se bada tha'.
We will carry forward this mindset, wherever we go. The time has come to change that, along with all the 'big stuff'.
The annual festival of Mithibai college - Kshitij - cancelled its pro-nite. Instead, they had a concert by the alumni and current students. and the money they had raised will be donated towards treatment of victims of the terror attacked.
Also, Mumbai Mirror notes that the usual celebs were missing on day 1 of the fest as they were busy the peace rally at Gateway of India.
Meanwhile, Tempest, the annual festival of Miranda House in Delhi University received a rude shock when one of its main sponsors (a well known telecom company) backed out a day before the fest was to start.
JAM magazine received an SOS from the Miranda House Students' Union on Dec 3, the day the festival started. At this stage Miranda was willing to offer a special deal with benefits for the next two years!
Unfortunately it was too late for us to rustle up an emergency sponsor. The festival concludes today.
Meanwhile the status of other festivals - at least in Mumbai - is not very clear. SIES college Fantasies' for example, is currently in limbo.
The moral of the story is that the party seems to be over - for reasons of sentiment, security and scarcity of sponsorship. Like the rest of the economy, college fests will have to downsize.
This may not be a bad thing at all because IMHO, in recent years, college festivals had become more about one-upmanship and sponsorship than a platform for talent, friendship and personal growth.
You don't need large amounts of money, media coverage and celebrities to have a rocking festival. Or well, you will have to learn to do without them.
And guess what - you will have just as much fun, probably more!
In fact I personally think colleges should have intra-fests and then an inter-collegiate fest should be hosted by ONE college in a particular locality every year. eg in Matunga-Sion area this Ruia could host it one year, Podar the next and SIES the third.
The organising committee can be from across colleges - whoever the main host may be. Events can be held at more than one college, given the space crunch. Surplus from sponsorship revenue can be put in a common pool and shared.
Is this at all feasible? Well. We talk of inter-department co-ordination in the government, police, armed forces and so on. But when it comes to our own little worlds, we want to protect our turf and declare 'mera fest tere se bada tha'.
We will carry forward this mindset, wherever we go. The time has come to change that, along with all the 'big stuff'.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Did the media overdo it?
We, the undersigned, citizens of India, humbly pray for the following reliefs;
1. That this Hon'ble Court call for the complete and unedited footage from all TV News Channels broadcasting the attacks 'live', starting from 9:30pm on Wednesday 26th November 2008 and until the morning of Saturday the 29th November 2008 and examine the same by itself or through any appropriate agency as appointed by it, to investigate and determine the manner in which sensitive information pertaining to the movement of Counter-Insurgency Operations was broadcast 'live'.
That is a petition from 'Small Change' , started by singer-composer Vishal Dadlani.
And of course we had that outburst from Admiral Suresh Mehta, chief of naval staff. He was disturbed by the 'excessively heavy reporting' during the commando operations
As a member of the media I think:
* Yes, a code of conduct needs to be formulated and it will. In war zones the army can control what the media can see and report on. But we've never seen this kind of urban attack before!
* I thought close up shots of NSG commandos landing at Nariman House were avoidable. But so was the huge crowd gathered on the street outside the operation despite so called curfew!
* Apart from actual coverage during those 60 hours what sickens me is the constant replay of the visuals. Do we need to see the Taj burning for the nth time and have every report prefaced with some 'explanation' of what happened? As if Rumpelstiltskin just woke up and switched on the television??
I think apart from actual death and destruction the terrorists were completely successful in terrorising those of us who were miles away from the guns and grenades.
And THAT is why we must also have a post-event code of conduct. A self-imposed ban on 'oh! we had such great coverage', 'we were exclusive!'. Which gives another excuse to once again loop those disturbing visuals.
I mean all channels had reporters out there, all day, all night, doing the best they could. This is not the time for the 'mera reporter tumhare reporter se tez hai' brand of competition.
Lastly I would like to add that the media - and TV in particular - is the only source of up-to-date information the aam junta has. And it is generally a good thing.
Like last evening, returning from Gateway, I heard there was a 'bomb scare at CST station'. The first thing I did was call at home and ask,"Please switch on the TV and tell me if it's ok to take a train!"
Other options? Well, I did notice this poster in the train. Perhaps it's always been there but I just never paid attention to it before...
Please do note that number but oh, if it is engaged or unreachable I guess you may just have to call home and ask your mom to turn on the television!
1. That this Hon'ble Court call for the complete and unedited footage from all TV News Channels broadcasting the attacks 'live', starting from 9:30pm on Wednesday 26th November 2008 and until the morning of Saturday the 29th November 2008 and examine the same by itself or through any appropriate agency as appointed by it, to investigate and determine the manner in which sensitive information pertaining to the movement of Counter-Insurgency Operations was broadcast 'live'.
That is a petition from 'Small Change' , started by singer-composer Vishal Dadlani.
And of course we had that outburst from Admiral Suresh Mehta, chief of naval staff. He was disturbed by the 'excessively heavy reporting' during the commando operations
As a member of the media I think:
* Yes, a code of conduct needs to be formulated and it will. In war zones the army can control what the media can see and report on. But we've never seen this kind of urban attack before!
* I thought close up shots of NSG commandos landing at Nariman House were avoidable. But so was the huge crowd gathered on the street outside the operation despite so called curfew!
* Apart from actual coverage during those 60 hours what sickens me is the constant replay of the visuals. Do we need to see the Taj burning for the nth time and have every report prefaced with some 'explanation' of what happened? As if Rumpelstiltskin just woke up and switched on the television??
I think apart from actual death and destruction the terrorists were completely successful in terrorising those of us who were miles away from the guns and grenades.
And THAT is why we must also have a post-event code of conduct. A self-imposed ban on 'oh! we had such great coverage', 'we were exclusive!'. Which gives another excuse to once again loop those disturbing visuals.
I mean all channels had reporters out there, all day, all night, doing the best they could. This is not the time for the 'mera reporter tumhare reporter se tez hai' brand of competition.
Lastly I would like to add that the media - and TV in particular - is the only source of up-to-date information the aam junta has. And it is generally a good thing.
Like last evening, returning from Gateway, I heard there was a 'bomb scare at CST station'. The first thing I did was call at home and ask,"Please switch on the TV and tell me if it's ok to take a train!"
Other options? Well, I did notice this poster in the train. Perhaps it's always been there but I just never paid attention to it before...
Please do note that number but oh, if it is engaged or unreachable I guess you may just have to call home and ask your mom to turn on the television!
Gateway of India: keep the candle burning
The deeper the slumber, the louder the alarm needed to wake you up. That is the only 'explanation' that puts into perspective the recent Mumbai terror attacks.Last evening at the Gateway of India, thousands of people gathered to say,"We are awake and alive, and we want to *do* something". I was one of them but honestly, I landed up at the rally - if you can call it that - more by accident than design.
I mean, sure I too want to *do* something but somehow I was not moved by the idea of lighting candles... Yet, I am glad I went to Gateway yesterday because the half hour I spent there told me this IS the start of something.
First of all, the NUMBER of people who were there. It was truly mindboggling. I reached there @ 6 pm and by then the crowd was packed thick right upto Suba Palace. By the time I left it had spilled over upto Regal circle.
The second important thing was the KIND of people in the crowd. This was not one of those rallies the NSS takes out in memory of Hiroshima where students have been drafted. No sir, here there were young and old, uncle and dude, matronly old ladies and even toddlers in prams.
Everyone was there out of choice and seething with anger. Anger against Pakistan, against politicians and against the System. But united in their love for this country and the feeling that the time has come to make a difference.
A part of me said,"Hey, they are just chanting slogans. Kal wapas kaam pe - aur sab bhool jayenge". A part of me wanted to join in the shouting... And a tiny part of course wanted to record the moment (blame it on two decades in journalism!)
So I have taken a few grainy pics and videos but kindly maaf the quality. I did not go as a reporter, carrying the right equipment et al. Yes, stupidly, some are even in horizontal mode.
Yet I am uploading one just to give you an idea of the *atmosphere*. I know the TV channels covered it but that was close and upfront - at Gateway. Many like me never even made it to Gateway - but it did not matter. We were all connected and part of a giant pulsating organism.
Chants of Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai rent the air even as the Indian flag was held high in the air - every 20 metres or so.
And surprisingly, despite NO policemen at all to control it, the crowd was very disciplined. The road was full of people surging towards Gateway, while the footpath consisted of those turning back from there.
For a brief moment I wondered if all the suffocation and crush was really a good thing... It teetered on the edge for a bit, but did not get unbearable.
Apart from slogans, there were also many people carrying placards. Distributing pamphlets. People who had put down a charter of demands, registered urls and yes of course this is much easier than getting *change* off the ground but it is surely a beginning!
I think there were at least a lakh of people present - maybe more - and for the first time People Like Us have taken to the streets and signalled to politicians that hey,"We are NOT okay with what you guys have been doing!"
The next step of course is to say this through the ballot box, use PIL, RTI and all other means possible and make sure we don't drift back into sleep.
What does this mean at an individual level? Well, it means time, and effort and some pain in your day to day life.
As my friend, owns a restaurant nearby mused,"End corruption is all very well but how will we run our business if we stop giving bribes to the BMC?"
Ten restaurants like him in that area need to get together and say okay, all of us are not going to pay hafta. Ab dekhte hain kya kar loge... The question is, will we see initiatives like this?
I honestly think there can be a revolution if:
# Some of us are moved enough to take up citizen's initiatives and social work as a full time career. Given the current economic slowdown and job losses this is actually quite feasible. Besides, there are enough people with old money and new money who can say I will take out 3 years of my life in the service of this nation!
# The rest of us should support these initiatives by giving our time and attention. By volunteering on weekends, taking responsibility in our area of work or residence. 10-12 hours a week is not asking too much I think?
# The media should continue to support and highlight what can be done, what is being done and how it can be done better. And give MORE prominence to this 'boring' stuff than X ke abs aur Y ka butt. Each media house has its own version of 'let us unite against terror' but let us hope that apart from petitions they simply take forward the task of getting good governance by hounding and shaming errant politicians.
Thousands of candles were lighted but in the weeks and months ahead we must keep that flame - the desire for change - burning.
P.S. If you have started an organisation or movement to bring about on any kind of social change and would like to be featured in JAM magazine drop me a line. The id is rashmi_b at yahoo.
My next couple of posts will focus on initiatives arising out of these attacks - and some unrelated ones - which I think are interesting!
And oh, the video upload option in blogger refuses to work! Shall do the needful in a bit - going out to get some fresh air.
Monday, December 01, 2008
A lot has been said...
but this is one aspect of the bungled-up System which just hit me the hardest.
J Dey @ Midday reports: Every single bullet went through the jackets
Slain encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar had 59 encounter killings to his credit. He was always in the line of fire, yet, he never wore a bulletproof jacket. It was no different when he was mowed down in Wednesday's terror attacks.
But it wasn't the absence of a bulletproof (BP) vest that killed him. Officers close to him believe, he would have died even if he had worn the vest as they provide no defence against AK-56 and AK-47 gun fire the weapons used by the militants in Mumbai's terror attacks.
"In 2004, samples of these vests were sent for a trial at the firing range of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF). They were fitted on dummies, [as is the practice] and sprayed with AK-47 bullets and bullets from self-loading rifles (SLR). Every single bullet went through the jackets even though the rounds were fired from a distance," a senior police official revealed, on condition of anonymity.
So, did a terrorist kill Hemant Karkare... Or was it his own countrymen??
In football it's called an 'own goal'.
In war, it is called TREASON.
A few other thought provoking articles and blogs:
Anyone remember 'Lead India'? - by Piyul Mukherjee
Reflections on the night of terror - by Rama Bijapurkar (who had a lucky escape from the Trident)
Surprised? by Arun Shourie (He also brought up the same points in a discussion on TV during those 59 hours and it was one of the most fact-based and concrete discussions I have ever seen on the medium!)
As for my own 'original' thoughts, I am not having too many of them right now. There are a lot of people bringing up the right issues and initiatives. The time has come for us to figure out how, and what, we can start doing.
I'll end with an observation Karan Johar made on his blog :
The most common thing I hear from people is, “I want to do something, but what can I do?” The answer to this question has resulted in candlelight vigils and sms’s to wear black clothes or light a candle in our windows to show support and solidarity. It’s all very well and good because it is therapeutic. Our natural instincts veer us towards acting out – or at least towards being more active...
But this is the really beautiful part, a sentiment I echo completely. He writes:
A few days ago the problems plaguing us were issues concerning estranged relationships with family members, that fight you had with your sister or that impending break up with your lover. Our focus has now shifted to something so much bigger than us... The hypocrisy unnerves me. We have issues with political figures, but how are we at home with our parents?
We can’t fix anything on the outside until we fix our equations on the inside.
The universe has given us a body of relationships that we have a right to live up to – and we have no business expending our energies on vocalizing disdain towards the system or typing out petitions for change until we create peace in our individual worlds. Only then can we have peace on the streets. Only then can we truly be fit to fight.
Amen
J Dey @ Midday reports: Every single bullet went through the jackets
Slain encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar had 59 encounter killings to his credit. He was always in the line of fire, yet, he never wore a bulletproof jacket. It was no different when he was mowed down in Wednesday's terror attacks.
But it wasn't the absence of a bulletproof (BP) vest that killed him. Officers close to him believe, he would have died even if he had worn the vest as they provide no defence against AK-56 and AK-47 gun fire the weapons used by the militants in Mumbai's terror attacks.
"In 2004, samples of these vests were sent for a trial at the firing range of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF). They were fitted on dummies, [as is the practice] and sprayed with AK-47 bullets and bullets from self-loading rifles (SLR). Every single bullet went through the jackets even though the rounds were fired from a distance," a senior police official revealed, on condition of anonymity.
So, did a terrorist kill Hemant Karkare... Or was it his own countrymen??
In football it's called an 'own goal'.
In war, it is called TREASON.
A few other thought provoking articles and blogs:
Anyone remember 'Lead India'? - by Piyul Mukherjee
Reflections on the night of terror - by Rama Bijapurkar (who had a lucky escape from the Trident)
Surprised? by Arun Shourie (He also brought up the same points in a discussion on TV during those 59 hours and it was one of the most fact-based and concrete discussions I have ever seen on the medium!)
As for my own 'original' thoughts, I am not having too many of them right now. There are a lot of people bringing up the right issues and initiatives. The time has come for us to figure out how, and what, we can start doing.
I'll end with an observation Karan Johar made on his blog :
The most common thing I hear from people is, “I want to do something, but what can I do?” The answer to this question has resulted in candlelight vigils and sms’s to wear black clothes or light a candle in our windows to show support and solidarity. It’s all very well and good because it is therapeutic. Our natural instincts veer us towards acting out – or at least towards being more active...
But this is the really beautiful part, a sentiment I echo completely. He writes:
A few days ago the problems plaguing us were issues concerning estranged relationships with family members, that fight you had with your sister or that impending break up with your lover. Our focus has now shifted to something so much bigger than us... The hypocrisy unnerves me. We have issues with political figures, but how are we at home with our parents?
We can’t fix anything on the outside until we fix our equations on the inside.
The universe has given us a body of relationships that we have a right to live up to – and we have no business expending our energies on vocalizing disdain towards the system or typing out petitions for change until we create peace in our individual worlds. Only then can we have peace on the streets. Only then can we truly be fit to fight.
Amen
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