A shootout at IISc Bangalore.AK-47 et al.
Its not just another shootout. Its a slap on the face. A slap on the face of the new India we are so proud of.An India of knowledge workers, research scientists,malls and multiplexes, and new, un-inhibited attitudes and ambitions.
Its a slap which will resound loud and clear - in police departments, government offices,parliament(?) tech centres and most importantly, corporate boardrooms and investment offices worldwide .Its a slap which will put doubts in the minds of new-age believers of the India story.
The message sent out ,by the terrorists-that-be , is clear : India may be the flavour of the decade, but it is still a third-world country ridden by terrorism , so think twice before sending your dollars here.
What should be India's response ? People say - beef up security, monitor,watch, frisk everyone - sure ,it will help - but wont it be a waste of resources to defend against a rare freak attack??
I say , do the best you can with security.But more than that, make sure you make more Bangalores. May there be Bangalores galore.
How many will you target??We will be unfazed, we will defend our institutions and educators, but we will not stop making more and more of them.We will not play into your hands .We will keep going.We wont stop.
31 December 2005
25 December 2005
20 passports daily,bas!!!
Passport authorisation has been decentralised.What this means is that passports will now be issued centrally, but will be authorised locally.So,there will be no middlemen/agents doing passport work by paying bribes at the HO. Instead, a person goes to a local police station,and applies for a passport - the application is verified by a local passport officer, and sent to HO for final authorisation.Good move, I must say. You gotta give it to them - its a good move - it cuts down the processing time at HO, it cuts down the huge queues, it cuts down transaction costs, and reduces interface time for the passport-aspirer.
What is beyond my understanding is why , the local passport office cannot process more than 20 applications in a day. The whole idea of localisation must be to process more applications with the least amount of redtape and help make the HO an 'enabler' ,not a regulator.
The '20 applications only' rule is ridiculous to say the least.What this means is that people who want a passport need to go to the local issuing office as early in the morning as possible(weird times like 4 am are not uncommon) and get a number amongst the first 20 applicants for the day.
So, what this means that , a public which is happier that passport work will get done locally- returns home feeling disgruntled ,since localisation has only simplified the HO's operations - life for the average passport aspirer is still inconvenient.
What is beyond my understanding is why , the local passport office cannot process more than 20 applications in a day. The whole idea of localisation must be to process more applications with the least amount of redtape and help make the HO an 'enabler' ,not a regulator.
The '20 applications only' rule is ridiculous to say the least.What this means is that people who want a passport need to go to the local issuing office as early in the morning as possible(weird times like 4 am are not uncommon) and get a number amongst the first 20 applicants for the day.
So, what this means that , a public which is happier that passport work will get done locally- returns home feeling disgruntled ,since localisation has only simplified the HO's operations - life for the average passport aspirer is still inconvenient.
19 December 2005
Just Did It
There are days , and then there are days.
Most times, life is like sport. On some days everything, absolutely everything ,goes wrong. You feel bottom of the pile, and feel as straijacketed as ,well, a straitjacketed guy.
And on another day, everything seems absolutely perfect. 18/12/2005 was one such day. Nothing went wrong. Everything went right , and went my way all the time.
Ok , enough shit. I did it. I Got Placed. I am no longer a jobless MBA. I have a job.
At 'I still cant believe it' - Nike. Yea, the sportswala Nike.
I Just Did It.
Most times, life is like sport. On some days everything, absolutely everything ,goes wrong. You feel bottom of the pile, and feel as straijacketed as ,well, a straitjacketed guy.
And on another day, everything seems absolutely perfect. 18/12/2005 was one such day. Nothing went wrong. Everything went right , and went my way all the time.
Ok , enough shit. I did it. I Got Placed. I am no longer a jobless MBA. I have a job.
At 'I still cant believe it' - Nike. Yea, the sportswala Nike.
I Just Did It.
18 December 2005
Why fresh MBAs jump jobs
Its placement time.Companies are here. They want us. Some want us bad. And they will go to great lengths to get the best people.
Most of these companies come to campus expecting to meet mature managers. What they get is a bunch of confused souls (including yours truly) who dont know where they're headed or what they want.
Here's a sample of some questions plaguing students ---
' This company's paying pretty well , but I hate the sector - what should I do ?'
'I love the job profile, but they're paying peanuts yaar.'
A lot of times, students apply to companies based on what they hear about the companies , or simply on the basis of pay packages. I dont blame them - half the world believes that MBAs are supposed to make a lot of money - and its a bias which is very deeply entrenched in young minds. Plus, most students have loans to pay off - since most are financing their higher education themselves. So accepting a job which doesnt pay well, but might have good levels of responsibility or might be exciting, is a tough call which very few courageous blokes make. Also, the way the placement process is structured, the companies with the best 'pay-packets' come first , so the placement rush becomes a rush to get 'placed' first ,rather than getting placed at the right 'place'.End result - a lot of people land up where they never thought they would - very lucky few really make it to the places they want to be.
The next one or two years go in finding your feet - knowing where you want to be. And then to be there, MBAs hop jobs.
That ,in short explains why many fresh MBAs hop jobs.
Most of these companies come to campus expecting to meet mature managers. What they get is a bunch of confused souls (including yours truly) who dont know where they're headed or what they want.
Here's a sample of some questions plaguing students ---
' This company's paying pretty well , but I hate the sector - what should I do ?'
'I love the job profile, but they're paying peanuts yaar.'
A lot of times, students apply to companies based on what they hear about the companies , or simply on the basis of pay packages. I dont blame them - half the world believes that MBAs are supposed to make a lot of money - and its a bias which is very deeply entrenched in young minds. Plus, most students have loans to pay off - since most are financing their higher education themselves. So accepting a job which doesnt pay well, but might have good levels of responsibility or might be exciting, is a tough call which very few courageous blokes make. Also, the way the placement process is structured, the companies with the best 'pay-packets' come first , so the placement rush becomes a rush to get 'placed' first ,rather than getting placed at the right 'place'.End result - a lot of people land up where they never thought they would - very lucky few really make it to the places they want to be.
The next one or two years go in finding your feet - knowing where you want to be. And then to be there, MBAs hop jobs.
That ,in short explains why many fresh MBAs hop jobs.
09 December 2005
A Chill in the Air
There's a chill in the air. The stirring of a changing season.And I feel it every day when I'm out on my 15 minute jog in the wintry mornings.But that's not the chill I'm worried about.
Somehow the 'chill' seems to be settling into college ,too. Placement season is nearing , and students are huddling together in groups -discussing strategies, tactics , and gameplans to corner the top companies and the best jobs.There are some exciting times ahead for all of us , for , the future beckons us with arms wide open.
But there's something about placement season that scares me. Friends with whom I've spent close to 2 years now, will become arch-enemies in the quest for that 'hot' job.Its a cut throat world out there, and a lot of what will happen over the next month or so, will be just that- cutting throats ,getting sidestepped, getting trampled over, squashing someone else's hopes to keep your own alive.Like any sport, the placement game is played the hard way, with a lot of gamesmanship thrown in.But at the end of the day , in sport ,people shake hands , and salute the spirit of competition.
Not so in this game.
People will hold grudges long after placements are over - 'You cut me ! You did not let me speak in the GD ! I was right !!' Someone will blame me for what they dont have.Or vice versa.
And that scares me.At the end of it all, will I be able to look into my friends' eyes without feeling that I short-changed them ?
Will things be the same between friends ? Coz if they dont, everyone loses.Whatever job whoever lands up with.
I have been a big advocate of Bschools and their methods - and their 'birds-eye-views'.But I'm having second thoughts about this one thing.
Somehow the 'chill' seems to be settling into college ,too. Placement season is nearing , and students are huddling together in groups -discussing strategies, tactics , and gameplans to corner the top companies and the best jobs.There are some exciting times ahead for all of us , for , the future beckons us with arms wide open.
But there's something about placement season that scares me. Friends with whom I've spent close to 2 years now, will become arch-enemies in the quest for that 'hot' job.Its a cut throat world out there, and a lot of what will happen over the next month or so, will be just that- cutting throats ,getting sidestepped, getting trampled over, squashing someone else's hopes to keep your own alive.Like any sport, the placement game is played the hard way, with a lot of gamesmanship thrown in.But at the end of the day , in sport ,people shake hands , and salute the spirit of competition.
Not so in this game.
People will hold grudges long after placements are over - 'You cut me ! You did not let me speak in the GD ! I was right !!' Someone will blame me for what they dont have.Or vice versa.
And that scares me.At the end of it all, will I be able to look into my friends' eyes without feeling that I short-changed them ?
Will things be the same between friends ? Coz if they dont, everyone loses.Whatever job whoever lands up with.
I have been a big advocate of Bschools and their methods - and their 'birds-eye-views'.But I'm having second thoughts about this one thing.
03 December 2005
New Age Melas
My mind wanders back 100 years...and I think, hey ,what did my ancestral folks in the villages do to entertain themselves??
They had their own forms of entertainment - cock fights ,bull races, tamashas,jatras , and above all - melas - where people turned up (and still do) in HUGE numbers for fun,frolic, and some shopping with the family.
But times change.Sure.So people moved to cities.And started running corporations,government,and other services instead of farming crop.
So what do the people-of-today do to entertain themselves ??They watch movies , play sports,eat out , shop , and so on.If that's what people do to have fun , then the malls &multiplexes have come to represent the 'new age' melas - where people gather,,shop some,eat some and generally entertain themselves.So malls are the new age melas - melas which exist everyday in people's lives - where a different set of people come everyday for their dose of fun.
Times change . Sure they do.
They had their own forms of entertainment - cock fights ,bull races, tamashas,jatras , and above all - melas - where people turned up (and still do) in HUGE numbers for fun,frolic, and some shopping with the family.
But times change.Sure.So people moved to cities.And started running corporations,government,and other services instead of farming crop.
So what do the people-of-today do to entertain themselves ??They watch movies , play sports,eat out , shop , and so on.If that's what people do to have fun , then the malls &multiplexes have come to represent the 'new age' melas - where people gather,,shop some,eat some and generally entertain themselves.So malls are the new age melas - melas which exist everyday in people's lives - where a different set of people come everyday for their dose of fun.
Times change . Sure they do.
02 December 2005
Hutch on Target
hutch ads work.period.
take the latest ones.the ones with irfan exhorting people to buy top-up cards from Rs 10/- to Rs 198/- ,each for a different reason - 'girlfriend ko i love you bolna hai, to chota recharge'
yesterday i was in a small retail shop- and a construction worker walks into the store with his friend - and asks for a Hutch recharge card of Rs 10/- with a mischievious smile on his face(maybe the girlfriend funda touched a chord somewhere!)....
this is not surprising - ads generate responses.but i'm in pune.hutch does not exist in pune.(it exists as BPL cellular , but the common man doesnt know that).nowhere is there a hutch poster /dog /banner in pune.but our friend the construction worker insisted on the hutch chota recharge.dats good advertising for you.keep going Hutch.way to go.
P.S.: my sympathies,though, lie with the retailer who had to explain to our friend over and over again that the card wasnt available in pune yet , and that it was a top-up card with a single-day validity only....
take the latest ones.the ones with irfan exhorting people to buy top-up cards from Rs 10/- to Rs 198/- ,each for a different reason - 'girlfriend ko i love you bolna hai, to chota recharge'
yesterday i was in a small retail shop- and a construction worker walks into the store with his friend - and asks for a Hutch recharge card of Rs 10/- with a mischievious smile on his face(maybe the girlfriend funda touched a chord somewhere!)....
this is not surprising - ads generate responses.but i'm in pune.hutch does not exist in pune.(it exists as BPL cellular , but the common man doesnt know that).nowhere is there a hutch poster /dog /banner in pune.but our friend the construction worker insisted on the hutch chota recharge.dats good advertising for you.keep going Hutch.way to go.
P.S.: my sympathies,though, lie with the retailer who had to explain to our friend over and over again that the card wasnt available in pune yet , and that it was a top-up card with a single-day validity only....
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