The scar of 2003... Unhealed...

It was 13^th July 2002. Me, a young Cricket fan with India as the favorite team, was hopeful of a trophy. However, England came out and posted a 325! A score so mammoth at the time, that it deflated all hopes of a trophy almost immediately. And even though India had a great start with Ganguly and Sehwag going all guns blazing, it still seemed like an impossible mountain to climb. Such was the state of Indian cricket then, us, the young fans, did not have belief in the team to be a challenger to the mighty powers of the cricketing world. And when India was 140 odd for 5 and Tendulkar departed, I went to sleep, dejected and unable to eat food. The same old story was repeating itself. My favorite team was losing yet another big match.

Midway through my disturbed sleep, I was woken up by Papa, an otherwise cricket critic who did not want his son to be distracted from other priorities in life, for a game we never excelled in. “Pushkin uth dekh India jeet rahi hai” he said, watching the match alone as an exception. I was bewildered! I did not believe the words that came out of his mouth until I ran out and saw the scoreline on the TV myself. It was 250 odd, still for the loss of 5 and an unknown pair of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were pulling off a heist! For the next 40 odd minutes, I sat and witnessed the unimaginable! That last 2 run shot by Kaif followed by the shirtless roar of Dada, will forever be etched in my memory. That night, the new Team India, taught a young teenage mind, that it is not over unless it is over. Taught the young Indians to dream and achieve what seems impossible. Gave us hope that India can win and win from grave situations. Taught the nation to support the team right till the end! Made us look upto our cricketing stars as heroes in real life.

And it was with this hope that we started the day on 23^rd March 2003. It was the final of a World Cup which our heroes Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid, Zaheer and others HAD to win for us! The lead up to this day was nothing but ideal. India was coming off a terrible tour of New Zealand and the start of the World Cup campaign itself was very shaky. There was belief when our favorite captain declared just before the World Cup that there is no reason why Tendulkar cannot open the innings again. And Tendulkar did what he did best back then – instilled hope in the hearts of the nation, hope that he will bring the cup home this time. The way he and the rest of the team played after the first two matches, it made the cup seem closer, it was ours to win! The media that morning, had already declared, that bees saal baad, cup aayega!

So even though Zaheer went for 15 in the first over of the match and Ponting decimated the Indian bowling with a 140 odd to take Australia to 359, there was hope. Just 9 months back, we had pulled off a win from the jaws of defeat. We had chased a 325. This Indian team was an improved one and was dominant for the majority of the World Cup. The young teenager me was ever so sure of our team chasing this down! And I had learnt from July 2002 to never lose hope in my team. To always watch till the end.

That 1st over caught and bowled by McGrath shook me up. My hero, my God had just departed after a magnificent shot for 4, leaving his team and the nation reeling. But there was hope. Sehwag and Ganguly were playing well and we still had the heroes of Natwest in Yuvraj and Kaif to come. I watched in hope initially and despair later as wicket after wicket fell and we crumbled like a pack of cards. I watched till the end this time. Till we had lost. Till my hero picked up the player of the tournament trophy, but not the World Cup. Till the mighty Australian team, the “invincible in finals” Australian team, picked up the World Cup trophy. This match left a scar on my young teenage mind. A fear of facing Australia in the finals of big tournaments.

Cut to 19^th November 2023. India, the most dominant team by a distance in the World Cup, was facing Australia in the finals. 20 years later, it was probably the last opportunity for my generation to see our heroes achieve the impossible - beat the invincible Australia in a World Cup final. After all, the early teenagers of 2003, are in mid 30s now and probably had the last chance to look up to players as OUR heroes. I probably don’t see myself having the same enthusiasm in 2027, the teen-like passion that there was for last 20 years. I don’t see myself in 2027 watching ODI matches with never dying hope till the very end. For Kohli and Rohit to win 2023 was the only way the scar of 2003 could be healed.

Ironically, this time again, our prime bowler leaked 15 in the first over to reignite the wound of 2003. This time again an Australian smashed a century to be the player of the match in a World Cup final. This time again, the Indian batting crumbled under pressure. This time again, the fear of playing Australia in a World Cup final made us underperform. This time again, the player of the tournament did not get to lift the World Cup. For a generation which grieved 2003, this could have been the only redemption. Not to be…

When Rohtak burnt...

16^th February 2016: It was a casual Tuesday morning in Rohtak, when we left for office. The excitement was all about resumption of operations after a month long shut down of the factory. While some scurried to apply finishing touches, others planned critical start-up activities. No one had imagined that the turn of events would be so dramatic even before the sun had set for the day.

At 5 PM, the PA system buzzed with an announcement in a rough voice that we needed to evacuate in 10 minutes. Further inquiry revealed that a certain community was demanding reservations in educational institutes and government jobs and had staged a blockade of roads all around the city. There was just a single route to the city that was still accessible. It was critical to get people out before that route also got blocked! And then, in a scene almost rivaling that from the movie “Airlift”, a line of 7 buses and many more cars & bikes “escaped” the blockade.

Back home, it was important to stock up on essential supplies. Violence was not expected until then but it always made sense to prepare for the worst. Ready-to-eat food was secured, enough to last about 7 days. The next morning, a quick but cautious drive via one of the open routes got us to office. It surprised me to not see even a single cop anywhere across the 6 km drive! Weren’t we in the middle of a law and order situation already? Did the government care at all? Frenzied activity in the plant broke the thought process. With production start-up planned for the next day, everyone had their work cut out.

At 4:15 PM that evening, the sounds of beeping forklifts and firing pumps was interrupted with an announcement. Déjà vu! 10 minutes is what we had again to reach the waiting buses. And then again a motorcade left for the city meandering through fields and narrow lanes – roads that were never traveled before.

18^th February 2016: While on our way to the plant, we came across a blockade. NH10 was blocked using the bark of a fallen tree guarded by 4 young men probably still in their teens. THAT is all it takes to completely stop the flow of traffic on a major national highway in India! Wow! Back in office, there was an eerie silence. Rumors were doing the rounds that the situation is only going to get worse. Some companies around had started to suspend operations indefinitely. Most schools were already forced shut. The volcano of emotions trapped in the agitating community could erupt at any moment, and in the process, engulf the entire town in a smoke of devastation!

The rumors were validated that afternoon when we learnt that all vehicular traffic in Rohtak had been completely shut. All roads around the town were blocked and we were all stranded as we were! Production start had now become a secondary concern and safe evacuation of all was the priority. Almost everyone from the plant had gathered at the gate in a sea of confusion and uncertainty. Just then, a Tsunami broke the shore!

A group of about 25 men of different ages had blocked the gate with a tractor and a few bikes. They threatened us with hockey sticks, laathis, knifes and a language filled with abuse of all kind! The situation was unexpected and I must admit, the resources at hand to handle any potential violence, were inadequate. There is only so much that a few unarmed guards can do against a knife wielding, high on adrenaline mob!  Shocked, we stood our ground… Retreating would leave the gates unmanned and taking them on could be devastating. It was a game of patience and it was up to us to keep calm and not add fodder to their hunger for provocation. For a time that seemed like eternity, they continued to threaten us to shut the plant down. Eventually, they left. We continued to wait where we were, dumbstruck! The world outside was not safe!

It took us some time to get ourselves out of the shock and plan an evacuation. Meanwhile, all the gates were deployed with additional security and we divided ourselves to man different areas of the plant. Frantic calls were made to all government authorities to seek help, but the police were too few, too far and too helpless to act. It was finally the pradhan of a near-by village who reached for our help with several of his men. They all carried local guns or kattas, which was to be our protection that evening. We packed ourselves into buses and moved through blockade after blockade with our armed protectors marching along! The deafening silence in the town was only broken by chants of sword wielding protesters. The entire scene was flimsy as hell, only that it was for real!

19^th to 24^th February 2016: Internet access was blocked by the next morning and voice calls only went through with difficulty. The only connection with the outside world was a local news channel which gave very limited and polished information. Food supplies had to be judicially used to last us for we didn’t know how long, and after the first couple of days, there was no interest left to eat that ill-tasting, self-cooked, one meal a day. The scenes from the terrace were depressing – all that could be seen was smoke and fire erupting from different directions of the town. When phone calls went through, they always came with news of some or the other neighborhood being raided and burnt down by protesters. All we could do was keep an iron rod at our bedside and take turns to be awake through the night in the hope of being able to protect ourselves. The days were spent with a feeling of complete helplessness.

25^th February 2016: By now, it seemed like the worst was over. The Indian army had taken control of the town, choppers were keeping a watch at every area every minute and it appeared like the government had made a pact with the agitating community. At this point, I set out for a ride around the city, more out of frustration than out of a feeling of comfort and safety. The scenes were tragic! It showed how dangerous we are as a human race when we cannot keep our emotions in control. This was our people, our property, our neighborhood and our city that we destroyed…

Food for thought: The agitations engulfed the whole of Haryana and violence lasted for about a week. 30 people were killed and the state suffered an estimated loss of Rs.34,000 crore. About 1,100 properties were destroyed in Rohtak alone. The protests were a result of a demand for reservations for Jat community that was rejected by the Supreme Court of India in March 2015. Haryana has one of the highest population of Jat community and one of the highest per capita income across all Indian states.

Travel Diaries: Of People, Peaks and Play

“Kahaan hai saale? Bus choot jaayegi! Late ho raha hai toh tickets mail kar de, main chala jaaunga!” he said… How? Just how is this guy my friend for the last 17 years??! Thankfully, I made it just in time after a long hard day at office. The rendezvous point was Majnu ka tila in Delhi (I wonder what the story behind that name is)! Our destination was a small town called Dharamsala in the northern part of Himachal Pradesh, known for housing The Dalai Lama, and of course, hyped to have the most beautiful cricket stadium in the World! It was 1^st October 2015 and we were on a long weekend trip to watch the T20 International between India and South Africa the next evening. There was no time to exchange pleasantries as I arrived at our bus stop and frankly, after a lifetime of knowing each other, there wasn’t a need for it! “You’ve grown old man” he taunted as I took an avomine to survive the 12 hour journey up the Himalayas.

Direction signs to the T20 International venue had made their appearance some 50 kms before Dharamsala. The roads narrowed almost uncomfortably as we entered the town. The bus dropped us at a junction and moved ahead to Mcleodganj. There was no sign of any public transport which got me thinking about a trek up the 5 kms route to the hotel. Just then we spotted a yellow number plate Maruti Alto moving towards us. It was carrying a match official and refused to take us. I requested him to return after dropping the official to the stadium, being well aware that he wouldn’t! After all there would be 100s of others between the stadium and us who would kill for his services. I looked at my friend’s expression which said to me “Don’t even think of asking me to walk it up”. Not having another option, we decided to stand our ground in hope that at least one free taxi would stop by.

We stood there for the next 15 mins without any luck. The sun rays were soothing in the 15 odd degree temperature. Just then, our Maruti Alto taxi guy showed up! Why would he leave all the other potential customers and come to fetch us? What if we had already taken another taxi and gone? The smile on his face and the sweetness of his greeting answered my questions. We were in Himachal Pradesh! The people here are as sweet as the apples they grow. GPS and Google maps had failed us, but this little taxi guy hadn’t! Used to being looted when touring a new place, it was a pleasant surprise when he charged us a very reasonable sounding fare for the drive to our hotel, The Origin. Brings me to the most important point of this article – The experience of a tourist is defined not so much by the scenic landscapes, architectural marvels or adventurous sports, but by the manner in which he is treated by the locals! The assurance that you will not be harmed or cheated gives you the confidence to explore the area that much more. Your satisfaction at the end of a tour depends on how well you have traveled and how well you have spent your time and money on your travel.

Take for instance the hotel that we booked. This was 1 day of the year when all hotels in Dharamsala would be a complete sell out! This town of 20,000 population was hosting 24,000 people for the match! But the hotels did not hike their rates. Not very business minded you would think but very tourist friendly! The Manager at the hotel was another example of the pleasant nature of people from this part of the country. An early check-in and a delayed check-out was acceptable even at this rush hour. Our small but cozy rooms were readied in a jiffy and we were served with some delicious food, again at standard rates. He had 8 guests at his hotel without a vehicle and he owned 1 small car which would drop us to and pick us from the stadium. After many failed permutations and combinations from his side, he asked us to figure out how the pick-up and drop would work ourselves. Not very sharp but very sweet, I thought to myself. All sorted by the afternoon, we were to share the cab with a guy who worked for Google and his elder brother. They hailed from Delhi and seemed like smart chaps… (Duh! He worked for Google!!!) The simple arrangement was that the 4 of us would be dropped first and while returning, another family of 4 would be picked first and us later.

We entered the stadium about 3 hours before the start of play thanks to the not so long queue in our segment of seating. A thick cloud cover hid our view of the Himalayas but the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric! The arrival of every player saw the sound levels rise a few decibels. The largest of the cheers were reserved for Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers! Just then, the clouds moved out and exposed the greater Himalayas to our sight… Oh what a sight it was!

The match itself, was a thriller to say the least! We saw it all… A Rohit Sharma Century, a Kohli cameo, A Dhoni six off the last ball, a De Villiers cameo, a Duminy class, flying sixes, energetic run-outs, great spells, constructed innings and a close finish! It was a complete match which had it all (with the exception of Dale Steyn may be)! As we got out, finding our Google guy was a challenge thanks to the jammed phone networks! There were 25,000 people trying to access those limited towers and no one succeeded! The traffic made it all the more difficult and it was 1 AM by the time we got back to the hotel. Quite early as we walked up about a kilometer to meet our cabby so as to avoid the traffic. The long queue of cars however, waited patiently till the traffic was cleared by the residents. Another quality of the localities worth appreciation. Back at the hotel, the cook had stayed up to make some delicious hot food for us.

The next morning, we set out on a half day sightseeing tour of Mcleodganj. This trip was arranged with the cabby from last night, again for a reasonable sounding rate. The crowd who had come for the match would be leaving and we would be driving uphill, against the traffic. Anyone who has an experience of the roads in the Himalayas would know that this isn’t as easy as it sounds! Hence, it was crucial that we got there very early in the morning to avoid the traffic, and so we did. The Bhagsunag waterfall looked fresh and lively! The icy cold water re-energized the body after the short but tiring trek to the fall. Breakfast was served on the way back. The parathas and the hot tea felt all the more delicious to a tired, cold body!

Re-fueled, our next stop was the local market. This market was quite typical of any tourist hill station. The shops sold similar stuff - different varieties of winter wear and hand-made jewelry. The striking feature of this market was that it was completely set up and run by Tibetans. This place is the biggest refuge for Tibetans in India and that was clearly seen!

A short stroll took us to the Dalai Lama temple where we saw a huge gathering of monks! I asked one of them what the matter was and she cutely replied “Dalai Lama Ji aa rahe hain” (I didn’t know there were female monks!) Were we lucky or what! People do not get to meet him after years of waiting and here we were, ready to welcome him home after his trip to Canada. We quickly joined the gathering and waited patiently for his arrival. After a good 1 hour wait, he finally arrived with a fan following which could rival a Shahrukh Khan in Mumbai! With closed eyes and folded hands, all the monks welcomed their spiritual leader, their God! And my friend, who claims to be a photographer and owns a DSLR, did not even manage to get a picture of him! :-P

We came back to our waiting cabby who was ready to take us to our last 2 sightseeing spots, stopping every now and then to allow us to get a good shot of the Himalayas. Expected him to be quite irritated by now, but he surprised us yet again saying “Bhaiya yahi toh Memories hoti hain aapki”. The surprises from his side didn’t stop at that. He went on to tell us how he spent an year in this state called “Goa” trying to figure out there language called “Konkani”. This was soon after my friend had just said something to me in Konkani fully confident that no one other than me would understand! Luckily for us, our disbelief was resonated in him when we told him that both of us hail from Goa! The drive back to Dharamsala just got more enjoyable as we had some Konkani lessons to offer to our new friend!

Soon, the trip ended and we hopped onto the bus to Pathankot to catch our connecting train to Delhi. The Himalayas have it all! Breathtaking scenes, amazing weather, meandering rivers, beautiful people (if you know what I mean ;-))! We both considered setting up a small business and settling in here, forever… The pristine weather, the freshness of the air, the innocence of the people were all holding us back… The Great Himalayas never disappoint! Lost, I was in my thoughts as the phone rang. It was my boss and I had a problem to solve in office the next day…

A Game of Chess

It was a warm early morning of October. The year was 2003. I set out to play my first tournament of Chess in high school. My opponent was a scholar, the topper of the batch! And here I was, a rookie in the world of chess. Or so he thought. 3^rd move of the game, I delivered the knock-out punch, I took his queen! The expression on his face told the story. It was of utter disbelief! He was using the “Scholar’s Mate” move on me. He was supposed to win the game in the next move! How the hell did this happen? His expression slowly changed to surrender and in another 45 mins, I had won the game. This experience gave me my first major learning in chess and in life alike…

Having sat through multiple sessions on “Strategy” during my B-School days, I was always intrigued by the fabulous moves played by businesses around the world. Acquisitions, advertising, promotions, product launches, so on and so forth always threw multiple lessons in business strategy to be amazed by. One question remained unanswered – It’s okay for us to retrospectively analyze the moves but when these businesses are actually into these situations, how do they come up with these masterstrokes?

Some claim it is experience accumulated over the years. Some say it is having ‘expert analysts’ on their side which works. Some claim it is ‘compare and contrast’ with other businesses that have been there and done that. But if all that had to be true, wouldn’t it be applicable to both sides of the table? Wouldn’t both competing businesses have access to the same information and have services of equally smart analysts? How then, would one side ever emerge victorious?

Having spent some time in the corporate world, I see a different side to this hype of “business strategy”. Can we consider it like playing a game of chess? And the business moves we make, inspired by the moves in chess? Let’s dig further in to this. Each company has different business units called verticals. Each of these units has different capabilities, different set of objectives. Each of them competes with a similar business unit of another company. Just like the pieces on a chess board. However individualistic, these pieces are working towards a common purpose – To get the opposition king, to achieve the overall company goal.

The game of chess has numerous teachings to offer which can be applied to a business scenario. For one, chess is a game where you keep your cards close to your heart. Play one move at a time without giving the opponent a hint of your larger game plan. Else, you could get drawn in and beaten at your own game! Think of TATA Steel’s acquisition of Corus where TATA went head on for it and a silent Brazilian firm CSN played smart and made TATA Steel pay so much more than it would have otherwise paid.

How often in a game of chess that we sacrifice a pawn for a queen. Or rather use a piece to serve a larger purpose in the game. Then think of what P&G did by introducing Luvs Diaper in the market. To serve the larger purpose in a fight between Pampers and Huggies, Luvs was “sacrificed”. On the other hand, when P&G was to make an entry into the market with Oral B, Colgate flooded the market and occupied all available rack space. Just like sometimes, how we position our pieces to occupy strategic squares on a chess board, not to attack the opponent but just to restrict their movement.

The importance of the king is well emphasized in Chess, just like it needs to be in business. If your king falls, the empire, however large, will collapse! (Ramalinga Raju and Satyam?) In chess, the pieces fight while the king does not come into the fray until the very end when the knock-out punch needs to be delivered. He is protected from all sides and exposed just when needed to check-mate the opposition. Just like business, where your highest authority will not be exposed until the very end, so that the power associated with the highest authority does not get diluted. Think of the letter written by Sachin Bansal to buyers after the Big Billion Day disaster. Would it have gotten the respect that it did had Sachin Bansal been exposed too much before? Think of how major companies associate their brand name only with certain products at a certain stage. Protection of the ultimate power center you would think?

There is so much more in a game of chess that can be related to businesses. Think of giving the opposition a “check”, a threat with an intention to make them play a certain move which they were not willing to. Then think of Google’s move of acquiring Motorola to threaten Samsung thus getting the desired usage restrictions on Android. Think of a head-on battle between the queens in chess. Reminds you of Sprite vs Dew or even the current e-commerce scenario in India? A good player of chess can always think 3 moves ahead of his opponent and then the opponent just follows terms dictated by the leader. Think of Apple and its products? A weaker player sometimes plays the slow game waiting for the opponent to make a mistake and then pounce on them. Like years ago when No. 2 Pepsi pounced on market leader Coca-Cola after they changed their formulation and it went wrong (“They changed my coke” campaign). The game plan in chess needs to evolve with time. You cannot always win a game with a plan you started with. Think of Kodak and Nokia who failed to evolve their game plan. A game of chess always gives you an opportunity to make a come-back if you play the right moves. Think of how Cadbury roped in Mr. Amitabh Bachchan to endorse it after the insects’ disaster.

Today, we see how a new Fogg deodorant beat heavyweights like Axe to become the market leader. Or how a Patanjali group by Baba Ramdev is threatening the likes of HUL, ITC and P&G in India! Or how a small brand like Micromax has captured market share like no one imagined. This brings me to the most important learning from a game of chess that any business can take. A lesson my opponent, the scholar, learnt on that October 2003 morning in high school. Never underestimate your opposition, else 1 wrong move, can be the game-ender for you! Brings me to this intriguing thought that may be, just may be businesses look at strategy like playing chess. Simulation of your business situation on a chess board might just give you the right move that you need to make to emerge victorious!

A Farce that B School Rankings are!

So it’s that time of the year again when 1000s of MBA aspirants in the country search for the best B School which will consider their candidature based on their entrance scores. We look around, talk to people, look at rankings and even visit career counselors! We spend days and weeks taking the all-important decision which will shape our careers! I remember my time 2 years back. This decision was probably the most important of my life! And today, as I'm about to graduate from my MBA I feel life has come a full circle...

The inspiration to write this post comes from the front page of Times B School edition dated 27^th February 2015. What did it contain? Obviously the famed B School rankings! And just because I had some time at hand, I decided to browse through the rankings. The result shocked and amused me at the same time! The list of top 50 comprised of some institutes about whom I had never heard before at all! And I had done enough research before making the choice for myself to say that I have at least heard of all institutes worthy of a top 50 ranking. And browsing beyond the 50^th rank was hilarious to say the least!!! My thoughts with aspirants who rely on such a farce to make the decision of their lifetime!

As part of Public Relations Team of my school, I've had a chance to work on B School rankings and closely understand how the process works... So here's a small attempt to pen down my learnings and in the meanwhile, help an aspirant or two to make their choices...

So what exactly is this whole funda of B School rankings? It’s basically an exercise undertaken by supposedly reputed publishing houses to rank the 100s of B Schools in the country, supposedly based upon their quality, to supposedly help aspirants choose which one they should join. And what this whole funda of B School Rankings ACTUALLY is? An unreported fraud of providing untrue information to students to incorrectly influence their most important decision. Why? To help “profit” some who take advantage of limited resources accessible to aspirants to evaluate the many available options. Sad reality!

So as a member of PR Team, what I saw was that these publishers collaborate with some survey agencies for data collection. These agencies send a long 15-20 page form to schools asking for data. What data? Admission process, fees, kind of programs, faculty details, kind of research, industry interaction, infrastructure, placements and so on. Seems legit right? Now the real problem starts. Not all agencies consider all the data. Some may give a high weightage to infrastructure, some may not consider infrastructure at all! And not one agency verifies the data provided by the schools. A school may claim it owns half the city as its infrastructure, sign on the form and submit and no one will object! And does the final ranking give a true picture of the data provided? I would never know! All a college has access to is the final ranking of that college in relation to other colleges. A college is never given access to the data provided by other colleges to facilitate verification of the ranking!

That, is exactly where the fraud is! Having been through various rankings and the whole process of ranking a B School, I will never understand how an Amity Business School and a Welingkar School is ranked above an IIM Indore. Or a Jagan institute is ranked above a NITIE. Or how an IIM is ranked 107th in the list! Only explanation to this absurd trend that I can think of is some under the table deal meant to incorrectly favour one or more involved parties. Sadly, it really leaves aspirants with no options to look at while taking the all-important life decision.

The state of affairs is really sad! Will there ever be a change in the system? I don't know! But in this situation, where the few trust worthy ranking agencies like Pagalguy have decided to discontinue their rankings, what can aspirants actually do? Well, if any aspirant is reading this post, I can suggest a few things that could help...

1) Talk to friends who are already pursuing MBA from good institutes. They will generally have a good idea about where a college stands.

2) Go through placement reports carefully instead of relying on rankings.

3) Create your own simple ranking! Sounds tough? It isn’t actually. Find out information about a college yourself. Look at parameters which are important to you. For example, consider the simple weighted average method. Consider parameters like Infrastructure, Placements, Number of Students, Location etc. and give weightage to each based on your personal priorities. Then give marks to the institutes you are considering based on the information you find out from their website. Multiply the marks with the weight assigned for that parameter, add the multiplied score across parameters and BOOM! You have a pretty reliable result that will work for you.

4) If you still want to consider the rankings, use common sense! If you have been seriously preparing for an MBA, you would know, Ball Park, which colleges make up the top 10 list. When you look at a rating, observe carefully if the list has the expected names in top 10. If yes, it might be genuine. Evaluate further. Go into details like parameter wise rankings. And do not look for an exact number for your college. Look at a round about figure and average it across different B School rankings. Consider at least 5-6 relatively reliable rankings and average them out for the colleges you are considering (When I was taking my decision, I considered Pagalguy and TIME (the coaching institute) as some of the reliable rankings for this exercise). You will get some idea that way.

5) Lastly and most importantly, use your personal judgement after doing all of the above. Your judgement and decision making is what you will be paid for post your MBA! All the best!

While education today has become the most profitable business, we can only hope that 1 day we will get some regulation into this rankings business which will eliminate horse trading and agencies will stop playing with the future of aspirants! How about attaching a detailed result which explains the ranking given to each school along with the data provided? Brings in the much needed transparency?

Disclaimer: I do not accuse any of the mentioned schools to have “bought” a rank. Without a relevant proof, I would never know if they did. But the lack of transparency is what I am questioning here. If any wrong doers are offended by this post, be rest assured it was totally intentional!

A love story that was... And will always remain...

They say marriages are made in heaven… Well I wouldn’t say that is true for all marriages, but one relationship I have witnessed recently, was certainly heavenly beyond imagination! Having heard about larger than life love stories like Romeo and Juliet, Heer and Ranjha you start to wonder if these kind of stories are ever possible in real life. Or are they just a result of the author’s imagination. Well, I saw one which I found unreal… Almost epic! Here is a small attempt to pen it down and may be inspire others to love… Love like there is nothing else in the world to do! Love like you would want to be loved!

So the story is about a very influential man and his wife of 45 odd years then. A renowned name in the World of local politics and literature, he had been an inspiration for many. His political career saw him work tirelessly for a political party which ruled the nation for most of its independent history. And there was no evening where he wasn’t the guest at one or the other kavi sammelan. And then it struck! Over a leisure trip to his sister’s place at the age of about 70, he suffered a vertebra collapse!

With the advent of science and medicine, you would imagine that an influential man like him should not have much of a problem coming out of a physical setback like this. But when I saw the pain in his eyes while he was being lifted by 5 other men, I had no option but to believe what doctors across various cities said. That he might never be able to walk again! Having known him closely, it was hard to believe that a super active man like him, may now never be able to stand on his feet. May have to be bedridden for the rest of his life. But every one of us who saw him then, had no option but to convince ourselves of the hard reality. Everyone but one!

Over the next one and a half year, there was just one person who believed that this man’s life would not be spent confined to a bed! That he should move and walk again! And she worked tirelessly to make it happen. Night after night, taking all his complaints, all his irritation. Working tirelessly to bring a life back on its feet. For that one and a half year, there was just one mission for her and all her energies were directed to achieve that one mission! She was of course his wife and she was living by the vachan she took in front of the holy fire 45 odd years ago. To live by him in all his sukh-dukh and to never leave his side all life long. About one and a half year, some physiotherapy and a lot of care afterwards, he walked, and yet again, she lived up to the promise she made to him on their wedding day.

Over the next few years, he recovered almost to normalcy. The doctors were amazed at this “unbelievable recovery”. Love made it happen! But it can never be love if it does not go through regular agniparikshaas. And this time, it was her turn to bear the pain. Having fought a brain tumor in the early years of her life, she was now diagnosed with the most feared disease on the planet! Doctors said that cancer had plagued her body and treatment at the age of about 70 could be very risky. The news was a melancholic bell for the family.

Her husband was the most affected. He had never lived without her! Every trip she had made to her pre-marital home had always been shortened as he was too used to her around. She was the one who stole laddoos for him under her saaree just to have him enjoy a festive occasion and keep the diabetic concerns of others at bay. She was the one who ensured that he never went to bed hungry no matter what time he returned home. She was really the woman behind his success. She had been the real warrior in his recovery to a new life. He could not imagine his life without her! He quit! Not knowing that she was fighting! Fighting to live with him for a few more years… On the day he breathed his last, I saw him! I saw the pulse going weak! I saw the doctors trying to revive it, knowing that there was no way they could. And then I saw them stop. And with that, he left her… Forever…

But destiny had played its game. In almost flimsy a manner, a week before he left her, she had to be hospitalized for some treatment. And of course the hospital was the same! Having lived as man and wife for 51 years, destiny got them together under one roof, for one last time… You had to be there to believe this, but as she left the hospital after getting discharged, his pulse dwindled and the medical parameters started to show the signs, till a few minutes later, when the pulse went blank. She didn’t know. At least we think she didn’t as she was still on her way back to the place she had made a home for them both!

The man in the story is Late Shri Narayan Das Ji Kasat and his wife, Smt. Deepti Narayan Das Kasat. And today, my aunt, struggles to fight the cancer and the effect it had on her body. Doctors say, that they cannot do anything more, that there is no point in troubling her with more medicines. Somewhere out there, uncle probably waits for her to join him. He couldn’t live without her, and she struggles to survive without him. But not this time! This time bhabhi ji, you’ll have to fight! And bhai ji, you’ll have to wait! You've fought and won many a battles… One more time! One more time!

Summer Internship:- A cross over from IT to Manufacturing

Summer Internship, probably the most important phase of your MBA education. Why? Should an 8 week long internship really matter that much for most of us who have a substantial work experience? Well, it does! They say 70% of MBA students come from the IT industry. And in a top B School, in all probability, you will not really be going back to an IT industry for your summers. So? Is an IT industry that different from the other industries? I didn’t think so before starting with my internship, but today, almost half way into my summers in a manufacturing cum FMCG firm, I can definitely say it is! Very very different!

After a completely crazy day 0 of summer placements at Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, I found myself bagging a very lucrative and sought after job. That of internship in the numero uno personal care firm in the world, L’Oréal. So here I was, from a typical IT job for 2 years to now working for a “cool” company L’Oréal from a completely different sector (now you may argue that L’Oréal does not clearly classify as a manufacturing company. But I hope you get the point I am trying to make through this post). So for the first time, I could give a convincing answer to the questions people asked me back home. “Tumhari company banaati kya hai?” And actually, not too many people even asked me that question. All I was asked was “Accha woh colour banaane waali company?” or “Woh Aishwarya Rai waali company?” That was the first change moving from an IT company to a manufacturing one. You could tell people what the company exactly did and what your job exactly was in the company, AND they could make sense of it!

This ofcourse, was before I joined my internship. The induction phase that we had about a month before joining, was the first step for most of us into the world of manufacturing, sales and distribution. As a welcome gift, we got L’Oréal goodies. Yes, company manufactured products and not a shopping voucher like in my earlier job. Another “tangible” difference between a services and a manufacturing company.

The 3 day long induction program, showed us what was in store for us in the weeks and hopefully years ahead. No random coffee breaks, no table tennis breaks, no romance breaks for that matter. Here in manufacturing, people work! And work hard! In the little over 3 weeks so far, I haven’t seen my bosses take too many “breaks” from work. The laptop, the phone and every other device they are connected to is all tuned into serious work. And they are talking money to the tune of lakhs and crores. A certain change from the IT talk of lines of code and number of defects. Not to say that they do not have fun here, but the time and the kind of fun is very different from what we did in and IT industry. Occasional team outings and parties is the only time you will have fun. Rest of the time, your work is your only fun!

Oh and another major change stepping into manufacturing. Here, you do not have a manager. You have a boss! The terminology is very different. Manager, lead, project manager quickly changes to boss, super boss and head of a function. Besides, the “first names only” policy does not apply here. You need to call your boss “Sir”, shake his hand in the morning, say good morning and be more professional than casual. You could call it formal, but then at that level, you have to maintain a degree of professionalism. And it does help you in your work, in your dealings with clients, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Then another major difference is a God like software that we call Microsoft Excel. I thought I had used a lot of Excel in my stint in the IT industry. Writing test cases, maintaining records, transactions reports etc. But I realize now, that I hadn’t even scratched the surface! Management, would not be possible without excel. And the capabilities it has built into it, is amazing! There is so much that one can do using Excel. So much to make management more of a science than art.

Would the top level management in an IT company be very similar to what I describe here? I couldn’t say for sure but I doubt that it would be. Our IT industry is heavily influenced by the American culture. Much lesser so in manufacturing. I suspect that is primarily the difference between the two. Also, the stakes are much higher in a manufacturing job. There is no easy “Ctrl+Z” for your work after all.

The difference from IT that I have seen in my early days into the manufacturing/FMCG industry are significant. I was apprehensive before entering L’Oréal just like I was before entering my first job in IT. But I had enjoyed my 2 years in IT and likewise, I have enjoyed my first few weeks in this industry and L’Oréal. I realize I do not have any particular preference of one over the other. A good friend once told me, that I have a tendency to adapt to the needs of any and every job that demands my efforts. Find that quite true today.

So how would I compare IT with manufacturing? I guess I wouldn’t. It would be like comparing apples with oranges. I believe both are unique in their own way and can interest people across the spectrum. They say manufacturing is the backbone of an economy. I would say manufacturing and IT are like the 2 eyes of a person. Without any one, you will just see plain images. For a complete 3 dimensional view, you need both working just fine.