The Aila Aftermath

Its really strange...
To see the human capacity to recuperate and move on with life. We even put the ants to shame in this respect. Whatever happens, however serious, we have the ability to pick ourselves up from where the disaster leaves us...and continue towards building our world back to the way it was.
But sometimes, not always, this sense of optimism gets the better of people in the Corporate World. Specifically in the Electronic Media. Particularly, it got the better of a Radio Channel RJ (who is quite the funny monkey in the studio).

The RJ started making fun of the cyclone Aila. Sure, it is a name which would evoke tepid sarcasm or humor from people at first mention. But then, in the context of the mayhem it wreaked in the city - 22 people confirmed dead in Kolkata - I believe humor should have been the remotest emotion to be evoked a day after the cyclone.
Its all Marketing actually. The opportunistic (read sadistic) bastards who make these targets to achieve by the end of the week/month/year have to do anything and everything to make the listener listen up. So it wont do if you air condolences on the radio the morning after. It sure as hell wont help if you dont make those rich, obese, fat marwari bastards who infect the city like the plague listen in to your programme (they got half the city's commercial lifeline under their withered belt under a greasy potbelly). And since people nowadays require 'fatafat' entertainment....one often wonders at what cost !!

On how the system gets you...

As I sit down to write this....the only thought in my mind is of hope. Hope that someday people of this country will wake up to the fact that it takes hardwork to build something. That we are all human, there is no caste, no sect. That all religions in the world were founded to keep the hope of a better tomorrow alive. The hope that if you are sincere to your god today, if you are sincere to the rules today, you will prosper tomorrow. That the rituals, the paraphernalia, the insipid and mindless rules devised by man is not the truth, the final word. 

But today, my mind is preoccupied with something rather different from the essence of the text above. Its regarding the education system of India and what ails it. Call it the analysis of a pessimist, but the fact is it is true.

I'll get down to the brass tacks immediately. What ails the system is population and lazyness. Yes. It must be sounding like an oversimplification of things but its actually true (or so I believe). I'll show you how in the next few lines :

Think about the 1st important exam of the country. the IIT-JEE. One of the toughest exams in the world, this tests the core concepts of any class 12 student to the hilt. But then ? Fact of the matter is, it pays not attention to practical aspects of Science. Which basically means the student might be knowing all about the difficult reactions of Organic Chem or the Electromagnetism of Physics, but does not relate to it practically. Result ? Maximum of IIT graduates go in for Software firms (except the CSE guys) and some have started going in for the Investment Banks right after their B.Tech

Any IITian reading this would argue..no thats nt true. If the pay wud have been better in Core firms we wud have gone there. But is this really true ? Was the sole intention of doing Engineering, money ? Was the sole intention of sloggin away countless nights to be 'job-ready' ? This is the problem I have with the this system. People join the hordes of IITJEE aspirants to study in their hallowed portals not even knowing what they are actually good at. They spend thousands of rupees in coaching classes not even knowing whther this is what they want in life. They resort to neglecting their health, go into depression and finally end up either in the morgue, or in the scores of 'services' companies, trying to make a living. What happens then ? Further confusion for the CAT,XAT, JMET, IAS, GRE, GMAT etc etc etc...

The cause of this - Population and laziness. Why you ask ? Here's why.

Becuz of the population, there is a demand and supply gap. Which translates to poverty becuz only the select few get the resources, the others are left to mere morsels a day. And then what ? the few ppl who get it dont want to travel the path less travelled. They want to take the oft beaten path and go where eveybody has gone before. They dont pay attention to what they are good at. They dont want to listen to their inner voice. 

A Basic principle of Modern Economics states - "If every person does something that he is good at and in his self interest, then the economy prospers" (Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations)

----------------------------

Now comes the next hurdle. The prestigious PG degree. What will it be ? MBA, MS, Mtech ??? Which degree will get me a better dowry ? If i become an IAS, will my rate go up or down ? Or if i get my MBA now, will I get that coveted 20+ salary ? 

Doesnt get any dumber than this. You have half baked, aimless bunch of undergrads giving CAT each year for basically the same purpose - SALARY, PACKAGE, NAME & FAME !!

Why ? Who do these things matter ? Isnt Management a much more superior motive in their schem of things ? Is doin an MBA all about the salary ? Doesnt the knowledge and ability matter ?

Sadly....in India, the MBA has been given a colour of a passport to dreamland. It has been made to look coveted and 'khoool' more than pragmatic and analytical approach based profession. You really have poeple from all corners of the country vying for degrees of such calibre for solely this reason. And why is that ? 

Population and lazyness. How ? (Repeat the answer above...)

Becuz of the population, there is a demand and supply gap. Which translates to poverty becuz only the select few get the resources, the others are left to mere morsels a day. And then what ? the few ppl who get it dont want to travel the path less travelled. They want to take the oft beaten path and go where eveybody has gone before. They dont pay attention to what they are good at. They dont want to listen to their inner voice. 

Hence what you have is half baked managers coming out (mostly...not all) and goin into jobs they dont actually care to do...they are just in it for the money. There is an interesting saying by a Management professor from Harvard and it goes like this :

"Indian managers can manage something that is already up and running or something that is still afloat. But they fail miserably to revive something that has fallen or is near complete loss. "

So True....

The 300 Review

21st Century technology mingled with the awe inspiring tale of Spartan resistance to Persian invasion,300 is a must see for the serious movie buff or the casual viewer. Zack Snyder, of The Dawn of the Dead (2004) fame, has left no stone unturned in making the movie a landmark in terms of screenplay, cinematography and visual portrayal of an era which was ruled by the blood and gore of the struggle to usurp pristine lands and kingdoms.  The movie begins with the depiction of Spartan culture of abandoning babies with physical flaws on rugged mountains for the wolves to devour, educating the perfect ones in all schools of martial arts, fencing, stick-fighting and finally sending them off to the wild to slay the beasts and return unscathed. Leonidas (Gerard Butler) delivers an amazing performance portraying the King of Spartans, a man who symbolises the Spartan culture in every possible way. Lena Heady and Rodrigo Santoro deserve special mention for portraying the roles of Queen Gorgo and the Persian God Xerxes, respectively. The headstrong and determined nature of the queen who would do anything to save her king and Sparta, even be vandalised by the scheming Theron (Dominic West), is rendered exquisitely by Lena. As for Rodrigo, his portrayal of the demonic God Xerxes deserves special mention as he not only had to change his accent but also had to wear heavy jewellery all over his body, which is certainly not a comfortable job.  The eventual betrayal by a spy and subsequent annihilation of the 300 Spartans at the hands of Xerxes is not the end of the movie. The end, showing a renewed army of the Spartans rushing forth to destroy any Persian in sight, could have been better. But since this is a direct cinematic depiction of Frank Miller's graphic novel, shot in only 3 small sets with a blue green screen in Montreal and digitally enhanced by special effects, what could have been should be ignored for what is and should be thoroughly enjoyed by the Indian audience. [Written way back in 2007 for IBIBO blog...]