The wrong things to focus on

A semester comes to and end and leaves in its wake 4 days of idleness. People have left for home and the campus lies in a silent reverie.

Accelerated programs don't allow time to think. It is upto the individual to realize that its not just about the courses. Economics and Statistics are not really going to work in the workplace. The networking and knowledge gathering is what is going to matter. I try to remind myself about it every day. And amongst the sad, dejected yet aggressively competitive classmates, you keep forgetting it.

Things that are enjoyable and are a part of any business student's daily diet are lost. Newspapers are not read, articles are not consulted. Just courses after courses and exams after exams.

Competition in the skin of collaboration

It is disheartening to see your school do nothing buy manage expectations of its batch. ISB is a paradox. It is a school that would like to think that it is based on international standards. It tries hard - several faculty are foreign (albeit many Indian professors settled abroad), the course schedule is like that of foreign b-schools and the classroom interaction is set on the same pattern. 


However, it fails miserably when it comes to the attitude it expects from the students. The expectation is that we work in a collaborative environment, leverage the experience of each other to take strides in their careers etc. etc. Hogwash! The class comprises of Indians! We are 1.1 billion strong country. We are born into competition. We will always compete. For grades, for jobs and for the limelight.

Smart not hard ... but well done

I keep reminding myself that the motto to follow in ISB is to work smart and not hard. There is an immense amount of comfort in conforming to the path laid down by professors but it may not be the best path in terms of time.


There are several problems that can be practiced in economics, statistics and accounting if need be. But is there a need? I think the courses at ISB are patterned in the same way as their application process was. Just like the essays to be written were restricted to 300 words, to elicit the facts rather than verbosity, the courses hope to develop a breadth of understanding rather than a depth. However, a breadth does not justify that you do not understand the concepts well. Understand them well, but there is really no need to cut, dice, mash, eat and imbibe them into your system. It is a bschool for crying out loud, not a PhD institute. 


I would think that the people who realize this earlier are the people who will sail through with ease (and without losing too much sleep). Realizing this will free up time for other 'non-academic' activities (which might turn out to be equally important in securing a job) as well. 

Updates from ISB

Its been several days since I set foot on the campus of ISB. Its been good so far. However, I am still trying to work around my old shortcoming - getting lost in a crowd. Doesn't it happen to you? It is easy to talk to people one on one but when there are several around, it is just easier to stand back and stay mum?


The day passes uneventfully. The workload is light and is nothing compared to what is going to hit us from the next week onwards. I think they should have ramped it up from day 1 rather than do it slowly. These first impressions of a relaxing ISB are not going to last. 


The food is very rich and on an average, tasteless. It is going to be difficult to stay fit. Talking about fitness, I am really impressed to see the number of people who regularly hit the gym or are up and about playing sports. I wonder how many will continue with their healthy habits in the coming months. 


Networking has started with a bang. Every other day, you can witness groups of people huddled together in the Atrium (common space) hatching ideas and strategies (god how many times will I use this word) for the year to come. For someone like me who considers all of this quite distasteful, it is going to be a tough ride. 


I have taken up the mantle of the artist in the batch. My kurtas and 'jhola' help support that impression. I am enjoying cartooning again and I hope to make a lasting impression on the campus before I leave. 

To smoke after a month

The wireless has started working, the wireless has started working! For more than a week, the inefficient IT department of ISB relegated us to the corner of our rooms to check our emails and catch up on news. 


For me, that is not possible. I need my space and the freedom to sit wherever and read. To be asked to go sit in a corner is almost like being punished! That too with about 600 new people around, you really don't want to be the guy who sits in his room all day long. 


I am glad to be back and glad to be writing. The absence of a mobile laptop allowed me to get back to cartooning though which is good. I look forward to posting the art on the blog.


Oh, this feels so nice :)

Wasting Time

I am currently wasting time at home. Patna is supposed to be a capital city but the pace of life and the infrastructure is nowhere close to its title-hood. I am a victim to its pathetically slow internet.

One of the problems about being at home is that you don't get too much to talk about. There are a few generic features eg. the persistent invitation to eat something, the constant fuss about your health and the TV soaps. This used to be commonplace, something I took in my stride 10 years back but today, it is a challenge.

I look forward to my one year at ISB where I will hopefully come across people with different takes on life. Though I was unimpressed by howls of adoration for a buddhist monk or a over-achieving handicapped individual who will 'grace' our batch. All I say is that let us judge them on their merit in class and not on their background. Everyone should get to start equal in a new batch.

Tentative steps

I am not an old blogger. I started primarily because writing is a skill that needs to be honed. But now that I do write publicly once in a while, I am trying to branch out as much as I can ...

I have been proactive enough to join the ISB 2011 blog, but the challenge is to write something productive and interesting on it. My blog is fine. Its my diary and I can post whatever suits my fancy. However, when you are writing on a portal which people actually follow, I think you are laden with a little more responsibility. For example, ramblings like these would hardly be considered appropriate. Hence the picture on the side.

The comments and the breadth of knowledge of my peer group seems impressive. However it is going to be yet another big blood-bath come placements next year. Here is to sleepless in Hyderabad :)