Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…
-Baz Luhrmann
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
My Favorite Quotes
" It does not matter if ur presence is not felt by nyone,what matters is that you absence should be felt by everyone"
- Akshay.
" Getting into an IIM is like getting pregnant, Everyone appreciates the outcome but no one realizes the number of tries it takes."
- Anonymous.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
-Albert Einstein.
"Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth."
-Baz Luhrmann.
"Winners don't do different things. They do things differently."
-Shiv Khera.
- Akshay.
" Getting into an IIM is like getting pregnant, Everyone appreciates the outcome but no one realizes the number of tries it takes."
- Anonymous.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
-Albert Einstein.
"Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth."
-Baz Luhrmann.
"Winners don't do different things. They do things differently."
-Shiv Khera.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
MY GD PI Experience at GIM
Hi puys First of all my apologies to everyone for posting so late ............I know the excuse is lousy but genuine.....had some pending work due to leave from office on monday.. and didnt want to post till I wrote every little detail that might help you guys.
My details :
10th 84.2%
12th 86.33%
Graduation 62%
XAT 94.45 percentile
Venue : YMCA,Colaba,Mumbai 1:45 pm
Work ex : 2 yrs 7 mnths with Larsen and Toubro Infotech LTd as Business Analyst/Quality Analyst.
11:30 am : Started from home and caught the local from chembur to VT(CST !!though i still cannot refer to it by that name after so many years.)
1:00 pm : Reached the VT station and told the cabbie to take me to YMCA,Colaba. On hearing Colaba the cabbie happily took me in.
1:15 pm : I reached Colaba. As luck would have it the cabbie took a wrong U-turn and was caught by the traffic man (lovingly referred to by mumbaikars as Mamu). I said this is it ! Here goes my day. I paid the cabbie .........(who by that time was swearing like hell) and started asking directions for YMCA....The YMCA at colaba is located in a serene lane away from the main street and is surrounded by British heritage blds all around........I already was in Goa and at GIM
1:20 pm : I reached the venue and started looking all around ....there seemed to be many people around and I was confused ........all in ties and Blazers and at their best.We got to know that the timing for our batch was to be postponed a bit as the previous batch(8:45 am) was still having their PI's. It was lunch time and after the previous batch finished the professors had a brief lunch session.
1:50 pm : Professor Sukhtankar came out and announced that we shall be beginning with the GT sessions. He called out names and asked us to go to the Seminar Room.We were divided into 4 groups of 9 each.There were 4 panelists
P1 : Mr. Chandrasen Mirchandani
P2 : Mr. Sukhtankar
P3 : Ms Sarita D'souza
P4 : Mr. Sarvanan
I was part of group that had P1 and P2. The first group went in and came out in about 12-15 minutes. After we went in we were made to sit in a round table arrangement.
P1 explained to us the procedure for the GT and the rules for the same. The objective is to have a discussion based on the case given and come to a solution for the same.The case was same as that for Sonal and Amit . I remember seeing both of them(though didnt get a chance to meet Sonal personally over there). Had a chance to meet Amit and Apporva as well over there who i got along with pretty well.
The case:
Mahesh has a Kirana shop and he has given credit cards to his customers. He decides to charge 5% as surcharge in case the customers donot pay beyond a month's duration. After a month he realises that 90% of the customers have not paid the dues and now to refill his stock he has to borrow money from the market at 12 % interest. What solution would you provide him for the same.
We were asked to give our opening statements in 15 secs and I was the 6th in line. Was able to make one good point in my 15 secs. Then the discussion was open for all. We discussed some good points. Overall a "thanda" group with few good points being made. But a chilled out experience. We were then told to conclude in the reverse order from the end. After that we were told to either summarize the GT or to give a conclusion in writing in 3 mins.I was relieved to have put my 3 main points in time....... After that we were called one by one for the PI's. It was already 3.00 pm. I was hungry as I had eaten nothing since morning due to anxiety. So collected a few people and went out for having some sandwiches. Though I feel that GIM should have arranged for some tea atleast as was feeling really sleepy.... in the afternoon time. Not a problem as it was compensated by the friendly attitude of the professors to a great extent.By the time my turn came there was lot of tension as there were couple of freshers who were grilled on their academics and were sent out in 5-10 mins. I was just wondering whether by the time my turn came what may happen. We even joked about the fact that I may be just asked my name and sent out.
5:05 pm : The person before me (incidentally was a work-ex guy with 3yrs similar to him) came out and told me that they were asking lot of technical questions. I got scared. P1 asked me to come in. Said good evening Akshay. I kept my file on the table. Was praying in my mind that they have a look at the various certificates of achievement and accolades I had.
P2 : looking at my file and asking me at the same time. So you are from Karnataka.
M : Yes.
P2 : Which part?
M : Bhatkal?
P2 : Have you ever been there.
M : Yes.
P2 : Which train goes there?
M : Matsyagandha Express.
P1 : So what does DDIT stand for (Its the name of my college).
M : told.
P1 : Tell me about the work that you do currently.
M : Told about my work in detail. I felt I had the interest of both the professors and both were listening intently. I was happy and confident about the same.
P1 : So tell me why MBA?
M : Told in detail about my plans and why I intended to do my MBA.
P2: Listening at the same time going through the files.
P1 : So Akshay are you happy with your work at L & T?
M : Yes, I do love the work as I have challenges at times and at times the work becomes a bit monotonous.
P1 : So tell me about the challenges that you faced?
M : Told about a very critical project and the role played by me in the same.
P1 : So tell me akshay you are earning a good package and are having a good job are you willing to sacrifice the same and join GIM.
M : Yes.
P1 : So where do you see yourself after 2 yrs at GIM.
M : Said " Obviously" in the software industry. (I dint mean to use that word but accidently used it).
P1 : Somewhat offended. Whats obvious about that. If that was the case then more than 80 % of the people coming here would have opted for the same.
M : I clarified a bit sheepishly. I said I've spent more that 6 years in this field since my undergraduate days,it would be right for me to be in a field in which I am comfortable and have a good know-how.
P1 & P2 appeared Satisfied with the response(were laughing with me as they understood my point)
P1 : Whats ur XAT score?
M : Told.
P1 : So why GIM?
M : Replied.
P1 : Which other calls?
M : Replied.Then some other questions were asked and I could see the tiredness in the eyes of both the professors, but atleast they were enjoying it and I was happy and did not feel even a little bit stressed.I thanked them and left the room. Overall a very good experience. One advise to the guys as others have already mentioned. Just Chill and be yourself. The Professors are not out to stress you. They just need to know if you are really serious about you goals.
My details :
10th 84.2%
12th 86.33%
Graduation 62%
XAT 94.45 percentile
Venue : YMCA,Colaba,Mumbai 1:45 pm
Work ex : 2 yrs 7 mnths with Larsen and Toubro Infotech LTd as Business Analyst/Quality Analyst.
11:30 am : Started from home and caught the local from chembur to VT(CST !!though i still cannot refer to it by that name after so many years.)
1:00 pm : Reached the VT station and told the cabbie to take me to YMCA,Colaba. On hearing Colaba the cabbie happily took me in.
1:15 pm : I reached Colaba. As luck would have it the cabbie took a wrong U-turn and was caught by the traffic man (lovingly referred to by mumbaikars as Mamu). I said this is it ! Here goes my day. I paid the cabbie .........(who by that time was swearing like hell) and started asking directions for YMCA....The YMCA at colaba is located in a serene lane away from the main street and is surrounded by British heritage blds all around........I already was in Goa and at GIM
1:20 pm : I reached the venue and started looking all around ....there seemed to be many people around and I was confused ........all in ties and Blazers and at their best.We got to know that the timing for our batch was to be postponed a bit as the previous batch(8:45 am) was still having their PI's. It was lunch time and after the previous batch finished the professors had a brief lunch session.
1:50 pm : Professor Sukhtankar came out and announced that we shall be beginning with the GT sessions. He called out names and asked us to go to the Seminar Room.We were divided into 4 groups of 9 each.There were 4 panelists
P1 : Mr. Chandrasen Mirchandani
P2 : Mr. Sukhtankar
P3 : Ms Sarita D'souza
P4 : Mr. Sarvanan
I was part of group that had P1 and P2. The first group went in and came out in about 12-15 minutes. After we went in we were made to sit in a round table arrangement.
P1 explained to us the procedure for the GT and the rules for the same. The objective is to have a discussion based on the case given and come to a solution for the same.The case was same as that for Sonal and Amit . I remember seeing both of them(though didnt get a chance to meet Sonal personally over there). Had a chance to meet Amit and Apporva as well over there who i got along with pretty well.
The case:
Mahesh has a Kirana shop and he has given credit cards to his customers. He decides to charge 5% as surcharge in case the customers donot pay beyond a month's duration. After a month he realises that 90% of the customers have not paid the dues and now to refill his stock he has to borrow money from the market at 12 % interest. What solution would you provide him for the same.
We were asked to give our opening statements in 15 secs and I was the 6th in line. Was able to make one good point in my 15 secs. Then the discussion was open for all. We discussed some good points. Overall a "thanda" group with few good points being made. But a chilled out experience. We were then told to conclude in the reverse order from the end. After that we were told to either summarize the GT or to give a conclusion in writing in 3 mins.I was relieved to have put my 3 main points in time....... After that we were called one by one for the PI's. It was already 3.00 pm. I was hungry as I had eaten nothing since morning due to anxiety. So collected a few people and went out for having some sandwiches. Though I feel that GIM should have arranged for some tea atleast as was feeling really sleepy.... in the afternoon time. Not a problem as it was compensated by the friendly attitude of the professors to a great extent.By the time my turn came there was lot of tension as there were couple of freshers who were grilled on their academics and were sent out in 5-10 mins. I was just wondering whether by the time my turn came what may happen. We even joked about the fact that I may be just asked my name and sent out.
5:05 pm : The person before me (incidentally was a work-ex guy with 3yrs similar to him) came out and told me that they were asking lot of technical questions. I got scared. P1 asked me to come in. Said good evening Akshay. I kept my file on the table. Was praying in my mind that they have a look at the various certificates of achievement and accolades I had.
P2 : looking at my file and asking me at the same time. So you are from Karnataka.
M : Yes.
P2 : Which part?
M : Bhatkal?
P2 : Have you ever been there.
M : Yes.
P2 : Which train goes there?
M : Matsyagandha Express.
P1 : So what does DDIT stand for (Its the name of my college).
M : told.
P1 : Tell me about the work that you do currently.
M : Told about my work in detail. I felt I had the interest of both the professors and both were listening intently. I was happy and confident about the same.
P1 : So tell me why MBA?
M : Told in detail about my plans and why I intended to do my MBA.
P2: Listening at the same time going through the files.
P1 : So Akshay are you happy with your work at L & T?
M : Yes, I do love the work as I have challenges at times and at times the work becomes a bit monotonous.
P1 : So tell me about the challenges that you faced?
M : Told about a very critical project and the role played by me in the same.
P1 : So tell me akshay you are earning a good package and are having a good job are you willing to sacrifice the same and join GIM.
M : Yes.
P1 : So where do you see yourself after 2 yrs at GIM.
M : Said " Obviously" in the software industry. (I dint mean to use that word but accidently used it).
P1 : Somewhat offended. Whats obvious about that. If that was the case then more than 80 % of the people coming here would have opted for the same.
M : I clarified a bit sheepishly. I said I've spent more that 6 years in this field since my undergraduate days,it would be right for me to be in a field in which I am comfortable and have a good know-how.
P1 & P2 appeared Satisfied with the response(were laughing with me as they understood my point)
P1 : Whats ur XAT score?
M : Told.
P1 : So why GIM?
M : Replied.
P1 : Which other calls?
M : Replied.Then some other questions were asked and I could see the tiredness in the eyes of both the professors, but atleast they were enjoying it and I was happy and did not feel even a little bit stressed.I thanked them and left the room. Overall a very good experience. One advise to the guys as others have already mentioned. Just Chill and be yourself. The Professors are not out to stress you. They just need to know if you are really serious about you goals.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Seeing through misleading salary figures in B-school placement reports By Apurva Pandit
Newspaper reports in the year gone by have been rife with b-school placement stories of a rather disturbing kind. It appears that quite a few well-known business schools have been lying about their placement salary figures in public! Here's how you can see through the salary hype when you make that important admission decision. The names of these MBA institutes have remained a well-guarded secret, because most of the time, the whistleblower in these stories is a fresh MBA graduate who, invoked by his conscience but under the condition of anonymity, decides to ride against the tide and divulges to the media the inaccuracies in the average salary, highest salary and median salary figures quoted by his institute on its website and released to the Press.
The names of these b-schools really become inconsequential, given that many business schools in India’s top 20 list have been known to inflate their salary figures somehow or the other. But thanks to negative media coverage, there is now growing awareness that clubbing international and domestic salaries together to calculate the single ‘average salary’ figure is one of the few tricks that b-schools use to inflate their placement data and improve their marketability. It is only when an MBA aspirant cracks the school and joins it does he become aware of some of the best kept dirty secrets of the Indian business school industry.
You’re probably wondering where all this is leading to but no, this article does not mean to rake up controversy on this rather sensitive issue. But, it surely aims to inform what you, as MBA applicants aiming to be in the best MBA programs of the country need to do to ensure that you get the right facts and figures about b-schools, and not what the b-schools want to feed you.
Come September, and most of you flock to the newsstands to buy magazines that pull out b-school rankings, or are scouring the resources in your coaching institute or the Internet to decide which b-schools to apply to this year. Even as I write this, there are half a dozen forms for admission into b-schools live. Because each form burns about one-grand-big a hole in your pocket (or in your parents pocket depending upon your situation), it’s a good idea to research the schools and their placement performance well before investing the moneys.
It becomes especially important for you in February, when you ought to choose between three schools that have more or less similar brand perception and their placement salaries would turn out to be one of the tie-breakers (along with location, expenses, etc).
Why do some b-schools tend to report inflated salary figures? It works out well for everyone, if you really think about it. Since the salary package is the most glamorous and easily perceptible parameter to judge the quality of a job offer (as opposed to other parameters like the job profile description, future growth prospects, etc), by showing inflated salary figures to MBA aspirants the b-school can attract better quality students, sell more forms and gain a few notches above a rival b-school.
By showing inflated salary figures to companies through the media, the school is able to attract better and even higher paying companies for next year’s placements. The companies whose pay packages are reported in an exaggerated manner by the institute don’t mind, because they get free press and become a desired company in other b-schools. Everybody wins!
Two standard tricks are applied to manipulate numbers and arrive at the inflated salary figures. Compensation packages offered by companies come in a fixed and a variable component and a Cost-to-Company factor (CTC). So say, the annual fixed component amount is Rs 6 lakh, then you’ll take home Rs 50,000 home every month for sure. However, the variable component, which includes performance-based bonuses or e-sops may or may not come to you depending on your performance. Placement committees in b-schools, however add the highest possible variable component to the salary figure. So let’s say, your variable component, which you get if you perform really, really well, comes out to Rs 2 lakh per annum. Add to it the most controversial component, the CTC. The CTC simply, is the amount of money the company needs to spend on your maintenance. In reasonable CTC calculations, companies might add the cost of putting you through training and induction programs, your mobile bills and official travel expenses and your tax liabilities. But it starts bordering on the absurd when the floor space rent of the employee’s cubicle in your Gurgaon office is added to the CTC. The CTC component then shots up to as much as another Rs 4 lakh, and the total salary paid by the company shoot up to Rs 6 lakh + Rs 2 lakh + Rs 4 lakh = Rs 12 lakh! So even though you’re getting paid only Rs 50,000 each month, b-schools are pros at showing your salary figures as Rs 12 lakh!
The other way to inflate salaries is by playing around with the wonderful tools of averages. Many b-schools include both the Indian and international placement packages in their average salaries by converting the dollar amounts of the international salaries to rupees. It’s unfair, because they do not normalize the purchasing power parity in different countries during the conversion. So earning € 3750 in London converts to Rs 30 lakh, but is hardly a lot because the cost of living in London is extremely high!
On top of that, when all the salaries offered to students are calculated inflated by adding the CTC and variable components, the average salary is bound look very, very attractive.
Other b-schools calculate average salary by including only the highest offers made to each student, regardless of whether those offers were accepted or not (these days, many students prefer to take up jobs that pay half a lakh less because the profiles are more interesting).
One can go on and on about this, but the important question is, how do you as an MBA aspirant see through all this and get the right data about a b-school’s salary figures to make an informed decision for yourself?
The key lies in asking the right questions. The next time you read a b-school placement report, take it with a pinch of salt. While most of the data in there would be accurate, you just need to dig a little deeper to be sure that the placement data figures are correct. When you contact a b-school or want to know more about a b-school by reaching out to its students through your coaching institute or social communities like Orkut, Facebook or Pagalguy, keep the following things in mind:
Ask for the average salary figures without the CTC component. If they do not have the exact data, ask for an estimate. A b-school is obliged to do this much if you’re spending a thousand rupees on their forms
Ask for separate average salary figures for domestic and international salaries.
If you’re getting into MBA with a specific goal in mind (for example, you want to join the media industry in a business development role), ask specifically for a list of offers made in that domain in the last two years. If the b-school does not arrange those kinds of placements, it makes little sense for you to join itAsk for the lowest salary in the placements. In many cases, a b-school’s placements look good only because of a couple of really high packages that shoot the average up.
You owe yourself at least this much, because one wrong choice about a b-school could change your life!
The names of these b-schools really become inconsequential, given that many business schools in India’s top 20 list have been known to inflate their salary figures somehow or the other. But thanks to negative media coverage, there is now growing awareness that clubbing international and domestic salaries together to calculate the single ‘average salary’ figure is one of the few tricks that b-schools use to inflate their placement data and improve their marketability. It is only when an MBA aspirant cracks the school and joins it does he become aware of some of the best kept dirty secrets of the Indian business school industry.
You’re probably wondering where all this is leading to but no, this article does not mean to rake up controversy on this rather sensitive issue. But, it surely aims to inform what you, as MBA applicants aiming to be in the best MBA programs of the country need to do to ensure that you get the right facts and figures about b-schools, and not what the b-schools want to feed you.
Come September, and most of you flock to the newsstands to buy magazines that pull out b-school rankings, or are scouring the resources in your coaching institute or the Internet to decide which b-schools to apply to this year. Even as I write this, there are half a dozen forms for admission into b-schools live. Because each form burns about one-grand-big a hole in your pocket (or in your parents pocket depending upon your situation), it’s a good idea to research the schools and their placement performance well before investing the moneys.
It becomes especially important for you in February, when you ought to choose between three schools that have more or less similar brand perception and their placement salaries would turn out to be one of the tie-breakers (along with location, expenses, etc).
Why do some b-schools tend to report inflated salary figures? It works out well for everyone, if you really think about it. Since the salary package is the most glamorous and easily perceptible parameter to judge the quality of a job offer (as opposed to other parameters like the job profile description, future growth prospects, etc), by showing inflated salary figures to MBA aspirants the b-school can attract better quality students, sell more forms and gain a few notches above a rival b-school.
By showing inflated salary figures to companies through the media, the school is able to attract better and even higher paying companies for next year’s placements. The companies whose pay packages are reported in an exaggerated manner by the institute don’t mind, because they get free press and become a desired company in other b-schools. Everybody wins!
Two standard tricks are applied to manipulate numbers and arrive at the inflated salary figures. Compensation packages offered by companies come in a fixed and a variable component and a Cost-to-Company factor (CTC). So say, the annual fixed component amount is Rs 6 lakh, then you’ll take home Rs 50,000 home every month for sure. However, the variable component, which includes performance-based bonuses or e-sops may or may not come to you depending on your performance. Placement committees in b-schools, however add the highest possible variable component to the salary figure. So let’s say, your variable component, which you get if you perform really, really well, comes out to Rs 2 lakh per annum. Add to it the most controversial component, the CTC. The CTC simply, is the amount of money the company needs to spend on your maintenance. In reasonable CTC calculations, companies might add the cost of putting you through training and induction programs, your mobile bills and official travel expenses and your tax liabilities. But it starts bordering on the absurd when the floor space rent of the employee’s cubicle in your Gurgaon office is added to the CTC. The CTC component then shots up to as much as another Rs 4 lakh, and the total salary paid by the company shoot up to Rs 6 lakh + Rs 2 lakh + Rs 4 lakh = Rs 12 lakh! So even though you’re getting paid only Rs 50,000 each month, b-schools are pros at showing your salary figures as Rs 12 lakh!
The other way to inflate salaries is by playing around with the wonderful tools of averages. Many b-schools include both the Indian and international placement packages in their average salaries by converting the dollar amounts of the international salaries to rupees. It’s unfair, because they do not normalize the purchasing power parity in different countries during the conversion. So earning € 3750 in London converts to Rs 30 lakh, but is hardly a lot because the cost of living in London is extremely high!
On top of that, when all the salaries offered to students are calculated inflated by adding the CTC and variable components, the average salary is bound look very, very attractive.
Other b-schools calculate average salary by including only the highest offers made to each student, regardless of whether those offers were accepted or not (these days, many students prefer to take up jobs that pay half a lakh less because the profiles are more interesting).
One can go on and on about this, but the important question is, how do you as an MBA aspirant see through all this and get the right data about a b-school’s salary figures to make an informed decision for yourself?
The key lies in asking the right questions. The next time you read a b-school placement report, take it with a pinch of salt. While most of the data in there would be accurate, you just need to dig a little deeper to be sure that the placement data figures are correct. When you contact a b-school or want to know more about a b-school by reaching out to its students through your coaching institute or social communities like Orkut, Facebook or Pagalguy, keep the following things in mind:
Ask for the average salary figures without the CTC component. If they do not have the exact data, ask for an estimate. A b-school is obliged to do this much if you’re spending a thousand rupees on their forms
Ask for separate average salary figures for domestic and international salaries.
If you’re getting into MBA with a specific goal in mind (for example, you want to join the media industry in a business development role), ask specifically for a list of offers made in that domain in the last two years. If the b-school does not arrange those kinds of placements, it makes little sense for you to join itAsk for the lowest salary in the placements. In many cases, a b-school’s placements look good only because of a couple of really high packages that shoot the average up.
You owe yourself at least this much, because one wrong choice about a b-school could change your life!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Taare Zameen Par
This is one of the most beautiful and sensitive movies made till date on children. It speaks a lot about the way the writer has taken the pains to understand what all goes on in the minds of a dyslexic child.
I was literally moved to tears on seeing the movie and must say that I donot remember a movie that has recently had such a forceful impact on me.
This movie shows the agony of a dyslexic(Slow learners fot the uninformed!) child who has difficulties in grasping the day to day activities of a normal school going kid. Simple activities like reading ,writing or maybe catching the ball that are done easily by any child seem to be an uphill task for this child. Parents, teacher and peers alike critize and ridicule him instead of giving him the much needed support. Its really heart rendering to look at the plight of the mother who is unable to do anything for the child and is evident from the silent tears that she sheds. The child is good at painting and lives in a world of its own with aliens and spaceships and imaginary things that converse with it.
The child has an elder brother who simply dotes on him. The elder brother is a rank holder and comes first in all activities, may it be sports or studies. Unhappy with the dismal performance of his younger child the father decides to send him to a hostel , as according to him hostel education will bring in him the required discipline and he may be more serious about his studies. What he does not realize infact due to ignorance is that the child may go into a shell and never be able to come out of it.
The father finally sends him off to a hostel in distant panchgani despite protests. The teachers are tired of the speed at which the child grasps things and start beating the child. The film has certain moments that literally speak volumes about the state of mind of the child. There is one instance where the child gives its mother a flashbook in which the child is standing along with his family and in subsequent photos is shown moving away and slowly vanishing from the picture.
A new lease of life comes when the art teacher who is on vacation is replaced for by a temporary art teacher(Aamir Khan) who has a different methodology of teaching kids with special abilities. He identifies the difficulty being faced by the child and tries to address it in a caring way.
I was literally moved to tears on seeing the movie and must say that I donot remember a movie that has recently had such a forceful impact on me.
This movie shows the agony of a dyslexic(Slow learners fot the uninformed!) child who has difficulties in grasping the day to day activities of a normal school going kid. Simple activities like reading ,writing or maybe catching the ball that are done easily by any child seem to be an uphill task for this child. Parents, teacher and peers alike critize and ridicule him instead of giving him the much needed support. Its really heart rendering to look at the plight of the mother who is unable to do anything for the child and is evident from the silent tears that she sheds. The child is good at painting and lives in a world of its own with aliens and spaceships and imaginary things that converse with it.
The child has an elder brother who simply dotes on him. The elder brother is a rank holder and comes first in all activities, may it be sports or studies. Unhappy with the dismal performance of his younger child the father decides to send him to a hostel , as according to him hostel education will bring in him the required discipline and he may be more serious about his studies. What he does not realize infact due to ignorance is that the child may go into a shell and never be able to come out of it.
The father finally sends him off to a hostel in distant panchgani despite protests. The teachers are tired of the speed at which the child grasps things and start beating the child. The film has certain moments that literally speak volumes about the state of mind of the child. There is one instance where the child gives its mother a flashbook in which the child is standing along with his family and in subsequent photos is shown moving away and slowly vanishing from the picture.
A new lease of life comes when the art teacher who is on vacation is replaced for by a temporary art teacher(Aamir Khan) who has a different methodology of teaching kids with special abilities. He identifies the difficulty being faced by the child and tries to address it in a caring way.
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