Autonomous B Schools, or University Departments?

 Which is better?

In India, it appears, the autonomous B school outshines the department of management in a university. Especially if it is fully residential. This is unlike the US, where autonomy is inbuilt into university departments. The large bureaucracy in an Indian university nullifies some advantages that it may have in terms of scale and diversity.

Another unique thing is that the top Indian B schools are run by the central government. Unlike the Harvards of the U.S. This could be because the first independent Indian government identified Higher Education as a strategic growth lever, and went into action mode. Set up IIMs and IITs. The focus on one discipline helped them carve out a niche, unlike state universities, which also had fund constraints-still do. Industry participation initially was insignificant, and the government fully subsidised these institutions. My fees at IIM Bangalore for the PGDM in 1982-84 were around 3-4000 rupees per annum.  Seems to have paid off for the government.

Less bureaucracy, strict faculty selection and student selection and swiftly changing curriculum and pedagogy with freedom and incentives to faculty have made IIMs a force to reckon with- I worked at 3 of them, I should know.

Attachment to a Job

 Read a post by someone on LinkedIn on how Indians in India are emotionally attached to their job, partly because we don't have other interests outside work. Largely true. Oracle's 12,000 layoffs brought this out yesterday, with some employees lamenting their layoff.

What is a job? It's a contract, that can be terminated as per conditions stated in it. That's it. The group you work with is not exactly family, though friendships or relationships can develop during your work life. But the corporate (or family owned) entity has limited uses for any employee-CEO included. One must bear that in mind.

The best way to deal with the downside is to be prepared for a job change at short notice. Update your skills, your CV and network. Don't be under an illusion that your job is forever. Stash some savings to help during a transition. Don't overcommit on expensive stuff, especially long term, unless you have an assurance that you can meet the EMIs. 

Whatsapp Wars

 Even more dangerous than Ukraine-Russia and Iran- US/Israel, these are the wars you see everyday, and feel tempted to participate in- The Whatsapp wars.. on a device near you!

These can rage on forever, until you exit the group, or they throw you out, in case you are the incendiary chap! Totally macho, like real wars- mostly men participate in these too.

The topic is not very relevant, but in India, since 2014 at least, it's about how X has done so much for the nation, in the face of anti-national elements who want to stop him, or the reverse. It takes two hands to clap.

Mostly, the fake news propaganda memes are used as weapons of construction- of the scenario one is pushing. The resilience of the soldiers is more than the Ukrainians and Iranians put together. These wars don't have an expiry date.

Everyone seems to have 'inside' info on various things, more than the Dhurandhar director ever did.

And so, they go on.. a good pastime after retirement, maybe.

Most Admired People

My lists don't contain celebrities, mostly. The people I have known- colleagues, students or classmates are present in the list, to which I add regularly. Family members are not in it, for avoiding possible nepotism charges :) 

Shrabani, my exec. assistant in JIS University, and her friends - Karanjyot, Sunita Samanta and Debasmita are some I want to add to this list. Very simple, easy-going and affectionate, they were there to celebrate my birthday, and events in their lives. Two got married while I was in Kolkata. I also got a lovely farewell from them jointly. Wonderful experience! Here they are-

Another admirable duo was Sayantani Saha and Ananya Ghosh. I had been meeting Ananya Ghosh for suggesting analysis approaches in her Ph.D. thesis, and discovered that Sayantani, my ex-student, was her friend. We had two great outings and I also cut a cake to say Kabhi alvida na kehna.. to promise we'll keep in touch! Pic from our last meeting at Axis Mall.

 

Back at HQ

 Left Kolkata and landed back in Pune, after a stint at JIS University as a Pro-VC. Of course, met a lot of friends in the last few days, played a bit of Golf at Fort William too.. nice memories to carry back. And these parting shots..

Lucky shot of the Bridge and station, Howrah.

Waiting to take off, while another plane lands.

Songs sung for LPG

Shortages bring out the sense of humour.. so here are some songs one can sing to the LPG cylinder-

Maine tujhe chaha tujhe paya hai. (after a struggle)

Tumne mujhe dekha, hokar meherbaan, ruk gayi ye zameen, ruk gaya aasmaan..  

Aaaja aaja, main hoon pyar tera.. aa ah aaja.. (after booking a cylinder)

Tu auron ki kyun ho gayi, tu hamari thi.. (when your cylinder is allotted to someone else)

Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye to bhat (rice) ban jaye, haan haan bhat ban jaye.

Meeting Prachi in Kolkata

 My golf student, Ph.D. from IIM Indore, prof. at Roorkee IIT, and good friend Prachi Jain was in town for admission interviews. 

We went restaurant hopping on Park Street. Some pics. Her old colleague Umang, now teaching at IIMC, and new ones from IIT Roorkee were in the vicinity. Met some of them too. 

With her colleagues.

Umang, above, and Japanese tea, Macha, below. 

More hopping... and a kid.. colleagues again, the parents took a walk while we baby-sat.