The B-school internship

So you have cracked that snazzy B- school entrance exam, and you thought that the worst is finally over. Brace yourself ! The fun is just about to begin. You are about to enter a labyrinth you had never encountered before. Here you will need the skills of a kamikaze pilot to navigate through.

The B-school approach is distinctly different from what schools and colleges had previously taught you. Classroom teachings, as you had known, is replaced largely by self study. Focus is more on application of knowledge gained rather than reproduction of matter learned by rote. You are not limited by the boundaries of a syllabus. The more you know, the more you need to know. Worse, sometimes you need to unlearn all you had learned before and relearn. In short nothing you had done before prepares you for what you are going to experience in B-school.

B-school is a motley crowd of poets, accountants and nerds. That's how the Arts, Commerce and Science graduate are referred to. Here Accounting and Finance are a challenge even for the accountants. While Organisational Behavior drives the nerds crazy, it is Market Research which gets the goat of the poets. But Marketing, overall, is always everyone's darling.

Since the focus is on application, preparation of the course should begin even before the actual classes commence. Books must be sent to students well in advance. B-schools are expected to scan the resumes of it's students and advice them to work on their weak areas. Science and Arts graduates, particularly, must be asked to attend Accounting and Economic classes before the regular classes begin. Knowledge of Statistics and Calculus will also help. Those who seek to pursue a specialisation in Human Resources and Industrial Relations should have some knowledge of Corporate Laws. Prior work experience should be made mandatory.

B- school experience could be exhilarating, hectic and draining. Your attitude and approach will decide what you will carry back from the college.

The Nation in 2013

In 1947 India got it's independence, but in the process lost it's two limbs. There is a view that it was Nehru's ambition to become Prime Minister ahead of Jinnah which caused the nation to be partitioned. It triggered a mass migration, probably the largest in history, and caused the loss of thousands of lives.

Post partition Nehru and the Congress went about building democratic institutions that went to on to guide a nascent nation. To a large extent these institutions stood the test of time in a large, complex and diverse India.

But after Nehru's death, an young and insecure Indira went about systematically destroying the very edifices that her father and his colleagues had so painstakingly built. She broke the Congress and surrounded herself with sycophants who did not have any grass root base. They owed their position to Indira.

She twisted and mauled the constitution to impair the federal structure of the country and institutionalized corruption. Her policies finally boomeranged on her and became the cause of her death. Her son and the Congress did not learn their lessons. And today under the harsh glare of the 24x7 media, the Congress is coming off at the seams and the institutions have lost their credibility.

It will be a long and arduous road ahead to rebuilt the nation's faith in these institutions. But a tall and honest leader who has to lead the nation up this thorny path is nowhere to be seen.