IIT vs IIM - First Impressions

I wanted to make a long post on my first experiences after joining IIML before I make any other post about life here, but laziness and business have kept me so occupied that I couldn't even get started. So I thought, let's forget it, and write whatever comes to mind and at least be active on the blog.

Being from an IIT, I can't stop comparing IITs and IIMs. Although there are huge differences in terms of scale of operations and the kind of people who fill the respective campuses, which further leads to significant cultural differences, there are lots of similarities between the two categories of premier institutes of India. The infrastructure, facilities, food-standards and the academic format is more or less the same, with the obvious differences here and there based on the need and scale. The number of females is awfully low in both places. However the ones in IIMs seem more approachable, reachable, amiable and amicable to me. The level of interaction is good. A common mess for all at IIML helps a lot. On the whole, I felt that students at IIMs are more down-to-earth, interactive and friendly than IITians. The latter have serious attitude problems (it's totally my opinion).

I agree it is not fully justified to compare IITs and IIMs coz they comprise students of different age groups, qualifications, maturity and experience levels; and most of the cultural and behavioral differences are due to that. The personality of an IIM student is the consequence of all the learnings he has had during his graduation, job and relationships, while an IITian, when he starts, is just out of school and is very immature in his thinking and approach to life.

Probably that explains why IIM guys are bigger muggus than IITians. And to take it further, it seems to have some interesting effects on characteristics of the products these institutes produce. Because of being less dependant on books and technical knowledge, and being more capable of sailing through courses and stuff inspite of not learning anything, IITians tend to be more open and comfortable in getting into stuff they don't have any clue about to start with. In other words, IITians are better risk takers and IIM guys are more focussed and hard-working. It's a sweeping statement though, and I see exceptions on both sides. But broadly, this seems to be the case.

A very special case is - guys in IIM who graduated from IIT; a category I have not thoroughly studied yet, as it includes me too. Hmmm, may be I am stereotyping a lot, which is not always a good thing to do. But in many cases, stereotypes do exist, and represent a majority of their kind.

Again, these are totally my views, based on my observations. I have seen too much of IITians. But I must say, I've just got started with the IIMs. So hold on and keep visiting for more, as I see more of it.

Is Democracy the best form of Government?

Government Hospitals are awful in India. They commit all kinds of crimes ranging from bribery to using same syringes multiple times to denying treatment to the most needy.

It's funny that each and every body associated with the Government in India is so inefficient, corrupt and uncivilized that you'd be a fool if you trust any of them with anything. Any democratic system is bound to become like that, if it is of a size bigger than a certain maximum, because it is hard to establish accountability and control in huge democracies. Hence, I believe that democracy is really not an appropriate system to run a Country or a Province. Democracy is good for a smaller group of people - I guess a few hundreds in number, at the maximum.

I think the reason Democracy has become so popular is that it provides a wonderful and perfect playground for people who are cunning and adept at playing politics to satiate their political appetites at someone else's expense, by sitting in safe positions of power, and since such people have great convincing abilities and remarkable assertiveness, they are able to persuade people to accepting Democracy and also propagate it all over so that they expand their grounds to play on. They tag the enemies of Democracy as evil and get united to crush them. And the masses stay in an illusion that they are in control of the systems of governance which are held by their own representatives elected by vote and nurtured by the money they pay as taxes. But we all know how fake it is. It's strange nobody says it very often in public.

For example, India is the world's largest democracy - 1.2 bn people. Are our governments really of the people, for the people, by the people? They are none of them, as we all know. Even if we go by sheer numbers, the fact is, only a small percentage of us vote, and most of those who do are the least aware of what's going on in the country. And to make matters worse, the winner in any election is the guy who gets a simple majority, which is just a small percentage of the votes cast, coz there are so many parties contesting for a seat that each party gets just a handful of votes. So the guy who finally gets elected has the support only from a minority in his constituency. But in the end we fix the number of seats a party has to have in the houses of parliament to stake its claim to form the government - to give ourselves an illusion again that our governments indeed are run by those who have support from more than 50% (or whatever it is) of the country. And to top it all, parties with a few seats join together and form coalitions. What about the citizens who voted for one of those parties to keep the other out? What about parties' ideologies and stuff like that?

And obviously it is all not so clean either. The voters are lured, bought and made happy (as the girl says in the movie Bombay to Bangkok... did ya see it?) in many ways. Then there are booth-captures and fake votes. And even if the voting had been clean, the question as to whether the common man is shrewd enough to decide who's the best to rule him cannot be answered on the affirmative with utmost confidence. And with the way things are done in India, it is not even the government of those chosen by the majority of the adult citizens. It is simply one randomly elected government that forms as a result of manipulating, voting, manipulating again, lots of crap and lots of things too complicated to comprehend or talk about.

One may argue that India is still just a Third World and an Underdeveloped country. (Think why it is so. I suspect democracy might be one of the crippling factors). But even the democracies which are rich and developed are not so because they are democratic. Most of the time, democracy drags back what is running smoothly. Such democracies also have sound economic models and intelligentsia at the right places which allow them to efficiently cover up the inefficiencies that democracy brings with it. If democracy had been a sufficient condition for prosperity, then all democratic nations would have been rich and prosperous, but that is hardly the reality. I feel that democracy is not even a condition, let alone a sufficient one.

So, if not Democracy, what is the best from of government? (Check out this link - Forms of Government - and try to figure out.) Is it the rule by philosophers and intellectuals as Plato suggested in his famous book The Republic? If it really is, then it can certainly be implemented after 2012, when the current world order will come to an end, and all evil people will die and only the intellectuals and the spiritually inclined will survive. I'll be one of the survivors. Wish you all the best!

A Long Bla

My makaan-maalik (landlord) Habib once suggested to me that I should get married soon. According to him, one should marry early, coz as one grows old (28+ according to him), the blood gets thick. Don't know how that is supposed to affect marriage, but I can imagine that he meant that the initial honeymoon-period sex won't be so enjoyable if you marry late. And for most of us indians who don't taste honey before marriage, this means a lot.

But for females, there are other reasons as well, to marry early. One female friend once told me that at a young age (below 30 according to her) females' bodies are stronger and more fit for pregnancy and fast recovery thereafter. As they grow older, pregnancy would take a heavier toll on their bodies.

Some elders have told me yet another reason for marrying early - marry early, have kids early, they're grown up sooner and you are done sooner with your familial responsibilities, free to live the way you like in your old age, when you are at your lowest energy levels. This comes from the traditional wisdom that one should work hard all youth, save money, make sacrifices etc. etc. hoping for a wonderful post-retirement life. It does make sense at some level though. Of course I don't mean to say that marriage is a sacrifice of any sort. However, implicitly we all, particularly married people, seem to believe that it is indeed a big one.

A lot of weird stuff keeps happening to me. Yesterday, my sister asked me the number of friends that I have. I didn't expect this kind of a question all of a sudden. I had never cared about keeping a count of my friends, and in that situation, I could only think of orkut. I have 170-something friends on orkut. I said an honest thank-u to orkut in my mind, rounded 170-something to 200, and told my sister the number. I then hesistated a little to ask her why she wanted to know the number. I did ask, coz she was staring at me, challenging me to ask the damn thing. And then she said what I have been hearing from my family members since I've started talking - that I talk very little. And she found it hard to believe I had so many friends inspite of my taciturnity. I tried to justify myself and prove that I am normal by saying that my behavior, and that of all of us, differs based on situations, and that I am indeed quite talkative in some circles. But I was not assertive enough, coz I was speaking in Telugu and I am bad at expressing myself in it.

My room-mate in my 1st year of Engineering at IIT Bombay had a similar observation. He felt I did not talk to anybody. I was indeed quite home-sick those days since it was the first time I was living away from my parents. Also, being from a small town, I realized I was quite behind the rest in terms of my knowledge about the hottest stuff in fashion, news, trends etc. I was also quite surprised at the kind of guys I found in the IIT - all weird guys, not at all geeks or nerds as I had been told, but quite the opposites in fact. The environment and people at IIT were quite different from what I had expected and I took a long time to get used to them. I did find groups which I enjoyed being a part of, and ditched those that sucked. I find it amazing how all things in this world align themselves to attain stable configurations.

It's funny coz till date, I've fit into very few groups. And there are very few people in whose companies I have been comfortable for long. My best company is myself. It doesn't seem to happen with others usually. Everyone tells me he can't eat alone in a restaurant, can't travel alone and can't watch a movie alone in a cinema hall. But I do all of those and I also enjoy them a lot. But I have some friends who are quite close to me and I can spend hours with them, and I enjoy each moment of that time as well.

A few days from now, I am going to join IIM Lucknow for doing a Post Graduate Program in Management, a.k.a MBA. I'll be one in a batch of 300 students - most of them guys, and a handful of ladies. Unlike my last academic experience, I won't be home-sick this time, having been away from home for 8 years now, lived in 4 major cities of India. I've even gone abroad all alone. I'm much more used to dealing with many kinds of people in different environments. I've gotten rid of many of my silly mental inhibitions. I am financially independent now, thanks to the banks who lend as much money as you want without the slightest hesitation, if you are an IIM student. And I am fully aware of what's the most happening stuff in every field. I am really excited about this opportunity to be in such a great place among the brightest minds. I will make sure from the start that I make the best out of each moment that I spend in IIML and use it to the full to achieve my goals in life, and have lots of fun at the same time. (Now I booze too.)

My Jiju, who does 'research' on nuclear fissile material at BARC for a job, is a self-proclaimed expert of economics and finance (both are somewhat different, I am told). Each time I meet him, he has something related to economics (let's stick to this) to discuss. His most favorite topics are Oil, Money & the Gold Standard and John Maynard Keyenes. The last time I met him, he asked me why the price of oil was rising? I said demand-supply and the falling dollar. He gave me a you-bloody-MBAs-are-useless kind of look and told me it was due speculation in commodity exchanges. In return I gave him an I-am-not-an-MBA-yet look, but he showed no pity. Wonder whether MBAs really know all that crap. Will figure that out in some time.

I happened to go to the Government Hospital at Bilaspur for a medical check-up. It was mandatory to get it done from there itself and get a certificate from the Civil Surgeon, who sits in that hospital, stating that I am fit to join IIM Lucknow. One of my next posts may be on my experiences in the Government Hospital. Keep reading my SochVichaar. Enjoy life.

feeling hot hot hot!!!

It's very hot here in Hyderabad. I don't know the exact temperatures but I am finding it hard to bear. My mattress and pillows are heated up all the time. And they heat my taklu and the whole body too. I feel sick and mad.

It's been a long time since I had a totally non-AC non-Cooler summers. Last time was more than 10 years back. Somewhere around that time, we bought a fridge and a desert-cooler for our home in Bilaspur. When I was in college, I used to run away to Bilaspur and stay there with my parents for the entire summer-vacation. Chennai was summer all the time. I was there for 6 months, but not during the peak summers. So never felt too bad; also because I used to be in the office all day, and offices of Software Companies are all Air Conditioned. Moreover, Chennai is not always so hot as it is humid. Then in the 2.75 yrs in Pune, I saw 2 summers which were not very hot as compared to those in Bilaspur. For the last summer, I went to the US. It was summer there as well, but wasn't anywhere close to how it is in India. And my company was generous enough to keep me in a hotel with AC and fridge. There was a hot Russian girl called Nadya who did house-keeping but she was very cold towards me. She was a student of English Literature and was in the US for spending her summer vacations with some of her relatives. On a few occasions I tried to have intellectual discussions with her on books and English Literature, but I failed to impress her.

And now, I am forced to bear the heat all day coz Satyam threw me out my job, and I don't have any of the cooling amenities at home, except tap water. So the whole day I stay home, sprinking water once in while on my bed, on my head and at other places where it gets hot very often. My nose has started running due to excess cold-drinks. Don't know whether I can say I caught cold. Is there any special word for sardi in summer?

Tag...

Another Tag taken up from Sindhu as usual...

1)LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
Speed Racer

2)WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
The Life Divine by Sri Aurobindo

3)FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Ludo

4)FAVOURITE MAGAZINE
Filmfare

5)FAVOURITE SMELLS
Kya bakwaas question hai!

6)FAVOURITE SOUNDS
My own voice when I am singing

7)WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD
Hangover

8)WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Love Making

9)FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE
Roadside Chat ka thela

10)FUTURE CHILDS NAME
Akanksha (akki)

11)FINISH THIS STATEMENT---IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY
I'd buy a nice fully furnished home in a posh area, put the remaining money in the bank and live happily ever after

12)DO U DRIVE FAST?
Medium fast

13)DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Chi, no...itne bure din nai aaye...

14)STORMS--COOL OR SCARY?
Cooooool!

15)WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
One small red plastic one my mom bought for me in Durga Puja mela

16)FAVOURITE DRINK?
Smirnoff with Sprite

17)FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD
I am never short of time. I have lots of it.

18)DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Ya, shauk se.

19)IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Get me some hair first

20)NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Bilaspur, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad

21)FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Cricket

22)ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
She's very sweet.

23)WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Floor

24)WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes

25)MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night owl... but of late trying to change to a morning person.

26)OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Neither

27)FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
On my bed.

28)FAVOURITE PIE?
3.14159265

29)FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Strawberry

30)OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Sangeeta

Tagging sangeetavyas, jitu.

Howla!!! (Read if u r 18+)

In Hyderabad we have our own little Johnny. His name is Howla. His father is ambitious to educate Howla.

Howla goes to school in Tappa Chabutra. Its principal was educated in Urdu high school and claims that he passed tenth class!

There is a school inspection the next day and the conversation is as follows:

Teacher - Kal inispector ayinga. Kochanaa (questions) puchinga. Sab achaa padkey aau. Koi galath answer deengaa naa tho main uske pairaan thodtoom.

Howla - Iski maakki kirkiri. Kyun aara inispector? Kaam nai hai usku? Kya kochanaa puchta kathey?

Teacher - Abey tereku kaiku re, tu kal school aanaaich nai. Tu tera moo khola to gaaliaan nikaltey. Tereku main absent nai daalthaum. Ghar pe baithkey gotiyaan khel. Tu school aayingaa to inispector ke saamney mere izzat ki biryaani karke khaaingaa tu.

So our Howla is excited, goes home and tells his father that he is not going to school the next day.

Father - Yeah kyaa hai… ischool hai paan ka dabba hai? Gaand pe maartaun saale tu ischool nai gaya to.

Howla - Arey Bava, mera teacher bola nakko aao bolke.

Father - Usku akkal hai? Begum suno! Howla ischool nai jayinga kathey kal. Agar iney ischool nai gaya to kaise padhinga? Howla, agar tu kal ischool nahin gaya naa, tere haathan pairaan thod daaltaum.

So Howla cries and finally agrees to go to school. Next day in school, Teacher is very upset to see Howla back:

Teacher - Arey teri maakki. Nakko aao bole to bhi kaiko aaya re ?

Howla - Mera bava gaand phodtum bola ischool nai gaya to.

Teacher - offo?! Tera bava bola? Theek hai chal. Last bench pe baith aur inispector aya to chchup jaa. Dikhnaich nai. Kuch bhi gadbad karinga naa meri noukri lag jayingi.

So Howla goes to sit in the last bench hiding behind a tall guy. Inspector comes for the visit.

Inspector - Adaab.

Teacher - Adaab saab. Bachen acha padrain saab. Kochchanaa puchey to answeraan yun bolte.

Inspector - Abaa? Offo! Ithney kilever hai aapke bachchey? Achchaa, ek bahuth easy sawaal - Hamarey body mein sab se nazook cheez kaun si hai?

Teacher - Arey Imtiyaz tu bata rey!

Imtiyaz - Saab, Khaleja saab.

Inspector - Aisa! ..... woh kyun?

Imtiyaz - Saab, khaleja hai to sab kuch hota. Agar woh gaya naa, kuch bhi nahin hota saab.

Inspector - Abaa, kya tez potta hai rey! Aur koi?

Teacher - Arey Akram, tu bata re.

Akram - Saab bheja saab. Bhejey ku khuch bhi hua to kuch yaad nahin rehta saab. Haathaan pairaan kaam nai karthey, iscooter ku kick bhi nai maar sakthey saab.

Inspector - Abey Teacher, kya kya padaaraa re inku tu. Chutiye ke jaiseich answeraan bolrai naa!!

In the meantime Howla is trying very hard to hide but Inspector sees him. He thinks Howla is hiding because he does not know the answer.

Inspector - Woh last bench pe yun jhuk ke baithaa naa woh pottey ka naam kya hai?

Teacher - kaun saab? .......Woh! (iski bhain ku, kaiku dikhaa re tu) Woh Howla hai saab.

Inspector - Howla? Ye kya naam hai? Kahan-kahan se lagaathey re bhai naamaan! Howla, woh lambu ke peechchey kaiku chchup raa tu?

Howla - Saab main moo khola to teacher maaringi saab.

Inspector - Tereku yaa mereku??

Teacher - Arey kya baath kar reh saab, main kaiku maarthaum aapku. Ye potta ekdam badmaash hai saab, jhoot bolraa. Abey Howla, answer maloom hain to bol nai tho khaamoosh baith jaa mere baap tere pau padthaum.

Howla - Saab sabse nazook cheez apne body mein Gaand hai saab.

Teacher - Allah!! Iney moo khola meri gaand lag gayi re!!!

Inspector - Abey kyaa to bhi bolra re! Sharam kar badon ke saamney aisaich baathaan karthey! Yeich sikhaaye tumhaarey amma-bavaa? Gaand kahaan kaa answer hai re?

Howla - Hau saab, gaand ich sabse naazook cheez hai. Kaiku boletho ... wahaan pe dilli mein baamb phata ... Yahan Hydrabad mein apni gaand phat thi ... Yahaan old city mein gadbadaan shuru hothey ... wahaan new city mein sabki gaand phat thi… Uttaa kaiku saab, main yeh answer bolraun naa, mere teacher ki gaand phatri dekho!!!!

sāre jahāñ se achchā hindostāñ hamārā

sāre jahāñ se achchā hindostāñ hamārā
ham bulbuleñ haiñ us kī vuh gulsitāñ hamārā

ġhurbat meñ hoñ agar ham, rahtā hai dil vatan meñ
samjho vuhīñ hameñ bhī dil ho jahāñ hamārā

parbat vuh sab se ūñchā, hamsāyah āsmāñ kā
vuh santarī hamārā, vuh pāsbāñ hamārā

godī meñ kheltī haiñ us kī hazāroñ nadiyāñ
gulshan hai jin ke dam se rashk-e janāñ hamārā

ay āb-rūd-e gangā! vuh din haiñ yād tujh ko?
utarā tire kināre jab kāravāñ hamārā

mażhab nahīñ sikhātā āpas meñ bair rakhnā
hindī haiñ ham, vatan hai hindostāñ hamārā

yūnān-o-miṣr-o-rumā sab miṭ gaʾe jahāñ se
ab tak magar hai bāqī nām-o-nishāñ hamārā

kuchh bāt hai kih hastī miṭtī nahīñ hamārī
sadiyoñ rahā hai dushman daur-e zamāñ hamārā

iqbāl! koʾī maḥram apnā nahīñ jahāñ meñ
maʿlūm kyā kisī ko dard-e nihāñ hamārā!

- Muhammad Iqbal

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English Translation

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Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan,
We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode

If we are in an alien place, the heart remains in the homeland,
Know us to be only there where our heart is.

That tallest mountain, that shade-sharer of the sky,
(It) is our sentry, (it) is our watchman

In its lap frolic those thousands of rivers,
Whose vitality makes our garden the envy of Paradise.

O the flowing waters of the Ganges, do you remember that day
When our caravan first disembarked on your waterfront?

Religion does not teach us to bear ill-will among ourselves
We are of Hind, our homeland is Hindustan.

In a world in which ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome have all vanished without trace
Our own attributes (name and sign) live on today.

Such is our existence that it cannot be erased
Even though, for centuries, the cycle of time has been our enemy.

Iqbal! We have no confidant in this world
What does any one know of our hidden pain?