Indian Media - Do they enlighten or instigate?

This post is prompted as a result of articles I have seen related to the Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 and the Ayodhya verdict. So much has been written about the ill-preparation pertaining to the CWG that I do not feel the need to repeat it in this post.

However, what frustrates me is that on Day 3, when things seem to be going well, some journalists will find some way or the other to bad mouth the games. For eg: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/10/06/delhi-grinds-to-standstill-for-games/ Here, the journalist compares the games being held in India to the games that took place in Australia in 2006 and the fact that all commercial activity was open for the opening day. Did Ms. Chakraborty use her brain for one second to think about how different the two countries are in terms of demographic, culture, infrastructure? I suspect not. It amazes me how such pieces are allowed to be put up on supposedly respectable publications such as the Wall Street Journal. It infuriates me to think that this is the picture that gets painted in front of the western world thanks to such articles. Agreed that people (myself included) are having to go through inconvenience for the duration of the games (15 days). However, what would one rather have - security or convenience of living your life as you would if the games were not taking place? For me, the choice is obvious. I would love to hear some thoughts from people who live in Delhi and are undergoing some of these inconveniences also.

My other gripe is related to the Ayodhya verdict. The media built up a lot of hype around the result. Further, they posted polarizing remarks by some politicians. These are the sort of things that instigate extremists into action.

While I appreciate freedom to speech, such things make me wonder if maybe we have too much of it in this nation?

About to embark on your B-School journey?

This post is meant for people who are about to embark on a 2 year vacation thanks to getting admission into a business school. Exciting times lay ahead! Having almost completed my two years at school, I have a perspective on things one can do to make the most of your time while at school. One thing that could help you deeply is to think early on about what you want to recruit for when you get to school - banking, consulting, investment management are just a few options that come to mind. Having decided that, it would be a good idea to start working on your resume. A lot of schools have a fixed format that they want you to conform to in order to make it to the resume books. You probably have access to all the resources that the school has to offer and I highly recommend getting a head start in this area. Try accessing resume books from the past to see how students in your chosen profession have set up their resumes and try to model your own resume after that. Once you have it set up, reach out to second year students/career management to get feedback on your resume. Having your resume ready before school starts will help you so much you have no idea. Another thing you want to do is to talk to second year students in your chosen profession and learn as much as you can - start the networking early. Odds are that they will return for recruiting to your school at the time when you are looking to secure that internship/full-time job. Also, do not hesitate to reach out to alumni early and getting those conversations going. Finally, if you can get a Pre-MBA summer internship which would be relevant for your chosen profession, that would be the icing on the cake and would surely help you differentiate yourself from everyone else. All of this advice is on the recruiting front.

On the extra-curricular front, it would help you a lot if you know about all the resources that the school has to offer. For example, if you are interested in traveling, find out about all the treks that are typically organized to get a sense for how it would fit into your calendar while you're at school.

All in all, you are about to launch into two of the best years of your life and I am so jealous! :)