Being Bong !!!!

Note : Got this as a forward in my e-mail in-box...But couldn't resist putting this up in my blog...I don't claim the creation to be mine..but since I don't have any idea of the original source am posting it here with sincere regards for the person who created this post


Overview
There are two kinds of Bengalis that I know. Probashi or Expatriate Bengalees, a fairly large and diverse group about which I can't write as I am one of them. And Bengalees who are from Kolkata. This group is incorrectly known as Bongs, as they are merely a subset. However, this is the only group which matters. Gokhale told of them, long years back, 'What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.' To which Rene Descartes responded, 'I think (today), therefore I am (Bengali).' Like all other Nobel Prize Winners, Oscar Awardees and most successful Indian cricket captains, Rene Descartes was also a Bong (this fact is not known outside of Kolkata).

Physical Description: The Bong has a large head, glasses, glistening hair and dark skin. Older Bongs develop an ample stomach to balance their large heads. This happens by the age of 25.. They smell of Keo Karpin hair oil. The average life expectancy is 65 years. What is even more impressive is what they do in those years. Outside Kolkata, regardless of weather, sex or age, Bongs can be seen in Monkey Caps. This is a must-have accessory as well as a sign to recognize other Bongs. (please see second update for more). The Bongling can often be recognised in either over-sized or under-sized school uniforms. The Bong mother's second biggest fear (See diet for the biggest one) is that the 'porer bochor o lomba hoye gele abar notun skirt kinte hobe!!' or 'Next year, if you grow taller, we'll again have to buy a new skirt!!' Thus, the school uniform is selected to last at least three years. Thus the uniform sits as conspicuously on the Bongling as the plumage ! of a macaw.


Early Years: While most Bongs are born with innate talents in singing, dancing, painting, film-making, cooking or embroidery, their creative talents are honed even before they can start speaking. Frequent meets are organised between infants and their successful ancestors and other relatives. MA degrees (preferably from Cambridge , at least from Presidency or Jadobpoor) are displayed over the cots. The infant is exposed to the best of Bengali thought - Marx, Bentham, Kalidas, Tolstoy, Chekov*. This increases the sizes of their heads and the height of their ambitions. Similar examples, though rare, can be found in European tradition as well, like in the case of Mozart. In India , however, Bongs have the sole preserve on such activity during infancy. Soon, when they grow up a little, their characters are honed in the best of schools. Here, I am not referring to the South Points, La Marts, Don Boscos , Xaviers and all. They are important in the nurture a Bong child goes through. What is even more important are the schools the Bong child passes through before school and after school. Many a Bong child wakes up at five o'clock in the morning to attend swimming classes. After one hour of swimming, he attends tennis coaching before rushing off to one of the South Points, LaMarts etc. mentioned above. School finishes by two or so, from where he scoots along to Singing/ Instrumental Music/ Dance Classes, then tuition (for at least three of all five subjects). He rounds off the day with coaching on either Debating or Quiz.

Many a Bong mother will carry the child along through this day, feeling equally energised. This behaviour is again not restricted to Bongs. It also seen within kangaroos in Australia who rush along from one clump to another bush.

Growing up: Soon the Bong attains adolescence, doesn't find friends of his age (since everyone is competing for the Nobel Prize or the Indian captaincy) and finds intimacy in conversation in his/her parents and poems of T.S.Eliot and Pablo Neruda. When school ends, they move on to the good colleges- Presidency, Xavier's or IIT Kharagpur. The best of them, though, move straight to Joo (Jadobpoor). However, in recent years, Dilli (Stephen's obviously) is becoming the preferred destination for some escapists. In colleges, they decorate their rooms with books or portraits of Robi Guru (Tagore). On the opposite wall, men would have posters of Che/Maradona and women would have Enrique Iglesias, thus expressing solidarity with Latin American culture. All of them share equal interest in the Bong-Rock (Bhumi, Chondrobindu, Cactus, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple).

Later Years: Bongs mature early. Critics have said that they grow old early, but that is nothing but old hat. Years of toil and Eliot would obviously bestow wisdom. The reason they look older is because the sole purpose of a Bong's life is to win the Nobel Prize or the Oscars (and in recent years, captain the Indian team). With great responsibility comes great age. Add to it the chlorine in the swimming pools and you know why Bongs grey prematurely. As far as their mission in life is concerned, they have been very successful at it. Every Indian Nobel Prize winner has been Bong (the others who weren't don't matter). So have the Oscar Awardees. And most successful Cricket Captains. And Bipasha Basu. Once Bongs have kids though, their mission on life changes. The only raision de'etre for them is making sure that their progeny achieves the heights that they could (or couldn't). Hence, they are mostly found outside of schools, colleges and tuition classes.

Diet: Diet is as important as Robindro Shongeet. There's nothing that a Bong can't eat. However, they prefer protein over other food groups. The largest source of protein for them is fish, then meat, and then mishti (sweets) made from milk. More than fish itself, it is the knowledge of fish which is coveted and enjoyed. Carbohydrates are tolerated if they are fried in oil or if it is accompaniment to fish. Luchis (somewhat like aPuri), Telebhajas (pakoras) and Phuchkas (Paani Puri) are the favoured source of carbohydrates. The young Bengali though invariably always has Farex, Lactogen and Waterbury 's Compound. As far as the most important meal of the day is concerned, please do note that what dieticians have been saying in the last few years, Bongs have known for centuries. Breakphast/tiphphin is an occasion where the entire family comes together, to watch the office-going Bong male and school-bound Bonglings eat. The Bong woman's biggest fear is that 'Shokale bhaat dal mach bhaaja na kheye beriye gailo' or 'In the morning, He went out without eating rice, dal and fish fry.' To round off the calories, Dal is often accompanied by aaloo bhaate, aaloo bhaja, potol bhaaja and various other heartily fried stuff. Not for the faint-hearted.


Mating and procreation: A few Bongs end up being in relationships, which lead to love marriage. This is sometimes shown in movies and song. However, most do not have any such social malignancy and end up marrying the woman of their mother's dreams or men of their father's choosing. This results in mixing the right genes for the next cycle of Bongs. Love marriage, by its very nature, is random. It sometimes results in tragedy, like marrying into another country (most often, India ). Hence, it is avoided, wherever possible.

Social Life: Adda, robindro shongeet and cha....Repeat.
Do note that the young Bong doesn't have a social life (at least not till he wins the Nobel or gets a Government job). And phootball. the Bongs have had an illustrious history of achievement in football. Every para (neighbourhood) has stories of when they won the World Cup at the expense of the next one. The last time it happened in my parent's para was in 1986, when Argentina won in Mexico . Diego Maradona, who looks Bhodrolok enough, give or take a few lines of coke, scored famously using his hand, a skill which he learnt in Kolkata.Over the last few years, Brazil has been gladdening the hearts of many Zicos who were born in Kolkata around 1982-86. The only team which is not Bong is Germany as they play with more efficiency and no creativity, which thus is not amenable to adda. Do not ask of a Bong doing anything on the phootball field as then the Bong will keep you occupied about Jakarta ,1962. 'Chuni Goswami je Ball tule dilo PK ke. Match-er aagei bolechilo, 'Ekta Ball debo. Daam kore maarish. Gol hobe'.' Chuni Goswami put a football up for PK (Banerjee). He told him before the match itself, 'I will give you one ball. Hit it with a bang.Goal will happen.' Obviously, it is also the crowning moment of Indian phootball.


Habitat: While you may find a Bong in other places (like occasionally in offices), the best time to observe a Bong is in his natural habitat - the best of colleges, the best of schools, the best of coffee houses. It is here that he will tell you about Balzac while she will recite poetry with gay abandon. To mix in with the Bong, apply Keo Karpin to your hair and carry a jhola. Hopefully, they won't notice your small head. Do not worry about not knowing the language as the Bong likes being heard.


Famous Bongs: Many famous Bongs have been referred to in this extract. Hence, this section is used to debunk that big myth about Bongs. People believe that Bong men can't be hunky. If so, then what about Abhishek Bachchan (via mother), Saif Ali Khan (via mother), John Abraham (via girlfriend), Hritik Roshan (via grandmother) .

Bongs in Literature, Film, Art: Everywhere you care to look.

Closing Word :
Being Bong at the end of the day is a state of mind. Or, a case of being discovered by them. Best of luck.

Skin Deep Prejudice

In one of the recent debate shows on NDTV - ‘We the people’ – I encountered this never ending debate, which has now probably become the favorite past time for most channels when there is nothing exciting happening around, about the ethicality of having advertisements and products targeted towards changing the complexion of skin. Especially when ‘Fair and Lovely’ is the most selling brand ever, anywhere in the world, and now with the advent of such products that target Indian men as well. As inevitable as it is, these shows, not the first of their kinds, would have the secularists fighting for the social equity of skin color. More often than not the seculars would have women with darker complexion and who have been fairly successful in life and a few men clamoring for the Bishop’s seat in a society where they see everything as morally backward or deeply prejudiced. One of the most prolific players for the secular team has been Deepal Shaw, who is nothing more than a nondescript actress in the bylanes of Bollywood. The likes of Deepal in these shows would be kept to up the morality quotient, and are generally meant to play the Goddesses who got successful even without having a fair skin tone, how much of the society acted evilly just because they have a darker shade and hence in the subtler context question the society’s fabric. And then how can such shows not have the Brhamins - ad-men who create such ads – the toast of such shows – meant for unabashed bashing by the left wing secularists, holders of the right to colour based equity, better still if the host manages to engage the Mohammed himself, the Alyque Padamsis or Prhalad Kakkars.
Generally, the grounds on which such shows stand is why should we project dark as unsuccessful and create this make belief notion of a correlation between fair and successful. Also, the projection of a certain kind where a dark woman applies a certain element to become fair presented as having racial undertones.
Another dimension that these debates tend to present is that dark skinned people are generally not the ones who could be taken to the guy’s mom for marriage; rather she’s the one who could be the best bet for manhood’s sinister inclinations.
I have squarely failed to understand the logic behind these shows in the very first place. What’s the objective of a show which adds nothing to the human intellect, and instead only creates heartburn for the less privileged whenever someone on such shows presents a candid viewpoint. The pertinent question meanwhile remains unhindered and unanswered.

I will try to rake in my few cents to try and reach a logical solution to this unending debate. Lest I am judged as a racist of a certain degree, I am only being candid. I personally would prefer someone who has a fairer skin tone, and am sure most of us do else we won’t be having such debates in the first place. My liking for a fair skin doesn’t, however, turn into a dislike for the darker shades after all. The focal point is why should there be a preference for fair skin. Before I delve any further we should first try and understand the human instinct behind the clamor for being fair.

One argument that I would like to bring forth is, how many of us don’t apply any kind of a cream? It’s difficult to find a single person from the species of Venus, and these days the ones from Mars who don’t use such creams are rather termed as ‘Retro-sexuals’. In-fact the hostesses who host such shows apply loads of makeup themselves. That remains the biggest irony according to me. The point that I am trying to drive home is that applying a cream not only takes care of the skin, but also brings a certain element of radiance to it and that is something every living creature likes. A fair skinned person looks brighter to our eyes and every living being likes brightness which probably can be envisaged from the fact that the best of the students in a class are often termed as bright. That’s how the human race has been engineered.

Fair also resembles the successful and the developed. Take for instance the entire developed world which is fair. In fact white is also the symbol of peace and black representing the devilry. Let’s draw instances from India itself. The progeny of the rich and well-bred are generally fair, even though the parents may themselves be a few shades darker. The reasons for the offspring being comparatively fair is mainly because of the right kind of care for the mother during her pregnancy days, the mother wouldn’t have had to go through the troubles of a typical Indian household, considering she would have servants, would have been well fed during the pre-natal days, which ultimately reflects in the overall health of the baby. This typically would drill down to our urge to look brighter ( if not fairer) since that reflects how well bred we have been.

Another important aspect that I would like to present here, and my final point, is that men search for the best possible mating partner. That reflects in his impulse for the blondes who are nothing but the fairest of all species. Hence, when women try to look fairer, they in turn are able attract the attention of the males and in the process aid themselves with the best possible mate.

My final argument would be that, women tend to fend themselves by saying that for men, it’s ‘Tall Dark and Handsome’, then why not the same for women. My answer to that would be..dark refers to the colour of the eyes and hair and not the skin. Hence, that fact is rather misrepresented and misemployed.

Survival of the Fittest ?

This year has been particularly challenging for India on many terms considering the gamut of events that engulfed the marauding elephant. First it was the world recession that wittingly put India's markets to test, then a drought that hit a few states badly, then the Maoist(naxalite) rebellion, then the dragon (China) spewing fire down India's throat, the drubbing of the Indian cricket team at the hands of its arch rival (Pak) in an ICC event for the very first time and now to top it all flooding in some parts of the country including the same very places which feared death initially due to thirst (drought) and then fear death to the fury of water.

Most of the factors mentioned above such as recession, Chinese show of muscle power and India's loss to Pak in the ICC Champions Trophy are matters that tread international boundaries and have no significant correlation among each other. However, the rest of the factors which concern the home ministry, have an uncanny thread holding them together in the eyes of the virtuoso.

Whether it is the drought, the maoist rebellion (revolution as some romantics may call it), the deluge that has millions of people gasping, the commonality as I see it, is the set of people whom it affects. The drought seemed to have affected the states of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, WB, AP.So did the maoist revolution and so did the deluge. Of course, the deluge affected more people in Karnataka and drought remains a common feature in certain parts of Maharashtra & Rajasthan, the fact can't be ignored that there is certainly a trend in the way things happen in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, WB and AP. Almost the same subset of problems haunt them. I am left flabbergasted at the nature of the truth - most of these regions are in a perilous state of constant conflict for survival.

Now I would focus my attention to another portion of the world which has an uncanny similarity with the nature of the above set of Indian problems. Lets talk of the eastern contours of Africa - Kenya, Somaliya, Sudan, Uganda etc. The threat of a famine is writ large after the failure of rains in these parts. Worse than the hunger is the thirst that's bothering, in many parts leading people to dig wells using their hands. Then the meteorological dept's prediction that there would be more than heavy rainfalls in the coming months in these places, carries a sense of paradox in itself. While the rains would certainly help save failure of crops in the pastoral areas, what remains worrisome is that more people are expected to die due to flooding and then the barrage of post flood diseases. Having said this, a bigger worry is the internal war that seems to ravage these countries, providing a perfect breeding ground for some militant organisations.

The similarities of problems between these countries of Africa and the Indian states are brazen. The cycle of drought, deluge, militancy in these places seem anything but ephemeral.On delving a little deeper it easy to see the nature of these places - African and Indian, have something in common to them and they are : all of these places are agro based societies, rich in mineral resources and depend on nature for livelihood. But then there are a few other things in common - ineffectual governance, corruption, abject poverty & iliteracy. Each of the second set of commonalities when grossly mismanaged significantly blow up the problems to unfathomable levels and leaves the societies anything but impregnable.

But then I found something more intriguing in this story of penury and disquiet and that leads me to question the larger fabric of the human race leading from the origin of species. Its no wisdom anymore that human species originated in parts of Africa. And if latest research is to be believed, the human race migrated to India - which mostly happened through the eastern coasts of Africa, and then migrated into parts of Middle east and Europe.

We can hence attach another set of migration that happened with the human beings in genral. And that is the movement of wisdom. Considering human race originated in Africa and has survived so long, and wisdom about life came to them first, Africa should have been the most prosperous of all continents today, esp. the eastern contours of the continent which saw the first movement of human race. Indeed its just the opposite. Now coming to India which of course remains one of the oldest civilizations of the world, and the latest research proving that contention. Patliputra ( Patna in Bihar) as we know was home to one of the world's oldest & greatest universities, which means at least the entire eastern belt of the country should have been the most prosperous. However, its just the opposite. In fact the problem seems to get repeated elsewhere. Regions which claim home to Harappa & Mohenjodaro- which mastered the art of organised living, are some of the most ravaged in today's world and mostly remain war torn.

As I contemplate deeper, the above set of observations lead me to draw the hypothesis that the newer the civilizations the wealthier they are - in terms of wealth ( as in pure cash), in literacy, in the peace concerning their international borders, in the disquiet among people within, in other words Civil Enlightenment. The arguments that I would like to produce to support my conjecture would be that America which was discovered serendipitously and is one of the latest civilizations with much of its documented history not ranging beyond a few centuries. Today as we know America remains the most powerful nation in the world - in pure terms of GDP, educational institutions, military might etc. In fact the region which is attributed to having given birth to modern day enlightenment i.e Europe is only second best to the US when it concerns world matters.

So what is it that makes younger civilizations prosperous and is there anything that we can learn from them ? I believe its the ability of the young to learn fast and capture the best practices from the old and give them a new dimension through a more disciplined approach.While the fittest of the human races have survived for thousands of years, the next level of survival would only come from addressing poverty, illiteracy & health at the heart of all of which lies development.

Today Survival of the Fittest has an all together different tone. Its not about who can survive the wrath of the nature. But Survival of the Fittest would be defined in pure economic terms which would be defined by how effectively the civil society shapes upto the future.

Taking the "Yem" out of Malayalam

Anyone who has ever come across a Mallu ( the malayalam speaking species of India), even once, would certainly know the significance of "Yem" for a Mallu. In case you are still wondering what "Yem" is, let me then clarify, it is the 13th letter of the English / Roman alphabet most commonly represented as "m" and pronounced as "em".
By the way Mallus are just an euphemism for all Indians except that they have maintained their lead and held the centerstage over the years.
Meanwhile, I don't blame all the Mallus but for the One, the First one, who ever learnt the english alphabets. I guess he would have been learning the pronunciations while driving a car, when he came to a screeeeeeeeeching halt midway on the road on seeing a Mallu damsel and then Miss-pronounced the letter "m" as "Yey"-"m". And then as he continued his journey, stumbling here and there and giving a new facet to the enlish letters, the same mallu must have hit a big road block , this time just that he would have encountered the Mallu damsel's, moustached - lungi half folded, father - anna, and must have gone slam bang. But this then would have occured when he was about to read the letter "Z" and instead came out "Eee" - "Zed".
But then why crucify the Mallu alone. I am certain that even the Bongs ( Bengalis as they are fondly called) must also have had similar experiences and for that matter the Biharis and the UPites no less...
So here is my presentation of some of the the near death / life ( depends on how one wants to experience it) encounters, wherein the english language was put to the guillotine. I must admit what I have experienced over the years has helped me in giving the language a new dimension in itself.
I present a few snippets below.

1) My 1st class of engg ( in fact the 1st sentence that I hear)- Physics HOD in action :

"When the autumn gets excited.......". "and when one of these finds another excited autumn..."

I am left perplexed - How can autumn get excited. I turn back to peep into someone else's notes only to my embarrassment realise that "its not autumn but an atom "

2) Chemistry prof this time :

"I have 2 daaaters, both are girls ".

3) The assistant to our dept HOD:

This happened when we were meandering on the corridors of our dept and the principal came for a surprise visit, the asst came out with a gem.
"Students get into your classes, the principal is rotating"

4) A prof with his verdict on finding that the principal had just crossed the door of our class :

"Students keep quite. The principal has just passed away"

But the onerous task of giving a new dimension doesnt belong to the mallus alone. Since I am talking of "Eingriji" (english) how can the bhadroloks not find a mention. This is a compilation of some of the more famous quotes I have heard over the years. Sadly though havent had the privillege to hear them 1st hand.
So here they go.

1) Irate Bengali teacher to her pupils :

"Both of you three guys stand up"

2) The teacher asks the student to meet him when he is free and then produces a gem:

"Come behind the staffroom when the teacher is empty "

3) And then one more :

"Dont disturb me now. Come to me when the school is finished and my time is empty."

4) Just beat it - A teacher to his pupil on finding that he had farted :

"Passing wind and laughing in the class "

5) The last one.. the list can go on and on :

"Suman, you want to appear for the exams, or disappear?" :-)

And finally the ubiquitous ones. Probably symbolic of our way of getting around english.

1) Open the windows. Let the atmosphere come in"
2) "There is no wind in the football"
3) "I talk. He talk. Why you middle talk??"


!! I have plagiarized the title from a NDTV online news item and given it my own interpretation..

Entangled Life

I have been for sometime wondering whether technological advances have made my local life more messy these days. Nowadays when I go to bed the one thing I find myself surrounded by is dozens of wires, one for charging my cell phone, one for my table lamp, one for my laptop, one for the battery charger and the list goes on and on....literally speaking sometimes they tend to appear in my dreams as cobwebs spun around me by monstrous spiders...
Not even a decade back when i reflect I find that life was way more manageable... the only thing I was wired to was my table lamp. Now even as I travel, these filaments seem to catch me by my nerves...what if i forget my cell phone charger ?? what if i forgot to carry my laptop charger or if it goes bust??
Those were the days when there were no wires surrounding me. The only wires that I could see used to hang from the poles outside my house, which would be mostly seen having a wild swing during the winter season when the kids tried to pull down their kites which would get stuck in them...For that matter the wires outside my house gained a greater significance during our science classes. The teacher would explain to us why the wires between two poles were not taut.
Most of the wires outside however have now vanished..and as I write many more are for ever going underground (quite literally though).
None the less I hope technology of the future will be able to Untangle me from my entangled life..
Till then...I say....
From WIRED GLOBALLY & WIRELESS LOCALLY to WIRED LOCALLY & WIRELESS GLOBALLY !!

Jai Ho !! [ seems to be the flavour of the season in Britain ;) ]

Free Market Approach to Higher Education in India

In the recent years the govt of India has taken quite a few appreciable steps towards churning out more engineers and managers (of course significantly marked with the curse of 50% reservation). The HRD Ministry has taken steps to create more number of IITs and IIMs, since they represent the best in engineering and management education. While this is indeed a forward looking approach by the ministry (for a change), I have a strong aversion to the fact that the new institutes are being set-up under the umbrella brand of IITs and IIMs. Gone are the days when Pandit Nehru proposed setting up these elite institutions with one eye on getting India to the world map and another on achieving the Socialist goals. According to me, naming any new engineering institute under the umbrella brand of IIT or IIM is like giving a handicap to a less deserving guy in a 100 mtrs race or like giving a nondescript unproven cricketer a chance to play in the Indian cricket team simply because he was trained under Ramakant Achrekar. Also, what is deplorable is the “Herd Mentality” that the govt. has given birth to in the process of creating quality engineers and managers.

This very approach of giving the name IIT and IIM has certainly intrigued me for quite some time now. I am left wondering and hence have a few questions to ask. Why not name them something else say a Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Management (in fact this was the name proposed initially for IIM Shillong, which had to be later renamed into IIM) ? Why not apply the free market approach to Indian higher education? Why not let the institutions earn a name for themselves?

What is more astonishing is the fact that naming these new institutes anything else has actually faced with quite a bit of resistance, for ex: the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Management had to be rechristened into IIM-Shillong. Across the world, I have not seen a single country where the major engineering or management institutes have been set under the umbrella brand. The US doesn’t have a Harvard Business School – California and a Harvard Business School – Los Angeles or a series of MITs, although most of these are heavily sponsored by the governments.

I propose that if we apply a Free Market approach to Indian education we would only do a world of good. A free market approach would mean that each institute would have an independent name for itself and not operate under an established brand name. What this will do in turn is that each institute will now have to fight for the available resources and until they offer their best and are able to prove themselves, the stakeholders won’t invest in them. This approach would have significant benefits for all the stakeholders involved. For the students this would be a win-win situation since now the institute will have to offer the best resources and facilities to attract quality talent as they simply can’t live on the past laurels. From the perspective of the faculty the institute has to offer high quality research facilities and equitable salaries to attract the best. In turn this would mean that the institutes will now have to be more innovative and ingenious, in exactly the way corporations operate, to attract quality talent and more investments. What this also does is that it gives scope to private players who don’t get a level playing field along the centrally established institutes and in the process not get dwarfed as they usually do. This would also in the long run ensure that the government can focus its energies into building a more robust base by building a stronger primary education system and attracting more people into the net of education. Thus we can achieve two goals simultaneously; the first of having a quality education system at the top which is able to attract quality students and faculty which is more involved in research and at the same time giving more people the scope of education.

Another major aspect that having independent names for each institute would do is getting rid of the Herd mentality that the present ones have given birth to. Today, there is such a big rush towards getting into an IIT that is gives way to unnecessary pressure on the teenagers to perform since there are so many big expectations lying on their head. Everyone wants to become an engineer from IIT or a management graduate from IIM. This is what I would call the herd mentality. No one wants to carve a unique niche for himself by getting into pure sciences or some other streams. While some students do get into these premier educational institutes, they come out with a big baggage of elitist mentality and inflated egos. As has been often noted by the head honchos, it is much easier to mould a guy from a second rung institute than an IIT or an IIM. It’s one thing being confident and it’s another being arrogant. Since the clamor for the names of the institutes is so strong among the aspirants, those who make it for them it’s as if they have conquered the world and hence they develop an elitist mentality. If only we could take out the umbrella from over their head and leave them naked to face the wrath of nature would the best candidate come out.

I would also like to raise another pertinent point here. Why can’t the government have something like a common fund which it would allocate to the, say, top 10 performers, including private and govt run, each in the area of management or engineering or medicine etc in equal amounts? The govt can develop a set of parameters on which it can judge the institutes each year. Some of these parameters may be the research done by the institutes or the innovativeness shown by each institute in imparting education. Once the parameters are set, the govt would be able to ensure a level playing field for each party. Year on year as each institute tries to be the best and outdo each other and make an entry into the top 10, the average quality of output from the institutes would only get better. Even the ones that get left out would be then able to attract more investors and thus have more and more people interested in having equity in the institution.

While I have tried to draw some attention to the Free market approach to the higher education, I must appreciate the fact that there are some independent players, each in the field of management and engineering who have given the IITs and IIMs a run for their money. Some of the names that I can recollect at this point would he BIT-Mesra & BITS Pilani in engineering and XLRI & ISB in management. However, these names are far and few in between. Only if we have a free market approach and are able to get rid of developing a herd mentality by developing umbrella brands can we see the entry of a few more names while some older ones may fade into oblivion.