GMAT Prep - II

Finally managed to complete the initial drafts of my application essays for ISB. Thankfully they were just three in number, quite unlike INSEAD with its seven essays, not that I really mind. The whole process of writing the essays is so much more envigorating and rejuvenating that I am looking forward to the next round of essay writing.... :)

On a general note, Google completes 10 years of existence. It is difficult to imagine a world without Google's search engine, despite it being barely 11 years since its launch. Here's to more successful decades at Google!

GMAT Prep - Le début....

Phew……I have just finished writing the first draft of the first essay for my MBA admissions, and let me tell you, it isn’t easy. Yah, sure, I write verbose and tome-like blogs, and I say writing a 250-300 word essay is difficult? But really, it’s very difficult, not so much for the want of material to speak about, but because of the want of space to accommodate all that material.

A MBA essay is not so much an essay as a marriage proposal! Ok, maybe that was a wee bit overdone, but you get the point. Now I know why MBAs get paid so much; they should be able to do their marketing even before they are in college!

Indian colleges, with some notable exceptions like Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, generally tend to rely primarily on examination scores (e.g. CAT, XAT, JMET, etc.), and leave the process of gauging the candidate to the Personal Interview rounds. After having given the GMAT, I have come to feel that such a system (the Indian model) is somewhat biased against those who somehow do not manage to get a good score, but may have the potential to be good managers and leaders. After all, a usually great performer may not perform, for some reasons, on the day of the CAT/XAT/JMET exam and may fare badly, but surely that doesn’t mean anything vis-à-vis his/her overall ability. I know many people in my peer group who are capable of being great leaders, but who simply couldn’t clear these exams.

I read once in a newspaper article that the Indian model is so because it’s a model of ‘admission by elimination’, whereas the overseas model is more of a ‘admission by selection’ model. Now, even if your GMAT score may not be in the range of 700-750 out of 800, you still stand a decent, if not great, chance of getting into a good MBA school with a decent scholarship.

So the point is, the Indian model seems flawed and there’s need to improvise. But the question then arises: do we have sufficient colleges and time to actually sift through so many applications of so many candidates in India? I guess not. So it’s best to stay with what is working. As some one said, don’t try to fix something that isn’t broken.

I have still some 12-15 essays to write, so the celebration's premature...but the beginning calls for a small one, no?

Quo vadis....?

So ends the great Indian tamasha. Or maybe it hasn’t; one can really never be sure. But if there’s one thing that one can be sure of, it is this that there is no depth in Hades that can be surpassed, no threshold in Hell that can be bettered by our political class.

We are wont to claim that we are the world’s biggest democracy, and that this alone should be cause to welcome us with open arms into the corridors of global power. But the fact remains that irrespective of our size as a democratic system, it still remains suspect as to whether we have truly comprehended the full import of the responsibilities that being a democracy entails.

Democracy is a word (pardon my lesson on linguistics J) formed from the Greek word for popular government ‘dimokratia’, itself derived from the words ‘demos’ (people) and ‘kratos’ (rule). It is therefore expected that the will of the people would be considered sacrosanct by a democratic system. So where lies the will of the people?

One must admit that the quality of the debate in Parliament has significantly improved, considering that for the first time in independent India’s history a government was being questioned on a matter of foreign policy. It’s true that this matter had greater domestic implications, but essentially the objections to the policy decision were mainly on concerns of sovereignty, surely not a domestic concern.

The nuclear deal is the need of the hour, if not in its form, but at least in spirit and essence. India cannot meet the growing energy requirements of a progressing populace with conventional and non-nuclear non-conventional sources of energy. The conventional sources are too polluting and given the concerns on global warming, we would be better off trying to reduce our reliance on such sources. The non-nuclear non-conventional sources of energy (wind, tidal, solar, hydro) are too expensive and too untested to deliver the concrete results that we need.

The opponents of the deal have stated that this deal would make us beholden to a certain foreign power and to its ‘undesirable’ influence. What they seem to have failed to comprehend, or at least wish not to comprehend, is that the due process being followed to go through with the deal would enable us to get the nuclear technology and fuel from all the current members of the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group), and not just from one or two selected members. And then again, those who accuse the government of selling out to a particular power are themselves ‘guilty’, by their own standards, of having ‘sold out’ the nation to the very same power. A case of the pot calling the kettle black, perhaps?

The government now has 9 months to get the deal through. Its task wouldn’t be any easier, what with its motley team of allies, all of whom are as temperamental as a baby with a soiled diaper. History will show us whether this vote was just; posterity will judge us for our commitment to our principles.

That's all.....

I can only give you love that lasts forever.
And a promise to be near each time you call.
And the only heart I own
For you and you alone
That's all,
That's all...

I can only give you country walks in springtime
And a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall;
And a love whose burning light
Will warm the winter's night
That's all,
That's all.

There are those I am sure who have told you,
They would give you the world for a toy.
All I have are these arms to enfold you,
And a love time can never destroy.

If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear,
You'll be glad to know that my demands are small.
Say it's me that you'll adore,
For now and evermore
That's all,
That's all.

If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear,
You'll be glad to know that my demands are small.
Say it's me that you'll adore,
For now and evermore.
That's all,
That's all.

Your Mona Lisa Smile....

As the rain pitter-pattered outside,
And the trees swayed in the wind,
I think of you,
And your angelic smile.

You smile your smile at me,
When I tell you I love you,
You smile again,
When I tell you I could never live without you.

You say nothing, you never do,
You just smile,
You just grin away,
Like a Cheshire cat guarding a secret.

I search for a meaning,
I search for a sign,
One that would tell me of your love,
But you smile away.

And then I realise
The secret behind your Mona Lisa smile.
The love that beats in your heart,
Comes forth each time as your smile.

The Fire Within...

We stand there,
Looking out together into the distance,
The sky is reaching for azure,
The sea is calm,
The sun is setting,
Its flames sputtering out,
In the cool waters of the Bay.

And I feel a feeling of warmth,
A glow that was surreal,
As you put your head on my shoulder,
As your delicate fingers play around with your curls,
Your other arm curls around my arm,
Your hand enclosed in mine.

You are wearing that dress I love,
The white one with the pink flowers on it,
And your tresses are untied,
Blowing in the cool sea breeze,
Filling the air with a fragrance ever so divine,
Like a jasmine blooming in the night.

And then you look up at me,
With those beautiful brown eyes,
Your cheeks rosy,
Like a white flower with just a tinge of red on it,
As we looked in each other’s eyes we knew,
The greatest of oceans couldn’t make our love go out,
Because it isn’t just the heat of the moment,
Because it is a fire that burned within us.