You've heard this from me before - Indian companies dislike the way many fresh MBAs believe they are God's gift to mankind! They are flighty, avoid real work, and want 'career growth' handed to them on a platter in their very first month of employment. They are easily bored and change jobs at the slightest opportunity.
This leads me to quote from a wonderful poetic retelling by Vikram Seth of the immortal tale of The Hare and the Tortoise (Beastly Tales from Here & There, Penguin). Instead of running the race, the socialite hare is easily distracted:
"Boring, boring, life is boring.
Birdies, help me go exploring.
Let's go off the beaten track.
In a minute I'll be back -"
Off the hare went, fancy-free.
One hour pased, then two, then three.
Expectedly, the tortoise wins the race.
After the announcer's gun
Had pronounced that he had won,
And the cheering of the crowd
Died at last, the tortoise bowed,
Clasped the cup with quiet pride,
And sat down, self-satisfied.
And he though: "That silly hare!
So much for her charm and flair.
So much for her idle boast.
In her cup I'll raise a toast
To hard work and regularity.
Silly creature! Such vulgarity!
Now she'll learn that sure and slow
Is the only way to go -
That you can't rise to the top
With a skip, a jump, a hop -
That you've got to hatch your eggs,
That you've got to count your legs,
That you've got to do your duty,
Not depend on verve and beauty."
Nice words! MBA students, are you listening?
(Now there is a twist at the end of this particular version of the tale, but I'll let you read it for yourself. Smile.)
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Incidentally, while I'm reading this tiny book of poems, I'm also reading A Suitable Boy by the same author, 1500 pages and yet a page-turner. It is a tour de force. The then Stanford University President, Gerhard Casper, had recommended this epic while welcoming us to the campus as international students, but it's taken my 17 years to get to it.
Another tangential comment - while many budding poets ruin their poetry by forcing it to rhyme, I'm simply blown away by Vikram Seth's best rhymes (The Golden Gate, for example) and even more so by Pushkin's verse (Eugene Onegin) and of course Shakespeare's sonnets.
2 comments:
Vikram Seth is a master of word. I was first introduced to his poetry about 10 years ago and fell in love with it. I went to his book reading (An Equal Music) at Stanford in 99 and was quite impressed with the author. I remember his comment that the only time the university president, Gerhard Casper, went to bed with "a suitable boy" was when he was reading Vikram Seth's book. I would also recommend his "An Equal Music". The way he describes music is beautiful.
I recall Harsha Bhogle's comment while he was speaking to students at IIM Calcutta. He said, "You join IIM not for a big first salary, you join IIM for a life long career!"
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