Saturday, November 19, 2005

Agony Uncle !!

Reading and replying to Arbit Choudhury fan mails is as much part of my daily routine as reading the sports page of the newspaper is. While most of those mails just mention how they like (and in some cases, dislike) Arbit, every now and then, some rather unusual mails also land up in my mailbox.

Following is one of the most thought provoking mails that I have received about Arbit. So much so that Nikhil wants me to post it on my blog. --
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hello
this is xyz from abc company.
i came across ur mba mascot arbit choudhury.
though i am impressed with his wit, he left me confused.
i am thinking of doing mba after two years of work ex , it came as a surprise to know abt culture of a top b-school.
i would like u to brief me more about him n the ground reality of todays b-schools.
honestly expecting a reply from u.

regards
xyz
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Here is an excerpt from my reply to the person--
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arbit choudhury was created to have a peek into the lighter side of management.. as they say, the best surd jokes are cracked by surds themselves.. so, me and hemant, MBA students ourselves, were able to look into some humorous aspects of B-school education in greater depth.. although we mock the goings-on in the sphere of management, we do not want to demean the management or B-school fraternity.. an MBA from a top B-school can not only help u immensely in your career, but also make u more mature person.. much of the learning in a top b-school comes from outside the classroom, through interaction with batch mates and other extra curricular activities.. in short, in spite of its lacunae, MBA from a top b-school is definitely worth going for..
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And this is what Nikhil says on this issue--
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Cartoons and caricatures are a way of expressing ones desire for change in a humorous manner. Experts like RK Laxman was for long waged a war against corruption, nepotism and dirty politics through their cartoons. They are still doing it - but does this mean that India has not changed in the intervening years? No, changes take place and there is further scope for improvement. Similarly while it is true that MBA is filled with Jargon - there are conscious efforts on to simplify it. B-school education is a great boon, but like eveything else there are some gaps and some falacies. We are just trying to caricaturize these through our comic strip. Nevertheless there are many a positive aspects of B-school education which you will discover when you join a top 10 school.
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