PRIVATE CAPITAL REVIVAL STAYS ELUSIVE. ARE INVESTORS TO BLAME?

Even before Aamir Khan immortalised the character of Rancho in the movie Three Idiots, Bertie had met a real-life Rancho. Duke was Bertie’s senior and dorm-mate in college, and it was well-known on campus that he would join his family business after graduating.

- 

That dissolved all placement pressure—the sort that weighed heavily on those with service-class fathers—and lent Duke an air of assured nonchalance.

‘Kya kar raha hai facche?” (What are you doing, fresher?) were the first words that Duke ever spoke to Bertie. Summer placements were looming, and Bertie was trying to jazz up his CV, wondering how he could present his participation certificate from a group folk dance competition in Class IV as evidence of being culturally aware and connected to his roots.

“CV. For summers.” Bertie responded timidly. Duke threw one glance at Bertie’s flickering screen and asked, “What do you want todo?”, emphasising the word ‘you’. Like most of his peers, Bertie had worked backwards from what jobs paid the highest salary to decide his ambitions. He would have blurted out that rehearsed answer had he not caught the emphasis on ‘you’. Bertie stayed silent. Duke smiled. A bond was forged.