To get first hand feedback as to what they were expecting out of an LLB, I asked them a simple question, for starters:

Enthusiastic answers is what I got. Things like joining the corporate law and becoming a criminal judge took their fancy. Others dared to to be interested in litigation and arbitration. Of course, some were so absorbed by the "exam lag" that they only managed to say that they would like to pass for the time being. Ambitious, I must say  .

Their past academic backdrops seemed to take me by surprise. Some had a bachelor's degree in B.Com, while some others had accomplished B.B.E. Yet others were from the English (Hons) category and amazingly, someone even took up LLB after having spent a good amount of four years in IIT. It must have taken some guts to change the career track altogether!

I shot my next question at them:

Myriad answers toppled to my pages. Some said: "It is a respected as well as a rewarding career." Another said, "When I was in doubt The best career option that came my way was law." Some others added out of a good sense of humor that, "the laal batti wali gaadi (cars with beacons)" was fascinating or outrightly announced "paise milte hain (it is promising monetarily)."

Uncertainty of career prospects made a guy choose law. He added, "I was bored with MBA. After joining law I believe I want to start a corporate firm. Knowing the law while I do so is definitely going to be profitable."

I wished to know their level of interest in LPOs so I asked them.

They knew very little about LPOs and had no interest in them whatsoever. It did not even feature as an alternative or a last resort for them. One of them considered it and asked me: "What's the pay like?" I could not help laughing. So did the rest. I did not enlighten her. But the pay is, obviously not interesting and may be one reason it does not feature on their lists. The range for a fresh graduate could be between Rs. 8 000 to Rs. 20 000. At a higher level, there is the potential of getting about as high as Rs. 60 000.

I presumed that being part of such a renowned institute, they would be familiar with the GDP of Indian lawyers in India. So my next question was:

I faced with disappointment. While some looked apologetic for not knowing about it at all. The rest could not care less. One of them said: "I do not know about that nor do I care. I'm more interested in personal income, not gross." God save India! A B.B.E background student actually ended up asking me, "What is GDP?" I realize what can extensive law studies can do to your memory  .

For those who itch to know more about the issue, you can freely access Mr. Kian's report on GDP in the Mint.

Still wondering which institute?

The one thing that was admirable about the lot was when I asked them:

The unanimous answer was "very important." I asked them to throw more light on the subject. Interesting answers and similar ones at that emerged. They felt that getting the right sort of an internship would mean having the right contacts.

Their parents would be instrumental in getting them the desired internship without having them go through the trouble of looking for one themselves. When asked what does one do if one does not have any contacts. One of them answered: "No contacts means two things. Either you have the brains and the guts to join a moot court which means rigorous debates and a tough audition or you are at the mercy of your friends and may ask them to help you with the contacts that they have. No matter which year you are in, getting an internship and the right one at that needs contacts."

Apart from flattery, contacts are a must, I realized. What I grasped was that they were intelligent enough to know how to go about it and were not fully ignorant about what the career of their choice entails.

I concluded the informative tête-à-tête, for fear of not being beaten up on grounds of harassing them, by asking them:

Some said they would pursue further studies like LLM, or MBA; a few others would just settle into their family business. Some almost with a straight face said that they would, "marry a rich guy." It is not just the legally inclined females that say that, just so you know.

This is the last resort of most females, in good humor or even as a serious prospect of accumulating speedy wealth (No offence to the feminists out there ). Moving on, one of them had even exhibited the desire to open a BPO and a matrimonial site.

I was, literally, taken aback but managed to keep mum and allowed him to go on: "It is something that I have already been thinking about. The name is also set. It would be rabnebanadijodi.com (marraiges are made in heaven)." I could hardly react but I guess it would get couples married and take divorce cases simultaneously. Interesting venture.

It was dark and I had to leave, I wish I could leap on a few more youngsters but time did not permit that. What I failed to understand as I sat amongst these young aspirants is that none had the passion to work for meting out justice. Yes some undeniably said law was their passion.

But, the nature of it did not seem clear when asked. Easy money is all over this piece. From what I recollect from school text books, the lawyers and judges mostly, were handsomely paid just so they do not waver from being "honest men". Not that these people are not going to be honest. But what is disturbing is that the legality of it all takes a backseat as against the money and the VIP-like treatment that it promises to provide.

Anyone who begs to differ, feel free to do so.

Are you still trying to guess where I had gone? A hint: the fee structure and the admission procedure are both inviting for anybody from any academic background. The fee structure is at approximately Rs. 5000 per year and the admission eligibilty is kept at a decent aggregate of 50%. For those of you who have guessed it already, you sure are intelligent and probably live in Dehi or have friends in the institute or are part of that institute. For those who could not guess yet, not a problem, just keep waiting for my next blog that is related to the institute as well .