NITIE GD/PI : Stressed Out !

My tryst with the much feared, much touted and much talked about Stress Interview happened when I expected it the least. I was prepared for a stress Interview during XLRI GD/PI, but it didn't happen. Now, NITIE is known for its predilection towards CAT scores and is supposed to conduct very cool and formal interviews. But for me, It was a Stress Interview and I was totally grilled...courtesy : My Pathetic Luck.

Let me go by the timeline, as it was a Loooooong Processs.

12.30 AM : My Flight landed at the Mumbai Airport, an hour Late.

1.00 AM : The auto driver woke me up and told me that we came to NITIE. Half asleep, I looked out. Gosh!! Can't believe it. There were cows grazing on whatever grass was left before them. A few dilapidated houses( or sheds ? ) stood around. A small shop on the corner and a pair of auto wallahs chatting near their vehicles. Dung, mud and acrid smell. This couldn't be NITIE!! I must be dreaming.

Rubbed my eyes and peered outside. The scene remains the same and even more clear. Hmm..my auto driver must have brought me to a slum by mistake. And is it by mistake ? Or with a grand plan to mug me up. I was scared for a moment and my drowsiness vanished. Wait..I see something. A small rusted Iron door hung over noiselessly, over equally rusted hinges. Was that a gate ? Yes, it is and I can now see NITIE written across it.

Wow...what an Entrance !!

6.00 AM : TRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING............My Snooze Alarm is always punctual. Woke up lazily...man, that almost killed me. Me and my room mate got ready by 7.45 AM. We were expected to report at 8 AM. We decided to skip breakfast.

8.00 AM : Walked to the NITIE main building, climbed those famous 95 steps and went straight for the Auditorium. Another Shock..a verrrrrry looooooong queue. Damn...I never stood in such a long queue( Maybe a coupla times for Movie Tickets, but that's different ;) ).

9.30 AM : Registered and were ushered into the auditorium. A small presentation. Nothing new..the usual stuff. And then we were told that the afternoon batches could leave and return in the afternoon. ( I was in the Last Batch ). Now, That's crap. We were woken up early in the morning just to listen to the damn presentation. Yieeeeee.. these guys could sure have planned better.

10.30 AM : Back at the hostel. Got on to bed, setup my Alarm to 1 PM and fell asleep.

1.00 PM : Didn't i tell you that my alarm is always punctual. Woke up again, dressed up and plodded towards the Canteen for a quick bite.

2.00 PM : Back in the auditorium. The First batch was called in and I was in the Last batch, still 8 more batches to go. Huh... Gonna be a very boring day, I thought. But it wasn't. There was a projector in the auditorium and NITIE seniors played the movie 'Jerry McGuire'. Now, that was cool. That was one real cool thing to do.

4.00 PM : The movie was finished. And about time too. I was called for Certificate Verification.

5.00 PM : Verification is done and waiting for the Interview. Being the last batch, our interviews were preponed, so that none of us would get delayed for our trains.

6.00 PM : After a long wait, I was finally called in.

There were four people in the panel. Two sirs and two madams. They asked my name and were confused. Apparently, they were not informed about my preponement of Interview. After digging out my application from the pile in front of them, they finally started questioning me.
'Tell me about Urself ?'..Routine. And then the inevitable question ' Why did u leave TCS in 6 months ?'. Gave my well-prepared reply. And one of the ladies took over. 'What books do u read?'. blah blah..Sidney Sheldon is my Fav. author.'So what is ur fav. book by Sidney sheldon?'. Blank. Can u believe it ? I cudn't even recollect one novel :(After struggling for a few moments replied 'Master of the Game'.( That was the only one I cud remember ). Not 'If Tommorrow Comes' ? Bingo, that was my actual fav. one. Anyways, gave a diplomatic answer and got myself off the hook.That was the last Question from the ladies..

I got real nervous now. And the professor on the left started building more stress. His body language was hostile. He started cutting me while replying. And started shrugging, with a what-nonsense kind of expression. He looked at my Consolidated Marks List( All the subject names were listed in that ) and the Volley of Tech. Qns started.

1. Tell me about Image Processing ?( Final Yr Subject )
2. Image Classification ? No Idea.
3. Operations Research ? Maximization/Minimization, Travelling SaleMan...
4. Explain Travelling SalesMan Problem. Handled that satisfactorily.
5. Assignment Problem ? Don't remember
6. Queuing theory ? Studied just an Overview..
7. Probability Distibutions ? Normal Distribution
8. Explain that to a Layman. I talked nonsense and he wasn't impressed..

I fumbled and floundered all thru...

Now, the person on the Right started. He was cool.
1. Graph Theory ? No ideah
2. Application in Testing ? (With a bright look ) Flow Graphs and Cyclicity
3. Any else ? PERT/CPM Analyisis
4. In Comp. Science ? Blank again.

Hmm...Ok, thanks for the time. All the Best.Came out, and gave out a BIG Sigh.

6.30 PM : Our batch was waiting for the GD outside the GD room. We could hear loud noises from inside. Our previous batch guys must have been passionately presenting their point of view.

There were 9 members in our batch and we decided to play it clean.

Got in and there was the topic randomly picked by the computer :' Management Education is Luxury for India'.

Hmm...cool topic. We had 2 min time to think and I jotted down a few points. Once, the Buzzer went on, I initiated the GD. I have been long trying to initiate a GD and It finally happened. It was cool. I talked about How MBA cud considered luxury in terms of Cost, Availability and Requirement of Corporate India. Well, ppl picked up and it went well. Very well indeed.

I was very satisfied by the time GD was done.
My best GD has come at the point of my worst PI.

7.30 PM : Packed up everything. Took a Taxi to the Kurla Station.

9.00 PM : Taxi took 1 1/2 hrs to reach Kurla. Incidentally, I underestimated Mumbai Traffic and my persisting bad luck and I was stranded. Finally reached the Station. My train starts at 9.50 PM from CST. No way to reach it in time!!.So, squeezed myself into a Mumbai Local train and left for Kalyan.

10.30 PM: Got on my train in Kalyan. That was one tiring experience. Fell asleep right away.

I have successfully blown out another GD/PI. Just One more to go ...